I’ve wanted to try Suika out after my coworker highly recommended this place. Since M, ConsultingGirl, and LabRat wanted to have dinner, I decided to make a reservation and drive down.
We originally wanted to get here by 6pm to get a seat at the tables rather than the bar, but ConsultingGirl’s phone went crazy and did not wake her up. As we waited for her to put on her face, I called the restaurant to see if they could still hold our table, but since it was fully booked, they would only offer us seats at the bar at 6:30pm.
We were not very happy since sitting at the bar for 4 people is quite hard to converse. Since our belly’s were rumbling, we still went ahead with the plan and made our way there.
Suika is a Japanese Snack Bar on Broadway. They are similar to the other Izakaya restaurants in Vancouver. What we found super cool about Suika was their open kitchen. You can look into their whole kitchen and see the chefs busy at work.
The interior decor is super super cool as well. Their main chandelier is made out of sake bottles. At their bar, you can see they made use of industrial materials like pipes and cement blocks to give it a nice asian flair.
2 things which we enjoyed looking at were the cool handles for their Sapporo on tap; it’s a samurai sword! Also above the bar, they show old episodes of Kamen Rider. Since there is no sound, you get to read the most outrageous subtitles. We didn’t exactly understand the show, but it was hilarious watching the weird costumes.
We started off the night getting a pot of Genmai Cha ($1.80). This is one of their more popular teas.
ConsultingGirl and I both shared the Deluxe “Suika” Box ($10). It comes with 9 little appetizers served in little sake cups. It is very cute and has nice presentation. I’ll try to explain them row by row. Tomatoes, lotus root, pickled vegetables, chicken, tuna tataki, chawan mushi, spicy tofu, crackers with spread, and beef tongue. If you intend to share this box, it is best with 2 people.
We both found the tastes pretty average, some really good, some ok, but overall great concept and you do get a chance to try a bit of everything.
M, ConsultingGirl and I got 2 orders of the Ebi Mayo ($7.80). It comes with about 6 pieces of battered tiger prawns with chilli mayo sauce. These were ok, but it still does not beat the ones we had at Toratatsu. When you first take a bite of it, there is a bit too much mayo near the head of the ebi.
LabRat ordered the Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio. Raw pieces of sockeye salmon garnished with garlic chips, scallions, onions and lemon.
We got the Gyu Yukke Don ($8.80), this has marinated beef sashimi, garlic, and sesame seeds on steamed rice. It is also topped off with sweet pea shoots and a raw egg.
A cool thing about this dish is that you get to grind up your own sesame seeds with a rod and a textured bowl. ConsultingGirl had a fun time grinding it all up. As she did that, I proceeded to mix up the ingredients with the rice. Fun!
I thought this dish was just ok since it felt very strange eating the beef sashimi warm. ConsultingGirl on the other hand loved it. The flavours nonetheless were very well combined!
M ordered the Tuna and Miso Pizza. This is a thin pizza with tuna, miso, tomato and cheese. M couldn’t make up his mind about what he thought about the pizza. The pizza was well prepared, but he felt the cooked tuna was super weird on pizza. It was just something he was not use to.
LabRat ordered the Tokyo Oxtail Ramen ($9.80). This has braised oxtail in a soy sauce broth. It is topped with fish flakes and scallions. She did not take a particular liking to the ramen. It was ok, but I think the ramen at the ramen shops are way better.
Next, ConsultingGirl and I shared the Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki ($6.00). It had a semi mild chili sauce sauce covering the tuna tataki. The tuna tataki rested on top of onions and scallions. Very good twist to the usual tuna tataki.
Then ConsultingGirl and I had the Sashimi “Shake” Salad ($7.80).
The reason why it has the word “shake” because they come up to your tables with this jar full of salad and start shaking it infront of you, then pour it all into a large bowl. It makes for a little show. The salad is composed of mixed greens, sashimi, tobiko and shrimp +sesame oil dressing.
It was a large salad for a good price. Very fresh and clean salad to end the meal.
At the end of the meal, you are given frozen grapes. They are perfect at the end of the meal since they also act as pallet cleansers to rid your mouth of the old tastes.
Overall, good experience, good ambiance, and great food. What I found interesting was how all 4 of us had different thoughts on Suika. ConsultingGirl loved it, LabRat thought it was ok and M was indifferent.
I would probably go again! Next time, we will probably make reservations a few days before to get a table rather than sit at the bar.
Words of Wisdom:
- Pay parking on Street
- Reservations highly recommended
We Rate Suika: 
Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC
1 Comment
I’ve passed Suika so many times when taking the 99, and always have wondered whether it was worth trying or not… From the looks of it, most of the items are sharing-type dishes, no? Aside from things like the ramen your friend got. [Probably because, as you said, it’s like an izakaya?] From what you’ve said, it was good but not great, it seems… But good to know that it’s not expensive for what you get! Because of its modern-look and the classy décor, and the fact that it calls itself a “snack bar”, I kept thinking it was one of those overpriced trendy places that you leave feeling hungry.