Sushi Time

I go to PNE today and Sushi Time is just couple blocks away so we decided to try it out & we were impressed. Dinning room is not big but clean, ok comfy, the sushi & the tempura was hot & fresh. Service is friendly and the best part is the price– reasonable & inexpensive. Next time when I go I’ll try the party tray ($ 20 only) for sure.
*** I said I would try their party tray and so did I take my 3^rd visit there last week, to my surprise it was already changed hands to Curry Zone — new restaurant for Indian food! I was so embarrassed to order sushi in an Indian joint! (The deco is almost the same) 10/​16/​2012

What are we calling this area now? It used to be Hastings-​Sunrise, but now it’s the East Village or East Vancouver Village or something like that. Whatever it’s called, I’m happy to see more development in this neighbourhood. And in Vancouver, more development means more sushi restaurants.
I like Sushi Time. I like its minimalist menus, although some pictures might help with some of the more obscure items (did someone mention tako yaki? Yes, I just did). I like the art on the walls. I like the big comfortable booths that manage to create a sense of privacy in what is otherwise a small space.
The food is very good. We had a salmon sashimi, a dynamite roll, a BC roll, a couple of nigiri sushi pieces, and an order of tako yaki (which are fried donuts with pieces of octopus inside, in case you were wondering). The total came to $ 29 incl tax and tip, which I would say is reasonable for this kind of order, especially considering the quality. I like how the menu has a blurb about the chef/​owner and his background, it makes the experience feel more personalized.
One thing, and I would not hesitate to demote this review to 3.5 stars if I could: the bathrooms are terrible. They’ve obviously done some renovation when they took over the place, why not redo the bathrooms too? Or at least paint them? Nice bathrooms would make me feel much more confident in the level of hygiene in a restaurant… I’ll never understand why this is so often overlooked.

What happened to Toby’s?
The former spot for Toby’s Teriyaki Bowl, now Sushi Time reigns in these parts. Korean (I think) owned Japanese joint offering lunch, dinner, and take out with a 20% off till June 15. There doesn’t seem to be any major changes except for the giant bright orange awning above the restaurant so you won’t miss it.
I came in for lunch and ordered the Vegetable Udon, half order of salmon & tuna sashimi, and Time Roll (Prawn tempura, crab meat, cucumber, avocado, masago). Yeah, if you eat at Korean style Japanese restaurants you’ll learn soon after ordering, the sizes are usually bigger than you think. So of course the sashimi and rolls are quite decently big and I was regretting ordering so much after a very very sluggish ride on the public limo to work. I really enjoyed the udon, the broth was very clear & flavourful, with well cooked udon, however I wish there was some more veggies in this bowl instead of so much carbs. The sashimi quality was decent and consistent with restaurants similar to this type; paying for the quantity and not quality and it’s not that much either. The roll was good, but it lack impact of flavour mainly because of the rice. I would prefer more vinegar to give the roll a little more boost from good to really good! Another note, the rice was just a touch overcooked in my opinion.
Staff? Super friendly. A++++++++++ for service.
This place is a cheap and filling eat with decent tasting Japanese food which I would have given a 3.5 stars rating if they had it. At the moment though, I would still prefer Sushi Nanaimo (
), over this place still. Sushi Time has quite a bit of competition around the area and I was quite surprised to see another joint open up, however I do see some of the older places being runned to shits. So, Sushi Time, they are off to a decent start, but with the right oil they will be cruising smoothly in this neighbourhood.