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Shiso Tree Cafe
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Italian Japanese, Italian [Edit]
3160 Steeles Ave EMarkham, ON L3R 4G9
(905) 479-9319
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
13 reviews for Shiso Tree Cafe
13 reviews in English
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Review from Archimedes T.
Toronto, ON
Went here recently with my parents and noticed a new entry on the specials. Lobster Spaghetti with Homard Lobster, San Marzam tomato sauce, fresh Mozzarella and fresh basil.
Although the price is normally out of my normal range, I did want to try out something new.
The salad and toast sides are still standard, but good quality.
When I was eating it, I felt it had to be my No.3 choice of pasta in that restaurant. The No.1 and No.2 choices being my usuals: Shrimp Okonomiyaki Pasta and Napolitan respectively.
The taste of of the tomatoes made a difference, it was like tasting cherry tomato sweetness with the sauce rather than the harsh tart taste of normal tomato sauce. The lobster was given in relatively generous chunks in relation to the size of the dish.
As I was nearing the end of eating it, I had to say I think if I had the money this would be my No.2 choice, displacing the Napolitan.
However, shortly after I finished the dish, there was a bit of a pang in my mouth that was feeling happiness. So now I think this is my No.1 choice. However, it could be just that I was craving lobster at the time.
Unfortunately, the $24 price tag is a bit of a turn off for me, but if you have more disposable income I would say go for it. Well more worth it than Casa Imperial.3 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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11/3/2011
Umm, solo flight tonight. I think I came here too often I am running out of specials to try out.
… Read more »
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Review from Fiona L.
Markham, ON
3/26/2012 1 photo
Superb.
Excellent food and decor . I love how they added a touch of Japanese culture into the restaurant by letting you take off your shoes to sit.
Some must-haves would be the smoked salmon a la creme vodka. Some appetizers would be smoked salmon on garlic bread and tartar mayo fries.
After trying Shiso Tree Cafe, you'll never want to eat pasta at another restaurant again. 8) -
Review from Jiao S.
Updated - 2/16/2012 3 photos
Went there tonight with friend. I found that the menu has changed, stronger sauce for winter. Love the idea changing menu over seasons.
My friend ordered the Sukiyaki pasta, which based on her research, is almost everybody's favorite. It turns out there is a reason to be. Sukiyaki sauce, with very tender beef slice. Just perfect.
I ordered the "shrimp okonomiyaki", taste just like Okonomiyaki transformed to a pasta. (or takoyaki :P)
We ordered the green tea cream bluee as dessert and called it a perfect night.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/2/2011
Opened by the owner of the bakery in side Town (or maybe not), Shisco Tree cafe's pasta is famous… Read more »
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Review from Charlotte W.
North York, ON
2/11/2012 3 Check-ins Here
I absolutely love this place! It's weird because the pasta is done perfectly here, although you wouldn't expect great Italian dishes done by a Japanese restaurant.
The restaurant is quite small and the night that I came here, they had a drum set and a stage which was new. There are two mini levels to this restaurant, and for a Wednesday night, the place was already quite packed. There was only one waitress for the entire restaurant and when my dad requested red crushed pepper flakes, it was promptly forgotten.
However, the food more than made up for the lack of service. I always have the Berkshire Sausage Ragu pasta which is hearty, rich, and the pasta done perfectly al dente. Pasta dishes come with garlic toast and salad with a very refreshing sauce. My parents opted for the Japanese inspired dishes and they both had Spaghetti with Manilla Clams glazed with a miso ginger sauce. They devoured it in no time. We were still hungry so we shared the Crepes Azuki with a chunk of ice cream...yum!
I really love coming here. The food is so very delicious and the Japanese/Italian fusion dishes actually work! Plus, they have house wines (red and white) for only $5 a glass and its not bad. If you order a second glass, they always pour more wine into the glass so for that night, I was happily buzzed.
You have to come here and try it out! You will not be disappointed.Listed in: If you're ever in the area...
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Review from Jimmy L.
Richmond Hill, ON
3/22/2012 1 photo
Service here is great and I really enjoyed eating here because they were actually Japanese people. Food is okay, I expected a little bit more out of the spaghetti.
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Review from Joy L.
Scarborough, ON
2/9/2012
Appetizer:
Fresh Greens with Miso Dressing!
