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    Uchida Eatery / Shokudo

    4.7 (74 reviews)
    ModerateJapanese
    Closed Closed

    Uchida Eatery / Shokudo Photos

    UCHIDA EATERY / SHOKUDO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Uchida Eatery / Shokudo

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    Tiffany D.

    A small eatery with limited hours - but do not miss it! I really enjoyed their donburi, the price was fair and they gave a lot of fresh sashimi/tuna. You can tell the owner/head chef cares a lot about his craft.

    Cold Ramen Chicken Teriyaki
    David P.

    We ordered the last order of their special (Rockfish Collars) only 15 minutes after opening. They had already run out of salmon and mackerel sushi. Packed! Portions were good and everything was deliciously fresh. My party also got the miso soup which was alright (4/5), and the tuna don (4.5/5).

    Delicious authentic Japanese food at reasonable prices! I found a lot of "Asian fusion" restaurants as I was looking online, but this one is legit Japanese. The menu varies from day to day, as most farm-to-table restaurants do. Highly recommended!

    Liz L.

    This store is only open 4 days a week, 3 hours a day, anyway, WED-SAT at noon in the DT area LUNCH TIME have the opportunity not to miss ah Japanese cafeteria style, not a lot of choices, but each are Japanese people seriously do, the whole atmosphere is very Japanese family style, the meal is mainly a simple, the taste of the original! sashimi donburi island is one of the best, sashimi super super fresh, rice quality is also extremely high, the balance of seasoning is particularly good, salty and light suitable, even mustard are extremely fresh and delicious! The miso soup was also excellent, not the chickeny presence of other Japanese restaurants (of course so they confidently sell a small bowl for $4 I think, but still recommended!) vegetable salad even meat-eaters such as me are very favorite (vegetables are a Japanese farm on the island UMI NAMI FARM fresh delivery), love natto friends say natto is also very tasty (but the first two days to go to the temporary absence) The disadvantage is that the portion is also very "authentic", very Japanese, a meal is not very top full ...... but its own pricing and quality and other Japanese restaurants LUNCH SPECIAL compared to, still value for money!

    Salmon bowl

    We happened upon this take out only Japanese eatery by happenstance while walking to the bug zoo - the classic wood sign and hole in the wall atmosphere immediately drew our attention and I placed online orders for our food. We stopped by a little before our pickup time and saw the chef painstakingly preparing each of our dishes with attention to detail. We were amazed by how beautiful the presentation was when we opened up our take out containers and the taste was incredible. The fresh fish melted in our mouths and was on par with market fresh sashimi in Japan. The price was extremely reasonable for the quality. Would love to come back and support this amazing restaurant again next time we're in Victoria!

    Assorted sashimi and grilled mackerel
    Christy P.

    Really cute, charming Japanese place with hole in the wall vibes but high quality. Maybe cause it's a bit tucked away. The area it's in is nice though, there's a little courtyard with semi benches you can eat nearby. I tried the assorted sashimi plate and grilled mackerel. The mackerel was so tender and steaming hot and easy to tear, yum. The sashimi was good, I really liked the seaweed on the rice. Bonus points to the owner who was apologetic about not having enough rice and giving extra fish instead. He was so sweet.

    Rockfish "collar", large size. Really actually just a fish head, but it was tasty
    Chi D.

    Was super excited to try this place because of the good reviews, but overall was fairly unimpressed. Quick version: small space, good food but nothing amazing, a little pricey for their small dishes and they sell out FAST. Not sure I'd come back, but if you're in the area and arriving early, not a bad place to eat. I would skip this place if you arrive more than 30-45 minutes after opening. Long version: I arrived here on a Monday morning at around 11:20am and three or four of their six tables were already taken and seats quickly filled up after that. They were kind enough to let me sit at a table for 4 without the rest of my party being present yet. I made the mistake of not ordering the toro immediately and within 5 minutes it had sold out. Thankfully, another party left and my group of 6 people was able to commandeer the corner booth with the help of the very kind guy behind the counter. We tried their tuna don, salmon don, chicken teriyaki don, green bean side (special of the day with sesame), grilled mackerel, hako sushi with mackerel (salmon was sold out), chicken wings, and rockfish collar. In all of this there were no real wow dishes and I was a little annoyed about the wings and the collar. The "wings" are actually one wing, one neck, and one chicken butt, which are very cheap cuts with minimal meat on them (a neck has almost no meat at all). The rockfish collar for $14 (or $12? I forget) was not just the tender neck meat, but was the head, so again minimal protein, mostly bone. This seemed a high price for a very cheap cut of fish that was not filling. The mackerel sushi was completely uninspired. The bowls / dons were fairly small and not very filling. The best part of the meal was the small portion of green beans, which mixed with black sesame and were very tasty. Service is relatively fast. I emphasize again, they sell out FAST. By the time we finished eating (maybe 12:30pm), they had sold out of everything except for the salmon don, chicken teriyaki don, and green beans.

