Sushi Gen Restaurant - Burnaby, British Columbia

Sushi Gen is a bit of a hidden sushi restaurant as it’s tucked in a mini mall behind Lougheed Town Centre, right next to the Red Robin. This is actually the same mini mall that Green Leaf Cafe recently opened up in (which is how I found Sushi Gen). Unlike Green ... Leaf Cafe, the interior of Sushi Gen is a bit lacking in natural light and looks more like a traditional sushi restaurant. On my first visit, I ordered the Assorted Aburi Oshi ($17) which I thought was a bit expensive but figured it would be an interesting item because it’s topped with four different items (similar to how a rainbow row is topped). They also gave me a complimentary miso soup. The salmon, tuna, unagi, and ebi is accompanied by various sauces and roe and actually tasted pretty good. On the downside, the pressed sushi pieces were shaped more like flat squares instead of the usual rectangular shape that I’m accustomed to. This made it fairly difficult to pick up. The salmon pieces were my favourite. I also ordered a few nigiri pieces… the Chopped Scallop ($2.30 each) was a bit too chilly while the Sockeye Salmon ($2.80 each) was pleasingly fresh. The best of the bunch, however, was the Unagi ($2.80 each) which was superbly tender and melt-in-your-mouth tasty. Returning a couple of weeks later, we started out with the Spinach Gomae ($4) which was, as expected, served cold. It’s a good dish to help cool down from the summer heat. I noticed that they were having a special with their Salmon Carpaccio ($9 instead of the regular $12) so we decided to try this out. I actually quite enjoyed the tender salmon pieces in this dish and how the sliced garlic added to the flavour. For 4 pieces, however, I probably wouldn’t pay regular price for this. Next up was the Spicy Tuna and Salmon Sashimi ($15) mixed with cubed cucumbers. The sashimi was indeed spicy with a hot sauce similar to Korean-style hot sauce. Wanting something a bit more meaty, we also added the Beef Teiyaki ($13) which comes with miso soup. Aside from a couple of bites that were a bit hard, the thinly sliced beef mixed with bean sprouts and cabbage turned out okay. Last up for this visit was the Oyster Motoyaki ($5). I was decidedly disappointed with this dish – I suppose the price point should have been a clue… there was only a small piece of chopped up oyster that was baked in the little tin dish with a tiny slice of lemon. It was lacking in both oyster and creamy sauce that you’d expect to find in motoyaki. The following month, I returned for a revisit and ordered the Yakitori ($5) which includes 2 skewers of chicken coated in a sweet glaze. They weren’t bad but I found some bites to be more on the dry side and is probably due to the cut of the chicken meat. I also ordered the Gen Tart ($14) because it sounded interesting… crab, avocado, mango, sashimi (tuna and salmon)? Yes, please! They mold it in a ring and each bite has an interesting combination of textures and flavours. The crab and avocado on the base layer provides a creaminess which is accentuated by the slices of tuna and salmon sashimi. The thin layer of mango provides a sweetness while the crispy topping keeps things from getting overwhelmingly creamy. Overall, there’s some good items here and some that I would probably skip on… choose your dishes wisely. Read more

I have seen this restaurant many times driving by or walking by. Group of friends wanted to give it a try and we were so glad we did. Staff were super friendly, service was excellent, the food was amazing and we ordered a lot of food. This is definetly a ... new spot for my group of friends for sure. Lots of parking available and easy to access. Thank you guys! Read more

This place never fails to satisfy me. The staff is so nice, food arrives fast and exactly as you order it! TEA is refilled, attentively. Fresh, quality sea food. YUMMMMMMM!! I get food delivered from here as well, it arrives on time and as you expect.. on top of ... it all, fair prices and quality chefs. Read more

I don't mean to ruin the streak, but... Good points first: They have beautiful interior! But... There were so many things that floods over the good points. Yes, the flower decoration makes the restaurant more romantic and ambient, and yes the interiors are magnificent, but the food is another story. It is a very ... beautiful restaurant though, with the flower and decorations. However, this is a very expensive restaurant for a place at Lougheed, and the food quantity were very frugal. We could get double the amount for half the price in other Sushi restaurants. (You can see the photo for yourselves) First of all, when we were seated down, the waiter didn't even give us the menus. But he gave the neighboring tables the menus, even though we were first. :'( Second, we found out that the ingredients weren't as professional as we thought! Turns out that the noodles from the Ramen were in fact Instant Noodles, (the ones you buy at the stores) The food overall was too salty too, The staff there didn't seem quite welcoming to us, especially the waiter. It's fine though! As there were probably miscommunications. But later when some customers of same ethnicities walked in, he treated him with friendliness. Despite all that though, one of the chefs was kind to us, even asking us how the food was. I was moved because he was the first staff to initially talk to us. Overall, This place isn't a bad place! It's just that this restaurant isn't suitable for my family and me. After all, maybe we just came on a bad day :) Read more

Found out about this sushi joint when the owners opened Sushi Sama in Maple Ridge summer of 2016. After they sold Sushi Sama and the new owners changed their menu and raised the prices, we now venture out of Maple Ridge to once again enjoy the same eats of Sushi ... Sama at Sushi Gen. Their bacon roll and Salifornia roll are to die for along with all the other items on the menu, including the Kastsu Don. Their prices are very adorable and the staff and owners are just awesome. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟(🌟 6th star for excellence!) We returned again and was introduced to their Izakaya menu which only comes out after 5 PM (to close) daily. It includes items found from a Korean BBQ menu. They were perfectly grilled and the meats were of good grade and quality. The Ika Karaage was not oily and not to much batter, and was served with a spicy cream sauce. The salmon salad was fresh and light, and the sunomono was refreshing and tasty but not too acidic. We will continue to drive from Maple Ridge to come here as it keeps getting better and better as we try new things. Gen Tart... New favourite! Read more