This restaurant used to be Toyama – which was a cheaper, low-end sushi restaurant. They had an all-you-can-eat option as well. I remember that it was always full, even though the service and food wasn’t all that great.

Now it was renovated into a much classier, modern Izakaya. I was impressed by the new look. We were quickly greeted and since we had a reservation for 10, we were taken to a private room (that was not there previously). It seated 8 adult people, but we were able to squeeze in 11. The place was only a third full on a Sunday evening.

They were eager and quick to take our orders, but since we were all chatting, we had to tell them ‘a few more minutes’ many times.

The menu was unlike other sushi restaurants in that it didn’t even have the regular maki or rolls. I was disappointed that they didn’t even have the Negitoro roll. The guy at my table wanted some BC roll, but nope, not even that. The menu was composed of Japanese names without descriptions and several people were asking me what they were. This was a first. So although the menu seemed big – it was limiting at the same time, and also confusing for non-Japanese speakers. It wasn’t cheap either.

It was nice to have the tea pots at the table so we could pour ourselves without having to bother the servers, especially at a big table like ours. We all chatted for a while, but 30 minutes in, and we started to get a bit impatient. Some people started to get their orders, but several had to remind the server what they had ordered. It seemed as though their orders were ‘forgotten’. I mean, how long can an aburi oshi sushi take? And I was almost done my oshi sushi.
The private room was nice, but the booth was a bit cramped for us, though cosy. Those that were seated the most away from the aisle (like myself) was a bit tricky to get out to go to the bathroom. But that’s only once – so not a huge problem.

I ordered the regular Gyoza $6.95 (5 pieces). They were good, but thought it was  expensive for regular gyoza!

For the main, I ordered the Salmon Oshi Sushi $12. Another pricey item, though it was good. Though nothing can beat Miku/Minami’s signature Aburi Oshi Sushi…. But this one wasn’t bad. However, my friend who had the same thing said it wasn’t salty enough, and not as flavourful. Could it be because of the missing jalapenos?

Can’t recall what my friend ordered, but she said it was mediocre.

Nice presentation of sashimi.

Would I return? Not sure. It wouldn’t be on top of my to-go restaurants, but I’d give it a higher rating than Toyama for sure. But still…

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