A pleasant surprise, tucked into the ground floor of the Green P parkade. Genuine Japanese food made by Japanese (not Korean nor Chinese). Good value in the heart of Toronto. Casual bistro atmosphere with J-pop playing in the background. We had the bento boxes which had a tremendous portion of tempura. Well recommended. read more

Tokyo Kitchen - Salmon bento meal with generous tempura serving. - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This place used to be my favourite kasu don restaurant, after it re open, price goes up so much and food quality is just ok. I'd go Tonkasu and kasuya next time read more

I have walked by Tokyo Kitchen many times since I have started volunteering across the street at Sanctuary (homeless shelter). I have always noted the cute ambiance and the interesting looking menu. Finally, I managed to sneak off work to come all the way uptown to have a meal here. My verdict: MMMMM! TK has amazing home style comfort food! I really recommend their fried dishes over everything else - I think that they have mastered the art of tempura frying. Seriously. If you take a look at my pics, you will see that I tried the 1) Croquette - yummy! The sauce is perfect and the batter is perfect and the potato stuffing is perfect. Just perfection all around! 2) Chicken Katsu with Egg Corn - Delicately seasoned and again, fried perfectly. The corn egg makes the chicken a little mushy at the end of the meal ... but you know what, that is a given. 3) Lunch Special A - Hello TEMPURA! This is the highlight of the dish ... we had so many different kind of vegetables (yam / eggplant / lady finger etc) and TWO shrimp. The rolls and salad were ok (tho a little small in size). The teriyaki could have a much better kick to the sauce. But overall, I was so pleased with the tempura that I overlooked the other little mishaps. The service was impeccable (constant refills with a smile). The décor is so charming and tranquil. Yes, I will come by .. often. For the fried goodies. :) read more

See all

Always loved coming here. You guys made me fall in love with curry. By far the best in the GTA that you can eat in a restaurant. But my concern is, with all the delays and all, are you really expected to reopen...? Updates would be nice... read more

Came here for dinner after their opening a month go and it was not bad! Prices were definitely a bit higher considering it was the usual Japanese food. I got their Salmon bento box which came with sashimi, salad, miso soup, and tempura. The tempura was deep friend perfectly and they were generous in portions! Their Tendon Tonkatsu Donburi was also quite delicious and the tonkatsu was sooooo soft. However despite how authentic and fresh their food was, prices were a bit of a turn off. read more

Tokyo Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

See all

I ordered the chicken katsu curry and it was ok. Tasted like powdered curry. Portion size was pretty good, but the curry lacked any strong flavor; it was quite bland actually. I'd say the dish was a bit high in price so I'd order something else next time. Takoyaki was not bad either, but I think Manpukku does it better. Service was good and location is super convenient. Overall, I had an ok experience, not great but not bad as well. read more

Tokyo Kitchen - Takyokai & Chicken Katsu Curry - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I live up the street and pickup food here all the time. The dunbori and the soups are great. I don't eat curry but I hear it's great too! Quick and easy to pickup from. read more

The service was not very good: it was difficult to communicate with the servers as they did not understand any questions. We weren't familiar with the menu, and there was no one else to ask. They did not ask to refill our water even though our glasses were empty for a while. Don't order the Japanese curry options, because they are quick made and not very flavourful. read more

This place is away from the main drag and seems to cater almost exclusively for Japanese customers, which is always a good sign. Certainly we were the only non-Japanese diners when we visited. I had the sushi dinner and my wife had a bento box. The evening got off to an inauspicious start when the waitress accidentally spilt my beer over my bf, which is normally my job. Fortunately the waitress lacked my expertise in this sort of thing and most of the beer missed the target. My sushi was good, but accompanied by a tiny amount of wasabi and not much more In the way of ginger; extra was supplied on request. The bento box was fairly good and I was only too happy to assist with the consumption of some of the tempura that accompanied it. The shrimp tempura was particularly good. If you are looking for authentic Japanese food at a reasonable price, this place is worth a try. read more

