A lot has changed since I first visited Black + Blue during their opening month in 2023. Toronto’s Financial District was booming on a Tuesday evening; the restaurant’s dining room, upstairs, and patio was filled. It’s summer and people were out and wanting to spend.

I was back for a special TL Insider wagyu tasting menu ($125 for 4 courses, side dishes, and three drinks). This post includes regular menu prices beside dishes, where available. Maybe because the dinner was a Toronto Life event and preceded by Executive chef Morgan Bellis, but the food was delicious.

To begin, the special menu simplified the carpaccio ($26) to a “Harry’s Bar” version. The thinly sliced wagyu was simply adorned with a mustard aioli, pepper, and shaved parmesan. Gone were the pickled shimeji mushrooms, crispy shallots, and fried capers that were too salty and overpowering. Instead, I could taste the meat’s sweetness and the seasoning was enough to flavour and the carpaccio and enjoy it without bread. Chef Bellis should consider adding this version to their menu.

The prized beef was also used in the Japanese A5 wagyu roll ($34), stuffed inside and also as slices on top. Combined with avocado, cucumber, and crispy shallots, the roll was tasty on its own, with a bit of the gochujang (?) glaze, or soy sauce. Although, it would be even better with an acid element… perhaps the pickled shimeji mushroom?

As the trio of 3oz striploins arrived at the table, diners started to buzz with excitement. And to my surprise, the medium rare doneness was what I generally expect (pink with a slightly rare centre). Has Black + Blue received enough complaints and send backs that they cooked their steaks longer to meet the Torontonian palette?

We’re advised to start with the Canadian beef before moving onto the Australian and ending with the Japanese. In fairness, the Canadian contender was not wagyu, rather a prime striploin ($84 for a 14 oz) hence it’s understandable why it’s leaner than the other two pieces. Additionally, it was cooked more, which also didn’t help with the beef’s tenderness. Still, if I had received this as a striploin (and not expecting wagyu), I wouldn’t complain.  

Black + Blue should consider adding the Australian wagyu striploin to the menu - it was my preference for the evening. It was well marbled, juicy and flavourful without being overwhelming. You could easily go through 3oz of this without feeling glutinous.

Meanwhile, the Japanese A5 wagyu striploin ($31 per oz) was just too fatty. The outer seared sections were rich like butter, but once you cut into the centre it’s like having chewy blubber. The striploin needed to be cut into strips or smaller cubes and seared off to give it a caramelized crust. As it stood, it’s like having bacon that’s not crispy enough.

To accompany the steaks, we were treated to a trio of sauces ($15) that I found weren’t required (béarnaise, truffle jus, gochujang mayo) and a host of side dishes. Of the sides, the wagyu fried rice ($32) is normally found on their menu. The Japanese A5 wagyu toned done as it’s cut into small pieces, its fat mixing into the rice and egg. If that weren’t flavourful enough, it’s further enhanced with garlic, scallions, and chili oil for heat. I could easily visit just to have a bowl of the rice with a side salad.

To conclude, a special dessert created by their pastry chef from Vancouver. The mandarin orange, made with crème anglaise and white chocolate, was filled with a refreshing clementine jam and really looked like a fruit, dimples and all. Sitting on sponge cake and a toffee cracker, all the elements paired nicely forming a great bright ending to the heavy meal.

If you haven’t heard about Mhel, it’s a restaurant that sources seasonal ingredients that it then uses in daily changing menus. While this is great for freshness and creativity, it does mean dishes featured in this post may not be available during your visit.

Also, the constantly changing menu causes the kitchen to have limited ability to “perfect” a dish. For example, the yuan yaki ($35) sounded good on paper but didn’t have the taste to match. The thick slice of kanpachi needed more seasoning and something stronger than just a yuzu marinade. Its uneven thickness meant the edges were cooked through while the centre to be raw. Ultimately, I had to leave a piece uneaten given it was gross and gummy.  

After all, the dish wasn’t meant to be eaten raw like the ishidai sashimi ($33), a fish flown in from Nagasaki. In lieu of soy sauce, Mhel created a flavourful seaweed salad providing flavour and a chewy garnish that could be wrapped in the fish to create a delicious bite.

In fairness, there’s many dishes that Mhel gets right. The sogogi ($46) was fantastic, a sizeable slice of Australian wagyu cooked to perfection so that it’s juicy and hot. Brushed with galbi sauce, the beef’s Korean flavours reminded me why it could be eaten with chopsticks. Although, I would have loved for a small slice to be put on top of the sushi rice nugget. It’s what Mhel describes as a perilla ssam, so a piece of meat would make the bite complete.

Mhel’s portion sizes are small. Hence, we followed their advice and opted for the heartiest dish for the evening, the dak gaseumsal ($30) with a bowl of steamed Japanese rice ($5), and side of kimchi ($8).

