Been to Rajio Japanese Public House twice now for dinner. They also own Kingyo, Suika and Raisu so we figured we’d be in good hands at Rajio. It’s located a few doors down from The Pokeman. Business cards casually hanging out on the ledge when you first walk in. Impressed how busy this place has been on both trips. Service was the typical Japanese standard of excellence. They constantly came by to refill our water and tea (which was complimentary). You know they’re legit when they play jazz music.
Food tasted great! Especially the sashimi and Epi Mayo! Will definitely go back for other dishes!
Only one mistake tho the sushi rice was falling apart. Possibly due to mixing the acid to cool rice.
Came here for a late dinner as it was one of the few places open late on Sat. Overall, the food here is very flavorful, but portions are small (tapas). The Bang Bang Chicken was very good. The udon was average, a little too soft. The ramen was very rich but tasty. Prices are not cheap for the portion, just to set one's expectation. The staff was very friendly and prompt.
Rajio Public House in Point Grey is celebrating their fifth anniversary! This hip, eclectic Japanese Izakaya located by UBC specializes in Japanese tapas and entrees, sushi as well as sake and specialty drinks. The ambiance and menu has some Osaka-inspired elements to it. Rajio is owned by the Tamaru Shoten Restaurant Group and is a sister restaurant to Suika (on West Broadway) and Raisu (on West 4th) and Kingyo (on Denman). It has been a popular place for those who are seeking casual yet adventurous eats.
This restaurant is small and crowded. We ordered watermelon punch with alcohol , salad and aburi sushi. The punch was really awesome, it's not too sweet and the material was fresh enough. Also, the aburi sushi was delicious as well--the flavor was acceptable to non Japanese people.
Rajio Public House is located on West 10th Ave and Elma Street. It is about 10 minutes away from UBC. It is a hip izakaya with Japanese tapas and entrees
Food: 4.5/5
Services: 4/5
Special features: special drinks
Cane here on a Friday night with my boyfriend around 6:00pm. We got a table right when we got there but the place was already pretty full. Really tasty skewers and fried chicken and cheap pitchers of beer. Staff was attentive and we did not have to wait long for service, food, or drinks. We will definitely be back.
Fantastic Izakaya, from the same group as suikya, and raisu. Authentic feeling environment with a great selection of dishes not seen at typical Japanese restaurants. Fair prices for good quality food, would recommend you check them out
Really liked the food here; portions are typically small, which allows people to try a multitude of items. The watermelon drink is quite overpriced, but it's still quite aesthetic. Despite the small size, it's a great place to bring for snacks and drinks.
Came here with two other friends. Okinawa orion beer and watermelon punch with rum. Oysters were fresh and well marinated, deep fried skewers were alright, grilled duck and pork cheek were the best meat. Fried chicken was good. What's not to love about this place? Great service too.
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Rajio is part of the same group as Kingyo and Suika. I've been to all 3 and they're all good. Rajio has more cooked food with their deep fried skewers.
I had been craving mentaiko udon for a looooong time. I used to have it at hapa izakaya, but I noticed that it isn't on their menu anymore? So to satisfy my craving, we ordered it and I was not let down. It was so good that just writing about it makes me want to go back just for the udon. It's a pretty simple dish with spicy cod roe and kimchi. But there's something about those flavours that work really well together.
We also had their 9 kinds of sashimi. We were both surprised at the price because in comparison to their sister restaurants, they usually charge more for just 7 kinds of sashimi. I liked their sashimi because it came with oyster and tako wasabi, which are things that I don't typically see with sashimi.
This is a place I would definitely come back to. But I'd recommend making reservations as it is usually busy and not that big of a restaurant.
Love the drinks here! Although you can't taste any alcohol in the drinks, still a must try. The food is great as well! Feels a bit like "Guu" or "Manzo" from the food selection. Mostly dishes to share and also along the pricey side. Would defs come back in the future
This place is definitely worth a 5 rating! The service was excellent and the food was amazing! Ordered their Aburi Saba sushi, Hot Stone Crab Bibimbap Kushitkatsu, Imperial Kitchen tested Peking Chicken, Oden and Aburi dried filefish! Their Hot Stone Crab bibimbap was my favorite you could really taste the snowcrab and paired it with the Ikura it was amazing! would totally recommend this place!
