The Unconventional Route

"The ingredients may be the same, but every one of our tasters noted that Tojo’s roll tasted completely different. Most said it was different in a good way and it was their favorite. So if you want an authentic California roll, go to Tojo’s."

Vancouver Is Awesome

"For those that haven’t had the pleasure of trying it, the BC roll is typically filled with barbecued salmon skin coated in a sweet sauce, with rice on the outside, similar to the California roll."

Katie Nanton

"Chef Tojo was a pioneer of the California Roll—he was the first to serve it in Vancouver nearly 50 years ago—so it’s wise to order up his version, called the Tojo Roll, bursting with Dungeness crab, avocado, egg omelette and spinach."

Gabby Peyton

"Tojo hid the seaweed underneath a layer of rice and swapped out the raw fish for cooked crab, and the rest is history. Creating the California Roll changed the Canadian perspective of sushi and opened up a whole new world of flavours to hungry patrons. Tojo’s defining career moment is forever rolled up with the delicious flavour combination inside, and you can still visit Tojo’s Restaurant in Vancouver to try the real thing."

Joanne Sasvari

"Back in the 1970s, when Japanese food still meant a teppanyaki grill and a chef wielding his knives like a majorette’s baton, Hidekazu Tojo strolled into town and seduced us with his subtle, crab-and-avocado-stuffed California rolls. Vancouver’s original sushi master still serves some of the best fish in town, with a seemingly ageless flair for creative invention and welcoming hospitality."

Claudia McNeilly

"Tojo swapped raw fish for cooked crabmeat and turned the roll inside out to hide the seaweed. The California roll became the first roll to feature rice on the outside, then a radical idea that helped disarm the foreign concept of seaweed at the dinner table. Tojo can still be found behind the restaurant’s sushi counter nightly, greeting regulars and creating new maki styles that push culinary boundaries as his California roll did decades ago."

Stephanie Rebick

"Tojo’s Great B.C. roll which is stuffed with barbequed salmon skin that is crisp but still tender, and refreshing cucumber, is layered with still more oily and rich salmon on top. These simple ingredients, when combined this carefully, feel very decadent."