Sushi on Bloor Shut Down
Sushi on Bloor has been shut down. Score one for New Generation and Sushi 101 in the ongoing Bloor street sushi wars. Apparently they have fewer unwanted, uh, visitors (or better food handling) than the spot that was voted #1 cheap sushi restaurant in Toronto by readers of this site.
Details about why Toronto Public Health closed Sushi on Bloor are scarce at this time. I don't think DineSafe updates their web site on weekends. But looking at the latest DineSafe inspection report for the restaurant gives us a few hints.
On March 16th, inspectors gave it a Conditional Pass and listed nine infractions from "Failure to Protect Food from Contamination" to "Inadequate Pest Control". Here's a look at the full report:
I'll update this post once DineSafe updates their site, or as additional information becomes available.
Photo and hat tip to The Tastebuds
Comments (60)
Just don't go to Sushi 101 instead. Went there for dinner today upon seeing Sushi on Bloor closed. Despite 3 waitresses and 3 sushi chefs and a relatively quiet Sunday night, the service was extremely slow and we waited an hour for the food to arrive. For our wait and numerous complaints, we were offered "complimentary edamame" which was oversalted, overcooked, and arrived 20 minutes after it was promised. (How hard is it to screw up edamame?)
By the time we left for a "quick light dinner" it was 1.5 hours later and we gave up on the last dish. The sushi was not as good as Sushi on Bloor and was a bit pricier. I won't be going to again.
Cheap sushi? That's taking your life in your hands. You go out for cheap foie gras too? Sushi's a cuisine that rather depends on a luxury item in Toronto: fresh fish 1500km from any ocean. Eat something else for cheap; spend money on sushi or avoid it.
But James, how am I supposed to hang out with my blogosphere friends to discuss crappy web comics and twee-folk bands whilst wearing bad t-shirts unless I eat cheap sushi? It's all my Internet pals are capable of digesting, see.
My, my...someone has a horribly skewed perception of how the internet works. Try not to project your flawed perceptions of its upon the rest of us, okay?
Just out of curiosity, what would have to happen here for you to not feel disdainful? Like, would the sushi have to be expensive? Is the cheapness what's really getting to you?
I kind of agreee with the "don't go for the cheap sushi"...it's not really all that different from say, a burger...if you pay, normally, a few dollars for a real one..and then you go to McD's and get one for 39 cents...and then complain that it may not even be real meat...
If you are in a restaurant where the soda is the most expensive item...walk away: - )
I don't mind paying more for sushi for the peace of mind that the chef knows what he/she is doing.
I had reservations for ten on Friday and no one called to cancel. Given it's sushi on bloor, I wasn't too surprised. I was surprised when someone arrived to pick up take out and were let into the establishment to pick up their food.
Gross.
Date Inspected: March 18, 2009
This establishment was inspected by Toronto Public Health in accordance with the Ontario Food Premises Regulation, and passed the inspection.
You can "in Theroy" have a fast food style sushi places that has cheap prices as long as turn over is huge "which it is". I wonder how what infractions shut this place down.
I live 2 doors down from this dump and it never ceases to amaze me how the masses flock to this place. There are regularly lineups out the door of people waiting to eat smelly and dirty fish. Most of their menu has been on the seafood watch list for years due to overfishing or high levels of mercury or other contaminants. On top of that, they get cited at least once a year by Public Health. Evidently, their customers have even less brains than they have money. Keep voting 'em #1!
Toronmto Public always sends out "special Inspectors" for these high profile calls. Notice it is always the goodlooking, young Indian and White guys who pose for the camera. I don't think they are actual inspectors!!!!!!!!
I'm a big fan of Big Sushi (388 Bloor Street West). They are also fairly decently priced, the food is always fast and it's very tasty.
it's inexpensive cause it has to be. with 20 other sushi places within walking distance, if you are the pricier restaurant, people will go elsewhere. supply and demand, people.
that being said, yuck yuck yuck.
Hey, Jess - you're bang on Big Suchi - they do have high quality and fresh stuff. (Service can be a bit slow but the food is worth it!)
Laura - if you think Sushi on Bloor is a high profile case...really, it ain't Rain or Canoe....
DineSafe now says the place was closed re: the March 27 inspection but is now open with a PASS
If you want sushi, go to Take on Front St, Japango, Canoe, Ki (last two not exactly authentic, but great fish), Nami, Sushi Kaji, Hiro...
