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Kawa Sushi
Category: Restaurants Sushi Bars Sushi Bars [Edit]
451 Church StToronto, ON M4Y 2C5
Neighbourhoods: Church-Wellesley Village, Downtown Core
(416) 921-2888
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 11 pm
Fri 11 am - 12 am
Sat 2 pm - 12 am
Sun 2 pm - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
17 reviews for Kawa Sushi
17 reviews in English
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Review from Serena P.
Toronto, ON
1/11/2012
AAAAAAAHHHHH! KAWA SUSHI!
I'm just psyched from the menu. The Pedo Roll/Virgin Sunshine Roll looks both confusing and exciting. As it should be.
The range of deep fried options make my arteries shiver with anticipation.
I have ordered:
Tempura scallops,
Eggplant sushi pizza,
Deep fried sweet potato rolls,
and apple cinnamon spring rolls.
(I'm eating with a vegetarian, which makes me keenly aware of the lack of bacon on this menu. Tempura Bacon ... *drool*).
Review, it was tasty. I was happy. -
Review from Dishan W.
3/4/2012 2 photos
I was expecting Kawa to wow me just a bit more, but in the end while their food was good and worth the money ($15 for a sushi combo featuring around 8 or so different types of sushi and a hand roll) I was not a fan of of simple things like the fact that the food did take some time to get to us despite there being only 1 other table before us and that it didn't completely blow me away.
Make no mistake, Kawa is certainly miles above your average tiny sushi joint in terms of the quality so I would most definitely visit here once again especially given their convenient location to me.
I was a big fan of their miso soup though because instead of having the same tried out formula you see in almost all other sushi joints, their miso soup tasted different and actually had a solid amount of enokitake mushrooms which I'm always a fan of. Their salad too was tasty and had a good dressing on it.
A couple of things they could have done at their own expense to earn an extra star was to have brought me a glass of water as everyone else opted for water while I went for tea, and when one guy in our group didn't have soup and salad included in his meal they could have brought him over something at least. I know it seems a little harsh to criticise a business for not providing free stuff, but that sort of thing has happened to me in the past and could really enhance the experience.
Overall, satisfied with the food, but they still have a few details to hammer out to be completely awesome in my book.Listed in: itadakimasu!!
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Review from Vivian W.
1/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
This is a very small sushi restaurant, it seems like it's only operated with 1 server and 1 chef, who is managing both the sushi bar and the cooking in the kitchen. There are exactly 20 seats in this narrow restaurant. I think they mostly provide take-out or delivery service for the neighbourhood, that's why they don't need that many tables. If you do want to dine-in, they also take reservation.
However, I was kind of disappointed...the food is alright, I'll give it a 3.5 star, just slightly better than an average sushi joint. The service is super slow! (well, I'm not sure if that's a fair statement, but at least it was ridiculously slow when I went on Dec 31st new years eve) They gotta improve this if they want their customer to return. Unless, like I mentioned above, their target market is take-out and delivery. -
Review from Lindsay L.
Toronto, ON
6/30/2011
My boyfriend and I just ate at Kawa Sushi for the first time and we LOVED IT!!!
The restaurant is so cute (but very small) ... great design, and I love the little vases with fresh flowers everywhere. Nice touch!
I have a shellfish allergy, but I love the vegetarian rolls, and they ensured me that all of the cutting boards and knives would be washed and that my meal would not come in contact with any seafood at all.
Hours later and I'm A-OK! =]
The food is delicious! Prices are great! ... and the service was A+++++++++++++.
We will definitely be going back again soon!! =] -
Review from David B.
Toronto, ON
4/5/2012
The kamakachi rolls here are amazing. The avocado rolls were fresh too. The soy sauce I'm not a fan of- oddly salty and bitter. Thankfully I got take out so I just used old soy sauce packets from other restaurants. The salad is awful as well. The miso soup is typical but they do put in some enoki mushrooms, which is a nice touch. The kamakachi roll alone makes this a 4 star sushi spot.
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Review from Sam T.
Toronto, ON
2/9/2012
I got food poisoning. Had to rush over to Carlton cinema to find the closest washroom on route.
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Review from Kanwal A.
Kawa Sushi is definitely a hidden gem. MUST TRY! I love the food here: both sushi and sashimi are awesome. Service is great: a cute family run place. And the hours are convenient: open until 11 pm.
-
Review from Aamir B.
Toronto, ON
8/7/2011
Fantastic!
This small mom-and-pop joint on Church serves up some delectable sushi and sashimi. As others have mentioned, the space is small but intimate with nice Japanese murals on the walls.
The service was very good and super-friendly. I had a sighting of the owner's young son who was drawing caricatures of two men who were dining at a table in the corner of the restaurant.
Didn't get too adventurous on my trip here - ordered the beef teriyaki bento box ($14) and a side of salmon sashimi ($5). The fish was fresh, and the tempura was evenly-battered, crispy and well prepared. Given the freshness of the ingredients and the price, this will become my new go-to place for sushi.
Great overall! -
Review from Chris P.
I wanted to try a different sushi place close to home so I gave these guys a try. They were very friendly and offered me a seat and some tea while I was looking through the menu to place my take-out order.
The sushi was really good and the prices were reasonable. I probably won't stray from my normal go-to place but these guys are a good back-up option. -
Review from Elly V.
