Always a great experience! This is my 4th visit and I swear each visit is better than the last. I love how precise and passionate Chef Maumi is. Not only do you get to try fish from Japan but you get a show by watching the chef prepare your meal right in front of you. This place is a little slice of Japan here in Vancouver. � Highly recommend!
One of the best in vancouver for a traditional omakase experience. Great quality fish from japan, served at the right temperature, in the right order, and with the appropriate sauce/seasoning. No soy sauce is needed...or provided for that matter. Great variety and an even better pricetag too! Highly recommend!
If you agree that sushi is not just food, but an art, then you would enjoy your time at Maumi. Sushi and appetizers are freshly prepared. Fish served are not the usual kind you can find at any sushi restaurant. I agree with the "be the best, and charge what you deserve" modality. Keep it up!
Some of the comments say Chef Maumi is rude and has bad service... I beg to differ. He is passionate about his craft and every piece of nigiri is assembled with precision and delicacy. I enjoyed watching his thought process building the perfect omakase meal for his clients. He took my palate on a journey through the ocean, not exaggerating, I can taste the freshness of the sea. The rice is perfectly textured, light and fluffy, to accompany the fish. The whole experience was such a pleasure, I can't wait to go back!
I went to Tokyo last year and have been trying to find a place in Vancouver that can compare to sushi restaurants there. This place is one of the few restaurants that can compare.
Mitch Michiya Watanabe
+5
True Japanese sushi place in West End! Flavorful and colorful sashimi/sushi in nice, cozy, friendly environment. The dish presentation shows the chef Maumi's personality. You can take out and eat at the blocked-off patio area on Bute St on a sunny day. This place will be packed this summer.
authentic traditional Japanese sushi restaurant in Vancouver. food prepared fresh and in front of you. no soy sauce needed! menu items are limited as they wanted to serve the best ingredients to their customers. to those who think the Chef is arrogant or not friendly, it is NOT NECESSARY for the Chef to greet his customers! Chef is only responsible to concentrate in making our food! attentive and friendly service from the waitress as there are only 10 seats maximum with no walk in. so glad Vancouver has such good Japanese restaurant. my new favorite Japanese sushi place! Keep up the good work!
Absolutely worth the few weeks wait on the reservation list. Will definitely come back, as the craft and thought that Maumi san and his wife places in the omakase experience is ichiban!
Thank you for making this one of my more memorable experiences in Vancouver! Your sushi was sublime! I would not hesitate to recommend you to my friends here in Toronto!
Best place in Vancouver! This is as close to Japan as you can get sushi wise!
Long time foodie and only first time reviewer. This place deserves it. I've been to plenty of world class restaurants, and especially cherish a good Japanese meal. Sushi Bar Maumi not only delivered, but has had me telling absolutely everyone I meet about it the next day! An incredible experience that excites not only the palate, but the eyes and brain as well. Such craftsmanship shan't be missed...
Great quality and great experience.Can't wait to go back for a different selection of fresh fish.
Best real traditional authentic sushi place in vancouver
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My go to place whenever I am craving for real traditional nigiri. Yea, the place is tiny, but that's because the one and the only chef wants to give each customer consistent at-the-bar experience. Yea there are some strict rules, but those rules allow the chef to maintain high quality bar. So yea overall this place has its character, if you understand or try to understand it you will definitely love it!
Some say the chef is not friendly, but I can personally attest that the chef is friendly, he just doesn't fuck around when making nigiri. Try talk to him after the service and you will see that he is actually quite chatty and funny.
The only complain I have is that their menu changes everyday so I may not always get the stuff I want (I hit this place twice recently without having my beloved shirako). But I mean not knowing what you can get (or cannot get) is part of the beauty. And no I don't check their facebook to find out what they have everyday, I just go and see what I can get (and be disappointed sometime haha).
Heard alot of good reviews and saw awesome pictures on instagram before coming here. It absolutely DID NOT disappoint!
Super high quality, it's on the expensive side but the presentation and taste is top notch. We ordered the premium omakase with included bluefin tuna and hokkaido uni nigiris. Some say the chef is not that friendly, but I tend to disagree because he is just very focus on perfecting his food. He explains every dish prior to serving, very enjoyable experience. I will definitely make a trip back sometime soon!
