Tried Okra here for the first time, I'm in love! The food here is amazing! It unique. The atmosphere is really cool too!

This place was the highlight of my Canadian experience. It is a hidden gem that I wouldn't have found if it weren't for Yelp. There is no sign at the entrance and is in the rear of another restaurant so it just looks like a kitchen from the outside with a soft red neon glow. When you enter it feel like you are entering into another world; it's decor is as exotic and rustic and makes you feel like you've warped in time and dimension to a surreal fishing boat tavern in 1940s Asia. The restaurant, like it's menu is small but it packs a lot of character. There's a raw side of the menu & a hot side of tapas portion sized dishes. We opted for the deviled eggs with ikura and fried chicken skin, the enoki mushrooms and the Hamachi tartare which was served with nori strips for you to use like tortillas so it was pretty much a deconstructed sushi roll. It was delicious, chick full of tasty hamachi and scallops. The enoki mushrooms were hands down the best I've ever had. The deviled eggs were good but seriously, they are always delicious. They have draft beers which is a plus. Our tab was only $35 it was a steal. We left grateful to partake in such an incredible experience. I would recommend to all foodies far and wide. read more

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The restaurants food was amazing! But yesterday i saw the worst thing ever the chef behind the bar preparing our food was doing the food with no gloves which is fine, but disgusting when he held the salmon piece with the sauce and and it was dripping all over his fingers then added it on top of the rice, then he MIXED some other order in the aluminum bowl with a spoon, LICKED THE SPOON AND PUT IT BACK IN!! last but not least his hands were still dripping with sauce so he decided to wipe off his hands with the towel that was covering the rice that he use to prepare the food with! I loved that place we went there once a week a group of 6 but honestly i doubt we will go back read more

TL;DR: Food : Confirmed amazing! Atmosphere: Real life Boondocks. Service: Informative and unpretentious. This was my second time at Hanmoto. This time I made sure not to be so drunk that I forgot half of what I ate. I was even more impressed. We had the chirashi tartare again, which was amazing, again. The pork belly in coco bun was so fresh tasting, very light flavours but rather pronounced. It made the fact that it's deep fried chunk of pork belly slathered in some crazy delicious mayo wrapped in a coco bun seem less greasy. So good. There was a raw salmon dish where it is arranged in a mound entirely covering seasoned rice, served with nori sheets. The salmon was fresh and flavourful, very lightly torched to provide a charred flavour without actually cooking the fish. The rice was creamy, almost like a risotto. The uni-bomb was fairly good. The presentation was brilliant, but the uni had kind of an odd flavour but I'm really not well versed so it might have just been my palate. The salmon roe was like little juicy flavour bombs that explode when you bite down on them. Finally Dyno Wings... From the last time I remembered being kind of "meh" but I have no idea why. They were incredible. The coating was like a shell of caramelised sauce. So much sweetness and acidity and saltiness... The meat was juicy and delicious, the dumpling stuffing added more layers to an already incredibly flavourful dish. Everything about this place is awesome. The kitchen is open until 2. Hanmoto is a cook's dream. read more

Hanmoto - Uni Bomb! - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Love the vibe! I believe the service makes the place and that's true for this joint. Worth the wait and the food is delicious- interesting combination and worth trying it all read more

I've been here twice and really enjoyed both times. The dynowings and eggplant are a must try. Also the ice cream for dessert - great balance of sweet and savoury. Service has been good both times. read more

We were on a tour of the hood and stumbled across Hanmoto - looked interesting - I walked in - curious - one of the male staff was standing there in plaid shirt and told me what type of food they were serving - I initially said 'oh, sushi' and he properly corrected me...BUT, his energy was so off-putting, cold, silently judgmental and unwelcoming I turned around and left and told me friend we were 'too old' to eat there --we are hard core Toronto foodies ....this type of energy kills the soul - if you are reading this - think about your behavior and try to work on it - you are in the HOSPITALITY industry. George Brown offers some great courses during the day. read more

What a cool spot! Super low key (almost so much so that I had a hiccup trying to find it) but well worth the wait upon arrival. The service was personal yet casual and the food that are mostly tapas style was fun and great modern twists to Japanese traditionals. I went with one friend and therefore was limited to the amount of food we could justifiable order and consume but I am looking forward to revisiting and trying out more from their menu! read more

