Sushi Momo by Christian Ventura — Restaurant in Toronto

After hearing nothing but positive things about Sushi Momo in Montreal, I was really excited to go to their Toronto location but I left with mixed feelings.

My table got the tasting menu and there were highs and lows. Service wise was okay. We felt rushed at the beginning through the first and second course as they would be bringing the next course before we were even finished. In fact we had our soup before our drinks. Then ended up waiting a while for them to clear our last course and finally our bill. We also had to ask our server what rolls we were given as she didn’t tell us when she put the plate down and when she did tell us, it was so quiet I didn’t hear and had to look it up later online. Drinks: the Marg my partner got was great. I ordered wine and had to ask if it was sold per glass as it didn’t say on the menu and only showed the bottle price. The only wines that are per glass are the first ones on each list (red, white, skin contact, etc). Food: Before I go into each item I would also like to call out that the tasting menu for Montreal and Toronto is the same but it’s only $49 in Montreal and $65 here.

Starter- miso soup. Pretty good. While it was sweeter than any miso soup I have ever had it was hot, had a good broth, and I liked the addition of mushrooms in the soup. Probably the best thing I had there. Would get again. 2nd- salmon tiradito- sauce it was swimming in was good, the salmon itself was just okay and hard to eat/pick up. You couldn’t really take bites of it so it was all or nothing. The texture was somewhat similar to salmon and it looked like it but it tasted nothing alike. It didn’t really have a taste at all so it’s a good thing the sauce had a nice bright citrusy flavour to dunk the fistful of spring mix plopped on top. I had heard how amazing the salmon was from TikTok’s about this place so it was disappointing to actually try it. I would eat a salad with the sauce as dressing if they added that.

Main: I was given the Big M roll. It’s the roll with the bacon pieces on it in the pic. The presentation wasn’t my fave, the bacon seemed carelessly placed on top. I wish it was one per roll and cut in a more appealing manner. It seemed like torn sandwich meat at first. Texturally it was great but taste wise all I could taste was the vegan meat. I get what you were trying to do but it was too overpowering. Momo roll. It was probably the best out of the sushi but I wouldn’t get it again. This roll had a more complex flavour and was a more enjoyable bite. I was thrown off by the basil in the sushi roll though. It was not something I expect to taste, even if this is just Japanese inspired. It lingers too long on your palette and impacts the flavours of everything else. Thankfully the ginger helped. Lastly- the avocado and black garlic krispy rice. Worst one. 1) too big to eat 2) hard to bite into because the rice was overcooked so chewy and hard thick outer layer 3) because the rice part was so big it tasted a lot like the oil it was fried in 4) the avocado and black garlic was too liquidy so when you tried to pick it up/bite into it, it got everywhere. Wouldn’t get again.

All the opposing flavours didn’t sit great in my stomach and I was starting to feel off by the end.

We finished off with a chocolate puddling/mouse. It was great- both texture, and flavour. No notes. At least it ended on a high note after the mess of the rolls. I wanted to love this spot and I hate to give a vegan spot a negative review but after hearing nothing but good things and spending $105 each after tip/tax I needed to share my experience. I might come back to try other menu items but if I am being honest I would rather go to Planta for...

Food was excellent but service was not. Ambiance also wasn’t as nice as the Montreal location. Overall I’d give it 5 stars for the food but 2 for the service, hence the 3 star rating.

I love Sushi Momo Montreal and decided to try the new Toronto location for my 30th birthday - to be honest I regret it, and wish I had chosen a nicer restaurant. The staff was very clearly untrained and the bad service put a damper on the whole night. The ambiance also wasn’t really nice - bare decor and way too squishy seating.

First I’ll start with the food - it really is spectacular, explosions of flavor in every bite and you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. We tried the agedashi tofu (excellent, and not greasy at all unlike most fried tofu), mushroom arancini, and several of their sushi’s. All of it was 5 stars. It’s an explosion of flavor with every bite and my meat loving brother said it’s one of the best meals he’s had in Toronto, vegan or not. I love their use of truffle on several dishes. The vegan meats are so so flavorful and the vegan cheeses are extremely realistic. Crispy rice was delicious and perfectly crunchy.