Cream of Corn Soup with Garlic Croutons
Entrée:
Tarake: Pasta with cod roe, garlic, shimeji mushroom garnished with nori and shiso. ($10)
Neapolitan: Japanese tomato sauce with bacon, sausage, and onions ($10)
Sukiyaki: Japanese soy sauce based pasta with thinly sliced rib eye beef, enoki, king oyster, and shimeji mushroom
Dessert:
Mango and Strawberry Shortcake
There are some hits and misses at Shiso Tree Cafe. You can get soup, pasta and salad for $8 during lunch on the weekdays! :) Not a bad bargin at all! I will go back to try their dishes if I am ever in the area. -
Review from Danny T.
North York, ON
1/30/2012
it is what is is.. Shiso Tree is a simple pasta place. Shiso tree is also the only restaurant in toronto that serves WAFU (Japanese Style) pasta.
If you haven't had Wafu pasta, give it a try!!! You'll either love it or hate it. Most pasta dishes are $12, including: Salad, Pasta, toast. Price is pretty decent if you ask me and no way did they give up on quality. Everything is great! Quick service, hot pasta friendly waiters. What more can you ask for $12? (i know... i wish they have espresso but they don't , so I guess i can ask for that...especially in a place that serves pasta)
And of course some of you may prefer $3.99 Shanghai Noodle lunch special from China town.
PS. They currently have a $45 fixe Prix special, including: Lobster Bisque, Alaska King Crap Risotto and dessert. I personally think it's a steal when some other higher end restaurants charges $30 for risotto alone without the King Crap. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
I love LUNCH SPECIALS! Especially lunch specials at Shiso Tree Cafe.
I love Pasta and I love Japanese food! Pasta in Japanese style.... my kind of food!
Lunch Pasta set ($8)
Clam Chowder
- creamy without being overbearing and love those croutons
Garden Salad
- fresh and lightly dressed with miso based vinaigrette
Okonomiyaki Style Pasta
- Pasta cooked al dente with great bite
- Okonomiyaki sauce though a little disappointing as it is on the salty side and was quite over powering
Dessert:
I didn't want to order the cake slices since I can get them from Bakery Nakamura next door, I ordered
Azuki Matcha Sundae ($ 4.50)
- I don't know what I was expecting? green tea ice cream?
- Vanilla Ice Cream+Red Bean+Fresh Whipped Cream+Matcha Syrup+Brown Sugar Rock Candy
- Beware of the Rocky Candy stuck to your teeth... :)
I will be back for their lunch specials and try out other pasta dishes....
I enjoyed the vibe at Shiso Tree Cafe especially in the afternoon as you can look out through the big windows...... and start day dreaming........... -
Review from h t.
Scarborough, ON
1/29/2012
This place is okay.. Nothing special. The place is located inside Jtown. You have to go up a few steps to get there. They open at 12 every day i believe.
The food was okay.. Nothing really appealed to me. I ordered the Sukiyaki which was noodles in soy sauce and mushrooms and beef with garlic toast. This comes with a house salad. Unfortunately if you want to have a soup, salad, garlic bread and cake (pasta set), you have to pay and extra $7. The salad was pretty good. The soup was awesome. It was cauliflower cream soup. It was yummy. The croutons were a bit too salty for my liking. The pasta came and it was that great. I don't know why but it just doesn't look good and didn't taste good.. The toast like other people said, doesn't really taste like garlic bread. It was lacking some taste. THe cake came from the Bakery Nakamura. I knew the cake was very good as I always buy cakes from the bakery.
The service was okay.. I think 1 waitress wasn't doing much. I felt like both of the waitresses could have done more. The one that kept on serving us was fine but the other one needed some more training. The one that served us was very smart. As my family and I only ordered 1 pasta set, we only had 1 piece of cake. The waitress gave us 4 forks in total so we could all share it. -
Review from Amy L.
9/7/2011 10 photos
When Japan meets Italy - Shiso Tree is a Japanese-inspired pasta restaurant that transforms the classic Italian dish into creations that resemble the flavours that Japanese cuisine admirers are familiar with. Although I wouldn't consider the majority of ingredients used in their pasta to reflect Japanese ingredients, the way they are used and how the dishes are brought together do remind us of Japan.
