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Best of Toronto

The Best AYCE Sushi in Toronto

Posted by Robyn Urback / October 27, 2011

ayce sushiThe best AYCE (all you can eat) sushi in Toronto is the end-all of sushi dining indulgence. It's limitless, personalized, and always a battle of eyes versus stomach. While I rarely boast the appetite to make AYCE sushi worth my while, I can appreciate the glee of my dining compatriots when they are granted a seemingly endless roll. The best AYCE sushi in Toronto never falls into the trap of masking quality with quantity, and usually offers a wide assortment of options from which to choose. You'll only lose time if you start with edamame.

Here is the list of the best AYCE sushi in Toronto.

See also:

The best cheap sushi in Toronto
The best splurge sushi in Toronto

Note: A previous version of this list was published on September 21, 2009. Comments below made up until September 16, 2011 are in reference to the old list. We've purposely kept most of the archived comments here because we believe they (mostly) add value to this topic. If you don't want to have to wade through all of them, simply hit the "sort by newest first" link at the top of the thread.

Top photos by Jim U, 2 and 3.

Aji Sai

Aji Sai

Aji Sai has long been a favourite for AYCE sushi in Toronto, and at $12.99 for lunch, it's not hard to see why. The servers at Aji on Queen will often allow you to place an order more than once (good news for those who are slow through the gate), meaning you can sample a greater cross section of the 100 or so items on the AYCE list. Dinner is $21.99 and naturally comes with sashimi and a greater selection of offerings. More »

Yang's Kitchen

Yang's Kitchen

Lots of dining room space facilitates that awesome AYCE sushi table-spread. Cramped tables begone. Yang's Kitchen in Markham has lots of room for the sushi, sashimi, and various grilled items on its AYCE menu, priced at 14.99 during lunch. You can also opt for ramen during dinnertime, where AYCE sushi will cost you $22.99. More »

Hockey Sushi

Hockey Sushi

Hockey Sushi is another AYCE sushi joint boasting over 100 items on its menu, a list that includes everything from octopus sushi to banana tempura, salmon-belly teriyaki and curry pork don. Dinner during the week is set at $17.99, though 10% off can be had through a coupon on its website. Of course, 10% gratuity is already added to your bill. More »

Kyoto House

Kyoto House

At Dundas and Bay, Kyoto House is one of the choice AYCE sushi spots for office workers in the area, with lunch ringing in around $12 and dinner at $20. The menu offers the standard sushi, sashimi, and grilled options, though Kyoto's miso soup stands out as particularly tasty. More »

Ten-Ichi Japanese

Ten-Ichi Japanese

Ten-Ichi is another sprawling AYCE spot with both a Teppan and a regular all-you-can-eat menu. The Teppan list is just slightly pricier, costing $23.95 per person over $21.95 during the week, and includes items such as ribeye steak, grilled jumbo shrimp, and a few other items you won't find for $2 less. Ten-Ichi's AYCE list also has several dessert options including Jello (never too old) chocolate mousse, and ginger creme brulee. More »

Oishi Sushi

Oishi Sushi

Oishi Sushi is a York University student favourite with all-you-can-eat sushi during the week at $10.99 for lunch and $15.99 for dinner. Though you'll have to fork over an extra $2.99 to add AYCE sashimi to the mix, the regular menu includes sushi, udon, and teriyaki, as well as a few Chinese dishes such as Kung Pao chicken and pork fried rice. Careful though. While some AYCE sushi places only threaten to charge you for whatever you leave on your plate, Oishi usually will. More »

Bikkuri (Beaches)

Bikkuri (Beaches)

Bikkuri in the Beaches is one of the smaller AYCE sushi restaurants on this list, meaning you'll be surrounded by fewer patrons gawking at just how far you've taken your AYCE night out. Rejoice in your (more private) gluttony! Sushi, maki, grilled items and more, all for a very reasonable $11.99 during lunch, $18.99 for dinner including sashimi. They now also have a location on College St. near Bathurst. More »

