Sushi Mahana: An exquisite Omakase experience in North Vancouver

Hanna McLean/Daily Hive

Earlier this month, a long-awaited (and highly anticipated) Japanese omakase-style restaurant finally opened its doors in North Vancouver.

Sushi Mahana comes to us from owner Yuki Aida and master sushi chef Hiroshi Hoshiko, and the restaurant, which softly opened on January 14, offers a truly special dining experience.

Sushi Mahana is currently a reservation-only restaurant, with two omakase seatings each night – one at 5:30 pm and one at 8 pm.

During a special preview dinner, Aida shared with us a bit of the story behind Mahana and how Hoshiko had approached her years ago about opening a sushi restaurant, but only now did the time seem right.

You might also like:

Aida, an artist and designer herself, is behind the restaurant’s design, which has been inspired largely by omakase bars in Kyoto. Dark interiors, shou sugi ban panelling (blackened wood) created locally in Lion’s Bay, and artfully arranged pots of orchids make the space truly feel like something out of a Japanese restaurant, and the rest of the experience only adds to the zen-like ambience.

Hanna McLean/Daily Hive

A wall of laser-cut panelling made to look like moving waves is one of the focal points at Mahana, which is named after Aida’s daughter and means flower.

For those unfamiliar with the Omakase experience and unsure of what to expect, here’s a primer: the chefs create the menu based on their own discretion and on what is available and slowly present one dish at a time to their diners.

There are no substitutions, and you are not choosing your own meal here – instead, “the element of delightful surprise is what Omakase is all about,” as Sushi Mahana explains on its website.

Hanna McLean/Daily Hive

Watching Hoshiko and sous shef Rika “Ghinn” Ginnaga methodically craft each hand roll, slice each buttery piece of fish, and delicately place tiny flowers on mushrooms is equal parts entrancing and soothing – the kind of repetitive task that turns one into an expert.

The menu is somewhat seasonal and depends wholly on what kind of fish chef Hoshiko is interested in and is able to obtain, as well as other seasonal garnishes and accoutrements he chooses to accompany his dishes.

Hoshiko told us that while the fish the restaurant uses are both locally caught and imported from Tokyo, he aspires to use only local seafood one day. The reason that much of it is brought in from Japan instead is because fishers here don’t use the Ike jime method, which is a particular Japanese way of killing fish that results in a superior quality of flavour and texture.

Instead, some offerings on the menu have been sourced from the Salish Sea, including the Welk and the King Salmon, while others are shipped over. Hoshiko also explained that some fish, such as tuna, is better when it’s aged and cured, a process which brings out more of the fish’s umami qualities.

Hanna McLean/Daily Hive

During our visit, we were given three different types of Bluefin tuna – lean (Akami), medium (Chutoro), and fatty (Ohtoro) – as well as King Salmon (Masunosuke), Japanese Tiger Prawn (Kuruma Ebi), and Golden Eye Snapper (Kinmedai), to name a few.

Each bite was like a new experience, one that was methodically executed and planned by Hoshiko and helped brought to life by the deft hand of Ginnaga.

Served in stages, much like a symphony – even the menu refers to the “Prelude,” the “Crescendo,” the “Culmination,” “Penultimate,” and “Finale” – the meal played out in waves, with vegetable dishes punctuating the stages of sushi offerings.

Even the seasonal vegetable dish (Yosemono) and seasonal tofu salad (Shira-ae) were beautiful, small works of art that were flavourful but somehow also served as palette cleansers.

Hanna McLean/Daily Hive

The end of the meal, as any good finale, was completed with a Hojicha Blancmange – a panna cotta-like dish that toed the line between being bitter and rich without ever stepping over it.

It’s clear that Mahana is a passion project for Aida and Hoshiko, and the love and care really come through in everything that happens in this restaurant, from the warm towels given to diners from the servers to each piece of sushi placed on the ceramic dishes in front of them.

Aida says that so far, Mahana has been fully booked, but we suggest finding the time to visit the restaurant if you can – a small piece of Japan right in the heart of North Vancouver.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dished Vancouver (@dishedvancouver)

Sushi Mahana

Address: 111-175 West 3rd Street, North Vancouver

Instagram