Kinoya Sushi and Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

Came in solo. I typically eat whatever a chef puts in front of me at a sushi bar. They don't have a traditional Omakase here, instead it's a menu item with fixed appetizers and desert included. It included 5 or so individual pieces of sushi.

First came the soup, a clam soup. It has a good salty taste and mouthfeel. It is served such that it can be consumed with the shells still in the bowl if you prefer the bits coming off for texture.

The salad I will not say much on as it is not typically something I am interested and it would betray it to speak anyway.

Before the sushi came, one last appetizer was provided: the tempura with a lobster tail. This was the best part of the meal by far.

With the price of the menu, I'm guessing the tempura was a modest part of it.

The sushi has a generous size fish for the rice, and the wasabi whilst not traditional was better than average horseradish mixes. However for the sushi itself, the fish seems to be either kept at a lower temperature than average, or otherwise has something giving them less of a soft quality texture one typically sees in pieces of chotoro, toro, and hamaci. The chotoro doesn't melt in your mouth here. Given how much fish I see stacked in their sushi bar vs the traffic the restaurant seems to get, I'd be willing to wager pieces are frosting lightly on the bottom.

The sauce on the unagi was well made and it was the finish of the sushi pieces provided

The dessert included in the course is mocchi ice cream. It seems pretty typical, though I recommend actually eating them with the blueberries on the plate

Atmosphere is relaxed, and the lighting is good. It's conveniently next to some hotels and other destination spots such as the art house cinema across the street.

Overall, for the price of $95 it was a satisfactory meal that most people would probably enjoy, however if you're a fanatic for more traditional sushi or Omakase chefs you may be a little...

We were visiting a TIFF pop up shop and decided to eat!

My friends and I were talking about where we could possibly eat, but I saw across the street a really cute store. The exterior was so nice that I just offered my friends to go there.

The interior is just as nice, there were plenty of seats without it, being overwhelming, and the design was good, the lights were dimmed, but they also had their door front be open. So we always got fresh air inside the store.

The fish… Was OK. I got one à la cart item, and one sushi roll, and also a takoyaki. The takoyaki was good I enjoyed it! :)

The sushi I ordered was a spicy salmon roll. And I tend to dislike the ones that simply pour sauce all over it. I know a few places Who mix the inside salmon with some crunchy tempura, and also spicy mayo, and it turns out really good. But when you douse it in sauce, it really takes away from the sushi flavour. So it was OK to eat, but you couldn’t really taste anything past the spice.

The other roll I got was Unagi. That one was good. I really enjoy it. :) You can’t go wrong with Unagi really- it carries its self. I do think the fish could have been fresher, but I’m guessing it was towards the end of the week of when they buy their fish.

Reading the reviews, there does seem to be a lot of 50/50 reviews if the fish is fresh or not. And I think it just depends on which day you go. So the best possible choice would be to ask for what the freshest fish is.

The service was all right too. Nothing to scream about but also nothing to marvel about....

I've visited since their soft opening, mostly ordering ahead via ritual, but I've dined in a few times. I often find myself coming back over and over again because their service is good, they have great lunch special combos, and most importantly is that the sushi and fish they serve is really fresh. It's reliable in an area that tends to be overpriced for what you get.

During my most recent visit, it seemed they closed an hour earlier than they should (or their hours listed online are wrong).

They have table seating, booth seating, bar seating where you can watch the chef prepare the fish, and patio seating. A perfect variety depending on your mood and group size. Their washroom is in the basement so this place is unfortunately not accessible. During my visit, most of the recent was empty. Only a quarter of seats filled.

Usually when I visit a Japanese restaurant, there's a list of items that I usually try to order. For example, if I see Tako wasabi, it's automatically ordered with no hesitation. I enjoyed their version; it was spicy and definitely had me tearing up. I loved that they served a lot of Nori with it!! Lots of places don't serve enough of it.

I also love their chirashi don. I hate when fish reminds me of the sea, and this was fresh without feeling like I was also consuming the ocean.

Their sushi rolls are also good. I ordered one of their lobster rolls. I thought it was overpriced because there was no flavour coming through.

Otherwise, I like this place and I will continue to return. I think it's worth...