Restaurants
Aji Sai
Aji Sai is famous for their all you can eat sushi which actually includes a lot more than sushi. Fish is fresh and options include maki, nigiri, sashimi and hand rolls; but there's plenty more on the all you can eat menu including tempura, seaweed salad and gyoza.
The Queen and Spadina location isn't the only one for Aji Sai. There are a few others scattered around the Toronto area.
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I mean I know its your TOP 20 and all, but there has to be another one that is really good in the Harbourfront area......??
I make it a point to not bring people here when they come to visit Toronto.
My personal favorite is Kokyo on Alexander at the corner of Yonge. You get very generous portions and high quality fish for a very reasonable price. I recommend their Premium Sashimi combo that they load up with much more than what the menu says, add a roll to the order it's enough for 2 people to dine on... for less than what you'd pay at an AYCE.
Last time I went there - they kept coming over to our table asking if we wanted anything more.
The service can be a little on the slow side - but it also depends on when you're visiting. I've gone 2-3 times now and only once has the service been horrible.
If you're going for AYCE, you're usually not looking for the best quality of sushi (which this is NOT). Let's be honest. You're looking for decent sushi and a lot of it. So don't waste your money on miniscule portions of sub-par Sushi at ridiculous prices. Going to Queen West for All-You-Can-Eat Sushi is sort of like going to a Ferrari dealership and looking for a Honda.
I'm usually same-minded as the good folks at BlogTO, but they sure missed their mark on this one. Save yourself 20 bones and go elsewhere.
I went yesterday for a work lunch with 8 of us, and really enjoyed it. IT WAS GREAT.
Why someone would complain about portion size at an all you can eat is not only stupid, but mostly just ignorant. ORDER MORE if you are still hungry. We orded 8 times in the course of 1hr45min lunch during peak time (noon). They did not rush us, they were helpful explaining items to our table, and we did not have to wait too long between servings.
Not the best quality I've ever had (Maui ftw), but defintely worth the $11. I will continue to go at least once a month, if not more.
good price for lunch though, i guess....
Their goal: Get as many people in and out as possible within the rush hour. The feeling you tend to get is that you only have 45 mins to 1 hour to eat, they will come around and tell you "Last Call" hinting that you've outstayed your welcome, and they will rush to clean and wipe your table while you're just getting out of it, stretching over you if they have to. The solution? Don't go with a big group, OR don't go expecting to stay longer than 45 mins to an hour with your guests, OR don't go during rush hour. They don't seem to care how long you stay if it's not crowded and there are no line-ups at the door.
Usually, if I ever have somewhat of a negative experience at a restaurant I wouldn't ever go back. However, what keeps me coming back is the wide (and delicious) selection that Aji Sai offers, the fact that the bad service days don't happen *all* the time, the fact that I think they have some of the freshest sushi in town (especially out of the all you can eat places), and their hard-to-beat prices.
It still remains one of my fave restaurants despite of all I've mentioned above. In fact, I'm going there tonight. Their suhsi = melt in your mouth amazing. And to me, that's what matters when it comes to sushi... it's gotta be good. And if it's good, anything else can be overlooked :)
During the week, lunchtime is full of loud kids from the school across the street. Last time, went for dinner on the weekend hoping for better and the atmosphere was worse. I commented to my dining companions that a sign warning of a need for earplugs should be posted at the front door.
The service is usually bad: we never get everything we order and no one comes around to ask how we're doing or if we want more. A server needs to be flagged down, occasionally more than once, and there's never one actually assigned to a table.
The food is usually not bad: the sushi is usually fresh-tasting while the sashimi tastes as though it hasn't had enough time to thaw. (Major problem being that government regulations require that fish is frozen before being served raw. Better restaurants get around this by allowing more time to thaw.)
The cooked food isn't great; being mostly vegetarian, with the exception of fish, the menu is limited and the choices aren't particularly tasty.
And given that after the last couple of trips that my entire party was sick shortly after, I'd recommend against experimenting by trying out different menu items.
The price for getting sick for dinner over the weekend was unreasonable given the quality and quantity of the food received: $20.99 pp. A service charge is usually automatically applied to the bill during the week as the clientele is usually kids who supposedly wouldn't tip otherwise.
-unhygienic: found multiple strands of hair in all of the kitchen food
-unfriendly: all the servers were rude
-all about business: all they care about is taking your money!!!
My girlfriend and I had dinner there on a friday night and it was the worst experience of our lives. It took the server 20 min to notice that we were even there. We asked for water and tea after ordering and it was never brought out to us. I understand you might be busy but it doesn't give you an excuse to not pay attention to customer's requests.
