Review Hamaei Sushi - North Vancouver

Amazing food ,When I entered this restaurant, I felt like I was in a small Japanese village <3 The chefs are amazing. It was a luxurious experience like when I traveled to Japan. I can confidently tell you to try everything here. If you are worried about what to order, make sure to eat chirashi donburi and toro nigiri! I'm sure it's the best sushi I've ever had in Vancouver. Glad they are opening 7 days a week now!

Didn't know they can have omakase to go so we gave it a try. Overall the sashimi were fresh and spot prawns were sweet and gotta love the crispy deep-fried head! Another highlight is the fresh seaweed that's garnishing the plate. Too bad the omakase set doesn't come with uni or otoro; otherwise, it'd perfect.

I don’t understand why this restaurant got many good reviews. It was easy to get a table on Sunday night but service is quite slow. Food is below average. The sushi rice was too wet and sticky. The rolls were ugly and not so tasty. The unagi roll I got was probably the worst. I couldn’t taste any unagi but just cucumber instead.

Picked up a quick spicy tuna roll and it was absolutely foul. I understand there’s a risk of restaurant’s using older fish for their spicy rolls, but this was putrid. It was my first time trying this restaurant. Hopefully, I was just unlucky but I won’t be back.

Hamaei is a place you want to keep secret, just so you can ensure you have it all to yourself! Located in a nondescript area of North Vancouver, this cozy locals favourite will dazzle you not with its fancy rolls and over-the-top decor; instead you will find some of the most fresh sashimi and seafood the north shore has to offer. I truly believe they have a reserved spot at the front of the line as the fishing boats come in to ensure first choice and best cuts… Incredibly grateful to have such a gem so close by.

Very fresh ingredients, good service. This place give you a feeling like a small sushi place you will find in Japan. I think the owners are Japanese.

One of my favorite casual sushi in town. Friendly and cozy atmosphere with authentic Japanese sushi style. Good quality of sushi rice and seaweed. Soup udon dish is highly authentic and very delicious because not many Japanese restaurant can make smoked vege flavored soup base. So their Udon and Salmon & Avocado roll are the things I always order. Try it :) it’s definately worth :)

Hamaei is one of the best Japanese Restaurants in Vancouver. Everything is fresh and amazing.

Best, most authentic Japanese food around! Freshest seafood, delicious cooked foods, wonderful staff & service!! Just one thing... make a reservation or expect to wait! Thanks for always taking good care of us!

We have been going to Hamaei for over 17 years, just after they opened. The exceptional quality and freshness of their fish has never wavered. As for the owners and their staff, they are the most welcoming gracious hosts imaginable. They always ask after our children, who they watched grow up before their eyes - both in their stature and their desire to grow their palates from simple cucumber rolls to the most interesting sashimi. Hamaei is one of the special places we miss dearly since moving away. Thanks for the great lunch and visit yesterday.

Always fresh and delicious. Outstanding food and proprietorship.

Never disappointed. Great selection. Food is awesome.

January, 12, 2019<br/><br/>My friend highly recommend this place. Why not give it a try?! It is a small cozy restaurant. Less than 10 small tables there.<br/><br/>5 of us had ordered:<br/><br/>17 pieces Uni nigiri sushi... we ordered one piece for each person... it's so fresh.. we tried to ordered 20 more pieces... but they just only have 12 pieces left.<br/><br/>2 orders of oysters tempura... 3 small pieces of juicy oysters with thick batter<br/><br/>Umeshiso maki .... plum and basil leaves roll, basil leave is too strong favorite...one of my friend love it.. but 4 of us don't like it<br/><br/>9 pieces of tamago nigiri sushi... so soft/ puffy/ sweet..<br/><br/>Ankimo... nothing special<br/><br/>Kanpachi sashimi... thick cut/ so fresh/ crunchy<br/><br/>Shimaaji sashimi... so so<br/><br/>Pacific salmon sashimi... nothing special<br/><br/>Hirame nigiri sushi.. thin cut fish top of small rice ball... not that fresh<br/><br/>Kanpachi nigiri sushi... half size as sashimi...thin sliced of fish top of rice<br/><br/>Beef amiyaki... sliced grill medium rare steak.. so juicy and tasty<br/><br/>Kinpira... shredded burloak with shredded carrots salad..<br/><br/>Shima hokka ... atika mackerel.. not crispy enough<br/><br/>Tontoro... grilled sliced pork belly.. nothing special... just cheap $7<br/><br/>5 pieces of unagi nigiri sushi... not tasty/ too soft<br/><br/>Most of sashimi are so fresh and sweet.<br/><br/>All the orders came so slow.<br/><br/>5 of us had served to sit on small table, which only can fit 4 people.<br/><br/>Everything so cheap, worth to try... but it's too far away from my place... at least 40 minutes drive.<br/><br/>Cost us $300 + 18% tips... not bad..<br/><br/>

Best sushi restaurant in Canada, hands down; it may be even the best sushi in North America. We ordered a whole range of nigiris and not one nigiri dissapointed us. To many, it can be pricey but for me, it was well worth it.<br/><br/>Would highly recommend to anyone.

