NEW RETRO - BASEMENT BAR — Restaurant in Toronto

New Retro is a basement bar flooded with divine dishes. Loved how a tiny menu could offer such an outsized variety of tastes. Plates are small-ish, flavours are big, and would suggest sharing to maximize the experience.

Went here for dinner and got: Stewed Oxtail: Superb fall-of-the-bone oxtail with a rich thick sauce. You believe it when they say this was cooked for five days in hatcho miso and red wine because it tastes that way. Sea's Harvest: Raw spot prawn that is really juicy. Side crab and uni miso sauces were excellent counterbalances to the raw freshness. Afterwards, they deep fried the leftover heads, and it came out really tasty and crunchy. Thailandaise Seared Mackarel: The rich fishy-ness of the mackerel was balanced nicely by a generous amount of cilantro and sauce. My wife doesn't usually like mackarel and she loved this dish. Kaisen Don: If you're on the hungrier side, get this dish. It's your standard chirashi bowl but with uni! Smoked Katsuo Tataki: Came with the theatrical smoke bowl. The sear on the tataki was spot on. Dashi Maki: Rolled omelette which was traditional in its delicacy of taste and consistency. After the strong flavours across the dishes, this was almost like a palette cleanser. Yuzu Sorbet: Looked like a mess, tasted like the absolute best yuzu sorbet I've had in the city. Salty Lychee: Refreshing cocktail that tones down the sweet soho lychee with some rum, lemon juice and salt.

Everything is pricey but the quality makes it worth the treat. Service is top-noth: informative, welcoming, efficient. Overall vibe is casually energetic. New Retro will easily be one of those (literal) underground places that everyone talks about because it...

New Retro Japanese restaurant is located in the Cabbagetown South neighborhood, in Toronto, Ontario. It's hidden in a basement, underneath the Zakkushi on Carlton Japanese Izakaya.

Amazing food, great atmosphere and very friendly and interactive staff. Discovered this little gem completely by chance, while dining at a restaurant located right above it.

The menu boasts a wide variety of Sakes, delicious cocktails and highly refined, amazing dishes. Every single dish was an explosion of flavours. Ended up trying almost the entire menu, and everything was on point. (Had 4 dinners at this place in a span of 3 nights).

Can't recommend this place enough. If you have a chance, definitely grab a spot at their beautiful bar, if you'd like to interact with the team for a highly immersive experience.

On the menu: • Thailandaise Seared Mackerel: Vinegared mackerel, cilantro, pine nuts, sansho, house made sauce with mustard, saikyo miso, sesame, soy sauce. • Potato Salad: Potato, shuto, bacon jam, parmesan cheese. • Stewed Oxtail: Stewed oxtail with potherb veggies, hatcho miso, red wine, served with grilled seasonal veggies. • Roasted duck: Roasted confit duck, balsamic vinegar, garlic teriyaki sauce, duxelle paste, blue cheese sauce. • Chicken Nanban • Grilled & Steamed Sablefish: Black cod marinated in sake kasu, saikyo miso. • Dashi maki: Rolled omlette, soy sauce, kombu & bonito dashi stock. • Obanzai: Chef's assorted sampler. • Ryu Kyu: Chef's choice of sashimi marinated in sweet soy sauce, sesame, shiso basil. • A couple of off the menu items ;)

Dessert: • Yuzu Semifreddo

Instagram:...

We got the tasting menu + dessert

1. obanzai appetizer: quail eggs had such a smooth texture and it’s marinated throughout. Kimchi tomato was just a super juicy tomato

2. cha one mushi: tofu is so silky and soft, the soup base is nicely seasoned

3. sashimi: consisted of tuna and scallop: tuna was alright, but the scallop was superb

4. somen: my absolute favourite dish here. I was surprised since I didn’t expect much. l've never had a broth so light yet flavourful. If you've had soba, it's a similar vibe except this dish is fresh, salty, and peppery + the hint of lime elevates it to a whole new level. Noodle texture itself was something l've never had before. 10/10

5. wagyu: I'm usually not the biggest wagyu fan but they nailed it here. Seared to perfection and seasoned with just the right amount of sauce/sesame so that it doesn't overpower the wagyu's flavour

6. kaisen don: a bit disappointed since I was most excited for this dish. Too much soy sauce and vinegar was mixed into the rice and it overpowered the fish/uni

7. yuzu tart: not too sweet and I love that they added a pinch to salt to the ice cream to...