Sushi Masuda

“🌟 The places marked with 🌟 are highly recommended After coming to Vancouver, I was honestly getting disappointed with Japanese food here. But I finally got a reservation at this sushi place (I had to cancel my first booking and rebook, so it took a long time). The restaurant is very small, with only about six seats. It feels quiet and cozy, and for a moment, it felt like I was in Tokyo. The ingredients are brought in from different parts of Japan, and you can really tell the effort behind it. The texture of the fish was very impressive. Slightly chewy in a good way. The aji (mackerel) tasted exactly like what I had in Japan. The rice might not be for everyone. The grains felt a bit smaller, and it wasn’t very sticky. But the fish was so good that it didn’t really matter. There aren’t many great omakase options in Vancouver. I came in with low expectations, but this was the first time in a while that I had sushi that truly felt like real sushi.”

“Sushi Masuda is a fairly new restaurant, having just opened in March of 2024. It received a Michelin Star in its opening year and again this year. Chef-owner Yoji Masuda has over a dozen years of experience, having worked at the two Michelin star Sushi Yoshitake in Ginza, Tokyo before returning to his hometown of Vancouver, where he also received The Michelin Guide Vancouver 2024 Young Chef Award. The restaurant is hidden inside another restaurant within the Oceanic Plaza. It is a very small space with only six seats facing the chef at the counter. I love the shari that’s used here. The texture has just the right amount of firmness, and the grains are so nicely individual. The vinegar is also not too strong for my taste and not too mellow. It’s probably one of my favourite shari in terms of texture, alongside Sushi Nishinokaze, although the flavour between the two is different. Each otsumami was perfectly balanced in flavour and refreshing. The dishes served at Sushi Masuda seem more innovative / conventional rather than traditional / edomae. My main complaint is that there wasn’t enough rice in both the sushi and the otsumami dishes. The nigiri are very small, and I felt that the meal could have been more filling. Overall, I was satisfied with the meal. I’m not sure how different the offerings are according to the seasons, but I definitely would like to come back during a different season to try more.”

“My very first omakase experience and I am absolutely impressed. Everything is meticulously prepared with premium ingredients that are sourced locally and different parts of Japan but mostly from Hokkaido. This experience is definitely unforgettable.”

“Fantastic. Amazing. Heavenly. These are the words that I would describe my omakase experience with chef Yoji Masuda. Chef Yoji guided us on an adventure through each piece of sushi, highlighting where the protein came from and showcasing his beautiful knife skills. Each piece had the perfect balance of flavor and texture. Honestly, there's items that I normally do not eat, yet I find delicious in his hands. It was a 3-hour experience, and I was comfortably full at the end. Because there's only 6 seats per time slot, it felt intimate, and we even had the opportunity to chat with our neighbors. Overall, I can see why this talented chef earned a michelin star so quickly in less than a year of opening his restaurant.”

“The food was delicious and very authentic. However, you can hear the loud talking sound from the restaurant nearby, which makes the omakase experience less enjoyable.”