Please mention your favourite places for various Japanese foods.
With Skippa having closed last year, I havenāt had a good Japanese meal on a patio. Iām craving sushi, but I canāt eat indoors. Unfortunately, Yasu doesnāt offer takeout at this time.
In addition to Chotto Matte, see @DrJohnās recent meal at Patio Season [Toronto] [Ontario] - #36 by DrJohn
and Kasa Moto, are you aware of any good sushi restaurants with patios or take-out at this time?
I tried Kibo Secret Garden take-out and found it okay-pretty good. I want something a little better than that, but not $$$$.
I think I will get take-out from Omai tonight. I havenāt been to Omai since before March 2020.
https://www.omairestaurant.ca/menu
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Had a nice meal on Omaiās patio. They have around 12 seats. I really liked the yu choi, scallop temaki and Omai futomaki. They do take-out through Tock.
Ronin Izakaya has a little patio I will try before fall.
Yuugi Izakaya also has a small patio.
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Ramen Isshin on College St. Still excellent. Love the miso ramen.
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Well we can start with the mothership of things Japanese J-Town
Heisei for Japanese groceries. Ultra premium Japanese rice check, hard to find soup base check etc. etc.
For food Izakaya Ju is way underrated. I am a huge fan for their Unaju and other grilled items. Sadly I have to drive there and canāt indulge much in drinks for that reason.
Kaiju sadly closed but Katsuya is still decent IMO
Taro Fish also used to be a go to spot for sushi and sashimi but havenāt been there in ages.
@OP I find Kibo Secret Garden to be reasonably priced as there is always a promo on UberEats plus good sushi is expensive IMO
Okonomi house worth a visit as well for something thatās not done well elsewhere.
T&T supermarket downtown is just horrible as otherwise that used to be a good spot to visit to get Japanese stuff within downtown. Sanko is OK I guess.
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@elvisahmed agree good sushi is expensive.
I consider TO to have 4 or 5 levels of sushi. Sushi Masaki Saito (omakase currently $680 per person) and Aburi Hana ( KyÅ-Kaiseki experience is $380 per guest, pre-tax, and pre-beverage pairing) are charging a lot more than I want to spend.
Kasa Moto is charging a little more than I want to spend.
Iām looking at what I consider to be upper mid-range, which I have found at Omai and Shinobu.
I am happy to spend $50- $80 before tax on a sushi dinner for myself, whether thatās a few items off the menu or a set meal.
I havenāt been to Yasu yet, and probably wonāt try it until they offer takeout again.
Kibo Secret Garden is reasonably priced for what it is. Maybe Iāll order some individual items to give them another try. I did find it pretty good, but didnāt like it as much as Omai, Japango, Yuzu No Hana, JaBistro (all before 2020). I donāt use UberEats.
For izakaya, I like Koyoiās karaage. 2 Irwin.
I like Japanese omurice. I am hoping another Japanese brunch spot with omelettes will open in Toronto proper.
I miss Coo CafƩ Bread or Rice which closed last fall. The chef caters now.
Film CafĆ©ās rolled omelette is okay at best. I donāt visit East York much, so I havenāt been to Sakawa which seems be hit or miss, or like it/dislike it.http://sakawacoffee.com/index.php/menu-card/
I rarely drive north of Eglinton so I havenāt been to any of the places serving it in Richmond Hill.
Saito is for a very specific clientele I guess. I missed out their takeout during the start of COVID-19 as live very close by and could have picked it up and had it at home quick.
kaji is very good for high end.
kasa moto hmm I didnāt consider it to be a sushi spot.
Kibo secret garden Omakase is pricey around 200$ I recall and their Instagram shows some interesting fish flown in every now and then. Maybe one day
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I really enjoyed Saito when he was the head chef at Sushi Ginza Onodera in NYC. Also believe he was the reason they landed the 2* rating for the restaurant. This was pre the vanguard of NYC top end spots ushered in 2018 (Noz, Shion, Noda, Yoshino etc). I think he can definitely still hold his own against these new heavy hitters. Definitely on my list of dining spots next time Iām in Toronto.
