Koganei Sushi
3901 Highway 7 West, BDC Building, Woodbridge
905-265-2288
Dinner for two (app and mains only) with all taxes, tip and water: $40

“Table for two?” It took me a minute to answer because I had just stepped through the door. That’s right, service at Koganei Sushi is blindingly fast. We were seated in a beautiful booth and given our menus. Normally I don’t pay much attention to the paper the menu is written on, but this menu was like receiving an art book. Before I even opened it I noticed the beautiful spring green-coloured hardcover bound with a silky ribbon. Once I opened the front cover I was taken aback by the amount of colour, pictures and menu options. I was so taken by the beauty of the menu that it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted. There is no way I can describe the selections offered, but their website does a great job of it! Suffice to say they have sushi, tempura, teriyaki and miso soup. Some of the more different items include raw oysters on the half shell, and a whole fish prepared for sashimi (must be ordered a week in advance).

After a nice long time we finally came to a decision for what we wanted. The second, and I do mean the second, my partner began to close his menu cover a waitress appeared to take our order. There was a line of waiters and waitresses lined up against the wall watching customers like hawks; all ready to snap into action the minute there was a need.

While we waited for our order we relaxed in our comfortable booth. The place has a calm air despite the alertness of the waitstaff. There were paper cranes and kites hanging from the ceiling that kept my eyes occupied. Even the soya sauce container looked nice! The soya sauce was in a small Japanese style ceramic pot instead of the usual glass jar with the glaring logo on it.

I soon saw that their artistic efforts extend to their food as our appetizer was delivered to the table. The assorted tempura platter ($4.95), though simple in appearance, was nicely arranged and presented. From previous experience I know presentation isn’t everything, but the taste matched the presentation quite well. As we consumed the crunchy tempura batter with a tasty interior of shrimp, sweet potato or zucchini, our 32 piece sushi platter ($29.50) was brought over. Again presentation was impeccable but we hesitated. How on earth were we to eat this massive platter? We dug in, savouring each fresh and delicious bite in our slow manner. In my opinion the sushi was of high quality, fresh to taste and prepared quite well. I say prepared because I’m never impressed when I see a roll cut into uneven pieces or if it falls apart when I go to pick it up. However, I’m happy to report that none of those problems occurred at Koganei.

It did take us a very long time to try to finish the platter, and we never did quite accomplish our goal. The waitstaff was quite patient with us, never intruding, but instead waiting until we were really done and not just on yet another break. We both turned down the offer for dessert or drinks other than water because we were just too full. I highly recommend checking out Koganei but would advise bringing an appetite because the sushi for two is a great deal of food.