Review Alpha Sushi Bar

Edison Yan

Great sushi place all around. Japanese owned and operated and have been around for a while. Love their selection of sushi and sashimi. We usually get their TD roll, Richards roll, chicken karaage, grilled pork toro and chicken bomb. Their karaage is by far one of the best I’ve had, not chicken wings as other places might serve, and it comes w a nice dressing/dipping sauce. They have a nice selection of happy hour cocktail and food items and they open pretty late.

Robin Bastien

Overall it's a good Sushi place and I recommend it! ENVIRONMENT They were playing some nice improv jazz music when we walked in, and the dim lighting helped it have an upper-casual feel. There are chalk boards where specials and some food menus are written, similar to many coffee shops. MENU There was a pretty diverse selection in the menu, especially for drinks. A large selection of wines if you're visiting here to drink! I was slightly disappointed there wasn't any Japanese Whiskey as I wanted to try it. The menu was 🌿veg-friendly and had a page outlining everything on the menu that was vegetarian, making it far easier for me. FOOD Overall the food was good! My girlfriend really enjoyed the fish and found the sashimi authentic tasting. I really enjoyed the Tempura Yam rolls. You have the option of white or brown rice which sets this place apart from other sushi places I've visited. The edamame I had could have used more salt. Food presentation was great as well. SERVICE This was the only area that I found was under par. Our orders were confused a couple of times and the cook had to re-make one of them. OTHER There was no free wifi. Not a huge deal, but would have been nice

Chef Menajem Peretz

One of the best sushi places in Vancouver, I always coming back here in groups, the menu is excellent and the drinks amazing. This is a place no just for the sushi but also de drinks they really go all the way to offers a excellent list of very originals drinks

R Morgan

What a great place.quality food, delicious sashimi and wonderful service. They made me feel right at home. Great music was playing, kirin large beers were ice cold, pairing well with their karage. House Sake was Gekkeikan, yum!!

M Z

Wasabi Tako 5/5 Beef tataki 4.5/5 meat didn't have a deep enough taste. Meat was a bit lacking. But with the condiments and chips it's an amazing bite. Dynamite roll. Now this was so flavourful. It's soft. It's not massive like most places. It's a solid bite. Use white rice. Setting depends. If you're okay with a bums staring in from the window. Art was cool though. I know I said a few critical things but I also wrote a lot and that's becuase I really liked this place. Definitely go try it.

Chris Henrich (BrotherPrime)

Some of the freshest and best sushi I've had. Prices are great and the service is friendly and fast, atmosphere is real nice. A++

James Wiens

I brought my friends here for their first time having sushi 🍣, it was the perfect place

Siqin Liu

Went there on Friday night for a late dinner+drink. Service was very good and food was mostly above expectation. The black pepper tuna was amazing, fried chicken very nicely fried as well. This place is highly recommended.

Ed Sparks

Decent place with large menu and friendly staff, but the food was average at best; especially considering the above-average prices. Good happy hour specials.

Kalyrical

Such good Japanese food! Don't expect your usual california rolls—they have food that's not usually found at other Vancouver sushi places. Ordered their mentaiko udon, dill salmon mango roll, aburi saba oshi sushi, and their seafood gratin. I got really full and I split the above plates with one other person. Never had saba on my aburi, and it was interesting. I do prefer salmon in the end though. The mentaiko udon was amazing—a little fishy, but that's the way it's supposed to be. The seafood gratin was so creamy and delicious. The pricing wasn't oo bad either!

Idea Rabbit

4 of us were meeting up for dinner in this Japanese run sushi restaurant. Master Sushi Chef Yuji has been serving assortment of sashimi and sushi rolls since the opening of Alpha in Yaletown in 2005. The restaurant has a cozy, comfy feel to it. My friend and I arrived early, and were greated by a friendly staff. When the third person arrived, he wanted to change tables. The staff allowed us to change without any hesitation.

Paul Horan

Alpha Sushi Bar is a cosy little restaurant with a very relaxed atmosphere. The staff are extremely friendly and welcoming. The sushi is great here with the rice cooked to perfection. I had the Vancouver and california roll. I would highly recommend the Vancouver roll as it's an original Alpha concept and it is delicious.

