Posted by Arvin Cantos in japanese, restaurant review on September 10, 2007 at 7:37 am
Suki Japanese Cuisine
48 St. Clair Avenue East
416-929-8598
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip, and tea: $44
The area around St. Clair subway station is home to three Sushi restaurants. There's Sushi Garden (1560 Yonge Street), Takara (1502 Yonge Street) and Suki. Different people have different favourites but I think each place has something to offer. For instance, Takara is the only one which serves Ika Yaki (barbecued squid), and Sushi Garden has great lunch prices on Bento Boxes with larger portions. The third, Suki, has complementary salad and dessert and has the best service out of the three.
Suki is a dimly lit restaurant with room for about thirty people. The décor is interesting. Think traditional Japanese, clean and surrounded by bonsai-like plantlife meshed with wallpaper adorned with maritime ships at the harbour. It's homely enough though, setting the right atmosphere for some good sushi.
If unsure of what to order, try the Sushi Combos. I recommend Sushi Combo A ($12.95) as it's a good mixture of different types of fish, from salmon, shark, and tuna. A very hungry person should order the Suki Special ($14.95) with six pieces of sashimi, five pieces of sushi, and six pieces of salmon roll. It also comes in a boat.
Most restaurants pride themselves on presentation, and Suki is no exception. Their Spicy Tuna Roll ($6.95) comes wrapped in pink rice paper, making it delicate and gorgeous to look at. It's delicateness means it falls apart easily if not tightly wrapped. Once it hits the tongue though, it's easy to figure out why it's called "spicy" tuna. It's spicy and crunchy, almost like tempura. The heat comes from the hotsauce they use: sriracha hotsauce. Their Rainbow Roll ($9.95) is just as it sounds, a variety of differently coloured fish on a sushi roll. It looks great, but the taste varies depending on the fish they use.
Their soup is also superb even if it takes a while to cook. Order the Spicy Udon Seafood soup, which comes in a stone bowl, and prepare for great soup. The reason it takes long to cook is because the bowl has to be heated too. The stone-cooked soup is not salty at all, considering the amount of fish in it. It's great soup for wintertime, with shrimp and a variety of veggies like mushroom, sometimes lettuce, served with wheat-based noodles.
The lunchtime crowd usually fills the place. I believe it's because of the service. Our server, Justin, is quick and polite. He's also very apologetic. There were a couple of different instances when our food was expected to be slow. Justin informed us right away that they were busy, that food would arrive later than usual and gave us complimentary fruits and appetizers. During normal days the speed of service is quite fast, with a 10-15 minute wait time for a table of 2-4.
Green tea is the beverage of choice to go with Japanese food, though they also serve Japanese beer ($4.95 for a small), either Sapporo or Asahi brand.
A couple of minor irritations regarding Suki: their wasabi is weak even after asking for stronger stuff. Their edamame is sub par, sometimes it's even over cooked.
Fresh fruit is served after every meal, usually oranges or watermelon. It's a welcome end to each fulfilling meal. There is also the option of ordering ice cream ($2.95) in a variety of flavours from Green Tea, to Red Bean, Ginger, and Wasabi.
Suki is fast, good and satisfying. Even a 12-piece assorted sushi meal with cucumber roll is filling and all for only $9.50. As I mentioned, it's one of three Sushi restaurants in the area, and each has something different to offer. If service and speed is important, I fully recommend Suki. Their staff really appreciates their customers. I would return, even if they don't have the best edamame in the city.
