Continuing on my quest for perfect Japanese curry in Vancouver - Ebi-Ten was the next on my hit-list. The tiny Japanese cafeteria/fast-food joint on Robson may be a dime-a-dozen in Japan, but it's sadly rare in Vancouver. There are huge menu signs throughout the restaurant and you can choose from pre-made refrigerated sushi and various rice bowls combos. I think this place is has some kind of deal with Coca-Cola as they seem to push Coke on every combo. I went with the main feature du jour - the (lame-sounding) Olympic curry - which has a sizable pork cutlet over shredded chicken curry on rice for $9 after taxes. The rice was a little dry and the curry was pretty average, even with the shredded chicken - however, the tonkatsu (pork cutlet) was awesome - juicy, flaky and so fresh. Overall, the tonkatsu saved the curry dish alone. Overall, not bad and will probably be coming back here or Barefoot Kitchen for my next Japanese curry fix. Unless it was a fluke, Ebi-Ten probably does deep-fried cutlets damned well. read more

Ebi-Ten - 'Olympic' Curry - pork cutlet & shredded chicken curry on rice - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Good food but felt they were cheap.... it was my second time ordering food from there.. I felt the staff were very friendly and the food was decent... it came to my surprise that when I wanted to add sriracha to my udon soup, they asked for $0.25... sure I understand it's a cheap amount, but very disappointed that they would not just include this staple in this cost... am I really going to add this $0.25 cost on to my MasterCard after already paying for my meal? Ridiculous...too bad because the soup would have been way better.... Staff:9/10 very cute! Service: 6/10 fast but extra charge for sriracha? Food:6/10 (would have been better with more flavour) Atmosphere: 7/10 decent for a fast food Japanese place Price: 7.5/10 reasonable but felt ripped off with the additional cost for sriracha read more

Japanese Fast food at its best fresh sushi, beef and chicken bowls, bento boxes, Octoballs, combos, (stops and takes breath... whew...) everything u ever wanted for a quick lunch and it comes out quick! This place is always busy. the staff are friendly with their pimped out uniforms and their sassy Japanese talk lol. I love going here for a speedy bite to eat while walking around the hustle and bustle of downtown. I always order the chicken teriaki don w/ cali roll and salad (i never eat the salad tho :/) and soda. Come down and check it out you won't be disappointed ! We need this place in Richmond STAT!! read more

Not a place I'd want to have sushi because they're pre-made, but a steamy bowl of udon on a raining Vancouver day, sure why not? I had the pork and kimchi udon and it's goood. Not too spicy, the ultra thin fatty pork slices and minced meat hold up really well to the spicy soup base. My co-workers had different items and they both polished off their plates before I did. Having said that, there is definitely room for a solid sushi joint around the area, i.e. east side of Yaletown for the working folks. read more

This Japanese fast food restaurant is a little gem in Vancouver. It sits among other fast food restaurants on one side of Robson Street. Its a go to place by locals. The prices of their dishes are very affordable, surprisingly have big servings and tastes really good. The cashier and servers are polite and accommodating as well. Its no frills, nothing fancy here but a clean place to eat. I think anything you order here will satisfy your belly especially with cheap prices. You can't go wrong. read more

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I like my lunchtime Japanese food like I like my sex partners: cheap and easy. Ebi-Ten fits the bill perfectly. I eat lunch here at LEAST twice a week, and it's almost always under $5. Decent selection of pre-prepared sushi, the daily specials are usually good (and dirt cheap), and they have self-serve ginger and tempura bits (which go on EVERYTHING). They're not going to win any awards, but they're damn good at what they do. read more

When I lived in Japan, one of my favourite places for lunch was a little cafe that specialized in ten-don bowls. For a very small price, you got fresh hot tempura served over a bowl of rice, and the whole conconction hung together with a rich brown sauce. Ebi-ten recreates experience and the dish ably. They serve other Japanese lunch counter-type dishes such as teriyaki combos, and a pretty decent, though not mind-blowing, miso soup. They also offer take-away sushi, if you like BC rolls and California rolls. If you can find a seat, it's a pleasant place to eat in. It can get busy, so prepare to be jostled if you come at peak times. Aah, just like Japan. read more

