Inakaya

I had the opportunity to spend my Mother's Day this year at Inakaya Sake Bar Restaurant. There were six of us, my wife, my father, mother, brother, and myself.  We also had a little toddler with us as well.  I was told this was one of the more higher class sushi/sashimi restaurants in the city.  When I first walked in, it seemed to be a little cramp.  It was a little difficult to maneuver into our seats.  Having said that, I was always told that some of the best sushi places in town are found at ones where the places are the smallest.  We brought our baby along to see if it was car seat friendly.  I can tell you the waitresses were a little shocked that we did for they too were not too sure whether we could get the child in the car seat through without bonking someone on their heads.  Thank goodness we left the stroller in the car.

Once we got settled, I order their special 2 for $130 dinner.  This included, shrimp and scallop tempura, sea bream sashimi fish, 6 pieces of beautifully grilled duck breast, 2 grilled pieces of salmon, 2 bowls of seaweed soup and dessert.  We ordered pork belly, volcano rolls and oyster tempura wrap as a side.  

With respect to the special, the shrimp and scallop tempura appetizer was tasty but nothing special.  There were about 10 portions altogether with some sweet potato tempura added to the mix.  Next up was the sea bream sashimi fish.  Now for the 2 for 1 you would expect there to be 2 fish, however only 1 was sliced up.  The presentation was nice however the number of slices from the one fish numbered about 20 small pieces.  The rest of the boat was decorated with a mixture of assorted sashimi.  Next came the sushi, and there were 8 pieces altogether.  Seaweed soup came next, however again there was nothing spectacular about it.  Finally the dessert.  We had the waffle fruit special and a black sesame ice cream.  The ice cream was definitely different but very tasty and not very sweet and thick.   

Duck breast

Sea Bream Sashimi Fish

Assorted sushi

The pork belly was very filling.  Brought to you on a skewer there were about 8 pieces altogether.  A little bit on the fattening side but it was definitely very juicy.  Next came the volcano roll.  The presentation was very neat with the fire surrounding the meat. Each piece was wrapped with what appeared to be rice and alvacado on the inside and a perfectly "burned" piece of meat on the outside.  The oyster tempura wrap was my favorite.  At $5.00 a piece, it was the cheapest thing ordered but by far the most filling.  

Volcano Roll

Oyster Tempura Wrap

Pork Belly

In closing, 2 for $130 dinner special was probably best put quite expensive and not quite as filling.  For two people, I would imagine that extras would definitely need to be ordered to fill one's stomach.  The type of fish used certainly added to rather more expensive price.  However the food was delicious.  I know people will say this is a sake bar.  How was the sake?  I did not drink that night.  My family are not much drinkers so we passed on the sake.  The total bill for 5 people was about $250.00 tax and tip included.  The fish was fresh, the grilled salmon was slightly over grilled but otherwise well done, the oyster tempura and the pork belly were very rich and tasty.  For the average person, it is probably a place that you will visit on special occasions only.  A quick scan of their menu showed the prices of their regular sushi and sashimi are about 3-5 dollars more expensive compared to other sushi restaurants.  Overall I will give this place a 4.5 out of 5.

Inakaya
126 Willowdale Ave
Toronto, ON 
M2N 4Y2
416 224 8881