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    Sake Bar Kushi

    3.8 (151 reviews)
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    SAKE BAR KUSHI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Trendy
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Sake Bar Kushi

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    Helen L.

    A high 3.5 stars! I've been here a few times, but what made this occassion special was my friend's birthday. We had a room at the back for our large party, and we had a giant platter of sashimi. Not pictured were the many many side dishes we had (eventually the table was overridden with food and drink). Food was consistently good, I enjoy my time here, and my friend is a regular. We also had fun karaoke-ing and it was just a fun time. I highly recommend! See for yourself, look at my photos!

    Mentai Yaki Udon
    Allison K.

    Came here with 5 friends in Feb! We ordered: Uni Shooters Scallop Skewer Sausage Skewer Cucumber Salad Clam Chowder Croquette Okonomiyaki Salmon Tataki Tuna Tataki Maguro Yakke Sake Bar Kushi Roll Mentai Yaki Udon Calamari Pork Belly Skewers with special salt Garlic Butter Edamame Great izakaya with a wide variety of menu options and the food comes out suuuper fast as soon as you order off your phone! Favs with the s above and then the Also they have $3 pints of Sapporo after 9pm even on weekends!!

    Calamari
    Julie L.

    Lots of great food, great service, and great deals here! Be prepared to be greeted with a warm welcome! The space is pretty tight and if you sit in the middle area, they'll usually offer to take your jacket as they seat you and will bring your jacket to you when you get the bill. She actually tried to put it on for me too! (But me being me, it turned into an awkward little thing.. :$) Anyways, I think it's little touches like this that make the service excellent. They always bring over items that are on the house. On separate occasions, I've had the sweet potato fries (LOVE this), a cold cucumber dish, deep fried string beans and edamame on the house. It's great because the dishes are small and inexpensive so you can try a variety of items. Our average cost each visit for two people was always somewhere between $50-60. I would recommend ordering a ramen or a rice dish if you're looking to fill your stomach. I really liked the Tako Wasabi (a spicy wasabi octopus served with seaweed), the Takoyaki, and the grilled squid. The best was the mochi! I don't remember how much the mochi is, but I remember thinking that it was pretty pricey as they serve it by the piece. HOWEVER, it was the best mochi I've ever had and I'd say it's a must try! I don't know if the flavours change daily but I had the green tea one. The only downside is that there is no parking lot and only metered street parking here. The Green P is free after 9 I believe, which is also when their $2.95 beers begin! (2019/2)

    Their Sapporo special is advertised on the store front
    Emma H.

    Just for the 2.95 Sapporo pints (daily after 9pm), i will give it four stars. The food doesnt make a difference. Although if you stay long enough, they will start giving freebie tapas like garlic butter edamame. The sell: literalllly THREE DOLLAR Sapporo PINTS. The catch?: No bill-splitting once you order the pint special. I had my eye on the uni shooter for a while. Sea urchin, quail egg, and other ingredients in a shooter glass for you to down. I guess i downed too fast and forgot to chew because i couldnt taste the uni . 7$ Gold Sashimi: Fresh chefs selection sashimi which is fresh indeed. There was a cut of fish that was grainy and very salty, kind of like a gone bad version of mackerel. Beware of that one . 29$ Takoyaki: Just like other ones from other places, not too special. 5.95$ Chicken Karaage: Soft on the inside but a bit too crunch on the exterior. 3.95$ Corn Cheese Croquette: I guess i was imagining the cheesy corn given at korean bars as the filling but i was wrong. 3.95$ Skewers: Pork belly : 2.6$ Chicken and asparagus: 2.9$ Not worth the price, do not get. A good late night bar with a busy crowd. Make your reservations! All guests must be present before you are seated.

    Kanran G.

    What will you do after work? In Japan, people like having a small drink in #izakaya before home. It is a casual place for after-work drinking, similar to Irish Pubs, Spanish tapas bars and American saloons and taverns. The history of izakaya is back to Edo Period and grew in 18th century. Now izakaya is popular all around the world. I am so surprise to find Sake Bar Kushi in the midtown of Toronto. Let's have home hot sake in cool autumn night and it will keep you warm. The cuisine there is excellent as well. I highly recommend you to try the uni shooter (sea urchin with grinded pear, quail egg, ponzu sauce and real gold frakes on top) and Tuna Tataki (lightly seared tuna sashimi with green onion, garlic chip and ponzu sauce). By the way, don't forget to 'visit' their washrooms and you will find more surprises from the upstairs where lead you back to Meiji Period. Enjoy your drinking! Just warm reminder, do not drive after drink.

    Sashimi Salad
    Matt S.