After numerous hours of planning for our NYC trip, H and I were too preoccupied with NYC details that we forgot about dinner. We were desperate for food. We made a good choice, mind you. Ebi-ten is close, and they have good food. They used to deliver, but don't anymore so we had to take the car and drive there. We called 15 minutes ahead to ensure that our food would be ready when we were there. Upon arrival, our food is ready packaged for pick up. It's a nice small place, with ready made packs of sushi near the fridge in the front, and another fridge filled with drinks. I got the Curry Combo plate, which comes with battered prawns, tonkatsu, and chicken? I don't quite remember, but I know that it had a bit of everything, which was perfect for my indecisive mind at that moment. Result? Filled tummies!! The batter was never too thick, just the right crispiness. The curry is the Japanese curry-a bit on the sweeter side, and a good serving of rice to soak up every little drop of the sauce. A throughly quick and enjoyable meal, which sustained us for another couple of hours of trip planning. read more

Looking for some cheap quick Japanese food by the library? This is your place! Made fresh and ready to go, Ebi Ten offers a great variety of fast food for the budget lifestyle. If you have a few more minutes, the hot food here is quite good as well. They also have self-service for ginger, which is awesome amiright? Other bonuses: a wakame salad for less than two bucks? That's hard to find anywhere! Granted it's a bit drier than you'd find elsewhere... Cali rolls are $2.50, and fancier options are around $2.75 - $3, not including taxes. read more

I was introduced to Ebi Ten about a year ago and have gone back anytime I am in the area. I regularly crave the Teriaki chicken bowl for its unusual combination of lettuce, chicken, rice and mayo. Sounds kinda of gross but it is delicious! It may not be super healthy (it is Japanese 'fast food' after all) but it does feel better than opting for a greasy burger. I am sure other items on the menu are tasty but I am a stick to what I know kinda gal. Fast, easy and clean...that is what I like in my fast food! read more

This little shop is so close to my house and my number one spot for take-out after a busy day. I always get the tonkatsu curry and 9 times out of 10, it is darn-near perfect (I'm a massive tonkatsu and curry fan!) The only thing that would make the order better is the availability of pickles to heap on top of the curry - I've only seen them available once and it takes the curry to the next level. The staff are always friendly and as efficient as crowds allow. I love this spot! read more

I'll admit to being slightly biased when it comes to rice bowls. I pretty much live on them at home, so I know a thing or three when it comes to their ingredients and preparation (which, by the way, are both minimal). I mean, how much easier and more delicious can a dish be? Sticky rice, lettuce, japanese mayo, sesame oil, gluten-free soy sauce, and maybe a little shredded nori for good measure -- a classic robin-dish if there ever were one. So I've come to expect a certain level of care from a place that serves pretty much nothing but what I make for myself at home. This is fast food -- not gourmet, but fast -- so the quality will reflect this. I'm sure if I could eat tempura, I'd be in love with the joint, but as it is, Ebi-Ten is pretty okay and nothing more. Sure, I'd love to see more ingredient selection for the bowls (maybe some egg, the aforementioned nori, fresh-cut carrot, cucumber, etc), but this is totally acceptable food at any given time of day. The ingredients are fresh, the staff friendly (enough), and the food is cheap (relatively). Also, the wakame salad is pretty great, despite the plastic container it comes in. Word to the wise though: this ain't no sushi joint, so don't be ordering that noise. For real, why do they even bother with it? Do yourself a favour and get a bowl of Japanese comfort food, and comforted you will be. read more

Basically the QSR of Japanese fast food, find it a bit better, fresher than Fujiya, in terms of their packaged sushi rolls. Fast and cheap, and best for to-go. Can be a bit noisy here but it's a good fun atmosphere. Generally i try to look for a seat in the back along the wall, as the front ones get bottle-necked w/ ppl ordering at the front cashier. Same owners as Ramen Jinya & Donburi, if anyone cared. Easy meter street parking. read more

