Restaurants
Blue Zen
There are quite a few sushi restaurants in the Y&E area. There is Sushi Rock Cafe, Sono Japanese Restaurant and the latest one to the scene, Blue Zen.
The restaurant is about half the size of its competition, with a more modern style design - simple white walls and glowing blue floor accents.
The focus of their cuisine is stated as Japanese fusion but with one glance at the menu, they really serve many of the traditional offerings.
During this visit, the dining room is packed. With just 8+ tables, it gets busy very quickly. I had no other choice then to order some take-out.
I order the Assorted Tempura ($6.95), 2 pieces of shrimp tempura and a mixture of vegetables that includes sweet potatoes, broccoli, beans and carrots. It is actually not bad, even though I ate it about 15 minutes after it was cooked. The tempura remained crisp.
I also have the Sushi regular meal ($13.95), which comes with 6 pieces of sushi and a California roll. The fish is surprisingly fresh, each melting in my mouth. The California roll is also very good, the avocado is ripe and the salmon, just right.
On top of that all, I have the Alaska Roll, one of Blue Zen's fusion offerings. Although there is nothing special to this salmon, cucumber, avocado wrapped roll, what matters is it is so fresh. I devour each piece.
Blue Zen may not provide the Japanese fusion I was hoping for, but for fresh sushi, this is definitely my choice within the neighbourhood's offerings.
PS. They deliver in the neighbourhood too!
Blue Zen
2561 Yonge Street
416.481.3355
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A couple of times that I've visited my hometown, Vancouver, I went to this Japanese fusion place in Gastown (I forget the name). The first time I was there, I sat at the bar with my buddy, and we ordered a bunch of plates including this awesome seared raw tuna with gorgonzolla concoction that still HAUNTS MY DREAMS it was so good. It was cheap too, tapas style prices of around 5 dollars per dish...
Are there restaurants in Toronto that do this style well?
While they certainly do have normal sushi fare on the menu, it's hardly difficult to go there and get an entire meal of interesting creations. You should have tried the basil tuna roll!
Welcome others to chime in with spots.