    Service, food, atmosphere...all amazing. This place was great. The service was incredible. Staff was very nice and attentive. All the food was delicious too. We ordered a lot and everything was great. Also, we received food on the House atleast 4 times. Things we didn't order would be brought to our table and the server would tell us it's on the house to thank us for visiting. How nice! I'll definitely be coming back.

    Gold Sashimi
    Annie L.

    I have mixed feelings about this place. The atmosphere in here is nice and cozy (except if you're sitting right at the door). There's a few booths around the place that can fit 4 and they feel pretty secluded sitting inside. The chef's special for the night were Salmon, Tuna and uni. We ordered the Gold Sashimi which came with the salmon, tuna, surf clam, hamachi, butterfish, sweet shrimp, herring and another fish that I don't know. We also order the spicy tuna roll, the dragon roll and the uni sashimi from the sushi menu. We ordered the pork belly and the chicken heart from the skewer menu. The server came with edamame and fried salmon on the house which was really nice. It definitely added to our spread and helped fill us up. The edamame is cooked with garlic oil, so if you're not a garlic fan, stay away! The garlic taste is really strong! All the fish that were chef recommended were definitely fresh. They were so soft and buttery. The uni, tasted like the ocean. It wasn't too creamy but I still enjoyed it. The other fishes were extremely fishy. The butterfish tasted like a wet squishy sponge. It was defrosted but it seemed like the moisture was all trapped in the fish. The shrimp was even worse. It smelt so awful I couldn't even put it in my mouth. I gagged just at the smell of it. The spicy tuna had a nice kick to it but the tuna was a different cut from the sashimi, it was chewy and a bit stringy. I think it was the left over cut. The dragon roll was a California roll with eel and avacado on top. Usually it's a dynamite roll with whatever colour dragon you ordered. I did like the roll because I love California roll and you can't really screw that up. Bonus: the eel was nicely torched on top. As for the skewers, we ordered sea salt for both but it lacked flavour. It actually had no taste. Good thing there was salt on the table! The pork belly was crunchy on the outside but not over cooked cause it was still nice and juicy. I'm drooling just thinking about it. The chicken heart was however overcooked and dry. I think by now you can understand why I have mixed feelings. I think you probably feel the same way, deciding if you should try it if you do, go with the chef special and nothing more! I think what determines if I place is good, is if you'll return again. Sadly, I don't think I would be returning to this place.

    Salmon
    Charles Gary C.

    Used to be my favourite bar to hit up and after two consecutive bad experiences (with management not the service) I doubt I'll be back. Kushi doesn't seat your party unless they have ALL arrived - which is annoying because if one person out of a large party isn't here they cannot seat you. I was with four people waiting for one friend, and we waited 30 mins before complaining multiple times and PLEADING with them that our friend could just fit on the end of the table. The management asked us when our friend would arrive, because they were going to give up the table for another reservation if they did not arrive. They finally gave in, which was nice because our buddy came an hour late - and the ENTIRE BACK IF THE RESTAURANT WAS EMPTY 20+ CAPACITY. This might not seem like a big problem (just be punctual) but it is when your restaurant is acting up like it's an LA joint and have plenty of space. Don't lie to our faces about not having enough space. The fried dishes: ebi mayo, calamari, karaage was significantly declined in quality since coming here three years ago. The batter and portions are very poor. And the $3 Sapporo special? 100% has to be watered down - With club soda it seems. Other than that service is amazing and they provide a great experience. Management needs to resolve and sit guests when they have empty tables in the back. I would skip out on kushi and spend an extra buck at Kinka. It pains me to write that.

    Uni Sashimi
    Shirley C.

    Finally had the chance to try this Japanese izakaya place. Passed by many times and didn't give it the attention it deserved. Came by late on Friday for a quick bite and drink since they were open late. The dark interior reminds me of other Japanese skewer bbq houses. Several communal tables and booths. Menu is extensive lots of options from the signature kushi to sashimi, nigiri and rolls. Also had lots of options for izakaya and ramen. Didn't get to try the dessert menu. Server recommended sashimi selections for the day so I tried them, salmon, tuna and Uni. Sashimi was really fresh and thickly cut. Uni was the star of the show and so buttery. Unagi roll had a little too much rice but good sear for the unagi on top. Chicken Karaage was nicely doFriend had the tonkatsu ramen and it was satisfying. Lots of drink selections including Japanese cocktails and beer. At 11 pm there are still people waiting and coming into the restaurant. This is a Japanese run restaurant and servers all Japanese speaking. Clientele is mostly Japanese as well. Really liked the ambience and food. It's an authentic Japanese izakaya and kushi restaurant with the added bonus of great sushi. It's refreshing to find one place that can do it all. Rare find in Toronto. Back for another dinner the following week and tried different things , gold sashimi, ebi mayo, gindara, volcano roll, couldn't resist again tonkatsu ramen, Uni sashimi. it was quiet on a Saturday night didn't really need reservations. Maybe people frequent this place more for drinks late night. Had the matcha cheese which comes with green tea ice cream. The dessert was more westernized than I expected. Enjoyed my dinner but the atmosphere is different than late night. Still solid Japanese restaurant in this area.