I personally feel that, when I am reviewing different restaurants, I have to take into consideration their mission statement. I feel that Ebi-Ten does what it aims to do: Japanese fast-food. But don't let the phrase, "Japanese fast-food" fool you. They serve it hot and fresh, and it tastes even better than most sit-in Japanese restaurants. A couple days back, I dropped by this place upon recommendation from a friend. He had said, "yo, check out this place. The food is fast, good, and it isn't too expensive." Well hey, that's incentive enough for me to pay a visit! Ambiance: Man, is this place busy or what? Dinner hours had just begun, and they are already lined up out the door. Needless to say, there were no seats available inside. Treat this place as a take-out joint, because honestly, the ambiance almost discourages you to stay too long. However, I think it serves its purpose. Service: The people taking the orders were smiling and friendly. That's all I would ever expect from this place. I'm very satisfied! Value: These are the cheapest Japanese food that I have found, up to date. If you are looking for a deal, then this is where it's at. For a nice meal plus a pop or a large bowl of miso soup, you are charged ~8 dollars. That works for me! Food: The dish my friends and I had were quite good. The chicken teriyaki combo and the beef teriyaki combo were both very tasty. It's almost surprising that the meals here taste better than a lot of the Japanese restaurants around. Did I mention that these guys are fast? 3-4 minutes per order, roughly. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Verdict: Filling up that big empty void in my stomach would require more than just a few slices of sushi, and that would probably empty out my paycheck fairly quickly if I was to eat elsewhere. So I propose two possible solutions: 1. I can try and make more money... somehow... 2. I can go to Ebi-Ten I think the choice is obvious. I need to make more money. But seriously, Ebi-Ten is definitely worth your visit. If you want to eat Japanese food regularly? Right here. If you aren't a huge fan of Japanese food? Still, this would be a good recommendation regardless. Ebi-Ten will definitely get my business again in the future. read more

Great Japanese place for a quick and cheap bite to eat. Good for downtown lunch. I usually get the Chicken Teriyaki and Tempura Combo, but everything else is quite tasty as well. They also offer Chicken Karaage and individually packed maki rolls. The service is fast, friendly and very efficient. There are often line ups but they move really fast. read more

I went here on Sunday night with a friend. We both got sick after having food here, it was the only place that we had the same food that day so either the chef/server was ill, or prepared the food with bad hygiene, or something went bad with our food. Also, one of the server girls (an Asian girl with a ponytail) just kept STARING at me. I have no idea why, I just took photos of the cafe for my Yelp and she intensely kept staring at me - borderline GLARING. I looked at her and smiled, and she did not smile back and just kept staring with a STONE FACE. I won't be coming back here anymore, she reminded me of that witch who stares at you and you turn to stone. Medusa, was it? read more

Ebi-Ten - The hubs and I got food poisoning here. Unfriendly staring waitress. - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

My purpose on this visit... was to eat... and eat quickly (I had to make it to the Whitecaps game down the street, and was SUPER hungry). My choices for fast seemed to be McDonalds (ugh!)... but the wife suggested we try Ebi-Ten. We walked in, and she asked the person at the counter how long it would take to get our food upon ordering... the lady said "5 minutes". Umm? yeah? Umm... YEAH! Maybe even less than 5 minutes. Quick fry on the protein on the grill... scooped on top of rice, with a bit of cabbage added and some mayo drizzled across... that was my Yakiniku beef don with mayo. Was it the greatest thing I've ever eaten.. no. Was it close to a food court stir fry place... yes. Did it come out within 5 minutes (maybe faster). Yes. Most importantly... did I get to the game on time... YES! (btw... a place like this in Japan would run you about $4-5 for a rice bowl, and would have a lot more flavour...) read more

Tasty and consistent food; polite, friendly staff; quick service; free water; and a clean washroom. Also, free wifi from Starbucks next door! read more

Great place for a fast meal (so fast, that my meal was ready and waiting before I could put away my change!). The hot food is cooked fresh, but if you're in a rush there's many premade options ready to go. It gets quite busy here but the turnover is pretty fast. Any place that adds Japanese mayo to everything gets two thumbs up for me! read more

I work around here so this is my lunchtime default when I don't have a lunch. There's an pre-made section on the side, usually with BC or California Rolls, just grab pay and go. Otherwise, you can request for them to make your rolls fresh. Even closer to the counter is a pre-made section with hot foods, it's a different selection every time I go there. Yakisoba, gyozas, chicken karaage (deep fried Japanese-style chicken nuggets), salads, are all under $3. My standard order here is the yam tempura roll. It's cool that you can see them making it, but kind of scary seeing how much oil goes into frying your tempura. Don't order any sort of fish sushi here - heard it's hit or miss. When it misses, it's not very fresh, and that's not a risk you want to take with fish in sushi. read more

It's the definition of 'fast Japanese food' - it's tiny, and it looks like a smaller version of those obscenely bright cafeterias they use to have in Woolco. But yet - always a simple, happy dining experience!!! This is my thing: Late evenings, a few times a month, I go into Ebi Ten for a veggie roll, avocado roll, and Coke Zero after getting a nice haul at the library. I sit there eating these CONSISTENTLY DELICIOUS rolls and cackling over all the good books I have to read. This small ritual is surprisingly dear to me. Thanks for meeting me half-way, Ebi Ten, and never serving me a single janky bite to date. read more