Our family has been coming here for years. This year, it has gotten so bad. Tonight we had the worse sushi dinner ever. Cold gyoza, low quality chicken, gomae salad has shrunk to 1/3 of its previous size, and the rolls are 90% rice (the cheapest ingredient). So very disappointed. Don't think we'll ever go back...I think they will go down if they keep up the bad work.

I'm no sushi expert, but I know what I like and I love this place. I love sushi rolls and this place has outdid any other place to date. I have yet to fine a place with better taste. The friendly sushi chefs are always pleasant. As for cons: I like drinking my tea with my food, I usually have to let it cool down for 10 minutes before I can even take a sip and the cups are so small.. And good luck getting in at a decent time. This place fills up fast especially at around 5:30. I think cause it closes after 3pm? And reopens at 5pm. I've pulled up at 4pm totally forgetting about that closure and have opted to go elsewhere instead of waiting for it to reopen. Again, the sushi is to DIE for!!!!

We come from East Vancouver almost weekly for this sushi. It is authentic Japanese and extremely fresh! I love the friendly staff that work there and sitting at the bar. It's always fast service. It's small so if you don't want to wait for a table make a reservation. The best thing on the menu is the Spicy Tuna Cone!

I really wanted to eat healthy, but I couldn't resist getting an Appetizer Tempura. Just one bite into the prawn tempura was enough to convince me to add this restaurants to my list of favourites. The batter was light and crispy with a beautiful golden hue, while the prawns were juicy and rich in flavour. The zucchini tempura was equally delicious. Both the prawn

I've gone to this place over the years as my Grandparents used to love it. Portions have gotten over a 1/4 smaller since last year, yet prices have remained consistent. <br/>We were picking up a takeout order for my Grandfather's birthday dinner. We had phoned the order in at noon as it was for 7 people, then went to pick it up at 5pm. They decided to start on the order only once we arrived. They fried and brought out the tempura first thing in their foam take-out containers. We then sat in their waiting area for over an hour while they attempted to complete the rest of the order. Needless to say the tempura was disgusting by the time we got to it, the rest of the order was shoddily put together in what sort of resembled sushi rolls. Huge decline in quality and service over the past year or so.

As a Japanese Canadian I am always on the search for fresh and delicious authentic Japanese food and Hamaei always exceeds my expectations! This restaurant is the best kept secret on the North Shore and I haven't found a better restaurant in all of Vancouver. The staff are also friendly and courteous.<br/><br/><br/>-----27 Sep, 2014-----<br/><br/>Amazing for real Japanese good. I can't say enough about Hamaei as a foodie who is Japanese Canadian. The food is always delicious, fresh, high quality and the service is fantastic. My mouth is watering just thinking of my last meal. I am generally disappointed when I eat somewhere else unless it is another high quality restaurant and has a Japanese chef.

Best Sushi on the shore. Authentic so competes off the quality of the fish rather than sauces and flash. Special role is jammed packed with stuff, basic chirashizushi, sashimi salad and real crab sunomono are fantastic. Recommend getting agedashidofu cut into small cubes as an appy.

Awesome! Service may vary depending on busy this tinny place gets. Great chirashi, futomaki and some seasonal dishes. My only complaint is that it's hard to make a reservation.

Will not go there again. My husband and I love sushi and we usually have it at least once a week. We have our regular places; however, last weekend we decided to try this place since it is so close to where we live. It was the worse experience ever! The waitress spilled hot sake on my husband's back, obviously not on purpose and she apologized. My husband was in pain and no one came to see how he was. Everyone at the restaurant noticed it. As we went about eating our meal, another waitress came by and said sorry and these were her exact words "sorry, since the tables are put so close to each other, there wasn't enough room". My husband and I both looked at each other and we felt bad for the waitress and we said it was fine. In the meantime my husband is sitting there with his shirt soaking wet. Towards the end of our meal the manager comes and in a low voice so our neighbors can't hear tell us "how about some ice cream on the house". The funny thing is that she was acting like she is doing us a huge favor. Anyways, we go to enough restaurants to know that this way of treating your customer is not the right way. The food is overpriced for what it is with awful quality. The tempura was soggy and the overall service and ambience atrocious. We will stick to our 3 favorite places in North Vancouver, and I will personally make sure no one I know ever steps foot in that place.

Truely authentic, well priced, immaculate, lovely staff and tasty to boot! Loved it!! I live in Burnaby and make the trek because it's worth facing bridge traffic and construction for the yummy yummy sushi!

Absolutely exceptional every time. High quality product and regular unique Japanese specials that are unusual but delicious. Very large non-sushi and hot item selection also is a good choice if diining with friends who don't like raw items.

Delicious and authentic. Prices reasonable. One of the best if not the best on the north shore,