Seto Japanese Restaurant

Probably the last authentic Japanese restaurant in Richmond.
I always love coming to this place because the owners understand that true Japanese food is something to be cherished and loved.
While the market is dominated with cheap sushi eateries and Korean inspired sushi, this place is a breath of fresh air of authentic Japanese dining.
I even remember coming here back in 2000 during the Sumo Wrestling event at BC place… Many of the Sumo wrestlers came and ate here. The food was just as I remembered.
Remember, this isn’t your 3 star michelin restaurant. this is your reliable and authentic Japanese restaurant in Richmond. To me, that’s 5 stars.

Waited outside for almost 30 minutes 5:35pm all the other restaurants are all open we see employees inside and they never open the door went to the back of the restaurant to get our car to leave we see employees having a smoke at the back door obviously they don’t care about doing business that day. Went their because of the good reviews. Never got to try it because they would not even open the doors on time never mind early. Can’t see them having good service if they don’t even want to open the doors. it was really disappointing when you are hungry.

I first tried Seto circa 2005. It took me 10 years to grow up and really appreciate traditional Japanese food.
Seto offers none of those frilly frilly mad-​volcano-​explosion-​of-​lotus-​in-​a-​submarine specialty rolls that you may get at non-​Japanese-​owned restaurants. All you get is the freshest and highest quality of ingredients and perfectly done sushi rice. Did I just say rice? Like, the part that you secretly try to throw away at AYCE sushi places? Oh yes, I just said rice. This place makes you appreciate sushi rice to a whole new level, it makes you wonder if they have a dedicated rice boy in the back and all he ever does is wash and cook and season the rice. The sushi rice comes out slightly warm, it is the right sticky texture that holds the roll together, and appropriately seasoned with the right amount of vinegar. The rice completes the sushi; it paints a perfect canvas for you to embrace the main ingredients. Previously I said they don’t have fancy rolls, so that’s what makes you enjoy the essence of sushi — you taste each component without being smouldered in sauce.
If rolls are not up your alley, you should try the wide selection of sashimi here. One day my friend and I just came to order nigiris made of fish we haven’t even heard of. Did you know you can get the frilled border of the flounder fish? Nope, me neither. We even conquered the mantis shrimp. You don’t want to explore unknown sashimi just anywhere — it could be not fresh and ruin your perception of a fish. Seto has proven to be a safe place to explore. I’m rather picky with my sashimi and I would even eat a chirashi don here.
The décor is homey and unpretentious. They’ve been here for 20 years and they don’t need to impress the youngsters. Apparently they have regulars that come every week so reservation is a must especially for weekend dinners.
In conclusion, this place may be a little boring if you like the fancy creation rolls, but it is not at all boring if you like exotic sashimi. It will always be a little taste of Japan on my regular restaurant list.

One of my favorite places in Richmond. These are a few things I have to order everytime I’m there. Spicy tuna roll, kani croquette, and their oyster motoyaki.

Seto is an authentic Japanese restaurant located on Alexander Road (where the old Uncle Willie’s plaza used to be). The restaurant is kind of hidden in a little hole beside the bicycle shop so I imagine it often gets missed. Inside are cute little cubicles and rooms so for sure you will get a lot of privacy as you can’t even see whats around you once you are seated. Their price range is above average in the area but the quality and freshness is good. I like to order the Seto Boat as it includes: assorted tempura, 6 fresh oysters, 3 types of sashimi, salmon & tuna nigiri, salad, fruits and ice-​cream (mango or green tea). This boat saved me a lot of time on trying to decide what to order and you can try a little bit of everything. The boats are designed for two people but technically it can feed 3 people and you can always order sushi or something else on the side if it is not enough. Service was good and the restaurant looks neat and tidy and fairly big in size. Parking available in plaza lot.

Seto’s is a regular go-​to joint for our office mainly because the food here is decent and you know what you are going to get. Is it out of this world? Not particularly, but the sashimi is fresh (apparently the uni is quite good) and the ramen options, while not insanely awesome, are tasty and filling. I do really enjoy their gyozas here though, perfectly pan fried little dumplings, filled with a wonderfully flavoured pork mixture. These come out piping hot and are amazingly juicy every time I’ve ordered them.
The service here is so-​so, and can be slow at times. But generally we come here on a Friday and aren’t really in a rush, so no biggie!

