Kaito Sushi Omakase — Restaurant in Toronto

Literally got ROBBED from this place hahaha. Made a reservation for tonight (7:45pm) and was really really excited, but because of the snowstorm we made the wise choice to cancel (for our safety on the road and Uber was $60 for one-way). Tried to call the restaurant to explain this- but they did not pick up. So my only option was to cancel online. Was hit with the $75 cancellation fee, understandable, but I decided to call and ask if there was any possibility to waive this fee or put it towards a later reservation. They apologetically rejected which was fine. After discussing with my partner, we decided we’d try to ask if we can come in anyway and brave the snow + the $60 uber. This is where it went downhill.

I called just to ask- if we could come in for our 7:45 reservation, could we use the cancellation fee that we were already charged for, towards our bill. She didn’t say yes or no, but asked to confirm if I wanted the 7:45 table back, which before saying yes I asked again if the cancellation fee would be put towards the bill. I expressed that I did not want to travel all the way there just for them to tell us that they cannot put the cancellation fee towards our bill. She then reverted and said that the 7:45 table was all of a sudden taken. I asked to confirm that in the 15 minutes that we had been talking, somebody had already booked the table. Which respectfully, in this weather, seemed unbelievable. She said yes and that the only available table would be at 9:30pm, still not confirming if the cancellation fee would be put towards our bill. It seemed that she did not want to answer my question because she just wanted to secure a reservation, and have us find out when we come in. She could have just been honest and said no, and that we would have to be charged the full bill.

At that point, it seemed smarter to take the L and be charged the $80 cancellation fee rather than go in, and get stuck being charged another $75/person and losing the $80 to nothing.

Being charged a cancellation fee is understandable, but when cancelling due to a snowstorm, that fee is frustrating. Everything that happened after trying to make it work despite the snow storm and the extra expense on uber is what made it actually upsetting. This definitely made us not want to reschedule, and I hope no one else has dealt with this today, as I’ve seen past reviews with...

Hidden Gem

My partner and I were blown away by our experience with Kaito. The quality of the food is exceptional for the price point, approaching and matching Yasu in many respects. The only note here is Yasu is somewhat more polished in ambience and variety (eg. sashimi, rolls) however it is splitting hairs given the quality and price point at Kaito. We were the only two there for the final seating of the evening which made us feel like we had our own personal chef. Kaito trained at the famed 2 star Saito and it shows.

There are a few quirks one should be aware of. One thing to note is that they do not have a wine list but they had no issue in accommodating our request to bring a bottle for a corkage fee of $20. We enjoyed ourselves so much we stayed and ordered more pieces. This was potentially only possible as we were the last and only diners. Be aware that the regular seatings are only 1 hour. For our dining habits this is far too short. I might suggest Kaito think about upping the prices, adding more pieces to set menu and allowing for a longer more leisurely evening but this is just my personal preference. For us I think we stayed for well over 2 hours learning about the fish, techniques and about Kaito himself. This will be our new local go to for Sushi.

The restaurant and bar at the back room is cozy and intimate however I will note the front room facing the street is a bit desolate which made us unsure if they were ever open during all the times we walked by over the past couple of years. Kaito was I think unfairly overshadowed somewhat by Shunoko down the street but we have discovered the quality of fish and service to be much better at Kaito. We remained big fans of Shunoko until they closed.

One hesitates to tell others about this gem of a sushi bar out of fear it may become impossible to book! Can't...

I've eaten at most of the popular omakase places in the GTA with an offering below $250/person as well as many within the San Francisco Bay area. Different people like different things, but for an omakase option I'd want to do regularly, Kaito is pretty much perfect for me.

At the more expensive places you tend to get a wider variety of courses (soups, egg creations, caviar dishes, fried lotus root, etc). I would still go to a more expensive place once or twice a year for that greater variety, but what I love the most is delicious melt-in-your-mouth nigiri and Kaito delivers that in spades for an incredibly reasonable price.

It's a nice quiet little restaurant with simple but elegant decorations. The chef and staff are very friendly and create a laid back atmosphere focused on the meal. I've been twice now, once with 6 or so members of my extended family and once just with a single friend. I'd say it's more fun if you know everyone sitting at the bar like in the first case, but both were still excellent experiences.

I thoroughly enjoyed every course, and like that you get the option to order more of what you like at the end. It makes Kaito a great option for those looking to introduce their friends to omakase without breaking the bank.

The smoked salmon nigiri is amazing, I haven't had anything like it anywhere else. The salmon is not cooked like you'd typically expect with smoked salmon, it's cold smoked under a glass dome. Thus it retains the texture and taste of salmon sushi but picks up a subtle smoke flavor like pecan wood BBQ. As someone who isn't a fan of typical smoked salmon (highly pungent and "fishy"), it is a revelation. It stands out to the point where I think I'd have to pick it as my favorite even over the chu toro.

Thanks for a wonderful night, I'll be coming back with...