Just got back from Tokyo? Can't find your favourite noodles anywhere in Toronto? Sanko my friends. This is where you'll find all the asian food products you can't find anywhere else. It's huge, and they'll order in anything you can't find (as if that's even possible) since they have absolutely everything. read more

This store is taking advantage of queen street location by boosting up the prices. Here's my story.. I'm trying to eat healthy so I went to Sanko store on 730 queen st west to buy Zojirushi- teflon free rice cooker size 3 cups made in Japan because it has good reviews. I ended up paying $410 taxes in. To my surprise I found 5.5 cups size at T&T for $380 made in Japan. I checked it very carefully, it was 100% very high quality inside out, exactly like the one I bought from Sanko. They have the one made in China Zojirushi which was selling for half the price, looked and felt really cheap. I went back to return it and they said sorry it's a final sale! What a ripoff !!!! I could've paid the same amount of money for the bigger Zojirushi rice cooker. STAY AWAY FROM THIS STORE. read more

This little japanese grocery is nice to have in downtown Toronto, the inventory is not huge, but it has all the basics for japanese cooking like sushi rice, vinegar, ingredients to make dashi, or premade dashi, etc. They also have a variety of japanese snacks. The prices are kind of high for the products and some of the products look like it has been on the shelf for a bit, since they were a bit dusty.... Overall, I appreciate having this place in downtown Toronto, but a lot of asian groceries like T&T and Lucky Moose carry some Japanese goods at more competitive pricing (due to economies of scale), also this place a little out of the way for me, so if I can not find the item that I am looking for at a more convenient location, I will check here. read more

This place is amazing. I've recently started making poke bowls at home and this place is amazing for getting sashimi grade fish. I've gotten salmon, albacore tuna and skip jack tuna and it's all delicious and reasonably priced. Blue fin tuna comes from Tsukiji fish market and it priced accordingly - but they have it, along with other essential Japanese seafood items such as bbq eel. As long as the store is not full, they're genuinely happy to have even a lengthy conversation about what you're looking for and educate and make recommendations. I simply love this place and the service is second to none. I bought a sashimi knife and I was told I can bring it back anytime to get it sharpened, free of charge. It's rare to get this level of customer service anywhere. read more

Great japanese products at great prices. I love the rice balls that are made with a unique japanese way that ensures the flavor hits the pallet before the rice. Cool system. Prices aren't as expensive as mentioned in other reviews, some items are even less expensive in comparison to the other asian supermarkets; such as the snacks and seasoning. Overall, great service and you pay for what you get. Also a good place for candies from Japan. read more

A family runs this place, and has for 50 years. As I've been shopping there for years, I've come to know the family, and feel welcome. A wide range of Japanese products, a mix of those directed towards Japanese customers who miss home, and those of us who just love certain products and a wide range of choice in things such as rice, tea, sea weed, and charming ceramics. The only place I've found the wonderful Japanese bath salts which make the ending of my day extremely pleasant! A real treasure, in fact, downtown, transit accessible, walkable, with Trinity Bellwoods park so close by. read more

I like this shop Hi quality stuff Good food not a fast food level - IMHO . I wish - more shop like that in Toronto ( Big Carrot, Healthy Butcher, .... ) &:-} read more

Memories of Japan... Sanko has hot rice cracker with peanut and hot wasabi peas in a can... They also sell tofu by the cube, miso paste and konbu for miso soup... make your own and enjoy its cheaper... bring your own container for the tofu in juice/water or be billed fifty cents for one of theirs that is now yours to keep... Andrew P.S. Nice fine porcelain... (c) Copyright 2017. Andrew M. Walduck. Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. read more

This shop didn't do anything for me. I'm an Asian market fan so I made a cross-town trek to check out this one. It didn't live up to expectation. T&T, Sunny, PAT, Galleria, Chinatown all beat this one. The place is tiny. Nothing like the other Asian markets. It's about the size of your average Subway Sandwich restaurant. The selection is very focused on Japanese products which is good since they are a Japanese shop, just don't go there expecting variety. The prices are jacked up. Like most things are at least two dollars more than at other places. People say the jacked up prices are worth it due to the location. I'd suggest taking the $3 and hopping the Bathurst streetcar/bus and going a few streets north to PAT Central. It's way bigger and way cheaper and carries Japanese products. read more

I didn't spend a lot of time in here and I really just came in here for one item: black sesame spread (among the 10 most delicious food items on the planet). Thankfully they had three little 4oz tubs of my second favorite brand...now they have zero. It is for this one success alone that they get 4 stars. I hope it doesn't take too long to get more because I'll clean them out again in another 4-6 weeks. I did do a walk through the rest of the store and I'll certainly be going back to pick up on some key ingredients of dishes I used to make while living in Tokyo. And the people running the place are actually Japanese so I even got to dust off my Japanese language chops a bit. What it doesn't have is a Japanese bakery component. So I couldn't get the strawberry daifuku that I was jonesing for (also among the world's 10 most delicious food items). But probably I can get all the necessary ingredients here to make them myself. The worst thing about this place is the part of town it's in - west King West. So filthy and run down with super sketchy people loitering all over the place yelling at passers-by for no reason. Yikes! And if I wanted to do some real shopping here I'd have to make a special bike trip with an empty pack since parking around here while the store is open is near impossible. Oh, that's another complaint: the store closes too early (although that is a general complaint about Toronto). But these two aspects prevent it from achieving five stars...and if they don't have my precious black sesame spread in stock the next time I go they'll be demoted to 3 stars. read more

