Great food, a little pricey. Plan to go with three plus people and order for the table

A foodie friend and I went to Dasha recently. I admit that I have been eager to try this Asian fusion restaurant of Michelin star Chef Akira Back since seeing pictures of the Halo Halo cocktail on social media. We made reservations for 5pm on a Wednesday but had to wait a little while the staff completed their pre-dinner service briefing. The restaurant is open from 5pm to 2am (for their late night karaoke patrons). The decor has a modern Far Eastern vibe. Cool light fixtures reminiscent of tiered cymbals or gongs hang over black upholstered bench seating, wooden tables, and red backed chairs. Red neon lights highlight the upturned "roof" above the bar area. Washroom stalls are gender neutral. The open kitchen allows you to see the magic happening. A staircase flanked by a large mural and partial giant birdcage leads up to 5 themed karaoke rooms that can be rented for between $65-$85 per hour, with premium prices after 8pm. Rooms accommodate groups up to 12 persons. This pricing includes small takeout boxes of some of their snack sized menu items such as premium chicken balls and spring rolls (also available in the dining room area). The staff were very attentive and provided good suggestions for dishes to try. We ordered: -Scallop siu mai: came with 4 pieces and a sweet sauce. The scallops were tender but I would have preferred the sauce to be less sweet. -Garlic chili green beans ($11): These were tender yet still firm with slivers of chopped red chili peppers. Avoiding these chilies, I didn't find the dish to be spicy at all. -Chow fun stir fry ($14): Savory and evenly coated in sauce (which is often not the case at other Chinese restaurants). Prawns were perfectly cooked and the dish was flavourful but a tad salty. -Black cod ($31): My favourite dish of those we ordered. The fish was buttery and tender with a nicely balanced teriyaki and shacha sauce that hit all the flavour notes. Served with tender asparagus, a crispy lotus root and a crispy/savory red tuile garnish. Drinks are presented beautifully. We ordered: -Halo Halo Mei Ren ($15): They do not skimp on the Trombo tequila in this cocktail! You definitely taste the tequila, coconut milk and frozen pomegranate pieces but the ube and jackfruit flavours were definitely more subtle. This was almost dessert like and heavy due to the coconut milk. I almost wished there were bits of coconut palm or sweetened beans in the drink so that it would be more reminiscent of Filipino halo halo. -Jade Palace ($12.50): This was the drink winner for me. Refreshing, slightly tart from the yuzu and lime but sweet from the litchi and sparkling wine. The waitress said if the litchi containing ice cubes were not melted, they could top up with additional Prosecco. Dasha delivers as an upscale dining experience and as a restaurant that serves delicious Asian fusion cuisine. Do not expect Chinese food court prices. We paid about $60 per person for the above dishes and drinks. Yes, it is expensive! And yet I would return with friends to try more of Dasha's food offerings, for the bougie drinks, and to try the karaoke experience. 3.5 stars read more

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Came here with my significant other to celebrate my birthday. We were aware that the prices for certain dishes were pretty steep so we ate elsewhere earlier and mainly came here for their specialty drinks. In terms of the overall location, we had a hard time figuring out where the entrance was and we walked around until we saw the little sign outside, the decor and ambience was very interesting as it made me think of a scene from some underground syndicate for gambling (which isn't a bad thing, made me think of Rush hour to be honest). We settled for the Chinese Chicken balls and the Crispy Salt & Pepper Prawns. The Chicken balls were okay as the meat to bread ratio was better than most Chinese Buffets, but as for the size and the quantity served, it's not worth it at all. For the Crispy Salt & Pepper Prawns, they were also delicious, but once again.. Price does not justify the value of it. I understand that this is a bit of a fancier take on Chinese food, but you'd expect a lot more than this as you can literally get these things at some takeout place for a better price and a really good serving. For our beverages, it's nice that they offer distilled water or Sparkling, so we opted for the sparkling. My S.O had ordered the Zen Garden and I got the Halo Halo Mei Rein. We pretty much went here because of that BlogTo post which was enticing when we heard about the Karaoke upstairs. As far as the drinks go, the server who provided us the Zen Garden gave us the spiel on it and we never got to take a photo of it with the smoke and the little Bonsai tree since he rushed off. As for that 20 dollar drink, when it was poured out it was literally less than half of the glass provided to us. This was NOT worth it at all and the Halo Halo drink was just okay. We finished off with the dessert which was pretty much the one thing we enjoyed the most. The tapioca on it was very dry and felt kind of old. Don't have much to say on it really. Before coming here I had pretty high expectations of this place. But overall, I would never come back as the price for two small dishes, two drinks and one dessert came up to a total of around 85 dollars which didn't quite add up to me at all. So I tried it and was it worth it? Absolutely no. I mean if they do want to improve they can but until I see something different they won't get any more business from me. read more