Murg Wurgle

Very "modern" takes on some sushi classics.Spicy Tuna Prawn Roll - The sauce on this made the roll fantastic. Plum wasabi/mayo combination.Vancouver Jalapeno Roll - Chopped jalapeno/wasabi/mayo sauce and pieces on the sockeye-wrapped roll was a nice touch and used the leftover sauce for a few other pieces.The other sushi was delicate and very well done, if a little pricey for Vancouver. Will be returning to try more specials.

J.Grab

Went there recently for Christmas Eve. First of all, thumbs up to this place for being open on this day, we highly appreciated it! We thought the food was pretty good, we had the pork gyoza, chicken bomb, ebi mayo and the lava cake for 2 people to share, which was enough. The service was great and we really felt like our waiter cared - he helped explain the menu and made some good recommendations for us. My only complaint was that the ebi mayo was bad - the dough was the kind you'd find on a corndog, but everything else was great.

餠??

Food took over an hour to arrive. After everyone received their food I asked about one thing I ordered that they probably forgot to order. It would have been fine if they told me they'd forgotten, but they told me it was almost finished. It took another 30 minutes for my food to arrive and there was only one other table other than my group of friends. I don't understand why the food took so long and why there was no service in such a small place with so many servers.

Hungry Hungry Hippo

Positive first sushi experience in Vancouver 😊 The restaurant is a quaint little space that serve delicious food outside of just sushi - ie., noodles, spring rolls, rice, etc. We noticed most of the rolls consisted of the same ingredients, so we ordered a couple different items that had a little more variety and intrigue to them. We also took advantage of the specials that day which were chicken bombs and a Halloween roll with what I remember as having black caviar on top. The service was prompt and friendly, but you may have some challenges understanding the wait staff due to their accents. Overall, it was a great first experience at Alpha Sushi and I would like to return the next time I'm in Vancouver.

Zoh

I have been passing by this place for a while but somehow I've never eaten there. Today I was thinking of getting takeout and the closest places were WhiteSpot and Alpha Sushi; I'm glad I decided on Alpha Sushi. I ordered the Grilled Fish Combo from the lunch takeout menu. Food was very nicely presented in the takeout box, which is not something you see very often. Fish was tender and flavorful, miso was not too salty and the combo included rice, salad and two side dishes. All of this for only $10! Everything was good and felt home made. I can't wait to try the rest of the menu.

TS

SO GOOD. My absolute favorite sushi place downtown. Great for both sitting in and taking out. The staff is very friendly. The sushi is so tasty and you're never waiting too long. Cost is quite reasonable for the high quality of the food. Both me and my boyfriend ,who are in the industry, were very pleased.

Sasha

The best FRESH sushi in downtown Vancouver. One of the best and fresh sushi places in downtown Vancouver. We started ordering from Alpha on a weekly place and it is always consistently fresh and excellent quality food. Quick and friendly service. Some of the rolls are a little but more pricey then the basic downtown sushi, but it is worth it!

Karewylie

Refreshing experience. Coming back to the city for a visiting was craving some fast sushi and happened upon Alpha. I came in expecting your run of the mill sushi joint with the same old low standards for a good overall experience and typical sushi. I was blown away! Cheap menu, not your typical Vancouver sushi menu. Fresh and different. I ordered the ginger pork lunch special for less than 9$. Delicious. Presentation is worth mentioning too. This is a place that is here to stay.

Yoav D

Food was ok, service was really bad, zero respect or care for client. Not going to visit again

Happy Eater 12

Service good, food ok. Went there for an early lunch, the chicken karaage was crunchy, thai style udon was just average, seared salmon sashimi was a bit too salty, assorted rolls were ok. Will try their dinner menu.

Leon Murray

Below average, extremely overrated!

Claytonious

Bad ass! Nuf said.

TRDN

Myself and a date walked in to have dinner, it was not busy at all, and asked if we could sit. Manager said there was only room at the bar to eat depsite the restaurant being 90% empty... So we left and I called from outside the front door asking for a table in 5min and the same manager said we were able to sit right away!!?? Not sure what's going on there, but I will never return or recommend.

