Shizen Ya: Real sushi, fast. And veggie friendly!
I ate dinner at Shizen Ya for a friend’s birthday and wasn’t going to review it until her husband pressured me to. He swore by their sushi rolls and said that all the food was organic and healthy. “Fresh Food Fast” is their motto.
Honestly, when I first walked into this place on Hornby & Nelson I thought to myself, great – another one of these small, cramped Japanese take out joints. And the tables were all spread out so we couldn’t really talk to everyone. But the staff closed down the place just for our party. And boy, did this place kick Vegas sushi’s ass!
My friend ordered a bunch of their signature rolls for all of us to try so we could taste how good they were – the Dragon Magic Roll is huge and takes up the entire plate. I am kicking myself for not getting a picture, because it’s not on their take-out menu. I think this is the one with cream cheese. Anything with cream cheese tastes awesome! The Sakura Blossom Roll ($12.95) looks as good as it tastes and has crab, tuna, cucumber, avocado, brown rice, and salmon. After two bites of these rolls I said to myself, THIS is what sushi is supposed to taste like. And it’s significantly cheaper than the sushi I had in Vegas.
Sakura Blossom Roll
Natural Bomber Roll: bomb indeed.
The Natural Bomber Roll ($11.95 for 10 pieces) is also huge: prawn tempura, crab, cucumber, spring mix, brown rice, avocado and sweet sauce. As if all those rolls weren’t enough, I ordered the Tofu Steak combo because I had to get a taste of the vegetarian food – most of their food is veggie and approved by Ocean Wise, by the way.
I got a small garden salad to start, and the Tofu steaks were pretty big and filling with 2 servings (man-size) of brown rice and a side of gomaee (sesame spinach). All that was only $7.45. Then I gave into temptation and got the Green Tea Creme Brulee for dessert for $3.95. Yes, it is as good as it looks.
Tofu Steak Combo (minus salad)
Green Tea Creme Brulee
Our server was awesome – she knew what we all ordered without looking at her notepad. And all the food came out pretty fast. Yes, this place IS small but if you don’t manage to get a seat, you can take out and eat on the steps of the art gallery or law courts downtown. Want good sushi in a rush, go to Shizen Ya. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
Shizen Ya
985 Hornby Street & Nelson
Vancouver BC V6Z 1V3
604-568-0013
shizenya.ca
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:30am-8:00pm
Sat-Sun: 11:30am-6:00pm
Closed Holidays
Follow them on Twitter @shizenya_van
