We came here because my daughter wanted to go somewhere that she could order Katsu. We'd been to another restaurant across the street recently where she'd had katsu so I decided, let's go somewhere different this time, where she could get her katsu and the menu would have more variety on it for the rest of us who might not be in the mood for katsu. I tried something new this time. It was a cold rainy day so I was in the mood for a bowl of hot soup and noodles. I had a Vege Udon. My mom ordere the seafood Udon. So OK...I suppose soup and udon noodles isn't exactly trying something new as I've definitely had soup and udon noodles before. However, udon noodles are something I have rarely ever ordered over the years. Especially as Ramen seems to have gotten more popular over the years than Udon. Plenty of Ramen restaurants within Greater Vancouver, but how many restaurants in Vancouver specialize in udon? Not very many. I don't know why I don't order udon noodles more often. When it's a cold, rainy day I always think Ramen noodles but this bowl of Vege Udon was just as satisfying as any bowl of Ramen. Actually, maybe more so since I've had lots of Ramen over the years but hardly any bowls of udon noodles. This was a refreshing change of pace. They serve the udon noodles in what appeared to be a cast iron bowl. Simple yet so elegant. I loved the flavor of my broth. It was a nice, light broth. Not too rich, and it had a sweet flavor to it. I think I've just regained a new appreciation for Udon noodles! read more

Raku Japanese Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - West Vancouver, British Columbia

Service was amazing, and sushi was very fresh! We visited on a Sunday evening, and there was no wait. Ordered the crispy oshi (so good and highly recommended by one of the waiters) and 9 pieces of nigiri. I also ordered individual pieces of uni and masago nigiri. They were very generous with the portions. I would absolutely visit again. read more

Raku Japanese Kitchen - Crispy Oshi - Japanese Near Me - West Vancouver, British Columbia

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Friendly, professional and DELICIOUS! Salmon teriyaki was well cooked and the sauce is made in house and is a must-try. Sushi is fresh and the rolls are creative and tasty! The clam miso soup is bold and scrumptious! Definitely a place you can't miss! read more

The menu here does change so come often if you find something you like. I had the raku tower previously and I liked that. Unfortunately it is no longer on the menu. The food here is pretty good. The quality and presentation are there. It can get pretty crowded on weekends. Weekdays are quiet. There is a lunch special menu here. I do find the portion a bit on the smaller side and I find myself hungry very quickly. Service is not that great as the servers don't pay attention to the diners after food is served. It took us many tries before we successfully flagged down a server. And it was only us and another table at that time. It's 4 stars mainly for the good food as this is in west van and there are not that many good Japanese restaurants in the area. read more

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At first glance, you wouldn't think this place is a Japanese restaurant. The interior reflects something more of a cafe, but it's not! It made the experience different than normal, and actually made it stand out. There was chill music playing in the background and it was extremely spacious. The service was also very good as throughout my meal I was constantly being checked on to see if I needed anything. I got the Beef Teriyaki and it was great. It felt like there was a bit of a twist on it as normally I don't get bean sprouts with a teriyaki, but it worked. The beef tasted great with good texture but I wish there was a bit more for the price point. I also got the spicy salmon roll and it was also good, nothing fancy - just your standard roll. I wouldn't consider this my favorite, but it was good enough to where I'd get it again. Overall, I'd definitely come back if I'm in Ambleside. However I'd probably get a different main dish to try out. read more

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Food was great! Udon, shrimp tempura, and toro were amazing! Service was quick and friendly staff! Love the outdoor seating! Great a Ambiance too! Highly recommend! read more

Good food, service is kinda slow though. The chirashi bowl has great cuts of sushi. The Toro - only OK. Kinda a thin cut. What I really liked was the crispy oshi. Gotta try it - the rice is crispy and fried. They give you a fat cut of sushi as well. The salmon Oshi uses wild sockeye which is awesome but the cut is way too small. The rolls are good. The Hollyburn was great in particular. Also liked the unagi donburi. Pretty solid. I think this place is a bit below Sushi Umi on Lonsdale. read more

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Arrived tired and hungry: left happy. Service (Wayne!) and food were great and prices reasonable. Friendly place with traditional and creative sushi! read more

What a surprise! Love the location, hanging out with your friends after skiing, hiking or seawall walking, this place used to be a cafe, so the seating and decoration are not typical Japanese restaurant style, however, the food is authentic, lots of choices. Service is great! Highly recommend read more

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Went to dinner here on a Friday night. Fast, friendly service with lots of check ins. Ordered Unagi roll, Dragon roll, house salad, miso soup and a glass of red wine. Everything was extremely tasty. They gave me a free bowl of their matcha ice cream, also very yummy. read more

Wow! Wow! Wow! Is all I can say! The food was so fresh!!! Everything was delicious!!! Highly recommend the tempuras both prawn and vegetable, gyoza, and all the delicious sushi . . My husband really liked the squid with natto . . Service was so fast and friendly!!! Would definitely recommend this place!!!! read more

