Sumoki Yakitori — Restaurant in Markham

We were craving skewers, but Chatbar was full so we came here instead. Decor is tasteful, but the entire place was filled with smoke to the point my eyes started to get watery. They need to increase the ventilation - the other skewer places don’t have this issue.

On to the food - we ordered the kitsune udon, some skewers (liver, chicken, negima), bunta don and yakionigiri. The food was mediocre at best. The udon tasted salty and didn’t have a deep rich flavor. Some of the skewers were overcooked. For instance, the liver was burnt and the chicken thigh was very small. It was like 1/2 the meat of a thigh on the skewer, so it ended up being slightly dry. It definitely looks much bigger on IG. Furthermore, the onigiri was literally child-size portion. I’ve been to many onigiri places in Toronto, Japan, all across the world and I have never seen an onigiri this small. It honestly bewildered us and we didn’t know what to say. The bunta don (pork belly don) was really good, so I’ll give them that. Overall the food was overpriced for what you get and you’ll be better off at Chatbar.

I will give props to their service though because our cups were always filled with water, but that can’t save you if the price is high and the food is sparse and not cooked well.

Lastly, the process of ordering is done on your phone - you scan a QR code and then pick your order. It was explained to us that you have to use their wifi because data is spotty as a result of the condo above the establishment. You place your order on your phone individually and enter your name. Now when the bill came, we wanted to get it separated since we all ordered on our phones and input our names individually. We thought this wouldn’t be an issue, but it was! We were told their system doesn’t allow them to split the bill by person and they could only do equal splitting - even though we ordered and input our own orders and names through our phone! So I’m not really sure what the point of this system is if you can’t separate the bills at the end. Now this isn’t a huge inconvenience since one of us just paid it and we split amongst ourselves, but it just makes zero sense and just added to our annoyance.

Save yourself some trouble and...

Forget about the use of GPS or Google map! To locate this place, just use your sense of smell! Yup! the trail of mesmerizing Binchotan charcoal aroma from the restaurant's exhaust vent is as effective a tracker as your smartphone!

Arguably the best and most authentic Japanese Yakitori place north of the 401. Quite a few dishes we tried tonight deserve to be placed in the 'Wow-Worthy' category!

Standout include those skewers of thick cut, tender, well crusted and nicely sauced beef tongue. Absolutely out-of-this-world! Amazing to find such a fine quality product outside of Japan!! Another Yakitori benchmark I like using were chicken liver. Those were executed near perfect as well and did not disappoint.

Other notable and delicious skewers we ordered included: Chicken thighs, skin, soft bones, meat balls, heart and.....' Cock Testicles '!!! Favorite were those light and juicy meatballs with a superb tasting dipping sauce. Beef filet Mignon with Chimichurri sauce, Pork Belly with spring onions and Enoki mushrooms, Tokyo Spring Onions, Zucchini....etc

Non Yakitori items ordered include: Duck Foie Gras with Raspberry jam sandwich ( good but overpriced! ) Soft Shell CraB Burger ( Crispy and lightly battered Crab; sandwich nicely dressed. Thoroughly enjoyable! ) Udon Carbonara ( so good we did an encore! ) Parmesan Yuca Fries ( Ultra crispy and piping hot! Exceptional ) Fried Mochi

This is one excellent venue for authentic Yakitori fare, albeit a touch on the pricey side. However, for the fine quality they offer, this place is more than acceptable for the occasional splurge! Well worth returning!

BTW, the friendly service was extremely competent...

Ambiance 4/5 bar/izakaya setting, perfect for chilling with small group of friends darker setting, clean interior

Service 5/5 friendly staff, accommodating very considerate, helpful and will try to make your experience as best as possible food came out at a decent time

Food overall 3.5/5

Cucumber with Miso 4/5 refreshing, paired nicely with the miso sauce Simple but good contrast

Chicken Wings 5/5 perfectly fried exterior with juicy meat inside flavourful and umami notes, good balance of soy and heat and garlic good even after sitting for a while would go back for this, def can pair with beer options

Carbonara 2.5-3/5 unfortunately nothing spectacular and slightly underwhelming udon cooked well cream sauce good but lacked mentaiko notes in my opinion not overly rich and the egg was well cooked can use more furikake/ seasoning

Skewers (ranging 3-4/5) really liked their meatball with the egg dipping sauce, this was quite flavourful and the meatball was well made, not too tough but also not too soft the veggies were actually my favourite as the charred notes adds a good textural and additional earthy profile the meat can have more charred flavour and seasoning, it was a bit one note for many and while this can highlight the meat itself, it was slightly underwhelming

Dango 3/5 panfried, would be better if just left as soft and steamed imo flavours good, nice amount of chew

As they are still new, I think there can be improvement and they definitely happy to take in feedback! I did enjoy the service and the vibes there, so may come back...