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I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it seems like none of the Sushi restaurants in this city are actually owned and run by Japanese people. New Generation and Sushi on Bloor are both Chinese. Fujiyama on Baldwin St. is Korean. Sure Konnichiwa is Japanese, but I find their food to be quite limited. And you can pretty much bet that the Sushi Time down the corner is run by some sort of non-Japanese Asians.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Both New Generation and Sushi on Bloor are fine choices for your sushi, with lines out the door on busy nights. But I think there’s something to be said about authenticity.

Enter Ematei.

I’ve been studying Japanese over the past few months, and athough I can’t fend for myself in a conversation, I am able to discern if people are indeed speaking Japanese. When I visited Ematei last week, the staff, the sushi chefs and a large proportion of the customers were indeed speaking Japanese. Wow, speaking Japanese in a Japanese restaurant in Toronto? Now that’s something you don’t see everyday!

You may never have come across Ematei before, because it’s tucked away in a bit of a hiding spot (30 St. Patrick St.). However, it’s very much worth seeking out. Their fish is fresh and it shows when you taste it. The miso soup is something different (the good different) than your regular fare. Of course, there’s also stuff you might not get at your regular Toronto sushi joint. The foodies over at Chowhound seem to like their Sukiyaki and Omakase. Also, there’s a tatami room if you’re having a party!

I should mention that it’s a little more expensive than your run of the mill sushi joint, but I think it’s well worth it. Give it a try and tell me what you think! You might have to make reservations for Friday nights. It gets quite busy.

Ematei
30 St Patrick St (map)
416-340-0472

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 5th, 2007 at 11:47 pm and is filed under Food & Drink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.