Japanese Restaurants - too many?

[iNFiNiTe]

seems like there's one on every block, no, every corner of the street... why so many, especially in Toronto?

my real question is, with so many choices, how do you guys decide where to eat your sushi? is it the price? selection? quality of the entree? atmosphere/interior? hot waitresses (if any)? or just goodwill of the owner?

haha, I want to sample a few japanese restaurants in the GTA area, and perhaps even Ottawa (on trip)... recommend any, and why?

price can't be the only reason, especially with japanese food, right? while I'm no connoisseur, I just cannot stand sushi/sashimi that's cut wrong... :cheesygri :D

[NDman]

I just cannot stand sushi/sashimi that's cut wrong... :cheesygri :D

Couldn't agree more. Stay away from AYCE business if you want to sample real Japanese food. Heck, not a single AYCE restaurant I heard bothers to vinegar their sushi rice. The AYCE culture really killed the true experience of good Japanese food.

Look for some restaurants at downtown Toronto area. Some are legit Japanese-own and decent places. Try www.TorontoLife.com to look for Japanese restaurants

[M-e-X-x]

ah.. the power of competition

[Headhunter]

WAAAY too many. Seriously, it's beyond oversaturation at this point.

[MilkyWind]

sounds like vancouver

[Rometiklan]

I'd rather see a Japanese restaurant on every corner than a McD's or a Starbucks. This way, relief for my sushi cravings is never more than a few steps away.

[iNFiNiTe]

Couldn't agree more. Stay away from AYCE business if you want to sample real Japanese food. Heck, not a single AYCE restaurant I heard bothers to vinegar their sushi rice. The AYCE culture really killed the true experience of good Japanese food.

Look for some restaurants at downtown Toronto area. Some are legit Japanese-own and decent places. Try www.TorontoLife.com to look for Japanese restaurants

that's the problem, usually I have a certain expectation when I walk into a restaurant... my problem is the inconsistency from one place to the next...

I dont expect art, but shoot, some places, makis are rolled half way through, and get the amount of rice all wrong... sashimi and sushi are cut too thin (cheap) thick (unskilled)... some even get the green tea wrong, you think, it can't be that hard to dump a whole bunch of tea bags in a pot and boil, right? well some do get it wrong, I've seen cases where they just dip the tea bag in the hot water just long enough to give off that green-ish colour.. so they can get more use out of those 5 cent tea bags! that's just too cheap...

and even some customers turn me off too, it's almost as if they came for wasabi and soy sauce, and not sushi, :cheesygri :D very embarassing when you are sitting next to them...