The dak gaseumsal’s buttery miso sauce was great for pouring over the sticky rice and I loved the accompanying sauteed seasonal greens (garlic scape, Swiss chard, and collard greens). Yet, the chicken breast, while juicy, wasn’t overly exciting… perhaps because it was sous vide versus grilled. At least they were true to their word, this dish was much larger than the rest.

Still, you may want to get a side of the potesala ($15), their version of a potato salad. The shallots added a slight bite to the potatoes and the pickled ramps and peas gave the dish a freshness that helped balance off the otherwise rich dish. Yet, it’s the onsen egg that really made the dish, I wished there was more than a half.

If anything, Mhel ensures you have room for dessert. The purin ($10) was a fantastic crème caramel, one of the best I’ve had in a while. The thickened Sheldon Creek cream was rich but perfectly balanced by a maple syrup glaze that had a toasty taste, much better than your regular caramelized sugar. My husband and I immediately regretted getting one to share.

Mhel’s friendly service really adds to the experience and despite serving an array of small dishes, they were very efficient, and we could easily add on another item. The menu’s also not overly large, so even with two people we could order over half of the items and get a taste for the restaurant. In fact, if you come with three people you should just order the entire thing.

You must give it to Mhel: they could easily create one menu and continue to tweak it to perfection. Instead, the chose to challenge everyone by changing the menu daily. What a great restaurant to have in the neighbourhood where you can visit regularly and find something different each time. 

If you enjoy bold flavours, Azura’s tasting menu ($128 per person) will have your tastebuds in a tizzy. And since the restaurant serves a blind tasting menu, your taste buds won’t know what’s to come as they’re introduced to spices, herbs, and sauces galore.

Focused on foods from the Mediterranean, the canapés begin with a Moroccan flair. The beet tart was beautiful to behold but also surprisingly bitter for a dish made with sweet root vegetables. The beets did little to stave off the bitter bite from the rhubarb harissa paste and small white flowers. The geraniums also made the tart much too floral tasting. As beautiful as it was, it was a disappointing start.

The avgotaraho moved the menu in the right direction, a crispy piece of panisse topped with labneh and red mullet roe. It’s creamy, salty, tangy, and messy to eat. I’d recommend making the panisse based thinner and wider so it becomes more of a two-bite canapé and would also allow the panisse to taste less dense.

Progressively things became tastier, the cigar looking concoction revealing a smoked cannoli stuffed with albacore tuna. It’s a delicious burst of smokiness balanced with acidity and a host of spices.

To end the canapés, a shrimp mousse piped into choux pastry, which had a sweet and savoury element. I loved the bright ingredients of pickled rhubarb and preserved citrus that helped lighten the umami-laced cream, Chef Adam should consider using this mousse in the beet tart.

Despite the scallop being overpowered by the date and pomegranate vinegarette, it was nonetheless prepared beautifully, so clean and luscious. Covered in creamy avocado and topped with salty fried okra and chili slices, it’s a starter that offers so many flavours and textures.

We’re told the halibut is inspired by one of Chef Adam’s favourite late-night snacks - the shawarma. While the fish could be cooked a touch less, it’s meatiness really held up with all the spices, tahini, and the cauliflower and couscous (?) medley. Who would have thought that fish would make for a great shawarma?

The celeriac was seared until it developed a lovely, caramelized crust emitting a slight smokiness. At once creamy a slightly crunchy, the root vegetable paired nicely with the earthiness of the blue foot mushrooms and refreshing watercress puree. This was one of my top three dishes of the evening.

Yet, the best dish of the meal, the one that had me swooning for more was the Iberico secreto. It’s described as a cut from the neck to arm pit area of the prized Spanish pig that’s known for it’s marbling. Having had Iberico in ham and sausage formats on numerous occasions, why has it taken me so long to have it seared?

Absolutely incredible, the crispy skin and fat makes the protein almost seem duck like but without any gaminess and even juicier. It’s a dish that’s only found on the full tasting menu (not the condensed version) and with the constantly changing offerings, a treat when the ingredient can be sourced.

Chef Adam should consider reordering the menu if a guest adds on the wagyu course (supplemental $55). After the incredible Iberico the beef was boring. My slice was also chewy given it was overcooked and had a muscle fibre running through it. If anything, the wild French asparagus and andouille stuffed morels delighted me more than the beef.

As we near the end of the savoury courses, an entire feast arrives with the venison leg tagine.  The protein was served with dishes of preserved lemon, smoked cucumber and eggplant hummus, olives, pita, and smoked sweet potato. We’re told to divide the pita into four and have the venison with each of the accompaniments individually.