Buddha.sax

Terrible value. I decided to get take out here and for these 5 items I was charged 39.95 Taco rice Beef teriyaki Prawn tempura Miso soup Dynamite roll I have many things to say about the lack of care and quality in my order. The picture says it all. Does this look like a 40$ meal to you? You be the judge. BTW - food is absolutely uninspired and tastes both over and undercooked. I have a feeling my picture doesn't show but the portions are not large. Not sure where these beaming reviews are coming from but I am not impressed.

Kosherish Dave

A Winner!. We had something like 8 dishes and all were good - the grilled pork toro was outstanding. Not sure what the strategy behind the name is but I’m glad that I was able to suppress my long standing policy of avoiding any restaurant with Alpha or Global in its name - let alone both! Service was gracious and accurate and the food was delicious. My only complaint is that their sake offerings are limited and do not do the food justice.

Iviznett Iviznet

Hhjjjj hhhjj ghh

Crystal

Good food, drink, service!

Xxbb

Delicious! First time to Vancouver and and tried two previous sushi places with disappointing experiences. Bit the sushi here was the best we've had! Must go

AKA

Yum yum.

H.Diddy

Horrible. Went there with my wife expecting so much since all we ever heard was good things. We got the exact opposite, horrible service and sub par food. I ordered three rolls which were pretty small looking and served to me over a one hour period WHEN THE PLACE WAS LESS THAN HALF FULL. Being hungry sucks and waiting 30 minutes for a 6 piece roll is unaccaptable. The rolls were average tasting too, I've been to at least 100 sushi places (mainly AYCE joints) and I must say that Alpha's chefs could learn something from all those 100 chefs. I noticed the chef kept rolling his eyes into the back of his head, don't ask me why....The worst part of the night was when the loser waiter accused us of eating MORE than we actually did when it came time to the bill!! There's only so much one person can take, Basically never again at this place. Not worth the extra money I paid compared to any other good sushi place in Downtown...

Bob

Most creative sushi we found in Vancouver. Loved the pepper coated seared tuna! Should be rated a $$$

Roxie084

Yum yum. I love their food! its a bit pricy, but it's got some class compared to the corner store sushi places on ahem..Davie!

Anon.id2

Great! Thanks Urbanspoon. Visitor from out of town. Found this place through Urbanspoon and it did not disappoint. Tried 4 different dishes and all were very fresh, well made and delicious. Jalapeno Vancouver Roll was my favourite. If I lived in Vancouver I'd be a regular here. Excellent service, attentive and friendly. I will remember this place fondly.

Stompy

Am so fortunate to discover this restaurant. They serve the best Japanese tapas in the city. In the five years I have been going, I have never had a bad meal. The seared salmon sashimi and Alpha roll are the best!

EricaG

Delicious! Vancouver roll was Delightful so was the Tuna and prawn roll! Yam roll was sinful! Yum!

Harry Cullen

Dear James. The only thing negligent is you my friend. You failed the standard of care owed to intelligent thought. You took your girlfriend for "chinese food" at a Japanese sushi restaurant, and found the portions small and uncooked. Are you kidding me? I was at Alpha two weeks ago, the service and the food were great, and the Asahi on tap was cold and refreshing. I will be returning.

James

Went with a girlfriend. My new girlfriend craved chinese food and so I took her here based on advice from work and even she agrees that it is not a worthwhile endeavour. The service was negligent as asian standards are not equal to ours. I felt we were severaly skimped on food with small portions, uncooked entrees and no chance that we would order alcohol. I would take my ex-wife here though.

Missm

Great owners and food. I love this place. The owners are friendly and helpful, and the food is consistently great. I love izakaya but I don't have the patience for lineups, and I want to be able to chill out and enjoy my meal without the drama, noise and shouting of some places. The service is outstanding on every level. Ask and they'll tell you the freshest fish to order. They noticed I was cold and brought me a blanket and heater. My party of 6 suddenly turned to 20, and they accommodated us graciously. I can't wait to return.