This place has amazing sashimi rice bowls!!!
I’ve been a regular customer with them, thought I’d leave a review here after eating with them for so many years :)
If you’re new to the place, You must tried the rice bowl with salmon toro, uni and ikura. Sooooooo gooood!!! Super fresh and no weird taste or smell. This is what I order 80% of the time :)
Service is decent :) enjoy~

Compared to all other sushi restaurants out there, it is not a 4-​star in my opinion. This Unilocal page is misleading. The rolls had too much rice and not enough filling, sashimi was very expensive for Vancouver (for farmed salmon, we chose specifically), and the portions were small to average. I had to get up a couple times to get their attention and they missed an item we ordered. The best was the fancy tuna nigiri which was delicious. Wouldn’t go back — there are way better options out there!

Everything was good until…
First of all, we sit in the corner at the far end, poor attention.
Secondly, sashimi going down. Food is okay but for the price, average 50/​person, I’d go somewhere else with better deco & atmosphere.
Thirdly, the seafood hotspot that we ordered comes with two ice cream, we asked if we can get two more (we are a party of eight with 2 children, didn’t even ask one for everyone). Answer: manager said no. We ordered quite a bit of sashimi, even blue fin toro, com’on. No, fine.
At the end, 280 we gave 320 but they wouldn’t give the change back until we asked. The server said if we gave 300 for sure they would come back, but 320 they thought it was for tips. WHAT A SMART ANSWER. Learn some service please.
Been coming here for years, today I introduced my guests here but had such a bad experience. Vancouver has way too many choices, not coming back, thanks but no thanks.

A little Japanese restaurant at the very end of a strip mall that was sort of difficult to find off of the main road. Inside, everyone gets their own little individual booths. This gives it a nice private and cozy feeling.
Onto the food: some of the freshest sushi I’ve ever had! We ordered a half order of the deluxe sashimi which had 5 different types of fish, 11 pieces total. We also got an order of the matsu sushi which had 8 pieces of nigiri and a California roll. All of the sashimi pieces were pretty thick and so so fresh! The California roll tasted pretty average, though.
My sister ordered the miso ramen which was pretty good, but the broth was a bit salty. I also got an order of Saba Shioyaki (grilled mackerel) which was really tasty. The skin was nice and crispy and there was a lot of meat that was cooked perfectly! The only problem was all the bones!
Overall, I’d say this place is a must go for sushi. It’s definitely a little pricey, but for the fresh sushi, it’s worth it. However, this place is a little too expensive if you’re just looking for ordinary Japanese entrees.

A strong, well established sushi restaurant in Richmond.
I think traditional is the best way to describe this place. The menu is extensive with some seasonal and daily specials also available. Service was polite and prompt. Prices are high but I feel the quality is there to warrant the cost.
My dinner consisted of… a lot things. 4 sushi boats, some toro, oyster motoyaki, soba, scallop rolls, raw oysters, sunomono and more. I’ll spare you the dish by dish breakdown and just tell you the food across the board is good and consistent. However, nothing really jumped out as being the ‘must have’ dish. Many trendy places will have a few strong noteworthy dishes. Seto just does everything well.
I probably couldn’t afford coming here constantly, but this is a pretty decent place to bring family or even Japanese dignitaries (which was the case).
Special note on the décor when you walk in. There’s photos of the owners (I think) climbing a mountain. I like that touch. Its out of place to the décor, but it makes you feel good looking at a photo of the regular people serving you for tonight’s dinner. I don’t know… Its just nice.

Seto is definitely a solid choice for Japanese cuisine when you’re in the small town of Richmond, BC. I normally come here for lunch because they have excellent lunch box specials ranging from $ 10.00 — $ 17.00 (most are under $ 13.00) and they’re actually quite filling so it’s worth it!
Dinner here however, is a bit pricey so you should expect to spend around $ 30.00 or so if you want to venture into the fresh fish part of the menu. I find that their sushi and sashimi are very fresh and everything else is made quite well. I have heard from my friends about their inconsistency with their service and food quality but I have yet to experience anything negative so I won’t go any further.