A revisit to Rajio, this time with the whole crew for a late night snack, and some of those tasty fresh oysters that are just a little bit over $1! Even though they are just Royal Miyagis, this price is for the whole day, and not just happy hour. Complimentary Cabbage Salad. I was finally able to snap a picture before the guys dove in, they purposely placed their chopsticks in the way to get on my nerves. This was a perfect small-bite to open up your appetite for the rest of the meal.
Ever since I’d visited Suika, I’ve been wanting to check out their other sister restaurants in town to see how they stack up. Little Bunny had been wanting to go out on a double-date for a while with her friend Florence and her boyfriend The Machine. When discussing where to go for dinner they mentioned they’re regulars over at Rajio and knew the chef, so that made for an easy choice on our dinner spot.
Since school started a few weeks ago, I've been eating out twice everyday. I knoww, I'm so healthy right? On most days I don't get home until 9 or 10 pm, so I really have no choice but to eat out!! But hey, I'm not complaining ;). So after school the other day I went to Rajio for dinner!! I actually went to Suika the very same day for lunch - I was so impressed with the food at Suika that I decided a visit to Rajio (their sister restaurant) was warranted! Rajio is only a few minutes away from UBC, so it's always packed with students! The sad thing is: they only open for dinner!!
A while ago, vaneats would do packages where you got to try a bunch of small dishes for a set price and rajio was one of their destinations! Overall, its very much like their sister restaurants Suika and Kingyo (both amazing) but geared towards a younger crowd. They're known for their skewers but since I'm not a huge fan of fried foods, i actually loved the other dishes. Everything was good but my favourite was the chirashi sushi with plenty of fresh sashimi and tamago! Their veggie dip was also amazing and my parents who don't eat fresh veggies gobbled them all up! Definitely worth trying :)
Vancouver is indisputably a Japanese food haven in Canada. How could I possibly end my izakaya journey after Kingyo? So, Rajio was the next destination, which is under the same management as Kingyo. I already felt so confident that I would be blown away!. Rajio’s decor was not as impressive as Kingyo, but I felt I dining on the side street in Japan under a hot summer evening. The air conditionner was barely functional, so that helped the scenario.
Great food, fast service, cheerful staff! My favorite out of the starters was the pig trotter. It was so tender that it fell off the bones! The kushiages were all delicious, too. I especially liked the lamb. We will definitely be back.
love love love this little place... it feels authentic, local and has damn good food... must tries include the watermelon rum drink n the 2 pound steak... be sure to bring a friend!! or two or three!!! 😅😅
My absolute favorites from Rajio are the stone bibimbap, and the watermelon fruit punch! A great noisy place to visit with friends, definitely share the portions with your friends, a great menu to choose from
Great food, atmosphere, and prices. Rajio is a Japanese restaurant/bar in Kitsilano that offers great food for reasonable prices. Kushikatsu are delicious and unusual, and the more traditional "main" courses like kakuni bibimbap are tasty and filling. The standard menu is a bit small but they have new daily specials all the time. Prices are very reasonable considering the quality of food and other comparable izakaya restaurants like Hapa. Average tapas style dish might be $6, more entree-style dishes around $9-$11, and the real kicker is $12 pitchers of Sapporo. The only downside is that it's small and fills up fast on weekends and holidays, but I prefer it to Suika because the small size keeps it from being super noisy. One of the best restaurants around here, especially from a value standpoint.
Yum! Excellent service. Really nice staff and they all chant cute japanese phrases when people come in and leave. Also love the decor. Nothing like LED Pikachu and HelloKitty to smile at you as you eat. But they pull it off in a classy kitschy way. Also they played decent music which is often a big turn off for me in late night restaurants.
Seafood is delicious and fresh tasting. My favorite tapa tonight was the Peking chicken wrap. Soo good! Also good prices.