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Came here for my girlfriends birthday with 3 other ladies - we had a reservation and were seated as a soon as we walked in. I appreciated how the hostess took our jackets before taking us over to the table as it was really cold out that night. Our server was super attentive and we felt took the right amount of time to check in on us. We ended up getting the spring rolls, shrimp dumplings, veggie noodles & veggie rice, chicken and the half duck. All the items were spaced out and came out as the previous dish was finishing. We ended up getting two bottles of wine as well. We didn't have time to check out the rest of the building but we're told that the karaoke is a must and so are some of the signature cocktails. We'll definitely check this place out again! read more

Dasha is 3.5 stars, that I am happy to have eaten in and look forward to more visits! My friend (a fellow foodie) made reservations for us to eat here after reading an article on BlogTO and seeing pictures of liquid version of a Filipino dessert called halo-halo. We excitedly met up early and walked around King St W while we waited for 5pm to hit, however, we had a bit of a hard time actually finding the place. In this instance, it reminded me of some of my fave restaurants in NYC, where you had to walk through narrow alleys until you get to the place. It turns out, we were on the opposite side of the building, but we didn't have anything to worry about because they didn't let us in until 10 minutes past 5pm. Upon entering, you can see a birds-eye view of the whole place, the open kitchen towards the back, the curved staircase that mimicked a bird cage, the large wall art on one side and gong-like light fixture. The majority of gold and green colour scheme was both familiar and new at the same time. There was so many things we wanted to try, but we settled for the following, with the help of the server assigned to us: HALO HALO MEI REN - it's definitely Instagram-worthy. However, I would order this drink after meals, to act as a dessert (as of October 23, the chef Akira Back has not created a dessert menu). It's tequila and coconut milk heavy, so I couldn't taste the ube or jackfruit flavour with the frozen pomegranate seeds adding nothing to the flavour. Sorry, I tried to like you, but even the extra alcohol couldn't save you. JADE PALACE - this drink on the other hand should have been promoted more, but really glad our server suggested it. The mix of sweet, tart and bubbly were perfect! As for the food, we ordered: GARLIC CHILI GREEN BEANS - I liked how the beans were crispy, yet tender. My spicy tolerance is quite high, so the thin slices of red chili peppers were just okay for me. However, this dish along with the chow fun were on the slightly saltier side. SCALLOP SIU MAI - we hesitated to order this after reading the review that it was tough and rubbery. But we realized the "rubbery" that person was probably talking about was due to the fact that the scallop was not minced. The scallop already had a natural sweetness, so I would have preferred a more savoury or spicier sauce than more sweet. CHOW FUN STIR FRY - a second favourite food of this visit! Each noodle was chewy and evenly coated with the sauce, the prawns well cooked along with the vegetables. BLACK COD - THIS WAS OUR FAVE! The cod was super flake, buttery and delicious!! As I'm writing this review, my tongue remembers the teriyaki and shacha sauce, how delicately balanced the flavours were. I wished there was a bit more asparagus, but the crispy garnish brought the texture this dish needed. Dasha is upscale and it lived up to the expectation as a whole. My friend and I are already planning a girls night with our other friends, but will probably have to wait for a special occasion as it is on the pricier side. Also excited to try the other drinks! read more

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All of the food was pretty good, but not exceptional. Considering it costs 3 times more than the same dishes down on Spadina, I would expect more. The only dish I found outstanding was the duck fried rice. The place is beautiful and the service was very good though. read more