We stopped here for lunch and it was amazing! The sashimi was so fresh and the sushi roll was unbelievable. Presentation was beautiful too. We ordered the chicken teriyaki and gyoza and we were pleasantly surprised the chicken was on a bed of vegetables instead of rice. Absolutely perfect. The restaurant itself is also beautiful. Loved the decor. Service was fantastic too. We will definitely make it a point to come here whenever we're in Vancouver. read more

Paid a visit to Raku in West Vancouver due to the overwhelmingly positive reviews. Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed as we ordered a few items which weren't as tasty as other oshi restaurants for the same price point. Also, the BC roll lacked salmon skin (it was filled with salad). The one roll that both my partner and I liked was the red tuna oshi. It had the best flavour and was perfectly seared - oshi style. read more

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Service was okay they're quick to take the order but sushi didn't all come at once. Slow. When we asked they kept saying it's coming we finished our first two rolls and kept waiting for the 3rd roll. Plenty of room for big parties and street parking. Clean bathrooms and complementary green tea. read more

Raku Japanese Kitchen - Mango mango sushi and tuna avocado - Japanese Near Me - West Vancouver, British Columbia

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We enjoyed the sushi here. Great waiter with good recommendations. .Their pressed sushi is interesting. I was really looking forward to the lobster roll which they were out of. The miso soup is the best I've had. Also recommend the Mexican knight roll, has some spice to it. Ingredients were fresh and vibrant. Good mango roll. A little pricey, but we are talking sushi here. read more

This is a real gem in West Vancouver. Situated in the old Traffiq Cafe, this locale had changed hands many times. But, I hope, Raku Japanese kitchen is here to stay. This is my all new favorite hang out. The servers are polite and the service is super fast. The establishment did not change much but it remained just as beautiful. It is clean and bright. Love the themed toilets, it is a must to visit. The food presentation is also very beautiful and we enjoyed every morsel of what we ordered. Dinner time gets a bit busy, so, reservation is highly recommended. Or else, go early to avoid disappointments. Tables are mostly set up for four due to COVID-19 and I witnessed them turning customers away due to larger groups. read more

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This is the best Japanese food that we've had for a very long time. The décor is not what you generally find in a Japanese restaurant but it is a very comfortable room with nice high ceilings and music playing softly in the background. You can actually talk to your companions without having to shout. Wonderful! It is a very small restaurant and only has about 8 tables. We had a few people serving us during the course of our dinner but I would like to give an extra thank you to Ashley. She is a real gem. She talked to us during our meal and was most helpful arranging the timing for us to receive our food. Between herself and the rest of the wait staff we never had to wait for anything, even our teacup was never more than half empty. The food OMG! The best. We started off with miso soup. It was very good. Next we had the ebi sunomono. Rather than the tiny shrimp that most restaurants use Raku's had 4 good sized shrimp and the sunomono also had fresh cucumber and grape tomatoes. Delicious. We also had a generous portion of miso marinated black cod. It was cooked perfectly. It was fresh, nice and moist and just delicious. Spicy chicken wings with their secret sweet chili sauce was also good. The prawn tempera was some of the best that I've had. My husband tried it first and he said "You wouldn't like this" LOL. The batter was so light and the prawns themselves were so fresh and perfectly cooked. Prices are very reasonable for the quality of the foods. Wonderful food, outstanding service from the staff and reasonable prices. We'll be back for sure read more

This place is kind of like a sushi fusion! They have so many cool new things to try, purple rice even! I got oshi and it was soo good! They're portions are just right and the food came fast. This place is my favourite sushi restaurant in all of north shore I definitely recommend it to everyone!! read more

Raku Japanese Kitchen - crispy salmon oshi - Japanese Near Me - West Vancouver, British Columbia

This is probably the best sushi I've had since coming to the Pacific Northwest. I want to bring particular attention to a sushi they have here where they fry the bottom of a rice block before putting the fish on top. It gives it a nice carnalities crunch when you bite into it. It's just fantastic. The staff are courteous and available. read more

Raku Japanese Kitchen - Jay Z roll in the back, I believe the nearest one was called the Oishi roll? - Japanese Near Me - West Vancouver, British Columbia

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Wow! Great atmosphere and amazing food! I ordered the red tuna oshi twice because it was so good! Everything we got was wonderful - ordered miso soup, spicy salmon & tuna, red tuna oshi, unagi roll, and a delicious Mexican knight roll - beautiful presentation and amazing flavor! read more

