Biiru-Bin

My favorite place in the hood. Great food, drink selections and ambiance. Not overly crowded or noisy. The staff is super nice. The chicken karaage is legit.

Came back here recently and they increased the prices about 20% and the quality– if you can believe it– went down.
My spicy tuna roll was really sloppy. The seaweed was chewy and the roll wasn’t even full of tuna. It was really disappointing and more expectant of a sushi place that you get the 3 items for less than 10 $ type of deal. For almost $ 5 a roll I’m expecting a decent roll.
I never get the sushi nigiri so wasn’t down on reviewing that the first time. But my date today said the nigiri was super flavourless and was just sad after he ate. We had to eat somewhere else after here because it was that disappointing.
Service was also really lacking. No offer of tea or water at all– not what is the norm at Japanese restaurants. So this was really notable.
I’m not inclined to Come back.

Authentic Japanese food on Oak Street-​close to home. Yay! Good vibe, happy staff, very wonky kitchen layout without a real (industrial) stove just toaster ovens and a microwave… go figure.
And the portions are very small, meagre even. Therefore expensive when you consider what you get. Seemingly, this is an Izakaya joint and maybe your priority should be to drink and snack.
However, this is a residential neighborhood, not Robson Street, and most people seemed to be there for dinner. Especially hospital and office workers who were too tired to cook– not English students out to drink.
This location may not be the best spot for this type of place. We left hungry with my husband picking up a bag of chips to fill him up. And we spent about $ 70.00! for two.

Ventured to this yesterday with my mother and sister to take advantage of their happy hour special (20% off all food) and to check this place out. At first impression, the restaurant had a good vibe as being a potentially good drinking spot. They had a small bar, a couple of beers on tap and quite a few drink options on their menu. We ordered the bbq squid, a dynamite roll, the rocky roll, the pizza roll, salmon and tuna sashimi (x2), raw oysters (daily special), a kimchi udon, a beer (hoyne pilsner on tap) and a matcha brulee.
Small unsatisfying portions seems to be a trend with the joint. The rocky roll, although big in price $ 9, was small and unappealing. The pizza roll was about the same size. It consisted of a salmon sashimi and asparagus filling topped with tomato sauce and cheese which was then finished in a toaster over. The raw oysters were fresh and decent but at $ 9.60 for 6, I could get a much better deal elsewhere. The grilled squid was not very flavourful and not very grilled. Kimchi udon. pathetically small. The matcha brulee only filled ¹⁄₃ of the ramekin that it was served in
We ended up spending $ 72 (after a 20% discount!) and was left feeling hungry.
I would say that this place is good for where it is located in a mostly residential area but I would not recommend this place for anything other than a couple of drinks and maybe a small overpriced snack.
The value and quality was just not there. For the amount of money that I spent, I would be stuffed at Sushi California on broadway or Samurai Sushi on Davie. If I wanted good izakaya, I would go to Guu.
Interesting thing that I noticed was that this place doesn’t seem to have a real kitchen. Most of the cooked food seems to be made in a row of toaster ovens located ontop of the sashimi cooler.

If you are hungry, don’t come. It literally took 20 minutes for one dish to come.
The staff is alright, but I’m not sure if the food is on the same standard.
The sangria was … Water, 2%wine and aloe juice, which was so watery that they didn’t even bother adding any fruits or anything. Don’t ever Oder it.
It’s like wateria…
I saw people comparing this place with miku, seriously? They must be trying to tell a joke.

I like this place, all the food i tasted so far have been above average, except the aburi which is a total miss!

Came here on a Friday night. Food selection was amazing, had some seasonal stuff (sea breem) which was fresh and tasty. We ordered the mackrel and tori abura, which was crispy and very oily (in a good way). The grilled squid was my favorite on the menu, we ended up getting 2!

very good service. owner has numerous experience in Japanese grill food. their squid and octopus is simply delicious. great place to drop by for a beer as their license is till 12am!

I’d first heard about B-​bin through Unilocal,while searching for sushi joints nearby, and the idea of being able to pair a quality beer with sushi intrigued me (more my husband). Last night we had a chance to test it out, and found the experience to be pleasant and tasty.
We tried the smoked ankimo, grilled squid, saba aburi, saba shiso roll, and the Deep South roll. The ankimo was buttery and flavorful, with no fishy smell. The grilled squid came with a mayonnaise sauce which we found worked even better when we put wasabi into it! The two rolls were also very good; we were surprised by the Deep South as mixing papaya and chopped scallop sounded adventurous but I really worked. I would definitely order it again. The only disappointment was the aburi. The saba slices were very thin and small and the sushi fell apart as we tried to eat it; if this is your go-​to dish at Japanese restaurants there are others in the cot that do it better.
Beer selection was pretty good; most places offer like 3 different beers but thy have several on tap and more bottled.
Service was pleasant but not over-​enthusiastic. Overall it was a pretty relaxed meal.
Quiet on weeknights but I did notice more people coming in after 8 pm, so maybe they cater more to the later-​dinner crowd.
Looking forward to trying the other custom rolls and other beers!