Came here for a GNO. Was looking forward to a yummy asian fusion food but it wasn't as delicious as the pictures looked haha. We ordered the Peking duck and the texture and flavour was lacking. Surprisingly we did enjoy the plain jasmine rice a lot... loll Perhaps we will return once they update the menu with new items :) read more

The food was delicious. The drinks were good and had a great display. The vibe of the place was lively and fun read more

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Location: hidden in an alleyway within a nice building. Service: The staff was polite, professional, and friendly. Facility: Clean and stylish. Small but cozy. The chairs were cheap and somewhat uncomfortable, resembled elevated lawn chairs. Food: Tasty, good presentation, tiny portions, designed to order multiple plates and share with your group, overpriced for the portion sizes. Bar: WAY OVERPRICED tiny drinks, I questioned there was any alcohol in the drinks at all, massive disappointment in this category. Summery: Small portioned tastey well presented Asian cuisine wrapped in a King street address with Tiny drinks. It's fine to charge $18 for a cocktail, but not with little to no alcohol. P.S. No warm Sake available.... read more

Like the vibe here. But the food is over priced.... we end up spending $70 pp and went to grab food after.....the taste is not special (kinda sweat) than any other places and doesn't justify the price * $16 for a small bowel of noodle/rice that's not even enough for a single person.... * $50 for very small amount of duck meat which should not be called half duck.... not even 1/10 duck... the authentic Peking duck has more juicy and fatty taste In my opinion, there are better Chinese fusion restaurants in terms of price, taste and portions. If you like the environment and want to grab some drinks (good selection of cocktails), it is a good place to go. But it is not a place to go for food read more

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Atmosphere: one would think nicer given the money spent/hype but not at all cozy, with a large dim warehouse feel. Lighting at the tables itself - candles ? lighting behind the booths? - would improve matters. Service: friendly. Food and drink: 2022 and very few vegan options= why? Especially with an Asian restaurant. Disappointing. Hot and sour soup very disappointing, but the eggplant - grilled - was good. Drinks overpriced ($18 for a cocktail, as an example), ok overall. Overall: Give me a cozier place with vegan options and better priced cocktails and I'd consider a return, else count me out. read more

First time at Dasha and besides the ambience, nothing else would pull me back here. I got a Matcha Sour and it tasted like green apple more than Matcha... really was a strange drink. Food was alright, aesthetically nice to look at, but meh. read more

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We came here for my mom's birthday this past weekend. Before going I've read some mixed review but was still intrigued to try since its an Arika Back restaurant. When we arrived at the address, note that the restaurant does not have parking and you will need to find street parking so be prepared to allot in 5-10 extra mins for that. Once we were inside, we were greeted right away and walked over to our table. Our waitress was friendly and made a few recommendations on what to order. For the 4 of us, we ordered 1/2 roast duck, the Angry Chicken, Sweet and sour chicken, and the fried noodles. To be honest, the only unique dish was the Angry chicken as t was numbing and makes you want to eat more. Though the duck was delicious, it was nothing special compared to what you would get at a Chinese restaurant in Markham. At the end of the service, they brought out a little sparkler and ice cream bowl to celebrate my mom's birthday which was sweet. We ended up spending around $150 for 4 people But yeah, would I recommend this place for the price? Probably not. You can get way better Chinese food else where for a much better price. read more

Great food and even better service. The staff was very helpful and friendly. I would recommend the Peking duck. The sushi was very fresh as well. read more

The cocktails here are delicious! My favourite one is the jade palace and butterfly sour. Jade palace is made with St Germaine and Prosecco and butterfly sour is their own version of a sour drink. All drinks are made beautifully and perfect for the camera. The wasabi prawns are also good, it has a good kick of the wasabi. And the miso cod was delicious, it is a bit more expensive than usual but it's creamy, soft, and great flavour. Miso eggplant is also delicious. For those people who are pescatarians and vegetarians, this is a great spot for you. Even the hot and sour soup is vegetarian, lots of options for you to enjoy. The only downfall for the food is the portion is a bit small, so you will need to order more than usual. read more

