Kato Japanese & Chinese Restaurant

they deliver

I was up all night hurling from eating here! Their kitchen must be filthy! I don’t understand how the health board has not shut down such a place! The exterior appearance matches the interior of this restaurant — run down and dirty. Looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 60’s. sludgy slimy fish tanks, dirty carpet, stained upholstery. come to think of it — the fish in the tanks must be the same fish they they use in their sushi!

First time, no complaints with the food that i ordered, was in the evening and I was the only customer. not sure if that’s good or bad. but it was peaceful and I could hear the Canucks game on the tv anyways, but it’s better to «take out“imo.

The food is good. Not great, just good. But it is reliable and scrupulously clean. And the spicy tofu (fried with a delicious spicy, and slightly sweet, sauce) is just outstanding and gets it the 4^th star.

I had the complete meal, with miso soup, tempura (they even included 2 prawn tempura) and chicken and beef teriyaki. And it was pretty good, except for the somewhat bland miso soup (there wasn’t enough… miso/​salt/​msg flavor to it.) But the tempura was battered lightly which I enjoyed and the teriyaki was pretty good on the bowl of rice they gave me. I also tried the 2 mushroom with chicken dish my girlfriend ordered and that was pretty good too. The décor is somewhat dated, but I thought the food was pretty good and the price was reasonable. One thing I would seriously recommend is their pearl milk tea. They don’t have 12+ flavors but they have the basics and it’s a restaurant, not a bubble tea house. I ordered a taro flavored tea. At first it was so tasty I thought they made it with ice cream. I asked the server and they said no, they crush the ice really good and add more powder than all the other bubble tea places to give it more flavor! And I would agree!

I am really sad to see the few bad reviews for this place. I have been coming here for like 7 years and I have always had amazing service, yummy food and no stomach aches. My fav is the ebi gyoza the sauce is key! this place is consistent! Family run, like really family run, mom in kitchen, dad as sushi bar and the 2 kids deliver and help inside. rolls are great and the vegetarian spring rolls are yummy! really outdated interior but food is always good!

If you are looking to spend the rest of your evening sick to your stomach after eating horrible sushi, Kato is the place for you!
Now to be fair, I ate there once years ago when I first moved into the Hastings/​Burnaby Heights area. The food was cheap, but gross. I was afraid to eat the raw fish, and even though I barely ate any of the food my (usually) iron stomach was not happy and I was quite sick afterwords. I raised my fist in the air and vowed NEVER to go to Kato again!
Fast forward to last week, I decided even the most vile evils deserve a second chance. I ordered some basic sushi rolls and some egg rolls. The California roll and tuna roll were just plain gross and I had trouble finishing them. The eggs rolls were surprisingly good. About 20 minutes later I started to feel a rumble in my tummy and at that moment regretted ever going back there.
Long story short: DON’T DO IT!

Non-​fancy place but the service is very attentive and the food is quite good. Bento boxes, sushi, sashimi, fried noodles, tempura… lots of options. If you are a vegetarian, you can have a vegetarian bento box. Prices are not outrageous, very reasonable. I ended up patronizing this place because it is in my neck of the woods :)

The sushi here is quite mediocre. However, typically we go here for one thing, and one thing only: Spicy Tofu! This is the best spicy tofu I’ve ever had! And given its close proximity to home, it’s a sure ticket to love handles!
So what’s so great about this spicy tofu? Well the tofu part is just like any other deep fried tofu in a Japanese restaurant, but it’s fresh (unlike Sui Sha Ya – Burnaby). But the sauce… ohhhh the sauce!!! It’s made to order, with a saucey consistency so your tofu is all covered in it and arguably, even swimming in it. It’s sometimes too spicy, but still really good. It has sesame seeds and green onions in it. and whatever else it’s made of. I can’t tell. It’s just so good. We’ve been coming here now for the last 11 or 12 years.
And usually, the spicy tofu with some steamed rice is good enough for a quick dinner meal for me.
Mmmmmmmmm…