The Moto Eggs have ruined me for life. I have to have more. Next week... no, tomorrow... tonight... right now! The katsu bun is delicious too. Service: friendly, relaxed. Location: hidden. read more

Worst service ever! Waited forever to get a table. Waitress all seem unhappy working there. Some dishes are very salty. It's really dark inside, food comes so slow. Don't waste your time and money going there. If you want to have izakaya or bar drinks, go anywhere else! Keep away from there! read more

Food was tasty, but incredibly heavy. I feel awful today as I write this and I was up half the night. Ordered 2 miso steaks, 1 salmon, 8 buns, 3 dyno wings between 6 people. Drinks were good. Total bill came to $350 or so with gratuity. My issue with this place was the server. I get that your trying to be hipster wearing your black glasses and mom jeans. But when you have 6 people that drop serious money, try being friendly for a second. You didnt offer water, you didnt even talk to us. You didn't say thanks for the tip "have a nice night" you just brought a bill and left. You said 5 words to us all night. Sorry we weren't hipster like you..... but we spent more then anyone else in the restaurant last night and you walked away with a $50 tip.... at least act like you care! read more

This little place is a gem and the food is out of this world. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable, and it is easy to see why this place is a going concern. The oysters are prepared by a genius ,truly the best I have ever had. The steak was perfect , beautifully seasoned and medium rare. Eggplant and the egg dishes were like little works of art. The wings speak to the quality of the Chef s imagination ,they were gone before they hit the Table! Sapporo is on tap ,and one cucumber cocktail especially refreshing. I can not say enough about how great this place is ! A busy hub with a nice buzz of happy diners. Hidden away just off Dundas West , well worth searching it out. We'll done Guys! read more

Disappointed in the tartar as it was drenched in their tangy sauce; it really shouldn't be sitting in a pool of sauce. Miso ice cream is very very good! Stuffed wings are good but mine were a bit too salty, maybe it was just my batch. read more

Me and my boyfriend have been going here for a while, we went in today for a katsu bun after and we were very disappointed when we got 2 bites in and realized it was pure fat. I understand it's a pork belly sandwich and it has a high fatty content. HOWEVER all that was served was a over dressed bun with a little piece of pork belly, the meat was about a 2 bite size to call it meat was generous, I've had the katsu bun there multiple times and it was never to this low of quality it was mainly fat like I mean Ive had it even they way the staff addressed the issues was very disappointing went back in to ask for another one and the waitress said that she would give us a new one that was a better piece of meat. 2 minutes later the kitchen staff came out and did that we would have to PAY for the new one. They were extremely rude and not understanding at all. We left and will never return. read more

The umami was phenomenal. The buns were spectacular. We literally ran blocks across town once they called and said our table was ready. Food was just fire. read more

Loved the drink (cherry bourbon). Food was interesting and inspired. Space was way too small. We were 4 shoved on a two top with barely enough leg room to even be able to sit. The room was freeeeeezing. The waitress was....scattered? Aloof??something. We asked what the Moto eggs were and she said "devised eggs"--trust me they are way more than this. She took the menu out of my hand while I was looking it over, before ordering a drink. Since you'd most likely wait for a table here, I don't know if it is worth it. However the food+drink were so good read more

Holy tastyness!! love the ambiance as well, service is always great and food to die for!!! I'm salivating just thinking about it

I was looking forward to trying this place since I'm such a big fan of their sister restaurant, OddSeoul. Was a little disappointed. Most of the dishes were mediocre with the exception of the Uni Bomb. Service was very slow and we ended having to wait for a long time between dishes. Likely won't be back. read more

At first i was really annoyed that they didn't have a phone number, and they don't take reservations, but once I tasted the food all of that negative energy was gone. Yes, it requires some effort to get a table, but you'll be glad you did. read more

