April 16th - Ebisu Sushi - Fairview - Vancouver - Great Set Menu and Mid-Week Discounts

D had a sushi craving and in the neighbourhood, we have dozens of sushi to select from.  The scale is quite different as well.  We have Zagat rated, world recognized Tojo's to your typical carry out sushi bars.  I have a predeliction for Ebisu up the road because if it is between Sunday - Thursday, there is a notable discount .... or at least there used to be.  They recently changed their menu.  

Grand Cosmopolitan

Oh no! I do not do well with gastronomic curve balls.  I have walked out in the past, or rather snuck out.  If I leave, it is not to make a statement but because whatever craving drew me to the restaurant is not going to be sated. That is why I normally read menus on line before booking or going.  Ebisu however, is a middle of the road to nicer sushi restaurant outside the downtown core so I had not anticipated a big change to their menu so I did not check.  Lesson learned: always check the menu online first.

I used to love their big fixed menu for 20$. Admittedly it was alot of food and perhaps why they discontinued it.  The shame is that two items on the fixed, that were also offered on the main menu are not offered anymore at all: Seafood Miso soup and the Sushi Tacos where the taco shell is a deep fried gyoza/mandu wrapper.  The taco was delightful.  And the fixed menu used to include the Sashi Salad and now does not.  It is still on the menu though and it is a great salad. As well, they used to have a signficant discount on the sushi/nigiri from Sun-Thu.  No more.  Instead there is the main menu and 1 discount prix fixe menu.  Makes sense from a complexity perspective but I wish I had known. Their main menu is quite large and hard to navigate. 

D and both took the new Prix Fix and 1 extra roll. The new Prix Fixe is 14$ for any three items on that large side menu with starters through to noodle bowls as well Ice Cream is included.  I went for the nicely diverse yet satisfying mixed approach and D went for a sushi centric tack.

I started with the Tuna Tataki Salad.  I use the word started loosely because it all sort of arrived at once.  It was not ideal for the Tempura temperature if I wanted to eat my salad first but not a big deal.  It was a few nice sized pieces of well seared Tuna on a bed of baby green and sprouts with a Ginger dressing.  The dressing was a not really there.  But underdressed is better than over dress greens so I was okay with that.  I dunked my tuna in the soy I had for the sushi.  It was a good salad but the tuna was clashing with one of the vegetables, either the cherry tomato or cucumber but it was unpleasant.  That could just be me but something about the combination of Tuna and Tomato is quite offensive to me. 

I then had the mixed Tempura: Prawn, Carrot, Acorn Squash, Sweet Potato and Taro.  The temperature was great, piping hot.  The breading was a tad pancake batter-y as it cooled off.  It was a tad oily as well which happens if the oil is not hot enough.  I enjoyed the Squash and Carrot most.  Overall, I liked it.

I then had the Vancouver Roll.  It is like a California Roll Wrapped in Smoked Salmon.  Quite nice. 

D had Tuna and Salmon Nigiri.  Very fresh, nice size pieces.  And then he had a Dynamite roll.  Fairly run of the mill.  Fresh, good sized prawn.  I never order Dynamite or California in a sit down sushi because they are the staple of Vancouver's abundant carry out sushi bars.  But that's me and D liked his Dynamite roll.  That said,  he was still hungry and needed to eat some of my salad and a piece of my Vancouver roll and some of my Tempura... hmmmm :^P

So we ordered one more Maki roll, the Samurai Power Roll.  It was like a California Roll but this time Wrapped in Unagi (BBQ'd Eel) and topped with Black and Red roe, drizzled with a flavoured Mayo.  I liked this roll quite alot because it all seemed to work together texture and flavour wise.  The mayo was a nice touch.  Whereas the Vancouver roll was tasty but not holistically a stunner. 

I ordered the Grand Cosmopolitan martini and D had an Asahi beer.  I like my cocktail and I liked the price even better.  They have a decent cocktail list and wine list.  Do not try their Saki cocktails, some things just should not find themselves together in a glass.  Their Sake's are quite pricey, strangely enough.  I enjoy sake but the typically high price for sake in japanese restaurants in Vancouver does not compel me to order it often.  I'd rather have a nice mellow complex sake at home than an over priced, methylated, sharp one in a restaurant.

Cost: $$
Ambiance: A killer view of downtown and the mountains
Staff: Welcoming, friendly and efficient
Winelist: still not great

Ebisu Sushi Restaurant

601 West Broadway, #12
Vancouver, BC V5Z4C2
(CORRECTION! I had the Robson address before.)