Finding a Japanese restaurant that serves reasonably priced
sushi but is also feels authentic makes me happy. The fact that Shinobu is
relatively close to my house makes things even better! I love introducing
people to the place, so when two friends had a hankering for sushi, the small
cozy restaurant came to mind.
Having had a great experience previously with their maki rolls, they had to be ordered
again: you can read all about the double shrimp cannon ($9.80) and volcano
rainbow roll ($10.90) in my first dinner post about Shinobu.
Another favourite that’ll have me coming back is the hotate dream roll ($10.50), a spicy
salmon roll covered with thinly sliced scallop sushi and salmon roe. If sushi
rolls could be a pillowy cloud the hotate
is close, the scallop soft and creamy then topped with popping salmon roe
and micro greens for interest.
Plenty of avocado was layered over the green dragon ($9.90),
the roll filled with BBQ eel and cucumber for an umami filled crunch. Their spicy
tuna ($6.90) is the type I enjoy, where the fish isn’t pulverized instead left
in small cubes and tossed with spicy mayonnaise.
Yet, you should branch out and try their izakaya eats, which
were also impressive. The takoyaki
($6.90) is five soft glutinous mashed potato like balls of dough, fried so
there’s a crispy coating and each containing a piece of grilled octopus. It’s
one of the better versions in the city.
The nasu dengaku
($6.90) was surprisingly delicious despite being a relatively simple dish. A
Japanese eggplant is lightly fried, slit open and filled with a rich sweet
dengaku miso sauce; since the longer Asian eggplant is not as seedy, it
combines to become a creamy texture.
Strangely, the green tea cheesecake ($5.50) is more ice
cream than cake - the first thing you see is the large sphere of black sesame
ice cream, on the side is the thinnest slice of cake I’ve seen, really just a
garnish. The cake itself is pretty good, velvety with a deep matcha flavour,
too bad it becomes lost in the ice cream.
Oh well, it’s a small miss compared to all the hits at the
restaurant. There’s no doubt I’ll be returning and welcome you to try this
great find in the neighbourhood.
Overall mark - 8 out of 10
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 3403 Yonge Street
Address: 3403 Yonge Street
Website: http://www.shinobu.ca/
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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