Vancouver is a melting pot for its diverse culture and, as food lovers know it, various restaurants featuring different types of ethnic food. Due to the large Asian population in Vancouver, there is always a wide range of Asian restaurants to choose from whether you are in the mood for some cheap and quick Asian comfort food or dressing up for a fancy Asian fusion restaurant.
Out of all the Asian restaurants in Vancouver, I must say Zakkushi has been my number one all time favorite ever since I stumbled across it a few years back.
Zakkushi is known for its BBQ skewers, but also features other Japanese tapas such as ebimayo (deep fried prawns with spicy mayo sauce), gyoza (pan fried dumplings with chicken and prawn) and yakiudon (pan fried udon noodles).
Since there are so many other Japanese izakayas that serve similar types of Japanese tapas, every time I go to Zakkushi, I always try to order something more unique that you can't get anywhere else. I usually end up getting the same things a lot of times because they are so good and I just love them!
Zakkushi doesn't use a lot of sauce or spices in their food. Instead, they use simple seasoning to add a light touch to the taste and, at the same time, preserve the original flavour of the ingredients. Everything is grilled to perfection and every bite is surprisingly tasty. Nothing is overly greasey or heavy. It's definitely the one BBQ place that won't make you feel guilty after you've stuffed your face there!
Zakkushi also features a variety of Asain drinks at very reasonable prices. In the summer (from June to August) they have Sapporo pithers on special for $9.99 (Sunday to Thursday only). The regular price for a pitcher is $14.99 which is not too bad either. They also have other Japanese beers such as Asahi and Kirin. For sake and sho chu lovers, Zakkushi has a list of different types of sake and sho chu to choose from. Umeshu (Japanese plum wine) is my all time favourite. It's sweet and light, perfect with soda water or simply on the rocks. In addition, Zakkushi also has a wide range of cocktails (priced only at $4.80 each!) with Japanese mixes such as calpico, oolong tea, and plum wine.
Zakkushi is not open for lunch but is open late for dinner and late night drinks and bites. The portions are not large so if you are pretty hungry and end up ordering a lot of skewers (which can happen very easily because everything is so yummy!) your bill can add up quick. Trust me though, it's worth every penny! Every bite will take your breath away and make you wonder where you've been all your life. It's definitely legit and authentic Japanese food that is simply delicious!
The restaurant is small and always packed with people. The good thing is they do take reservation so you can avoid having to wait in line! B and I end up having to sit at the bar a lot of times because they don't have tables available. But we don't mind because we get to watch all the food being grilled and prepared from the bar which is pretty fun. It's a fun place for drinks and appies with friends, but the bill can get confusing if you go in a large group and everyone orders a bunch of skewers and drinks. I would recommend going in smaller groups or, as B and I like to do, make it into a fun date night.
Zakkushi has two locations: one downtown on Denman and Robson, and one on Main and King Edward. There used to be on 4th Ave but it recently closed, which is very disappointing because there are not very many authentic Asain restaurants in the Kitslano area. I have never been to the Main location. I usually go to the one on Denman because I live downtown and Denman is a more convenient location for me. Though I plan on checking out the Main location sometime in the future when I'm in the area! B has promised to take me to Zakkushi for my upcoming birthday next week so I'm looking forward to it.
Zakkushi is definitely the one restaurant I will continue to visit until the end of time. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend you to check it out!
If you have never been to Zakkushi, I highly recommend the following items, which are my all time favorites:
Ikayaki (grill whole squid with terriyaki sauce and spicy mayo)
Tonshabu salad (green salad with sliced pork and poched egg)
Negi p-toro don (steamed rice topped with grilled pork belly pieces, poched egg, green onions and seaweed)
The following are the BBQ skewers:
Gyu tongue (beef tongue)
Oropon beef (beef with grated white radish, chopped green onion and ponzu sauce)
P-toro (crunchy and juicy pork belly with seasoning and lemon)
Uzura maki (boiled quail eggs wrapped in pork and BBQ on a skewer, finished with mayo drizzles and a sprinkle of seaweed slices)
Mochi maki (sticky rice cake with wrapped in pork and BBQ on a skewer)
Yakioni (BBQ rice triangles with butter soysauce. The rice is crispy on the outside with the aroma of butter)
Garlic prawn (BBQ prawn skewers with butter, soy sauce, seasoning and garlic chips)
Check out more pictures and menu on the official Zakkushi website:
http://www.zakkushi.com/
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