We went to a bar at dinner time (~6:30PM) so the ambience was not what a bar would normally be like, but there was drumming going on outside which added to the noise level since it was fairly empty when we went. The food was good and came quickly, the service was quick and the server was always returning to fill our cups with water, which was greatly appreciated. I imagine that the overall experience here is much better if you go when it is darker out and actually have drinks! read more

Great spot for some sushi x sake. Would recommend. Ambiance was amazing and location is great

Koi Koi Sake Bar is located in Kensington Market on Baldwin St. The sake bar has an extensive drink menu and a shareable food menu. The restaurant seats around 30 people and you are able to make reservations. We dropped by Koi Koi Sake Bar on a Wed night at around 6pm. The place was fairly empty and we were able to enjoy our drink and food items without feeling rushed. For our drinks,we got a sake and a cocktail. For food we shared the following items: - Moriawase (sake chicken pate): This is delicious if you love pate. Great compliment to our drinks. Pickled vegetables and bread from Blackbird Baking Co next door is included. - Salmon aburi: Big chunks of salmon, however the flavour was slightly lacking. If the salmon had more of a char it would have elevated it that much more. - Yakitori (pork shoulder and beef): Average, there are better places to get yakitori in the city. - Curry tonkotsu udon: The udon was in curry broth, a bit watery, but filling nonetheless. - Mentaiko spaghetti: If you like cod roe get this. The spaghetti is in a mentaiko cream like sauce with onion and mushroom. Overall, great drink selection and good vibes. Friendly service as well. read more

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The Yakitori are $2.9/Skewer-Bacon & Enoki Mushroom was too salty. The pork shoulder taste too porky for me. I took one bite and left the rest for my husband. Chicken Thigh, exterior is nice, but inside taste bland, not much flavour inside. Salmon Ochazuke $10 Grilled teriyaki salmon, rice, with pourover of ume green tea. Topped with bonito, sesame and green onions. (Hangover cure) the ume green tea was not even like warm. My husband and I were saying at this point, because nothing tasted really good, let's not order anymore food. Menu was small in terms of selection and the food didn't taste that good. Ordered the Dewazakura Oka Gino $11 Soft-feeling & floral with a touch of pear & melon. You can get it hot. This was hotter that my soho rice. The ambiance is nice, music is a bit loud. But artwork is neat, such as the pug with the jap print on the wall, and the cute funny fart pictures in the washroom. Overall, I think this place is better for drinks/sake rather than food. The food is a solid 2.5 stars. And not sure why they need a fan on when it's only like 15 degrees outside. Anyways, not sure if I will come back. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Visited this small sake bar in Kensington market. Unique decos inside. Service was okay. Great sake selection. We mainly went for their Strawberry sake which tasted like a strawberrieeeee smoothie!! So delicious. Definitely gotta try it. By the time we got there it was quite late, so the kitchen was closed. Their selection of snacks was disappointing. They only had wasabi peas, seaweed chips and potato salad. Portion sizes were small and sad. I would have liked more choices on their snack menu. Also would have liked more variety of cocktails or drinks. Overall it's a cute place to try once but wish it had more samples .... or if their servers came and talked to us about what they had to offer then I would have had a better experience. Place was brightly lit. Could have dimmed the lights a bit more. Also.. make sure to visit both bathrooms ! Lol. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Small restaurant in Kensington with seating for around 20 persons. When we came on a Friday night (no reservations), it was completely empty but was shortly filled up by a large party. We asked for their recommendations when ordering food and got the chicken wings and yakisoba. There was a third dish that we ordered that I unfortunately forgot the name.. it consisted of chicken paté, duck meat, pickled vegetables and 6 baguettes to be paired with the chicken paté. My personal favourite was the yakisoba because the flavours of the sauce, the meats and veggies along with the noodles blended well together. The chicken pate on baguettes were second place and the wings, duck meat, pickled vegetables were last. Honestly, the wings were yummy.. crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and tasted slightly sweet. However, the flavour was not anything unqiue. For the duck meat, it was mild in taste and the pickled vegetables were quite sour but cleansed our palates. I just wish the portions for all the plates were a little bigger. They were nice enough to give us additional baguettes to finish up the chicken pate. Overall, would come again! read more