Located right in J-Town beside Niwatei (Ramen restaurant), Shiso Tree is a comfortable and relaxing café that offers a variety of pasta dishes, entrée salads, café items, and cakes. Their pasta comes in three different categories: Wafu (pasta made with Japanese ingredients), Cream, and Tomato sauce. Salads range from the Classic Ceasar Salad, to Shoyu (soy) Sesame Chicken Wafu Salad, to Garlic Shrimp Caesar. As for café items, what I mean are toast topped with a choice of Honey, Mango cream, Azuki cream (red bean), Banana Foster, and so on. As for their cake slices, they are brought over from the bakery right inside the Supermarket; Bakery Nakamura. In addition to ordering everything separately, set menus along with daily specials are also available.
Okay, after blabbering on and on in the introduction of this review, I guess it's time to actually talk about their food ;) The three of us selected the set meals. Basically for an additional $7, you may upgrade your pasta to a set with Soup of the Day, Shiso Tree Salad, Garlic Toast, and a slice of cake. The soup available that day was a Chilled Butternut Squash. It came in a plastic mug and it was very pleasant and refreshing. The taste was very pure and clean, and the soup itself was very smooth and creamy. Crispy, buttery croutons were floating on to for some added texture.
Shiso Tree Salad was a combination of mixed greens, julienned cucumbers, carrots, and drizzed with a miso-based vinaigrette. I really don't have much to say except for the ingredients being fresh and the dressing had a nice tang to it.
Eric loves french fries, so we shared an order of Nori Fries ($5) tossed in a Wafu dressing and nori seaweed. The taste itself was amazing; nori is such an incredible ingredient. It is often used as a garnish for dishes (except maki/hand rolls) but the flavour it is capable of providing is sometimes beyond measure. Or maybe I'm just a nori lover in general :) Despite having a great taste, the fries were too soggy and soaked in too much oil. It could be because the fryer wasn't set high enough, but it is such a pity since the taste is there.
My pasta entrée was a Lobster & Scallop Mac n' Cheese ($18) - Gemelli pasta in cream sauce using 6 year old white cheddar. It was a good-sized portion with enough scallops and an attractive lobster claw on top. Although I did enjoy this hearty, creamy and cheesy dish, I wasn't able to finish it because it was just too heavy for me to handle. I admit I'm weak when it comes to heavy and deep-fried foods; I can only tolerate so much. The seafood did help to lighten it slightly and the pasta was cooked to al dente. I liked the added croutons as I always prefer dimensional dishes as opposed to flat dishes.
Ruby's Hokkaido Scallop Rosé ($15) that came in a creamy tomato sauce rosé with clams made me think of two words - refined and elegant. It had a pleasing subtle taste with a tad of sophistication. The Hokkaido scallops were seared perfectly and the tiny bacon bits brought more flavour to the dish. I preferred hers over mine :D
Eric had the Carbonara Prawn ($12) - Parmigiano cheese, egg yolk, and cream based sauce with green peas, bacon, and sautéed garlic shrimp. I tried a bit of it and I honestly wasn't a fan of it. I've had Carbonara pasta in the past and really loved it. This version at Shiso Tree also received many positive reviews online, so I was puzzled when I tasted it. There seemed to be a strong seafoody or fishy taste that I just couldn't get over. Even though the Carbonara had an appetizing presentation, the taste was disappointing.
Last but not least, were the dessert cakes - Tiramisu, Strawberry Peach, and Green Tea. They were so cute looking; just look at the photos! Not only were they adorable, they were delish! None of the cakes were too sweet and they were the right size after an entire set menu. I loved them all, but surprisingly my favourite was the Strawberry Peach Cream cake. I'm usually not a fan of cream, but this was so yummy, haha. I know this entire review seemed rather serious, but when it comes to dessert, I can't help but to turn all giggly and happy ;D
The three of us had a great dinner thanks to the decent food and the friendly service. Honestly, I was so glad the young gentleman was working that day instead of the rude, older man. I would definitely come back for their Japanese-inspired pasta and look forward to their new creations!Listed in: Japanese Restaurants
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Review from Yvonne T.
Overall Rating: ****
Food: ****1/2
Service: **1/2
Ambiance: ***
Located in the same plaza as J-Town, the Japanese "groceries" store on Steeles is Shiso Tree Cafe. It all started with just a bakery section within J-Town, but now they have their own cafe directly across from their bakery.
Shiso is a fusion lunch joint serving up Italian/Japanese fusion pasta dishes along with various items you'd find in a cafe (e.g. teas, coffees and pastries). Unfortunately, for those of us who don't live in Markham, this means that the only chance you may have to experiences Shiso is on your day off as they are only open for lunch service between 12PM to 3PM Tuesday through Friday.
