A California roll still costs $6.95 on a downtown Vancouver block where the Orpheum is the neighbour.
Sushi California quietly opened its Seymour Street shop in mid July, in the unit we watched get built out through most of the spring.
We walked by this week and found the door propped open, the neon OPEN sign lit, and two grand opening flower stands parked on the sidewalk.
The full menu is taped to the window, so you can read the whole thing before you commit to walking in.
The address is 827 Seymour Street, on the ground floor of the VSO School of Music building beside the Orpheum, a block off Robson.
Inside is where it gets interesting.
This is the schmanciest Sushi California I have seen.
Textured white stone runs behind the banquettes, and arched niches lit by wall sconces line the far wall.
Black marble tile wraps the service counter, the ceiling drops into a big curved bulkhead over the middle of the room, and a twisted-branch art piece sits set into the stone.
When we passed, the tables were dressed, servers in black were working the floor, and people were already eating in the booths.
The menu is the Sushi California you know, with a little more range.
The classic rolls hold their prices, California at $6.95, BC roll at $7.95, dynamite at $9.25.
There is also an Aburi Special section running oshi sushi, torched salmon, and an aburi pizza at $12.95, which is not something the older shops leaned on.
Group ordering is where the numbers get loud.
Party trays run $51.85 for 23 pieces, $71.40 for 48 pieces, and $103.80 for 60.
The sit-down sets go up to a Love Boat at $69.45, with a Dinner for Two at $51.75.
Until this week, downtown had exactly one Sushi California, the Melville Street shop.
Now it has two, and the newer one is the nicer room by a wide margin.
For anyone who did not grow up here, this is the name that gets picked when the group chat cannot agree on anything fancier.
I lost count of the post-class dinners I put away at the Broadway shop, and the spicy salmon sashimi was ALWAYS on the table.
That shop has anchored Broadway and Yukon since 2014, and the chain’s original North Road store goes back further still.
Seven Metro Vancouver locations later, the chain has finally put a second one downtown.
Sushi California Seymour now joins other recently opened Vancouver food spots like Krave Kulture at the Coal Harbour marina, Bisou Bakehouse on Robson, and Bloom Bakery and Cafe downtown.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: 827 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC