Situated on Fairview Road, the restaurant is fairly easy to find. Sakai faces the road at Fairview Gardens Plaza, decorated with Japanese-style doors and window covers. Inside, you’ll find traditional Japanese décor and art. A long sushi bar runs along the right side of the restaurant, while elevated private rooms line the left side. They also have a spacious patio for those beautiful summer days.

4862 Yonge Street, Toronto  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Website  |  Menu  |   Map

My mom and I looked over the menu and decided that a small sushi and sashimi platter and a maki roll would be enough.

We ordered a Hamachi roll, miso soup, and a salad to start. The salad was fresh and flavourful, just like all the other Japanese salads I’ve had. The Hamachi roll was tasty with a kick from the green onions sprinkled throughout.

The sushi and sashimi platter came in a gorgeously decorated wooden boat filled with colourful fish. Our waitress patiently explained the different types of fish while I scrambled to write them down. Our chef prepared salmon, tuna, hamachi, albacore, and butterfish sushi (with rice) and sashimi (without fish), shrimp sushi, and a California roll. The fish was fresh and sweet – the salmon had a buttery texture, while others like tuna had a meatier texture.

Sometimes or most of the time, I’d rather come to a local Japanese restaurant with a larger selection of quality fish than dine at an all-you-can-eat restaurant with mediocre fish. At the a la carte restaurants, they carry delicious cut like otoro (fatty tuna), scallop, Hamachi (yellow tail), and sea urchin… just to name a few. It’s definitely more economical to go for all-you-can-eat, but as a small human being with a small stomach, it’s difficult to eat my money’s worth!

Anyways, the staff of Sakai are really friendly – even the sushi chefs greet you! It’s also a clean and spacious environment for a relaxing dining experience. If you’re not up for raw fish and maki rolls, they also have a big selection of cooked foods and rice/noodle dishes. I’ll be back to try their soba noodles and mochi ice cream. They also have black sesame ice cream!!