Lunch sets are $8 and includes a soup, salad and "garlic" bread along with your choice of fusion pasta dish. I use the term garlic loosely as to me it was just a slice of toast with some butter on it - the garlic went AWOL.The soup of the day today was a Shoyu Bonito Broth, which appeared in our bowls in the form of a creamy soy sauce and fish soup adorned with croutons. The soups are served in cups, which makes for easy sipping towards the end, and the soup was quite smooth and rich. The croutons were a tad bit oily but still crunchy when brought to the table.
The Shiso Tree Salad was also very tasty, with its housemade Wafu dressing which is a soy-based dressing most often mixed with vegetable oil and mirin.
For mains we ordered the Okonomiyaki (sautéed onions, bacon and garlic dressed like an Okonomiyaki-style pancake), as well as the Tarako (cod roe, garlic, and shimeji mushrooms). Both were made with spaghetti. Of the 2, I preferred the Tarako as it was made with very simple ingredients, but was still bursting with flavour. I found that the Okonomiyaki, though still tasty, had too many flavours trying to vie for centre stage and as a result, nothing really stood out.The portion sizes were perfect and allowed room for dessert, coffee and tea afterwards.
We ordered a black tea and a green tea to accompany our meals (Asians are avid tea drinkers, and believe that warm tea helps "flush out" the grease), and I ordered a cup of their Organic Crême Brûlée Coffee to accompany dessert.
I was really excited to see the Green Tea Red Bean Cake on their menu and had my heart set on ordering it for dessert, but unfortunately because I had arrived 1 hour prior to their close time - they were sold out. Therefore, I settled on the Azuki Matcha Cream Toast and a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. It is adorned with a homemade green tea sauce and sweet red bean with whipped cream. I liked that they gave you a choice of whole-wheat or white bread. The matcha sauce was very delicious but I didn't see any red beans in my toast? I think the server must've misheard me and just given us the Matcha Cream Toast. The bread was salted, probably from the use of salted butter. If it were up to me I would opt for unsalted butter.
Verdict:
All in all, I enjoyed my dining experience at Shiso Tree Café. The décor is a perfect example of fusion - with 2 traditional tatami-style rooms, a breakfast bar top, and an array of tables. I enjoyed the quaint décor and the bright windows. Instrumental music plays in the background to allow for a relaxing lunch or tea break. Perhaps the only thing that was missing was free wi-fi but I guess they don't want diners lingering for too long seeing as they are only open for 4 hours. A few things I noticed, but that do not overshadow the positives were: entrées being pushed out even before we finished our starters and that I didn't get to try the Green Tea Red Bean Cake, which judging from the many pictures I've seen of it, would've been nothing short of heavenly! I will most definitely be back on my mission to sample the Green Tea Red Bean Cake. The total bill came up to about $36 with tax and tip. I would recommend this restaurant if you're looking for a cozy place to relax and enjoy yourself! -
Review from Jeffrey W.
Toronto, ON
4/5/2011 3 photos
Huh I think Shiso Tree Cafe has been around for a while actually! Don't know why there's no review up. In any case this little cafe located @ J-Town serves an interesting combination of Italian and Japanese (Wafu) pastas, along with pastries and different flavors of coffee.
On my visit, there was only one waitress working the small seating area, but service still took rather long. The waitress also forgot about our coffee orders once, but was at least apologetic and trying her best.
The food itself was quite delicious -- the carbonara was creamy, eggy, and bacon-y, with green peas to add extra flavor, texture, and color to the cooked to al dente pasta. The other pasta we ordered, a wafu pasta, was interesting and good, though the carbonara was definitely superior.
There aren't many good pasta places in the area from what I know and each pasta dish is quite cheap ($10-$12, iirc), so this is totally worth a shot if you haven't tried it already!
For the full scoop, please check out my blog, located conveniently in my profile. Cheers, everyone! :) -
Review from Foo D.
Scarborough, ON
6/21/2011
Food was very good and served piping hot with the freshest ingredients. The Carbonera Shrimp pasta was classic al dente. The new York strip was perfectly cooked and juicy. The desert, which was the red bean green tea cake from Bakery Nakamura (literally 2 doors down) was superb. Will definitely come back. One thing that they may need would be more staff ...
