Tonight I was at the new revolving sushi restaurant, Zumi. It is located street level of a new residential high-rise on Alberni Street, towards the West End.
I found its opening pretty surprising considering Denman’s revolving sushi belt restaurant only just recently closed. Although at the same time, there is no immediate competition around. Not to mention, they are also the only casual sushi restaurant in the area.
The building is stunning, and the setting within is just as impressive. Almost too much so that I expected a more refined Japanese dining experience therein. Upon reading the name and looking up the address, I assumed that this was an Omakase-like Japanese sushi restaurant, and that “revolving” meant that the building rotated.
However, I would be incredibly wrong. This was your familiar Vancouver fusion sushi restaurant, but in fancier packaging. There were no surprises on the menu. Sashimi, nigiri, oshi, signature fusion rolls, rice bowls, and ramen. A little bit of everything with the option for smaller portions if need be.
As the restaurant hasn’t fully opened yet, and the fact that this visit was for their soft launch, I will not be reviewing them on their operations, as they continue to learn and grow as a team. The premise is you take a seat and can either order from the iPad menu or grab any of the available plates from under their plastic domes, that come around on trains. This is an impressive two tiered track. The top is dedicated to your specific requested order, and the bottom is the one that is up for grabs.
Tonight the latter seemed to be mostly simple, maki rolls and a couple of fusion ones. The former included the commonplace cucumber, avocado, salmon, tuna and tomago (egg).
We as a table felt that we were better off ordering to get exactly what we wanted. As I mentioned earlier, those came around to us on bullet trains that were able to carry two place at a time. Each plate sits on weights so that when the train comes to your table, and you remove the plate, it knows and it can then leave and return to the kitchen to be stocked again.
Speaking with the staff, they confirmed that the menu was still in flux as they currently don’t have any alcohol options or desserts, and that things are still in the research and development stage. So take the following honest takes with a grain of salt.
Despite having to pay for everything you ate, it felt like an all-you-can-eat restaurant with the offerings as broad, and yet generic as it is. The largest category was nigiri with the most variety. Whereas sashimi was either salmon, tuna, or Hamachi. The core three were available as just a plate of each, or as a mix of all three.
Similarly, with your udon, rice bowl, and/or ramen there was only one option and you basically took it or left it. Considering that they are advertised as a sushi restaurant first, I didn’t have high hopes so passed on all three.
My favourite of their sushi was the Nigiri. I especially liked the chopped scallop, for its texture. The squid too was soft and gentle, and the octopus wasn’t overly chewy. And both the tobiko and ikura were fun and as expected with juicy pops.
I was especially disappointed by the oshi as the rice was dense and there was so much more of it then the thin slices of fish on top. And as such even a quick flamed torch resulted in overcooking the fish.
At its core, their signature roles began with either a California roll or a dynamite roll as its base, and then this was either topped with salmon, tuna, or tobiko. It wasn’t anything that I haven’t seen served elsewhere.
Out of everything the kitchen options were the most diverse. Chicken Karaage, takoyaki, seaweed salad, miso soup, edamame, and even taco wasabi. The latter is one of my favourite dishes, so I made sure to order a few of those, as I didn’t wanna share. I found the bowl zesty with wasabi spice that shot up your nostrils. There was also a substantial amount of octopus. I enjoyed them for their texture, but as always needed more seaweed sheets to eat it with, like a mini taco.
Overall, this is fun one for your first time, but I don’t know how long the novelty would last. I can see the neighbourhood coming for the playful concept or if looking for your run-of-the-mill sushi. However, there is nothing about their offerings that necessarily would make them a destination.
Zumi Revolving Sushi Bar
1588 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6G 2Z6
(604) 631-5822
zumisushi.ca