If you like a dingy place with horribly rude service and mostly terrible dishes then this is the perfect place for you. The place is very dirty and musty. The waitresses were very rude, pushy and arrogant. Everyone was served and there was no queue. We were told we had to order everything at once. A gimmick to order a lot up front $$$. The food was mostly bad, with only one or two decent items, but the portions were enough to feed an infant with no appetite, and at a high price tally. The most irritating aspect, all else aside, was seeing a hand reach into your personal space over your shoulders, head, etc. to grab plates that weren't even empty and food still in progress of being consumed. Not to mention lifting the cups and drinks and moving them around our space as if it was some kind of chessboard. Horrible horrible experience. The selection of drinks is pathetic. I don't see the craze over this place at all. There are way way way better places to enjoy in Toronto. And since this is a "sharing" type of place they told us there is absolutely no cutlery on the premises to cut the "one piece" items. Seriously? A kitchen without a ****ing knife? Are those kids or chefs behind the kitchen? read more

Incredible food, great staff and hip environment. Open until 2am. We had the fried chicken with tartar sauce, dyno wings, eggplant, and their bao style sandwich. All of them were incredible and interesting. Whenever I'm in Toronto again I would make it a point to revisit this spot. read more

Unique. Amazing food at a good price point. I'd normally bitch about the beer but the Brooklyn lager is not a run of the mill lager. Anyone who gave this place a bad review is an idiot read more

Tiny place, big flavor. We ordered a hamachi tartar, handroll, eggplant, fried chicken special and stuffed chicken wings. Everything was very flavorful. But the place was tiny. We were lucky that we got the last seats sharing a table with another group. Otherwise it would be more than an hour wait. read more

My boyfriend and I LOVE this place! It's small and intimate, but they have amazing food. When we go we usually order a couple of things off the menu. The servers are very friendly and the open kitchen will make you want to keep ordering more. On top of your entire experience, you definitely cannot miss having their dessert. Leemo Han is a culinary genius! read more

i must say, this was an outstanding izakaya - there weren't that many menu items but of the few on the list that i ordered, i really enjoyed it. OKRA ($8) the okra was crispy, mixed in parmasean and ponzu. It was the first time I had Okra and i really enjoyed it. All the food had multiple layers of flavors. The flavors were unique and really asian inspired fusion dishes. KATSU BUN ($7) this wasn't the usual breaded pork chop katsu but instead, they used pork belly. The pork belly was breaded with panko crust and deep fried, served in a crispy bun with lettuce and dressed with soy remoulade. The fact they used pork belly ensured the tenderness of the meat in the burger. Although my first bite in was a huge chunk of pork belly fat, it tasted bomb. NASU DENGAKU ($8) I normally hate eating eggplant, but i was able to eat this dish and more than one piece. This deep fried Japanese eggplant was served with miso hollandaise and topped with crunchy fried beets - the crunchiness really added texture to the soft mushiness of the eggplant. HAMACHI TARTARE ($12) There were so many layers of flavor in this dish - I completely loved it! It was served with huge chunks of hamachi and avocado mixed in multiple layers of flavor including sweet chili ponzu and wasabi oil tossed with shiso and shallots. You taste the acidity and the slight kick of spice from the chili. The fried shallots and scallions added great texture to the dish. MISO ICECREAM ($7) A rectangular frozen condensed milk base miso flavored ice cream sprinkled with nori powder and crunchy puffed rice balls on top. Never had anything like this before - loved the presentation and its taste, tasted like salty ice cream. I totally enjoyed my experience at Hanmoto - I liked everything about this place: the food, the atmosphere, the service. The food was really creative with its Asian inspired fusion dishes - not only did the dishes consist of innovation flavors, they were delicious and full of texture! The restaurant is small with not a lot of tables - the atmosphere is great, a perfect intimate spot for a date. They served the food pretty quick with not much wait time. I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

I was pretty excited to go to this place after reading all the reviews. After waiting about 5 minutes for the waitress to even acknowledge us, she took down our number and said she would call us when a table was available. Over an hour later, we got seated, the food came very quickly, and then we were shoved the bill with a hurried "No rush". The food was tasty. The decor is super cool. All that deserves 3 stars, I suppose. The lack of customer service really turned me off. Although they did the basics and made it pretty efficient, there were no niceties: no "how's your night going", no "how is your food?", no "do you want another drink?" even! Maybe it's not the hipster thing to do. I will not be returning. read more