Tokyo Kitchen - Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

See all

One perk of teaching ESL to international students is insider knowledge of Toronto's best authentic restaurants. Every single Japanese student I ever had, has ranted and raved about Tokyo Kitchen. My students usually stay in Canada for at least a year and the thing they miss most is authentic Japanese food. To them, all-you-can-eat sushi with avocado is bizarre and amusing. My idea of a Japanese raw seaweed salad turns out to actually be a super westernized version of a salad that is much rawer and healthier. To extinguish my ignorance towards real Japanese food, my lovely class decided to take me to Tokyo Kitchen. Tucked away on Charles Street, the place was somewhat difficult to spot -- it's so modest that you might mistake it for a run-down grocery store. I absolutely loved it. It was so small. And so simple. There were no fancy decorations or paintings or awards pinned to the walls. Instead, a few posters were taped to pastel walls that were so quirky in their modesty. The menu wasn't easy to read because I didn't know what most of the food was but I'm sure if I blindly chose anything, it would be delicious. We ordered: takoyaki- This has become my favourite Japanese appetizer/dish/snack/whatever it is. And it was the BEST takoyaki I've ever tried. Takoyaki is a ball with octopus inside, sprinkled with dried shredded fish. It doesn't sound like much but it's absolutely incredible. sashimi- Self explanatory. I really love sashimi and Tokyo Kitchen's sashimi was VERY good. It was soft and buttery and fresh. I'm drooling just thinking about it. katsudon- This was also delicious, especially if you like pork and you're looking for something filling. It's a bowl of rice topped with deep-fried pork cutlet, egg and some condiments. salmon don- YUMMY! THIS IS FOR ALL YOU SASHIMI LOVERS. It's a bowl of vinegar-soy rice, topped with lots of salmon sashimi. It fills you up and you get your sashimi fix! Sooo good! We had a sweet server who was really patient with our large group and slow decision-making skills. She also put all the dishes on the table so it was a nice, communal dinner. The total cost us about 15 bucks each and we were stuffed by the end of the meal. I really recommend this place for all lovers of Japanese food...And even to those who don't like Japanese food because there's a big chance that you might fall in love with it after Tokyo Kitchen. read more

Cute little Japanese-run Japanese place. I was pumped to see 'sake oyako don' on the menu. It's a simple bowl of sushi rice, salmon sashimi, and salmon roe. I friggin love those salty, glistening, plump jewels of salty goodness. Man they're so salty and good and plump. Note: this place doesn't have washrooms. For reals. You have to go to the parking garage like some convict. Fun fact: 'oyako' means 'parent and child'. Get it? You're eating the adult fish, and its little babies in the same dish. Kinda sick? A little. Also, ordering 'oyako don' might get you chicken and eggs on rice (see, same deal). So check yo'self before ordering. read more

I needed a catch-up date with a long lost friend of mine. For two years, we were trying to have dinner together but it didn't happen due to conflict of schedules... UNTIL FOUR DAYS AGO!!!! I missed her dearly. We both love sushi and there are SO MANY Japanese restaurants to choose from in this neighbourhood, which is actually really really awesome. However I chose this place because it looked like a cafe: small, quiet, peaceful, date-like. By "choosing" I really mean sending a text to my friend "Hey C, let's try here? I've never been." I've never seen it, I've never walked passed it, I don't know what's on the menu. I only saw a photo of its tables. Tokyo Kitchen is on Charles Street, a little cafe that opens at 5:30pm for dinner (and 11:30 to 2:30 is for lunch). We looked through the menu, lots of the usual items like udon, fried, set dinners (they look decent for the price).... Curious about the curry dishes though! Anyways we ended up having the Party Tray for $29. This came with assorted sushi: spicy salmon, salmon, tuna, shrimp, soft-shell crab... So the tray came out, sushi on a plastic tray.... looked like store-bought. At first I thought it would be a plate of ordinary sushi (and I thought I wouldn't be wow'd by it), but I was wrong!!!! The sushi was presented beautifully, and it was fresh and delicious. I can be pretty picky with sushi (I've had ENOUGH store-bought sushi's and AYCE sushi's, and yes I've also eaten at expensive places that offer amazing sea urchin sushi). Tokyo Kitchen's sushi were excellent. Affordable and delicious. The sashimi especially was amazing. I loved their tuna sushi the most -so so fresh!! This meal was so cheap and it was so good. I also loved that we sat by the window, it felt like a coffee shop (that serves sushi! How funky is that?). It's so cute here. The waitresses were very nice. We were well taken care of. read more

A great little Japanese place with sushi as well as tempura and donburi. Outdoor seating available. Very polite servers and the sashimi was fresh. I did wait a while to get my food, but that might have been because 2 parties ordered right in front of me. read more

Thought it was another place serving your run-of-the-mill curry and udon but everything from sushi to udon is actually made with care, fresh and deeply flavourful. They also rotate seasonal appetizers and dishes, and feature regular comfort dishes like croquette, takoyaki and katsudon. I recommend trying the grilled fish and curry. read more