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Since we finished dinner super early but our later plans start at 10 ish so we decided to sit down and chill at a bar. We spotted this aesthetic place on our way so we decided to give them a try. It looks so cool outside and inside, the decoration is so on point. About sake: The non premium sake on the menu are 10 cad at least for 100 ml and 22 cad above for 300 ml which is insane (why? Just go to LCBO and check out how much for a bottle). It is a sake bar but they don't really have the sake I was asking for which I tried in another izakaya in toronto, which is kinda disappointing. I got the melon chuhai which is not very tasty, the waitress said it is sweet but I didn't taste any of that. About their food: the plating is gorgeous, they can make fried chicken wings dish look like a $$$$ entree which is impressive. They also gave complementary asian snacks but few tiny cookies on a tiny plate for 4 ppl is just....... it is just not making much sense especially u r overcharging all ur drinks crazily :) isn't it? read more

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I had the worst experience ever at Koi koi Saké bar. Went there on Saturday around 5:15pm for an early dinner. We decided to sit down ourselves after waiting at the door for 5 minutes. The waiter saw us about 5 minutes after we sat down and gave us water. There was only 1 other table in the whole restaurant but the waiter never came back to take our order. We waited 15 mins and I had to go to the back to find a waiter myself. He came took our order and we started getting our food. We ordered 5 dishes and things came out slowly (even though there was only 2 tables in the restaurant). Our last dish, the katsu, we asked numerous times if it was still coming and the server said yes but it's been 50 minutes since we ordered it. I've never ever had to cancel an order, but we decided to cancel the katsu as we were already done eating and it is still "in the making" As for the review of the food, the scallop Don was decent but there was no torch taste to it. The soy chicken wings were delicious and crispy. The tofu agedashi was a disappointment- very tasteless and the batter was not airy The salmon ochazuke was underwhelming as well as the salmon is really dry. They give you a full bowl of rice but a very thin slice of salmon read more

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Small bar in Kensington, great ambiance for dates! They have a DJ on Friday and daily happy hour specials. I wanted to try hot sake and the waitress recommended their house sake. I'm not well versed in sake, but I thought it tasted pretty terrible (it was quite bitter). We then ordered an Asian pear sake, which was thick, almost like a syrup, and very sweet. I definitely preferred that to the house sake! They also give you a small bowl of spicy peas to munch on. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Asian pear sake - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Koi Koi is a new sake bar located in Kensington market, admist the hustle and bustle of popular Baldwin Street. The store front is minimalist, and one may accidentally pass by if not looking specifically for it. However, on a busy Saturday afternoon, the opened garage door front, dark and intimate interior and pops of colour from the curated wallart drew attention from passerbys. I came midafternoon on Saturday and Koi Koi was not particularly busy. Service was friendly and quick, and drinks and food came out very quick after ordering. I had the 100 mL of momo sake (peach, $15), tried the sake sangria ($10, citrus) and had the soy glazed wings ($9 for 6). 100 mL is enough to fill the little sake cup about 2.5x. The momo sake was dangerous. It smelled of fresh peaches and went down sweet and smooth - I could barely taste any alcohol (which I preferred). The sangria had a heavier sake flavour and was on the tart and refreshing side. Served in a wine glass, the glass was about 2/3s full. The chicken wings were pretty darn yummy. They were fried well, and the glaze was sweet and peppery. Overall, Koi Koi is a cute place to hang around in Kensington to try a few unique drinks. I can't wait to come back to try their other fruity flavoured sakes. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Sweet and spicy chicken wings ($9 for 6) - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

It's a small sake bar but they have a nice vibe on Friday nights with a live dj. My friend tried the yuzu sake and it was sweet with a hint of tart. I ordered the Hana Old Fashioned and it was pretty good. We only ordered dessert since we came in for drinks after dinner. We ordered the two desserts that they offered - matcha tiramisu and mochi balls. The matcha tiramisu was pretty good and light with strong matcha flavour. The mochi ball wasn't that great. It came in two skewers but the mochi fell off of the skewers making it hard to eat and the caramel sauce it came with had harden so it was difficult to pour over the mochi balls. I'll come back next time to try their main food but this place is a nice place with a good vibe. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Matcha tiramisu and mochi balls. - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Such a cool hipster place in kensington, never knew this place existed. Sake menu is off the hook, snacks are expensive but worth it. Def wanna come back. Forgot to take pics of all the diff sake we had but the selection was great read more

