Best Upscale Japanese 2013

GOLD: TOJO’S

Silver: Minami | Bronze: Zest | Honourable Mentions: Zen, Miku

There’s a reason for consistency in this category: Gold-winning Tojo’s remains “bright and ambitious, yet never losing focus on the food and presentation. The sushi procession is justifiably famous.”

Newcomer Minami (Silver) focuses instead on aburi (slightly scorched) sushi where pressed local salmon with jalapeño duels with barbecued freshwater eel tempura with seven-spice salt for best in show.

Discreetly tucked away in a quiet plaza on the West Side is Bronze winner Zest, where the sushi “is genuinely elegant, but still adventurous enough to push the envelope.

Honourable Mentions to West Vancouver’s “contemporary and cerebral” Zen and to Minami restaurant’s older sib, Miku, which offers “a boisterous atmosphere, especially at lunch.”

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