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| - My favourite go to sushi restaurant in downtown Toronto for value for the money.
First of all, I never order All You Can Eat sushi anywhere (even though this place offers it) as it inevitably results in terrible to mediocre outcomes. I go for the a la carte menus and cherry-pick the rolls and items I think will best suit the occasion - it costs more, but this is a column about food, not frugality.
I rate my sushi spots according to value for the money - if I am paying big bucks, they have to deliver accordingly. When we eat here, the walk out the door price (including tax and tip) is about $20 per head, not including alcohol. For that price, I want good food, but I don't expect fugu or lobster rolls. Natural Sushi delivers. The decor is 1970's diner, and the music matches the decor. Something's gotta give for a downtown restaurant to provide good food for that price, and it's the veneer tables and dollar store decorations here. Service is usually very good, but I've been there when they are short staffed and the wait can be extensive.
They have a good selection of the usual suspects (Dynamite, California, etc.) mixed in with some truly delicious creations. My favourites include the Natural Dragon roll (a fabulous blend of eel and spicy tuna), the Queen roll (scallop, shrimp and crab), the Bloor roll (tuna, avocado and green onion), the Rice Paper Wrap, a sort of de-constructed California Roll, and the Tuna Hand Roll (packed with tuna!). Portions are generous for the pricing, and the rolls aren't overstuffed with rice as so many other restaurants try to cut corners.
For the cost conscious patrons, they usually have an excellent beer special on the go, and the box meals are good value as well - tasty, well prepared and well priced. They offer an all you can eat lunch and dinner here, but I've never gone down that road as invariably too many of the items I want to order are not included in the AYCE menus.
Hands down, Natural Sushi beats all the other sushi restaurants of the same price point within the area, and I've been to all of them.
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