Tatsu Japanese Bistro

I really like the food here especially because of how fresh the seafood is! We ordered some uni nigiri as well as aburi toro and they were amazing! Chopped scallop roll has less scallop than i hoped but not too heavy on the rice. The sunset roll is very heavy and creamy but different and tastes very good with mozzarella cheese on top with assorted BBQ seafood. The nabeyaki udon has more toppings than noodles but the broth is flavourful without being overly salty!
The spicy charashi don did not have as much sashimi as i expected but was filled with veggies! They also use a lot of fresh veggies for decorations and such. The tuna carpaccio was also very fresh although a little heavy on the sauce. Lastly, the tatsu tower was again small for the price paid but i believe it had fresh crab and had amazingly sweet mangoes as well!
We weren’t exactly full after the smaller portions so ordered the spicy dragon roll. Also very small but well constructed, it was a dynamite roll topped with unagi, spicy tuna and avocado. the prawn tempura was quite battered but this roll was not overloaded with sauce which I liked.
Overall, beautiful presentation and good food but for quite a high price!

Love this place. Service was great. Sushi was very fresh. On par with other Vancouver favourite sushi restaurants like Toshi.
The menu was creative and the food was delicious.
I’m coming back next week!

Came to Tatsu for lunch on a Monday. Had a Bento Box and Udon, food was solid, no complaints and reasonably priced. Place is clean and modern, good vibe and well sized — full but not packed to the gills. The two waitresses and 3 sushi chefs working worked hard and steady — didn’t experience any of the service issues mentioned in other reviews.
All in all a good meal.

Really good sushi housed in a tiny restaurant space. Super happy servers greet you and dote over you the whole time you’re there. Industrious sushi chefs crammed behind a minuscule bar crank out some delicious and interesting sushi (fish & chips roll?!). It’s a little more pricey than some of the other nearby sushi spots, but this place never fails to deliver great food. There’s a fusion aspect to their menu that keeps it all interesting and once again, delicious.
Tatsu Sushi is a great sushi/​Japanese fusion option when you’re on Commercial Drive, it’s only downfall is the small space, so either order out or be prepared to wait at any peak hours.

Tatsu is a clean, modern space with lots of menu options (sushi, donburi, okonomiyaki, bento boxes, etc). They also get bonus points for featuring Ocean wise seafood.
There’s nothing really bad, but there’s nothing really outstanding. It is okay food (well, except their okonomiyaki — it’s not very good at all, so avoid that for sure).
They also give a 5% discount for pick-​up orders on party trays.

Went to Tatsu earlier this week with my better half. It was a Monday night and the place was busy, with a near continuous turn over of tables. The place is small, but there were several servers, so both food and bill were quick.
We tried some sashimi and some sushi, all fresh and nicely presented, but sadly, not special. The prices were on the high side, for the two of us, the bill came to just under $ 100. We had 3 bottle beers between us, and we did order mostly «high end» stuff, like uni, etc. Afterwards, both of us wanted more food.
While Tatsu is a nice restaurant, decent in all respects, but we think Aki is still a better choice.

We wanted a quick bite after our yoga session on the Drive last night so we stopped by this place since it had great Unilocal reviews.
First things first, the menu is HUGE! It has such an extensive selection of dishes that we were quite overwhelmed in deciding what to order for 2 hungry people. We wound up ordering a noodle dish & a couple of specialty rolls to share.
The chicken yaki udon was delicious! The chicken slices were tender and well marinated, and there was a generous portion of veggies. It was a tad oily though, so eating it with our metal chopsticks was quite a feat!
Next up, the rolls took quite a long time to arrive (even though they were not that crowded), but were gorgeously presented. The rolls we had were:
— Volcano roll: 2 Ebi tempura, spicy tuna, crab meat, avocado, lettuce, cucumber, tempura flakes
— Fish & Chips roll: deep fried tai, cucumber, tempura flakes, sweet tartar sauce
— Prosciutto roll: mango, avocado, cucumber, cream cheese, prosciutto, chopped parsley
(Roll contents taken from their menu listing.)
Sadly, aside from the interesting sounding ingredients & beautiful presentation, the taste of the rolls was lacklustre at best.
Also, the Volcano roll was mostly stuffed with cucumber & avocado. I did NOT see or taste any tuna or crab meat in that roll!
The Fish & Chips roll tasted interesting but again, couldn’t taste any fish in there. Mostly it just felt like we were eating the flakes, cucumber and sushi rice.
Of the 3 rolls we ordered, the Prosciutto roll was probably the best one. But even then, it wasn’t anything to shout about.
For the price of the specialty rolls, the contents & taste were pretty disappointing.
There are so many other great sushi places in Vancouver we have tried & also have yet to try, so we probably will never return to this place again.

