NIGIRIYA

I’m very sad to see that my rating of this place is now a ‘Meh, I’ve experienced better.’ Nigiriya is now under new ownership; the sushi had way too much rice and it wasn’t appetizing. We ordered the usual today (a few of their special rolls) and we ended up not eating all of it. The presentation of the sushi rolls are super sloppy.
Bummed because I was really excited to have Nigiriya tonight …

Warm owners, good sushi.

Nigiriya is a definite «must visit» for sushi lovers visiting the Leaside area — it’s a hidden gem. I’m a veggie maki roll fan because of my allergies to seafood and I have NEVER had a simple kappa (cucumber) maki roll make me say «Mmm!» the way I did when I took my first bite into Nigiriya’s!
The small, humble looking restaurant gets my 5 stars for the friendliness, cleanliness, and especially the quality of the food that is offered at a reasonable (but to some, a touch on high side) price.
A caution about the hours. I heard they open for lunch but I am not sure exactly when, then the restaurant re-​opens at 4:30pm until 9pm, Tuesday-​Sunday.

This is a great little place for take-​out sushi. The fish is very fresh and you don’t get tons of rice. It’s a bit more expensive then a regular take-​out place but thse folks set a much higher bar on quality.

Yet another great sushi chef takes up shop in an interesting location a la Zen, a la Kaji. You can find the restaurant of the chef/​owner Yasu Ouchi in the Leaside area near Bayview and Eglington serving something I am not a fan of… take-​out sushi.
To me Nigiri-​Ya is confusing. High quality take-​out sushi, with high end prices and creative maki. Usually the thought of raw take-​out food or the words «Sushi Buffet» make me cringe, however this is a take out sushi place worth visiting. Why should you visit? Well because the chef was trained at the Melbourne location of my personal hero Nobu. If you do not know who Nobu is, then I offer my condolences.
The space is truly a take-​out place reminiscent of a cleaner local pizza shop with one or two tables. When you walk in you get a faint smokey whiff of the last piece of sashimi that was blow torched by the chef. This is a good sign. The first thing I saw was a few orders of creative maki which to me was not a good sign.
I try to leave creative maki or maki in general to the hundreds of generic sushi places dotting the city. This was supported by the menu which gives off the sense that it is something that you might find on a Top 10 cheapest sushi list. Despite this it seems that the devil was in the details and I was not disappointed.
I was getting worried when I ordered the nigiri option and there was a picture of salmon and maguro. You’ll find salmon and maguro on every sushi platter at every sushi place while the great restaurants rarely serve the «classic» combo as I call it.
I had already enjoyed dim sum with the family and was quite full so I order a simple 8 piece nigiri to sample if it was worth returning. There was salmon, maguro (tuna), butter fish (escolar) and scallop from Hokkaido.
Scallop is one of my favorites and this one was sweet with a perfect texture sitting on really good sushi rice. The rice was warm, vinegared subtly and had a good level of sweetness. The rice was formed perfectly with every grain being separate and not packed too tight, which is a sign of delicate hands. I do prefer my rice a bit sweeter like at Solo Sushi-​Ya in Newmarket but that is a preference.
The salmon was salmon and the maguro was maguro, nothing flavour wise to discuss. The butterfish was butterfish, so tasty with a sesame soy dressing. I will remind everyone though that butterfish otherwise known as Escolar is not made for human digestion as we cannot break down the oils from the fish. So enjoy, but enjoy in extreme moderation. This 8 piece selection looks like it could be from anywhere. However, if you look closely you will see lines cut into butterfish and maguro. This is done by hand with a knife and takes some major skill. This is a reason to come back in itself because it indicates love and care for the ingredients and the customer.
I saw they had monkfish liver on the menu which is one of my favorite ingredients but it is not in season. Don’t know what monkfish liver is? Well then, it is only the foie gras of the sea. Enough said… try it. The prices may be perceived as high, especially for the take-​out format but I guarantee you won’t get anything this good, with the quality of ingredients at any lower prices in the city.
Let me know what your thoughts are on butterfish, monkfish liver or Nigiri-​ya.

Nigiri-​Ya Sushi to Go is a nice and cozy sushi joint!
I always have a soft side when it comes to small family owned business like Nigiri-​Ya. I wish there are more businesses like that instead of those big box/​franchise ones that everyone is faceless and have no personality!
The Japanese couples with the husband as chef and the wife as waitress are so nice and friendly… The place is really small with a few sit in tables and was practically empty on a Sunday evening.
Sushi and the Sashimi we ordered were quite good and fresh. but nothing really wow me. It is a good place for some nice pre dinner snacking on sushi/​sashimi but not as a full sit in dinner.
Nigiri-​Ya Sushi is a good options for takeout sushi/​sashimi if you lives in the area, but I would not go out of my way to come here… Not the sushi I am daydreaming about!
BTW, they do offer lunch specials for $ 10 with choice of nigiri and maki.
They accepts Mastercard and Visa.

I think compassion might have to do with my rating of this place, I’m getting weak. This is a small hidden cozy warm Sushi shop that is open due to a Husband and Wife team. Friendly folks and I wish them success as there wasn’t many patrons this Sunday night.
While their concept is mostly take-​out much the same as Sushi Marche however they have a few dine-​in tables where you serve your own Teas, Chopsticks, Paper Napkins. Once again it is Shinobu-​esque were I’m under the spotlight once again, so this time I requested to the more romantic table near window.
Famous Aburi Sushi ($ 14.50) comes with 5 pieces of SEARED Nigiri. Salmon, Scallop, Eel, and Butterfish are offered but I can’t say I’m a fan of the Sushi Rice this time as it has slightly more bite than I wished. The searing didn’t give me much more additional satisfaction to non-​seared Sashimi.
Today’s Sashimi ($ 22.00) Chef’s selection is nicely presented and had selection of Salmon, Tuna, Scallop, Squid, Ikura Roe, Butterfish and Shrimp. This in essense meant to me there was limited variety this night as the Aburi Sushi we had already featured some of these elements.
I agree with my dinner mate that the Shrimp wasn’t appetizing and gave off this taste that overwhelmed the rest of the meal. No Rice was offered for this Sashimi therefore as a fyi it’s not a complete meal. Order some Sushi for some carbohydrates/​starch.
Anago-​Bo Sushi ($ 13.50) Whole Sea Eel rolled with Ginger. This was what I came for as I can say I like Anago (Sea) as much as Unagi (Fresh) and not too many places have it readily available.
It is also a Whole Grilled Eel which I have been trying to track down in the GTA since my Tokyo vacation awhile back. Anago is less oily rich therefore more meaty texture that is less likely to melt in your mouth. Definitely nice to see this offered here at an affordable price for a tasting.

Best sushi I have ever ordered as take away. It’s in higher price range for a take-​out place (they also have a couple of tables there), but worth it. Super fresh food. The salmon and tuna were amazing the day we ordered. Somebody told me that the owner/​chef has background from high end restaurant. You definitely notice that, — it’s clean there, food is remarkably fresh and high quality, the rolls/​sushi were impeccable.
If anything: wish they had a bit wider selection.
I am going back many times!