People have been raving about the food here but in all honesty, to me, it's really nothing extraordinary. I came here with my boyfriend on a Friday night and given what we'd heard, we were very surprised to only have to wait 15 minutes. The concept itself is fun (no telephone number, tiny space, small creative menu, fun decor and music) so everything leads one to expect the food to be equally interesting, and it really just isn't. The salmon aburi is a creatively presented dish but nothing more than a run-of-the-mill spicy salmon roll that you assessmble yourself. The dyno wings again, had a fun presentation and were tasty. The moto eggs were underwhelming - simply deviled eggs with a Japanese touch. I think if you come here, you will end up having a perfectly fine meal in a fun environment at a reasonable price - just don't expect much more. read more

Always delicious and fun. Sometimes a bit cold by the door in the winter, but so yummy!

Hidden gem. Food was amazing! Our waiter was extremely friendly and helpful when deciding on what to eat. Would recommend the dyno wings, innovative and delicious. The place is small so if you're with a group of 4+ make sure to go in early to get seats! read more

My new fave go to spot. After eating here, I talked about this place for days and day dreamed about how good the food is. I'm not exaggerating! We tried most of the menu but will return to try the rest, definitely end off your meal with the miso ice cream. Best meal in a long time and staff was impeccable. read more

Can't believe this place only has 4 stars, Toronto's a tough crowd. This place is 5 stars by NY standards. I especially love how unassuming this place is, absolute miracles come out of their visibly meager small kitchen. They put these showcase places with big specatcle kitchens to shame. Dino wings are incredible, their curry chicken burger was phenomenal and their salmon sashimi, superior. Their himachi tar tar and even their eggplant makes any carnivore a herbavore. This place should be a staple and should be bigger because they'll start hitting some serious radars the more and more miracles come out of that 5×5 kitchen. read more

Its hipster,small but interesting* the food was good and not the typical flavours although it may sound like something you've had at other Japanese restaurants. We ordered Salmon Aburi, fry eggplant with beet, Hamachi tartare, and Dyno wings* For dessert we ordered their Miso ice cream which was different too because it had seaweed powders* I would recommend all the above*~ read more

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Great spot for some quality late night dining. I highly suggest the Enoki mushrooms and Salmon Aburi. Small space so might be tough to get a table with a big party, but super cool, laid back environment with amazing decor. read more

super good, the host and staff are friendly, attentive. the menu is a bit small, we almost ordered every single item on the menu, everything is good, especially the chicken wing and eggplant. for sure be back again read more

One of the best restaurant experiences I've had. Great cocktails and the food was so so delicious. My favorites were the chicken wings, eggplant (unexpectedly amazing) and the surf and turf hand roll. Would go back to try the other dishes on the menu. Highly recommend this spot! read more

It is OK fusion Asian cuisine. The staff could be a bit more happy looking. Good for occasional try out.

Food was good if a little pricey given the smallish portions. The portions are bigger than most Izakaya places though. Very small place with extremely small tables. Overall, it's a borderline 4 stars. I'd rate is a solid 3.5. read more

This was a nice little place that was hidden. The interior isn't the normal izakaya look. It seemed like a place that got taken out of a game. But it works! Its located right beside a Beer Store which is a little weird. People can take advantage of this and go buy some beer then go here. This place didn't take and resos. Thank goodness when we went here we only waited 15mins. The cocktails here however were delicious. Also matched well with the food we were eating. We tried almost all of their dishes. The eggplant and the uni bomb were the best dishes by far. Their Salmon Aburi wasn't as great as I interpreted it to be. Still good nonetheless. The oysters were too vinegary to my liking but the flavours work with the spice and arare rice crackers. read more

Decided to try Hanmoto after becoming a huge Oddseoul fan. Did not disappoint. The menu is rather small but the few things I tried were just delicious. My favorite were the Dyno Wings and the Katsu bun. The prices are decent a bit higher priced than Oddseoul in my opinion. However the flavors are worth it. The service is good and the place IS TINY so you can expect to wait. read more

Cant get enough of Hanmoto!! Me and bae are pleased to have found this place as it has recently become one of our favorite places to eat. Its a little hard to find but its worth the trip. I am now addicted to the dyno wings (deboned wings stuffed w. dumpling) and bae loves the salmon aburi. Try out the moto bun as well and make sure you get the miso ice cream before you leave! read more