Dasha - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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One often times wary about fusion restaurant and twists on other cuisines like Chinese. We relied on local recommendations from a Los Angeles' friends sister, a Toronto resident and we are so grateful. We both loved the food! The black truffle duck was perfectly cooked juicy, delectable and with so much umami that I'm actually craving it right now, the shrimp perfectly fried with a wasabi cream sauce that was great! The other dishes (fried noodles, tenderloin) also equally strong with a touch of spicy ness that was wonderful. The service was professional, engaged and so amiable. The portions are European and therefore smaller portions and coming from the US this takes getting used to, however with quality precedes quantity! 3-4 dishes for 2 people would be good. We went here before a Second City show! read more

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Dasha is a very fun and vibrant restaurant. Although when we went it was kind of dead (7pm on a Sunday). The food was good, but could have been better. We got the rib steak (which took extremely long to come). We asked for it medium well and it was definitely overcooked, but the flavour was good. The potatoes were good, but the description mentioned truffles and there was absolutely no sign of truffle in the dish. The Dan Dan noodles lacked flavour. The green beans were great; perfectly crunchy! Our server was extremely slow and disappeared for about 45 mins. I may or may not go back again. read more

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Tried this new resto because I've hear Akira Back (same chef) is very good, and they have a fantastic deal for Buck a shuck oysters from 5 to 7 PM! The oysters were really good and came with a variety of sauces, plenty of lemon and very fresh, but I have to say the fried noodles with chicken and sweet-and-sour prawns were underwhelming. Decent, but nothing special, This was not Michelin star Chinese food unfortunately. read more

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Came here for my gfs birthday celebration, the decor is really nice. It has a Hk street vibe but indoors. Staff was attentive and nice. Only issue I do have is their food. Food I believe is catered more towards westerners. As a person who has eaten asian food almost everyday, my standards is set quite high. The overall experience was decent but would likely not come back. read more

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Drinks- great Service- great Food - mediocre, not worth the $$$. Way too expensive!! read more

I was conflicted whether to go one star or two. Dasha is a great place for drinks and to hang out but unless you like overpriced food, would highly recommend not eating there. I did once and never again. I was frankly a little offended at what they offered for the price point but what triggered me to spend the time to write this review is the Peking duck (will get to that). The food portions are small and frankly no different from food court Chinese food. Chinese restaurants definitely outshines them in every angle from taste, price and quantity. Now... the Peking duck... the duck itself wasn't bad but I wouldn't say it's great per se. The most disappointing thing were the 'crepes'. They were not crepes. They were wonton/dumpling wrappers cause they're premade and cheap (also tiny). What's even more upsetting is that they literally give you 4. Yes, 4 in a steamer. They charge you $0.70 for each additional order knowing that you're going to need quite a few more. On a level of principal, that's horrific. You charge your customers premium, don't even provide the correct item for the dish but on top of that, give you an obvious deficient number of them. Apparently the head chef is a Michaelin star chef, I'm disappointed cause I figured someone of that level and caliber would have some integrity for food. Zero integrity there. read more

Went to this restaurant for a friend's birthday. Overall this restaurant provided an amazing ambiance, and the servers were absolutely amazing! However, the food was subpar, many of the items felt as though you could pay for the exact same meal at your local Asian supermarket for a cheaper price. read more

Dasha - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We must've ordered almost everything on the menu . The food was really good all we're very delicious and each had its unique taste but small servings. We all really liked the ambiance and our server was super nice. We also tried the Karaoke and that's where the one star dropped. I wouldn't recommend the Karaoke part. It's over priced and their sound system is not that great. I've been to other karaoke places that tops this one. The food presentation . Will definitely come back for drinks and some tapas but I wouldn't recommend it as a GO To for a "Dinner Birthday Celebration" as you might just find yourself still hungry at the end of the night. read more

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The decor and interior is beautiful. Really loved the ambiance. The service was pretty fast and our server was nice. The food is decent but definitely not the best Chinese food in the city (especially for dumplings - shumai was bland). The menu is meant to be family style - so order a few items and share among the table. Currently there's some happy hour specials - buck a shuck from 5-7pm being the highlight. The oysters were really good and the wasabi mayo was a nice twist on oyster sauces. Overall, I did like DASHA but I do think between this and Akira Back (the other restaurant from Chef Akira Back), Akira Back is better food and atmosphere. read more

