Author: Lisa_Vargas

It was my third night in Toronto and (following a huge lunch) I needed somewhere for a light dinner. After asking some of the locals in Little Portugal, Imanishi was the name that kept popping up (and it had been a while since I last...had Japanese food). Imanishi offers tables (being a small place, there are only about eight of them), which can seat groups of up to four, as well as bar seating. Being alone, I had the latter. I've never sat at a bar for dinner before, but it was quite a nice experience, mingling with everyone else up there. The smell of toasted sesame seeds and Japanese spices permeated the restaurant, something to really get the mouth watering. I went for an asahi (classic) to drink and decided to start with their fish jerky (I can't remember the actual name of it). It was salty and very satisfying, and if you've never had fish jerky before, it tastes just as you'd imagine it would. I followed this up with the wagyu beef donburi, which was delicious. The sweetness was balanced pretty much perfectly with the spices that had been used. The rice underneath was some of the very nicest I've ever tasted; I couldn't identify what they'd used to flavour it but it was lovely, and the texture was perfect. For the fish jerky, the beer, the wagyu beef, tax and the tip, it came to just under $30 CAD (about £17.80), which really isn't bad at all for the quality on offer here. I would have loved to have come back to this place but it was my last night in that part of town. My waiter was attentive and courteous throughout, too. For Japanese food, this is a great shout and I'd definitely recommend it.