Discount sushi has to be one of the dumbest things in existence (all you can eat sushi is of course worse). That strip in the Annex is exceptionally vile, but incredibly popular. I wonder if the people who flock to cheap sushi places would also flock to a restaurant serving discount steak tartare or would get McDonald's to make them a rare hamburger?
I think she calls it "high-profile" because clearly people care enough about this place to crawl out of the woodwork when it comes up and find the time to snit about complete strangers' offensive culinary tastes.
(Disclosure: I like ordering bento boxes! String me up.)
The original image in the article is of a RED CLOSED banner, however, the GREEN PASS box is checked marked.... what's the deal with that?
I have to agree with all the smart sushi lovers... cheap sushi is not authentic sushi! Sushi-chefs train for years pefecting their art, it's not assembly line cuisine. I work at a high quality japanese restaurant in London, and mostly well-off people eat here because it is expensive and soooo worth it.
College students have to eat all-u-can-eat, cause they can't afford the high quality stuff, nor do they know the difference. In Japan, they don't even eat sushi often...they eat it on special occasions because it's expensive and "special", not like an East-side Marios.
People who eat cheap sushi, just don't know the difference quality makes and therefore can't appreciate it when they actually fork out the dough for it. It's meant to be a specialty... not a gluttonous north-american buffet-style hogfest and something you can afford to eat every other day.
@JC - the green box is in the section of those signs that says "result of previous inspection"
@jamesmallon - where do you get the idea that there's fresh fish involved? Even at the high end in Japan, most of the fish has been frozen. In NYC you can pay 300 bucks at Masa or Nobu for a high end Sushi meal and you're probably getting frozen fish since it's technically illegal to serve never-frozen raw fish in the US.
A lot of the comments here are hilarious. Uppity, snotty comments about the poor ignorant masses who go to sushi on bloor because they don't know any better. The lengths people will go to to feel superior. Hey spinach, I guess I have less brains than money, I eat at sushi on bloor! Poor ignorant me. But the joke's on you guys, because if I can eat sushi for 10 or 20 dollars and think its delicious, and you guys need to spend 50, who cares whether its because I can't "differentiate" or for any other reason. I'm getting off cheap! Lucky me! I also love some uptown all you can eat sushi places: the sashimi tastes delicious (to my untrained mouth) and I can have tons of it, for less than 30 bucks!
Part of me wishes that I could be sophisticated and appreciate the "difference quality makes". I could be some snotty young professional ripping on people who are happy spending less on something. Then I remember those people are douchebags.
On topic, it makes me very sad that this place got shut down if even for a few days, but I don't honestly know if it will stop me from going there in th future.
Has nobody tried Japan Sushi across the street? It's always fresh, clean and the prices are pretty good.
You sound pretty pleased with yourself. People do, in fact, eat sushi all the time in Japan. Are you stuck in SW Ontario making your ridiculous judgments, or the UK, where base-pricing for everything is absurd? Do you consider French manicures and spray tans a mark of "luxury" and "class"?
Have you actually been to Japan? I have, twice, and my brother lives there. I had tons of sushi both times, and just like here, they have a lot of cheap sushi joints as well as higher-end restaurants.
Yes, Nir, you are indeed lucky! You've been blessed with the gifts of being naive and oblivious.
Sushi on Bloor has poor service. New Generation has friendly service. Thus, I would frequent NG. However, if i want high quality sushi, I'll head to Edo.
I look forward to the day when I can splurge on a visit to Sushi Kaji (it's expensive and a little too far for me) but in the meantime, I will happily gorge myself at "cheap" sushi establishments. Screw the haters!
I'm a fan of Nama Sushi in the St. Clair West area. Excellent quality, and very affordable. I find Korean-owned places (like Nama) are closer in authenticity to Japanese-run sushi restaurants, but the prices are inexpensive.
Now, firstly, Sushi On Bloor is loved because the food is delicious, and yes, affordable. I'll bet big places like this can get their food for very little - and good for them for not demanding a ridiculous profit.
I don't understand why people are so squamish. All of us who have eaten there have never gotten sick - if anyone had, there would have been a big fuss about it. We all have concentrated acid in our stomachs by the way, meant to kill anything and everything. And with so many customers, do you really think fish there sits around for long? The germophobic health inspectors aren't doing the public a favour. Rats and cockroaches infest nearly every food establishment in the city anyway, and I've seen some truly hazardous places get a complete pass. Smarten up.
May this be a lesson to those food establishments that don't prioritize cleanliness. We actually have to be vigilant about it because our health is at risk, right?
