Guirei Japanese Restaurant

In the 4 years I have lived in this area, my fiancée and I have had dinner here 10+ times. I have to say up until a few months ago, we only ever came back for the food as the service had always been so horrendous. After a particularly bad evening where we waited over an hour for our food and then got the wrong order and had to wait another hour (not exaggerating), we swore off this place completely.
It is worth mentioning that the restaurant changed ownership a few months back and since then the food AND service have been outstanding! The food is beautifully-​presented, the quality and freshness of the fish is superb and the service is quick, polite and very friendly!
We’ve been here 3 times since the new owners took over and have left happy and satisfied each time. Hats off to the new manager — Def our go-​to sushi place!

Been here many times. Great lunch specials. Big portions (especially the Bento boxes). Great selection of sushi and Korean food. Everything I’ve had has been tasty and well presented.

I lived directly across this spot for a couple years, so it was hard not to give this one a try.
Food is average and is your typical neighbourhood sushi joint. Same bento box offerings, Maki/​sushi/​sashimi combos — nothing too amazing to mention. I did order their Seafood Udon regularly though when I wanted something with broth and it always did the trick. Spicy, savoury, and full of seafood — it was one thing I could order again and again.

PROS: A nice quiet spot on the waterfront, including a patio out front. Good sushi/​sashimi plus other items (like Bibimbap). CONS: The interior could use a fresh color/​coat of paint, and staff must do a better job of providing the bill in a timely manner; often times I have to go find a sever in order to pay the bill!

Well I think one of the reasons why this place only exists is the total lack of restaurants of any sort in this area. There is a similar place just across the road but it looks like it has the same owner because it’s no better. Guys, please increase the quality of your seafood. I don’t mine paying more, actually. Please get rid of your Sapporo bear on draft. It’s just yellow water with alcohol. My wife got a piece of seashell in her miso soup. Think about it: a piece of seashell in a miso soup?! How come?! :-) Staff was friendly though. Anyone who likes sushi and seafood if you are absolutely stuck in that area then try it. Otherwise go up to King st and have something better for your money.

This place is great for a quick sushi meal. Service was fast. Food looked and tasted Great. Great lunch specials.

I got the chicken Katsu tonight and it was horrible the rice when I opened it looked half eaten and also found a hair in it and it was cold. Maybe they didn’t like me and gave me someone’s left overs. It came with 2 thin chicken cutlets, 1 was good the other awful. Chicken had weird texture when biting into it like… Rubbery carrot… Not impressed did not eat even ¹⁄₃ of my meal. $ 15.58 a bit pricey especially for rice from a trash bin & mutant, freezer burned expired chicken.
Hungry buyer beware, maybe disappointed.

Been here several times. Fantastic menu, reasonable prices (especially as it’s tourist Haven, Queen’s Quay. Friendly unpretentious service too.

Been here countless times, always good food, always excellent a service. Prices are ok considering the area is expensive. They always have the house amuse bouche noodles and fried fish which elevates the experience. They frequently have specials– look for the sign when you first come in the restaurant.

I went to there only one time, there is very close by my house also I love sushi. that’s why I wanted to try here.
I ordered «chirashi don». It was fine.
The place is nothing special.

Décor, atmosphere is average. Food is good, with a very average/​fair pricing, comparable to many other sushi joints. I get take out when I am too lazy to travel farther for better or cheaper sushi joints. Service is OK, turnover of servers is high, so service is something that will be a hit or miss. Guirei is average at best.

Great sushi, terrible customer service.
They should consider stepping up their game since a brand new sushi place opened right across the street.
Will NOT be coming back.

First time there last night. This is a Japanese owned restaurant so the place was very clean, service was gracious and polite and plating and presentation were well thought of.
For a Friday night, the place was not packed. This is definitely a hidden gem. Got the unagi donburi, and the eel was soft and the sauce was just right. Also got a side of spicy scallop sushi… Omg. Definitely going back there again, the sushi quality and service is better than any of the king west joints.

Quite happy to find this place around the corner from Billy Bishop airport. I had the deluxe bento box. Was nothing spectacular but it was good and very reasonably priced. Service lacked for what was a very slow day. I think some of that was lack of english fluency so I’ll let it pass.
I was happy with the food, seemed fresh and it was reasonably priced. I suspect it will be my supper location before flights in the future.

I wanted to try this place as I live close-​by, it failed on service, food, ambience, pretty much everything. Place was not busy, we were the only 2 people in the dining room, and there were a few people on the patio. Service was non existent, just took our orders, dropped off the food, didn’t ask if everything was ok, did not refill our (lukewarm) tea.
Ordered the LA Ribs, they were ok, nothing special. The accompanying rice was cold and hard, the miso soup also lukewarm and overly salty. Also ordered the lobster roll and dragon roll with salmon. Worst rolls I’ve ever had, rolled so loosely that they fell apart right when we lifted them off the plate. Tiny slivers of fish and just a terrible presentation.
Cleanliness is terrible, the soy sauce container was filthy, and the sauce was black for some reason, probably a combination of being dirty and refilled too many times. Also an «old» dirty smell in the dining room, with flies buzzing around everywhere. Just an absolutely horrible dining experience.

