The Sandbar celebrates 20 years with Y2K prices, to November 30
Master sushi chef Tsutomu Hoshi has been at the Granville Island seafood restaurant since it opened
Sandbar Seafood Restaurant master sushi chef Tsutomu Hoshi trained at large hotel restaurants in the Nikko and Atami onsen (hot springs) areas of Japan. Photo by Marquardt Photography.
WHEN THE SANDBAR Seafood Restaurant opened on Granville Island 20 years ago, master sushi chef Tsutomu Hoshi was there, making from scratch spicy tuna rolls as well as California, salmon avocado, rainbow, Dragon, and other rolls. They’ve only become more popular ever since.
Now, the items that Hoshi is such a whiz at whipping up are among the highlights on a special Y2K-inspired menu. To mark its milestone anniversary, the Sandbar is rolling back prices of classics to the year 2000. Until November 30, original pricing will be in effect on select seafood dishes, including some of Hoshi’s hand-rolled sushi.
“I came to Vancouver 45 years ago at a time when Japanese food was not well known,” Hoshi tells Stir. “My sushi rolls are very popular, but there is much more to sushi and Japanese food that I would like everyone to experience at the Sandbar.”
Hoshi, who grew up in the small town in Batoh in central Japan’s Tochigi prefecture, first fell in love with food as a child watching his dad cook at the family’s minshuku, or guest house. Hoshi obtained his culinary licence through apprenticeships at large hotel restaurants in the Nikko and Atami onsen (hot springs) areas.
On a menu that will change weekly, look for items like California roll ($7.50); New England-style clam chowder ($5.95); linguine vongole ($14.95); cedar-plank salmon with coconut jasmine rice ($17.95); and seafood hot pot with fresh fish, shellfish, and vegetables in a coconut red-curry sauce ($19.95).
Now part of the Sequoia Company of Restaurants, the Sandbar has a dedicated second-level sushi and sashimi bar (which is open from 5 pm), a main-floor oyster bar, rooftop deck with open-air and enclosed seating, and a 24-foot cod fishing boat called the Kivi suspended from the ceiling as coastal décor.
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