where jess ate

I had a huge craving for sushi one day after work but didn’t feel like waiting for a table at the tiny Japango. So, Mike and I ended up at Sushi Couture, located on Bloor just east of Bathurst. I was curious to see how this sushi restaurant compared to Japango since the chef here had previously worked at Japango.

Sushi Couture occupies a much larger space than Japango and the many tables in the restaurant are a little more spread out. We dropped by on a Friday around 6:30 and had no problems getting a table. Not sure if this was typical but it seemed to be a slow night.

Despite its name, the menu isn’t as expensive as you would have thought. Menu prices are actually quite reasonable. I was initially interested in getting the Omakase (for $40) but if we wanted it, both of us would have to order it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite hungry enough on this visit.

We decided to share the Sashimi Dinner. If I can remember correctly, it cost around $16 and came with an assortment of fresh sashimi including salmon, red tuna, butterfish and sea bream. I particularly enjoyed the sea bream which was lightly torched on top. I find that this light sear really brings out the great flavour of the fish.

We also really enjoyed the butterfish which was topped with a touch of garlic oil. Mike normally doesn’t even like butterfish, but he liked this a lot. This sashimi dinner reminded me of the sashimi platter we had at Japango, where they seared some of the sashimi and also added garlic oil to the fish. The sashimi dinner also came with a miso soup and garden salad, neither of which were anything to write home about.

The next dish that came was the Yaki Nasu – grilled eggplant ($4.99). This came with four pieces of eggplant which was topped with a generous amount of bonito flakes and green onions. What made Sushi Couture’s eggplant dish different from other Japanese restaurants was that they had actually removed the skin off of the eggplant. Taste-wise, I thought this dish was just okay, however Mike really loved it. It certainly wasn’t as good as the eggplant dish I tried at Nami.

We wanted to supplement our meal with a couple rolls and had to order the Sushi Couture Maki – salmon, scallop, tobiko, spicy mayo ($10.99). It’s named after the restaurant, after all. The roll consisted of perfect little bites bursting with flavour. We both loved this – you can’t go wrong with those ingredients. This was one of the best sushi rolls I’ve had, anywhere – a must order!

The other roll we ordered was the Spider Maki – soft shell crab, avocado, tobiko, mayo ($8.99). The soft shell crab was fried perfectly without being too greasy and the roll had a nice filling-to-rice ratio. I hate it when rolls are stuffed with a ton of rice and not enough filling. This certainly wasn’t the case here. The roll also had substantial chunks of avocado which nicely contrasted the crunchy crab. This roll was another hit!

Overall, I had a great experience at Sushi Couture. The Bloor strip in the Annex has a high concentration of sushi restaurants and Sushi Couture is definitely a stand-out. Sure, the service wasn’t anything to write home about but the food made up for it. The sashimi was fresh and the rolls were fantastic. I’ll have to come back for their Omakase next time!

At a glance:

Must order: Sushi Couture Maki

Very fresh, reasonably-priced sashimi

Located on Bloor near Bathurst

Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 4 stars

Service: 2.5 stars

Atmosphere: 3 stars