Sushi 101 recently opened it's doors on the madly sushi-dense Annex stretch of Bloor St West. How another sushi joint could possibly survive here is near incomprehensible, but Sushi 101 does enter the game with one advantage: they're the next door to Sushi on Bloor -- probably the most popular spot in the area and home to a constant line-up out the door.
Surely, 101 hopes to lure in hungry diners sick of the waiting game next door, but can this newcomer really stand up to some of the city's favourite sushi houses being mere steps away? Our own reviews of those spots have proven that people tend to be have some serious loyalties when it comes to their sushi places.
Well, for starters, their game plan involves an interior that mimics both Sushi on Bloor & New Gen. It's a mix of comfy booths and tables adjacent to the sushi bar. The menu offers a mix of just about everything from sushi/sashimi standards, to bento boxes and an array of Japanese side-dishes. So far, so familiar.
We order one Bento Box, a 101 specialty called "Fuji Mountain" (California rolls covered in oven-baked crab meat and covered in "home-made sauce") and some Kamisu rolls (rice-less rolls wrapped in cucumber). My partner does her usual inquiry as to whether we can "upgrade" the bento's cucumber/avocado rolls to the Kamisu rolls, and for $2, we're in business.
First up is hot tea, miso soup and an order of edamame beans ($3.25). All three are quite good though pretty much standard.
Next arrive the rolls.
Fuji Mountain ($7.95), pictured here, is made up of 8 small California rolls, buried in warm oven-baked crab meat, chopped green onions and some kind of "home-made sauce". The sauce actually just strikes me as a teriyaki type sauce, but it was hard to tell as there wasn't that much of it (despite a description that said it'd be "flowing" down the mountain!).
Aside from the mystery surrounding the sauce, this was an instant hit with both of us -- definitely something we'd order again and again. Everything was really fresh and flavourful. It's also a pick we haven't really seen on other menus in the area. The only weakness I'd note were loosely wrapped rolls that didn't hold together very well.
The Kamisu Rolls ($5.95) are fresh type rolls that feature cucumber wrapped around avocado, crab and fish eggs. Next door, a variation of these just named "Sushi Salad Rolls" are just about my favourite thing on the menu.
At first sight, I was impressed with how colourful and and large they were. The crab (though imitation) part of the equation was sizeable, but unfortunately, that was part of the problem too. They were a bit too large for the thick cucumber to hold together. There was no way to pick these up without them falling apart and turning into a tossed crab salad sans dressing. More cucumber, cut thinly and wrapped nice and tight, would make all the difference here.
Lastly, in comes Bento Box "A" (pictured at the top). For $7.95, you get chicken teriyaki, mixed veggie tempura, a pair of meat gyoza, salad and rice. Seemed like a pretty good deal on the menu, but upon seeing it, I've got to say that this is a great deal.
Portions border on huge for a bento box at this price. Lots of juicy chicken and a ridiculously big pile of tempura -- 2 big pieces of squash, sweet potato, zucchini, regular potato and even broccoli. But it wasn't all about quantity. Maybe I owe this to the restaurant being half empty, but this was some seriously fresh tempura. The veggie slices inside were so hot I had to drop my first piece, but didn't mind one bit. It gave me time to admire and pick away at the lightly-coloured batter that was super crispy without being too oily... just really, really nice.
The meat-filled gyoza and salad were fine sides though nothing exceptional.
Despite sharing, we could barely finish the meal in front of us. At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder if Sushi 101 was going to jump on the "free ice cream" bandwagon the competition are well-known for.
The answer? No. The only thing that came next was the bill, but that was pretty sweet if you ask me. Only $20 + tip for a meal that has us rolling over to Bathurst Station.
Overall, Sushi 101 certainly has room to improve before it can fill the shoes of its neighbours, but they're off to a decent start. Give it a try and skip the lines for a night.
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"crap meat" well that doesn't sound very enticing. Perhaps we shouldn't rely on spell check too munch.
LOL @ Jeff. Spell check is for wimps. ;) One of those always slips between the cracks. Gotta get me a late night proofer. Typo fixed.
