Yutaka

Wow super Fresh beautiful Fish — They know what they are doing and all real Japanese Staff and chefs. I absolutely love this place. Its all about the raw fish — and the lobster dish for $ 18! I want to try the cooked food but the fish is so good I have not except the lobster.

I wander past this bank of black windows all the time, but didn’t have an excuse to go in until now. We ordered mostly from the special’s menu, which was hand-​written, decorated with stars and with little comments to highlight interesting items. I thought that it was very charming and cute.
The Godzilla Egg is like their version of a scotch egg, with a runny yoke in the middle and served on a salad. It was delicious and filling, a nice surprise. The Baked Lobster is a little out of place. It was well executed, with plenty of lobster meat stuffed into the head and tail of the lobster and smothered in sauce. I just don’t know what made it Japanese. The one item we ordered from the regular menu was the Dynamite Roll. The shrimp is freshly fried so that it was still warm when devoured. In all, good quality and interesting menu choices available.
The service here is excellent. The waitresses are very polite, eager to explain anything you need and actually smiling when delivering anything to you. It’s in the little things that they do, like hiding a knife (used to cut open the Godzilla Egg) behind their back until last minute or being instantly there when you are looking for them. It is a bit expensive, especially with all the restaurant choices in the area but you get value back in the food quality and the service.

Service was great, place was clean. Highly recommend the lobster special, sushi rolls were good but nothing exceptional.

I was first attracted by the extremely large windows. The interior design is very lovely. Everyone is very welcoming! If you’re for new experiences, this is the place to go. It is not your typical sushi spot, it offers specials such as «live lobster sashimi» which I was very fascinated by. A whole lobster came, with the sashimi nicely sliced up and placed on the body area. As I was about to dig in, the lobster started to move. I freaked. I did not think «Live Lobster Sashimi» actually meant LIVE Lobster Sashimi. It was quite intense but I managed to get through it and once done, they brought the head back to make a miso soup.
As the main course, I ate «Chef Sashimi» dinner which came with about 20 pieces of very tasteful fish (if you’re for fresh fish, must go, you will never turn back to crappy farmed fish again). It was accompanied with miso soup and salad for about 35 dollars. It is quite pricey but for good fish, why not!
I have been about 3 – 4 times and learned not to go on friday or saturday because it gets crazy busy. and it takes awhile for the food to come, which will definitly ruin the experience so I would suggest going on a regular weekday.
Will be back for more!

Went with a new dining companion last week who does not eat raw fish or much meat (unless it’s fried chicken). I stuck to my usual of the chefs sashimi dinner which was once again excellant. My friend got the tofu steak, the karaage with the sauced option and the seaweed (sunomo?) salad. I tried a little of all 3 of her dishes and I must say that I’d order them again.
The karaage wasn’t heavy at all despite being sauced. The tofu steak was wonderfully crispy on the outside. I very rarely have tofu, but I’d order this again as a side to share. Perfect for sharing. The seaweed salad was very impressive with young red and green fresh seaweed. Not your typical seaweed salad. It is served with the dressing on the side which is a creamy, nutty, sesame dressing. I will take pics of these items the next time I order them and post.

Came here for takeout for lunch. Got the Chef’s Chirashi lunch for 28 dollars. I had to compare this to Japango’s Chirashi Supreme, which was also 28 dollars. This was going to determine which place I’m going to come more often for lunch.
The Chef’s Chirashi came with a good amount of food. But in terms of fish selection, the highlight was 2 pieces of otoro and 2 pieces of chutoro. The downside was that they took about 20 minutes to make my chirashi, which left me about 20 minutes to eat for my break. I had to kinda inhale my whole chirashi, and I didn’t get to savor some of my toro :(.
Just for comparison, since Japango is pretty much right around the corner, the last few times Japango prepared my chirashi was almost insanely fast (even when they had a full house). Their chirashi supreme was fairly massive, and it included Uni but no Toro.
Hmm it’s hard to decide. Yutaka has an awesome chef’s chirashi with otoro and chutoro, but slightly slower service at that time. Japango also has an awesome chirashi supreme with Uni and quick as heck service. Uni or Toro. which one wins? I might have to give that a tie for now.
Yesterday, I sat down at Yutaka for a Nabeyaki Udon. Last week, I also went to Japango for Tempura Udon. Both Udon were great, but in terms of the broth and udon quality, I think I have to give Japango the upper hand. Tempura shrimp at Japango was also bigger tho (but I do realize I’m comparing Nabeyaki Udon with Tempura Udon which technically are only similar but not the same).
In terms of service, the waiter who served me was very helpful.
Anyway, Yutaka’s food is still great. I’ll probably head to Japango as my first choice and Yutaka second.
Quality: 8.5÷10. Service: ⁸⁄₁₀. Value: 8.5÷10. Overall: 8.5÷10 (not an average).