When the food was brought out to us half of it was not there. THEY CUT YOUR ORDERS TO SAVE THEM MONEY AND PROFIT OFF OF YOU!!!
We only had a couple pieces of sushi when we found MULTIPLE STRANDS OF HAIR in the KITCHEN FOOD. It was in our NOODLES, TEMPURA and even the DUMPLINGS!!!
We told the server and all he did was take the plates away in a hurry not saying anything. what kind of customer service is this? We asked to talk to the manager about it and only to find that "she is really busy right now and can't talk to you" STRIKE TWO!!! so we actually got up to go over there to find her sitting on a chair sipping on tea! this is is what you call busy? we told her what happened and this was her reply: "we can't be for sure whether its your hair or not" SHE ACCUSED US OF PUTTING HAIR IN OUR FOOD!!! this is ridiculous.
After all of this we were furious and decided to just leave. On the way out the manager pulled us back and demanded that we pay! We refused cause we hardly even ate and the food was DIRTY! Whatever, so we decided to end this and give them the money only to find that the bill had an extra charge of $20 for the food that we ordered and didn't eat BECAUSE IT HAD HAIR INSIDE!!!
Believe me when i tell you that THEY ARE SCAM ARTISTS!!!
NEVER COME HERE! if you want better service, better food and a better atmosphere GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!
All those considering trying and returning to this place should stop immediately!!!
On my first and last visit to this place we found roaches in our noodles. THIS IS DISGUSTING!!! All those raving about this place should consider again, maybe what your eating isn't what it seems to be!!!
Whats worse was that when we told the manager she didn't seem to care at all! She didn't say sorry, didn't comfort us, didn't even discount our bill. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!!!
This place is only interested in TAKING YOUR MONEY!!!
Use you hard earned cash elsewhere, NEVER HERE AGAIN!!!
Two posts made within 15 mins of each other, similar writing style and BOTH bashing Aji Sai.
Don't let a troll like this person be the only reason to turn you away from trying out a restaurant.
Anyone who knows anything about REAL sushi will know to avoid this place. The food is okay AT BEST although it might seem great and very non-threatening for newbs. The traditional sashimi and sushi selection sucks, the service is awful and the staff is rude.
There are so many other and much better quality sushi places in Toronto, too bad lots of people still keep these places a float because they have the American all-you-can-eat mentality...
The place was packed with about 20 people waiting when we were done. I think that's a testament that they are doing something right.
- food is ok
- but service is certainly NOT friendly, they rush you, and if you have the bad idea of having a kid (which I do), you DO NOT feel welcome in this restaurant, rush hour or not.
On the other hand, there is an excellent sushi place across the street - To Ne Sushi. It's not AYCE, but the sushi is really really good, and the service is wonderful. We were going there with our son almost once a week and the waitresses knew him, entertained him, the cook showed him how he prepared rolls and sushis, everybody was lovely. Usually our son was getting a free roll while we were waiting for our order.
I never got back to Aji Sai after my first experience at To Ne Sushi. So much better - service and food quality.
What a bunch of dumb asses!!!!
It is AYCE! Do you know what that means? It means order unlimited times from the menu. We do everytime.
There is a menu! Do you know what that means? It means if you aren't retarded, you do not need to order the one single dish that has banana in it. We never order crappy rolls but I bet retards do!
It is AYCE! Do you know what that means? It means that the fish will not be the highest grade you have ever had. And the preparation will not be the best. So don't be so dumb and stop comparing it to sushi that costs so much more! We love the food at Aji Sai when we want variety of great flavours at a great price!
Roaches in your sushi! Yea of course. And hairs in the other guys! You guys are just sucky dumb asses because you were too dumb to stop ordering the bananas and now you're mad!
Give it up for Aji Sai!!! It is the best AYCE in Toronto!
-Lunch price vs food quality ratio is good
-Selection
-Good looking place, nice layout and aesthetics
-Location
Cons:
-Service is deplorable. You can almost feel the dread emanating off the workers until the owner is in and commands them to competence
-Sushi preparation is inconsistent and widely varies depending on who's working
-Bathroom smells like a damp torture chamber
I wouldn't agree with Aji Sai being one of the better places in Toronto, there is just so much nonsense you have to deal with every visit. Staff is rude and incompetent and will challenge you if you don't specifically mark your order sheet to their preference (new system at Aji Sai), or ask them questions to which they never have answers to. As a customer, you're left to feel as if you should be wary of getting sick from your food in the case you "offend" them with an inquiry. Highly recommend against unless you really don't mind.