Echo Sushi

Echo Sushi

Echo Sushi at Yonge and Davisville always seems buzzing with people, especially during lunch when its sashimi-less AYCE menu comes in around $13. Dinnertime brings the option of two different AYCE menus ($18 or $21) where one has a few more choices than the other. Brown rice options, a reputation of freshness, and really quick service makes Echo one of the top AYCE spots in the area. More »

Kuni Sushi Ya

Kuni Sushi Ya

Sushi on Baldwin is a summertime rite of passage for some, and the AYCE masses usually flock to Kuni Sushi Ya. The menu includes a pretty good variety of sashimi, maki, and hot dishes, and $12.99 for lunch and $19.99 for dinner. The sashimi is known to be a little small, but since you can order as much as you want it doesn't really matter. Green tea ice cream and banana tempura for dessert. More »

Discussion

55 Comments

Mike / September 21, 2009 at 09:33 am
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Sushi Island is the greatest thing that ever happened to me --- best roll: Fire and Ice.
Kris / September 21, 2009 at 10:26 am
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Went to Aji Sai and it was the worst sushi I've ever had in my life, the service was terrible, the waiter forgot to bring out several items that we ordered. The only thing worth having was the unagi. After our first roll we found ourselves just ordering to get our money's worth. This place is sooooo overrated. I find myself paying half the amount at somewhere like sushi on bloor and coming out far more satisfied than this ayce.
VLVLV / September 21, 2009 at 10:47 am
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sushi fun at yonge and clarke isn't bad either
sanjay / September 21, 2009 at 11:15 am
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i agree on Sushi Island being great and reasonable

good service and not filthy either
Kieran / September 21, 2009 at 12:03 pm
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Aji Sai provides good value for lunch, less so for dinner. That said, I can honestly say they provide the WORST service of any restaurant I've ever frequented. Slow, forgetful, sometimes argumentative.
Loozrboy / September 21, 2009 at 12:04 pm
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I used to be rather fond of Sushi D on College (right near Sushi Island), though I haven't been there in a while.

I didn't know Asahi on Carlton had all-you-can-eat... thanks for the tip! :)
Lune / September 21, 2009 at 12:24 pm
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If you want to have decent sushi, don't go cheap. Well trained chefs don't bargain. Personally, I think Toronto's sushi culture is so doomed ... some places even don't bother draining water from salad bowl which sits in the kitchen for a looong time, basic stuff. Saying that, I can't afford good Japanese restrants so often. My choice is to get a take-out from Sushi Marche, or Taro fish. If I am lucky enough to have a weekday off, I'd go for Ematei or Ichiriki for reasonable lunch. They are much better than buffet.
b / September 21, 2009 at 12:26 pm
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Regardless of food quality (we ARE talking about AYCE sushi), Yang's service is horrid. I've never had a good experience there - staff are incredibly rude.
Amanda / September 21, 2009 at 02:52 pm
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Sushi Island is horrible. My friend and I went there once on a weekday. We ordered and they 'misplaced' our order. After waiting 30 minutes and complaining twice, we finally got some food. The waiters were rude & terrible. I would never go back there again.

I must agree that every time I've been to Aji Sai though (weekday or not) it's been amazing. Regardless of how busy they've been - excellent service and always got the order right. Plus, they've checked up to see if we wanted anything else. That is service.
Melissa / September 21, 2009 at 03:03 pm
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I got food poisoning from eating the salmon sashimi at Sushi Island in March this year, and I found out later that a few friends had also gotten food poisoning here the week before. I will not be going back anytime soon!
dazed66 / September 21, 2009 at 03:41 pm
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Sushi fun at Yonge and Clark is my staple for AYCE sushi. But the place that is by far the best place is Ten-Ichi at 4810 Sheppard Ave East. Ten-Ichi is one of the best sushi place even compared with non-AYCE place. Although you have to reserve ahead of time as it is jammed packed and there's never any empty tables for casual walk-ins.
Judy / September 21, 2009 at 04:00 pm
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I LOVE Makimono sushi in Ajax. I do not believe in all you can eat but this place is worth the price everytime. It is fresh and tasty. It is worth the drive to Ajax.

