Restaurants
In Japan
I had really high hopes for this place. I really did. Walking into In Japan was a cool experience. It's nothing like the run of the mill cafeteria style lunch places along the Atlantic Avenue strip. It's cozy, it's stylish, it's Japanese. Judging by the amount of people waiting in the take-out line up, I was looking forward to some good eats. Ummm...yeah. Not so much.
Everything that was going past me looked fantastic. Various sushi and sashimi dishes, teriyaki and tempura - my mouth was watering. Then came my meal. 95 cent miso soup which was pretty standard, over boiled edamame and a wayyyyy too deep fried rice patty that constituted the bottom half of my sushi pizza. The presentation of the meal was fine, it was only after biting into a piece of the pizza that I realized that the rice patty was so over cooked that it was both crispy AND chewy. The sauce that was hiding underneath the salmon wasn't listed as spicy but let's just say that someone's mouth was on FIRE! That's just personal preference but at least give me some warning that I'm going to need seven glasses of water in front of me during my lunch hour. There were other dishes listed as "spicy" but not # 45 and funnily enough, it's listed as the sushi bar "special". Well, it wasn't so special to me. Far from it.
I'm not going to say that I'm not going to eat at In Japan ever again, because I will. I just need to stick to the standard sushi and sashimi dishes. Besides, if you've been in the area at noon hour, what else do I have to choose from?
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(and no, not on charles street. :( )
No one who has had a Sushi on Bloor sushi pizza would say that.
Sushi pizza in Toronto is to the Japanese as 241 pizza is to Sicilians or Holy Chow is to folks from Szechaun province or a microwavable 7/11 burritto is to Mexicans. :)
I've also never tasted sushi pizza before, and don't plan on it, but I've heard similarly fantastic things about it at Sushi on Bloor.
I was there not too long ago, and the food was terrible. The fish was cut by an amateur, the chicken was tasteless, the rice mushy, and on and on.
Owners of these establishments should be ashamed of themselves.
The tempura was oily, the teriyaki sauce was slimy (long strings like mucus--yuck!), and the fish slices on my sushi were so thin.
My miso soup came with nori (do they know JPN cuisine?!) instead of wakame.
The only good point is the friendly service, but that's all. I wouldn't come back here again.
'In Japan' has prices comparable to a crappy food court joint; but the food is a big step up from that, plus there is table service.
Here's a thought: If you want the best food in the world, don't go to a cheap lunch joint and order "Sushi Pizza".
I WILL continue to eat here because it is clean, the location is handy and the food quality is acceptable given the cheap prices.
I think they have the basics down, and for the price and convenience, it's awesome for something different in the area.
Don't ruin the experience for others, it's not only the food that counts, but the atmosphere and service as well.