Sushi Kaji, best sushi place EVER!!!

Hands down, the best sushi experience EVERRRR!!!

I would never have expected that the best sushi place would be located in Etobicoke. Sorry no offense to those who live in that area but c'mon there's really nothing around there. For sushi places you normally head to either downtown or uptown, not in the west end.

This little restaurant named Sushi Kaji is what proved me wrong.

I called on the day of to make reservations. I couldn't decide if I wanted to sit at a table or at the bar. I was afraid my 6'4 boyfriend wouldn't be comfortable at the bar but I ended up choosing the bar anyways because to eat here, it's not exactly easy on the wallet. I wanted the most bang I could get for my buck. It was a good thing I chose the bar because it made the experience that much more enjoyable.

We were seated directly in front of the sushi chef. While he was rolling the sushi I thought I would snap a picture while he was working. Once I pointed the camera at him he immediately stopped and posed. I couldn't help laughing when he did this. I guess he must be used to this sort of attention all the time. What a nice guy. He was hilarious and definitely entertained us throughout the night. (Also, my boyfriend was fine sitting at the bar. It wasn't as tight as we had expected then again, there was an empty seat next to him which did helped a lot).

At Kaji, there is no a la carte menu. Just 3 omakase menus to choose from. Each menu offers anywhere from 5-9 dishes pending which menu you choose from. The 3 menu prices were $80, $100 and $120. This was my very first time trying out omakase so of course we went all out and chose the top two menus, the takumi ($120) and the Waza ($100).

Just a little warning, there were too many dishes so I don't quite remember exactly how they tasted but I do know for sure every dish blew me away except for one dish. They may look simple however, looks are definitely deceiving here.

First off, here was the kuzu and tomato cake. Words cannot explain how this tasted in my mouth. It was mind-blowing. When I first read it on the menu it didn't sound interesting but man oh man was I wrong. It was delicious.

Here was the cold butter squash soup with chicken. Once again, sounds simple. WRONG! The actual flavor was not simple at all. There were so many different layers of flavors I just can't explain it. It's one of those things you just have to go try it out for yourself.

Even this piece of chicken did not taste like regular chicken at all.

Abalone sunomono. My eyes were salivating at the sight of this. Such a beautiful presentation.

Grilled sea eel. Such a small portion but huge load of flavor packed inside.

Sauteed morels mushroom with duck. The best fungus I have ever tasted. The duck was delicious.

Here was the assorted plate from the Waza menu.

Simmered daikon and calamari. Looks like a piece of brain on a cube but tastes 100 times better than it looks.

Eggroll with fresh water eel. A work of art.

Barrucuda was yummy.

Both menus had the assorted sashimi plate. Everything was fresh and without a doubt, of the highest quality of fish. No frozen fish here.

Look at how fresh this prawn looks? It looks as if it just jumped out of the ocean and onto this plate to rest.

Spanish mackerel with some freshly chopped onions hidden behind the fish.

Tuna with mountain potato and egg yolk.

Daikon radish and winter melon cake.

Egg tofu and somen noodle with shrimp.

Lobster tempura.

Sauteed rockfish with burdock root sauce.

This was my least favorite of all the dishes, the grilled eggplant topped with bonito flakes. It was just eggplant. Nothing spectacular about it.

Both menus had the assorted sushi plates. Once again everything was fresh, fresh, fresh.

Noodles in broth.

Now the finale, desserts.

I honestly don't remember what this was but it was tasty.

Fruit salad.

Yuzu macaron. Yes, a macaron. First time I have ever ate a macaron at a Japanese sushi restaurant. I have to say it was quite tasty.

Two hours later, we finally devoured our first omakase dinner. Surprisingly, even though the portions were small I was quite full. Not overly stuffed yet not too hungry either. Just full. Each dish was executed perfectly, minus the eggplant. Practically every dish was mind boggling.

If you feel like splurging and want some fine Japanese cuisine, then this is the place to head to.

Here was a goodbye kiss from the chef. Such a funny guy.

TOTAL BILL $250...DEFINITELY EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Sushi Kaji

860 The Queensway

(east of Islington)

416-252-2166