Located in the heart of Vancouver’s West End at 775 Denman Street, Tetsu Sushi Bar specializes in Edomae-style sushi with a modern twist, where traditional techniques meet premium ingredients. With only 12 seats, it offers an intimate omakase experience that’s personal, immersive, and highly curated by head chef Satoshi Makise. Launching on June 21, Tetsu Sushi Bar is bringing back it’s very popular lunch omakase for a limited time. Check out my full review below.
Tetsu Sushi Bar – $98 Lunch Omakase
Unlike many fine dining sushi spots, Tetsu’s lunch omakase is remarkably accessible at $98 per person, making it a standout for both quality and value. The lunch omakase is available on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) with the following seating times:
- First Seating: 12:00pm Table and 12:30pm Sushi Bar
- Second Seating 1:30pm Table only
What’s Included in the Lunch Omakase:
- Miso Soup
- 3 Kinds of Appetizers
- 9 pieces of Nigiri Sushi
- Small Donburi
- Dessert
There is of course the option to upgrade your experience with additional add-ons, however I find that the standard menu is quite filling and spectacular on its own. An add on that you shouldn’t miss out on is the Uni & Negitoro Handroll ($26.00). This luxe handroll features bafun uni and the freshest toro on crisp seaweed. It’s heaven in a bite.
To start you will receive a Miso Soup and 3 Kinds of Appetizers. For my visit, the miso soup was a Ebi Akadashi Miso Soup (spot prawn dash stock and red miso soup). The soup had a lovely deep prawn flavour and the red miso adds a nice saltiness.
For our trio of appetizers we got
- Umaki – BBQ eel wrapped in dashi omelette
- Saba Saikyo Miso – Japanese Mackerel gently simmered in sweet saikyo miso from Kyoto
- Sawara, Ebi Dashi Chawanmushi – steamed egg with shrimp dashi stock and Spanish Mackerel
The omelette was light and fluffy and pairs with the slightly sweet BBQ eel.
The Saba was so moist and buttery and pairs lovely with the sweet miso.
The Chawanmushi was my favourite, it was light and delicate and the piece of Spanish Mackerel was perfectly cooked in the steamed egg.
Tetsu Sushi Bar – Lunch Omakase Part 2 (Nigiri, Donburi and Dessert)
Chef Satoshi blends two varieties of grain, seasoned with aged vinegar and rice wine. Cooked slightly more al dente, a deliberate choice to complement his philosophy of aging fish, which evolves with the seasons. The fish that Chef uses is flown in from Japan four times a week, and hand-selected through direct conversations with fishermen. This ensures both exceptional quality and an ever-changing rotation of cuts rarely seen elsewhere.
On my visit we received:
- Hirame – Flounder
- Hotate – Hokkaido Scallop with Yuzu Citrus Pepper Paste
- Local Botan Ebi – Spot Prawn with Shaoxing Wine
- Shimaaji – Striped Jack
- Kanpachi – Amberjack
- Sawara – Spanish Mackerel
- Smoked Grunt Trout – from Shimane
- Honmaguro Chutoro – Bluefin Tuna (medium fatty)
- Aburi Honmaguro Otoro – Seared Bluefin Tuna (fattiest part)
If you’re unable to get a sushi bar seat the pieces will be served to you two at a time. Every piece was fantastic as always. Chef expertly crafts every piece so that the flavours all mesh wonderfully.
After the nigiri you will receive a petite Wagyu Don featuring A5 wagyu beef from Kagoshima, plum rice, onion sauce and shiso. It’s two rich bites that all complement each other so well. The fattiness of the wagyu is balanced by the sharpness of the onion and freshness of shiso.
To finish the meal enjoy the jiggliest White Coffee Pudding. It is a not too sweet ending to a truly indulgent lunch omakase.
Worth a Try?
Yes! Tetsu Sushi Bar is always on the top of my recommendations for incredible Japanese food. This $98 omakase is a steal of a deal and is incredibly popular. It is almost fully booked out for the summer with limited availability left. Definitely try to snag a seat if you haven’t done so already – you won’t regret it! Tetsu Sushi Bar only does their lunch omakase once a year during the summer, so don’t miss out!
Tetsu Sushi Bar
Address: 775 Denman St, Vancouver, BC V6G 2L6
Website: https://www.tetsusushibar.com/