Costco's kitchens churn out the warehouse store's well-known muffins, taco kits, and much more, but now the Downtown Vancouver location has added a major new line of food: sushi.
The first - and only, so far - in Canada to offer sushi, the Vancouver Costco has embarked on a trial program that follows in the footsteps of the U.S. chain's Issaquah, Washington location, which launched its line of Kirkland sushi in June 2023.
The Downtown Vancouver Costco is the test location in Canada for the warehouse store's big sushi experiment, and last week social media videos of the new offering went viral.
A portion of the store's kitchen is now dedicated to making sushi trays, like a big pack of nigiri and rolls, sashimi, poke, and California rolls.
The sushi is priced by weight and is sold in the store's meat section. Kitchen staff turn out fresh boxes all day; shoppers can look at the time stamp on the price sticker to see when that particular box was made. One shopper pointed out that choosing a more recently-made box is likely to impact the quality of the rice, as it will have hardened more the longer it sits in the cooler
The combo box, which has six large nigiri pieces (three each of tuna and farmed salmon) and three large maki rolls cut into six pieces (tuna, salmon, and tuna-avocado), runs about $32-$38.
A store clerk shared in conversation during check-out that the store is also prepping to create individual-sized portions of the sushi to sell at the Costco food court, however, the employees were not sure at this point when that would be implemented.
Taste test: Trying the Costco Kirkland sushi in Vancouver
Last weekend, I visited the Downtown Vancouver Costco and purchased a combo set of nigiri and maki for about $33.
The rolls are big, somewhere between a regular maki and one of those extra-large specialty rolls some sushi restaurants serve.
I chose the most recent time stamp I could find, but ultimately the sushi did have to survive the drive home and some time in the fridge before I ate it.
Here's a rundown of the pros and cons of the Costco Kirkland sushi:
Pros
- It's a pretty good value. The rolls are so large that it's like getting two rolls for the price of one.
- The amount was filling and satisfying. I shared the combo with one other person. (We usually order more items and spend twice as much).
- The sushi tasted fresh.
- Ultimately, it was better than typical grocery store sushi.
Cons
- Costco uses farmed salmon.
- There are limited options for rolls, fish, and styles of sushi.
- I noticed some unevenness in the cuts of fish for the nigiri and the rolls themselves. It's evident they are playing a volume game and turning out as much as possible and this is contrary to the overall philosophy of sushi, which is rooted in the sushi master's precision, training, and skill.
- The sushi is nowhere near as good as the take-out sushi I get from my favourite neighbourhood spot.
- Location: The Downtown Vancouver Costco is not the closest store for me.
Would I get the Costco Kirkland sushi again? Absolutely. While it hits the bank account significantly harder than a Costco hot dog and the Chicken Bake has yet to cross the border, the new sushi scratches that take-out sushi itch as much as it can at that price point.
That said, if I'm looking for a more memorable sushi experience in Vancouver there are endless options.
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