Purdey

Cozy little place. I like their cocktail menu which wasn't too pricey. Average cost of about $5-7 per drink. The service was average. The food made up for the slow service. The sushi rolls were really good. I tried the spicy tuna prawn and the mango roll. The portion is decent but the price is on the higher end (which is about $8-12) for specialty rolls. Overall experience: thumb's up

Nav

BEST SUSHI EVER. Soooo gooood! U HAVE TO TRY THIS ...its so good i go here all the time.. they have the best ebi mayo and tuna sashimi... not to mention their rolls are amazing..a hidden gem

Karen Hamilton

4th anniversary special - 20% off Oct 16-23, 2009. My favourite Yaletown izakaya is four years old as of last Friday and they're celebrating by docking 20% off all the food on their menu! Make sure you stop in before Oct 23, 2009...and make a reservation if you're heading in Thurs through Sunday. Word has gotten out about them and they tend to be packed for dinner these days.

CoutureChef

Tasty and good price. This place is very good, the atmosphere is great and the food was fantastic there is always specials on each week but all the food is very well priced particually considering that they are located in Yaletown. Well worth the money and has quite a good selection of Sake if you like to have a few drinks

Mike

Every dish we had was incredibly delicious. The guys are super friendly as well... can't recommend this place enough!

Great Food Is Mandatory

Best vegi roll I ever had. I will be bluntly honest. I am writing this review because this place is close to where I live, and is the best fusion Japanese I have ever had. I don't want the place to go away and believe in spreading the word about a great place with great food. Even if it is across the street from a massage parlor. We went here to check it out a week ago and will be going back soon. I know it isn't exactly traditional but the veggi role was absolutely fantabulous ; mango, beets, cucumber, leaf lettuce and avocado, who'd a thunk. Ebi Mayo Japon was a delicious perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy inside prawns Yaki Soba was fresh and the sesame hint on it made it the best I have ever eaten. great service. reasonable beer prices and nice selections. I was surprised to see Newcastle on the menu, not Japanese, but really nice beer. I did have a Kirin which is the perfect accompaniment for what I was eating. My only complaint is that they are not open for lunch. I would have had lunch there three times this week but they don't open till 5. I had to settle for something a little substandard elsewhere. hoping they keep up the standards and expand to lunch service

Anatole Aesthete

Line Up for the Best in Town. With six years of experience in Japan, I think I know sushi, and I haven't had anything so good, so fresh, so inventive in Vancouver. This is simply "da best." Atmosphere is basic, but the drinks are inexpensive, the service smiling, and the flavours superb. Lots of imagination here, and the best sushi rice I have *ever* tasted. Go. Reservations a must because this little place is getting known. A recent visit (June 2011) shows that they are still tops!

Raymond's Sushi Adventures

This restaurant, located in the southern part of downtown, is a small, Japanese-run restaurant. The inside of the restaurant had a slightly old-fashioned feel, which was accentuated by the menu I received which consisted of printed pages glued onto a hardcover history book describing the turn of the 20th century. To my delight, I made it in time for Happy Hour.

Foodinator

Definitely one of my usual haunts. It’s like a chiller-izakaya, or a weird-sushi spot The first thing everyone notices about this restaurant is the weird menus. I don’t know if Alpha started this trend but I’ve noticed a lot of restaurants are doing this these days. I wonder if we’ll see a new menu trend this year? (Oh ya, their drinks are suuuuuppppeerr cheap. not even “cheap for downtown” but actual cheap): Now the food on the other hand, a bit pricey (downtown standard). $4 for edamame. $7.50 for salmon carpaccio (small portion): see below Their food does taste good and they have a lot of weird combinations (taco rice anyone?). My entree was delicious! Even though there was some confusion as to what “original” dressing meant (I need to be careful to make sure it contained no oyster sauce). The server was able to clarify though. All the girls I went with seemed to enjoy their selections as well Overall: good ambiance, friendly staff, ample tables, great location (not quite the busy p

Simon

It was worth the experience for $8.50, I suppose, but not much else, IMO. And without the soy sauce, I wasn't sure if it would have had any taste at all.

