Yuzu

Yuzu
236 Adelaide St. W

Well this week it would seem that work is catching up with my frequent sushi buddy Laura, so I decided to go it alone. Because I was by myself it seemed like a good idea to try something a little more upscale, I need to treat myself every so often! Coincidentally, Laura had handed me a card for the restaurant Yuzu the time that we went to Japango.

Yuzu is the epitome of subtle class. A restaurant thats nice, and doesn’t feel like it needs to show off. The food speaks for itself. I wound up taking a late lunch today, so I didn’t have to contend with crowds. Not many people are eating lunch just after 2pm. So I had the place to myself, and took some time to choose.

First up, while you can get California Maki for $4, the bulk of the rolls were in the $8-$12 range. I decided on the Spicy Tuna Crunch ($9) and the Alaskan Roll ($10). Rounding things off was a nice chilled bottle of Kirin ($5). I did say I was treating myself, didn’t I? The Spicy Tuna was easily the best I’ve had so far. 2 strips of high quality tuna with the “spicy” element sandwiched between them. It was the perfect balance of tuna and spicy. I found the Japango to be almost overwhelming, but this truly hit the spot. Next up was the Alaskan Roll (California roll topped with salmon.) At first this sounds similar to a Rainbow roll, but the added bonus was that the exterior of the roll is cooked (blowtorch?) crisping the rice ever so slightly and cooking the salmon. I wasn’t expecting this  and it was a very nice surprise. The roll didn’t give me that over-filling feeling that some of the cooked rolls do. Probably because it wasn’t fried in tempura.

Decor and atmosphere this place ranks slightly higher than Grand Ichiban, so it’s definitely good for a date. It’s easily the nicest place I’ve been to so far. while a tad more expensive than most, I think it’s money well spent. A really nice place without hitting the “so nice it’s stuffy” atmosphere.