My advice: create small bite sized “tacos” and have the meat with everything all at once. Otherwise, it just tastes too plain. I found the venison too lean and would have liked something that had a bit of fat or gelatinous cartilage incorporated into it – perhaps chunks of brisket or mutton? And I’d just skip the streusel sweet potato all together.

While I enjoyed the asparagus, it’s procession in the menu seems out of place. The vegetable was augmented with bold sides: porcini paste, kefalograviera cheese (like Parmesan but lighter), and something very peppery. If anything, the vegetable would have been nicer before all the meat dishes (it’s pepperiness highlighting the flavours to come) and the sweeter and lighter celeriac creating a better flow into desserts.

With tasting menus, I often find the desserts to be decent at best but not overly memorable. The fig newton could be considered one of those dishes – tasty but safe. A lemon poppyseed cake that sandwiches fig jam, there’s a really comforting quality to the dessert and is perfect for those who like a dessert that’s not overly sweet.

Yet, the last mortadella blew me away and was my second favourite dish. Firstly, it had me fooled – I was so sure it was a piece of meat on the bread. In reality, it is ruby chocolate studded with pistachio and shaved serrano ham. Moreover, there’s some sort of powder that looks like cheese but is so wispy light and creamy. Sweet, creamy, nutty, savoury, and tangy elements all combine to make for an incredible last dish. Give me more desserts like this any day.  

In fact, I should just have ended it on a high and not had the last bite of “Ferrero Rocher”. Hard and dense, there’s no crispy or creamy elements that you’d expect with the famed dessert. Azura needs to make these smaller or better yet, end with something more Mediterranean like a square of baklava instead.

In earlier posts on Gastro World, I’ve been complaining that Toronto’s tasting menus are morphing to become too Euro Japanese. At Azura you won’t find a lick of this – thank God! In fact, it’s one of the most unique tasting menus I’ve had in a while. A theme that continues into the wine offerings from little known regions. Combined with their friendly down-to-earth service and I’m smitten with Azura. I can’t wait to go back, but that Iberico secreto better make an appearance. 

Have a glance at Toronto’s Michelin list and you’ll find a host of Japanese restaurants earning stars, including Sushi Masaki Saito who claimed the city’s only two-star ranking. Give it a year or two, but I sense the newly opened Kappo Sato will join the list as well.

Like the other contenders, Kappo Sato serves an omakase menu offered at two price points, $260 and $320, the later includes an additional sashimi platter and sake steamed fish. Both courses, while delicious, weren’t the highlight of my meal, so if you have a dainty appetite the $260 option will leave you satisfied.

With sixteen courses, the $320 omakase left me pleasantly full. To start, pieces of skinless fried eggplant that were nice and creamy. Although, it would be even better served warm, especially when topped with cold uni and caviar. Paired with cubes of sweet poached lobster, the “small” seasonal dish was wonderfully decadent, just a taste of the things to come.

More uni followed in the appetizer platter. In this case, the sea urchin mixed with yuba or thin sheets of soy that’s formed in the tofu making process. The two are a good combination, the silkiness of the tofu skin glides across the tongue capturing the flavourful savoury gelee while mixed with the creamy uni. The wasabi adds a spike of spice that’s surprisingly powerful for the miniscule portion of the condiment.

The cool yuba complimented the hot fried tile fish, a bite of meaty whitefish with crunchy deep-fried scales. The fish is cooled down with grated radish and a carefully split snap pea garnishes the dish for colour.

Sato’s sashimi course is very different, the fish adorned with other ingredients rather than leaving the seafood plain. The sea eel was topped with plum paste and tangy sisho flower and the lean 10-day aged tuna with Japanese mountain yam and egg yolk. Some of it works - like the plum paste and sisho flower – adding a refreshing element to the fish, others don’t - like the whipped mountain yam and egg yolk – creating something with the consistency of slime.

The nyumen or soup course features a bowl of dashi filled with silky delicious somen noodles. The slice of sea bream was good, but I found its softness too close to the texture of the noodles and would have liked a protein that had some bite or crunch.

We’re told what makes kappo cooking different is that the chef cooks in front you, rather than preparing ingredients in a behind-the-scenes kitchen and merely assembling dishes at the counter. The tempura course highlights the concept best as each of the three items were individually fried and presented.

Three condiments - lemon, salt, and ponzu – provides flavour to the tempura. Don’t worry, you’ll be given instructions on what to use with each item. We’re told to use the lemon and salt for half of the sweet young swordfish and then the ponzu for the second half. They should be more specific on which side of the fish to use each on as the ponzu would have better masked the slight bitterness of the head, while the lemon and salt would let the freshness of the body and tail portion shine. Sadly, I swapped the two.  

Seasonal vegetables of asparagus and fava beans follow, both just cooked through and paired nicely with the ponzu.  