Tastyvancity

Alpha makes their own special “plum wine mustard mayo sauce” that they like to serve with their sushi rolls (like this one pictured). It really is such a sweet and distinct sauce that makes their sushi rolls taste so delicious. I didn’t order a sushi roll this time but I definitely recommend that you try their Alpha Roll (mangoBefore we started our blog, we had always frequented Alpha because of its reasonably priced dishes for izakaya in Yaletown. The restaurant sits about 10 tables and we suggest to always make a reservation. There's room for a large party, and plenty of room for couples. In the corner there's an area with a raised platform, maybe meant for more romantic seating. They also have a bar (not pictured, but to the right). Like other popular Vancouver izakaya places like Guu, for example, they offer weekly drink specials. tastyvancity ordered: Christmas Dragon - $6.00 Raspberry Sour Puss, 151, 7up, Cranberry, Sugar Rim Since it was around Christmas time when we went, they

Andy Gao

Set far apart from your shabby, Chinese-owned take-out sushi vendor, places like Alpha Global Sushi & Bar offer much more bang for your buck. This Yaletown eatery may be a bit more under the radar and less mainstream than the other major sushi bars in town, but be prepared to wait nonetheless if you visit on a Friday night.

RICKCHUNG.COM

...we settled on Alpha for its great sushi and Japanese eats. Unfortunately, the small Yaletown eatery was packed late on a Friday night. The staff were friendly and told us it would be a half hour wait. We st

Foodology.ca

Alpha Sushi and Japanese Tapas is located in Yaletown and is quite popular even on weekday nights. It was empty at 5pm, but by 6pm it started to get quite packed. As you can gather by their name….they do have Japanese tapas and sushi. CandiedZen and I decided to meet up after my last day of work to just catch up over food and drinks. My last visit was probably 5 years ago and I remember it being a delicious place. South Pole ($5.75) has tequila, cassis, pineapple, and lychee. Pint of Sapporo ($5) is something I must get when I have Japanese food. I find it the perfect pairing. It's light and not too strong. Tako Wasa ($4) is seasoned baby octopus with japanese horseradish. It is served with shrimp chips on the side. You would scoop the octopus onto the cracker and eat it. The shrimp cracker gives it a nice crunchy texture to go with the octopus. CandiedZen liked it with the shrimp cracker but I thought it was a bit strange since it's usually paired with seaweed. Mini Potato Croquette

LifewithSparkles

I have passed by this restaurant a thousand times but never really noticed it. I guess cause the exterior is quite dark, however the orange sign does help.

Peter

I don't know if Alpha is supposed to be an izakaya, or a sushi bar, or some sort of fusion restaurant. I went there for a pal's birthday party and I just couldn't classify it. The food and staff made me think izakaya at first, but the atmosphere and clien

MePlusFood

Alpha Global is a small little Sushi/Izakaya restaurant slightly off of the heart of Yaletown. I actually haven't even noticed this place, but I decided to go here for my birthday dinner with my friends. I made a res

FollowMeFoodie

I would go again for the dishes I recommended or if someone wanted to try it, but it wouldn't be my first choice for Izakaya.

Senses Inspired

Alpha Global Sushi has got to be one of the most confusing restaurants I’ve ever been to. The decor is reminiscent of an old Italian family restaurant but juxtaposed with paintings that David Bowie circa Ziggy Stardust days would have collected. The menus

La Petite Vancouver

This izakaya restaurant was run by two former Guu's chefs. I passed by it several times but never went in until recently. The interior did not portray any Japanese design, it was more like a western style bar I should say. However, the owners put a little

Eat 'n About

I first thought that it’s probably a lesser known Japanese tapas restaurant due to the “monopoly” by Guu. However, Pretty Sister says that this place gets busier the later it gets, so I guess this gem isn’t unknown after all.

Tom_edo

My good friend Shan and I decided to try Alpha Global Sushi & Bar a few weeks ago, a bit of a randomly located restaurant on the corner of Helmcken and Richards. When we went, it happened to be 20% off food, which is always a nice surprise. But since then

Karen Hamilton

My brother introduced me to Alpha after hearing my appreciation of the Guu chain. It’s run by two former Guu chefs and is a stone’s throw away from our place–assuming a stone can veer around the 3 condos in between. It took a while for us to finally check

Review Alpha Sushi Bar - Vancouver