Review: Hiro Sushi

[Altezza]

Restaurant name: Hiro Sushi
Location: 171 King Street East, Toronto, ON
Type: Authentic Japanese
Food rating: 4.5 / 5
Ambiance: 3.5 / 5
Service: 2.5 / 5
Value: 2.25 / 5

Cost: $130 for a single appetizer and two personalized chef's selection lunch.

Don't let the numbers fool you. You go to Hiro Sushi for the sushi, not anything else. This restaurant is highly recommended even by local Japanese in Toronto.

The ambiance isn't that great...it's a little nook sushi restaurant with a nice Japanese theme. But it's nothing that stands out. The service number is low only because the waitress barely spoke a word of english. That in itself is usually a good sign sometimes. She did understand some of our requests....eventually.

Some of the better sushi I've had in a long time. The Uni was by far the best I've had lately. I didn't give full score for the food since there was sand in my razor clam. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe they make their own soy sauce. For dessert, I had a spicy strawberry sorbet...very original.

As with a lot of other nicer restaurants across the country, the chef's personalized menu had no price tag and had no described content on the menu. Ordering this item places you at the mercy of the chef. I usually just say it's whatever they have an abundance of in the back, LOL. We didn't get a lot of food, but the quality was very good.

Good job, Hiro-san.

[clem24]

Thanks for the review. I almost thought you were reviewing a place by the same name here in Calgary. Next time, you should note this is a TORONTO restaurant in your title so you don't throw anyone off... :)

[Ajay]

He does mention it's in Toronto when he posted the address. :thumbsup:

[DepTrotter]

Originally posted by Ajay
He does mention it's in Toronto when he posted the address. :thumbsup:

not in the TITLE

[Altezza]

Originally posted by clem24
Thanks for the review. I almost thought you were reviewing a place by the same name here in Calgary. Next time, you should note this is a TORONTO restaurant in your title so you don't throw anyone off... :)

Thanks for the recommendation. However, it's clearly stated in the location where this restaurant is. Besides, the restaurant in Calgary is called Sushi Hiro. Not Hiro Sushi. :P :)

[clem24]

Heh, well first thing I saw were the words Hiro and Sushi and immediately thought of that place downtown. Didn't even bother looking at the address since I knew where it was. Skipped all the ratings cause it was just a bunch of jumbled up numbers. Read the review, was like COOL!!! :eek: Never knew that place to have a chef's selection. But then read over a few times, then finally realized it was TO.. Heh. Ah well.

[canadian_hustla]

After my absolutely SHITTY experience at Sushi King I had to right the wrongs and change my thoughts about sushi.

I just came back from supper from Sushi Hiro, and wow, this place has the best sushi that I have ever tasted

The Salmon Nigri, Tuna Nigri was absolutely excellent. The rolls were superb and the fish melted in your mouth. The sushi was reasonably priced and came to $120 for 4 people (2 women and 2 men).

The service was absolutely excellent

I would rate this place a 4.7/5.0. The decor is a bit dated and so-so however the food/service made up for it

You HAVE to try this place!!!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


EDIT. :facepalm: at reading
sushi hiro > hiro sushi

[msommers]

I know this is about Hiro Sushi in Toronto... But I have to say that I wasn't terribly impressed with Sushi Hiro here in Calgary, and its expensive to boot.

[Disoblige]

Originally posted by canadian_hustla
After my absolutely SHITTY experience at Sushi King I had to right the wrongs and change my thoughts about sushi.

I just came back from supper from Sushi Hiro, and wow, this place has the best sushi that I have ever tasted

The Salmon Nigri, Tuna Nigri was absolutely excellent. The rolls were superb and the fish melted in your mouth. The sushi was reasonably priced and came to $120 for 4 people (2 women and 2 men).

The service was absolutely excellent

I would rate this place a 4.7/5.0. The decor is a bit dated and so-so however the food/service made up for it

You HAVE to try this place!!!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


EDIT. :facepalm: at reading
sushi hiro > hiro sushi

lol.. Anything is better than Sushi King.. Try trying other places canadian_hustla, you'll have greater insight each time.

[clem24]

I work right upstairs from Sushi Hiro (YYC not YYZ). I've found that 4 out of 5 times, they suck absolute shit. It's the luck of the draw with them, and 80% of the time, you lose. Why not just drive another 10 minutes to Sushi Bar Zipang.

[szw]

Originally posted by Altezza
Restaurant name: Hiro Sushi
Location: 171 King Street East, Toronto, ON
Type: Authentic Japanese
Food rating: 4.5 / 5
Ambiance: 3.5 / 5
Service: 2.5 / 5
Value: 2.25 / 5

Cost: $130 for a single appetizer and two personalized chef's selection lunch.

Don't let the numbers fool you. You go to Hiro Sushi for the sushi, not anything else. This restaurant is highly recommended even by local Japanese in Toronto.

The ambiance isn't that great...it's a little nook sushi restaurant with a nice Japanese theme. But it's nothing that stands out. The service number is low only because the waitress barely spoke a word of english. That in itself is usually a good sign sometimes. She did understand some of our requests....eventually.

Some of the better sushi I've had in a long time. The Uni was by far the best I've had lately. I didn't give full score for the food since there was sand in my razor clam. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe they make their own soy sauce. For dessert, I had a spicy strawberry sorbet...very original.

As with a lot of other nicer restaurants across the country, the chef's personalized menu had no price tag and had no described content on the menu. Ordering this item places you at the mercy of the chef. I usually just say it's whatever they have an abundance of in the back, LOL. We didn't get a lot of food, but the quality was very good.

Good job, Hiro-san.

ANy more detail on what you actually received? Was your omakase all raw or did it include cooked food? Was it one platter that came out at once or did it come out in small courses over dinner?

I would recommend two Japanese restaurants in Toronto. If you are looking for authentic, the freshest fish, unique types of fish and excellent (really really excellent) sushi rice , try Zen. Its located far from downtown in a dead part of Scarborough in a seedy looking strip mall, but it is very good and authentic. At $50 per person for an omakase it is probably the best value of quality sushi you'd get in Toronto. Their omakase is a selection of sushi served all at once, or a piece at a time if they are not busy and if you sit at the bar.

On the other spectrum Sushi Kaji offers omakase that comes out in courses and consists of cooked foods as well as raw foods. This link shows what their $120 per person omakase could be like. http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/food-porn/2009/03/26/sushi-kaji-an-omakase-odyssey/

Both of these restaurants are similar in ambiance to what you saw at Hiro Sushi. I've never had the Sushi Kaji omakase (too expensive, waiting for a special occasion) but I love love love the $50 omakase at Zen. Really good quality stuff. Never tasted sushi rice like that in Calgary ever.

Guu, the Izakaya from Vancouver, also just opened in Toronto, that sounds like something you would be interested in.

[Altezza]

Unfortunately, I don't recall what was served for our omakase lunch since the review was done over 3 years ago. I have photos somewhere, but I'd have to dig them up. Everything was raw. All I can remember off the top of my head was what was mentioned in the original post. I did the review in haste since someone here wanted to hear about some restaurants in TO.

Yeah, I had heard about Guu prior to opening, but I haven't been back to TO in the recent months to try it. I'll take note of the restaurants you mentioned for my next trip out to TO.

I just clicked your link. I know the author/reviewer quite personally.

[szw]

Originally posted by Altezza
the review was done over 3 years ago. lol sorry, I thought it was a recent post. Actually I thought you were still in Toronto which is why I made some recommendations!