What I liked about this place was its appreciation for design from the mugs they serve piping hot green tea (unlimited and free) to how they serve sake in double insulated shot glasses. The sushi selection is robust and be sure to inquire about which fish is local vs flown in from afar. We ordered Oshi which are torched and pressed in to a rice rectangle. I've eaten sushi for many years however never once experience Oshi. It was unique however mostly comprised of rice (I'd estimate each piece is ~90% rice and 10% fish on top). I'm not sure I'd order those again as I prefer more fish on my rolls. The local salmon sashimi was outstanding - fresh and robust with flavor to the point you can still see and taste the oils. I also enjoyed the Mexican Knight Roll. read more

We ordered too much, and we would order it all again next time. This food rivals - or surpasses - the very best Japanese in Vancouver, which is saying a lot. Be sure to order the Crispy Oshi rolls. They crisp up the rice cubes for a wonderful textural surprise. The Gomae and Black Cod were also superb. I found the Spicy Agadashi Tofu too spicy (it lived up to its name!) but it was still tasty. I also enjoyed the Raku Vege roll - it's basically a salad sushi. Very refreshing. We are already planning when we will come back and bring our hard-to-impress foodie friends! read more

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Absolutely delicious fresh-tasting fish and beautiful hot sake. I've been there twice and tried multiple items and was never disappointed. Do yourself a favour and order the red snapper- the portion size is slightly small but your tastebuds will thank you! read more

Ordered take out for our first experience here and everyone was impressed with it. You can't go wrong with oshi ever in my opinion! The sashimi was fresh, and rolls were tasty. read more

Very careful for covid 19 and the food was good and delicious. Big portion for one person. read more

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This place NEEDS more reviews on Yelp! We went twice - Kai was our waiter both times, and he was fantastic (he actually gave us a miso soup and edamame on the house the second time :)). Service was fast, and the food was super fresh and yummy. My favorite was definitely their local BC uni (super generous portions and really sweet - plus, we should all be eating more sea urchin if we can since they're so overpopulated). Raku's oshi sushi is soooo good - we love their sockeye salmon and unagi ones especially, and their hamachi and bluefin toro ones are also really yummy. I really enjoyed my nabeyaki udon, and their avocado rolls are great. The only dish we weren't as blown away by was the yummy yam roll (their normal yam tempura roll is better) - still good, just underwhelming compared to how good everything else was. We will be back when we're in Vancouver next! read more

Excellent food, well presented, friendly staff, clean bathrooms, great menu, well priced. There are several vegetarian and vegan options. Stopped at this restaurant due to traffic, and will be back! read more

Inconsistent ingredients in the sashimi salad. A few months ago we came in and I had the sashimi salad it was amazing, there were tomatoes and mixed greens. I ordered the same thing today for takeout and it was 99% spinach with like two pieces of lettuce which made it super heavy and harsh tasting instead and there were no tomatoes. read more

Food was delicious! Service is fast. The employees are punctual. Decor is very cute. The sashimi was very fresh. Popcorn sushi is a popular item on their menu, yes, it is delicious! read more

A great dining experience! Every dish was delicious and the ingredients were fresh! The price is also very affordable, I will visit again! read more

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High quality fresh fish. The restaurant has a lavish French interior featuring beautiful granite tables. The staff are professional and welcoming, the kitchen is clean with new equipment. As for the food, the quality is great. They serve fresh fish and a good variety of other things. I'd go to say that this place might be the best sushi restaurant in West Vancouver, Zen sushi is also very good. read more

Mediocre quality fish. Not the place if looking for higher end or authentic Japanese meal. Service was good.

Ordered our meal through door dash. When the meal arrived I realized the missed the chicken Karrage even though it was on my door dash order. Called the restaurant and asked them to cook one and drop it off. They said they were too busy and couldn't. I instead drove down to the restaurant and they offered to comp the kaarage. I suggested they provide a credit for the not only the Karrage but also the cost of the door dash ( delivery fee, service fee, and tip) which in total came out to approx $30. I thought this was fair especially since I had to take time out of my day to drive and pick up my food. They said they don't do credits and offered me $20 instead. Not to mention the manager didn't even come out to apologize. Worst customer service ever. Will never order dine here instead. If anything goes wrong don't expect this restaurant to try and make this better read more

Awesome food and great service! Their California rolls are amazing and their waitresses are so nice! :)

My favourite sushi place on the North Shore! A bit on the pricey side but totally worth it for the quality of food that you get. Beautiful restaurant and patio. The staff are incredibly friendly, and they are always my go-to place for sushi take out, especially during covid because they're always so nice. Absolutely amazing place, I highly recommend! read more

This is a newer restaurant tucked away in West Vancouver and it is fantastic. The Ambiance is elegant, service is a good and the food is fantastic. We had teriyaki tofu, Raku Veg roll and yam and Avocado roll. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. I have eaten here several times and will be back. read more

I love this Japanese kitchen it's so delicious and the flavour is amazing. The service is great and the people are really nice. The salmon oshi is great. I would recommend a friend here. One of my favourite restaurants ma read more