I’m a fan of the Godzilla’s Egg. I found this a novel presentation and delicious at that!
Skip the oden. The broth is a tad too salty with very little soup. Though, there was a lot of stuff to go with it. I asked for hot water to dilute it to my preferred taste.
Our server, Cheri, was awesome. She was friendly and enthusiastic about the menu. We enjoyed her recommendations very much! Ask for the Daily Specials menu.

Nous y sommes allés un lundi midi et avons pris la formule Sushi lunch pour 2. Nous avons eu 16 sushis, 6 makis, 2 rouleaux, deux soupes misos, deux salades et deux glaces.
Tout était excellent. Les sushis étaient variés, le poisson très bon et tendre, le riz était spectaculaire.
L’accueil et le service étaient parfaits. Le restaurant était très propre.
Le menu du soir ou à la pièce est un peu cher, mais la formule du midi est vraiment abordable et vous en avez beaucoup pour votre argent !

I came here for my birthday dinner last night and I can honestly say that this place served the best sashimi that I have ever had. We ordered the chef sashimi special, two pieces of uni, lobster sashimi, oysters and the spider roll.
The fish sashimi was melt-​in-​your-​mouth heavenly. The oysters were small, but fleshy, fresh and delicious. The lobster sashimi was a first for me and a definite must try. They take the lobster head garnish and turn it into soup afterwards too. This was the first restaurant that had properly cleaned and fresh uni. The spider roll was not the best but certainly not the worst.
All in all, I loved my experience here. The staff were very kind and patient. Service was relatively quick and there was a high level of responsiveness from staff. Although some may argue that the price is hard to justify, I would say that you’re paying for the freshness and quality of ingredients. I definitely highly recommend this place.

The restaurant is nice and clean in a great location. We came on a Tuesday evening and it was maybe half full. We ordered:
Sashimi app: tasted pretty fresh
Crisy soft shell crab: it was fairly large and really crunchy and tasty
Special lobster dish (forget the name, see pic): no idea what ingredients on top but it was really tasty
Green tea crème brûlée: delicious
Overall the food was delicious. Service was good but theyre probably understaffed.

There are many Japanese restaurant in Toronto.
There are some that can gave you the true experience of what Japanese food is like if you were to visit Japan.
There are some that mimic the Japanese style food and gets you the understanding of what Japanese food is like.
And there are some just slap the name «Japanese» on some food (like rice and raw fish) and call themselves «Japanese restaurant».
This place? Barely doing using the name Japanese on some food that doesn’t remotely close to what Japanese food is like.
(Yes, this place is worst than some asian all you can eat place.)
Here is how…
When I walked in, the restaurant seems nice and the décor looks pretty good.
But disposable chopsticks? That doesn’t look good. (Even food court at Eaton Centre serve with real knife and forks.)
Menu is pretty much lunch SPECIAL driven, which is understandable, and may be a good thing to someone who has a hard deciding what to eat.
I chose the unagi-​don (BBQ-​Eel on bowl of rice) and a chef’s sashimi lunch. (Both came with a salad and bowl of miso soup)
The server came by later and asked me if I would like to have two bowl of salad and soup, or if just one set is fine. With the menu being lack of vegetables options, I choose to have two sets of salad and soup.
Salad and soup came, is nothing good to write about. See the picture I posted. Some of the lettuce had brown edges. The carrots was dried-​out.
After a bit of waiting, both dishes came at the same time. Sashimi should came first as it needs no cooking time, but I guess since they use pre-​cooked BBQ-​eel, it was just a matter of reheating it? Then why it took soooo long?
As stated above, BBQ-​eel was a pre-​cooked one, and it came on top of a very small portion of rice. And the RICE, THE RICE…
Right now in Canada, you can buy rice directly from Japan at a premium price.
You can buy Japanese-​style rice grown in USA and other places in the world.
And there are option that you can use as substitute for the Japanese-​style short grain rice.
This place uses none of the above.
NONE OF THE ABOVE!!!
The long grain rice they use was cooked to a point that it’s not sticky, and that’s probably why they gave me a spoon for it. Also the bowl had a lot of sauces in it, making the entire bowl being overly sweet. I had to use the other bowl of plain rice that serves with the sashimi to balance out the sweetness.
So how should I rate this? Hmm…
On to the sashimi.
It came with 9 different cuts of different types of fish. While it looks good on plate, they did put the fish from a light to oily to sauced order, just having this-​and-​that all over the plate. It came with a bowl of warm rice in double the size of the unagi-​don. Should came with a sushi rice that is slightly flavoured with the vinegar? Well, I don’t know, but certainly not a bowl of simple long grain rice…
Price-​wise, the sashimi is a bargain, 18 pieces of fish, a bowl of rice, a soup and a salad for just $ 28 in downtown Toronto? Come on. If I order just that, they at least would get one more star. Heck, if I ignore the rice, I would have gave it a 3 or 4 stars and continue to mislead people to try this place.
But the half-​filled bowl of BBQ-​eel over rice, came with a salad and soup, at the $ 20 price tag? I can buy a whole fresh eel and barbecue it and put it on top of a bowl of premium Japanese rice for less than that.
I just felt that the BBQ-​eel rice bowl, has about $ 10+ of it goes toward the restaurant and not the food.
So it’s a one star.

