Yasu Toronto

81 Harbord St, Toronto
(416) 944-8212

Recent Reviews

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Jermaine

Wonderful and authentic omakase experience in a simple yet elegant atmosphere. The opportunity to watch the chef at work was fantastic. The additional supplemental menu was delicious. The service staff was friendly and knowledgeable - be sure not to miss the sake pairing.

Dan

We love omakase but a couple of the courses were so so strong and overpowering that it ruined the palate for the rest of the courses. The textures were very similar and not enough variance in texture and taste so it became very monotonous and I actually at one point felt sick and had to leave one smoked bonito course on the plate. I am a trained chef that has traveled to 38 countries and I have a pretty diverse palate. This just wasn't good.

Kermit

Amazing food and great explanation during the omakase! Small place that felt like an intimate experience. Highly recommend!

Daniel Marcovitch

Great Omakase. Really fresh, high quality sushi.

Liran Leibman

Great omakase experience! Phenomenal food, great beverage offerings in a fine atmosphere with fine service. Had a great time. Arrigato gozaimasu

Eric Gwangha Roh

One of the best Japanese omakase places in Toronto. Thanks for the good foods and services.

Harry

Having lived in Japan, and others parts of Asia for almost 20 years,where the Omakase is on a different level, I have never tried it after returning back home as I thought I would be disappointed. However, Yasu did not disappoint. Everything was fresh and superb. The sake pairing was perfect. The Caviar and Uni extra, was also fantastic. Everything from start to finish was superb. It was our 25th Anniversary dinner and it was one of the best meals I've had since returning to Toronto. Dinner for two about 800, so bit pricey but definitely worth it!!!

Ashley

Such an amazing and special experience! Definitely reserve a spot at the bar. Seats are limited to 12, and it's cozy, but so worth it. So much detail goes into the prep and you get to see all of it. It's ~16 courses of sushi but kicks off with an appetizer of 4 items. Definitely do the sake pairing! Can't wait to go back and splurge again.

Renato José Rodrigues Fernandes

The omakase is like traveling through Japan! Amazing experience! Super fresh fish and seafood!

mandy d

Absolutely amazing experience was like nothing else.

Vanessa Maria

Sublime! A really perfect evening of perfect food, warm and welcoming service in a minimal, quiet, intimate space. I dined solo, and found the ambiance just right.

James

Definitely the go-to place for your omakase experience: quiet, intimate, tasty. The wide variety of flavours, textures and aromas will take you on an amazing culinary journey.

Nora

Our experience at Yasu was incredibly disappointing. We had a 6:30 PM reservation, arrived 30 minutes late, and called ahead to inform them. From the moment we sat down, the service felt rushed and impersonal. We were expecting a proper omakase experience. However, towards the end, they piled multiple courses onto our plates at once—completely ruining the entire experience. My partner ordered a bottle of sake, and 30 minutes later, the server suddenly told us, “We have another seating at 8:00.” I expressed my concerns respectfully, yet we never received an apology—just an offer to move to another table. We stayed until 9:20 PM, and only 2 other guests showed up for the so-called “next seating.” So why the unnecessary rush?? For the price and reputation, we expected a thoughtful, unhurried omakase experience like at other top spots in Toronto. Instead, it was transactional, rushed, and lacking basic hospitality. Won't be returning FOR sure.

Shokur

I found it overpriced for the valentine special for the quality you are getting. It was good but not amazing.

Brian Cheung

The whole dinner was served with courtesy but the reason why I did not feel welcome was how they served the sake pairing. They preserved the tradition in izakaya of serving sake by the glass inside a Masu (pine wooden box). That is fine and dandy. HOWEVER, it is also customary that they should OVERFILL the sake to indicate that they are happy to have you there, too happy that they forgot to stop pouring. Yasu did NONE OF THAT. The waitress made sure every pouring was to the rim of the sake cup and nothing more, not even a single drop, on every pouring. This kind of service is so halfway that it's trying to impress by following the tradition to a certain degree and then drop the ball because they were playing cheap. Why serve it in a Masu then?!?! It was insulting. For a $80 pairing, I didn't expect such a cheap treatment. In this day and age, just simply being courteous does not win you any stars! MacDonald's cashiers are equally courteous. And as for $80 pairing, it is definitely NOT worth the money. Sake they serve can be easily purchased from LCBO. For instance, they served Dassai 45. This is the CHEAPEST Dassai you can get from LCBO, $33.65/bottle. I expect more exquisite sake choices, if not 23, at least 39. The pairing quantity is also sorrowfully limited and has nothing to do with the fish that's being served. I feel like ordering another bottle of Dassai to finish the dinner but they charge $150 for that, and in light of the rush time frame (they need to serve another round after my dinner), I gave up. It is customary for a restaurant to charge about 3 times the LCBO price, but X5 is highway robbery.
As for the food, only fools would try to distinguish freshness and taste of fish between Japanese restaurants in Toronto. All fishes come from the same limited number of suppliers in Toronto. There is no difference in fish quality between a $50 Omakase and a $600 Omakase. The chef serving us had bluntly admitted that over 50% of their fish do not come from Japan but Spain and Portugal rather. That included the Akami, Chu Toro and OToro that were served. I still gave them 2 stars on food because they served their sushi in WARM sushi rice which is uncommon amongst Toronto sushi restaurants. It is a conscious choice by the chef as I realize that even after they had refill their Ohitsu (rice bucket), the temperature is constant between refills. I applaud such choice on a late Fall night. This is really a personal preference, some like it cold, other likes it room temperature and I haven't had warm sushi for a long time so I savored the occasional change.
Finally, the atmosphere. This restaurant was converted from an old resident so admittedly, space is limited. However, having the washrooms located upstairs and customers access them through VERY narrow stairway is very uncomfortable. Lastly, It is also sad that they do not have a waiting area. DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY! In light of how bad constructions are going on all around downtown, I planned extra time just so I won't be late for my dinner appointment. I arrived 25mins early and was politely asked to leave and return. Most high end Omakase restaurants in Toronto wouldn't dare serving THREE rounds in an evening (2 rounds max) and since Yasu thinks that they could do that, at least have the courtesy to have a small waiting area for customers who might arrive early. The 2 table seats they have are entirely there for money grabs. Omakase shouldn't be served to the table but directly from the chef right in front of you at the counter. Since their business is so good they made those 2 tables so they can grab more money while giving up the essence of omakase. Make those tables sofa or even stools is the least they can do! This restaurant is another example of restaurants who treat profitability above hospitality and traditions.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

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