http://www.makimono.ca
mondayjane / September 21, 2009 at 04:44 pm
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Still waiting for an even reasonably ok experience at Sushi Island. I live in the neighbourhood and keep trying - have gone at least 6 or 7 times over the past year and sadly Sushi Island = fail every time. For cheap+cheerful AYCE sushi, we head over to Sushi D ... but would love to try some of the others on this list!
Shawn / September 21, 2009 at 06:47 pm
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Bikkuri Beaches is on the list, any word on the one just East on Little Italy near Lippincott & College?
Kenny replying to a comment from Ryan L. / September 21, 2009 at 08:44 pm
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+1

Finally they realize that Toronto includes areas OUTSIDE of the downtown core... then again as 'Basshat' stated, they seem to avoid area surrounded by Islington, Weston, Jane, Finch, Steeles, Martingrove, etc. where there is a TON of good food.

Yang's Kitchen is a regular AYCE stop for me, I occasionally hit Aji Sai in Thornhill, and Sushi Bon in Little Italy impressed me.
C. / September 22, 2009 at 01:28 am
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What about SHIMA on dundas?
the menu is super long and definitely get your your money's worth especially with their proportions with the fish.
serena / September 22, 2009 at 08:28 pm
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aji sai sushi has the worst service i'd have to say i'm never going back there.
Karen / September 24, 2009 at 08:58 pm
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Aji Sai was the worst place i have ever been to!
The service was downright disgusting! I had never been so disrespected in my life!
They forgot our orders and kept us waiting for half an hour and repeatedly asked us if we wanted the bill while we waited for our food. In the end we had to reorder everything... I think we were asked if we were ready to leave a total of 7-8 times that day. Then they told us that the time limit for the meal was 90 mins. After they told us we should leave so many times, we decided to give up waiting for our sushi and just order some ice cream and go. And after we finished our ice cream, all of the tempura and the sushi that we ordered before came!!!!! And when we paid the bill, they checked the money in front of our face (and by check I mean counted every single bill)!!!! That was just disgusting! I wish I gave them no tips (in retrospect I should have taken back the tips we paid them and counted the tips in front of his face).

Alex / October 7, 2009 at 08:04 pm
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Sushi Island is horrible. We had lunch there recently and dropped one piece of maki on the floor. We explained to our waitress what had happened and she appeared to understand. Then we were charged for not having eaten that piece that fell on the floor. We were already entirely unimpressed by the quality of the food, not to mention the service (they were mysteriously missing some of the more expensive items on the AYCE menu: "sorry, we don't have that today" or "sorry, we're all out of that now"). I refused to back down and ended up in a shouting match with the "head" waiter for 20 minutes. In the end, they did not make us pay for the dropped maki, but what a joke!!! We still paid $40 for a lunch and left with a very very bad taste in our mouth.
Wolfkin / October 8, 2009 at 12:40 pm
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There' a place up on North York called Oishi Sushi (Keele and Finch). The sushi there has been excellent. $9.99 lunch and $12.99 dinner. The rest of the food is average at best but the sushi has been excellent.
NAS / October 17, 2009 at 09:39 pm
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VIP Sushi at Yonge and Royal Orchard in Thornhill will always be my #1....the only all-you-can-eat that's fantastic. Attentive service with excellent and fresh fish/meat/vegetables...plus it's never too busy which is always a plus...I won't even venture and try anything else...my bf tried aji sai and hated it with a passion!
Mark G / October 20, 2009 at 06:19 pm
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How is Sushi Eaton not on this list?? Hidden gem.

Most people forget that finishing everything you order helps speed up service! Fill those little sheets out people. And tip well! That also helps. Especially if its busy. They will remember you next time! Honest!
Lu Galasso / October 22, 2009 at 11:56 am
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Be careful with some of these places. If you don't finish the sushi brought to your table you have to pay full price for all the sushi you've eaten.
Rose / October 22, 2009 at 08:23 pm
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I am absolutely SHOCKED at this list. What authority do you have to put these places in the order you have? Hockey sushi is by far one of the WORST sushi restaurants out there!!! BAD quality (food poisoning!!!) and HORRIBLE service.

You left off some amazing restaurants including Maki Sushi on Desira (Bathurst/Centre).

