Sushi Hil

Counter Seats on Main

3.5 of 5

Sushi Hil opened on August 15, 2022, at 3330 Main Street. By 2024 it was on Canada's 100 Best list, and Michelin has since handed it a Bib Gourmand. That is fast. It is also deserved. The room is flooded with natural light, rare for a sushi bar, and the best seats are at the counter, where Chef Hil Nguy works with the calm efficiency of someone who has stopped needing to prove anything.

The fish is the show. Michelin's inspectors have written up Japanese sweet prawns served with their heads over crushed ice with wasabi, aka isaki with orange, aji from Kagoshima with ginger and scallion, plus otoro, ikura, chopped tuna and black throat perch. None of that needs a squeeze bottle or a blowtorch. It needs good rice, a sharp knife and someone who knows when to stop. Hil Nguy knows when to stop, which is a rarer skill than knowing when to start.

Now the part that matters for your wallet. Sushi with this much care usually costs a mortgage payment. Sushi Hil sits in Michelin's moderate band, and it serves lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday. Book through Tock, take the counter, and go at lunch for the gentlest bill. It is closed Sundays, so plan around it, and do not show up expecting rolls drowned in mayonnaise.

Order this: Japanese sweet prawns over crushed ice, Aji from Kagoshima with ginger-scallion, Otoro, Black throat perch
The damage: $$
Go: Weekday lunch, at the counter; closed Sundays
Find it: 3330 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V 3M7