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I was excited to try Dasha once I heard Chef Akira Back was opening a new Chinese restaurant. It's hard to find an Chinese style fusion restaurant in Toronto. The restaurant was aesthetically pleasing with dim lighting and it was pretty loud inside. Unfortunately, the meal didn't meet my expectations... The wasabi prawns were bomb but the rest was mediocre. Our scallop shumai tasted like the frozen dim sum that you get from the asian supermarkets, and the black truffle duck was lacking the black truffle flavour. Overall, the meal was pricey for the quality that we got read more

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This is the worst restaurant I've ever been to. I saw a lot of nice videos on tik tok and always wanted to come here. I and my friends had dinner here, we ordered the full Peking duck and waited 30 minutes then the waitress came out saying that the restaurant was out of stock. Our waitress was very inattentive and did not show professionalism. We are very hungry and angry. It has been 30 minutes of waiting. They suggested that they would replace the Peking duck with steak. We are accepted with that because there is no other choice. By the time they brought out the steak, it tasted horrible, extremely salty and not good at all. The sauce was very salty and bad. I have never eaten such bad steak. Very disappointing. Not only the steak, but the fried rice is also really bad. They just put rice with salt and fry it. We went 4 people and they only brought out only one spoon to eat, the rest of us had to eat rice with a FOLK?. No soy sauce, no spoon, no topping in fried rice. There is nothing worse. Bbq Pork buns are normal but pricey compared to other Chinese restaurants. The most disappointing thing here is when I talk to the manager, she constantly interrupts and didn't seem to listen and has a bad attitude. I was told we needed more spoons because we couldn't eat rice with forks, rice was spilled all over the table even knew how much we were angry, 10 minutes later we still didn't see anyone bring more spoons. I don't understand how she could she can be the manager. Very unprofessional indeed. If you guys have a plan to come here for dinner please consider my review. They are THE WORST RESTAURANT IN TORONTO. Go find another better place. I seriously want to give them 0 stars because they're not reserved 1 star at all. read more

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I think this place is a reach. I spent $200 on tofu and eggplant that was served in a bowl of soy sauce. The edamame was drenched in soy sauce. The egg rolls didn't taste like anything but fried food.... there was no filling. I strongly believe that this restaurant is not good but people will come because it looks cool. Also the lobster stir fry was 3 pieces of cauliflower with 3 ounces on lobster served in a pan filled with.... you guessed it... SOY SAUCE. I'm sorry Akira Back but this is not a great menu. Change it up and lemme know then maybe I'll be back. read more

Dasha - Lobster Stir Fry with tofu egg plant in the bowl behind it... all full of SOY SAUCE :-) - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Came with a bigger group of 8ish. Based purely on the food and maybe karaoke is better but didn't get a chance to try. Yay: - Atmosphere and taste is decent - Cocktails are fancy and well presented - No real complaints on the taste but it wasn't anything "amazing" as well. I'm chinese, had my share of good, great and out of this world chinese food. This place is... good? Nay: - Super pricy for the amount of food you get, at least they seem to have fresh incidents and the best part of the veggies / cut of the meat - Since we were in a big group, you pretty much can order the whole menu since there isn't much to pick from - We were still hungry by the end cause the portions were tiny. Yes nicely plated but we also want some food for dinner. - Reminds me of getting the chinese food court dinner for 6, cutting the rice, cutting portions to 1/5th, plating it nicer, using better ingredients. Truffle Duck... definitely didn't understand this dish. Doesn't the strong flavours of the duck compete with the truffle? Of course you don't want to overwhelm the protein but it didn't work well for us. But hey, I just eat food and tell it how it is. I'm not any michelin star critic or whatever so take my opinions for what it is, an opinion. I wouldn't come back again. Most of us won't but some might come for drinks... read more

amazing food, service, & drinks! the inside was gorgeous and the menu had a lot of variety.

really loooove the steak, washabi shrimp and tofu&eggplant. Nice decor for dating night read more

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truthfully one of the coolest and most enjoyable restaurants i've been to. the portions were great and the food tasted amazing. service was a little on the underside as the server didn't talk much but maybe that's due to my younger age. either way it was a great experience and i would love to return. the peking duck is definitely worth the hefty price tag! read more

