The service is incredible here, and the vibe is cool-chic. Just loving the atmosphere here…read more As for the food, don't expect it to be a "traditional Izakaya" here, but that's not a bad thing. They do the "traditional" dishes with a twist / fusion. For example, the black cod is usually feel heavy with the miso based sauce, but they added some acidity to the sauce and they made the black cod taste rich and light (not to mention the black cod was perfectly cooked); traditionally the Brussels Sprouts would be finished by tossing balsamic vinegar over it. Sometimes that would still feel heavy. Instead, they tossed it with strawberry vinaigrette. So the acidity is very light and not too sweet. We finished our meal with the Yokai Signature Maki. Yes, they SHOULD be proud of this Maki enough to put their name on it. They hit it on the nail with the taste profile. I have a zero tolerance with spiciness, so they put the spicy mayo on the side, and I encouraged my wife to dip the Maki with it. She confirmed my suspicion that the spicy mayo took the maki to another level. We definitely will come to try other dishes. Edit: they comped us a slice of Matcha Cheesecake. While it is still not my cup of tea, but I was very impressed with how good it taste. My "dislike" is with cheesecakes because they feel heavy. Though it is still on the heavy side for me, but as soon as I spoon in a bit of the strawberry sauce, it just lightened up the whole thing. They have successfully amazed me with how well they play with taste.

Yokai is amazing - nestled in Vaughan we come here for the sliders, tartare and sapporos…read more My only down side is the pricing is quite premium for the food you're getting with small portion sizes. Probably 20% higher than what I personally think the pricing should be. Nevertheless, if I'm in the area I'll be there.

Hot take out from here over the phone. No issues with order,…read moreeverything was there. The miso and tempura were still hot. Sushi was delicious and everything we wanted, and it was packed really nicely. Definitely would come back here

Ikigai Sushi is a small, cozy eatery that quietly delivers some seriously high-quality Japanese…read morefood. The moment you walk in, one detail that stood out to me was the Mahayana Buddhist altar blessing the owner and visitors with health and prosperity. As a Taiwanese person, that instantly felt relatable and oddly comforting--like being welcomed into someone's home. Although the restaurant is Vietnamese-owned, the Japanese food here is absolutely top-notch. I've visited three times so far, and the quality of their bento boxes has been impressively consistent every single time. My personal favorite is the chicken katsu bento. The chicken is incredibly fresh and flavorful. Unlike many places where chicken katsu can end up greasy or heavy, Ikigai's version is perfectly crispy and airy on the outside while staying juicy and tender inside. Paired with their tangy, addictive katsu sauce, every bite just makes you want the next one immediately. I'm also a big fan of their maki rolls and tempura. You can genuinely taste the care and quality in the food--even the side salad and miso soup feel thoughtfully prepared. Considering the quality, the prices are very reasonable, and the portions are generous. The bento box is around $20 if you pay cash, which feels like a great deal. The space itself is cozy, spotless, and welcoming, and the service has always been excellent. I genuinely love this place and will definitely keep coming back.

Checked out this new-to-me sushi and oyster bar after a session at the golf simulator in the same…read moreplaza. Their menu offers a huge variety from sushi sets, donburis, stone bowl rice, tacos, sushi, party trays and even the trendy inari sushi. Ordered: *Lobster seaweed taco $24 5/5 - unique and really good! I was worried it might be small like an app but it came with two tacos and enough for me as a meal though a bit on the higher end in price. *Chicken katsu curry $26 3/5 - The curry was a very thin water down consistency unlike what we're used to in Japanese curries. I remember the katsu also being a bit dry but it is a good quality white meat. I would pass on the curry next time and ordered their sushi instead. The restaurant dining space isn't big but their restaurant does stretch across 3 storefronts and they use it to host events, but the event space was closed off and not visible from the outside or inside without asking a server. Their website advertises luxury ambiance, but the restaurant gives me mid-range restaurant or bar feel perhaps from the blue lights or the font, layout of the menu and furnishings. Perhaps the luxury ambiance is more found in the closed off event space. I was curious about the event space, but don't have upcoming personal events that I'll need to use one so I didn't inquire. My suggestion would probably be to rotate the TV screens instead of just the menu to include pictures of the event space, which could inspire customers to consider it for a future event.

