Nick and I used to go out for Sushi fairly regularly, always to the same place in our neighbourhood, called Izmi Sushi. We loved it there and were sad to see it close down last year. And we haven’t been out for sushi once since it closed.
It isn’t like a replacement for our old favourite wasn’t available because there are 6 sushi restaurants that I can think of within walking distance (which is probably part of the reason our beloved Izmi shut down). That was too many to choose from, so we just didn’t make the choice and knocked sushi off our list of what to have when out for lunch or dinner.
But I’ve been craving it, so took to the internet to find a replacement for our former favourite. And based on what I found on both Urbanspoon and Yelp, there was a clear choice. To-ne Sushi at 414 Queen Street West was the place to go for good, well-priced sushi.
I was pleased when my friend Julie B. agreed to give it a go with me last Thursday evening. She had actually already been there, so confirmed that the food was good.
And, no doubt, the food was very tasty. I went for the Spicy Roll Combo, while Julie had a combo with mixed rolls and tempura. And we shared some Edamame. Our meals also came with two small bowls of soup each, one a nice broth with thin noodles in it and the second was Miso Soup. To drink we had green tea.
The thing about Sushi restaurants is that once they have the basics down, which begins with fresh fish, accompanied by generous fish to rice ratios and a few rolls with unique combinations of ingredients, they are all very very similar, as far as the food goes. What makes them stand apart then, is the atmosphere and service.
And I realize now in hindsight what it was I particularly liked about our old no-longer-there spot Izmi … I loved the seating in the place, which was mostly booths with a few well spaced tables. And although there were always plenty of people in there, you never felt like you were trying to have your meal while sitting in someone else’s lap. Which is a bit what I felt like at To-ne.
While the place is quite spacious and I had booked us a table in advance because I didn’t know how crowded it would be at 6pm, I was seated uncomfortably close to a couple who had just ordered, upon arriving alone and a bit on the early side. When I say close, I mean no more than 8 inches were between my bum and the female’s next to me, although there was a thin wooden screen between us. But they could clearly see me, and I them. And of course, I could hear every word they said, so there was nothing romantic about their date. However their little wooden boat covered in sushi was beautiful to look at and apparently very tasty too.
When Julie arrived I quickly forgot about the stranger right beside me, and we had a cheerful and delicious dinner. She is a lovely and warm person who I met at work and with whom I’ve kept in touch long after we both stopped working at the place that we met. (If you’ve been following along you may recall that she is a funny lady too, organizing her own big comedy shows that are truly excellent, discussed here and here.)
In summary then – the food at To-ne Sushi is very good. It isn’t especially inexpensive, but it’s high quality and you get a lot of it (I ended up bringing 6 rolls home for Nick).
I brought Julie the crocheted flower that I made for her (shown in this post), and here she is modeling it …
Then she took a nice of herself with the flower on her coat.
Thanks for dropping over and wishing you a great Monday.
xo loulou
