Story & Photography | Renee Suen
Toronto is host to many different dining experiences. From casual to formal, there’s a plethora of options, whether dining alone at full-service spaces to family-style gatherings. however, there’s a more intimate, immersive experience known as the chef’s counter.
Here, the divide between kitchen and guest dissolves. Patrons can see each dish come together, often receiving an explanation of their course from the very hands that crafted it. it’s a front-row seat to culinary theatre, with guaranteed deliciousness.
Sushi Kiwami
599 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4Y 1Z4
647-891-7668
sushikiwami.ca
Originally launched in Richmond, B.C., the premium omakase experience has found a new home in Toronto’s Church-Wellesley neighbourhood. Tucked into the ground floor of The Gloucester on Yonge, this reservation-only omakase destination lives up to its name—Kiwami meaning “the ultimate”—offering a serene, immersive dining experience.
Sushi Kiwami’s elegant and understated entrance hides a pair of Zen-inspired rooms with sushi counters.
A main nine-seat dining room and a private dining room are housed within the 1,500-square-foot space, which is a study in Japanese craftsmanship. Pale Japanese Hinoki wood, wall plastering with a diatom mud coating and a hand-carved ceiling finished with Sakura wood and bamboo set a tranquil tone. in the centre stands a custom-built himuro—a non-refrigerated version of the traditional Japanese icebox—used to rest and temper fish to the perfect serving temperature.
Sushi Kiwami’s open counter seating allows all diners an unobstructed view of chef-owner Yuta Arase at work.
The fish on Arase’s omakase menu is flown in directly from auctions in Shimane Prefecture, while the finest ingredients from Canadian waters, like sweet spot prawns, round out the ingredient list. The experience begins with a warm starter, such as soup or chawanmushi, followed by pristine sashimi and a stunning platter of appetizers. Shaved lily bulbs temper the bite of homemade gari, while crunchy, addictive tsukemono whet the appetite.
Mitten crab is one of Sushi Kiwami’s seasonal offerings, flown directly from auction to service. Here, it’s topped with lush lobes of Bafun uni, shredded crab, and caviar.
Grilled courses include slow-grilled freshwater unagi in cooler months or delicate saltwater anago in summer, and binchotan-charred amadai with crispy scales or prized kichiji. The meal peaks with a procession of Edomae sushi. Each piece is a balance of premium seafood, including in-house aged fish, beautifully braided kohada or delicate soy glazed oboro kombu that’s wrapped around lobes of uni that sits atop rice seasoned with a proprietary blend of red vinegars sourced from the Kyoto prefecture.
The omakase main course features ten pieces of sushi, which Arase prepares à la minute and serves directly to guests.
A premium sake, such as Dassai in the coveted landmark 23, or the ultra-premium Beyond that’s served chilled in a hand-cut crystal sake glass, are available. The meal concludes with a bowl of miso soup and a dessert. The latter may feature uni ice cream and the restaurant’s viral melon cake – a whole Japanese crown melon that, when sliced, reveals a layered fruit and cream sponge cake hidden within.
The sushi course wraps up with a chirashi.
Ten
1132 College St, Toronto, ON M6H 1B6
416-538-3810 10
restaurant.ca
For a progressive take on Canadian cuisine that eschews meat yet is universally satisfying, look no further than this quaint Michelin-recommended restaurant. Since opening in fall 2018, guests have been gathering for an intimate culinary experience at the restaurant’s long communal counter.
Ten’s 10-seat counter runs the length of its Brockton Village dining room.
Ten is named for both the number of seats and the number of courses served at the Brockton Village restaurant. The tasting menu is a celebration of Southern Ontario’s seasonal bounty and takes on the minimalist aesthetics of New Nordic cuisine.
Ten serves a rotating, plant-forward tasting menu that draws from seasonal produce grown in Southern Ontario.
For example, a spear of green asparagus might be grilled and christened with coriander flowers and cured egg yolk, then followed by cooked white asparagus, thinly sliced and dressed with a sauce made of fennel and fermented white asparagus, before it’s finished with fennel fronds and crispy dots of finger lime pulp.
A warm salad centered around gem lettuce.
Fresh green peas encapsulate spring but hide a white chocolate foam.
Lightly cooked white asparagus with a crisp bite.
Slices of red pear are tucked between the leaves of endive to mellow out its bitterness.
Maitake mushrooms are roasted over apple wood.
A must-try is the dish of fresh green peas, marinated simply with lemon juice, sunflower oil and sea salt, sitting over white chocolate foam and garnished with tender sprigs of scallion, mint, chive flowers and fresh lemon segments.
Ten’s sunchoke tortellini is in a class of its own.
Courses like sunchoke tortellini punch above their weight. Bathed in a glorious and rich roasted onion broth, whose deep caramelized flavours don’t only give the dish depth but is excellent mopped up with the house sourdough bread accompanying the dish. You would be delighted by a hearty chunk of apple wood-roasted maitake that’s glazed with an umami-rich seaweed oil, then topped with nutty buckwheat kernels.
To finish there might be maple syrup-like candy cap mushroom ice cream and a beet-lime tart in an almond crust to enjoy with a cocktail, coffee or tea in the cozy lounge flanking the minimalist space’s entrance.
