Yui Japanese Bistro recently opened in Downtown Vancouver and is a hidden gem tucked away in a business building. They pride themselves of making aburi sushi at affordable prices. Yui is located on the first floor. The restaurant is pretty small, so go for dinner earlier in the evening. They are open daily from 11am – 8pm except Sunday. I came with Dee for a visit at 7pm and there was a wait of about 20 minutes.
Tea
Before the meal begins, they bring over cups of tea. You can also ask for a small pot of tea.
Aburi Oshi
My favourite spot is at the bar, so you can see all the action of them putting each dish together.
They have 3 kinds on their menu – ebi, saba and salmon. Each sushi is torched with charcoal.
Salmon Aburi Oshi
They use sockeye salmon on top of the sushi and one embedded inside the rice. They apply the house-made sauce and then torched for added flavour. It is then topped with pepper and a jalapeno. So delicious and made to perfection. Also it’s only $10.25, which is very affordable.
Ebi Aburi Oshi
A block of rice topped with Shrimp, ume sauce and lime zest. The lime was a very interesting addition to the pressed rolls to bring more freshness and liven the flavour. The flame really transforms that ume sauce to add some smokiness.
Saba Aburi Oshi
It is topped with mackerel, shiso, and a miso sauce. The charcoal flame also lightly kisses the mackerel and miso sauce. Delicious as well.
Karai Rice Bowl
Bincho toro, okra, spicy kimchi cabbage, amakuchi soy, and some greens sits on top of white rice. You mix it all together with the soy and it makes a great dish for lunch. Very healthy too.
Salmon Carpaccio
The salmon carpaccio is beautifully cut and they use sockeye salmon.
Each order has 5 pieces and then its torched with some charcoal. They then top it off with some decadent garnish and sauce.
It was all really good and we just wanted more. hahaha. There are some black dried olives on top that balanced nicely.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I loved my experience at Yui Japanese Bistro. This small restaurant is bursting with flavour and it’s very affordable compared to some other places out there in Vancouver. I’ll be back!
We Rate Yui Japanese Bistro: 
Address:
1185 W Georgia St, Unit 102, Vancouver
Website:
http://eatatyui.com/