I would’ve given 4 starts only for their lunch sets. until I went in for a third time and had their nigiri’s! SOOOO DELICIOUS!
The fish is fresh, tasty, good portion– coupled with the rice, which is almost a little sweet– every bite is heavenly. Got the tuna, toro, saba, Botanebi (shrimp with fried heads), and chopped scallops. Everything was perfect– even the fried shrimp heads.
Service was polite and attentive everytime, except for when they forgot our order of miso soup.
Highly recommend!

I had to stay overnight in Vancouver to be close to the airport for my flight early the next morning and this restaurant was right in the plaza next to the hotel. The reception desk at the hotel recommended it and she seemed like she did not know what she was talking about but…
This area of own is packed with different genres of Asian restaurants. Looking around it was overwhelming to me at first. I presumed they were all relatively decent as they were all filled and I was the only non-​Asian exploring the area, it seemed to me. Now this is a good sign that I would get authentic food whether I picked Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese or Thai.
You walk in and you cannot see anything except the relatively small sushi bar. The wait staff is very very pleasant and attentive.
I had several kinds of sushi and sashimi as the have multiple multiple varieties of fish. All were very fresh and delicious making me feel like I wish somehow I could bring the place back to NY and PA where the fish is always kinda mediocre if flavor and freshness even at the top restaurants.
They also had different varieties of rice and noodle dishes that I saw going by my table and I wish I did have a bigger stomach to sample more.
The décor is nothing at all spectacular but its clean.
As I was leaving EVERYONE said good bye… all of the wait staff and the sushi chefs. That was pleasant.
Very happy with my experience.

I would give them two stars but the service was average and they came to clear the dishes, get us tea and water on time. However the food was not impressive at all for the price. The seafood salad was alright but they do not know how tondo ramen at all. They show one slice of porc in the photo and that’s all you’re going to get for your 9 $ ramen. The grilled squid was overlooked so I don’t recommend that. The rolls are inconsistent. The rainbow roll was great and so was the Alaskan roll. However the ale crabmeat and tuna makis were done by an amateur as if I rolled it because the rice was loose and not well done. The best was the sashimi platter w the seaweed. The black cod was well done but beware it is only one small piece half the size of my small Asian woman hand. The uni did not seem to be so fresh and unfortunately I could still taste the vinegar in the rice. I’m going to give them a second chance because I want to try the spinach soba and cha music soup. If you have a date to go then try it out but quite expensive for not amazing Japanese food.

Coming to this restaurant, it brought me back to my early years when I was first introduced to Japanese food in Vancouver, if you remember the former Kamei Sushi chain… this one practically looks like one of those. This was the choice of one of the family friends, to meet up for dinner, and since she lives in Richmond, let her have the shot at calling, I’m only tagging along. We were sat in the back, private booth, only it was sitting, and not the «remove thy shoes» booth’s I remember.
I didn’t know if this place was a Chinese owned and run spot… or was it truly Japanese. my answer was confirmed when we started ordering, as the person with us was blurting out full-​on Japanese to order food from the menu. There was a good combination, ranging from the party boat (assorted sashim), a seperate order of uni sashimi, beef sashimi, tobiko rolls with quail egg yolks on top, pumpkin (melon) tempura, zaru soba, nabeyaki udon, and California rolls with real crab meat (whooooo) and some other roll I could not remember, as I had none of it. Quite a bit of food for 6 people, and I am used to seeing these people over order… so let the dinner begin.
Right away the hot sake came, and it was hot to the point I had to wrap a paper napkin to pour into the little cups before this magical liquid went down the hatch. Every dish came very timely, my main goal was to see how fresh the sashimi was! I was impressed at the uni, each piece had that sweetness that only this cholesterol high seafood can provide. The salmon sashimi that was provided on the party tray was different from the salmon toro that we ordered on the side later, I wasn’t too fond of this, but if you are looking for the deep red firm salmon. don’t expect it on the trey…
The soba was like the regular stuff you would have at any restaurant, firm, but not the stuff you will see at specialized noodle joints. The tempura was pretty average, came with it’s dipping sauce on the side, something quality wise you would be finding at any other sushi joint.
In the end we ordered some green tea ice cream, and a few more bottles of sake. The price for this bill was not cheap, but it did the job. If you are looking to relive the hayday of old time Japanese run restaurants in the lower mainland, come here. I didn’t even know this place existed. Parking is not bad. compared to the other plazas along Alexandra road, just be patient and you will find it here.
If you are looking for the bare-​bones experience, come here, don’t expect izakaya (Guu, Manzo) style food, this is the original type of stuff.