Great service the food is fresh and the fusion fare is amazing. Everything is seasoned perfectly, tuna tataki was excellent and the fresh take on the gyoza with lotus root as the outer was surprisingly delicious.
I would recommend this place to try if you’re feeling sushi or Japanese, but you want to get out of the monotony of tradition.
Their plating is also gorgeous to look at, the chefs know what they’re doing.

My wife went here with a friend. She was so impressed that she wanted to take me here. We came for lunch and my wife had the caterpillar roll, salmon & tuna sashimi starters. I had there special bento box.
Food was fresh, and was very tasty. I have been very disappointed with many sushi joints due to sub-​par quality, but this place looks like a keeper.
In terms of ambiance, it is a smallish place with no nonsense atmosphere. You definitely come here for the food and not much else. I could see it being packed very quickly during peak lunch and dinner hours.
3 waitress working during the lunch hour were efficient and took our order and served our food promptly. Food prices were in par with other sushi places.
Overall very good. Leaving 1 star out due to lack of atmosphere, but that could be a good thing for others. We will be definitely coming back for more.

Mon coloc dit que c’est le meilleur endroit pour manger des sushis à Vancouver! Je né suis pas une experte, mais je né suis pas tout à fait d’accord avec lui. J’ai très bien mangé, mais je n’ai pas eu le coup de cœur! Je pense que je me suis laissé avoir comme une bleue et que j’ai pris une combinaison par facilité. Je dois y retourner pour améliorer mon choix, ou du moins suivre le choix de mon coloc qui n’était pas avec moi ce jour-​là! :) j’updaterai mon commentaire si nécessaire.
Mis à part le débat de savoir si c’est le meilleur endroit ou pas, le personnel a été super cool! On est arrivés 5 minutes avant l’heure de fin du service et on a malgré tout été super bien accueillis.

Gone here for lunch three times. Everything I’ve had on the menu has been delicious, from rolls to yakisoba to udon. The food is good fresh quality and nicely prepared with small pleasant elements that impress.

Yum! New favourite sushi place on the Drive. I’ve had a takeout a couple of times and it’s been delicious — very fresh and made with care. I’ve had the special spicy salmon roll and spicy combo. Also very nicely presented for a takeout!
It’s amazing to walk into a nice calm, but busy restaurant, with smiling staff and pleasant service. I’m tired of fighting/​waiting 2+ hours to get into Kishimoto, especially when they rush you in and out with such nonchalant service. I’ll be back to eat in house at Tatsu soon!

Great food. Had spicy tuna roll and deep fried California roll plus lobster salad. It was magnificent. The waitress were warm friendly and super attentive. Will surely come here again.

Amazing sushi and overall a really good experience. The sashimi was just melting in our mouths.

A great hole in the wall Japanese restaurant on the drive.
I’ve been a few times now with my partner and kids and am pleased at how consistent the food is here.
The sashimi is fresh and tasty and presented most delightfully. They add little extras like a few slices of strawberries or other little fruits.
The ebi sunomono, according to my partner, is the best he’s had and gives you lots of shrimp.
The staff is thoughtful about children in the restaurant and have plastic plates and high chairs etc.
I enjoy the nigiri sushi and daily fresh sashimi specials. Prices are reasonable.
The only thing that could be improved a little is the service but it’s not that bad either.
This will likely be our go-​to sushi place on the drive in the future.

Went here for the first time last night and had a marvellous experience. I absolutely love that their salmon is wild, and their seafood is SO fresh.
Randomly, they serve water in small stainless steel cups and it keeps it so cold and refreshing. I also love that they use reusable chopsticks — less waste that way.
My friends and I had Party Tray C and while it took a little while to prepare, it was a lot of sushi and the three of us left immensely satisfied. I will absolutely be returning, the menu is enormous, diverse, and everything looks delicious.

Sometimes it’s a bit of a wait but it’s worth it. They use wild salmon in all the dishes, everything is prepared fresh and presentation is next to none! Portion sizes are perfect. Tatsu special box is big enough to share! We usually get that and a roll on the side and between the two of us we are super full. Shrimp crunch roll is also yummy!

