JaBistro - Toronto, Ontario

Had a lovely time at JaBistro! Service was fantastic! Attentive and knowledgeable wait staff. Great sake selection, highly recommend the Niwano Uguisu, smooth, easy to drink and on the sweet side. Food was good, the salad and the Kama(Hamachi) was excellent! Everything else meets the bar for a restaurant of this calibre. ... The braised scallops could use a bit more acidity and salt, also was a bit well done. The Wagyu was also not the best quality. Read more

Cozy Japanese sushi restaurant with beautiful and clean decor. Offering simple menu on both à la carte and omakase style. Opening bar watching chef's skillfully cut and the ingredients are fresh. Personal preference that would be nice to have the sashimi to larger pieces in size. Overall, friendly service and ... charming chef. Prices are fair for downtown area. Read more

We visited for lunch and opted for the omakase, which, overall, I greatly enjoyed. The service was outstanding, and the fish served was notably fresh. However, the lobster miso soup left something to be desired, being somewhat mediocre. Both the sashimi and sushi were satisfactory, but some of the pressed ... sushi pieces were excessively salty. Despite these minor critiques, the experience as a whole was positive. Read more

Finally decided to give this restaurant a try after many years of passing by and wondering if it was worth the hype. I reserved seats at the sushi counter so we could get a view of the chefs, but I was disappointed to find that the fish is pre-sliced and kept ... chilled until it is time to plate and serve. Although everything was beautifully presented and the quality of the fish was quite fresh and melt-in-your-mouth, there was not much innovation with the menu that I wouldn't find at any other izakaya considering the value. Great service otherwise! Read more

I’ve had some of the best sushi and sashimi at this restaurant by far. Great service, atmosphere, and both food and drinks. It’s a high quality dining experience that justifies the price tag. The restaurant is long and narrow but doesn’t feel crowded. The decor is fairly minimal and I find ... the focus is more on the dining experience. Our server was very attentive and engaging throughout our stay while not being overbearing. She was very knowledgeable about the food and was approachable if you want to ask what’s the best sauce to put on which sushi, or how to eat something, etc. to get the best out of your experience. I had the fixed price menu. The lobster miso soup was the first course. It was a flavourful broth. I did notice that my friend had a sizeable chunk of lobster in their soup whereas mine didn’t. It would have been nice to have actual lobster meat in mine too, but I just got the broth. The next course was a wagyu carpaccio. The arugula was fresh and crisp. The cheese went really well with the beef. We had a sashimi assortment next, which was excellent. Every item was fresh and tasted great. I’m not sure what they did to prepare the shrimp, but it was delicious and was my favourite out of the plate. The sushi also tasted fresh and each one was delicious. I’m not typically a sushi person, but each bite made you want to pause and appreciate the different flavours and textures you were getting. It was actually a bit of an emotional experience to get that kind of quality. The dessert course was a panna cotta which was perfect. The caramel sauce had a deep, rich flavour. The panna cotta itself was in my opinion the perfect texture and consistency. I had three cocktails throughout the dinner and they all had a way of managing great flavours without being too much. I don’t like sweet drinks and their drinks get to a point that just reaches close to that bar but are able to tie it to other strong flavours like fresh citrus in order to even it out. All in all, a great experience and very easy to recommend if you’re looking for a more upscale restaurant that serves great food and don’t mind splurging for it. Read more