Garden District Restaurants

We had a delicious dinner and the music was great ! I had always had wonderful times here. I would rate it A+. Lynne Yeates

This is the perfect Izakaya spot. Food and drinks were really good. Lively atmosphere and a great time.

There were a couple of hiccups, but the hostess and servers made it right. It was a super busy holiday - show night for them and they did very well!!

Had my first omakase lunch,lovely experience. I had enough to eat though my husband thought he could have more. There is the option of ordering more but he declined. What I really enjoyed too was the green tea, strong, full-bodied.

The restaurant is upstairs in a row home. When you first walk in, there is an small waiting area to sit with two bar sections. The bar in the front of the house is reserved for sushi omakase and the bar in the back of the house is reserved for tempura omakase. Music was composed of light jazz which allowed for silent reflection with each dish while also engaging conversation with company. All ingredients for the meal were imported from Japan. Tempura Omakase was $195 CAD and consists of a 5-pieces sashimi, 7-courses of different Japanese seafood tempura, a fruit aperitif, 4-course vegetable tempura, and a dessert. The tempura came with a choice of 4 sauces - lightly salted dried garlic, matcha salt, kombu salt, and tentsuyu (tempura sauce). The chef will recommend which sauce accompanies the current ingredient. The pairing did not disappoint. As an added bonus, the chef may throw in an extra dish that he is piloting. In my case, he threw in a stuffed shiitake mushroom that was filled with sashimi. Pro-tip: if you pay with cash, you get a 15% discount. (NOTE: Please pay the full amount so that the deserving staff could make a decent living.) Overall impression: I did not know that tempura could be so luxurious and tastes so decadent. This was the epitome of Japanese cuisine - careful thought and attention that maximizes the experience of each ingredient. This experience has changed the way I view tempura. This was aided by how funny and charismatic the chef was. 10/10 experience. I will always come back when visiting Toronto.