Ju Sushi & Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

Outstanding! Ju opened a couple of weeks ago, and my wife and I have already been there twice (and are planning another visit back). Yup, we've enjoyed their food that much.

Standouts: Bulgogi Wrap and Fries: The bulgogi was all types of savoury, salty and sweet at the same time. The wrap was thin enough to not distract but thick enough to hold everything in. The side fries were crispy and tasty on to themselves. Loved this! Pork Belly Salad: Pork belly is tricky to get right, so kudos to the chef. The pork belly on this salad was crispy yet tender, and was consistently cooked even if there were a lot of them. The bed of salad and sauce they used balanced the fattiness perfectly. Also a great serving size. Aburi Donburi: Generous heaping of seafood and rice. Seafood was diced and torched well, so you could simultaneously taste the freshness but also heated goodness of it. Grilled Butter Squid: Another tricky dish because squid can get really rubbery. This one was tender and milky. The side dipping butter differentiated it from any other well cooked grilled squid out there. Rice Cake Skewers: Soooo chewy I loved it! Rice cakes are all about texture and this was done right. Mildly-spicy sauce drizzled over it also complemented it well. Korean Nori Ceviche: Got this free as part of their opening month promo. While not as citrusy as ceviches I've had, this worked out because it put the spotlight on the seafood. And that's good because the seafood was tremendous - it came in generous chunks and was super fresh. The nori on the side was also a great compliment, adding a crackling saltiness to the dish.

A few quibbles, but still awesome: Scallop Gambas: Scallops were plump, sauce was properly garlicky. A tad pricey for the size. Sashimi Appetizer: Sashimi picked was a bit common, though was fresh and good. Definitely some of the best sahimi I've had on the east side. Supream Maki: Huge and filling, with a generous amounts of shrimp and salmon. That said, would have liked the salmon on top to be torched just a bit more (personal preference). Spicy Corn Cheese: A hearty bowl of corn swimming in spicy red sauce and bubbling with cheese. Super tasty, just the right amount of spice and heat, but would have liked more/stronger cheese (I'm a cheeseaholic). Ceviche and Taro Chips: Another opening month freebie. I don't really have any quibble with this dish other than I liked the Korean nori pairing with ceviche more than the taro chips.

Just ok: Hotteok: This dessert was ok but nothing special. Pancake was a bit too chewy and oily for my taste, and the scoop of icecream didn't balance it out enough for me. Again, not bad, but also not memorable.

Ju is still in their opening stages so ironing out some kinks... which actually makes me even more excited to see where they end up given how good they already are. Really loved our experience here and can't...

On a recent visit to Toronto, I just googled sushi restaurants near Dundas Square and Ju Sushi came up as an option. It was about a 10-15 minute walk to the Garden District which if you’re not well experienced in walking grittier city areas could be jarring. We found that the TTC 505 line stopped very close by afterwards but we were fine with the local “characters” we encountered along the way.

We did happen to go in on a Monday early evening of a holiday so it wasn’t busy inside but they were quite busy with pick up and delivery orders. We were a little worried at first about the quality of food but all those to-go orders relieved us of that.

Anyway, on to the food! The menu was a fusion of Korean offerings and sushi. Definitely had no issues with that. We ordered three apps: spicy cheesy corn, fried octopus and the combo tempura plate. Everything was excellent, especially the breading on the octopus and the tempura. Would order all three again. Then we ordered a Rainbow Roll and a Philly Roll. I know, not very traditional but that’s what we were in the mood for. The rolls were super flavorful with an infused smokiness that took the flavor profile up a notch.

Our waitress was very friendly and fill us in on the neighborhood and the usual crowd which we missed out on but nonetheless the restaurant itself had a fun, quirky vibe; nothing like what you’d expect from a typical sushi restaurant. The music app had their algorithm on fire. It gave the place a cool party lounge atmosphere. I suppose I’d call it funky disco kawaii if that’s a 2025 style of decor.

If we lived here, we’d definitely make this a go-to spot. If anyone we know is planning to visit Toronto, we make sure to direct them to...

Went after seeing a ton of extremely positive reviews, I decided to plan an outing here with friends.

Honestly I'm so glad we made that drive from Markham because the experience was incredible.

It's in this little neighborhood that was terribly annoying to navigate with all the one-ways and parking was definitely troublesome but of course you can't fault the restaurant for that.

The inside had phenomenal decor and was super classy. Made the place feel extremely high end.

Food didn't take long to come out and was absolutely delicious. The sushi and sashimi came out with a fantastic selection, all of which was unique and fresh. Really regret not asking for the names of some of the fish.

It may not seem like a big deal but the sushi rice was perfect. Fluffy, soft, perfect balance of rice vinegar and sweetness, and even the perfect temperature to melt in your mouth.

Ceviche was solid, wasn't sure what it was at first but the combination of fish and avocado was delicious on the crispy fried nori. All of my friends absolutely loved their food as well when I asked and were excited to share.

The waitress today was attentive and would come around a couple times to make sure we enjoyed our food as well as giving us more pitchers of watcher.

Overall a great experience and would definitely come back again in the future despite it being in an...