Their sushi rolls are way too big! It's like eating Korean kimbap... LOL. Each roll had 10 pieces…read more- we only ordered two rolls plus a shrimp tempura, and still had about a quarter of the rolls left. I think they should make smaller rolls with fewer pieces so people can try more varieties, that's also a smarter way to get customers to spend more isn't it? Other than that, the rolls were good. The rice was neither too hard nor too sticky. The decor felt more like a vintage lounge than a typical Japanese vibe, interesting setup. Service was good too. Food (quality, creativity, consistency) - 3/5 Drinks (quality, variety) - NA/5 Ambience (interior design, cleanliness) - 3/5 Service (courtesy, knowledge, timeliness) - 4/5 Value (quality vs. price) - 3/5 OVERALL - 3.25

I came here for lunch with my coworkers and we shared a tasting box plus a few rolls on the side…read more I don't eat cucumber, so I specifically asked for no cucumber in our order and was told it could be swapped with avocado, which I really appreciated. We were also informed it would take about 20 minutes, but it ended up being closer to 40-45 minutes due to the lunchtime rush. Totally understandable though, and the manager was very apologetic and even gave us a $5 coupon for our next visit along with our box. When the food arrived, the presentation of the tasting box was absolutely WOW.. it was so beautifully done. We were honestly just too hungry at that point to admire it for long. Unfortunately, I noticed the first roll I picked still had cucumber in it, and when we flagged it, the staff immediately looked into it. It turned out there was a miscommunication about the substitution, and most of the rolls in the box had cucumber. The manager personally came over, apologized, explained everything, and immediately took care of it by offering to remake the box without cucumber and providing a full refund, which really went above and beyond. Despite the hiccup, the service and care from the team really stood out. Mistakes happen, especially during busy lunch hours, but the way the team responded made a big difference. I'd definitely come back again.

They were super busy so they took a bit long with our order. It usually means that they're popular…read morethough... which then also means we know the food is gonna be good. I ordered the dream platter and aburi Syaki oshi. I wasn't expecting it to be nicely packaged and it was a damn shame we threw them out but I almost felt like I paid for the extra nice packaging only to have it be tossed... but it does make an excellent gift for someone who really loves sushi! I wasn't expecting the gold leaf OR edible flower garnish at all. It was a very cute touch on this very snowy day. The oshi sort of fell apart everytime I picked it up which was a shame because it was nicely charred and sweet from the mango. Bit of a personal peeve but I don't think sushi should fall apart when you pick it up with a chopstick. I think it should stay in tact. Next time I'm gonna order takeout and have it delivered so I can feel like I had a nice package of sushi delivered

Came here with some friends for the omakase special meal…read more Such a lovely overall standard omakase experience and meal. The highlight for me was probably the set of four starter appetizers, they were flavourful, delicately prepared and perfect way to start the meal. I liked the slightly pickled dish with cucumbers the best. We also had sushi prepared with fresh seafood. The rice was probably my favorite compared to other places I've been. It was perfectly seasoned rice, warm and cooked to have just the right texture, not overcooked and not undercooked. The rice held up well when picked up by hand and complemented the flavours of the fish. Finished the meal with a matcha flavored pudding flan type dessert which had deep matcha flavours. If you're a fan of matcha, you'd probably enjoy it too. All in all, the meal was enjoyable, the torched tuna sushi was probably my favorite sushi of the set and my least favorite was the egg/eel, I was expecting a sweet egg at the end so it unexpected.

Taki is a fine dining Japanese restaurant located in the busy commerical areas of Richmond Hill…read more We recently had lunch here for a special occasion. The restaurant is super quiet and they offer great quality of food with great service, and the price is expensive if you choose to order sukiyaki set (expect $80+ per person). You can choose between sushi sets at different price level or sukiyaki from the menu. This suits the need of our group given some people prefer sushi but some couldn't eat raw food. They also offer a couple of limited appetizer dishes such as tempuras and unagi don. If you booked the sukiyaki table and want to order sushi, you need to call them in advance to notify which sushi sets you want. We tried the sashimi and sushi courses at $55, which included miso soup, 5 pieces of sashimi, 8 pieces of sushi (squid, toros, salmon, scallop etc.), handroll and matcha or black sesame icecream at your choice. The sushi is smaller than average, suitable for small eaters. The course is totally worth the money. I love every piece of sashimi and my favourite sushi include the scallop and the squid. Everything was super fresh. The dessert was also having the perfect sweetness level for me. In addition, we also tried the sukiyaki for two ($110), which includes mushrooms, cabbages, great quality of Angus beef, yummy tofu and udon. Again, all the material was with great quality and super fresh. I especially liked the sweet sukiyaki soup, the tofu and the udon. We also ordered some shareable dishes including chawanmushi, unagi don and cod. Cod was cooked to perfect (soft and flavourful), and unagi don had quite decent portion. It would be better if the unagi could be softer from my personal opinion. Chawanmushi was mediocre. Overall, I strongly recommend this restaurant to fan of Japanese cuisine. It meets different people's needs by offering both cooked and raw food options, and the sushi set definitely has great value for money.