This is the place to go when I miss my country's food. Their food is truly authentic and tasty. There are plenty of Japanese restaurants in Toronto, however, it is rare to find real taste cooked by a Japanese chef like this restaurant. Tokyo Kitchen has "Teshoku" style which is combination of a main dish, just-cooked rice, hot miso soup and simple salad served on different plates. As I am familiar with Teshoku style than Bento box style, this is an asset to me. While it is hard for most Japanese restaurant to serve just and well-cooked rice, they always serve perfectly well cooked rice! Another significant element of my recommendation is that they have a welcome atmosphere to a single customer. I go there whenever I feel craven to have real Japanese food :) read more

I have been eating at Tokyo Kitchen since I was a kid. I thought they closed down for good, but when I saw them open their doors again, I had to drop by. The taste of their food has gotten better! I always get the tempura dinner. It is my favourite place to get this since no other place could get the same crispiness without the grease. They've also expanded their once small restaurant to include a larger seating area and a dessert and bento area. I also tried some of their unagi dinner set and it is probably the best you can get for its price. It's large and comes with a choice sashimi or inari sushi. I haven't had any of their desserts recently, but I do remember them being quite tasty. read more

Out of the Japanese places in the hood, this is a great lunch spot if you are craving something not just sushi. This place is actually Japanese run and the menu is packed with authentic offerings. Japanese curry is probably the most popular dish. It smelled great, sweet, thick, rich, warm, and tasted delicious. There wasn't very much meat. This was offset by the really awesome potato croquettes. It wouldn't have been nearly as good without the crispy croquettes which added something extra to a rather simple dish. They have sushi specials which they post on the wall. My friend had the special which was fresh and tasty. But the rolls are small. We were both still hungry after, so if you have a healthy appetite, you will have to order some sides. Overall, it's a great spot and the quality of sushi is better than other places nearby. I will go for the soba next time. Not really a dinner place, but Tokyo Kitchen is great place for a casual Tokyo lunch. read more

Good point: Good service and their al staffs are japanese so you can actually taste real home taste of japanese food here. I lived in Tokyo for 7 years and their sushi and sashimi was best in this toronto. Very fresh and thick sashimi and thin rice with perfact temperature. (even I went to expensive nice sushi place it wasnt that good. ) Rice is 100% japanese rice. Sushi and sashimi and Tempura soba was good. But soba inside of soup ..I can taste a alittle bit of MSG.( AJINOMOTO ) I tired everything katsu in there and it was so good. Very crunch gatsu with a curry. But rice was too much and a little bit of curry. The orginal of japanese curry always with a lot of vegetables but they only cook with onion....bad curry. There's two waitresses and one is really kind and friendlybut the other is not friendly at all. Yes. There's no washroom here... read more

This place was terrible. The food was flavourless and we ordered the shrimp teriyaki special and it was too dry small pieces of shrimp. Barely edible. Outside didn't look great either. Inside it was small. The food came out pretty quick but that's probably because it's precooked. The service was nice but I'm never going back. I think the should close up shop. read more

Food is so good and so waitresses are super nice too. If u want some affordable quality Japanese food this is definitely the place.

Awesome. I was in Japan a year ago. And this was a close reminder to everyday diners there.

My most recent experience with Tokyo Kitchen was getting a takeout meal, though I've dined in the restaurant numerous times. Nestled in the same building as a municipal parking lot, you might miss it entirely if you weren't paying attention. Its recent renovation gives it a modern chic look, and is perhaps motivated by the two new condos that are soon to be full of potential customers. To be honest, I kinda miss the atmosphere of the old decor which gave it a warmer, homier feeling. They even had "natto" hand-written in kanji on a piece of paper taped to the wall. When you order it, the wait staff may regard you with surprise especially if they know you're not Japanese, but if you persist, they'll serve it to you. Ask for natto with egg yolk and scallions. They serve both cooked foods and raw sushi, though the sushi selection is necessarily limited to ensure high turn over and therefore freshness. Don't expect much beyond salmon and tuna most days. That being said, the offerings I had were always fresh. The cooked foods are uniformly good, including most of their fried dishes like karaage, kaki fry and tempura. I also like their donburi a lot; their katsudon comes with breaded porkchop that is nonetheless moist and flavourful if a little too salty sometimes. Their curry rice is pretty good as well. They used to have an omelette curry and a "hamburg" curry which I don't seem to see any more. Maybe I'll try asking for it anyway the next time I drop by for dinner. And I echo Ryan R.'s appraisal about the croquettes... very, very good. Notes: I mention that they take credit card, but it's actually Visa only. Also, the washroom is outside of the restaurant and you need to bring a key with you. I believe it's part of the parking lot building, so this might put some people off. read more