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Looks like our iconic ā Sushi Kaji ā has been omitted in most current discussions of Japanese cuisine/sushi?! Guess, time for me to pay them a long-overdue re-visit and post an updated review! Ha!
As for bakeries, āHATTENDOā cream buns ( especially, Apple cream and plum Sake ) are my current favourites! Multiple locations! soooo addictive and gooood!
Cho-San for take out higher-end sushi and sashimi
Cafe NāOne for its ā Wiggly souffle cheese cake ā
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Yeah I have read about Saito a bit but have yet to get decent feedback for the Toronto location (just paid review sites and lists for the food industry) as there is a dearth of reliable source there so far.
Also I havenāt been in ages but Hasimoto is worth a mention being in The Japan Canadian Cultural center (JCCC is a boon as it adds to the experience IMO. I have enjoyed my trips to their annual bazar sigh they havenāt held one a few years due to COVID.
Also would like to add Ontario Sake Company is very good. Their Sake will put a lot of high end offerings to a test. I am not a big sake luver but their Nama Nama is hard to resist (especially the unpasteurized version)
@THECHARLES The hattendo sakesu you mentioned is a collaboration I believe as I can order it via UberEATS from Izumi store as well)
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Iāve only been to Kaji once, around 2005. I ordered the Silver level. It was a nice meal, but I went as part of a Meetup-type group. I didnāt really like fine dining with strangers at the time.
I tried 2 Hattendo baked goods from the Cumberland Terrace location. That location (might be closed now) wasnāt getting much traffic in May or June. My cream bun seemed to be a day old. Or maybe 12 h old. Not very good. Havenāt been back.
The location on Baldwin seems busier.
I liked what I ordered at Neo Coffee Bar but havenāt been lately.
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Good to know.
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Anyone tried Shoushin?
Iām of Japanese background, but we donāt end up going out much for Japanese. This is partly because for the more casual, āhome-styleā dishes, Iāll just make them at home (and much of this stuff isnāt what is served at restaurants). Also, we try to eat sustainable seafood as much as possible and most of the better restaurants serving sushi/sashimi emphasize quality over sustainability.
In addition to trying Chotto Matte recently (more Peruvian-Japanese), we also tried Minami, the sister restaurant to Miku. It was quite good and had a decent sized patio. Here is the link to that report. Miku was also good when we went, but that was pre-pandemic and we havenāt tried their patio. We havenāt been to Saito and havenāt been to Kaji in a long time. We do love Kaiseki Yu-Zen Hashimoto for special occasions.
We also love Manpuku for casual comfort food, but havenāt been during the pandemic.
We like many of the ramen places: Kinton (my favourite noodles), Santouka (best pork), Sansotei, Raijin, Isshin, Ryus (the vegetarian miso is very good), Oji Seichi (just went again yesterday). We havenāt tried Konjiki yet.
For sweets, we like Uncle Tetsu of course, Hattendo, Isabellaās Mochi Donuts, Fuwa Fuwa for pancakes, Sasaki in J-town for mochi, and we greatly lament the disappearance of Beard Papa from Pacific Mall a number of years ago.
For groceries, we mainly go to either Sanko on Queen St. W. or J-Town. At J-Town we buy goods primarily at Heisei, baked goods from Nakamura, sometimes meat from Famu. We by takeout food form Famu, Niwatei, Tanuki, and Cafe Green Tea (most of which are available in Heisei.
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Thanks for sharing your fav spots. I totally forgot about FAMU oh boy some of their Shabu Shabu and Sukiyaki Wagyu sets are so beautiful I want to frame them if it was socially acceptable. Nakamura hmm I enjoyed it on occasion but not recently.
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Anyone tried Ramen Yutaka?
Hanamaru market on Pape has a decent selection of items.
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Looks like Michelin answered my unanswered question with a starā¦. Another on my list to visit besides Masaki Saito which scored 2*
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