BOTTOM LINE: Yutaka has overtaken Japango as my favourite mid-​tier Japanese resto.
I’ve been a long-​time fan of Japango, but not so much their cramped space that makes a lot of restos in JAPAN look spacious! Yutaka is the opposite and perhaps even too cavernous, but it works. There are rows of seats, cubicles and, of course, the bar seating where you can watch the chefs at work. As others have mentioned, service can be variable, and there’s a been 1 or 2 times where they forgot to fill my order.
But where it matters though, the fish, is where Yutaka shines. Their CHIRASHI DON is a hefty portion of fresh cuts of sashimi. Their menu also offers quite a selection of individual fish you can order at fairly reasonable prices. They offer an OMAKASE but I have not had a chance to order it.
They also offer a wide variety of other offerings including noodle soups. To that end, I would highly recommend their NABEYAKI UDON, with its hearty broth and chock full of fish, chicken and veggies. It’s a great winter dish to order. Finally, although I haven’t had their robata dishes yet, it’s on my list to try next time. They regularly offer various specials, and on of my favourites is their steamed mushrooms (enoki, king oysters, etc.).
With Yutaka on the block now, there’s finally legitimate competition to Japango, and that can only be a good thing.

I expected a lot more from this spot but was disappointed thoroughly.
First off the reservation system on their website didn’t work properly so I had to call in (it kept showing no tables were available on a Sunday evening) to book.
Ah well the place is clean and big.
We ordered the following
Chicken Teriyaki Dinner, Tempura dinner and a Spicy Tuna roll.
They came with rice, salad and miso. Miso soup was bland as is the norm here in TO. Salad was mundane.
The spicy tuna was forgetful. The rice was mushy and the roll didn’t have a kick as well.
I didn’t the Teriyaki Chicken but apparently it wasn’t anything special either.
Now for the tempura this was a sorry excuse for Tempura as it was barely warm. Decent serving but it neither had the crunch nor the freshness one craves. The batter was poorly done as well. I would say little better than a food court level.
2 Star and when one factors in the price 1.5 star.

A surprising and wonderful delight in the middle of downtown!
This restaurant may not be 5-​starts comparable to places you might get north of the city, or stand-​out classic like sushi kaji, but for a place that is at dundas/​university, this is a more than welcome addition.
This place is quite large, and I was surprised how busy it got for a Tuesday! They don’t let you book online despite having (and I assume paying for) an online reservation system, it always says it has nothing available. I tried calling in but no one answered, which may be for the best, since once we arrived no one spoke English that well. BUT I did email in for a reservation, so that is your best option if you want to snag a particular seat.
I wanted to sit at the chef’s bar, since I wanted to do omakase, or chef’s choice/​off menu. These chairs have backs to them, so they are the same as the table chairs (although this restaurant has many booths that looked quite nice).
Service was a mixed bag, but in the end, for me, it added to the authentic feeling. Our male server did not (admittingly) speak English very well, so when he went through the daily specials we had to pay close attention to what he was saying. We told him we wanted omakase, and asked how much money he thought we should pay for it (you set the price and the chef goes from there) — we suggested $ 70,and he said, no no too much, $ 40! Well, a few minutes later he came back and said the chef said for that price we should just get the chef’s special sushi set (which is on the menu), so we just spoke to the chef directly from that point on and set a price of $ 60. (You can pick the price from $ 60 – 80, makes the most sense)
We told him we mostly wanted sushi with just a bit of sashimi.
It is important to note that our meal took almost 3 hours! That wasn’t because it was plate after plate of food, rather, we were left with each course for 30 – 40 minutes. This was nice because it allowed you to be relaxed and just enjoy yourself; but good to know if you’re on a time constraint. I can see from the other reviews we were not the only ones who had a longer than anticipated experience — this was because as far as I can tell they have two dudes making food for the whole joint.
Highlights included (for me): squid with ikura, wagyu beef, the tuna — oh the tuna!, mackarel and the salmon. You know it’s good when a standard sushi you get no matter where you go, like salmon, tastes completely different and fresh. Yum! We also ordered the chicken wings off their robata menu because my co-​worker recommended them and they WERE SO GOOD so also get those (salt flavour).
Total for $ 60 omakase (10 nigiri, 1 maki, 4 sashimi, one soup each), one bottle of sake to share ($ 22), chicken wing ($ 5) was around $ 80 each including tax. (not tip)
Took forever to get our bill because this is a traditional restaurant, so you have to ask for it and then be persistent in paying.
Chef was friendly but not overly insistent on having conversation, just the right amount.
Saw lots of take out, that could be good too.
Oh and bathrooms were nice! my favourite! :-)

