ToJo’s

ToJo's, Vancouver: Should You Book?

Dinner reservations at ToJo's are easier to secure than at most of Vancouver's top-ranked restaurants, but the window that matters is Tuesday through Saturday — the kitchen closes at 9:30 PM every night it opens, the room goes dark entirely on Sundays. If you are planning a late evening out, this is the ceiling you are working with: last seating runs close to 9 PM, the pacing here rewards guests who arrive on the earlier side of service rather than squeezing in at the end.

ToJo's earned a spot on the Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in North America list in both 2023 (Recommended) and 2024 (ranked #311), which places it in a competitive tier of dining rooms that are taken seriously by the people who track these things closely. That credential matters most when you are weighing whether a dinner here represents genuine quality or simply a long-standing Vancouver institution coasting on reputation. The OAD ranking, driven by votes from frequent restaurant-goers rather than a single critic's opinion, suggests the former.

For first-timers, the address — 1133 W Broadway, puts you in a stretch of Broadway that is accessible by transit and reasonably central. The cuisine is listed as American, which in this context reflects a broad approach to the menu rather than a narrowly defined regional style. Chef Antonio Mermolia leads the kitchen, the restaurant has maintained enough consistency to earn back-to-back OAD recognition across consecutive years. That kind of sustained credibility is harder to fake than a single strong review cycle.

This is not a room where you are gambling on a good night.

On the practical side, the nightly close at 9:30 PM shapes how you should plan. If you want a long, unhurried meal, aim for a 7:00 or 7:30 PM booking midweek, when the dining room is less likely to be compressed toward the end of service. Friday and Saturday seatings fill the most predictably, so book those in advance. For a first visit, a Thursday booking gives you a quieter room without sacrificing any of the kitchen's focus.

The absence of published pricing in the available data means you should check directly with the restaurant before finalizing plans if budget is a primary consideration. What the OAD ranking does suggest is that ToJo's competes in a tier where a full dinner will likely run at a level consistent with other Vancouver restaurants in the same recognition bracket.

ToJo's does not offer the late-night flexibility of a bar-adjacent dining room, it is not the place to plan around a 9 PM arrival. What it offers is a credentialed, consistently reviewed dinner experience in a room that is accessible without the booking difficulty of Vancouver's hardest tables. For a first visit to the city's serious dining scene, it earns its place on the shortlist, with the explicit caveat that you plan your evening around its schedule, not the other way around.

For more on where to eat, drink, stay while you are in the city, see our full Vancouver restaurants guide, our full Vancouver bars guide, our full Vancouver hotels guide, our full Vancouver wineries guide, and our full Vancouver experiences guide.

Know Before You Go

How It Compares in Vancouver

See the comparison section below.

FAQ

What should a first-timer know about ToJo's?

• Arrive with a booking rather than attempting a walk-in, particularly on weekends.
• The kitchen closes at 9:30 PM nightly, so plan your arrival for 7:00–7:30 PM if you want a relaxed pace.
• The OAD ranking (North America, 2024) signals this is a room that takes its cooking seriously, expect a considered dinner, not a casual drop-in.
• Pricing is not published in available data, so confirm costs directly if budget matters.

Is lunch or dinner better at ToJo's?

• ToJo's is dinner-only, open from 5:00 PM daily (Monday through Saturday). There is no lunch service to consider.
• For first-timers, a weekday dinner booking, Tuesday through Thursday, gives you the full experience without the Friday and Saturday weekend rush.

What should I wear to ToJo's?

• No published dress code exists for ToJo's, but an OAD-ranked room in Vancouver typically rewards smart-casual at minimum.
• Treat it the way you would approach any credentialed dinner in the city: put in some effort, you will not be overdressed.
• Arriving in resort wear would be out of step with the room's positioning.

Can ToJo's accommodate groups?

• Seat count is not published, so the upper limit for group bookings is not confirmed in available data.
• For groups of four or more, contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability and any group booking policies before assuming a standard reservation will cover you.
• Vancouver alternatives with clearer group-dining infrastructure include iDen & QuanJuDe Beijing Duck House, which is set up for larger party dining by format.

What are alternatives to ToJo's in Vancouver?

• Kissa Tanto, Italian-Japanese fusion at the $$$$ tier; harder to book but widely regarded as one of the city's strongest rooms.
• AnnaLena, Contemporary at $$$$ with a loyal local following; comparable in tone to ToJo's but a different menu direction.
• Masayoshi, Japanese at $$$$ for a more focused, format-driven experience.
• Barbara, Contemporary at $$$$ if you want something newer on the Vancouver scene.