Not too shabby! Sounds like a nice deal.
I skip the lines with reservations :)
What's the point of reviewing a sushi place if you don't actually eat any sushi?
We can't try everything in one sitting. The Fuji Mountain dish captured our attention so we went with rolls. If you're interested in the Sashimi, give it a try and let us know how they were!
maybe you need to work on your chopsticks skills or use hands..
Thanks for the tip, Jack. I'm sure my dining partner from Hong Kong will get a nice laugh out of your mean-spirited advice!
I think the Korean food at 101 is underrated. It's no Korea Town, but I think they'd be better off selling themselves as a Korean place for students and Annexers instead of the 9th sushi place on the block.
I had the misfortune of selecting this place as "somehing new".
The fish was cut by a 4 year old. I haven't felt so ripped off in a long time.
being from HK doesn't guarantee chopsticks skills... in fact, a lot people from HK(the younger generation) do not know how to hold chopsticks.. they hold them like pencil...can he pick up soft tofu, glass thin noodles with his chopsticks without breaking them in pieces? not mean-spirited, that's just the way to test your chopsticks skills growing up as an asian..
can i ask what kind of camera you used while doing your review? thanks!
@Ivor - Well, I usually stop by for meals between work, so I'm carrying a Canon 5DmII. I keep a 35mm 2.0 or 50mm 1.4 lens in my bag for food stuff.
I thought this was actually one of the best sushi meals I ever had tonight at Sushi 101. The service was superb, the fish was super fresh, and the Super Canadian special was amazing. It was cheap as well. The sushi pizza is great here. I'm so surprised there are neg't reviews. I am definitely going here again!
I will no longer eat sushi in the Annex. Twice, I came down with the runs (after dining at two different restos) and luckily made it to the Jewish Community Centre in time to use the toilet. I love Japango (@ Dundas & Elizabeth). The best butter fish I have ever tried. It literally melts on your tongue like butter. What's with all the sushi joints in the Annex anyway?
"madly sushi-dense Annex stretch of Bloor St West" just hope that everyone knows none of these places are authentic in any way, they are all owned and run by Chinese and Korean people. Yes this applies to New Gen and Sushi on Bloor. Don't get me wrong there is good value for what it is.
thanks tanja! and keep on posting!
ah Tanja, how i've missed your food pr0n! Always a treat to read one of your reviews!
After reading Tanja's review, I headed down to Sushi 101 with a friend last night for dinner. I decided to order the same bento box and to my surprise, the grilled chicken came with a dust bunny. Yuck! Suffice to say, I'll continue eating at Japan Sushi or Crispy Rolls.
@tanya how do you go abouts writing a food/restaurant review for the website? or is that posted somewhere already? thanks
Jo, maybe you're just eating too much butterfish! It's often associated with unpleasant GI symptoms. See http://gothamist.com/2008/02/13/beware_the_butt.php
Can I just say that my heart broke forever when Las Iguanas closed to be replaced by the 51729927214th sushi place in the annex.
Las Iguanas gave me so much when all sushi does is give me diarrhea.
I am a former diner of Sushi Bada. After the chef left in November I've been trying to find a new haunt as the quality of the sushi there has severely gone down hill. I tried to get into sushi on bloor at 3:35pm and had to wait for 15 minutes. I decided to leave and try Sushi 101 because for just one person a 15 minute wait is a bit rediculous. I was the only person in Sushi 101 and I really don't know why. I ordered some edemame which was ok, not the greatest I have ever eaten but still not bad. I also ordered the beauty & the beast roll... crab with cucumber and cream cheese, half topped with tuna and the other half with bbq eel. The roll was HUGE a total of 10 pieces, and it was delicious and fresh and wonderful. I have tried every other sushi place on Bloor between Spadina and Bathurst and they all disgust me, but this was quite delicious and very reasonably priced.
Easily my favourite sushi in the city. I randomly get cravings for the Fuji Mountain all the time... like right now...
Don't go to Sushi 101 unless you want to wait 2 hours for your meal.