Really enjoyed my recent experience at KYUSHU. Shared a whole bunch of appetizers and snacks, and…read morewent all out for a yakitori (grilled skewers) omakase lol... didn't know what we were getting but I enjoyed it, especially the grilled abalone! Some must-try items: - Kawahagi (fish jerky) - Uzurazuke (quail eggs) - Tsubu Kimchi (whelk) - Aburi Mentaiko (seared spicy cod roe), must pair with sake! - Nankotsu Karaage (fried chicken knee cartilage) - Honey Ginger Soda (with or without vodka) The whole place is lit up with lights from the "trees", very spacious, and decorated with childhood manga/anime posters and action figures all over ^^ The restaurant also has daily promotions on food and drinks, and lunch specials everyday.

Delicious skewers and discounts on alcohol on Saturday…read more Not so busy tonight , very friendly service and lovely interior design and even the washroom have sailor moon stickers

The food was good, and portions are super generous. I appreciate how many options and variations…read morethere are on the menu. Got the original chicken karaage boneless - I appreciate that it comes with 3 dipping sauces so you can try various flavours and not just stick with 1 flavour like at normal fried chicken restaurants. If you're not in the mood for Katsu, there's other itemskke karaage, baked chicken , rice cakes, or udon. They also serve pizza from Pizza Maru which operates from the same premise. However, the menu was hard to read. The service wasn't super friendly - I almost felt like they were hoping we didn't dine in so they can focus on take out orders. We were the only 2 people that were waiting for their dine in orders and the food felt like it came out slow. The ambiance was quiet. Lots of empty seats. Perhaps it was the day we went, but even if the restaurant isn't busy the atmosphere wasn't as welcoming. Ie, it felt like I wanted to quickly finish eating and leave asap rather than enjoy my meal with my company. Limited parking spaces, but is free.

(4.5 rounded up) Food: 5 | Service: 4 | Ambiance: 5…read more It's been a long time since I last visited this location, and I was pleasantly surprised--it's now renovated and expanded to about twice its original size. Lots of seating is available, including comfortable 4-6 person booths. The only downside is that parking right on Yonge is very limited. The menu has expanded beyond katsu to include pizzas, wings, udon, and tteokbokki. The katsu was excellent with its light, crisp batter, and the special set came with a great variety of sides plus both rice and a small bowl of udon. The pizza and wings were also fantastic--we ordered the half-and-half pizza with the signature shrimbul (highly recommend if you like a little heat) and Korean bulgogi. The wings were flavorful and delicious as well. Service was decent, though we docked half a star because some drinks on the menu weren't available (only 2 out of the 5 beers listed). That said, we still had a great experience overall and will definitely be back!

It's a small place but properly set up - has a full kitchen with a bar table, and the dining area…read morehas a few tables plus some booths. They have quite a few special roll options, though most were derivatives of California and Dynamic rolls. Tried the Lion King and Tataki Attack. Both were good with thin rice layers and relatively fresh seaweed wraps. I liked the Lion King better since it had more fillings. Chicken Karaage was so-so, more like pre-made chicken popcorn than authentic karaage. Shrimp Tempura was good - big shrimps wrapped in the thin, light and crispy batter. Service was great, the staff was very considerate - created a bigger space for us and added tea and napkins timely. Overall, a decent spot for sushi if you're in the area, but nothing that would make me drive across town. Food (quality, creativity, consistency) - 3.5/5 Drinks (quality, variety) - NA/5 Ambience (interior design, cleanliness) - 3.7/5 Service (courtesy, knowledge, timeliness) - 4/5 Value (quality vs. price) - 3.5/5 OVERALL - 3.7

This is a small family owned restaurant in Vaughan that has about half dozen small tables and a…read moresmall sushi bar that seats about 3 people. We showed up around 5:30 pm for an early dinner on Good Friday and still had to wait about half hour. What was ordered: Chicken karaage rice bowl Sushi and sashimi combo Sushi roll combo The verdict? The sashimi was good. Thick fresh slices. The roll (a version of California roll) was really disappointing. Way too much crab salad filler. The chicken karaage rice bowl was incredibly plain. Pieces of karaage on top of rice drizzled with mayo. The service was good but there wasn't enough to set them apart.