Went here for another very belated birthday celebration. I had recently come across a lot of good recommendations for authentic omakase sushi restaurants and decided to try this one out first. The restaurant is run by Maumi-san and a lady (I think her name was Yumeko) who I presume is his wife. They have 10 seats, all sushi-bar style in the restaurant, and fixed seating times at 6:00pm, 7:30pm, and 9:00pm. Yumeko-san takes all the orders while Maumi-san does all the work with the food. The meal lasted approximately 90 minutes in a very intimate atmosphere in the sense that we saw Maumi-san prepare each individual piece of sushi up close.
Every Day Is A Food Day
+4
They are known for their fresh fish which is imported daily from Japan and what most believe is as authentic of a sushi bar in Japan as you can get in Vancouver. The restaurant seats only 10 people each time slot and you must reserve the specific time slot in advance. Because the restaurant is only run by the chef and one waitress, they only take reservations from 3-5:30pm. In fact, S said they were extremely strict on the phone stating that they don’t serve any alcohol, that you must order from their omakase menu, and that you better arrive a bit early because latecomers will be frowned upon. They only have 3 seatings: at 6pm, 7:30pm and 9pm.
Quite an unique experience - one of it's kind in Vancouver. This tiny 10 seat sushi restaurant offers fresh seafood from Hokkaido direct. And they serve their sushi piece by piece just like how they're supposed to do in Japan.
You don't need extra soya sauce or wasabi. The chef uses his special sauces for the sushi pieces and it is by far one of the freshest sushi I had in town.
Overall, the whole sushi omakase experience was quite enjoyable. There were a few highlights such as the Shima-aji and the Kanpachi that were just divine and almost mind blowing, while the rest were also uber scrumptious, in large thanks to the quality seafood and the great consistency on the sushi rice. The whole service is staged and executed rather quickly. Despite the fact that we weren’t able to see some fancy knife work, as the chef had pre-sliced all the fish before the service. Unless you are willing to pay over 200 bucks for a Michelin starred experience, for $40, this is just as good as it gets.
Raymond's Sushi Adventures
+4
With the Shima-Aji Nigiri, things went from very good to outstanding. Here, Sushi Maumi managed to beat the other restaurants that initially made shima-aji my favourite type of nigiri. With an exquisite, smooth texture and a well-distributed hint of soy sauce, this piece of Shima-Aji Nigiri came as close to perfection as
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Sushi Bar Maumi is a very unique place. They have "rules" that you have to follow: minimum $20 order per person, no requests for omakase and no rolls, there's no alcoholic drinks (they don't have a liquor license). The chef was the one who took my reservation and made it very clear that I had to agree to the rules before I go. The interior is quite small with 10 seats around the bar, with Maumi being the only person serving us our food. It's amazing watching him thinking and calculating the time he needs to properly execute each course for 10 while pulling out his material from a stack of trays. His techniques and skills was quite a performance too; while holding a poker face and being completely focused on his work, he would use one hand to roll/shape the nigiri rice and one hand to warm/shape this fish, then put together ever so lightly but firmly so by the time we picked it up everything was still intact but falls apart right in your mouth. I can't remember all the names of different parts of fish, but he did an excellent job marinating/blending the flavours to reduce the fishy taste (on some stronger flavoured fish) that many cannot accept. While the amaebi was quite tasty, the deep fried prawn head was also done well that you could eat the whole thing with minimal bitter taste. He has his routine which he constantly cleans his knife with a wet towel, wet his hands, and clap before he makes the next course. During our meal, several people came in looking to get a seat or to do take out, but were politely turned away as the chef had his hands full for the night. As we continued through the 15 course omakase, we had experienced fish of different firmness, texture, and flavours; I especially like tasting the fish not being overly marinated and presented in only simple flavours. All the pieces were combined with just the right amount of rice and sauce so nothing was too overpowering to waste such fresh fish. It was a very unique experience especially with the fact that you can only find so few somewhat authentic sushi restaurants in Vancouver without the word "combo" on the menu. By the way, the poker face chef does smile, if you say the right words.
The omakase (“chef’s choice”) experience at Sushi Bar Maumi is defined as much by what it isn’t as by what it is. There’s no rolls. No aburi (torched) sushi. Not a bottle of mayonnaise in sight. There isn’t even soy sauce at the table. No children are allowed. No alcohol. Period. This is the purest and most stark example of the nigiri-focused omakase experience available in Vancouver.