The drinks were good too - I enjoyed the Japanese rose ume liqueur though it was a little pricey for a very tiny 3oz pour. Their sparkling sake was also delicious, we got the cheapest one on the menu and it was incredible, like sake Prosecco and would get again!

The ambiance needs help. We were 4 people and the booth really only sat two comfortably. My brother and dad were extremely squished and they don’t even have coat check so we were shoving our heavy winter jackets and scarves too. They need to rethink the seating and perhaps keep the booths for 2 people max. And I really don’t know of any upscale restaurant in Toronto that doesn’t hang coats - I guess this is not upscale.

The decor left much to be desired. It was bare white walls not at all the darker and dressier ambiance of the Montreal location - felt like I was in a casual takeout spot like a pizzeria.

Finally the service. It was honestly really bad. First of all we were running late from drinks before, called to push our reso to 30min later and the man on the phone said no, they were packed and fully booked. Only to find out online they were showing tons of availability at that time in every section (including indoor which is what we wanted)!! So I changed the reso online, we arrived to find the tiny restaurant empty so I really can’t fathom why the man lied on the phone - there were several large empty tables around us, only about 2 other indoor tables were occupied. He had the potential to ruin our night and for absolutely no reason… it’s baffling and vicious!

Then our server just didn’t know anything. For every basic question she shrugged and said she didn’t know, including basic descriptions of the sake and liqueurs, whether the sake was served warm, etc. She wrongly told us the sake was by the glass and I had to correct her based on what was written on the menu. We didn’t even bother asking her anything about the food. They brought out 1 tiny ginger and wasabi bowl for 4 people with 7 orders of sushi - we had to keep asking for more and ration it. The waiter then abandoned us for the last 45min and we had to ask someone else for our check after waiting and searching for ~30min.

Overall the experience with service, seating, and ambiance means I will likely only enjoy this restaurant’s food through takeout moving forward. I do hope they make some improvements to get it closer to parity with the Montreal location in...

I always struggle to write this kind of review. Was the food good? Yeah, it was pretty decent. Was the food worth the price? Absolutely not. But can I factor that into the star rating or leave that to the $$$ rating?

$19 for a basic roll is ridiculous to begin with. Nevermind the frivolous gold leaf or conjac caviar garnishes, the cream cheese in the Philadelphia roll was overpowering, which isn't great when it tastes bland. For that price, I was disappointed to see my Dynamite roll was 50% cucumber. The cocktails were pretty and interesting, but too sweet.

Sushi Momo's biggest saving grace, however, was the mushroom tartare. The tartare was light, rich, and very flavourful. It could have used less sauce, but the chips it came with were perfectly fried and seasoned. That, I would absolutely order again. The rest? Not so sure.

Don't get me wrong... vegan sushi and fish is hard, and rare. So it was still a treat. But I definitely didn't get my money's worth. And when I went to PLANTA the next day, I had a WAY better experience for the same price.

Sushi Momo really felt like an experimental vegan restaurant headed by a high-end chef who's gotten lost in the garnishes and fanciness and has strayed a little from the heart and soul of the food. I have nothing against adding garnishes and fancy plating, but if you're focusing on the presentation before you've nailed the flavour and texture you will have lost my interest.

Also, one server went on a rant about how the gold foil was unsafe and we shouldn't eat it. If that's the case, why is it on the plate? Another server told us—only after our meal—that they were disappointed we only ordered the "basic" and "standard" rolls, and that there are better menu items. Why not tell us before? Why are there subpar items on the menu? We were excited to see how the vegan rolls compared to their non-vegan counterparts. It's a shame they set themselves up for that comparison.

So, for the fact that vegan sushi is hard to find and the food was still good—and the tartare amazing—I give Sushi Momo 4 stars. But I won't be back unless I hear the quality has risen to be in line with what they...