Kaga by Ginza Japanese Restaurant

We decided to test out Kaga by Ginza Japanese Sushi restaurant in North York the other night as we celebrated my wife's birthday.  It was another restaurant that we had not been before however a group of friends had and it came highly recommended.  We of course had reservations for the evening, brought our on sake and were ready to indulge in a feast of sushi, sashimi and cooked Japanese food.

Before we started, we had to get an order of California Rolls ($5.00) for my daughter.  Since everything else was more or less sashimi or raw, we had to find some sort of vegetarian rolls for her and decided on California rolls for her.  The rolls themselves were pretty good.  The avocados were nice and green and yellow and the roe on top was nice and fresh.  A good dish for my daughter to have as it came as advertised. 

California Rolls

The Fresh Fish Sashimi ($60.00) was our big ticket dish for the evening and it certainly lived up to its expectations.  The chefs were able to produce 40 very fresh pieces of fish out of this.  The fish was not frozen to the core as it was chilled nicely as it sat in a bowl of ice.  Although the price of it might scare some people off, I have to admit it was one of the most purest fish I have ever tasted.  It was so clean, so sweet tasting that yes despite the cost, it was certainly well worth the price.  Each piece of fish was nice and thick and the meat of the fish was not mushy at all.  The presentation was outstanding as the whole dish itself was of masterchef quality.

Fresh Fish Sashimi

The Botan Ebi Sashimi was fabulous.  Also served in a bowl of ice, each shrimp was peeled nicely with no shells in sight and each shrimp was of the jumbo variety.  One could taste the freshness of each shrimp eaten as again there was no sense of mushiness to it at all.  The shrimp heads were all then later fried to a crisp and taste even better in its crispy form.  Overall, it was another great dish to have with no complaints at all. 

Botan Ebi Sashimi

The sashimi bowl was served on an ice boat.  I was very impressed with the presentation as the sashimi was presented on a boat made of ice.  We ordered some of the best pieces of fish on the menu including hamachi, kanpachi and toro.  I was very impressed again with the quality of each fish presented as every piece was nice and fresh. 

Hamachi, Kanpachi, Toro Sashimi

Hamachi Hand Rolls

The hand rolls were exceptionally good.  There were many types to choose from including spicy scallops, spicy salmon and tuna.  Each one looked delicious especially the hamachi hand rolls.  The proportions were all equal with each piece and there was plenty of fish in each hand roll.  Again the quality of the fish in both the fish itself and the type was never in question.  Each one tasted delicious as my hamachi hand roll was one of my favorites for the evening. 

Spicy Scallops Hand Rolls

The Uni Rolls were equal to the task as the uni tasted amazing in their individual rolls.  For $10.00, one gets two pieces each and again, the chefs here at this restaurant did not disappoint one bit.  The uni in each roll were medium in size but what was important was that each piece was of the same size.  The freshness of it all again was never an issue as the best quality uni was served that evening. 

Uni

The first cooked foods started to arrive and the Grilled Salmon Belly ($7.00) was one of the first ones there.  Nicely presented, about a couple of pieces of salmon were placed in a skewer and nicely grilled.  Very few burnt pieces were presented and the salmon was grilled through.  I'm not too sure if the chefs added any special sauces to the salmon while they were being grilled but again they sure tasted pretty delicious.

Grilled Salmon Belly

Grilled Squid ($10.00) was good and decent however the lack of taste to them made it a little plain.  There wasn't anything wrong with it.  The squid was perfectly grilled to the point where it was not chewy or overcooked however there just wasn't any taste to it.  There was no dipping sauce so to me it was a little dry and bland.  I'm sure others found it pretty good.  With four pieces of squid per skewer, there were certainly plenty to pass around.  However if the chefs could come with some spice or dipping sauce to go with it, it certainly could take this dish to another level. 

Grilled Squid

The Grilled Saba ($10.00) was pretty good but just like the grilled squid, it was just lacking a tad bit of taste to it.  If there was a little butter, salt or fish sauce added to it, it might have really brought this piece of fish to another level.  There was nothing wrong with how it was done or how it was prepared but it just lacked a little bit of taste. The skin and some parts of the exterior were crispy and the meat was cooked nicely in the centre. Other than a bit light on the taste, the dish was pretty good.

Grilled Saba

Chicken Soft Bone ($5.00) was made where every piece was sweet, juicy and great tasting.  I believe the chef used a bit of honey or sweet sauce to the chicken soft bone and then slowly grilled the chicken soft bone so that it was nice and tender.  There were about 6-7 pieces of chicken on each skewer and it was one of the best cooked chicken soft bones I have ever tasted.  The honey glistened off the chicken and it looked so delicious.  I would highly recommended for anyone who is a chicken lover and the price is certainly more than affordable.

Chicken Soft Bone

Beef Tongue ($7.00) was a little chewy but the taste was pretty good.  Three pieces of beef tongue were stuck in each skewer and each piece of tongue were cooked and grilled to perfection.  The sauces for the marination got deep into the each piece of meat so that each bite was tasty and juicy. 

Beef Tongue

Clam Sake Soup came next and this was absolutely one of the best soups I had ever had.  The soup was nice and hot and almost still boiling when it came out of the kitchen.  There was a certain tinge to it with the combination of sake and ginger in it.  The claims were small however there was plenty of it in the bowl.  The bowl was huge and all 8 people had a bowl of it.  It hit the taste buds right on and it was not difficult to be asking for seconds and thirds.

Clam Sake Soup

The problem with having such an amazing soup was the slight disappointment of the next one.  The fish soup unfortunately could not out taste the previous soup.  If anything we should have this soup first and then the Clam Sake Soup.  The fish soup had a huge chunk of fish meat in it however one has to be super careful as there were plenty of bones in the fish.  The fish however just could not muster as great of a taste the previous one which was why I mentioned that serving the fish soup first and then the Clam Sake Soup second would have been a much better order to do so. 

Fish Soup

The Rack of Lamb ($12.00) were beautifully marinated on the outside, seared to medium rare on the inside however the inside of the meat lacked a tiny bit of the marination.  The meat was tender and fatty however the marination didn't quite penetrate the meat as well as one would have liked.  The lamb was also pretty good in that the lamb taste was minimal.  The mustard sauce however was amazing and provided some of the missing taste that was lacking in the centre of the lamb meat.  Still it was a decent dish however just a bit more taste in the centre of the meat would have preferential. 

Rack of Lamb

It was by far a great night to remember.  We ate so much and drank so much sake that we could hardly move afterwards.  Service was great throughout the night and the manager made sure the food came out slowly but steadily so that we could thoroughly enjoy all of it.  I will certainly return for round 2, round 3 and round 4.  All of the sashimi were thick, fresh and was absolutely perfect.  Overall, I give it a 4.75 out of 5.

Kaga by Ginza Japanese Restaurant
652 Finch Avenue
Toronto, Ontario

416-512-8882