Didn’t really know what to expect when I visited Yutaka, but my stomach and I left content.
The restaurant was clean and well furbished, and our waiter was courteous and friendly. My friends and I ordered a variety of rolls and dishes from their «kitchen» section on the menu. The sushi was good, it was better than the average around here but nothing particularly stood out which felt a bit weird given the place presented itself as more upscale.
Their red dragon roll was the most popular at table. I particularly loved the oyster isobeyaki– loved the taste the yuzu added. The edamame could have used more salt on it.
While the food was good, as a GTA-​er, I could find sushi of the same quality around my hood so it wasn’t worth the trip for me to come all the way down for Yutaka. However, if you’re in the area and wish to have some authentic Japanese cuisine, this place would be perfect.

Thrilled to see more authentic Japanese restos moving into the hood! Excellent service and very nice décor! Extremely reasonable prices too for the quality of fresh fish offered!
Chef’s special sushi dinner ($ 35) offers good value for money. I especially liked the toro sushi which literally melted in my mouth! The set includes a miso soup and a side house salad (both pretty standard fare).
The Yutaka salad and Goma Ae were both quite good. The portions are big and perfect for sharing.
Karaage was a bit of a disappointment. The sauce on top made it soggy. Otherwise the presentation was very nice!
The robata grill items are a-​ok. No complaints but nothing to write home about. Desserts are a little boring: ice creams and a crème brûlée. We went to Kekou for gelato instead.
I will definitely return when I crave sushi at mid-​range prices. This place is huge and did not fill up on a Sat evening. Plus I’ll be comfortable coming here alone since we saw a few solo diners.

3.5 Round Up to a 4
So when is the best time to enjoy an excellent «Chef» special chirashi/​sushi/​sashimi at Yutaka or most of the Japanese restaurants around town? The answer is no one knows… not even the Sushi Chef as it is really depends on the shipment that arrives everyday.
I was all psyched up to enjoy one of the Chef Special during my visit to Yutaka. And sadly after talking to the chef telling me that’s not any fresh and unique fish available… I ended up just ordering a normal Sushi Platter.
Sushi Lunch ($ 19) has a good selection of fresh fish which I really enjoyed. The only think maybe the spicy roll which was overdosed with spicy mayo.
I like the spacious and comfortable seating.
I came right at 11:30 am when the restaurant opened to beat the lunch rush. By 12:30 pm, the place was full and seemed like they need more wait staff. So come here either for early or late lunch!

Had the Chef’s Chirashi Lunch
Really liked this chirashi especially because of the fish selection. At $ 28, you’d be getting their seasonal premium fishes which changes and a few basic ones.
In this particular one I had, it contained: chutoro, ocean trout, madai (japanese seabream), ebi, ika, hamachi, tako. They were all fresh and delicious. My only issue was the rice was kinda dry and hard instead of sticky as how I like my sushi rice.
The server was nice and very enthusiastic in explaining what was in the chirashi.
Finally, a great alternative when Japango is full! Also, this place is more modern and spacious than Japango so it’s better for business lunches or big groups.