Friendly service and good spot for a quick bite to eat. I tried the Mega Bowl tonight, good flavour overall on all 3 items and price point of just over $10 after tax was okay considering the location. What lost 2 stars for my own tastes were: picture did look fuller; rice was softer than I would have liked in that the morsels were not singular but rather smooshed together; and lastly the tempura batter was lacking texturally - more oily and dense vs. light and crisp. Will have to come back to try their rolls though. I recommend for those wanting to grab a quick bite, but aren't too picky on quality/texture. read more

Ebi-Ten - Mega Bowl. $9.75+tax. Tempura - 2 shrimp and 2 pieces of yam, teriyaki chicken, mapo tofu. On a bed of rice + lettuce w mayo. - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

When I was working downtown, Ebi-Ten was always the go-to spot for lunch with co-workers. Fast, simple, good - what more can you ask for? The sushi is fresh and great bang for your buck. California rolls for less than $3. Sometimes, it's even $2 on its special days. I usually go for the rice combos which are very tasty and always a good choice. read more

I see all the cheap meals that look pretty appetizing on the boards.. but I was just there to get packaged sushi - unfortunately.. it wasn't for me. Out of the 8 items on the board - 6 of them were sold out at approximately 1pm. This place reminds me of the cheap sushi place I use to go to in university in Ontario. Rolls were prepackaged and super cheap... but these were SO SMALL... not really worth it. If they thought about providing MIso soup like my university sushi joint did, then maybe I would think it was worth eating eat. Prices are cheap, not going to lie.... but it's not like the portion was that big anyway so you would have to use the same amount of money to be full anyway. The one thing I must say is that the rolls were stocked on a regular basis so it wasn't like I had to rummage through the lonely packages that might have been sitting for a long time... if I was super hungry, I might walk back in for a second try. read more

This place is great for lunch breaks. Fast and accurate service, and most importantly, it's always consistent. You can have the terriyaki chicken 20 times and it will always taste the same. that's how you know you found a good spot. They have pre ackages rolls when you're in a hurry and they taste fresh!! The Terriyaki chicken is awesome and the Mobu tofu is great too, you take take a combo plate with both and it'S great! As other reviwers mentioned, they put mayo in everything, but you can always ask for no mayo :) Prices are decent rolls starts at 2.15$ and a plate is about 7-8$. read more

Quick and delicious. Their salmon avocado sushi is actually one of my favourite rolls anywhere. I also like their chicken teriyaki (it might help that Japanese mayo is delicious) read more

Alright, for a 'fast food' japanese shop, it aint bad. Friend and I each had a tempura udon. I'm SO glad, they don't plop the tempura on top of the hot soup and they actually have a foamy plate with 4-5 pieces on it. The tempura was very fresh, super hot and not overly battered. The soup base was nice and clear, not oily and seems to not be full of crap it shouldn't have. At $7.99 for a large tempura udon. I don't know how you could lose. Would love to try this place again soon! read more

Im a big fan of Japanese food, but the only thing I haven't try is their Japanese curry. I tried their katsu curry, well it's not that bad, but it's not that good as well for me! Maybe I just don't know how to describe it cuz I never tried any curries before, but I think this one is okay, okay for the first timer lol! read more

Ebi-Ten - Japanese katsu curry - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Be prepared to be smelling really bad after go in there those guys don't change their oil!!! serious if I stay in there for 10 minutes I gonna be smelling so bad their food is really oily I used to like their food but they changed a lot now I order only their sushi :( how they should solve this: 1 change the oil more 2 don't burn oil close to the customers put it in the other side of the kitchen 3 buy a Range Hood (every restaurant has it but don't buy a noise one) that's it it would completely change the food also please clean your kitchen all the customers can see how dirty is your floor you guys should clean it well at least one time a week, and clean it every day, and be organized while cooking . this place could be better easily read more

First warning I should have noticed was the microwave in the front.. Which has a sticker on it "feel free to warmup your dishes"... Umm.. Why? You serve it cold?! Or not hot enough? You go into a restaurant to eat at least cooked food.. Not microwaved food.. The beef I got with my dish was chowy and took me 50 bites to get it down. Like gum. It did fill me up, not I am not sure how good it was.. Not eating here again.. read more