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Koi Koi is a new bar in Kensington Market, and the first in Toronto to specialize in sake - at least according to blogto. The outside of Koi Koi is underwhelming, and I will confess I had my doubts upon first stepping into the place. While very open inside, and adorned with some great Japanese decor (in particular the Noh masks on the wall across from the bar and staring you down in the bathroom are impossible to miss) everything feels very small and little cheap. My doubts were assuaged, however, after settling in and enjoying some sake and the katsu sando, which, while simple, was absolutely delicious. Koi Koi also has a variety of wine, Japanese beer and whiskey and Asian-inspired cocktails, so if that's your thing they've got you covered too. The liquor that Koi Koi carries doesn't seem to be particularly exotic - in fact, I'm pretty sure everything I saw you can get at the LCBO - but overall I don't think that detracts from the experience at all. Settled into its little nook, all in all it's a welcome addition to the Kensington Market, and a fun place to try something different or come back to for your sake fix. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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My friends told me that they wanted to try this place so off we went. I was smart to email them for reservations. There was some mix up but at the end, they gave us a table. The decor is nice and the staff are super friendly. We started off with a few bites and focused mostly on the sake. They offer different sizes for each sake ranging from 100 ml, 300 ml and the big bottle 720 ml. Prices range according to the quality of the sake but the pick of the night was Tengumai Yamahai Junmai. The fact that it was aged for 2 years sold us all. The other sake were reasonably priced but I'm not a big fan of fruity flavoured sake. As for the food, it was somewhat disappointing and didn't stand out to me. We ordered a bunch of bites but the standouts were nori chips and their matcha tiramisu. The rice and noodle dishes were just average to me so hopefully, they change up the menu and add some creativity. The nora chips have a bit of a bite but very enjoyable. Overall, I would come back when they change their food menu. Sake is definitely reasonably priced for their selection. read more

Cute little Japanese bar. Really chill vibes, good eats for value and reasonably priced sake. Free rice snacks. read more

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Cute chill place with a great sake selection at reasonable prices and small bites. Came on a Sunday evening and got a seat at the window to sip sake and people watch. So nice! Food was good too! Got the scallop and butterfish rice bowl (Hokkaido ikura don) and it was wonderful! Portions are small so don't expect to be super full. Wait staff were very attentive. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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FINALLY tried this place after hearing about it on blogto. The interior is nice, filled with japanese masks and decorations. Ordered the hokkaido ikura don, and my friend had the salmon aburi. The drinks are overpriced - $15 for an old fashioned? C'mon. The rose syrup vodka - Onno Yokai didn't taste like anything special. The server kept getting the salmon aburi wrong - but regardless it tasted really good. The torched scallops just meeellltttsss in your mouuutttthhhh. And the torched salmon was also really good. I'd come back here and check out more dishes. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Hokkaido Ikura Don Instagram.com/toastedbao for more foodie pics. - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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I would come here for a sake, but not to eat. Sake was refreshing, and they had great selection (Star 1) Service was good- the people serving us were attentive. (Star 2) The food was disappointing. We got: Nori Chips - I'm fairly sure these weren't made in house, rather directly from a bag. Not any remote sign of being warm, or fresh. Good, but definitely not worth the $7 when you can saunter next door to the Japanese market and get a bag with double the amount for $4. Crunch Soy Wings- Decent, nothing special and at $9 for 6 wings, not worth it Hokkaido Ikura Don - Small portion, but probably the best thing we ordered. Fish tasted fresh. Mentaiko Udon - noodles were surely packaged. Creamy and sweet, but not enough roe. Matcha Soba noodles -skip this. Noodles were not fresh. The tsuya sauce was incredibly salty - tasted basically like soy sauce- and drowned out any favour of the daikon, scallions, ginger, sesame, bonito, wasabi, and the noodles. Salmon Ochazuke - here's my major qualm: we ordered this because there was a blogger/photographer taking photos next to us, and hers looked really good: large-ish portion of salmon, piping hot tea served on the side to be poured over at the time of consumption. Ours, however, came out luke warm, with the tea already poured in, salmon was under grilled (more like steamed) and broken up in several places. Soggy, soggy mess. Matcha Tiramisu - creamy lady finger cake. it was fine, but not really a tiramisu - no liquor flavour, nothing but sweet and creamy and a little matcha. read more

After having spent some time in Japan, it's great to know we finally have a proper sake bar in Toronto! This is a great spot for either a group of friends or for a date night. We tried a quite few different sakes with our group, with the standouts being: - Tengumai Yamahai Junmai - Dewasansan Junmai Ginjo - Dreamy Clouds Nigori - Dassai 50 Nigori Our waiter was very knowledgeable about each of the sakes and helped make some great recommendations for the newer sake drinkers in our group. This place definitely has the best sake selection in Toronto. For food, the standouts were: - Nori Chips - Mentaiko Udon - Bacon Fried Rice - Salmon Ochazuke - Matcha Tiramisu - As other reviewers have said, this is a must have! We'll be coming back here to try the rest of the sake. I'd recommend making a reservation if you have a large group or I'd try walking in if you're coming here for a date. read more

