Big Sushi -- Review

[Pincus]

Went there for dinner the other night.

Right off I can say I am prejudiced against sushi places that offer a lot of bizarre rolls as their main selling point. Dragon rolls, caterpillar rolls, Philly rolls...I admit I'm into the nigiri, hand rolls, and SIMPLE maki.

Having said that, I perused their menu. The sushi combo plates (which I always order when I'm in a hurry to eat and scoot) didn't seem very imaginative or exciting. Tuna, salmon, California roll. Whoopee.

So I went for a salmon bento box.

Overall it was OK. The salmon teriyaki was a bit overcooked at one side (like, crunchy overcooked). The shrimp tempura roll was OK, nothing spectacular, but covered with some brown sauce which didn't enhance the sensation of eating it. The tempura was average, one green thing was really much too crispy for a proper piece of tempura but the rest of the pieces were OK.

Service was friendly and quick, no tea refills offered, but I was in a hurry so I didn't ask either.

Other people seemed to be getting good service, and it seemed fairly crowded.

All in all, a nice "safe" place. Nothing awful, but nothing particularly inspiring either. I won't be repeating with the choice Sushi on Bloor down the road or even Mariko's. Maybe if I was a fan of baroque sushi rolls, I might have enjoyed this place more.

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Big Sushi
388 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S1X4, CA

[LemonLauren]

in my experience, big sushi is great value for your dollar, especially with the lunchtime specials - salad, soup, bento box (with maki, teriaki,tempura) for under 10$? sign me up for that! as for the lack of variety - they always let me sub in a dynamite for my salmon :)

the quality of the rolls is above that of SoB and New Gen, in my opinion. i know someone who says it's the most authentic stuff she's had since being in Japan.

plus, due to the fact that it is "big", one can get a table when the brats have taken over Sushi on Bloor and New Gen.

the only downside i've noticed is the leisurely service, i've always had a tough time getting the bill, etc.

still, a standby for me.

[alexalder]

I have been here a number of times, and it's the service that sucks the most. The food is ok, and the value for the $ is ok, and LemonLauren, you are right, if the other places are packed, you may find a seat here!
Best is the asparagus & shrimp tempura plate!
Kind of creeped out by how much mayo they use in their spec. rolls though.....

[catalystworkshop]

How do I say this politely... when I'm there I feel like something is lost in translation in the service. Never outright bad, just awkward, and out of sync. That being said, I quite enjoy it there, and after at least a half dozen visits to each place, I find the quality consistently superior to "New Generation" and "Sushi on Bloor". The Teriyaki's in particular I generally find use a higher quality cut of meat, cooked much better than "New Gen" who often sometimes include virtually inedible meat in their Bento Boxes. It's been too many years since I've eaten at "Mariko's" to compare to them. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place, based on quality of the food, great $ value, and a spacious, quiet atmosphere. Note that the majority of this place is filled with comfortable booths, where you can spread out, and speaking at a moderate volume, easily hear the person you are sitting across from, something few, if any, of the sushi places on Bloor can boast.