I think what everyone forgets is that it's hard for new restaurants to have great service right away. As a person who has worked in the industry for over a decade, I've seen it happen all the time. Your business is slow b/c the place is new, you are way overstaffed for the amount of people that actually come in, and then you're losing money b/c you have to pay your staff to stand around. So you send them home. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the most popular sushi place (Sushi on Bloor), which is next door, gets shut down for health inspection and you're slammed with so many customers that you had no idea were going to come in that night.
I've been to Sushi 101 and more than once. I love sushi and often find that at other places, the sushi is either not fresh, the rice is too dry and you have to order many items to feel even the slightest bit full. Sushi 101 is by far, the best I've been to in a loooooonnnnggg time in Toronto. Their sushi is always fresh and soft, the wasabi is never dry and the rice is cooked perfectly. Every time I leave, I am satisfied and FULL! I love their own original menu of Fuji Mountain and the Great Canadian. It's great if you're looking for something other than California rolls and plain salmon. Their tempura batter is probably the best I've ever tasted and although sometimes the service may be slow, they are ALWAYS nice and friendly. I'd take that over fast, rude service any day. I'd also take Korean run over Chinese run in a heartbeat. Much cleaner and better quality. Even the health inspectors know that...
I've been a waitress at sushi 101 since it's opened and this is my first time to read all the comments through here! It feels so good because I feel like I've met all of you haha :) I just love working at sushi 101 and the people I work with are super nice!
Not very good. Service was extremely slow and my sushi roll had way too much rice. Very disappointing :(
Just tried Sushi 101 today, service was great, very attentive and proactive waitresses....very friendly as well.
The rolls were huge, more salmon but more rice as well.
Nice atmosphere, good experience
Despite the restaurant's name, I come here regularily for their bento combo. I usually order vegetable bento combo and it comes with ample amount of vegie tempura, tofu tempura with teriyaki sauce, salad, miso soup, rice, and vegie sushi rolls, only for 8 bucks. Their lunch set is above described minus sushi rolls, just for 5-6 bucks. Along with thier generous portion, I like how they cook rice. It's not too sticky but moist. I don't eat sushi with fish now but I'm sure they can do good job with fish sushi because they know how to cook rice well. Sushi is all about vinegared (su) rice (me-shi) to begin with.
Try the Pink Lady, Black Dragon Roll and some others are very good. They will customize their rolls if you ask too. The service is friendly. And yes a tad more than Sushi on Bloor but there is a very good reason for this quality. Don't ever pay cheap for Sushi or you will regret it. I have had food poisoning twice now eating at Sushi on Bloor and the service there is really terrible. If you're going to work in service ya have to be nice all the time regardless of how much you hate your job. Of the Bloor West Sushi restaurants this gets a 4 out of 5 stars. If you're looking for a 5 star hit the Beaches - Ichi, small but the food is really good.
Nice sushi and tempura. Decent kalbi, though not enough side dishes. Friendly service, often understaffed (new place). Very friendly. Wish they did delivery.
This has become mine and my gf's favorite place in the city.. service is always excellent. portions are large enough to satisfy even my apetite. hot tea and miso and tonnes of freebies for regulars.
This is the worst sushi restaurant in the city. The service is lousy, they don't allow substitutions, and it takes twice as long as anywhere else to get your order. I went there with a friend the other day and she order a dragon roll, which was just a piece of shimp tempura wrapped in rice. She actually had to send it back. I order the veggie bento and it took an hour. And the waitress didn't bring me back my change, I guess she thought she earned a 40% tip. It was a terrible experience and I definitely won't be going back here.
I went back after a while. I'm glad that they still serve great bento sets with fresh food, with additional more variety of Korean dishes and liquor, and slight change in the decor with more privacy at tables. I find their ala carte sushi lacks volume per dish, so go for their set menu for sushi or bento. They always accommodate my substitute requests with pleasant smile and I guess it's just a matter of reasonableness. I do both eat-in and take-out. Take-out paid in cash can get 15% off!