Tatsu Japanese Bistro - Vancouver

This cozy restaurant is located along the street. They offer a wide variety of options on their menu, such as fried chicken (which I believe was Korean-style) and was cooked to perfection.

My coworkers and I used to love coming to this restaurant when we worked in the area. Even though there are a lot of Japanese restaurants on the Drive, this one stood out as one of the best.

I have visited this restaurant twice and had two excellent experiences. It is smaller than most sushi restaurants, but it seems quite popular.

Tatsu is a tiny Japanese bistro located on “The Drive” in Vancouver. We stopped by one weekend for lunch and managed to squish into a table near the window. We started out with the Lunch Bento with Chicken Teriyaki $12.95). It’s not a bad bento box given the variety of items that you get: California roll, fried gyoza, tempura, chicken teriyaki, and salad.

Disclaimer: I haven't been to the actual restaurant itself; this review is based strictly on the food that I've got via delivery/takeout.<br/ <br/ My mom had her birthday recently and she specifically told me that she wanted to eat sushi rolls, the fancy kind with seafood and avocado which I'm actually allergic to, but who cares, I'm not a huge fan of sushi anyways). Being a completely home-bound recluse who doesn't go more than 5 blocks out of the house, I had to resort to ordering takeout. I decided to try out Tatsu Japanese Bistro, which is a Japanese place located on Commercial Drive. I ordered three of their special sushi rolls: Prosciutto, Bull's, and Lobster. I also got some food for myself, including their Kushiyaki Platter, Teriyaki Chicken, and Loco Moco. Although I can't say anything about the ambience or service, the food that I had received from delivery was quite solid. Their prices were also fairly reasonable. All in all, a decent place for some Japanese fare.<br/ <br/ Kushiyaki Platter, 6 pcs $13.95):<br/ 3.5/5<br/ This came with two skewers each of chicken, shrimp, and bacon scallop. My favourite was actually the chicken, which was tender, juicy, and very flavourful. The shrimp was a bit on the bland side. The bacon had a nice smoky flavour, although the scallop was as expected), quite small.<br/ <br/ Teriyaki Chicken $9.95):<br/ 3.5/5<br/ I was a bit disappointed to see that the chicken didn't come with any skin. The meat was still tasty however, being tender and juicy, with a nice smoky grilled flavour. It was a tad on the bland side however<br/ <br/ Loco Moco $9.95):<br/ 3.5/5<br/ This consisted of either a beef or pork patty I picked pork) on rice, and is served with rice, a fried egg, veggies, and sauce. The patty was quite tender and juicy, and had a nice flavour. The egg was slightly runny in the middle. I did find the sauce to be a tad tangy however.<br/ <br/ Prosciutto Special Roll $11.50):<br/ N/A<br/ This came with mango, avocado, cucumber, cream cheese and prosciutto. I didn't have this since I'm allergic to avocado; my mom quite enjoyed it though she loves prosciutto).<br/ <br/ Bull's Special Roll $11.95):<br/ N/A<br/ This came with ebi tempura, teriyaki beef, crab, cucumber, lettuce, and tempura crisps. I actually wanted to try this roll, but unfortunately it does come also with avocado though not listed in the description). But my mom really enjoyed it; this was actually her favourite of the three rolls.<br/ <br/ Lobster Special Roll $15.95):<br/ N/A<br/ This came with barbecue lobster meat, asparagus, avocado and cucumber. Again, I wasn't able to try this roll, but this was actually my mom's least favourite of the three. The lobster meat that they give you is apparently from the claw, which most people don't like. <br/ <br/ Summary:<br/ Food: 3.5/5<br/ Price: 4/5<br/ Service: N/A<br/ Overall: 3.5/5<br/ Recommendations: Kushiyaki Platter, Bull's Special Roll