Naive about what, and oblivious to what? I mean out of all the insulting adjectives you could have chosen, I have trouble fitting those in. I'm well aware that there are sushi places (and anything places) way more expensive than where I go. I'm sure that in many cases it tastes better too. But I enjoy sushi on bloor and its great value. So I go there. What's naive or oblivious about that? You seem to be offended by the fact that people can enjoy something that's not the absolute best (and I admit it's not). Sushi may be very important to you and worth spending a lot of money on. On the other hand, maybe you have a horrible 200 dollar department store bike, or a crappy pair of stock iPod earphones, or a cheap tennis racket, or or or... Bottom line: everyone buys third rate stuff (unless maybe you make like 200 000 a year), its just a question of which stuff. If someone's happy with crappy bikes or crappy earphones or crappy sushi, what's the point knocking on it? Or calling them stupid because of it?
I like and appreciate the value of gourmet cooking but that doesn't take away from my love of good, cheap sushi (or the occasional chicken wing for that matter, or Wonderbread with peanut butter and jelly). Sushi Island on College Street is way better than Sushi on Bloor and it's all you can eat! Try the Jade Island roll. It's got grapes in it. Yum!
ok here is the true good fish cost a lot off $ tuna 14$ to 16$ a b.l and affter cleaning you would waste about 10% rice 18$ to 19$ a 10 b.l bag good sushi chef know that good fish you don't have to do anything just eat bad fish old fish let put some chilli some mayoe to cover the smell put more wasabi o so good 1 day after or 1 week after you will get sick p.s you guy put to nuch soy sauce and wasabi you can"t tase the food and avocado everthing and don"t forget the mayo with chilli sauce tempura bit anyone so good dip fried lefover flour I can go on all nigth but go to go to sleep got to work the next day arigato
i call and order fish for the day the fish conpany will ask if you like to get some old fish for 10 to 20% off to do or not I will get it but I will never eat it that is how the all you can eat sushi place get there fish
i don't care about the class war between the places where i eat my sushi but i do care about the proper handling of the food so i don't get sick from it ... at any price food should be safe or it should be allowed to be served ... if the place was just closed it means that there were some very serious infractions ... but no one can afford to stay closed especially in the food business so they snapped to it and fixed the mistakes but it doesn't mean they won't repeat the old mistakes once the attention of this subject has moved onto another establishment. be safe, eat elsewhere ... there has got to be more than cost involved in choosing a place to eat.
HATERS: Cmon.. with the amount of business SOB does, food doesn't even get a chance to go bad there. I'd rather the food be fresh, than "stored at the proper temperature" for 2 weeks. Think about it, and you've done it before, You know that expired carton of milk in your fridge for days aint getting any fresher!
SUSHI-SNOBS: Go to hell...and take your money there.
I think its a Maki Mile Conspiracy...
I was at Kaji last night for an excellent Japanese meal that bordered on art, and I have also been to many other great sushi restaurants in Toronto - Hiro, Nami... Point being, I appreciate good sushi. But I also appreciate cheap sushi for convenience, speed, and because it is cheap. It is generally not as good, but it is still good. Just because I love wild blueberries in August doesn't mean that I won't eat frozen blueberries. Anyhow, I've gotta say that Sushi on Bloor is actually the only Sushi restaurant in Toronto that I won't go to. I enjoy the sushi boxes at Dominion/Metro, but I can't bring myself to east Sushi on Bloor any more. I stopped going a few years ago. Before "just saying no" I went there about a dozen times and just had so many bad experiences with chewy fish that I had to spit out into a napkin... It is really a bad place. I agree with some other comments - Japan sushi across the street is where it is at. Well-priced and good.
I have to agree with Nir here. . . there are a lot of uppity sushi snobs posting comments here. I've been to Japan, had sushi there. . .it was delicious! Much better than here (especially the tuna). But, you know what? I don't care!! I still love to eat at Sushi on Bloor (and will continue to do so) as well as the all-you-can-eat sushi joints, because I'm not a pretentious snob who insists on eating only the highest quality, most expensive food because it gives me that sense of being part of the social elite. You people really need to get over yourselves. And, in regards to the health and safety allegations, I've been eating cheap sushi fairly regularly for 10 years now, and not once have I gotten sick from it. Interestingly, I once did get sick from eating ribs at a pricey steakhouse. Go figure!