Yet it’s the finisher that really excites, a meaty raw-in-the-middle scallop wrapped in sisho leaf that’s sweet and fragrant. It does need to be drained longer so the batter remains crispy, and I’d suggest sprinkling the salt on (rather than dipping the scallop into the salt) to avoid having it slide out of the tempura coating.

Kappo Sato sets up the meal with a host of video worthy shots, the first being the broiled smoked dish where a gleaming dome was filled with smoke and the cover removed table side. Despite all the fume, the flavours just singed the fish with a smoky essence, the centre of bonito and tuna still tasted neutral.

We’re told the tuna is a lean variety, but it’s so nicely marbled that it can match any otoro, flooding my mouth with a sweet richness. Crispy arrow root chips are given to help cleanse the palette but could easily make for an addictive tv-side snack.

Like the sashimi, Sato’s sushi were beautiful flavourful bites, the bluefish topped with shallot, scallion, and wasabi with the rice nicely warmed. Personally, I would tone down shallot as it was a tad pungent for the fish, nonetheless it was still tasty.

The saba hand roll was served taco style, the rice and fish sandwiched between sisho and crispy seaweed. Another inventively flavourful dish that’s different from what you’d normally receive. It’d be even better if there was a bit of glaze put onto the mackerel.

Sitting in a sweetened vinegar, the mozuku seaweed was silky and reminded me of fat choi but milder and more delicate. It made for a refreshing palette cleanser before the richer grilled unagi, which was lightly brushed with a sweet and savoury glaze. Slightly crispy around the edges, the freshwater eel went nicely with the sansho pepper leaf and wasabi.

If there was any alcohol used in the sake-steamed red snapper it must have evaporated in the cooking process as there wasn’t much flavour to the fish and napa cabbage. Hence, the dish really relied on the house-made ponzu dipping sauce. I like the concept of the dish, but it could have been pulled out of the oven earlier as the fish was a tad overdone.

Two types of tofu follow, the first featured in the cold dish and made with sesame so it had a rich nutty essence. The addition of Sakura, mushroom, and dried shrimp makes for a fragrant bite, although I did find the dried shrimp a bit overpowering with the tofu.  

The second traditional soy tofu sat under a mound of lightly cooked wagyu in a beef consommé. I normally love wagyu but being poached in broth doesn’t do it justice as everything merely tastes oily. My friend described it best as saying it’s like having a non-crispy bacon soup. Should they want to keep it in slices, rolling the beef around asparagus, enoki, or white chives would have been a better choice.

I kept eyeing the copper domes sitting on cooking elements by our counter. Its contents were finally revealed in our last savoury course as the seafood pot-cooked rice. Just close your eyes and inhale as the cover is lifted as the sweet seafood aroma of cooked crustaceans is so intoxicating.

Cooked with dashi the sticky rice became fluffy but still firm, almost like a drier risotto. Studded with clams, rehydrated shrimp, and fish the rice was already teeming with seafood essence but made even richer with a generous portion of ikura (salmon roe). At Kappo Sato you won’t leave hungry because a second helping of rice is available and offered. This was all washed down with a hot mild miso soup.

Just save room for dessert as all three courses were delicious. Firstly, a slice of musk melon that’s so sweet and refreshing. Its sweetness is contrasted by a glass of hot tea that’s so wonderful to sip on after a filling meal.

All the while, an ice cream machine sits on the counter whirling around and holding the second dessert, a freshly made soymilk ice cream. The cold soft serve was paired with azuki bean paste and a matcha shortbread cookie. While there’s a light sweetness to the dish, we’re given a tiny vessel of brown sugar syrup to add to the soymilk dessert to our liking. Use it, I love how it enhanced the bean and ice cream’s flavours.

To end, a strawberry daifuku that’s a mound of azuki with sweet strawberry pieces topped with a delicate sheet of soft mochi. Savour the single kuromame, a sweet black soybean, topping to daifuku that breaks apart to reveal a smooth beany centre. It’s served with another matcha tea, this time light and frothy so there’s a latte quality to the drink minus the dairy.

Aside from his culinary training, Chef Takeshi Sato achieved other accomplishments including being a sake sommelier and qualified to prepare a Japanese tea ceremony – hence the final two cups of matcha served with dessert. He jokingly says he loves drinking, another common theme that seems to run through the upscale Japanese chefs of Toronto.

Chef Sato leads an all-female kitchen brigade who artfully creates and plates the dishes. Takeshi has decades of cooking experience from working in a Michelin restaurant in Tokyo, helming Toronto’s Zen restaurant, and most recently being the official chef of the Japanese Consulate General in Toronto. Now it’s his turn to be an owner of a restaurant in his name, when will his star come?