For the price, it was a bit disappointing. We ordered some nigiri and some normal rolls. We went primarily for the blue fin ootoro, and were more than disappointed. Tasted really fishy, and I think their toro was better (and at half the price too). Their tuna roll was very delicious though, probably the best I’ve had in the city. I was pretty indifferent about everything else.
I’ll likely be going back to try other things eventually but for now, I’ll stick with Sushi Hachi for their better fish quality at a similar (and even slightly lower) cost and better ambience.

Poor-​to-​mediocre service, expensive food, okay quality. I’m avoiding this place in the future.
This used to be our favourite go-​to authentic expensive Japanese restaurant. Now, we find that the price has increased while the service has decreased.
We came on a Wednesday night at 6 and did not have a reservation. They seemed to be fully booked with no extra tables. Luckily someone was leaving so we got their table after waiting about 5 minutes. Reservations are recommended for future visits (not that I plan to go).
— Family Boat ($ 54). It’s meant for two people but with another dish, is more than enough to share for more (we were a party of 4). Take a look at my picture to get an idea of how much food it is. The chicken karaage was so so, nothing special, and it had a lot of skin. The salmon pieces were fried too dry and covered in salty sauce. The tempura was a good portion. The house roll was also humungous (10 pieces) and great.
— Nabeyaki soba (around $ 12). The soba was very soggy, soft, overcooked, and tasteless. It came with 1 tiny fish cake, some small chicken chunks, a few slices of mushroom, and an egg. It’s a good portion for the noodles but not much tempura, like 3 pieces.
Service: not the best. We had to really try hard to get some service. For the prices and the hype, service should be a lot better. When we asked, «Can we have an extra spoon?» The older Japanese female waitress with short hair and glasses responded, «I already gave you one!» Yes, we know, we want an extra one. When we tried to wave down a waitress for the bill, the waitress glanced at us, made eye contact, waved us away, and walked the opposite direction. We had to wave down another waitress for the bill. I guess they were too busy to clear our table for future guests? The middle aged Japanese waitress who gave us our ice cream was very nice, though.
I will not be returning. I would recommend Ichiro (despite the higher prices, smaller portions, and busy service), Mega Sushi (despite it being Korean-​made), or Koto for late night (not as good quality but much cheaper and very quick).

This place is tucked in a small plaza, and is easy to miss. This place is deceivingly small on the outside, masquerading as an unassuming little shop. Upon entering, you quickly realize how big this place is. They even have room for a spacious greeting area, which is tastefully decorated with some Japanese décor! This place is the real deal, with real japanese chefs, and waitresses.
Ordering a la carte is rather expensive, so if you’re just looking for a bite to eat, I suggest their lunch specials which range from $ 10 — $ 18. They have a large variety of choices, everything from rolls, to nigiri, sashimi, and some grilled items! I went with their grilled mackerel box! It was great! It came with a large tasty piece of mackerel, rice, a salad, and a few pieces of sashimi! It also came with a side of miso soup, which was pretty good as well.
Overall, I quite like Seto! Definitely a great place to hit up for authentic Japanese fare!

Amazing sushi but $$$. Good thing I didn’t have to pay for that meal: p
We had:
Salmon toro, Hamachi toro, Ebi, Tai, horse meat, bonite, kanpachi sashimi,
Tobiko with quail, roe sushi
Edamame, Salmon liver
Chawamushi, seafood motoyaki, vegetable & prawn tempura, BBQ eel.
I loved everything. The quality of the food is amazing and the sashimi pieces are big so you aren’t paying $ 20 for one inch pieces like some other places.
The staff are very friendly so you can always ask them for suggestions. It shares a parking lot with many other restaurants, so be prepared to wait a bit for a spot. Or you can park on the street but it’s paid parking.