Due to COVID-19 Virus they will be opened for take-out from this weekend. Thank you for your supporting their business.
Nakamura is one of our favourite Japanese restaurants but because it can be expensive we save our dinner visits for special occasion. The flavours are delicate, fine presentation and service, and there is a Zen like stillness in the atmosphere. Never rushed and food is served in a timely manner, one after another as one finishes an order. We have not had any dishes we don't like. Great Japanese cuisine!
I’m a big fan of dessert first (and after!) dinner, so after our afternoon treat at Nana’s Green Tea we headed over to Ajisai for dinner. Unfortunately for us, the wait was over an hour, so we did a quick search on Yelp and ended up at Nakamura. Nakamura is a small restaurant with seating for 25 people maximum. When we arrived we managed to snag one of the very last tables.
Ajisai is closed on Mondays so we decided to try this cute neighbourhood Japanese please that we've not tried before. The spinach gomae was amazing: particularly savoury. The sesame almost tasted like peanuts; perhaps it had miso or mirin. I'm not sure but we loved it. I always love miso black cod. Vancouverites: be thankful for it; this dish is impossible to find in Australia. The clams were scruptious with garlic and butter, and quite delicate and textured (rather than hard little molluscy bits). A very nice selection of sushi. We split a cold sake and were thankful to have tried it. Zomato's stopped half star reviews (I'd do 4.5 normally) but I've no problem moving this up to 5 stars.
This is THE BEST sushi place in all of Vancouver! Better than Toshi, better than Kishimoto, and better than Ajisai! Absolutely everything on the menu is authentic, beautifully presented and delicious! The Tuna Gomawasa ae is like heaven on earth ... this is an absolute must! The people are lovely, the atmosphere is wonderful, this is my happy place. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this everything about this place!
Best wasabi! should try spicy tuna
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Basically it's perfect xD. I've tried this place twice and both experiences have been great culinary surprises.
The first time I went was about 2 years ago when the place just opened. I had sockeye salmon and scallop nigiri and California roll. The salmon was dark red and as fresh as it could be. Instead of the simplest, flat cut of regular nigiri, the fish was sliced with swirling pattern at its centre which I did not know was even possible. The scallop's cut was equally as interesting and intricate. They were also as tasty as they were attractive visually. The California roll of Nakamura made me realize what I had before really weren't California rolls. These rolls are made with real crab meat and Japanese mayo made from scratch and the difference is clear as day.
The second time I went was about 6 month ago with couple of my school friends. This time I tried their baked black cod and I was not disappointed. Again, the ingredients used were as fresh as it could be and one could really taste the difference. The fatty white meat of the cod effortlessly melted in my mouth while the skin had a pleasant crispiness to it.
Each time I went I always perceived Nakamura as a charming, family owned restaurant. The interior is also very cozy and warm with great service. Behind the counters is a single chief intensely passionate about Japanese food, obsessive about authenticity and freshness. The place could easily charge more than what they currently have priced on their items and still be justifiable.
I rarely recommend places to friends and family but when people ask for the best Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, Nakamura is always on the top of my list.
Specialty is cooked dishes. Reality, there are a ton of Japanese restaurants in Kerrisdale specializing in sushi. Nakamura is more focused on cooked dishes. The sushi is good, just not 20-30 options for special rolls. Lunch combo is good.
My wife's favourite dish is this seafood/scallop dish served with a "misonnaise" sauce. She hates mayo, so this sauce is truly delicious. Staff (family) are also very nice and let us order dishes not on lunch menu (like the misonnaise)
Good quality fish, patient staff. Meeting a friend with small children and getting Japanese food could have been a challenge. My friends kids were at the end of their rope and getting into that hyperactive mode where they run around torturing themselves and their parents. Still, the staff at Nakamura never complained about the ruckus and brought us several excellent dishes prepared with high quality fish. The salmon was especially good, and our suspicions that it was real, wild salmon, more strongly flavored, darker, and less marbling. The other fish also exceeded our expectations.
Thankfully, it was a slow night, we hope we didn't deter any customers from entering.
Another fabulous Japanese-run sushi place, in our neighborhood! We loved our set lunches, the service was super, and the decor, clean and simple. Today was our third visit, and it won't be our last.
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