B-​Bin is one of those places that you wander in without realizing what a little gem it is. The staff are friendly, the guys more so. Their signature dish is the grilled squid, we order 2 each time! So delicious! The aburi salmon is well done here. Their sashimi is good quality. Their black cod is tasty but Mikuu is better. I would definitely try their uni and also their udon, v unique.
It was my friends birthday and they even have us dessert– the mochi ice cream is such a delight!
Definitely be back soon!

It was decent but I had better. The sashimi was paper thin and over priced. Lots of sushi places in the area so I don’t think I’ll be back.

Psssst the staff are Japanese.
A lot better than the average Japanese restaurant but not «Blow me down» Popeye style (yes I had spinach!).
I also noticed it appears they are now called B-​Bin which makes it a little confusing when trying to find it. The awning signage could be better but really the Sapporo sandwich board on the sidewalk mostly gives it away. No need for an air-​traffic-​controller with glowing red wands to direct your path.
As far as beer selection goes, there’s a pretty solid selection of local beer (Parallel 49 for example). If you want Japanese beer, Sapporo on draught is your only option.
Interacting with the waitress was interesting. Either she’s new and not familiar with the menu or my Japanese pronunciation come across more Greek than Japanese. She (and the other staff I interacted with) were friendly and attentive. The only «unattentive» part was after we finished eating, they mostly left us alone (other than tea refill) until I asked for the bill. I’m not saying it like it’s a bad thing, they weren’t rushing us out. If they didn’t want my money that badly, I would gladly have kept it though: p
I was pleased with the food, my favourites were the toro and sockeye salmon sashimi, outstanding! I also really like the negi hamachi maki, aburi hamachi carpaccio, yuzu-​miso black cod and aburi shime saba oshi sushi. The spinach of the goma-​ae was very good but the sticky sesame/​peanutty sauce that’s almost like caramel is fairly «typical», I’d much rather it be fresh pressed sesame «sauce».
I’ll definitely be back.

It was a sunday and Kaide was closed, so le bf and I decided to check out this sushi joint.
The copy cat version of Miku’s aburi salmon is horrid. The description on the menu and the dish that we received was completely different. There was no sliced jalapeño or freshly cracked pepper. It consisted of bad sushi rice with a middle layer of shisho (sp?) leaf and a huge plank of salmon on top. Yes, I can see the amusement that customers get when the server comes to the table with a massive blow torch to do ‘table side torching’ ooooh that is so cool. Not. It’s not cool and completely useless especially if you aren’t even blow torching it with charcoal (which is the whole point to create the smokey flavour!). It was just a bland horrible mess. If you’re going to do a copy cat version of a dish, that basically made one specific restaurant famous, then please at least put more effort into it, half-​assing does not count as a positive.
The fish is cut way too big on the nigiri. The sockeye salmon was too soft for my liking and the mentaiko kimchi udon was way over salted for my liking, I think they forgot that kimchi can be very salty on its own.
The service was the cherry on the top. We got in right at 5:30, I opened the door and stood there for a good 30 seconds as the four staff members just stood and stared at my partner and I. Is it really shocking for them to have customers come in at this time? Or is it just strange for them to see customers coming in at all? The servers are rather on the ‘slow’ side, so make sure you ask for tea and everything else. I realize that Oak st isn’t exactly a food mecca, but c’mon really? Not impressed.

It’s cozy and modern Japanese Tapas on Oak St & 15^th Ave, big tables at the entrance, few small tables at the corner and bar seats as well.
Seafood salad — Fresh salad and sashimi but not enough salad dressing.
Beef Tataki — Excellent beef tataki which fresh and strong taste of beef.
Rainbow roll — Good presentation of rainbow roll, however, it used imitation crab meat.
Hamachi Kama — Grilled yellowtail cheek was delicious
Sushi — Tobiko, Amaebi, Tako, Hamachi was tasty too.
Good foods in reasonable price and friendly staffs. In addition, 20% off on entire menu during happy hour (5pm-6.30pm).