First off, I like their concept of using organic greens in their salads and wild sockeye salmon (only). Ambience was decent but nothing spectacular about it.
Food was mediocre. Salmon sashimi wasn’t fresh. Slight discolouration and it’s been frozen for a while. The special rolls were alright but nothing to ‘wow’ about. I’m not sure how it can even compare to Kishimoto, because it simply just doesn’t. The presentation of the dishes were nicely decorated, so I’ll give them that. We ordered the crunchy tatsu roll and the fried toppings were soggy and the outside layer that’s fried was really hard and had an unpleasant taste.
Lastly, service was horrendous. Probably the worst I’ve experienced in a while. The waitresses were not attentive and it took 30 minutes just for our sashimi to arrive. Another 20 minutes for our next roll of sushi. We were never offered water or tea when we sat down and had to wait a good 10 minutes before a waitress came to take our order. Mind you, we tried to flag them down but they don’t scan their surroundings and they harsh tunnel vision. This is one of those restaurants that could possibly be better if the boss knew how to manage or run the business better. Needless to say, even if the food was somewhat acceptable, the service ruined the whole dining experience.
Unimpressed. Almost wished we’d spent that extra time to wait for a seat at Kishimoto…

I wanted to give this place 2 stars but I thought I’d give it the benefit of the doubt since I’ve only been here once (and won’t be returning for the main reason explained below).
When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was the clean, modern décor and ambiance. Luckily, some guests were about to leave as soon as we got there so we didn’t have to wait too long for a table. However, as soon as we were seated with our menus, the WAITING GAME began. We waited around 5 – 7 min before the waitress came and asked if we wanted anything to drink. Another 5 min before the tea showed up. By this time we were ravenous and just wanted to order food. Getting the waitresses’ attention was like an Olympian feat. After we ordered, we waited another 15 – 20 min.
Unfortunately, the service just didn’t match up to the food, which was beautifully presented and decent-​tasting. Worth the wait though? I don’t think so.

[Snail-​Pace Sushi]
I found myself on the drive with an empty stomach and an hour to kill so I randomly walked into this sushi joint. The place was nicely decorated and had ample seating for 25. I only needed a light dinner as it was a pre-​sports meal.
As I perused the menu, I noticed the next table over getting a large sashimi platter that looked like a museum piece than food. The sashimi was beautifully decorated and came with a 5″ bonsai tree on it — yes, an actual mini tree on a plate of sashimi! Anyways, I didn’t need anything that elaborate so I stuck with dragon and rainbow rolls with two piecs of uni sushi. I informed the waitress that I was in a bit of a hurry.
For the next 40 minutes, I sat there waiting for my food. Not impressed. I flagged a waitress down twice asking about the status of my meal and received the same rehearsed response: «it’s coming». By the time my food came, I was starving and had roughly 3 minutes to wolf it all down. The problem seemed to be that the chefs were more interested in preparing the to-​go orders then finishing two rolls for a patron actually sitting in their dining room! Two thumbs down!
The food quality is just okay. The fish wasn’t the freshest I’ve had but acceptable. Value-​wise, I was disappointed. At $ 9 each, the dragon and rainbow rolls were tiny — I almost considered grabbing a pizza down the street. Most other sushi restaurants’ specialty rolls tend to be bigger and thus justify the heftier price tag. Not the case here. The uni was quite good but again, mini-​sized.
In the end, I was full enough to resume my nightly activities but I was underwhelmed by the whole experience. Next time, I’d probably play it safe and visit Kishimoto down the street.

Over the years, I have typically stayed clear of Japanese restaurants after an unhappy raw fish experience. I don’t recall what brought me to Tatsu originally over two years ago and I would say Tatsu is the best Japanese bistro in town.
I work on The Drive and tend not to have much time for sit down lunches preferring to bring something from home and eating on the fly. But when sit down time is available, then Tatsu is the first choice.
Let’s start with the presentation, regardless of the menu item, it is always charming and pretty with added berries and green. Sashimi is so fresh and clean presented on a platter resting on ice. Add avocado roll made with black rice. Rice options include traditional white, brown and black. My favourite meal is the California Don, a delicious twist on the California roll in a bowl with wasabi mayo and black rice.
The service is always super friendly and attentive. Every lunch hour the small bistro gets slammed with hungry diners and the chefs and servers work at a feverish pace to deliver delicious food presented beautifully.
We often order from Tatsu for our staff or volunteer meetings. Everyone raves.
I feel so fortunate to be able to have the experience to dine at Tatsu.