It’s like an angel jizzed in your mouth. You’d swallow.
This isn't even just food, it's an experience! It's all about that nigiri and it felt like I was shipped to Japan illegally for the hour I was there. You can feel that the chef was an expert, not even a pro. So much attention to the smallest detail. And the fish was top notch high quality. The price was up there for a reason. I'm definitely going back here.
Authentic Japanese Food!!! My friend I ordered the premium omakase as wells as the sashimi omakase amazing!!! The restaurant is small so remember to make reservations ahead of time!! :)
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After waiting about 3 weeks for this little gem to reopen, my boyfriend was able to make a reservation for 6:00 pm for 2 people. I've been wanting to try this place for quite sometime as I've been craving some excellent nigiri. If you can't tell by the pictures already they are known for their nigiri and the chef provides Vancourites fresh sashimi from Japan as well as BC. This small restaurant only had 12 seats total, 6 bar stools and 3 tables with 2 seaters each.
We had taken a look at the menu and we saw quite a few items but we were only able to order the items that had check marks by the names. This was kind of a let down as there were some nigiri options we were looking forward too. With that said we decided to order the Original and the Premium platter and 1 order of tempura. The food arrived and I was so amazed at the cuts of each fish and how they were individually garnished.
The sushi was fresh and super sweet, we definitely had a few favorites from the platter which we reordered. The albacore tuna toro was out of this world with its extremely buttery texture and taste. Another one of my favourites was the Half Beak, the texture was firm and sweet but also had its own distinctive flavour. I'm not a big fan of wasabi but here they provide freshly grated wasabi which complemented the food in a huge way. All in all this was a plus in my books the only reason I didn't give 5 of 5 rating is due to the restricted supply of fish which is understandable.
Going to sushi counter that is Japanese owned is in chapter one, verse one, of any self respecting sushi lover. But when even that just isn’t quite good enough, I come here. Here it is folks, the only sushi counter in Vancouver that I would recommend to people: Maumi Sushi. Except I don’t want to recommend it to anyone: I want to be greedy and keep this small, 10 seater or so shop all to myself.
A little while back I've finally got to try Sushi Bar Maumi! It's a tiny, traditional Japanese restaurant where you can enjoy rare fish directly from Japan. They are only open for dinner (6-10pm) and people start lining up even before 6pm, which tells me that this place is pretty popular. It wouldn't be ideal for a large group of people but definitely worth trying.
Very sad that they no longer allow children to dine in at the restaurant, and their prices have increased quite a bit since my last visit. My husband is disappointed that they no longer serve the entire fish. However, the freshness and quality is still spectacular, and I love how they have specialty items!
Authentic Japanese sushi, small quaint place hidden on Bute along Davie. They take reservation which is convenient since they can only seat 8-10 people. Very friendly staff and the fish is extremely fresh. They say it is imported from Japan 4 time s a week. A bit pricey but you really get what you pay for. 👍👍
Adorables ordered Assorted Tempura ($11.00) to share. It came with 3 tiger prawns and 5 pieces of vegetable (2 string beans, 1 okra, yam, eggplant, and zucchini). It's interesting having okra tempura, but they did a good job. The other tempura was a bit soggy and too oily, definitely not their strong suit.
This restaurant is small... And I mean tiny. Total of 9-10 seats. Very cozy. Food is good as they claim it's from Japan. Price is on the higher end. They have good tempura and they cook up the amaebi shrimp heads without even asking. Fish taste fresh! Overall experience: Thumb's up.
This little corner restaurant on Bute and Davie St. offers fresh fish straight from Tsukiji and Kyushu area of Japan, stocked every Tues, Weds, Thurs, and Fri.
The restaurant can only seat 10 people max, make sure you make reservations if you want to dine in.
Fresh & Delicious!. This is one of my new favorites. I've been here 3 times in the last month or so and plan to go again this week. It is a small restaurant tucked away downtown near Denman and Bute. It is small with only a few tables but you can usually find a seat. The area isn't as busy as the Robson and Denman area. The sashimi is very fresh. They import fish weekly and the variety is great. We usually get the Chef's Choice Sashimi and the Deluxe Chirashi Don. It comes with a good variety of fish and seafood and is really fresh. The price is very reasonable compared to some of the higher end Japanese restaurants, but of course you don't get the ambience. I rather just eat some good qualify fish! The service is good and staff is friendly. I definitely recommend this place and I am more than likely to return soon.