Decent food, though a little pricy. The tempura dinner was decent though perhaps a little greasy. The pork dinner was excellent with a sizeable portion of tender lean pork in a nice crunch breaded coating. We liked the pickled side dish that accompanied the dinners, the salad was crispy and soup was not too salty. The service was very good. I think I would try some of the other options next time. read more

I can't sing enough praises about Tokyo Kitchen! The menu here features mostly traditional, homestyle type meals that I haven't really seen anywhere else. Stuff like Japanese-style curry, croquettes, donburi, karaage, etc. are what make this place completely unique and awesome. They do of course have the typical fare (sushi, gyoza, edamame, teriyaki, etc) that you'd find in most Japanese restaurants here, all of which are equally delicious. :3 My favourite dish here is the Japanese-style curry. I keep meaning to try more from the menu but I just can't seem to pull away from the deliciousness that is beef curry or curry with croquettes. The karaage was also super delicious. The sushi is also really fresh and like everyone else says, is served in smaller sizes that seems to be more traditional and easier to eat. Heck, even their "regular" menu items like the gyoza, miso soup, tempura, yakitori, etc... they're all amazingly delicious here. Another point worth mentioning is that this is an authentic Japanese restaurant, owned and staffed by Japanese people. There are plenty of Japanese customers that come in and you're pretty much guaranteed to hear several conversations in Japanese over dinner. The service is also really fantastic, as all the waitresses are very quick to refill your glasses and are very polite and friendly. The restaurant was recently renovated (in 2009 I think) and the only thing that's changed aside from the decor is that all ramen seems to have been removed from the menu. There may be one or two other things missing but that was the big thing for me, as their ramen was amazing. And on a final note, yes, their washroom is located outside of the restaurant itself. I've never had to use it but I think it's either in the parking lot or in the breakfast place located next door. read more

Great mom and pop feel! Felt transported back to Japan. The food was on point, we got the soba noodles and pork katsu curry and both were better than I've had in the city !! read more

I only had the chance to sample the take out from this place, maybe I'll go back to try the dine in and give a more complete review. I got the beef bento box, but I had to pay $1 above the "daily special" price, as salmon was on sale that day. Packaging - Wow, i have never seen a lunch takeout packaged so well. Even the salad dressing had its own little container, so that the salad wouldn't get wilted. Salad - authentic dressing, but the size was a bit small. Teryaki Beef - Beef and sauce was nice, but again a bit small. Rice was good. Other - Can't remember what they were [as this review is a little late], but I'm sure they were good. Sushi - California rolls were good, salmon was nigiri, which was surprising. Summary - Food was tasty, but portion size was a little lacking. Is this due to takeout? I'm not sure until i return for dine in. read more

I only bought some take out, a corn croquette and a box of potato salad. The croquette has creamy filling and is very crispy. The potato salad tastes ok, even though a little bit salty. read more

I would say their tempura udon and curry is the best in town. Their tempura udon is definitely my must have whenever we visit. The huge basket of tempura has 3 shrimps and many veg, they even have okra and lotus root sometimes! Udon noodles are cooked to the perfect texture. My husband's favourite is their pork katsu curry. The pork cutlets have a very thin crispy crust, complimented with Japanese curry made from beef. The only things made it short from 5 star rating are the poor ventilation that made my hair and clothes smell like grease after the meal and their recent cut down on pork cutlet portion. read more

We had a lovely lunch here recently. Lots of bento box options that are very reasonably priced. As an appetizer we got the tofu with green onion and bonito flakes -- perfect for a scorching day, with a shared large bottle of Japanese beer. After trying most of the other Japanese spots in the area, this does seem a cut above the others (especially since our favorite one on Yorkville was replaced by KOKO which we Do Not Like). read more

I love this place... best Chicken Katsu Curry I've had in Toronto. Tokyo Kitchen has a very traditional Japanese feel about it, not big on sushi rolls covered in tempura bits. More on traditional Japanese sauces and flavours. Their curry sauce looks homemade with little morsels of braised beef in the sauce. It's an umami lovers paradise. Their age-dashi tofu is also delicious. If you've read some of my other reviews, you'll see that I tend to get stuck on a few favourite dishes... so to be honest, I haven't tried much else yet so stay tuned for an updated review... read more

Love their pork katsu curry!!! One of my absolute favorite places for lunch around yonge and bloor. The overall feel of the restaurant is quaint and relaxing and the hostesses are all so nice and friendly. Food is authentic and delicious. The only thing I would complain about is the prices aren't cheap, and some of the sushi rolls are a little expensive... I'd stick with a 'sushi' place for sushi, like wow sushi, japango, etc. But the outstanding parts of this place is definitely the other Japanese food items people overlook! Definately check it out. read more

