Shi Zen Ya - Vancouver

I've been meaning to try this place for years and finally got around to it! I was interested in the healthy concept but I also really liked the intimate and relaxing atmosphere of the restaurant. The staff was so nice and really knew and cared about the menu. It's a small space, but there was no wait for a table for 3 on Monday night. We all really enjoyed our food. I got their Sakura Blossom roll and vegan pumpkin pudding for dessert. The sushi was made with fresh fish and vegetables, and the texture of the brown rice was on point. I really didn't notice any difference from normal white sushi rice beyond a little bit of an earthier taste. As a special roll, the flavour concept was very balanced and it was interesting but not flashy. I loved the pumpkin pudding too, it was a really unique dessert! This has a very natural earthy taste and wasn't too sweet, which was balanced out by the brown sugar syrup. I had a bite of green tea mochi ice cream I would recommend the pudding as more of a must try, but if you want something more conventional this would be a great choice. Their prices are fair. The sushi rolls are surprisingly filling, but the dinner combo, which someone else in my group ordered is the best value for quantity a lot of high quality food for $25.

Hard to find sushi restaurants that use organic brown rice and vegetables. You will find it at Shi Zen Ya. I went to the location on Broadway. We ordered dynamite roll with organic avocado. It was delicious! Next we had Sakura Blossom roll with real crab meat, spicy albacore tuna with wild sockeye salmon on top. This tasted so fresh and feeling good knowing the ingredients are organic and local. Lastly we had vegetable tempura with whole wheat. It was really good and tasted really close normal tempura with white flour. Here's to healthy food that can also be delicious! The service was outstanding with attentive staff ensuring tea cup was filled and checking in on us.

Honestly the best and most fresh food ever! Try the tofu and avocado salad!!! Friendly service.

We were looking for a sushi spot while visiting Vancouver on a weekday night and happened to come across Shizenya. Our party of 5 was seated right away, and the staff was super nice and attentive to our needs (kids' utensils, helping to clean up spills, etc). Honestly, I was so hungry that I missed the part on their website about only using brown rice haha. That was a bit of a surprise but it was more delicious than I expected (and better for my health as well). I ordered the chirashi don and all the fish was super fresh. The kids enjoyed some udon, which had a very hearty broth with good flavor. All in all, Shizenya is a good choice for some quality, healthy sushi in Vancouver!

I was underestimating this place for extremely long time. I think it's because I had a really bad experience having brown rice sushi at other places so in my mind, brown rice roll is just dry and not tasty. But living in the neighborhood, I finally decided to go. I checked the online menu, hmm..brown rice roll.. Bento box... I hope they don't put foods on those old worn out plastic box... many concerns but I went anyway. Oh my goodness!! They actually have more stuff at the restaurant!! They even had this kale ramen! With vegan ground beef. The cool things out this place is that although they focus on being healthy and natural but that doesn't mean they only have vegan foods, in case your picky boy friend needs some real meat, they do have real meats options. Anyway, so I ordered this green kale ramen, with many toppings on it, in creamy soup. Super delicious!! And very filling. I've also tried their salmon roll, with brown rice. Wow, I didn't know that the brown rice could be this tasty! It wasn't dry at all. Another nice thing about this place is that they don't use cheap plastic wares. They use real glass/ceramic plates. I haven't tried all of their other dishes but I will be back, very soon! :