    Impressed by the thick, juicy pieces of sashimi!
    Denise P.

    We were so glad to have wandered west of Eglinton today. This izakaya is solid. Great service and great food. We ordered an edemame appetizer, a 15 pc sashimi- we were so surprised at their thickness! Grilled mackerel was also huge at only $7.95. Also ordered a rib dinner which was very tasty. We were even offered bean tempura and sweet potato fries on the house. Also ordered 2 chu Hai...very refreshing drinks but too bad I barely tasted any alcohol. Will definitely Italy come back again!

    Schelling Y.

    Wanted to try a new Japanese restaurant and didn't know where to go. so decided to try this place. We were a little bit excided as the reviews here were quite good, but I think we put our expectations a little bit too high. Looking at the atmosphere, it was a quaint little restaurant that didn't have that many seating. It was very small, and there was a bar type seating in the middle. It wasn't too busy when we went, but then again, it was raining the night we went. It wasn't loud so people can hold a conversation without any problems. I guess they were a little bit understaffed. Service wasn't anything to write home about, but it was slow at times as there were only two waitresses working and they were running all over the place. Had to ask about our orders a couple of times before it arrived. The food wasn't good, but wasn't bad either. The selection was limited, so it was a little bit easier to make your decision. Portions weren't that large so we could order a little bit more. The price was not that expensive when you compared to other izakayas in the area. it was just a Meh experience and as out expectation was a little high, we left a little bit disappointed. Overall, wouldn't take another trip down that way again.

    Jennifer K.

    Sake Bar Kushi has this most amazing and friendly staff. 5 Star for service. I love the cozy and dark interior. I really want to give it a higher rating than 3 star but the food was just a little disappointing. We shared: Sashimi Moriawase 55 pcs ($55) 50% off Wednesday - The fish selection though interesting but a lot of the pieces did not taste fresh. - some of the sashimi was a little dry and some a little warm - I won't be happy if I have to pay $55 for that but it is 50% off on Wednesday but still I expect good quality fish! Kushi Moriawase 10 pcs ($17) - If you do not like pork belly, don't order this! Even though the menu states that it is a combination of Chicken, Fish, Heart and Pork Belly but out of the 10 skewer at last 4 of them were pork belly... - It was served almost the same time as our Sashimi Platter and of course the food got a little cold while we were eating our sashimi... and cold pork belly did not taste good.. - Better off just order a la carte off the menu and enjoy my food slowly! Sapporo for $5.50 a pint and other drinks though are quite reasonably priced! And of course great selection of sake! I probably would come back and give Sake Bar Kushi another try. Maybe Tuesday for their Kushi special. But definitely won't be ordering sashimi or the kushi platter though.

    2.95 Sapporo after 9

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    4.5(460 reviews)
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    This was one of those dining experiences where every detail felt intentional…read more The presentation was beautiful without feeling overdone, and each piece was balanced and fresh. You can really tell there's a lot of care behind every course. What stood out to me most was how calm and focused the whole experience felt--it made it easy to slow down and actually enjoy each bite. Definitely a place I'd come back to when I want something a little more special.

    It's been a while since I've had omakase. Yasu was easy to reserve and was under $200pp. The menu…read moreincludes 16 courses which includes 1 appetizer (containing 4 dishes), 12 nigiri, tamago, soup, and dessert. There were three add-ons (toro with caviar $25, uni with caviar $35, and caviar sushi). I opted in for the toro and uni add-ons. It was strange they give you the add-ons before any other nigiri. Everything was very good and fresh. Standouts for me was the appetizer, all three cuts of bluefin tuna, the lobster (by far my favorite), and the hotaru ika. I would've appreciated knowing that the omakase included or not included toro and uni before I decided on the add-ons but I don't regret it. It was a splurge night after all. Service was very attentive. Note that the dining space is very small. 12 seats around the counter and two tables. There was a very loud gentleman two seats from me who never learned to use his inside voice and totally ruined vibe. But that's not on the staff. Another note is that gratuity is automatic on the bill.

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    4.4(104 reviews)
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    Great spot for small plates and drinks!…read more Love the vibes here. It really does remind me of Japanese izakaya. Their pressed sushi is a signature! Dont skip on the karaage cuz the sauce with a onsen egg is bomb! It can get busy and its a small place. So go early!

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