This grocery store has the best variety of Japanese goods an avid fan of Japanese cuisine can ask for. I was buying soy sauce one day, and there are a lot of to choose. The cashier was really helpful when he recommended another brand of soy sauce which tasted better than the one I picked. I tried it at home, and the dish has a beautifully unique taste to it! read more

This is such a cute store. If you are looking for anything Japanese kitchen related such as food, bento boxes or tea sets you will find it here! As someone who frequently misses Japan, I love being able to get quality Japanese cooking materials in Toronto. The only downside is that sometimes the items can be a bit pricey compared to the actual price they sell for in Japan, but overall I love this store! read more

A fun little shop located somewhat unexpectedly on Queen West. I've noticed other reviewers commenting on the small size of the shop, but to me that's a plus! Sometimes I want to go to a huge Asian market . . . and sometimes I want to go to a smaller place, where there's less to look at and its easier to make a decision. Don't get me wrong, Sanko has LOTS to choose from, if you're looking for Japanese goods. On my last visit I bought some bowls, and I appreciated browsing through one shelf, not a never ending aisle of bowls. read more

This place is great, very good selection of Japanese food and dishes. The food doesn't seem crazy expensive as some reviewers have mentioned, but the dishes and cookware is actually crazy expensive... I'm sure the quality is high, but my butterfingers won't let any breakable item stick around my house for long, so I'll avoid the $40 bowls. But... the food! So easy to find everything you're looking for. Even some produce! They have amazing vegetarian gyoza, and the high end soba noodles are actually worth the extra cost (look for 100% buckwheat soba noodles - so good!) Also, their candy section is really good. I haven't found any place like it downtown. So may Pocky flavours and my new favourite Colon Caramels (don't let the gross name fool you!) read more

The staff is very friendly and helpful. I've been a huge fan of Japanese cuisine so I went here to shop some tea and chocolate. Other than tea, prices are extremely high, so I couldn't pick up that small box of kitkat for $6.5. read more

This place is amazing ! The service was good and helped me to find some few things and they have my favourite drinks I give it 5 star read more

Sanko Trading - Grocery Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Poor and misleading customer service! You called in and asked if the had sushi making kits. Lady on the phone said yes, but you have to come in for pick up. Drove through crazy downtown traffic just to get there and hear "oh we don't have kits, just ingredients" I would never have wasted my time if they said that on the phone. This was supposed to be a birthday gift and now I'm empty handed read more

Green tea ice cream and freshly made onigirl gives it five stars!

I love this place! Bonito Flakes... Fresh Tofu... Natto... and friendly service :) great prices as well!

Love this place for a hit of Japanese culture and its amazing onigiri, which are made fresh by a private Japanese chef and delivered daily. Konbu, roasted Japanese eggplant and Ume are my favs. Great with an iced green tea as a combo. Staff are friendly, eager to help and offer advice. Tight aisles, but you're ok to browse if you try not to take up too much space! read more

I just moved here and was having a hard time finding authentic Japanese food items near downtown. I was super pleased when I discovered Sanko because despite being a fairly small store, they have a great selection of all of the Japanese kitchen staples I was looking for (like dashi, shichimi togarashi, miso etc...). I did find the prices a little steeper than what I am used to in Vancouver, but maybe that's just a Toronto thing when it comes to Japanese imports. read more

If you love Japan, this shop is a great place to visit. It feels almost like teleporting to a FamilyMart in Tokyo (the door even says moshi moshi when you open it !) bizarre and amazing snacks imported from japan wide selection of Japanese cooking supplies great selection of Japanese housewares including ceramic knives and wooden sake cups funny quirky staff authentic Everything in this shop seems to have been flown in from Japan each morning. Its a very fun place to visit for a quick pick me up in the form of an unusual snack and is a perfect place to buy a treat for someone special. read more

If you're trying to turn your apartment kitchen into something as equipped as a mid-size Japanese restaurant (which, perhaps...), this is the place. The staff give helpful cooking recommendations as well. read more

They sell over priced stuff, you can get better deals in other stores. Unpleasant experience in term of returning items. Bad customer service. read more

I found their grocery items to be a tad expensive but I will most likely come back for their Japanese ceramics and the kitchen utensils that you cannot find anywhere else. read more

Love this store. Would have given it 5 stars but they're a little pricey. However the convenience of not having to drive to T&T is worth some of the price hike. Super nice staff. Fun to wander around and gawk. read more