Samurai Sushi Japanese Restaurant (web site, map, 1108 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-609-0078) is a good choice for decent quality, affordable sushi in the downtown West End neighborhood. The restaurant is fairly small and does not take reservations, so if you go during peak times you might have to wait a few minutes to get a table. But a policy of no reservations seems to be the norm for some of the more popular and reasonably priced restaurants in the area, such as the Greek restaurant Stepho’s, just a few doors down Davie. Pictured below are some of the items we ate, including the Tuna and Salmon sashimi ($9.95), the Toro Sashimi ($10.50), half order of House Roll sushi ($5.25), chopped scallop roll ($3.90), and some nigiri sushi pieces ($0.99 cents a piece for Inari and Saba, and $1.95 per piece of Ikura salmon roe).

cvancouver writes (click here for their review):

Every sushi roll is over sized and jam packed. Party trays (from $20-$35) are enough to feed 4 average person. Compared to many eat-in restaurants, I find Sashimi to be quite the “bang for your buck.”

For more photos please view Part 3, Part 2, or Part 1.

(above) Tuna and salmon sashimi at Samurai Sushi in Vancouver, $9.95

(above) Toro Sashimi, full order, $10.50, from Samurai Japanese Restaurant

(above) Half order of House Roll Sushi ($5.25) from Samurai Sushi

(above) Ikura sushi ($1.95 each) and chopped scallop roll ($3.90)

(above) Saba nigiri sushi (Mackerel, $0.99 each), Inari sushi (sweet bean curd wrapper, $0.99) and Ikura sushi from Samurai Japanese Sushi restaurant.

Shanghai 1949 (facebook, 1215 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-699-8878) is a modern Chinese bistro located in Vancouver’s downtown West End neighborhood. It was almost 10pm on a warm Monday evening and I happened to be meandering around downtown with a friend, taking in the sights and sounds of citizens at leisure (the next day being Canada Day). The modern decor of this restaurant always intrigued me and we decided to pop in for a quick bite.

The 1949 Spring Rolls ($4.00, pictured below) were quite frankly the best spring rolls I have ever had. I believe they were made with pork, and were incredibly juicy.

The restaurant was all out of Cod fish, but instead the chef prepared a special Malaysian-inspired spicy Tai (snapper) fish, which was bursting with flavor and was quite a generous portion ($12, also pictured below). We also ordered a plate of steamed white rice ($2). Not bad for a late night snack, and I’ll definitely be back to try some of their other selections.

(above) Spring Rolls from Shanghai 1949 Chinese Restaurant ($4.00)

(above) Chef’s special Tai fish (also known as Snapper, $12) from Shanghai 1949 Restaurant in downtown Vancouver.

Cardero’s Restaurant (web site, 1583 Coal Harbour Quay, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-669-7666) is an upscale destination for seafood, steaks, wok dishes, and pizza. It’s a generously sized restaurant that sits out on a pier in the Coal Harbour marina, with great waterfront and dock-side views. This is an impressive place to entertain visitors to Vancouver, have a fancy business lunch, or even enjoy a romantic dinner with live music later in the evening.

Cardero’s restaurant is about a 10-15 minute walk along the Coal Harbor waterfront from the Vancouver Convention Center downtown (Canada Place) as well as the downtown business district. It’s also really close to the Westin Bayshore Hotel.

Pictured below are the Fishermen’s Platter (2 fresh oysters, 2 jumbo prawns, 2 slices albacore tuna, 2 slices seared rare ahi tuna, and seaweed salad for $18.95), and the 10oz New York Steak (grilled, seasoned, with pink peppercorn sauce $28.95) to which I added a 1/2 dozen bistro prawns for $5.95.

Fishermen’s Platter (prawns, albacore tuna, ahi tuna, seaweed salad, and oyster), $18.95

Another view of the same Fishermen’s Platter (Raw Oysters, and various sauces and garnishes such as dijon mustard, wasabi, and pickled ginger)

10oz New York Steak with Bistro Prawns ($28.95 plus $5.95 extra for the prawns)