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| - It's time for one of Leslie's patented Pros and Cons... so here goes::::
Pros
One of Toronto's venerable sushi institutions. Hiro has delivered authentic sushi to Toronto for 30 years (time-line is an estimate). Of course, Ichiriki and Yasu are near downtown.
Rare fish, staples, omakase, etc. it is all here (well, except fake crappy all-you-can-eat whatever of course). Sushi FLAVOUR!
The cooked items are only a few but they are actually worth savouring. They are umami.
They use real wasabi and not the powdered horse radish stuff.
Many fish from Japan
Very nice new décor, especially if you sit at the new wooden dug-out bar. Low lights and cleanliness, which extended to the washrooms are good things.
Great service. The waitresses were polite and sincere
Not many places in or near downtown actually serve authentic sushi. This is a shame in Toronto so Hiro is welcome.
The store within the restaurant is a treat. Buy a knife, or a cloth or a book, doesn't matter they have a very nice shop of Japanese gifts and souvenirs.
Cons:
Frankly the nori on the hand rolls and rolls was disappointing
The negihama rolls had something like stalks in them, a total no-no, just stick with fish and fine green onions please
And worst of all, certain items were an explosion of wasabi. This spice is supposed to be applied sparingly and not put on like a party dare. It darted from my chin to my nose to my forehead and back of my neck and I was in tears. It sounds funny now, but wow. Perhaps it is better to order sashimi here.
The menu has a few inauthentic rolls, but at least they identify them as such..
I am not sure how cute or sanitary peanuts acting as chopstick rests are. Is it rally proper to rest the tip of one's chopsticks on a peanut (with its shell)?
We had the Chilean sea bass appetizer, which was tasty and completely umami. Nice use of dashi flavour. The Hamachi and toro were top-notch. The rolls and certain items hit by the avalanche of wasabi were not.
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