Sushi on Gerrard – 1289 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4L 1Y6
Country: Japan  
Seating: Only indoor seating. 
Must-try dish: Torched Salmon Roll 
Dinner guests: Ace Avi, Dan’s Date, Island Dan, Pornstar Sam & Sundance Pati 
The high: The fish products are so fresh that it elevates each dish.
The low: The menu is a little overwhelming in its size and in its offerings. 

There’s no shortage of Japanese restaurants in Toronto, specializing in sushi, ramen, small plates, beef, or anything else Japanese. In fact, many of the higher end Japanese restaurants in the city were recently awarded Michellin Stars for their dishes. Despite the quantity of restaurants serving Japanese cuisine in the city, it’s difficult to find a place with beef fish or quality meat at an affordable price. Sushi on Gerard may just be the spot… 

The neighbourhood restaurant in Leslieville is open for lunch and for dinner, and although it doesn’t have the most creative of names, the food is terrific. It’s the type of place where you can grab your food and go, or you can sit down with a glass of sake ordering your way down the large menu. Most importantly, the fish is so fresh that it melts in your mouth, something often lacking in affordable Japanese restaurants in Toronto. 

Our group of seven was hungry, so we ordered doubles of all the appetizers to share at either end of the table while we decided on sushi rolls for the second course. 

• Kaiso Salad: Seaweed salad in sesame dressing. This is a fresh and mild flavoured number that always feels like the perfect start to a Japanese feast. 
• Edamame: A classic – boiled soybeans dressed in salt. 
• Tempura Appetizer: This plate is made up of shrimp and vegetable tempura (don’t worry, there’s a piece of sweet potato tempura!)
• Yakitori: These tender chicken skewers are marinated in teriyaki sauce, and are slightly addicting.
• Beef Kushiyaki: Beef tenderloin pieces grilled on a skewer and marinated in teriyaki sauce. Can you really go wrong with this? 
• Takoyaki: There were mixed feelings at the table over these balls of deep-fried squid, but it’s something different than the typical Japanese appetizer. 
• Age Gyoza: These Japanese style dumplings are stuffed with beef and dipped in a teriyaki sauce. They will never disappoint! 

There are two Tataki dishes to try on the menu – naturally we ordered both. 

• Tuna Tataki: The sliced tuna is seared and topped with black pepper and served with ponzu sauce for dipping. This was one of the best dishes of the night, and you would be missing out by not ordering it. 
• Bincho Tataki: This dish is in the same family as the Tuna Tataki, but made with Albacore tuna instead, and a garlic ponzu sauce for dipping. It was a last minute addition to the order, and ended up also making the list of best dishes of the night. 

There are too many sushi rolls on the menu to try in one night, regardless of our large group. We opted to each choose one that everyone could try. 

• Torched Salmon Roll: The group was so obsessed with this roll that we ordered another round for dessert! It’s a vegetable filled roll topped with delicately torched salmon. It’s the perfect roll. 
• Black Dragon Roll: This roll is made up of tempura battered shrimp, avocado and fish roe then topped with barbecued eel. Don’t be afraid of eel – you’ll love it! 
• Red Dragon Roll: A slight variation from the Black Dragon, the red roll counterpart is built with tempura shrimp, barbecued eel, and fish roe then crowned with thinly sliced salmon pieces. 
• Spider Roll: A meaty roll stuffed with crab, avocado, cucumber, and asparagus with a hint of spicy mayo. This is a treat for crab lovers. 
• Negi-Hama Roll: A fresh roll with yellowtail and green onion – sometimes the simplest ones are the tastiest! 
• Spicy White Tuna Roll: Albacore tuna mixed with avocado and green onion – it’s the type of roll that gets better with the quality of fish used. In this case, it was amazing. 
• Spicy Salmon Roll: Every restaurant serving sushi carries this roll, and it;s often a favourite because of the mix of textures, especially the crunchy tempura bits. 
• Yam Tempura Roll: Another classic that suits both meat eaters and vegetarians, the creamy sweet potato blended with tempura pieces is a winner. 

It would be a crime to go without sashimi at Sushi on Gerard as the fish tasted so fresh. As a result, a few orders were made of Yellow Tail and Butterfish sashimi, alongside an Egg to excite the palate of those with sweeter taste buds. 

The beauty of Japanese food is that the portions are small, giving the opportunity for diners to try several dishes without walking away filled up. This meal allowed for the entire group to try one or two portions of each plate and having conversations about the flavour profiles, the quality of the ingredients, and what to order next time. 

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)