I suggest you get your facts straight before posting the best AYCE restaurants!
Corey / October 27, 2009 at 11:00 am
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Sushi Fun is the worst AYCE I've ever had ever. Rubber fish, cold teriyaki, slow service.

Aji Sai has been reliable in the past...but my vote goes to Maison Du Japon. Definitely the freshest, most delicious and consistent AYCE I've had in the GTA
HockeyLover replying to a comment from VLVLV / November 20, 2009 at 03:22 am
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I love sushi fun!!! my second fave, after hockey...
ira / December 14, 2009 at 07:28 pm
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Aji Sai does have one of the worst services, I went to try it out during lunch, ordered expensive sushimi combo to go and when opened it at work realizes they gave me the cheapest kind. That's nice ! I called and said that they made a mistake and they said to come by to pick up the price difference (I got lodes of time) and when I came to pick up the moneys they said they have no clue what I was talking about. CHECK YOUR TO GO FOODS IN AJI SAi. Or even better don't go to that place, it sucks.

Also I think however Echo Sushi changed to not so amazing after so many years, I still think for all you can eat sushi that's the only place that deserves to be here.. Trust me, I know my sushies.
ira / December 14, 2009 at 07:36 pm
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ps: Sushi Eaton is official winner for the worst service on the planet. They are downright rude. It was great and then something went wrong in 2008 and they just became awful ! We went in 2 times first party of 5 and they put us in the bar (ahahahah ! bar ?!!!!) when they had plenty of empty spaces. We left. Then second time they decided first not to sit us (party of 2) for 10 minutes (again half of restaurant is empty) and then didn't give us our food drinks or even menu for like 20 minutes... really ??? We tried to ask someone what happened but they just ignored us in our face. Very inadequate place. 0_o Never again.
Ken / February 12, 2010 at 02:59 pm
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Maison du Japon has been my regular destination. The menu is extensive, there is a large wait staff who don't forget your orders (no cards) and food comes reasonably quickly. I wouldn't label it the best sushi, but it's very good quality. I've got high standards and I've never been disappointed.

I've also heard that VIP sushi is excellent, but as mentioned, I usually go where I know the going's good.

Jon W / April 3, 2010 at 12:24 am
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Service may not be the best (like any AYCE sushi place), and they have this very annoying habit of including 10% tip in your bill (AFTER taxes). But, I must admit, the high quality of their food (for an all you can eat place) and their habit NOT to overstuff their rolls with rice keeps me coming back.

Sashimi (I've only tried the salmon) is always fresh and abundant, their temaki is regularly stuffed with fish, and some of their cooked dishes (such as their grilled squid skewers) are delish! Also like the fact that they serve red tuna (for dinner), not only the cheap white variety that most AYCE sushi places offer.

I'm sure some will disagree...but I've been there quite a few times, and besides them missing a few orders sometimes, this place has been a good one overall. Only downside is that now my sushi addiction is at a point of no return! lol...any suggestions?
Jon W / April 3, 2010 at 12:25 am
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PS: That was for YANGS KITCHEN by the way!
chuck / April 21, 2010 at 03:00 am
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Maison du Japon, Sushi on 7, and Yangs are the best! Not downtown areas, but definitely worth going to! I'm living downtown now, and I miss those uptown places. The only decent sushi place that I've tried so far is called Kyoto by Dundas and Bay. Good service, food comes quick compared to other places, and all the food is great!
saara / April 25, 2010 at 07:40 pm
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MY SUSHI at yonge and finch is amazing!
Pat / September 28, 2010 at 09:05 am
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Sushi Bon should be on this list hands down...
Lisa / December 5, 2010 at 11:26 am
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Try Akita Sushi on Highway 7 between Martingrove and Kipling. Great food! I love their sushi pizza!
Natali / March 31, 2011 at 09:34 pm
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I used to go to highschool right behind Kaze, and I never go there. And I'm a sushi FIEND. I much prefer Yang's, although the service can be quite awful at times.

Maison du Japon is awesome, should be higher on the list; and totally neglected is Nagoya on 14th and Kennedy. Small place, fair prices, good service, good sushi.