Toronto, ON
3/29/2012
I can't believe it took me 4 years of living in the village to find this place. I haven't had fish this fresh anywhere in Toronto before. I've now visited twice, and both times the food has been exceptional and great value for money. It's great to find an affordable sushi restaurant where the fish tastes fresh and clear...not like its been sitting out for 3 days. I will definitely be eating here again and again. The space is tiny, and it's clearly a family enterprise (there's always little kids quietly playing in the corner) but that simply adds to the charm.
-
Review from Leeanne M.
5/29/2011
LOVE.
On a recent visit to Toronto, after a couple weeks on the road, my friend and I were craving some sushi. We both eat A LOT of sushi, typically.
And while I won't claim I'm some crazy expert that can taste the difference in the rice/ vinegar ratio, I do know my fish.
TOTAL SCORE.
Charming atmosphere ( although small )
Stellar, fresh sushi ( no Hamachi - cause, you know, the whole unfortunate nuclear Japan bit.)
Excellent service. I wanted to take the owner home with me to the States she was so darn cute and awesome
In fact, I was relating a story to my friend over dinner and had a complete and utter laughing fit - which turned into crying-laughing, crazy- coughing
( no snorting, thank god) fit and I couldn't stop for 5 minutes.
When I did stop, the owner came right over and brought me some tea -although I hadn't ordered it - to calm me and my throat down.
How sweet is that?
Eat at Kawa. The end. -
Review from A M.
Toronto, ON
1/20/2012
Unremarkable!
My boyfriend and I wanted to try a new sushi place tonight and after reading the review here, we decided to go to Kawa Sushi. We ordered a maki combo and spicy salmon. Both were terrible. Each roll in the set tasted exactly the same of tempura and mayonaise. The spicy salmon was smothered in red hot sauce, the tabasco type. Very disappointed. Will never go back. -
Review from Chris M.
5/25/2011 3 Check-ins Here
Much like Chris P. below, I was keen on trying a new sushi place near me (see my recent review of Kokyo for some reasons why I've been craving a new perspective.)
Kawa was a step forward in terms of the quality of sushi I've had in Toronto! They lay out their menu much like other places, with a la carte sushi, teppan/cooked items and appetizers bookended with a number of combo/boat options and quite a few specialty rolls.
The price-to-performance ration is dang good at this place! You can get a lunch combo with 9-12 pieces of sushi, sashimi and/or rolls plus crisp, gingery-dressed salad and flavourful (but not over-salted) miso soup for seven flipping dollars! They even offer discounts on takeout to save you an extra bit of cash.
I had a combo with the house creation Kamakachi roll (with chopped tuna and onion, tempura flakes and spicy sauce) as well as some salmon, tuna, white tuna and snapper nigiri (it would have come with yellowtail, but they were out and I chose to sub an extra piece of tuna.)
The roll was very nice- it avoided the major problem of most rolls with a spicy component, i.e tasting too much like goopy mayonnaise and sriracha and nothing else. It was tangy and bright but you could still taste the buttery tuna inside. One thing that I will remark about the rolls - they're not gigantic like at some of the other sushi places I've tried lately. I don't enjoy eating a huge roll that I can barely fit in my mouth, so I was pleased by this difference. It's quality over quantity.
The nigiri is also nicely done. A quality piece of nigiri should look the part even before it gets into your mouth - the pieces of fish were adequately sized, the salmon was light pink with bands of marbling, the tuna and snapper pale, clean and soft. Fresh, light and flavourful all around - no stale or vinegary flavours to be had. Yum.
Small, bright, clean, friendly, cheap, quick and good quality - what more can I say? I'll be back soon.Listed in: Village Gems
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Review from Kate M.
12/1/2010 ROTD 5/23/2011
My name is Kate. And I am addicted to Kawa Sushi.
I remember when I first moved into my apartment my landlord mentioned Kawa. "Oh that place is good! It recently opened so it's nice to see they have business," he casually stated. Little did I know, this was only the beginning.
Fast forward a handful of months. Kawa Sushi and I are now the best of amigos. Am I feeling lazy? Craving sushi? I can simply call and place an order and in 10 min it's ready. I have become a regular and the adorable staff laugh at my love for their salmon sushi pizza. Now and again they'll even throw in a free miso soup, because they're just that delightful.
Care if I list a few more reason why I love it so?
- The price! $4 Salmon rolls! $7 for a giant (and I mean giant) Green Dragon roll! Yummy combos!
- The staff! They are so so nice! It's a family business, and sometimes you'll spot they're young lil son (who is basically twins with that kid in Up) playing on his game boy. When my friend Amy and I stopped by for a snack on Halloween he even shared some of his Halloween candy with us. And he was dressed up as Buzz Lightyear. And it was so cute.
- Did I mention the sushi pizza? Sushi pizza.
Kawa makes giving into my sushi cravings way too easy. And delicious. Go. -
Review from Floyd M.
Etobicoke, ON
Best rolls I've had in most restaurants in Toronto. The place has a small intimate feel and the walls have hand painted murals that are very beautiful.
I'm usually a sushi snob and only go to Omikase restaurants, but this place could easily charge high end prices for the quality but the prices are quite low.
It can be a bit quiet / they could use some music playing but otherwise it's a really nice place.
Thumbs up. -
Review from Nadir M.
Toronto, ON
7/23/2011 2 photos
Great sushi! We got here on a hot summer Saturday. It was nice and cool inside. Friendly waitress, prompt service. Food was amazing!
Try the spider roll if you like tempura rolls. The salmon sashimi was very fresh. -
Review from Dmitry T.
Toronto, ON
1/8/2012
Its OK. Nothing special. Solid sushi
