Sushi Bar Kilala

Reviews

• Govinda R.

  star star star star star 25 July 2026

  Visit yesterday, after reading a good reviews from this place. Absolutely amazing place, really small but maybe the best sushi in town. A real foodies paradise!!!

• Sara W.

  star star star star star_border 20 July 2026

  Sushi Bar Kilala is like a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that, in my opinion, is one of the Burnaby Heights neighborhood's best kept secrets; which may be for the best given the limited amount of seating. I've been fortunate to get a table immediately every time I've gone.
  
  Here's everything I love about this place:
  - it's run by a friendly, incredibly down-to-earth couple (the husband makes all the food, while the wife attends to guests. Instantly, you see how well they work together)
  - all the seafood is fresh and full of flavour (in other words, they're the star ingredients)
  - the food is prepared in traditional Japanese style; it's deceptively simple, which makes you appreciate it even more
  - the uni nigiri is to die for; so much so that it earned its own bullet point
  
  What I would change:
  - I'm a girl with a low spice/heat tolerance, so I usually steer clear of wasabi. At Sushi Bar Kilala, a little bit of wasabi is used to bind the rice to the seafood in various rolls and pieces of nigiri. So if you're like me, that's something to keep in mind when ordering. I'm trying to build up my spice/heat tolerance though, and I find now that this small dose of wasabi is manageable :)

• Michelle W.

  star star star star_border star_border 8 July 2026

  I was first introduced to Sushi Bar Kilala through vancouverfoodie's Instagram page. FOUR layers of uni in an uni nigiri?! The Beatles made a song about that before, I think - All Uni(ed) is Love.
  
  Alas, my visit at Sushi Bar Kilala fell short of love.
  
  It started off with a bit of a wait since there were no tables available and the only people working were (what seems to be) an elderly Japanese couple who run the restaurant. The husband makes all the food, while the wife attends to all customers. Given this, I didn't mind the wait for our table or food as much; I truly admired the couple's work ethic and amiable nature.
  
  Our party of three ordered the Sashimi Salad ($6.95), Kilala Combo ($9.95), Kilala House Roll (full) ($13), Saba Battera (10.50), Chicken Udon ($7.00), and of course, two Uni Nigiris (seasonal: $4.75/each).
  
  The Sashimi Salad was fairly simple: mixed greens with a creamy dressing and two pieces each of incredibly fresh salmon, tuna tataki, hokkigai, and tako.
  
  I can't speak much to the Kilala Combo or the Chicken Udon as they were the mains for the rest of my party. However, for the Kilala Combo, I thought the California Roll could have been executed more cleanly. In terms of taste, it was only all right.
  
  On the topic of cleaner execution, the Kilala House Roll was quite the mouthful to eat and consequently difficult to pick up with chopsticks alone. It is overflowing with tasty ingredients like salmon, tuna, masago, artificial crab meat, avocado, and tamago on the inside, with a slice of smoked salmon on top. Once you take a bite, it will inevitably fall apart. Now, I usually avoid this by eating it in one bite, but the House Roll is not kidding around. It is the biggest kid on the block. Shout-out to the chef for making a delectably eggy and flavourful tamago, by the way.
  
  The Saba Battera, on the other hand, was so pristinely presented. Clean cuts of saba and rice, and clean flavours throughout that were only enhanced by the shiso leaf tucked away between the layers.
  
  Now, to go back to where it all started, the esteemed Uni Nigiri. The uni was melt-in-your-mouth creamy and left a pleasant, briny aftertaste. However, our pieces of uni weren't as uniform or as plentiful as the one that vancouverfoodie had. I would say that our nigiris had about two to three pieces of uni each, with the bottom layer unfortunately being broken up.
  
  My two cents? When you dine at Sushi Bar Kilala, you're paying a premium for the quality of the ingredients as opposed to the atmosphere (small, homely space with minimal seating) or the service (slow but friendly). Do give it a try though if you're looking for fresh, simple, and authentic Japanese food!

• Natalie W.

  star star star star star_border 2 July 2026

  If you're craving uni, you need to go here. Their uni nigiri is stuffed with it. A piece of uni lying on top of even more uni. I actually ordered the deluxe nigiri, which came with uni and added on an extra one because I knew how much I'd like it. My next favourites from this was the tamago and saba. Overall, I found the fish to be fresh. However for the rolls, I did find there to be a bit too much rice for my liking.
  
  I'd suggest getting here early because as we were eating, the restaurant was full. However, it is a small restaurant. I also noticed quite a few people doing takeout. With just two people, I can see it getting quite busy with all the orders. However, they were super sweet and I could tell they have quite a few regulars. If I lived closer, I would probably come more often. Overall, the prices are fair for what you get. Definitely give it a try if you're looking for no frills sushi.

• Elle N.

  star star star star star_border 1 July 2026

  Decided to check out this sushi bar joint just because of all of the Vancouver IG food bloggers mentioned the generous portions of uni you get per piece as well as the Unagi Battera! We also order the Scallop nigiri, salmon tsashimi and the tobiko with Scallop.
  
  Salmon was nice and fresh to my surprise as I was expecting it to be the same quality as sushi garden.
  
  Uni nigiri lived up to the hype!! Seriously 3-4 pieces of uni per nigiri I was so impressed especially since other places would only give 1-2 pieces lol
  
  The unagi Battera was so delicious and they were thick cuts of unagi too!
  
  I wasn't a fan of the Scallop and tobiko as I don't like mayo but others may enjoy it
  
  My husband enjoy is Hokkaido Hotate Scallop which he enjoyed.
  
  Shop is very small and out dated but is run by a husband and wife. I would come back again