When I asked my mom where she wanted to go for dinner on Mother’s Day, she chose Yutaka, so I knew right away the place had to be Japanese owned and operated = authentic.
It turns out that the owner and head sushi chef is someone she knew when he worked as a sushi chef at Café Michi.
The space is very open, stylish and dramatic with beautiful stone tiles on the wall behind the sushi and Robata bar that runs almost the entire back wall of the restaurant.
I have seen reviews complaining about the prices here, but if you know — and can taste — the difference between authentically prepared sushi and other Japanese cuisine vs the places that cut corners to save money, then you will appreciate the quality and attention to detail at Yutaka.
My mom let the chef create a custom Omakase dinner for her, which included a Yutaka Salad (an interesting blend of lettuces with raw broccoli, avocado, grape tomatoes, peppers, wakame, toasted pine nuts in a tasty soy, sesame, balsamic vinaigrette with shaved and fried leeks on top for an artistic presentation) as well as Tiger Shrimp from the Robata bar, and an exquisitely prepared and beautifully presented plate of sashimi.
Celebrating Mother’s Day, I was in the mood for 2 of my childhood favourites Chawan mushi and Tempura, and Yutaka did not disappoint.
Chawan mushi is a steamed egg custard and Yutaka puts bite size pieces of chicken, shrimp, enoki and shiitake mushrooms and mitsuba (Japanese parsley) which gave it a slightly herbal taste.
The tempura was perfectly fried, not at all greasy with generous servings of shrimp, sweet potato, eggplant, red pepper, and squash.
Mom said it was her favourite Mother’s Day meal ever,!
So if you are tired of standing in line for hours at Uncle Tetsu, waiting for Japanese Cheesecake, just walk around the corner to Yutaka and have some delicious authentic Japanese food served by an all Japanese staff, a rarity in Toronto!

Renovations have made this place feel so much nicer. There’s plenty of well-​spaced tables and booths for private chatter, but I think the place to be is at the sushi bar (isn’t it always?).
I came here for sushi a la carte yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to find that even smack dab in the middle of the week, the seafood was fresh. Ordered: scallop, fresh spot prawn (on daily special for $ 6−8/piece depending on the size), hamachi (I think? Slips my mind at the moment), and ika/​squid. The scallop was seared on top with a blowtorch. The hamachi was delicately garnished with a tiny dollop of grated ginger and sparing slivers of green onion. Spot prawns, still quivering, were presented on plate to the photog-​heavy diner next to me (the chefs were more than fine with the diner taking photos — they even turned the plate for optimal shots and kindly offered best angles!).
Friendly waitstaff and chefs chat with you if you’re up to it, check to ask if you’re enjoying your food, and tell you about the dishes you’re enjoying. I really wanted to try the chawanmushi, which one of the chefs highly recommend (he pointed to the other chef who makes all of them) but I was already running late for a concert so had to skip it.
All in all, exemplary service and delicious food. I’ll definitely be back again and will have to try the chawanmushi for sure.

When we first arrived, we noticed there weren’t many people in the large restaurant. Yes, this place is still fairly new. Either way, we knew we would give it a try.
The menu is quite varied. It’s not like the izakayas around the city (or across the street for that matter). It’s a Japanese restaurant that serves robata grilled items, sushi/​sashimi, and other cooked foods. You’re not welcomed with people shouting «irrashaimase!!!». No one shouts at you when you leave either.
We chose to order the following sushi a la carte:
Seabream
Amberjack
Yellowtail
Horse Mackerel
Red Tuna
Ocean Trout
The first plate we received was perfect. Each piece of sushi was expertly cut and it was amazing. The rice was balanced, flavourful, and held together nicely. Just the way sushi should be. Unfortunately, the second plate was not as precise as the first (tuna was cut in rectangles and didn’t drape over the rice, the Seabream was a tad misshapen).
The black cod was expertly grilled. It was tender, silky smooth, and flavourful.
The tempura was lightly battered and wasn’t greasy tasting. Get the 2 shrimp+5 vegetables. For the same price, I thought 3 shrimp wouldn’t be enough and 10 pieces of veg just wasn’t going to cut it.
We also tried the hamachi piripiri something or another. It was 5 pieces sashimi with a tasty sauce each on a small bed of blanched green onions surrounding a little salad. I liked it a lot. I’m a sucker for yellowtail.
Lastly, we had the tuna tartare topped with a quail’s egg. It was good but it was distinctly Korean tasting since it was mixed in what I believe was gochujang.
Anyways, we were happy to have tried this new place. I just hope they develop more consistency in their sushi because damn, that first plate in itself was enough reason to go back!
BTW: The wasabi is the real deal here. They also serve a special soy sauce that tastes completely different from the one on the table.