This Vancouver restaurant has one of the best omakase deals in the city

On the corner of Denman and Jepson Young Lane in Vancouver’s West End is a tucked-away restaurant offering one of the best omakase experiences in the city — both in terms of flavour and value.

Introducing Noah’s Cafe, a spot that, despite its name, is not a cafe. Instead, the team is serving up what it describes as a selection of Japanese fusion tapas and cocktails.

Noah’s is owned by Clifford Chi, who originally opened the restaurant back in 2020 at 572 Davie St. before moving to its current home at 1096 Denman St. in 2022.

While Noah’s is definitely available for folks looking to walk in, its omakase menu is only available by reservation (and is well worth the forethought). For $100 per person, your meal will consist of “Noah’s Mini Ark” — nine to twelve of Noah’s signature tapas followed by a choice of entree and a selection of desserts as well. The offerings can change depending on the season and what the team is excited to cook, but you’re basically guaranteed to end up eating something delicious.

During our visit, highlights from our mini ark included bites like Miso Duck with Strawberry Jus, Soy Smoked Quail Eggs, and Fresh Oysters topped with ikura. We also have to give major props to the Truffle Brussels Sprouts with Parmigiano Reggiano — eating regular roasted brussels sprouts just doesn’t feel the same anymore.

Noah’s Mini Ark (Marco Ovies/Dished)

We delighted in moving from plate to plate at our table of four, each of us coordinating bites so we could marvel at the different flavours and textures together.

From there, we moved on to our main course, each of us opting to get a different entree to make sure we could try all the available options.

It’s hard not to be starstruck by the Uni Truffle Omelette Rice — an omelette on sautéed mushroom rice with a dashi truffle uni cream topped with Parmigiano Reggiano, Ikura, and tobiko. Those looking for something less decadent will be very happy with the Omelette Harashi Rice, which swaps the dashi truffle uni cream for Japanese Hayashi hashed beef stew.

Uni Truffle Omelette Rice (Marco Ovies/Dished)

Uni is a big draw on the menu here (when we stopped by, they had a fridge full of housemade uni butter for sale by the jar), so naturally another item we had to try was the Uni Creme Pasta. Fresh pasta is served in that delicious dashi uni creme alongside prawns, parmesan, Parmigiano Reggiano, truffle oil, tobiko, Ikura, onion bits, and parsley.

Yuzu Gorgonzola Gnocchi was also on the menu, consisting of yuzu gorgonzola cream, Parmigiano Reggiano, arugula oil, and shiitake crisps.

Feeling full yet? We haven’t even gotten to dessert.

The team treated us to an aperitif of Whiskey Umeshu before bringing out two dessert boards, one for each couple. The boards consisted of a Drunken Pumpkin Tiramisu alongside delightfully chewy Cardamom Mochi Donuts and scoops of Hojicha Lavender Ice Cream and Sesame Ice Cream.

Marco Ovies/Dished

While the $100 price tag can seem expensive at first, when considering we got 15 different bites, that math comes out to just over $6 per course (not including tip and tax; please tip your server). At that price point, we’d consider Noah’s Cafe to have one of the most cost-effective omakase experiences in the city (and definitely one of the tastiest).

We’ll definitely be coming back for this one.

Noah’s Cafe

Address: 1096 Denman St., Vancouver

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