One of my friend had been mentioning that Green Leaf was a good Japanese restaurant. Then one night after dining at Sake Maki on Broadway, we walked by it and thought we should come here next time.

It’s a small Korean run sushi restaurant. Interesting decor on the right hand side with a lot of antiques. There is a hidden small section for one table for a group. The chef has memorable hair. It reminds me of those ancient Chinese men who would have their hair very long and braided in the back.

The restaurant seems clean but wasn’t new. It doesn’t have that ‘it’s completely renovated’ feel somehow. The server didn’t say anything about the specials on the blackboards until we noticed after we had ordered.

However, on the second time we went there and had a closer look, the menu said that dynamite roll + gyoza combo was $8, while the ‘Today’s Special’ said it was usually $10, and it was on special for $8. Scam? I guess if you weren’t looking carefully, you’d feel you were getting a deal, when you in fact weren’t.

For the first time, we didn’t know what to  expect, so I ordered a Negirtoro roll, Tuna Takaki, Gyoza. The Gyoza came out fried. It tasted very good, but as someone who tries to eat a little healthier, I guess this isn’t the best way to eat gyoza.

The Tuna Takaki was really good!! Melted in your mouth, and although I would have like more ponzu sauce, it was very fresh and light. Negitoro was satisfactory.

Every time you dine in, you also get a complimentary “House Roll”. It’s not real sushi…it’s like Vietnamese style sushi fusion. Lol. I find the sauce a bit too strong, so not a huge fan. *UPDATE: we’ve been back many times since, and they no longer serve this complimentary roll.

I would totally recommend this restaurant! It’s got a nice home comfy feel. Nothing fancy, but the quality of the food is very good. Presentation and freshness is great. My company loved it so much, it’s likely become his favourite Japanese restaurant, so we’ve gone back to it many times. If you go during peak hours, be prepared to wait, or take a stroll through Kits while waiting for your table.

*UPDATE: not sure why, but whenever we sit by the kitchen area, my eyes start hurting and watery, as if the kitchen was cutting up a lot of onions. Sheepie gets it too sometimes, though milder. Anyone else get this?

 

Negitoro roll

Negitoro with 2 smoked salmon, 2 house rolls, masago and tamago

More Updates

You can obviously tell we go back often to Green Leaf with all of the updates. Our recent visit surprised us with a bit of change in the table and seats, but even more with an additional menu.

I had to try out the Salmon Aburi Oshi Sushi $12. It was super soft and oily (but in a good way). Mmmm….love aburi oshi sushi… now I love Green Leaf even more!

Piggy joined us Enjoying his sushi

Our friends ordered the Assorted Sushi Combo $18 which has 8 pieces of nigiri sushi, Tuna roll and Salmon roll. Presentation was great on a nice wooden board and placed nicely. I only had a piece of the tuna roll, but it was fresh and good.

They also ordered the Ebi Aburi Oshi Sushi (sorry, no pic!), and had a piece. This one had a Western flavour with a slice of black olive and creamy mayo and cheese. Still, very good.

As usual, Sheepie ordered the combo: Appetizer Tuna and Salmon Sashimi (4 pieces) with Dynamite roll and miso soup $13. Sheepie was disappointed in his combo as the portion was considerably less than before. It was a combo he always ordered, so he knew well. Not sure if this was just this occasion, or if they really did change the portion for the dish. (we went back again, and it was the smaller portion, so I guess that’s their standard size now…) Luckily, the taste had not gone down hill.

Service is good and they’ve hired more staff to accommodate the demand.

We’ll be back

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Located in a very trendy and unique part of Kits, on 4th Ave, this restaurant is a must-go. The distinctive teal coloured door, modern interior and very clean but comfy atmosphere is something to admire. The tables are set apart to give each table more privacy. It seemed that there were more private tables in the back of the restaurant.

Their restaurant is very well branded, using their identity colour, teal for their menu, take-out menu, and black for their chopstick sleeves. Their menu is heavy duty, so it’s an up-scale menu. Their disposable chopstick isn’t the cheap kind either, and some use the dark wood, while others are lighter.

Very distinctive teal coloured door.

Nice brand identity and menu.

Chopstick holder that I always make with the sleeve.

We ordered a Rainbow roll $7, Ocean Dream roll $8 and gyoza $5. My order of the Ocean Dream roll had my favourite negitoro inside, along with avocado, tuna, and chili mayo sauce. The pieces were good size portions, unlike some places that make them way too big to fit (in a good manner way) into your mouth without spilling or looking like a chipmunk. The two rolls were decorated nicely with garnish and all 3 dishes were presented beautifully on white slick plates.

Rainbow roll $7

Ocean Dream roll $8

and gyoza $5

The service was very good. Friendly staff and not too annoying, like coming by every 5 minutes to fill our already full cups of tea…The gyoza did come very late though..to the point that we thought they might have forgotten…that’s my only small ‘complaint’ I guess. Otherwise, it’s a thumbs up. The price is in the mid range, but you’re getting the quality of food, service and setting for it, and well worth trying it out.

I’m looking forward to one opening up in downtown. It’ll mean I can walk over there any time. It will be interesting to see if they keep their consistency with all of the above mentioned attributes. Stay tuned for Sushi Bella on Davie St when they open!

2nd Time

Gyoza $5Harmony Roll $6

 

For dinner with friends, we sat at the very last table at the back. I was a bit disappointed that the Harmony Roll $6 was a futomaki (big roll). I am not a big fan of futomaki as they are really hard to eat. I have to take them apart, but the taste was good. The salmon nigiri was fresh and tasty. The gyoza was crispy and hot! Music that evening was way too loud. One server brought us two dishes at separate times after we were done eating which were someone else’s orders. I think she was confused :S

Friends ordered some sashimi. Nicely presented, but the sashimi are way too thick and big. My friend asked for knives to cut it with. This is not proper Japanese food. Japanese food are suppose to be easy to eat with bite sizes, not about stuffing yourself with huge chunks of food.Okonomiyaki which I didn’t get to try. Maybe next time

3rd Time
The for lunch with a group of 8 people, we were again seated at the last table at the back. This time, the music level was good, but the back door was kept open and my friend and I froze to death. I thought it was the AC…I should have asked the staff to close the door…so I didn’t really enjoy the lunch…bummer
To try something different for a change, I ordered the Original Sushi Pizza $7 with tuna, salmon on deep fried compressed rice. It was beautifully presented and was interesting to have raw fish mixed with chewy but crispy on the outside rice. Try it!

Our server kept making mistakes, giving the wrong bentos to someone else (not the same server as the previous one). At payment, he couldn’t figure out the bills because he had given them to the wrong people. For the actual payment, a girl came and Sheepie’s bill was $14-something. He gave her a $50 bill and told her he wanted to pay $17 from that. Sheepie was busy talking to everyone (as usual) so that he didn’t notice he had gotten back only $17!!! As he talked on and was about to put it into his wallet, I told him that ‘you had just paid $33 for your bill’. Luckily, he got that fixed though.

Stay alert at this restaurant! Seems like they make small mistakes often.

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