Location:  1133 West Broadway, Vancouver, Canada, V6H 1G1

Telephone number:  + (1) 604 872 8050

Date of visit: 29 October 2009

Approximate cost per head (2 courses): C$ 60

Comments on wine list/beer: Interesting wine list with Wine Spectator Ratings. Sake list is phenomenal. Usual Japanese beers – Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin

Web site: www.Tojos.com

Summary:

Tojo’s is in my view one of the great “creative” Japanese  restaurant in the world. It is up there with Nobu (ok, I’ve only eaten in the New York and London ones) and Tetsuya (Sydney). Apparently, Nobu-san eats here when he is in town.

Tojo-san arrived in Vancouver in the early 70s and is now acknowledged as one of the chef in Vancouver. He used to be down the road but moved here 3 years ago and has more or less triple the “covers” he can do. There is now a trendy bar that serves all sorts of cocktails and sake.

Besides the traditional Sushi and Sashimi, you get a twist on a lot of dishes which can only be described as “fusion” cooking.

On the night we went, we had the Omakase (chef’s choice for the day). This comes in several versions and start at $60 for 4 courses. To start with, we had a raw fish terrin which was a combination of minced raw tuna with cucumber for texture (mixed in) in some form of ponzu dressing.. Next, came a fish stew with mushrooms followed by a sashimi dish and finally 7 different types of sushi and a fruit cocktail desert. They were all excellent – they had everything: taste, visual appearance and texture.

It’s almost worth the flight over just to eat here as it’s less than half the price of Nobu London but then Nobu in New York (mid town) is also half the price of Nobu London.

By the way, Tojo’s only serve evening meals.

Eddie@Bottlesandcooks.com