    Looks like a typical Japanese restaurant.
    Stacy R.

    A friend of mine was told by her Japanese friend this is the best Japanese restaurant in Victoria. We went there on Tuesday 13:30, only a few people in there, no waiting time. I was a bit disappointed that they don't have ramen, very few choices( 3 or 4 different Don, sushi, miso soup, etc)I had Tuna Don, onsen egg and tea. I didn't like the rice. It is not as chewy as sushi rice I had before so I didn't finish it even it's just small portion. However, the Tuna was really good!!! You don't really chew it, It's melting in your mouth. I wish they put more Tuna on the rice. I'm not going back as there's not much to choose.

    Entrance
    Jeff B.

    4.5 stars overall. FOOD: 4.5 - 5.0: Harusame salad. (Rating of a Japanese person) - 4.5: Tuna Don - 4.5: Teriyaki Chicken Don. Tender, and not overly-sweet. SERVICE: 4.5. Felt like we were back in Japan. AMBIANCE: 4.0. Felt like we were back in Japan.

    Tomato miso ni
    Diana S.

    I haven't been to Japan yet, however, this cozy, petit, cute, semi hidden gem made me feel in one of those Antony Bourdain episodes. It took me several attempts to finally find Uchida open (Mon-Sat from 11- 2). My advice: arrive before 12 if you want to catch the specials, they erase those words pretty soon... Since the place is always busy, you'll need to be patient once you pay and are given a number with your tray (10 min waiting aprox). You won't care about time once you're indulging. There is a bar with water for you to auto hydrate. I'd order the roasted green tea if I were you! The miso soup is deliciously tick, it simply tastes stronger than in other places. I had a miso salad with extremely fresh and crunchy veggies. A perfect appetizer that closed my first meal in there with a golden ribbon: the grilled mackerel!!! Won't try to describe the juiciness and smokey flavour, just have it. The second time we were waiting at the door at 11:00 3:) We picked our table, were 2nd to pay, had everything on stock. I ordered that day's special: Mapo tofu Don. Such a good combination of ingredients, so glad I wasn't one of the ppl who was told they ran out of the special!!! I though to go today again... it was 2:15 already... :(

    Tuna Don ($10.50) Delish!!
    SandN H.

    We're from Toronto and there are a few very good Japanese restaurants that can go toe-to-toe with reputable restaurants in Japan, but one certainly will have to pay the price. So we were particularly excited to find Uchida Shokudo's truly authentic, super fresh and tasty fares at such reasonable prices! We felt even jealous of Victorians with easy access to such high-quality yet reasonably-priced Japanese food at Uchida. We both ordered Tuna Don (Negitoro was already sold out at 12:30). The tuna was very fresh and seared to perfection; the sauce was light yet had depth and complexity (not just salty or excessively sweet -- no additional soy sauce required); lettuce and green onions were fresh and crisp; and rice perfectly cooked. For the price, the tuna portion was quite generous. The bowl was not humongous, but it was just right as we strive to keep our meals in smaller and healthier portions. The service was demured but friendly. The food quality was well worth the short wait between ordering and receiving the food. The ambiance was delightful. Uchida Shokudo is a gem of Japanese restaurants outside of Japan. Our only regret is we didn't discover it soon enough during our ten-day-visit and were therefore unable to dine there more than once. We must return just to have another wonderful lunch here! This eatery is a must for those craving for the Real McCoy of Japanese top-quality light meals.

    Hiyashichuka and grilled mackerel
    Karim F.

    This is real Japanese food :) The restaurant uses a lot of organic vegetables and wild fish and both are very, very fresh every time. I recommend "Hakosushi mackerel or salmon" , "Negitoro don" and daily special , if these are available. You should go there early, around opening time. The picture is "Hiyashi Chuka" It's a cold Japanese dish with noodles and various toppings. It was the daily special (Aug21) but you can only order it during summer season and we can't know when we can, it depends on whether the owner decides it's the special that day. But I promise any daily special is fancy and super delicious.You won't regret it. Also I'd like to recommend their tea called Hojicha brought from jaga silk !!

    the menu
    Pam V.

    This place caught our attention because it only opens a few hours. And the truth was worth it as everything we tried is very fresh and delicious, you can see how they prepare your food while you wait at the table. Very affordable prices and good quality food. I'll be back!!!

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    2 years ago

    Donburi was amazing, with very fresh sashimi and generous portion at that. They served local kombucha - light, tasty and refreshing!

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    Food never misses but service could be better. Pre-ordered my food for pickup at 530pm and food was…read morenot ready until 6pm. The only thing they said was the food isn't ready and would be longer - they were not apologetic in any way (I had preordered the food more than 3 hours in advance), I had also asked for cutlery for 3 and was provided with 2. Other guests came into the restaurant too and were not greeted nor acknowledged. They were chatting amongst each other about how it's odd multiple servers came by and yet no one was able to assist them but the hostess who was nowhere to be found... I'll be back...but only because the food is excellent.

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