Randomly stumbled upon this restaurant as our group was headed for the sushi restaurant across. Sat on the patio on a nice summer day. Very enjoyable, plus the food was awesome. Great selection if you're into fried foods. MUST TRY: The stone bowl rice with pork. Really looking forward to coming back for it
Great. The deep fried things on the sticks (forgot their name, kushi katsu?) are delicious. Definitely give the lotus root one a try. Interesting decor, I especially like the pikachu mask! A little pricey but worth it, I would say it's more of a $$ than a $. Would definitely come again!
Love this place. I was recently there with my boyfriend for a late night drink/snack. Doing a bit of research on them, we knew it would probably be similar to "Suika and Kingyo" We order the "Sting ray" appetizer which is a must have at Suika however at Rajio its was way better, alot more softer and not as dry as Suika. I believe its $4.80 here but $3.80 at Suika?. The seared Toro was amazing, so fresh and tender. It literally melted in my mouth, the secret green sauce was amazing and we were guessing on what was in it. Oysters weren't bad either, a bucks a shuck of 12 for $11. I definately would go back, is pretty close to UBC so kind of far but definately recommend it. Not as big as Suika but can fit 30-40?
Good izakaya for the area.. Since this place is also from the same people who own Kingyo and Suika, you expect a certain vibe from it. I'd say it's close to Suika, but with a more neighbourhood feel. It's not a large place and it fills up just as fast.
The service was pretty attentive, though once it got busy people didn't come by very often to check up on things. They did have a promotion going on with beer and even had a draw going if you bought one of the bottles. As for the food, it was very well done, to the level of the other izakayas. There was a lot of attention to detail and everything tasted fresh. We came in on a weekend so I can forgive the falloff in service, but with only a couple people covering the area I can see why things took a while.
Overall, it was good visit; I'm thinking a weekday would be better to come in but it's worth a visit if you're in the area.
Finally a decent authentic Japenese in the hood. What a delight to discover this gem, a delicious, quirky lil' sister of Suika.
Kind of an out of the way spot and thus, I really hope they survive. Great service, cozy interior, very busy on a rainy Friday night. Pork belly was divine, ebi mayo...scrumptious, rice bowl, tasty crunchy goodness . Creative drink selection and the desserts looked fantastic. Definitely going back with a bigger appetite.
Overall it has a nice neighbourhood izakaya kinda feel. I ordered a kimchi ceaser salad, gyozas, takoyaki, and kimchi hot stone bowl. The taste of the food is good but needs improvement on the decor side. I think Japanese style ceramic plates will add to the presentation of the food, instead of plain white porcelain they are using now. Needs a bit more variety on the menu as well, maybe a daily special. Not bad for a restaurant that just opened, hopefully they will work on improvements. Will visit again in the future. 8/10
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A Fun Japanese Pub Experience. Staff were super friendly and little touches like keeping the beer glasses full, making sure there were always clean share plates and naming each dish as they were brought really set the experience apart. I tried almost everything vegetarian on the menu. The featured deep fried skewers were all amazing: shiitake (very rich taste), eggplant (not slimy), lotus (nice crunch), camembert (nice balance), pancake (a little undercooked, but nice okonomiyaki taste). I wish they had veggie gyoza because the meat ones looked so good (and who's going to complain with so much more meat on the menu?) Kimchi caesar salad is a must try - I won't say more. I would like to try the vegetarian soup next time. My friend had the stone bowl and it looked good (too bad about pork!) I think the only thing that would have made everything better was a bowl of rice or some [vegetarian] noodles just to balance the richness of everything. If you drink enough beer it's all right though! If this place ever opens for lunch, it might be nice to have a light menu - maybe some yakisoba or curry and rice dishes. I hope it sticks around because it's a nice compliment to the other offerings in the neighbourhood. Spread the word!
