Good sushi in Mtl

[caramielle]

I tried looking in the forums to see if there were any threads discussing sushi restaurants in Montreal and somehow I landed with nothing so I hope that I'm justified in writing this :)

I'm looking for a good, not too expensive (to put it in perspective, I think Sakura is pretty pricey now that they moved locations, and although I'm working, I just started so I'd like to keep things to below 50$ for 2, obviously preferably less but 50 will be ok).

We usually end up at Kanda but I was looking for something different. We were told Ginza (sp?) was pretty good (near St Denis I think) and then there was some other sushi resto we had passed by randomly by chance on Mount Royal but the name has slipped my head.

I've heard mixed reviews about Mikasa (bf said he didn't find it that special) and Odaki. I've been to Miso (near Atwater) and found it alright but nothing amazing. Also been to a few in the West Island that were good but since we don't have a car half the time, it would be better if were accessible by public transport.

Any suggestions?? Thanks in advance!

[gerbera]

I thought Oishii on Bernard was ok.
www.oishii.ca

[wattacetti]

True. Oishii's nice.

Nelson's place looks a little funky with the Time Tunnel motifs, but no complaints about his food. Just don't drive him nuts by placing 10 orders for his chef roll (tuna and salmon filled katsuramuki-cut cucumber roll).

[SnackHappy]

We had a very nice meal at Aka-Fuji in Verdun, last fall. Everything was fresh and expertly prepared. The selection of nigiri is a bit limited, but everything we had there from the fried horse-mackerel to the weird roll with plum in it was great.

http://www.aka-fuji.com/

[davekry]

Another vote for Aka-Fuji. Friendly service, excellent preparation and taste. Tempura was exceptionally light and not at all greasy. I particularly enjoyed the very generous portion of soft-shell crab in their spider roll.

[mak2k]

i will 3rd the vote! the fish was really fresh and there wasn't an overload of rice

[caramielle]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone :)
Btw, has anyone tried Dozo Izakaya Sushi on Stanley? I pass by it quite often, just not sure if it's any good...

[JohnnyGeWiz]

Pass on Dozo..... very ordinary and service abysmal!

[mainsqueeze]

I would be interested to hear recent impressions of Aka-Fuji. It's been quite a while since we dined there and I'm wondering if the quality is still as good now.

[unlaced]

It's my local! I have been eating there roughly once a fortnight since they opened and haven't noticed any change in quality. They now semi-regularly have sea urchin (uni) on the menu.

[mainsqueeze]

Oh, excellent news. Thanks for the update!

[maja]

Tri Express is very, very nice. Excellent food, relaxed atmosphere, very helpful staff. I have been there at least 6 or 7 times in the past couple of years, and I'm always looking forward to my next visit.

Most recently, on a very busy night, the waiter offered to make a menu for us (2 people) according to how much we were willing to pay. We said "about 45$" and he created a very filling 4-dish menu for us for 43.50, taxes included. As a result, service was very fast (since the dishes were selected based on what was on hand, I think), and it made us try a whole bunch of things we'd never tried before. It was all delicious, of course.

If you go there, I highly recommend the "sashimis a la maniere de tri" to start. Awesome.

-----
Tri Express
1650 Av Laurier E, Montreal, QC H2J1J2, CA

[jonny8]

I can vouch for Ginza sushi. It was pretty good when a friend and I went for all you can eat during dinner. They are located at 4593 St. Denis (their website is: www.restoginza.com).

I've tried a few other places - Odaki on St. Laurent is decent but a bit on the expensive side for all you can eat dinner. I've also tried the Kanda on St. Catherines which I would not recommend - when I went, we'd order a huge amount and it all arrived within 5 minutes. It's not very fresh the food.