Tokyo Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Authentic Japanese food. Cozy. Good dinner. Pretty flowers! 6 Stars for the waitresses. read more

I've always thought of the Charles St. parking garage solely as the location where I've spent far too many hours of my life climbing up and down the numerous floors, wondering where on God's green earth people have decided to creatively park car2gos instead of their clearly designated location. Now that I've discovered Tokyo Kitchen, it will be the above plus Tokyo Kitchen. We ordered a Bento Box ($10.95), Salmon Donburi ($12.95) and, by mistake of assuming it was complimentary, a cup of tea ($1). The food was really good - I wish they gave you more of it! Shrimp teriyaki = 2 shrimp. 2 pieces of sushi, 2 pieces of maki. The tempura was FABULOUS, thankfully, because that was pretty much it for the bento. Salmon don was delicious too, but simple as donburi goes. I could eat that every day. Prices were just too high compared to nearby options (which come with sides, too). I'd return if they were lower for lunch or if the portions were bigger. read more

We were only in Toronto for 2 days, and found this place on Yelp. It felt like a true hidden gem (hidden, but well endorsed by yelp of course) and, I don't say this lightly, I think it was the best Japanese food I've had outside Japan. Vegetable tempura was perfectly crispy and light with a good assortment of vegetables. Sushi was both perfectly fresh and well crafted. My husband was also really pleased with his Tonkatsu. read more

So darn good! I have never eaten sushi in Vancouver...but friends from Van advise that this was the closest they have had to Van Sushi place in Toronto. Friday night saw a trip to this fine place. I would go as far to say it has probably been the best sushi I have had in T.O. So delicious and fresh. I had the sushi and sashimi combo and some vegetable tempura, loved it all. Be prepared for a fair amount of food, portions are huge. Few friends had katsu curry...portions looked really big. Sushi and sashimi dinner comes with soup and salad. The platter looked amazing and was beautifully presented. The waitresses were helpful and friendly, very attentive and service was quick. Plus they do takeout...get in! The restaurant was so quiet which meant our table for 10 were easily seated, on a Friday night this was really good. Being this quiet I was a bit apprehenisve however I certainly was not disappointed in the slightest! Sushi and Sashimi dinner...just do it! read more

Authentic Japanese place - I recommend it if you're looking for the real thing. Many of the patrons are Japanese themselves, which is considered a good sign. The atmosphere is comfortable and the food is solid & comforting, I would recommend you to try any kind of tempura, it's really worth it. The washroom is outside around the corner what is a bit inconvenient. read more

A gem. If you appreciate authentic Japanese food, this place is for you. The fish was very fresh and melted in my mouth. Last time I experienced the same freshness was in Kamakura, Japan. The atmosphere is unpretentious - if you're looking for fine dining, look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for amazing food in a casual setting, Tokyo Kitchen delivers. Many people seem to complain about the lack of washroom - first of all it's not true. There is one - and yes it's 30 second walk away outside the restaurant but who cares? I come here for the food, not for the washroom. read more

I've only had take out, so that may account for the differences, but I found Tokyo Kitchen very average. I had Katsudon, which came with a small soup and salad, and takoyaki. The katsudon was ok, nothing special, and the portion was kinda small. The takoyaki had only one small piece of tako each; the rest was batter. Overall, the food was ok, but nothing special. Probably will not go back again. read more

Food: 3/5 Honestly the food wasn't BAD, but it's definitely not a place I'd ever crave or feel the urge to go back to, it's just.. meh. Value: 1/5 The price was a little outrageous. I ordered a unadon (eel on rice) for $22.80, bf got a beef curry udon for $14+, and a "dynamite roll" for $9.50, which was the same quality as those cheap sushi box you'd get at a supermarket. Our total came to $55 BEFORE tax. Service: 4/5 The girls were very nice, all was well except when we were paying, I specifically asked if they took AMEX, the service said yes, and when it didn't go through, another waitress came and informed me that they didn't take AMEX All in all, if the price was 30% less, It would be a good choice for a quick meal in the neighbourhood. But as of now, I don't recommend and won't be visiting again. Pity. read more

I'm giving this place 5 stars because of its value for money. It offers very good quality food for low prices. I had the Katsu Curry Chicken which was cooked to perfection. The curry sauce that comes with it was different from what I'm used to but I liked it a lot. Salad and rice were good. They offer japanese imported beers (Kirin Ichiban, Sapporo etc) starting at $4.4/bottle and have a very relaxing patio. read more