Dasha - PEKING DUCK - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Myself and 4 friends came here to celebrate a birthday on Tuesday. Firstly, the service wasn't great at all. Our server was M.I.A most of the night, and we had to ask other servers to get her so that we could order- we were starving. Also, we had someone with a nut allergy who ordered something he had to bring back. Despite our server being inattentive, and absent most of the night, we still tipped her 20%. After dinner we did karaoke upstairs, and the room was stunning. When receiving the bill, we were shocked to find out that there was an added $26 for service charge. I wish we would've known about this before, since the room is already $85/hour (after 8pm), which is pretty expensive. Overall, this place is just nice for pictures. The service was subpar, and the prices were a lot. I wouldn't have mind spending that much if the experience was better, especially since we were celebrating a birthday. read more

Outstanding New Year's Eve Location. Jose was great and the food was really good. I can't wait to return to Dasha!!!

Beyond the over priced drinks and food, the worst part of this experience was the sneaky up charging. I don't respect deceitful service. Their style of service is meant to sneakily up sell you. Our server charged $24 ($6 a bottle) for flat water without disclosing to us she selected a premium, bottled water. Had we known, we would've explicitly requested tap. She also charged us a 20% service fee without expressly mentioning it to us. Her attitude was also aggressive and flippant throughout the entire experience. For example, at the end of dinner, she singled out the first guest who called for their check and asked them to put the waters we hadn't known we were being charged for on their bill. I felt like this was a sneaky way to avoid confrontation that she didn't disclose that cost. The better approach would have been to (1) be transparent about that charge with the entire table to begin with and (2) ask the table how they'd like to manage it instead of forcing it on one guest. read more

Overpriced and not really worth it. Ambience is cool but food is lacking. Food court food with a higher price tag read more

The restaurant is beautiful and a bit tucked away off an alley on King West. . Asian inspired and impressively elegant. The cocktails were unique and beautiful. There is one drink served with a plant, however the plant was taken away as soon as the drink was served. I wish we could have enjoyed it longer. As for food the angry chicken and Wasabi shrimp were favourites. This restaurant is new and there were a few hiccups with service but nothing that would stop me from returning. The server mentioned that the dishes would be presented at a moderate pace, however all six items came at once. The karaoke rooms are lovely and each have their own vibe. I'd come back for cocktails or karaoke. :) read more

Toronto's new place to see and be seen for the large chested and slicked back hair. Let's start with the good. The food was all pretty good (we ordered most of the menu) with the black cod being fantastic. 4* Now for the service, can you leave zero stars? The service made our dinner one of the worst dining experiences. The drinks took 30 minutes, 90% of our dishes came within 10 minutes then had to wait 45 minutes for our last dish (noodles). Our server 'guided' us on what to order and was way off on quantity suggested. Then the bill. The bill was completely wrong and when asked to split was split incorrectly not once, not twice, three times, taking over 30 minutes receive the correct bill. Our entire group left scratching our head how a restaurant can operate with that level of incompetence. We will not be back. read more

Was there for our company holiday party. I was disappointed on the service given we spent almost $2K in one night. The team had fun but this place needs to improve their food and staff. Just the venue itself won't save the lack of professionalism on both. read more

The Good: ambiance and decor, decent choice of music, and friendly bar tenders The Bad: If you want good Chinese food, go to Chinatown and not King West The Ugly: why does it take one hour to stir fry noodles? I don't know, they don't know, who knows... Had to cancel and close out PS - buy the iphone pro 11 forest green edition (I am not sponsored by Apple in any way shape or form) read more

Spice Route (across the street) died and basically reincarnated into this place. DASHA should be thought as a fun bar with luxury snacks. Don't come hungry. Toronto has some of the best and accessible Chinese food in the world. Literally 5 min away from DASHA and you can dine like a king but on a peasant's budget. I get what this place is trying be, and for some it will work. But if you're out for a good meal, go else where. The drinks are pretty good and the ambiance is interesting but boarders on cultural appropriation (lucky red envelope being used to serve the bill is pretty distasteful). That said, it is a fun space and lively atmosphere. read more