[Japanese] ND Sushi & Grill

Restaurant: ND Sushi & Grill 
Location: 3 Baldwin Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1L1
Price Range: $$

[wp-review]

Ok I admit, this is a late post and after having one-of-the-best-sushi-experience in San Francisco, I don’t think any Toronto sushi restaurants can top that. With that said, I will try my best to be non-bias as possible, and judge ND Sushi & Grill based on my sushi’s experience so far in Toronto.

I apologize for the short post as that day C and I weren’t too hungry, so we just wanted a quick dinner. We did go for ice-cream at kekou gelato afterwards though, because there will always be room for dessert ;).

ND Sushi & Grill is a tiny shop and the sign is hidden by the big tree in their patio. The restaurant is located next to McRamyun (review here) so it won’t be easily missed! The chefs and servers are Japanese and as always, they are extremely attentive and friendly.

The decoration in ND Sushi & Grill is not of a traditional Japanese restaurant, however it was really modern and chic. There is also a patio at the front and I believe the restaurant is allowed to serve alcohol on the patio as well, perfect for hot summer days! When I got here at 5PM, the restaurant was empty but slowly, more people came in so I recommend making reservations in advance!

Chirashi is usually my first choice when I go to a sushi restaurant, as I believe that is the best way to check the freshness and quality of an establishment :). Usually restaurants tend to give cheap fillers such as tamago or imitation crab in a chirashi, and if I have to pay $20 for that, it’s a rip off. However I was impressed upon receiving my chirashi don at ND Sushi as I saw some good cuts of fish :).

For my bowl of Chirashi don, I received tuna; salmon; sweet shrimp; squid; salmon roe; eel and one more type of fish. I’m having a brain fart looking at the picture right now, for some reason I can’t remember the name of the last piece of fish but once I remember, I will update lol.  Ok I believe it was escolar, or super white tuna or king tuna.

For $20, I wished they have given me more tuna or sweet shrimp instead of salmon (or eel). With that said, all the fishes were fresh, soft and you can taste each of their distinct flavor. The rice was surprisingly good as well with a perfect consistency, and had a nice balance of sweet and sour. For some reason, the salmon fish roe had a strong fishy smell to it, as if it wasn’t fresh anymore.

As you can tell, ND Sushi & Grill is on a higher price point, but the sashimi was fresh and I wouldn’t mind coming back when I’m really craving for sushi. At the end of the day, I dislike spending $$ on AYCE sushi as those establishments tend to stuff you with rice, and as a person who can’t eat a lot, AYCE is a waste for me lol. In my opinion, sushi is an art and paying extra $$ to ensure I am receiving authentic and top-notch sushi is well worth the money :).