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The environment is lively, with music constantly playing, and people chatting – the ambience is great. This is the typical Japanese tapas joint in Vancouver, which is apparent as you walk in the door; staff shout a loud “ Irrashai ” – meaning welcome to our restaurant in Japanese. As we were ordering, the staff brought over some cabbage (complementary of course), which was dressed in a savoury sesame vinaigrette – a nice touch! The first thing we decided to order were the drinks, and so we decided on going with the Watermelon cocktail! Watermelon Smashing Hit Punch (Alcoholic) Watermelon – Smashing Hit Punch (4.5/5) At $12 dollars for the alcoholic version, this is a must try when you come to Rajio. It’s a hollowed out watermelon, with watermelon bits at the bottom, and to top it off, an in house-made alcohol concoction (I don’t know what’s in it, but its delicious). It’s garnished with a couple orange, grapefruit and lime slices. The flavours of the drink are absolutely amazing. It’s refreshing, not too sweet, with the slightest taste of alcohol (I’m guessing rum). I must add, it is a bit pricey for what you get; however, it’s great for sipping on while talking to friends, or eating fried food, which is what we were about to do. Squid Tentacles Kara-age (5/5) This is my favourite snacking dish in the restaurant! First of all, like the name states, its a smacking portion of deep fried squid. I have yet to know how they fry it and season it to perfection. It is a must try when coming to Rajio. Great value for around $6.50, and perfect for nomming away while downing a beer. Squid Tentacles Kara-age Fresh Seafood Chirashi-Zushi (5/5) Fresh Seafood Chirashi-Zushi Chirashi in Japanese means scattered , so in this sense, scattered sushi! This is als
The second dish was a sashimi salad. Okay. This was amazing. It had fresh greens, tomatoes, bits of tako (octopus), smoked salmon, and tuna sashimi cubes. The sashimi was fresh and the dressing was really good — tangy and sweet at the same time. This is one of the best sashimi salads I’ve ever had. DC and I were extremely pleased with our experience at Rajio. Everything was good — the food, the service, and the ambience. They even had a live DJ playing music! The Japanese servers were super friendly and so cute. Every time customers entered, paid, or left, they would all shout in unison to welcome or thank them. I got really good vibes from this place. Eating there made me feel like I was actually in Japan. I can’t wait to go back next time and try out new stuff!
Getting older is no longer fun….I wish this would be my last birthday so that I can stay 28 forever……For me, the only exciting thing about birthdays nowadays is that I get to go and EAT! It’s a perfect excuse to explorer new restaurants because I get to go out on multiple dinners (with different groups of friends) and order bunch of food each time! December really is not the best time for diet for me. I chose to go to a Japanese Izakaya called Rajio which is a sister restaurant of Kingyo and Suika. I’ve been to the other two restaurants multiple times but never to this one.
- See more at: http://www.doublebites.ca/2014/12/rajio/#sthash.KdePQ2Ni.dpuf
If there’s one group in Vancouver that’s really hit home runs in Vancouver it’s the group that involves Suika, Kingyo and Rajio . Home to many tapas, Sapporo on tap that costs the same for both a small and large glass, and lit by some of Japan’s favourite faces , Rajio is a great place for friends and/or family. Now for the FFS. Food: As with most Japanese izakayas, small dishes are a-plenty here and it’s your job to order as many as your wallet will handle. The key favourites for me this time would be the Aburi Eihire which is a small dish of stingray flakes accompanied by chili mayo sauce, the squid sunomono, and the Toro Ceviche, which is a whole bowl of tuna belly marinated in a spicy sour sauce and mixed with various greens. A large portion of Rajio’s menu consists of tuna or other raw goods so be a little wary if you are cautious of mercury content in food. Otherwise, dig in! One really cool feature of izakayas is the shrimp sashimi. Generally this is ordered in conjunction with
What is a good Izakaya? By definition, an Izakaya is a Japanese drinking establishment which also happens to serve food. Based on this definition, food should be secondary in these types of establishments. However, Vancouver is home to a number of Izakayas that without a doubt put as much emphasis on their drinks and atmosphere as they do on their food. Restaurants such as Guu Garlic and Kingyo are perfect examples of this. Rajio Public House is one Izakaya that has been on my to try list for sometime. However, I had not been able to get to Rajio since it is located in Kitsilano and slightly out of my normal route.