Great vibe on a Friday after work, can't complain about sake jenga to start the food evening off. Very affordable skewers at $3 a piece! Also tried the Hokkaido Ikura Don and it was spot on. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Saké Jenga - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This place needs to put in more effort to stand out from the crowd, because there are many competition in Kensington. The entrance is easily missed, I almost went into the next building. The service is no doubt one of the best ones I've had (+1 star), was waiting for a friend for long and they offered free snacks while I wait. The level of attention they've given to their customers worth a round of applause. The interior is interesting, you can see a geisha mask hanging on top of a corner near the ceiling, hopefully no one finds it scary. Food was okay, nothing stands out really, very average. Given this price range, I think there are many more if not better and interesting options available. Sake, which seems to be their selling point, has its own menu, but it will be great if I was given more directions on what to pick since I'm not that familiar with sake. Or may be different kinds of sake flight available for us to choose? e.g. fruity sake flight, nutty sake flight, smooth sake flight etc. read more

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Really wanted to like this placed based off reviews and photos I saw on Yelp but I left a little bummed out. The price point for menu was actually quite reasonable, but after trying some of the items I can see why. We had ordered the Mushroom Inari, Crunchy Soy Wings, Beef Tartare, Hokkaido Ikura Don and Salmon Aburi. The Inari are fried tofu pockets filled with seasoned rice. This dish is served with two pieces and pretty tasty if you want a filling snack. The soy wings were probably our favourite and kept its crunchy title promise. We had high hopes for the beef tartare but my heart sank when it arrived. This dish no longer is served with nori chips but instead a hastily plate of beef chunks alongside an even smaller handful of taro chips. The flavour was bland and the texture was sadly mush. The "dons" were also unfortunately cold and we alllll know there's nothing worse in life than having the taste of flame torch coming from cold pieces of fish :( Aside from the food, service was on top and our server made sure we were never forgotten. They happily accommodated our large party of 7 on a Friday with same day reservations. The atmosphere was dark and dim and you get a pretty nice view of Kensington market through their large windows. Perhaps we may try this place on another quieter night with a smaller party. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Beef tartare - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Knowing Koi Koi is a new place, it was a risky place to bring my friend from out of town here for dinner, however I am so glad we did! I had never been before, but a coworker of mine did and highly recommended it. Firstly, the decor was great and the restaurant was an open concept, opening up to Kensington market. Between the two of us, we split a bunch of entrees and my friend ordered sake, which I had a sip of and really enjoyed (unfortunately, I cant remember the name of it). We started with the beef tartare, salmon ochazuke, and soba noodles. The soba noodles were probably the best noodles I've had in a really long time, and I highly recommend it. I will definitely be back here again! read more

A sake bar located in Kensington seems unconventional, but upon entering, it actually fits right in. The interior is decorated with cute and quirky Japanese inspired art. Ordered the shiko martini (gin, sake, and a single olive) it was strong. Also tried the onna yokai (ghost woman? Rose, vodka, shochu, lime) and it was refreshing and also strong. Also tried their nori chips, very strong in wasabi flavour which I like. The Hokkaido ikura don was extremely small for $14 but perfectly tasty. Owners were super friendly! read more

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Not as good as I expected. I guess they are better know for the sake than food. The food is not that great. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Delicious Saké cocktail, tasty dishes and nice ambience!!! there's one overly chill but kind waiter :) read more

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Super fun place to try new things. I tried a sake flight and a couple cocktails. The food was so good! Especially considering it's a bar. I fell in love with the salmon ochazuke and the wings. Definitely a must try spot. Service was quick and friendly. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - the outside of the restaurant - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This sake bar provided one of my favorite experiences while visiting Toronto. We had great conversation and drinks thanks to Troy, the bartender. The food was delicious, especially the muriwase! Prices were not astronomical and the interior was cozy yet modern. The music choice was also top tier. Highly recommend for visitors and locals! read more

Average everything, overpriced. We were presented with a $400 bill (at happy hour) which included items that were not even ours. We had to argue with our server, Linda, to get the right bill and she still charged us a tip without even notifying us. Not cool, Linda. Karma is a thing. The service was lazy and greedy and the bathroom is gross. Not worth the visit for the $$$. Bye, Linda! read more