Oak Street is definitely not known as a hotspot for fine dining.
Parking is available on the side streets.
The inside is mostly dark wood, with that typical izakaya feel (much like Kingyo or Hapa). There is 1 large group table (seating maybe 8 people), but every other table seats 4 or less. So you may want to reserve for a large group.
At the time I went they were having liquor licensing issues and so could not serve, but this should be resolved as of the time of this review. I took a glance at their selection (they had stock; they just couldn’t serve) and it actually looked pretty decent.
Service is friendly, and the staff are real-​deal Japanese. Sweet.
Hamachi Carppaccio — really good. Nice soft slices, and the critus garlic dressing really goes along nicely.
Tofu Caprese — tofu seemed a bit more like Indian paneer, which is interesting.
Udon with tobiko — decent flavour.
Nigiri sushi — fresh pieces. Fish does not taste farmed at all. Beautiful.
Negitoro roll — one of the better ones in town. No overwhelming fishy taste.
California roll — fresh solid pieces of avocado.
Aburi shime saba — blowtorched by the waitress right before serving. Surprisingly good. The pickling was just the right amount (most places overdo this bit). Probably the best dish out of the bunch, next to the hamachi carppaccio.
The place delivers for sure if you don’t mind paying a few bucks more. I’m just hoping there’s enough of a market in this area to keep them afloat.

I’ve heard about this place from other co-​workers and I went on Unilocal to read up on the reviews. The pub is a great addition to the area giving a place for people working nearby and people living in the area a place to go out and eat.
The food is delicious with a simple menu to choose from. However, the service needs a bit of work. The waiter disappeared at times and when I did see the waiter, I had to wave the waiter to come over to take my order, a refill on tea and to get the bill. The food also came slow. It will not stop me from coming back. Maybe I will do take out just to avoid the wait.

Tasty spot in the vicinity that doesn’t involve walking to far. Not lots of your usual rolls but certainly creative, fresh, and well done!
The evening I wen they announced that no alcohol would be served. Not sure what happened but it was booze free. This is too bad because when they opened their schtick was the sushi and beer pairing. Apparently the owner loves beer and thought to pair it with beer. A fun concept and a unique one (at least to me).
I really enjoyed the beef tetaki and avocado and tuna roll. It was pretty amazing!
I also have to add how great the staff was! I forgot my wallet at home and didn’t realize it until I went to pay. They were so good about me going home to get it and coming back. I did leave my iPhone as collateral but they still could have given me a hard time and they didn’t.
I hope they get their liquor license back. Call before you go if you want something with spirits to enjoy with your sushi.

This is tough to review so I’ll do it in two parts. Firstly, the food. It’s great! My partner and I had the sashimi, a couple of specialty rolls and a couple of regular rolls. All were great with the Canadian and soybean paper rolls particular standouts. The sashimi was also top-​notch so it was compliments only back to the kitchen.
On the other hand, the service was a major let-​down. One guy was running the show and from when we ordered to when we ate our last dish it was around 75 minutes. We also had our plates brought out haphazardly — One roll initiailly, 10 minutes later the sashimi, 30 mins later another roll, then the two specialty rolls 20 minutes later again. Perhaps there was a miss-​match in our expectations, but for a half-​full Monday night we certainly weren’t expected to wait that long.
So the food was great but the service below average. The above order came to $ 45 without drinks so it’s a little pricey. Would we be back? Only if we don’t feel like walking the additional seven blocks up Oak to Tokiwa.

I LOVE Biiru Bin! It’s about damned time that Oak Street went from Garbage Town to Delicious Food Mecca. Well, I am exaggerating, but one can only eat so much Zachary’s Pizza/Max’s Deli grub before your arteries near explosion and you are forced to switch to something «healthier».
I live right next door, so I have been eating here a LOT. I mean… a lot. I can’t say enough how delighted I am by the amazing staff, the AMAZING food, and the great selection of local beers!
I have to say that their seared black cod dish is probably one of the most amazing fish dishes I have ever had. It’s cooked to perfection and almost melts on your tongue. Try it!

Finally!
A diamond on Oak Street. Biiru-​Bin is a Japanese owned and operated craft beer pub and it seriously rocks.
The beer and cocktails are very reasonably priced, the food is delicious, and the service is awesome.
Beer prices are around $ 5 bucks per pint, they have a huge selection, and great specials.
They’ve somehow managed to make a small space seem more spacious, and the wrap around bar makes it easy to talk to and meet people.
The owner is great. We’ve been there twice now and I have a feeling it will be a great winter hang out.
Check it out.