Although to be COMPLETELY honest, I do have a fave sushi place thats NOT AYCE, but its worth the a la carte prices. But since I'm selfish and don't want to share, I'm not telling.
Ali / June 2, 2011 at 12:01 pm
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A bunch of us (9) went to Masa Sushi only to be treated with the slowest, and most incomplete All You Can Eat sushi experience ever. Now the same us have gone to many of the restaurants listed above, and they all are worthy of making the list, except Masa.

First of all the restaurant was about 10% full, so any time delay cannot be blamed on how busy it was. Our orders took super long to come, that is if they actually came. The number of orders were cut down from what we ordered, and after long times of waiting, we ask the server and he tells us that your order has been complete. We know very well that half of it was not served (generally the rolls, the kitchen stuff mostly arrived). So we ordered again, and same exact problem, it took them a long while, only to serve us about half what we ordered. One of us eventually talked to the server about the terrible service, and he (the server) went and talked to sushi chefs. We thought that will solve the matter and we eventually be served our food, Nop!

Mind you, we went for the deluxe menu (the $21.99) since their other menu lacks all the rolls and the Sashimi we like. The place looks nice, but once you approach the tables and seats you will realize how miss-managed this place is, the chairs were ripped and half broken. Maybe they were just having a bad day, but that is how our experience turned out to be.
Lyssa / June 15, 2011 at 11:47 pm
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I can't believe Yang's is on this list at all. Service is always horrible, but I can sometimes overlook that when the food is good. Yang's is not.

The quality of the food has declined rapidly over the past couple of years. Visits 3-5 were so bad, and so different from visits #1 & 2, I swore I wouldn't go back. The quality and freshness of the fish was completely different. Rolls were not rolled properly. Fried food that should have been crisp, was soggy and tasted as if it were leftover.
The day after my last visit, several of my friends came down with food poisoning. They all had the mushrooms rolled in the beef which I had thought tasted/smelled a little off. That was the last straw for us. Plenty of other AYCE sushi in the GTA to satisfy
Cicely / August 14, 2011 at 07:31 pm
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The sushi island is the worst place! None of them are good! Looks like they don't even know what is sushi!
sums / September 16, 2011 at 12:28 am
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hama sushi!!! all the way in bolton but def worth the drive!!!!!
SNACKeR / October 27, 2011 at 02:49 pm
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I'm sorry but "AYCE Sushi" is an oxymoron.
kelly / October 27, 2011 at 03:02 pm
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They should keep this list to the downtown strictly, because otherwise you might as well make everything on the list in york region. York region trumps every sushi place downtown, but its hard to find a decent AYCE downtown anywhere.
KBorg / October 27, 2011 at 03:22 pm
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I used to live across the street from Aji Sai and went there pretty frequently when it first opened about 2 years ago. It was decent quality, service was fine (except for one particular server who I'e seen spill food/drink all over customers on at least 3 different occasions), but no real complaints.

HOWEVER

After a bit of a hiatus, I went back for dinner this summer and got a completely different experience. The quality went wayyyyy down. The rice/fish ratio on the rolls swayed heavily in favour of rice, the texture and taste of the fish was extremely sub-par, and the service had degenerated into chaos with 2-3 different servers trying to manage our table but bungling almost every order. These changes for the worse seemed (to me, at least) to perfectly co-incide with Aji Sai expanding their dining room by taking over the space next door.

It was a truly miserable dining experience and really surprised me considering my previous experiences were neutral at worst.

Al / October 27, 2011 at 04:03 pm
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All you can eat sushi makes me full and happy.
Nicole replying to a comment from Rose / October 27, 2011 at 11:24 pm
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Rose, you're completely obnoxious. BlogTO does a survey of the best AYCE sushi (along with all of the other Best Of lists), and based on those results... ta-da... we readers are provided these lists. So, to answer your question; THAT'S where they get the authority to rank these restaurants.
TopRev / October 28, 2011 at 11:33 am
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I Love hockey sushi, but there are much better sushi places in the area: http://tiny.cc/cxfj7
Tim replying to a comment from TopRev / October 30, 2011 at 11:33 pm
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There might be, but those aren't really AYCE places. A place not included on this list - Sushi Friends - is probably the best AYCE option on the Danforth for those who care.
Katie Gale / November 15, 2011 at 12:44 pm
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I work next to aji-sai & get takeout occasionally on sundays (when almost everything in the area is closed) and it really is the worst food i've eaten from a japanese restaurant. I can't count how many times i've opened my kappa-maki to find ALL pieces have fallen apart completely, leaving me with a container of random seaweed, rice & sparse bits of cucumber.

