Roll Combo

Sushi Van is located on Granville near Broadway, and is among one of my favourite spots to have lunch with my colleagues since it’s close by and we don’t really have any other sushi restaurants nearby. It’s tucked away underneath the Vancouver Bullion Currency Exchange, so is a bit of a hidden gem for some. The tiny, but busy restaurant is run by Koreans, but the food is still pretty authentic and there are some decent eats.

My typical order will consist of the Roll Combo, since I find it to be a pretty good deal. For $9, you can choose any of their rolls which are under $6 and you get 5 pieces of assorted nigiri. The nigiris consist of Hokigai (surf clam), Tamago (egg), Ebi (shrimp), Tuna, and Salmon. The sashimi is actually pretty fresh and the rice portion is pretty on par. For the roll I can choose, I usually go for the House Roll, which consists of assorted fish, usually salmon and tuna, crab meat, cucumber, avocado, and masago. You really get a mix of ingredients here, and it works pretty well.

Negitoro Roll

I usually also add on a Negitoro Roll, and then I am filled.

Teriyaki & Sashimi Box

They also offer a variety of bento boxes during lunch hours,and E got the Teriyaki & Sashimi Box. It features beef teriyaki, an assortment of appy size sashimi, appy size tempura, salad, 4 pieces of California Roll, and rice. It’s quite a lot of food for around $12, but the quality is actually pretty good. You get quite a lot of sashimi too, with tuna, salmon, hamachi, and amebi.

Dynamite Roll and Chicken Teriyaki Roll

S went for some of the basics and got the Dynamite Roll which was filled with prawn tempura, avocado, cucumber, crab meat, masago. He also got the Chicken Teriyaki Roll, which is filled with chicken teriyaki and cucumbers. The neat thing about Sushi Van is that they use green tea in their rice, so you’ll find the rice to be a bit tinted in green. Apparently it’s more healthy this way.

Beef Box

Stevie D got the Beef Box, which features beef teriyaki, 4 pieces of California Roll, an appy size of tempura, salad, and rice.

Party Tray A

On another occasion, E and I decided to go all out and get the Party Tray A for just the two of us. It’s designed for 2-3 people, as the menu says, but I guess it’s really ideal for 3 as we ended up having quite a bit of leftover. You get quite a large variety, including the salmon roll, California roll, dynamite roll, spicy tuna roll, calamari roll, and Salifornia roll, which is California roll wrapped salmon and deep fried with BBQ sauce. For around $25, this is a pretty good deal if you share between 3 people.

Overall, Sushi Van offers some decent eats at a reasonable price. It can be quite busy during lunch hours, so service is not always the best. Seating can also be a bit cramped here since it’s relatively small. However, with the limited choices around here, it makes a good spot to enjoy some sushi. Oh, and be sure to try their Tokyo Tower, which is also a favourite!

Pros:
– Decent eats
– Reasonable prices

Cons:
– Service can be lacking during busy hours

Price Range: $10-20

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 3 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 3 Overall: 3