I agree with sushi eater - i worked at mid-range to nice places all through university, some of these places which will remain nameless were the hottest spots in town at the time. Seeing the kitchens and how they operated, the more expensive the restaurant the more dirty, over-handled and nasty the food actually was. I had to laugh at these rich snotfaced tools just lapping it up like there was no tomorrow. Next time your artful perfectly arranged plate sits down in front of you just consider how many bare fingertips had to touch it to get it looking so pretty. Oh yeah and gourmet wholesalers are the most notorious for changing expiration dates on packages.
After reading comments posted a day or two ago, I was annoyed to see a lot snobs posting comments putting down those who choose to eat at sushi restaurants that fit their budget. I am glad Nir and Sushi eater have spoken up. You snobs need to realize that SOB is in the annex and a lot students eat there, and I don't know about you but living a student life on a student budget is not easy. So calm down before putting down others and judging their choices and think outside of your snobby little worlds.
A lot of people are commenting on other sushi places in Toronto, but no one has mentioned E-Sushi, which is a couple of doors down from Sonic Boom. Any thoughts on this place?
I think blogTO should revisit the best sushi in Toronto list, and should put more than five locations on there. Just saying.
I love the discussion. Just to throw another thoughts out there. I've eaten the entire spectrum of sushi in Toronto from Kaji/Hiro to Sushi on Bloor to all-you-can-eat. In the end, if the food tastes great and is of good value, it is worth going to the restaurant. If you don't like it, you can dine somewhere else. Sushi on Bloor produces great tasting sushi at a very good price. That strip of Annex buildings is old and a place that is busy will often relax on certain food safety regulations, i.e. temperature/utensils/washroom care. Few places, even some of the high end restaurants would pass on all these criteria. Looks like they were getting a bit complacent and now that they've gotten a bit of a wake-up call, sushi on bloor will be even better. As long as I enjoy the food, no one is going to tell me they know better based on their taste buds and judgements.
I'm an Annex local, and though I never minded Sushi on Bloor, I usually head to Mariko or Big Sushi... my favorite place in town is actually the Queen Street Hosu... I know one day I'll try the "authentic" stuff, but seriously, it's not like my budget lets me eat at Canoe all the time, does that mean I don't appreciate amazing food & service? I think it's all about expectation for money spent... but freshness shouldn't be what's compromised for cost. Susur Lee frequents a lot of the Chinatown places I go to regularly... again, service & decor is sacrificed, but the food is ALWAYS good.
DS, I have now. yikes! not as safe as I figured.. well, it's close to work & I love it! I did get dumplings from Dumpling House after the rats were posted on BlogTO... as my mom always says, a little bit of dirt never hurt anyone! :)
Sushi on Bloor is great! I was just there again tonight, and it's up and running like new. Lots of patronage too. :)
I just returned from e-sushi. They had 3-4 banners outside promoting their $12.99 all you can eat sushi, so we thought we would give it a try. The bill for 2 was $41.79!!!
Why?
Because they have 2 all you can eat menus. The cheap one at $12.99 and the expensive one at $17.99. This 'detail' is only written with tiny letters on the bottom of the menu front page. We did not see it, so we paid $21 each.
OK, we should have seen it and they did write it, BUT is this how people do business? This was sneaky and almost offensive. Are they expecting to become successful with such crappy business methods? I will never go there again, and I do not recommend it. The quality was below average anyway.
And a general remark: sorry guys, but this is another piece of evidence about how business works in N. America. I am from Europe where food is more expensive, but at least they don't consider you a total idiot!
I personally have nothing against cheap sushi place. I enjoy cheap place like sushi on bloor as well as more expensive ones like Japango. It really depends on what kind of food ur gonna eat there.. if you're all for dishes with sashimi (raw fish) yea go for the more expensive ones. but if you're going for tempura or teriyaki something or spider roll... i think SOB or other cheap sushi place can be great places to go too. Mind you California roll, whatever Dragon rolls are NOT authetic anyways and they're all North-Americanized. Even in Japan they have bargain 100 yen sushi places as well as high-class $$$ sushi restaurants i been to either, here or overseas. and i dont' see what's wrong with going to a cheap-er place. For those of you like jamesmallon who hate cheap sushi places or are trying to feel high class, i must say that it's only ppl's personal preference. You think you can really get "GOOD" sushi here? I don't think so. 1500km away? r u kidding me? why don't you fly to Tsukiji and get some REAL sushi that's made from freshly caught fish within kilometers from where they get ashore? if you insist "Spend money or avoid it" Price is not the most important things, the food is. As long as you enjoy it (and of course dont get sick from it) the purpose of eating is fulfilled. Hopefully SOB will pay attention to their food processing and re-open soon
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