Sumibiyaki Arashi

The right booking for a celebration dinner, an intimate date, or anyone serious about yakitori

If you want to understand what Vancouver's counter-dining scene is capable of, Sumibiyaki Arashi is the reservation to make. Chef Pete Ho's 14-seat Mount Pleasant room is where a multicourse omakase built around charcoal-grilled chicken skewers quietly became the hardest table in the city to secure. For a special occasion where the food needs to do the work, book here before you look anywhere else.

A room that earns its intimacy

Fourteen seats is not a gimmick — it is the architecture of the experience. At a counter this size, the kitchen is the room. You are watching every skewer come off the binchotan grill, which means the spatial relationship between diner and cook is closer here than at almost any comparable venue in Vancouver. There are no tables competing for attention, no ambient noise from a dining room behind you. The format is focused to the point of being meditative, which makes it a genuinely strong choice for a date or celebration where the evening itself should feel considered rather than incidental.

That intimacy also has practical consequences. A 14-seat room fills completely on any given service, and there is no casual overflow. If you are hoping to walk in, this is not the venue for it.

What actually arrives at the counter

The omakase at Arashi moves through a multicourse format that uses the skewer as its anchor but does not restrict itself to it. Dishes like red crab chawanmushi with yuzu and crispy tofu with sweet soy provide counterpoint to the grill work, giving the meal range without losing its identity. The centerpiece remains the chicken: heritage breed birds, sourced specifically for this kitchen, butchered with evident care, and seasoned in part with a tare that has been maintained over decades. That tare is worth pausing on — it is one of the concrete markers of a kitchen that is operating with a level of intention you do not often find at this price tier.

The skewer progression covers both familiar and less conventional cuts. Crispy-skinned breast and thigh sit alongside chicken oysters and heart, and the kitchen's handling of each piece demonstrates real technical range. The results read as simple on the plate but are the product of precise technique , which is exactly what casual excellence looks like when it is done well. For context, this is the same discipline that drives the leading yakitori counters in Tokyo, applied to a 14-seat room on East Broadway.

How this fits the Vancouver Japanese dining picture

Vancouver has a genuinely strong Japanese dining scene. Masayoshi and Okeya Kyujiro operate in the omakase tier with different focal points , sushi and kaiseki respectively , while Sushi Masuda and Sushi Bar Maumi cover the higher end of the nigiri format. Octopus Garden handles a broader Japanese menu at a different price point. Arashi sits apart from all of them because its specialisation is narrow and its execution within that specialisation is unusually high. If grilled chicken is the focus, there is no direct competitor in the city doing this at this level.

For Canadian comparison context, the closest analogue in ambition and format is Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto in Toronto , a similarly intimate counter where the gap between apparent simplicity and actual craft is the entire point. If you have eaten at Alo in Toronto or Tanière³ in Quebec City and found the format works for you, Arashi will feel like a natural fit.

FAQ

• What should I order at Sumibiyaki Arashi? There is no ordering , the omakase format means the kitchen decides. Expect a multicourse progression anchored by binchotan-grilled chicken skewers across multiple cuts, alongside dishes like red crab chawanmushi with yuzu and fried tofu with sweet soy. The chicken oyster and heart skewers are among the less conventional pieces and worth paying attention to.
• How far ahead should I book Sumibiyaki Arashi? This is the most in-demand reservation in Vancouver right now. Book as far in advance as the reservation system allows , weeks rather than days. Do not count on last-minute availability.
• What should a first-timer know about Sumibiyaki Arashi? It is an omakase counter, so there are no menu choices to make. The room seats 14, the format is focused, and the experience is built around charcoal-grilled chicken. Come with an appetite and no agenda for the evening , the pacing is the kitchen's to set.
• Is Sumibiyaki Arashi good for a special occasion? Yes , it is one of the cleaner choices in Vancouver for a celebration dinner precisely because the format eliminates decision fatigue. The intimacy of the counter, the quality of execution, and the fact that it is genuinely hard to get into all contribute to an evening that feels considered. It works better for two than for a larger group.
• What are alternatives to Sumibiyaki Arashi in Vancouver? For Japanese omakase, Masayoshi is the strongest sushi-focused alternative at the same price tier. Okeya Kyujiro covers kaiseki. For a different format at $$$$, Kissa Tanto offers Japanese-Italian fusion with a very different room energy, and AnnaLena handles contemporary tasting menus well.
• Can Sumibiyaki Arashi accommodate groups? The room seats 14 in total, so a group of four to six is technically possible but would occupy a significant share of the counter. Larger groups are unlikely to be accommodated given the format. If you need a private dining room or a table for eight, look elsewhere , Published on Main is worth considering for groups at the $$$ tier.
• Is Sumibiyaki Arashi good for solo dining? Counter seating makes it one of the better solo options in Vancouver's fine dining tier. You are facing the kitchen throughout, the format is engaging rather than passive, and a single seat is easier to secure than a table for two or four. If you eat alone at restaurants like Le Bernardin or similar counter-format venues, the dynamic here will feel familiar.
• What should I wear to Sumibiyaki Arashi? No dress code is listed, but the $$$$ price point and omakase format suggest smart casual at minimum. Overly casual dress would feel out of step with the room. Treat it the way you would any serious tasting menu counter.

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