One place that I would definitely suggest you check out is Tokyo Sushi (1805 St. Catherines West) located near Guy Concordia. I went for lunch with a friend to all you can eat and it was incredible. Everything was fresh, the food was made in front of our eyes and it was very well priced. I think it is $13.99 per person at lunch but we had a student coupon so it was only $10 for each of us and for the amount of sushi we ate, it was a steal. Also, it's $20.99 for dinner (Mon-Thurs) and $23.99 (Fri-Sun) so it's still a better price than most other places. Hope that helps!

[humbert]

I found Tokyo sushi on st catherines to be the most disgusting and disapointing 'Asian' food I ever had. I wouldn`t go back there if someone paid me.

[qwerty1238]

Hey, if possible, I would like to know where we can get those student coupons for the Tokyo Sushi. Please let me know! Thank you!

[kpaxonite]

Probably from the concordia or mcgill agenda given out the first week of school every year ...there are always tons of coupons and promotions in them

[qwerty1238]

I have tried looking in it but I didn't came across the coupons, do you have any other ideas where we can find them? Thx for replying!

[hungryann]

There were good sushi restaurants in the WI? I can only think of the Maiko branch on Sources and Aikawa across from the Guzzo cinema. Are those the ones you are referring to?

[Maximilien]

General consensus say that "Jun I" (Laurier st.) is probably the best in the city. Other than that, I always liked Mikado (on Laurier st.).

Another one, still on Laurier st. is "Tri Express", a small neighbourhood restaurant, owned (I think) by Tri Du (formely of Kaizen).

I've been on the one (name eludes me) on St-Catherine, on the 2nd floor, near sq. phillips and that was fun and good.

[kpzoo]

I second Mikado for excellent sushi, but I've only been to the Monkland location in NDG.

http://www.mikadomontreal.com/ (watch the music

)

You can definitely keep it to $50 for two if you forgo the booze.

[sharkbait88]

i think thats takara sushi

[carswell]

Am pretty sure Max is thinking of Zen Ya (486 Ste-Catherine West, 2nd floor, near Future Shop), since he's mentioned it on this board before.

[The Chemist]

Jun i is best if you can afford it, for sure.

Otherwise, I go to Osaka (what's the new name?) on Du Parc and De Bleury. If you order the right things (Veggie tempura roll, Haiwa roll, and hamachi nigiri), it's surprisingly good for the price. Not that it matters, but it's the only sushi place I have been to in Montreal outside of Jun i which is clearly Japanese run. Again, not that that means anyhting.

[kpaxonite]

that would be parc and sherbrooke considering parc and bleury are the same street

[The Chemist]

Oops, my bad. Bleury and Sherbrooke it is.

[reelection]

Are you afraid of offending by saying it matters that a Japanese resto be run by Japanese? Not to say that you absolutely have to be from a given culture to make their cuisine, but it's still a selling point. Especially in a city with so few Japanese... their cuisine is unique, and more likely to be authentic if made by people with that kind of intimate familiarity with the food.

[The Chemist]

Partially, yes. Also, I FEEL that the best sushi is probably prepared by Japanese but I KNOW that this is a oversimplification based upon anecdote. There are always outliers. For example, the best Sushi chef I know is Chinese. Or you could say that many of the best 'French' chefs are American or British. Another good point is that we almost always associate intimate familiarity with the ability to emulate the qualities that make the product good. Ie. I could move to NYC and open a poutine place that could serve swill but people would say "His is the best, because he's from Quebec".

But anyway, Osaka is worth a try if you know what to order. I would suggest the Haiwa roll, the vegetable tempura roll, and the hamachi.

[vanierstudent]

I'm pretty sure that Kyoto on decarie is operated by Japanese, since i heard the chef talk in japanese with a waitress.

[carswell]

Type sushi into the search box and you'll find lots of talk, including the following threads.

Montreal sushi?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/548229

Sushi anyone?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/476202

When I can't find the bucks for dinner at Jun-i, I often end up at Yuukai on Parc. Not stellar by any means but solid, affordable and -- a big plus -- BYOB.