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| - Their $12.99 AYCE lunch special is a favourite at Queen and Spadina. There was a line-up but my friend and I didn't wait longer than 10 minutes, and by the time we sat down, we knew what to order thanks to being given the menu while we waited.
The atmosphere is fast-paced; it does make for an interesting scene when you see servers bicker about getting the orders on time to your table. It's also a little frustrating when you're trying to get their attention to order more food. They're so focused on fast service that they end up rushing in their actions, which can result into mistakes.
One example was our server banged the leg of the chair into my foot as I was leaving it and they wanted to clear the table right away. It didn't hurt and he did apologize but witnessing their speedy service, I was tempted to turn to them and tell them to, "R-E-L-A-X." I might be leniant but someone else might not be.
As for the food, the lunch menu is long so you have a lot of choices of sushi rolls, maki and tempura to try. My friend and I had the squid tempura (very chewy), large sushi rolls of tempura shrimp, fresh salmon and eel (one of these was called Rock 'N Roll). One roll we did try was the Cowboy Roll, which was stuffed with onions and beef. Personally, I didn't think it paired well with the other fish dishes and tasted more like a cheap steak wrapped in rice.
A challenge with all you can eat sushi is that you end up ordering too much and in some restaurants, you get charged for leftovers. Here, the platters are small, about four to six pieces, so there's minimal leftovers. However we didn't have this problem. We left the restaurant comforting our swollen bellies and with satiate look on our faces.
Aji Sai is worth a revisit but perhaps not during the lunch or dinner rush.
3.5 stars
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