What I like about some of these authentically Japanese run restaurants are their specials and fabulous service.
Rajio is one of my favorite Japanese izakayas in Vancouver. Their main claim to fame is their kushikatsu, which is a Japanese take on skewered meat or vegetables. Rather than being grilled, kushikatsu are often fried with a light panko batter. If you are thinking about visiting Rajio, I suggest you do it now cause there is a niffty voucher for a set meal available from vaneats.ca!
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Its about four months since my original visit. I said I would be back and with the recent popularity of the place, it ended up being sooner than later. We missed out on horse meat sashimi last time so today marked it on the agenda. We built up the suspense only to learn it was a seasonal item, and it along with the season trotted out of our grasp.
Arriving early I took the opportunity to park at a distance for no cost. It required a walk from a block away, instead of paying at one the multiple street meters just outside the restaurant. Despite the full restaurant only one car was parked in front. Did I miss a lot in the back? Walking in you are greeted in unison by the staff, done in a very typical Japanese fashion. A miscommunication of our 7pm reservations resulted in a delay before seating. We were eventually given a large table up front. It came dressed with additional plates and utensils, and had an add on table in order to turn this four top into a six. My only complaint, the cold. The days were chiller the sun settled sooner and the draft tickling my back meant I had to eat in my restraining jacket, and the uncovered tops of my feet would remain shivering. How a couple managed to dine outside on the patio is unknown to me. I guess it beats waiting for a table inside, and if you are accustomed to Vancouver weather it isn't even an issue. However the heavy street traffic and the sounds of wheels sloshing through muddy puddles must not be ideal.
Rajio is the youngest sibling of the Kingyo family and seems to have picked up a few tricks from it’s older brothers and sisters. The restaurant itself is funky, the prices are in university student ranges, and the service was attentive and friendly. Give it a try!
Recently, many restaurants have closed:( Pair Bistro is one of them. The bright side is that more new restaurants are coming to replace. Rajio is......
Oddly enough, the Bagna Cauda was my favourite dish of the night, even though it was mostly a Pyrex glass of raw veggies. Also, the dietitian-to-be in me was happy to know that I was eating more than a cup of veggies.
Straight up, the sauce skyrocketed my tastebuds to the moon and back. Even though the sauce base was olive oil and Japanese mayo, it tasted really buttery. Even better, the sauce was served warmmmmmmmmmm mmm… That sauce could easily convert veggie haters to veggie humpers – I mean lovers, with its smooth flavour.
The dynamic balsamic sweet and sour pork rib was my favourite dish from the package. For some reason, I was expecting little spare ribs, so this was much meatier and bigger than I imagined.
Gastrofork Dee De Los Santos
+4.5
Glad to see Rajio partner up with the guys at VanEats for this awesome package. If you haven’t been to Rajio yet, it is another sister restaurant to Suika and Kingyo located near Alma & Broadway. They specialize in deep fried skewers.
It's been months since my last review posts due to busy schedule but now I am back to share with you my recent dining experience at Rajio , an establishment brought to you by the same folks that brought Suika and Kingyo. I apologize in advance if my writing skill, sentence structure, and/or grammar have either deteriorated or collapsed entirely over the course of this post. What brought us to Rajio, a humble izakaya reminiscent of a street joint out of Tokyo, was a dining pass, Rockin' Rajio, we snagged from VanEats . For $18, we were presented with 4 delicious courses. They include Kushikatsu set which, for a deep fry lover, it was totally up my ally. There were 6 skewers; 2 scallops, 2 lotus roots, and 2 chicken(I'm pretty sure). What made this set extra awesome was the vast array of sauces they brought along. Yes!! Somebody recognizes that sauces are essential. My favorite was probably the teriyaki yuzu sauce I bathed the skewers with. It had a refreshing oomph. This set was great
There was no shortage of veggies in the #TurnOnTheRajio package! For $20, this was a healthy (pun intended!) serving of food with Japanese flair. If you haven’t been to Rajio before, this will be a good intro to the restaurant. I suggest going there with a few friends so you can also try their other dishes.
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