If they can't get kappa-maki right...

I've also consistently had terrible service just trying to order/pay for take-out, I can't imagine how much worse it gets when actually dinning there.
Johh Wolf / December 6, 2011 at 02:48 pm
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Masa @ yonge and Charles is my favourite.
The lunch/regular menu doesn't have special rolls or sashimi, but for $11 you're not going to get sashimi and special rolls, and if you do then its probably not very good (sashimi is damned expensive..), the dinner/deluxe menu is very extensive at $22. Rolls are most professionally done that I've seen, never fall apart, they're large, and have the best taste of any place I've been. They have very good tea, a must for me. And the fish is always fresh and good looking, no browning or fat on their fish like other places unprofessionally leave. I haven't been to sushi on bloor in a while but when I went 4 years ago their tea was like piss in water, the rolls were tiny, unprofessional and not tasty, and the fish wasn't fresh. Tea needs to be hot and flavorful.
Nicole / February 3, 2012 at 09:57 am
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Ginza is by far the best AYCE.

http://www.ginzasushiandthai.com/
Coolbeans / March 11, 2012 at 12:20 am
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OISHI SUSHI IS HORRIBLE.
their sushi is disgusting, their chinese buffet is even worse.
Ashley / March 14, 2012 at 02:25 pm
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This is not ayce but it's an amazing and cheap sushi place! At dundas west and pacific ave LAN sushi... Cheap combos or platters 40$+

I always go there because the staff is incredibly friendly and will remember you by name!

Yes it's in the junction and a far trek for some but if you want fresh sushi made infront of your eyes and cheap. I'd recommend it. My fave is the dynamite+Cali combo w lunch or soup for 7.95 or at dinner I've had the combo w kappa maki or avocado cucumber for 11$ ... Their dynamite rolls are big so 17 rolls for 11$ does me justice.

Http://m.yelp.ca/biz/lan-sushi-toronto
Darla / March 20, 2012 at 11:41 am
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Ten-Ichi is really really good. I will admit I'm generally a snob when it comes to AYCE places - I've been schooled in the eating of sushi since I was a child eating at great Japanese restaurants so it's hard for me to accept AYCE as good - but Ten-Ichi is really really good. I haven't tried any of the other places so can't say anything about them. But Ten-Ichi really surprised me in the best kind of way. And they've just recently renovated and expanded - so hopefully it's easier to get a table now, but I doubt that, it's always jam packed even on a Tuesday night. My guiltiest pleasure there is the spicy salmon roll...I dream about it.
Erin / May 9, 2012 at 05:56 pm
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Aji Sai does have good sushi, but it is definitely not worth going there due to the rudeness of their staff. I have never felt so disrespected at a restaurant in my life. My friend came in to eat with us who wasn't getting AYCE and they flipped on us, and essentially banned us from going back. Pretty ridiculous seeing as we go there probably three or four times a month. Masa is just down the street and a good price, still yummy, and they're always way nicer. Plus we've never really had to wait there.
michelle replying to a comment from Mike / May 26, 2012 at 10:33 am
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AGREED. sushi island is an amazing place to go if you're seeking the best AYCE sushi and sashimi in toronto (for approx. $20!).
They are located at 571 College Street Toronto, ON M6G. Phone number is(416) 535-1515 if you want to reserve seats for dinner or lunch. They even have great options if you're not too big on sushi, so you can dine on noodles, rice, teriyaki or amazing desserts while your friends pig out on their sushi island rolls.

Can't eat white rice? No problem! Sushi island offers a list of sushi made with brown rice and an option of switching out your white rice to brown rice for $0.25 for the rolls which are made with white rice - on my bill, the charge doesn't even show up sometimes because I order so many brown rice rolls.

I never go to any other AYCE. Sushi island's classic and original rolls make sure of that! Amazing!

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