修 SYU Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar Richmond [Review]

A few months back, I visited 修 SYU Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar in Richmond (BC Canada) with a few out-of-town friends who were visiting. SYU is a newish, upscale Japanese restaurant which opened in February 2023 in Richmond’s Oval District.

The minimalist interior features a lovely sushi bar and booth seating.

The menu is extensive and features a daily fresh sheet of fresh whole fish flown in from Japan. These fish can be served in different preparations depending on what you like including nigiri, sashimi, tempura and so forth.

They also offer lunch set menus starting at $25 for a chicken karaage or teriyaki set and up to $88 for a Hokkaido uni set.

On the menu are also appetizers; aburi nigiri; rolled sushi; nigiri and sashimi; chef’s specialties; grilled dishes; tempura & deep fry items; soups; and so forth.

To start, we were presented with a box of fresh whole fish which were their daily specials. We went with the Kamasu (Barracuda) $68 prepared as sashimi and nigiri and the Sayori (Halfbeak) $25 prepared as tempura. The Sayori was $35 but since it was at the end of the day they discounted it to $25.

Chirashi-zushi $38

Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki $58

Toromachi tartare $26 (4 pieces)

Chopped toro and Hamachi mixed with green onion, shichimi spice, sesame oil, and hot sauce topped with tempura shallots, spicy mayonnaise, and tobikko. Served on a sheet of seaweed.

Ankimo (House-made Monkfish Liver) $16

Hotate (Scallop) Nigiri $6 (1 pc) + Botan Ebi (Spot Prawn) Nigiri $7 (1 pc)

Aburi Salmon Oshi-zushi $22

Pressed sushi of snow crab and avocado, topped with aburi salmon. Seasoned with wasabi mayonnaise.

Grand BC roll $25

Spicy tuna and cucumber, topped with chutoro, Hamachi, shallots tempura, scallions and micro cilantro. Seasoned with spicy mayonnaise.

Crab Chawan-mushi $18

The food was all beautifully presented and the fish were fresh and delicious. My favourites were the Crab Chawanmushi; Sayori Tempura; and Toromachi Tartare. The wagyu sukiyaki was a hearty shareable with sizeable pieces of wagyu. The crab flavour in the chawanmushi was pleasant as was the smooth and silky texture. The sushi rice was on point with the right texture, temperature and amount of vinegar.

The only thing I thought could use improvement was the service because I felt there was a bit of a mismatch between the elevated environment, pricing and the service which was way too casual. The servers didn’t really give us a rundown of their very extensive menu but just came to our table expecting to know what we wanted to order. At their level of pricing, the staff should be able to spend a few minutes highlighting some of their best items rather than just coming with a notepad to take down our order as if we were just going to get some California Rolls or what not.

I also asked them for some background on the Chef and they didn’t really know. Perhaps the staff just needs to be more knowledgeable about the menu. Other than that, I think the dishes came to our table in a timely manner and the staff were friendly.

We sat at a booth but if you sat at the sushi bar the experience would be different as you get to see the chef’s at work.

With their elevated offerings, SYU could be the type of place where you would visit more regularly if you are the type that wants higher end Japanese cuisine and have deeper pockets to go along with it. Otherwise, to me it would be a once-in-a-while or special occasion restaurant.

The bill for our party of 4 came out to be $324 before tip which I think was reasonable for what we got. It’s just that the service should match their elevated menu and environment.

修 SYU Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar is located at 6628 River Rd #175, Richmond, BC.