Food is okay, but was really disappointed with the service. We finished our dishes and then waited 20+ minutes with no waiter checking on our table. We had to grad a waitress's attention to get our check finally. read more

I love their decors (esp the thug pug picture) Good sake collection Food wise we tried salmon ochazuke (it was good) Udon was too creamy And they were out on Uni and fish roe for the torched sushi. Overall it was a good experience, with so many new izakaya in Toronto, I would like to see more interesting items on their menu coming up soon. read more

I dropped by this place for some late night drinks and snacks. The restaurant is casual and lively. It was a nice setting to enjoy some drinks with friends. The service was attentive and prompt. The food was alright. The highlight of the night was the matcha tiramisu. I like the environment and it's in a great location so I think I may come back for some after dinner drinks and the tiramisu. read more

More like a restaurant than a bar. Food is amazing there and the prices of their alcohol are acceptable. We will definitely go again. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This restaurant was a last minute decision that we stumbled upon for a late booking. When we arrived, we had to wait about 15 minutes for the next party to clear out. There was a local DJ playing so the vibe was a little bit louder then normal. We received 4 complimentary sake shots on the house which was nice while we waited for our table. We ordered the soy garlic chicken wings , egg curry, beef tar tar , spicy fried rice, bamboo fries and the star of the night, the salmon don bowl. The waitresses reccomened the bamboo fries, the taste on them are quite interesting and it was a 50/50 split at our table for taste. The chicken wings were amazing and came loaded with flavour, then presentation was also great and appealing to the eye. Our favourite dish was the salmon don bowl we had ordered, there was aburi salmon pieces and other little pieces of fish like scallops or butterfish that was amazing. This dish is highly reccomended when you come here. The vibe was good , not to loud and the service was great for a small little bar. There is an array of Sakes on the wall which we did not try, but perhaps on another night out, we may just come back. Overall great food, great vibe. read more

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Love the vibe of this place (especially the cute pug art on the wall!). Checked out this bar on a weeknight night with some friends. Very impressed by how it seems to have it all - great ambiance, huge selection of drinks, and tasty food. Luckily I visited with a few friends, so we got to sample quite a few of the dishes and sakes they had. Some of my fave dishes/drinks were: (1) Ume sake - loved the subtle sweetness of this sake. (2) Katsu Sando - a sandwich that has the right balance of components - some crunch, freshness, and the perfect amount of savory deliciousness. (3) Matcha tiramisu - I'm a huge chocolate fan, so I didn't think I would enjoy the tiramisu since it has matcha instead of chocolate. Boy, was I wrong. It was really hard to share this dessert with my friends. I def recommend checking this place out. Bring friends as the fun part is getting to share/taste/drink a little bit of everything! read more

Small portions, not a lot of variety on the menu. Food was okay, nothing stood out in terms of taste. Rather unimpressed for the prices we paid. read more

Koi Koi Saké Bar - Bars Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Came here during soft launch. Great little bar in Kensington Market. The interior of the place is spot on, designed by a guy from Paris. Great for cocktails, tapas and sake. Nice addition to the neighborhood. read more

Came here when it opened, expecting delicious food, and fun atmosphere - what we got were wait staff that was more interested in socializing with friends who come in to say hi. Ended up waiting 10min for someone to come by to take our order, the food was mediocre, and over priced, sake flight is good if you want to sample, and not waste Ur money buying something you might not enjoy. Good variety of sake, but I would say having the waiter trip on your table spilling water all over your food and clothes breaking glass kinda ruins it. read more

Love love love the food! All sorts of cool fusions and interesting tastes. Good for sharing. Drinks are too notch and sure to get you lit!

Food Food was delicious, but TINY portions - some selections that were noted as 'mains' were really just appetizer sized. We ended up having to order 4 dishes for two people because we were still hungry! With prices in the 12-15 range per dish, plus the sake sangria, our bill was around the ~75 range for two people - rather pricey for the experience that we had. Would have expected either higher quality (presentation wise) or larger portions for what we paid. I would be open to going again though would just stick to the drinks, rather than the food. I'm surprised that they didn't offer sides separately, like additional soba (as the portion that was given for the soba was again, tiny). Disappointing. +1 Happy that they were accommodating with the allergies. Ambiance Music was incredibly loud. Difficult to hear conversations at the table as it seems like the speaker was right on top of us. Service Service was attentive, but there seemed to have been some misunderstanding (perhaps also the servers were having a difficult time hearing our orders due to the loud music?) when we ordered the sake sangria - asked for fruity but got citrus instead. read more