Ate here again last night and I just have to say I am so lucky to live a five minute walk from this hidden gem.
I eat a lot of sushi, and this place is pure quality. Beautiful presentation, fresh fish, perfect portion sizes.
Just such a cute little place too. Very unassuming staff who always thank you when you leave… Or at least they do to me… Maybe because I go so often.
This is not a premium, high class restaurant people. But if you want amazing sushi, you will not be disappointed.

Have eaten here at least 20 times between April 2010 and Sept 2011, usually around 3−4pm, mainly because it’s the only sit-​down restaurant within a ten minute walk from my work.
Food is generally very fresh. Pretty good dynamite roll, tempura appetizer, banana fritters for dessert. I always miss the lunch specials b/​c of the time of my work lunch or would’ve tried that long ago. So it forces me into getting two a la carte items, usually two of the three above, since I don’t want to spend $ 19.99 on the dinner combo. Then again, my bill usually comes to around $ 17 after taxes, so it’s 20 by the time I tip.
Service is 90% of the time very friendly and stereotypical of the many Japanese restaurants I’ve been at in Toronto. All smiles, politeness, female-​only, dressed in cultural style. Usually they are quite attentive, making sure the complimentary green tea is topped up, your food is good, etc. A few times I had to wait very long, which I attribute to them being short staffed maybe? The place is never really busy when I go, often three or four tables occupied inside, and if it’s the summer, one or two outside are taken on the patio. I always prefer the patio if it’s nice out, as you can watch planes taking off from the city airport.
Debit & credit accepted. Liquor licensed.

They deserve four stars for the tofu bento box but inconsistency is dragging them down.
Thing is, every time I’ve come here for lunch (about four times in the past two weeks), the bento box and its accompanying components have varied. One time, I got a miso soup, another time I didn’t. Sometimes it comes with a yummy noodle salad, other times, there’s no salad. They also have a tendency to forget side orders, drink orders, or alterations to your order.
And expect to search for a waitress inside (if you’re sitting on the patio). And you may have to flag them down for refills etc as they don’t check up on you to see how your food is coming along.
As I said, highly recommend the tofu bento box. But tell them to not bring it with shrimp tempura. Not sure what they were thinking putting shrimp in a vegetarian lunch option — but there you have it.

Came in for the bulgogi lunch bento box and a «three musketeers» roll. When I got my order, I was disappointed by how skimpy the roll looked but, on further reflection, it was served exactly as advertised. I guess I got too excited.
The bulgogi was perfectly cooked, tasted great. The tempura worked too, and the miso soup was a nice addition.
All in all, no complaints. Its location near the airport will serve me well in the future, I am sure. I’ll be back.

Restaurants along the harbourfront are surprisingly limited for a tourist area. With options such as Shoeless Joes and Swiss Chalet I would say that Guirei is one of the better selections in the harbourfront neighbourhood.
Guirei’s appearance is like any average sushi restaurant I’ve been to in Toronto. Unexpectedly large on the inside, the restaurant is dimly lit with very simple décor, creating a casual dining atmosphere. The noise level of the restaurant is also quiet but that was probably due to the fact that there were only a few customers eating there.
The food was OK. They had a vast amount of items on their menu offering a few «dishes» that veered from the typical sushi menu but mostly all were staples. Portion sizes of the food were decent and the overall taste was not mind blowing but not bad.
To start, I was craving something deep fried. I decided to try their «Soft Shell Crab» and the «Agedashi Tofu». The Soft Shell Crab was exactly what I expected it to be — battered, deep fried and served with a dipping sauce. In terms of taste, there wasn’t anything spectacular about it. The crab was subtle in texture and the meat was juicy… and tasted like crab (surprise!). The Agedashi Tofu consisted of fairly large tofu cubes, also deep fried, and topped with bonito flakes. On the first bite, the tofu is crispy but the middle is soft. The sauce it was served in wasn’t too salty but was flavourful enough to complement the tofu.
For the main, the «storm roll» caught my eye on the menu. It consisted of deep fried salmon with avocado, lettuce, and green onion all rolled into a very big fat sushi roll. It had a predominant salmon taste with a hint of spice. I didn’t think the lettuce belonged in the roll as it didn’t really add anything to it. It was an unnecessary, soggy ingredient that would not have been missed.
Overall, the food and the service were very good. The waitress was friendly and we didn’t wait very long for the food. The prices were pretty standard for sushi dining. It wasn’t the best in Toronto but definitely worth a try if you are in the neighbourhood.