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Open on May 16, 2014. They soft opened on May 16, 2014.
This is a small sushi place with 9 seats. Only 2 or 3 staff work at a time. It obviously cannot accommodate many people. On the other hand, quality is guaranteed as you can imagine.
In fact, it boasts the chef was trained in Japan and have more than 20 years of experience. Well, length doesn't always mean the quality. However, he was working for 17 years at Fuji sushi, which was quite a famous sushi restaurant in metro Vancouver area.
In addition, they import fish from Japan twice a week. Many sushi restaurants cannot afford this practice. This is one of the places you can enjoy premium fish from Japan.
Please check out their menu I uploaded.This is not a 24pc-for-$6 place, but I think the prices are decent when you think about the quality.Fish from Japan are not listed here. The list is available at the restaurant as fish are subject to availability and on market price. It is common to ask sushi chefs what to eat on the day in Japan.
They also have lunch combos for $6 or $10. $6 combo comes with a roll and pop. $10 combos come with some sushi, miso soup and pop. I think sushi and pop is a mismatch and I don't need pop with sushi.
When I visited only 2 customers were eating. I was surprised that the restaurant was very small and that it was not packed with people. Yet the customers left happily as they finished their meal. I ordered one of combos. It came with 1 California roll, 2 tuna, 2 salmon, miso soup and a bottle of water. It surely tasted good, especially tuna.
I just noticed they use nice plates. And it reminded me a philosophy that an art of sushi should come on an art of pottery. We don't just eat, but enjoy the beauty of taste as we appreciate the beauty of pottery. The whole presentation is an art of hospitality and welcoming people. It's the same idea in the heart of Japanese tea ceremony.
Anyway, I know it's not easy to keep fresh fish running in a small sushi restaurant. I hope they provide us with quality sushi whenever we want to enjoy authentic sushi.
I love traditional and authentic Japanese eats and when I saw that’s what they specialized, it was a must try for me. I love that they have fresh fish flown in from Japan!
I had a great experience. I appreciate the minimalist and traditional approach that the chef took. Fish was very fresh and delicious. I personally loved the scallop and white shrimp. It’s a great and affordable intro to omakase if you haven’t had it before. Would highly recommend.
An incredibly unique dining experience. I visited here during February… we had to reserve a month in advance. The experience was great, the fish was fresh, and the service was excellent. I love how intimate the experience feels and will definitely be back.
Great quality of sushi - happy that they can maintain the same fresh quality as before COVID. An hour long dinning experience - if you are looking for a place to chat this might not be the place though.
Amazing quality ingredients and authentic experience. It was wonderful being able to see our sushi being prepared in front of us. The Japanese uni and bluefin tuna o-toro were melt-in-your-mouth DELICIOUS! Would highly recommend for any sushi lover.
Amazing omakase experience. It was me and my girlfriend’s first time at omakase and we were blown away by the experience and the quality of the food.
We got to try a lot of different fish that we never thought about having and some even ended up being our favourites.
After the omakase course we were able to order single pieces of nigiri with additional cost.
The experience was very professional and somewhat strict. The chef was very professional but lacked a bit of interaction with the guest, which would’ve enhanced the experience more.
Overall a very good experience and would recommend to anyone wanting to try an omakase for an affordable price!
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Visiting from Toronto, I had my fair share of Omakase. Initially prior to booking and looking at different Omakase options, I was worried this place might have been overhyped and was looking for a more intimate and "mom and pop" experience and based on reading reviews on Google, TripAdvisor and Reddit I decided it try it out. Bookings needed to be made in advance (approx 1 month).
Location is at a street corner with "interesting"surroundings.
We were greeted promptly at our dining time.
Chef greeted everyone prior to starting and had good eye contact and introduced every fish prior to placing the sushi on our plates.
Everything tasted fresh, delicious.
After the 11 course, you can have the option to order extra from their extensive menu which were reasonably priced.
Overall will definitely come back and recommend. I had to say having tried many different Omakase from Toronto with different price points,
Sushi Bar Maumi was one of the best.
Price wise, quality wise and setting/service wise.
The overall experiencing felt very "home-y"
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