I love sushi and am always on the lookout for great places to try sushi and other delicious Japanese food in Toronto. Recently I celebrated my fiance’s birthday at Yukashi in Mount Pleasant and I highly recommend it!

Yukashi’s head chef is Daisuke Izutsu whose career would make an amazing movie! Back in 2001 Chef Izutsu first came to Toronto as a private chef for the Consulate General of Japan, during his time in that role he served the royal family of Japan as well as celebrities, artists, and government officials all over the world. Izutsu was chosen as one of top 9 chefs in Toronto at the 2007 Gourmet Food and Wine Expo, that same year he was also voted the Number One Chef by NOW Magazine readers. His resume also includes highlights like serving as the personal chef for the First Lady of Japan during the 2010 G20 meetings in Toronto.

In 2018 Chef Izutsu opened Yukashi in midtown Toronto, and I’m so happy he did! Yukashi is a small, 20-seats, restaurant with a menu packed with complex omakase delights! Reservations by credit card are required to a meal at this internationally renowned hot spot! Cancellations cost $75 if a reservation is cancelled within 48 hours, so be sure you’ll be able to make your reservation (which I hope you’re making right now because I know you’ll love it)! Bar seats are of course the most popular, who doesn’t enjoy watching a master at work? The chef himself is quiet at first but once he warms up to you is wonderful to chat with.

The restaurant itself features bamboo covered walls and an understated nature keeping the focus on the amazing food and the expertise required to create it. The 4 to 9-course meals cost upwards of $75 to about $150. We enjoyed the torch-flamed uni, goose foie gras, Japanese A5 wagyu (my absolute favorite dish of the evening!), slices of tuna belly and hay-smoker amberjack, bowl of homemade black sesame tofu with yoba sauce and Ontario mushrooms, a zen wooden platter of delicious bites including slow roasted tomatoes filled with a secret ingredient, and to finish it off enjoyed Skizuoka crown muskmelon. I enjoyed every bit of my meal and the sake it was paired with. 

The menus are based on the seasons and often change according to the weather, but it’s all amazing! The presentation is part of the experience so if you love Instagram-worthy meals Yukashi will not disappoint!

Have you visited Yukashi? Tell us about your experience in the comments!