| rev:text
| - My girlfriend and I went to Arisu last night looking to fulfill a rather big hankering for sushi. Yes, it's a Korean restaurant with Japanese options, and I typically stick to Korean dishes at such venues... boy am I glad I ventured into sushi land at Arisu!
First up, decor: very spacious, huge booths, very comfortable benches, real orchids... it did have a bit of a chain restaurant feel, as it was just so polished, but in this case it was a very good thing. Either they -- or a good designer -- put a lot of thought into the look and feel. ****
Hungry as we were, we ordered the 48pc Snow...bird? Snow...wind? I forget the name -- sushi boat, anyhow, with a variety of sashimi, nigiri, and maki. We also had wakame salad, some miso, and ginseng red tea.
Wakame -- good but not great... pretty standard. ***
Miso -- good but not great... though it did have generous amounts of seaweed, much more than the typical tiny shred. *** 1/2
Ginseng tea -- I thought it was a little weak, Heather thought it was a bit strong... odd we differed in that way. It was still quite tasty, if a bit pricey for the amount. I'll give it ** 1/2 with the caveat that it's certainly worth ordering and trying, though I likely wouldn't get it again.
So, while we're nibbling on our salad and miso, our server (an adorable younger girl who was very attentive and friendly) brings out a HUGE amount of banchan. I believe it was nine small plates in all, each one generously heaped with a variety of tasties. The amount was what I would expect for a table of four or even five. We polished it off, and I remarked that banchan has always been my favourite part of Korean food, but I was surprised to have it offered when we ordered exclusively sushi as a main.
Banchan -- easily a **** 1/2, some of the best I've had.
Now for the sushi boat, and what a boat it was! Beautifully arranged, with extremely generous cuts of sashimi and nigiri -- I'm used to some of the cheaper sushi joints in Toronto, where a typical piece of nigiri is about 1/2 kilo of rice and a milligram of fish. Arisu does not skimp on the fish, folks, and while you're paying (maybe) a little more for the privilege, you're getting great quality. Fresh, skillfully cut, large portions, and most importantly, delicious.
Not a single misfire on the boat. **** 1/2 for the best sushi I've had in Toronto, and the first time I've actually felt bothered to write a review.
And for the capper to all this, while we're enjoying our sushi, our server brings out another round of banchan! I mean, here we are having already stuffed our faces, already been comp'd one large helping of banchan, and she brings us another round. Really very generous.
Finally, we were there with a livingsocial coupon (presented upon arrival, before ordering), and we were treated exceptionally well, not like discount shoppers. This is the first time I've used a group-buy coupon at a restaurant and felt as though I was being given top notch treatment.
It seems as though the staff and owners at Arisu really want to impress, and are willing to go the extra mile to do so. It shows. We will definitely be back, and I hope this review inspires others to try them out. Well worth it, coupon or not.
(All told, our bill came out to only $68 -- we paid $48 due to the coupon -- an absolute steal for the quality and quantity we received.)
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