Food is ok for a quick lunch. Service is really lacking, I ask for an extra sauce for my tempura and the server gave me a starky look (like: it's already in the rice). this did not happen only once but all the time. extra sauce that's all I need.... read more

Not so good. Ordered Buta Kimch on rice and it sort of tasted like puke. Takoyaki was frozen ones that you can easily purchase from asian markets. Chicken karaage, pork katsu and curry were just okay, nothing special. Gyoza was rubbery though it tasted okay. I was pretty disappointed. read more

I really enjoyed this place when I went yesterday for the first time. They don't have a huge sushi selection, unfortunately. I had a 9 piece maki roll, just plain salmon, tuna, and negitoro. It was really tasty, though. I like that they have a big jar of ginger so you can choose how much you want. I often don't eat all the ginger the restaurants give me. And their wasabi was actually delicious, I found myself eating the whole glob they gave me. Also something I don't normally do! I also had a kimchi pork rice bowl, and it was SO good. It was just the right amount of spice, and I wish I had gotten a large. Good prices, too. I spent $9 on miso soup, the bowl, and the 9 pieces of sushi. I'll definitely stop by this place again. I didn't experience any bad smells, so that must have been a fluke experience. read more

Stayed in the downtown area for a night and this place was across the street from our hotel. The place is small and compact but seemed to have ample seating for at least 15-20 patrons. My wife and I had no idea what this place was so we walked in with an open mind and browsed the menu. We landed on the Kim Chi Udon #15. The place was fairly empty when we arrived and our food was ready in under 5 minutes. Noodles are soft yet have a chewy texture to them, the Kim chi is spicy and the meat (think it's pork) was enough to balance out the dish. It's a interesting place and the food is good. Sort of wish we had a place like this back in Seattle. Now I have to look. read more

This place is fairly authentic, but lower end (nothing wrong with that, it is quite cheap). I wish there was a place in Vancouver that really knew how to make Takoyaki, instead of deep frying the frozen pre-made stuff. Someone should open a Takoyaki stand in Vancouver. The tori karaage (Fried Chicken) is quite good - Japanese fried chicken is the only fried chicken that I will ever touch and then only once a month and I wash it down with a can of coke (only once a month on that one too). After a month of cleansing the cancerous toxins out of my body, I am good to go for another round. Their sushi to-go is also fairly respectable. I wish that they had sashimi. read more

The rice bowls and udon are not only really good, but cheap and quick. If I am in the mood for Japanese fast food, Ebi Ten is always a solid choice. On the way to the register, they have some side dishes, pastry, sushi and drinks -- with the exception of the karaage, nothing I've grabbed from there has ever really been enjoyable. Plus, homeless people constantly wander in, paw around the items and then walk out with some free food pocketed (a phenomenon the staff seems to either be unaware of or ignore, lol). Plan for take out, otherwise, the smell will leave with you. read more

The food are tasty. The staff are nice. The price is low. Everything are good! Can't think of a reason not to recommend to others. read more

Ebi-Ten - It tastes so good. The chicken is juicy. And it's really cheap. Highly recommend to all you guys. - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I sometimes come here for my lunch break if I feel like walking a little further. I usually come here just for their Onigiri because no where else serves them around dt. But most of the time it's sold out so come here early! This place is quick and easy but nothing special and the food isn't anything super delicious where I would want to come back all the time. read more

Well, it's a fast food restaurant. Price is reasonable and you will probably not go hungry. We ordered Mega bowl (for which you get tempura - two prawns and one pumpkin slice, teriyaki chicken and tofu with rice and green salad) and buta-mayo. Pork in buta-mayo bowl was quite greasy, but overall it was OK. When you are up for some fried or greasy food, this is not a bad place. read more

I didn't give this spot a huge opportunity on my one visit -- hurriedly running in to grab a bite to eat before heading back to volunteering at a photography conference. In I walked, grabbed a little packet of the advance-made sushi from the refrigerated display case and left with my little supply of chop sticks and take-out soy sauce. The staff members were incredibly friendly. As it was outside of the noon rush hour, both waited expectantly as I picked out my lunch. The maki turned out to be unmemorable, but who expects to be amazed by a veggie roll? There are some other great menu choices for hot food. Decor, as I remember, is cute and clean. There are some sitting areas if you drop by for a snack of tasty mid-afternoon brain food. A nice combination of eat-in and take-out options. read more