Katsu Sushi (Japanese)

Katsu changed post-pandemic and a couple of years of no AYCE to to an all-day menu option, so as we hadn’t been there for several years, it was time for a revisit. iPad menus are (still?) used, as well as disposable chopsticks unfortunately, but as usual we brought our own. Soy at table was thick and very rich, but not too salty and very flavourful. Ginger was very flavourful although it is dyed pink. The interior is the same as it was before.

Mishy described the seaweed salad as amazing. Green salad was very fresh and although the dressing was reminiscent of Thousand Islands, it still wasn't exactly that so could be counted as a house stressing and was tasty. We both loved the miso soup as it was very savoury and not dilute nor too strong, and very tasty.

Salmon inari and kami nigiri were all fresh and very good and we both enjoyed especially the inara sushi with the slight sweetness in the little soy pocket. Salmon & cheese maki is a stand-in for Philadelphia roll, and I didn't mind at all, as it was only missing the cucumber which doesn't add much. Salmon, red snapper aka tilapia, white tuna aka escolar, and crab aka surimi sashimi were all fresh and good, especially the salmon. We both enjoyed the sushi pizza, which Mishy likes the crunch of and it had a good sauce, with a little bit of heat but not too much.

Teriyaki vegetables were tasty though a bit underdone. Shrimp tempura was excellent, very flaky, light not oily, and the sauce was good. Yam tempura was a bit oily, however quite tasty, especially with the sauce. Mishy said that the chicken teriyaki was amazing, and I do tend to agree as it was very tasty especially with its rich sauce. Chicken skewers were excellent and the sauce was very complimentary and savoury. Mishy also said that the spring rolls were amazing, and she was being more praiseful than usual for this item. However, that ended with the beef teriyaki, which we both found to be almost flavourless as the sauce didn't have much to it; we could taste the beef fat. Although the meat itself was passably good, there wasn't anything adding to it.

Thankfully things improved; there was something really delicious in the general Tao sauce even though it was very sweet; I think it was orange zest. Mishy wasn't big on, it but I thought it was fantastic. Takoyaki was delicious and the sauce complimented it well. Mishy said that the gyoza were excellent with a nice barbecue flavour. Deep fried tofu were quite good with the sauce included.

For dessert, there are only three flavours of ice cream: green tea, mango and vanilla. Thankfully, the vanilla is French vanilla, but unfortunately it was freezer-burned, as was the green tea to such a degree that ice crystals were visible. Although not perfect, the mango was much fresher. Service was slow taking 15+ mins. for each order to arrive. It was somewhat better than expected and than we both remembered, except for the underwhelming beef teriyaki and ice cream. Weekend all day dinner $39.99 includes sashimi as noted, this is about the standard price point for lunch with sashimi these days so is a reasonable value as it is also the dinner price, however there is an excellent 10% discount for paying cash which we took advantage of making it $35.99... be sure to take advantage of this! This made it quite a good price in comparison to other places these days.

Rating: 8 – 8.5 / 10

Previous reviews follow:

Update: 2023-Dec. 5 - Katsu is back on the list, as now has an all-day-dinner menu including sashimi for $37.99 M-T and $39.99 F-Sun. I don't know if there will be another update at these prices, but we'll see.

Update: 2021-Aug-20 - There is no more buffet/AYCE at this location post-lockdown, and it is unknown if and when it will ever return. I am therefore removing it from the active list, and will follow up periodically and restore it should it return to AYCE status.

This is a rewrite as our previous review (located below) needed more details and it's been many years since we were last there, during which AYCEs all over the GTA gentrified, increased their prices and otherwise changed, so was in need of updating.

Katsu Sushi Japanese Restaurant is located at 572 Danforth, just west of Pape, conveniently close to the Pape subway station on the Bloor line. Katsu has a nice interior with a skylight, which I sat under being lit up as the only table-for-one diner in the place. iPad menus are now used, which is a change from when we were last there, and there is free WiFi. Disposable chopsticks are used unfortunately, but as always I bring my own… it was cute that when I gave back the disposables still wrapped and told the waiter that I didn't need them, I was then brought a fork carefully wrapped in a napkin. Pop is $1.50 per can, not AYCD. Soy sauce was rather salty, I asked about low sodium and was told that it already was, but did not seem that way. Katsu's menu is smaller in terms of number of items available. Like Kanda Sushi, a small amount of good tempura dipping sauce is delivered at the start before any ordering is done.

Green salad was okay but a bit limp, and had runny, watery dressing that couldn't decide if it was wasabi or Thousand Islands. Miso soup was good although it had a touch more salt than savour. Beef teriyaki was a large portion of large cubes of beautiful beef, which were unfortunately let down by the sauce being muted and not very tangy; it also did not adhere to the beef but sat at the bottom of the bowl. Chicken teriyaki's sauce was both more lively and adherent, and thus better I thought.  Teppanyaki spicy chicken is really Hakka chili chicken, and I do, and did, enjoy this dish very much. Avocado cucumber roll was quite good with the avocado at the correct ripeness and consistency, although the salty soy sauce didn't help it. Butterfish and salmon nigiri were both very good and fresh, which was a good thing as the day was rather hot.  Shrimp tempura was oily and encased in breading, saved by the sauce; I did like the little basket server however. Yam tempura was good and not too oily.

General Tao/Tso chicken was spicy/hot and delicious, a nice Hakka variation. Sweet and sour chicken is breaded and fried, it was all right but needed more sauce, or more flavorful sauce. Gyoza are only available in fours; fortunately they were good enough to finish them all, but they appeared to have been cooked from frozen. Spring rolls also appeared cook from frozen and work somewhat oily but not bad. Kani (imitation crab) sushi was very good… (yes, kani is the imitation crab made with minced fish known as "surimi" and is actually what is served as crab just about everywhere… this is one of the few times I have seen it presented as such.)

Desserts are artfully presented in a row on one narrow plate, with the ice cream on small pastries and chocolate sauce drizzled throughout. Coconut mousse cake is actually a macaroon, but at least there is the hard-to-find ginger ice cream which I like. Katsu also has the small mocha cakes that 8 Sushi and so many of the other establishments use. Green tea, mango, and red bean ice creams were also good. Beware: the lunch cutoff is 3. Lunch is a quite reasonable $16.99, at least these days. There were a few suboptimal "meh" items but they were mostly offset by this and the good offerings. Service was also good.

Rating: 7.5/10

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The earlier review:

Toronto has been getting some unseasonably warm temperatures lately, and they're saying that records have been broken for springtime.  You've heard it in cliques, but it's true that spring in the air really does give a lift to the spirits.  

With that in mind, we checked out the 'Katsu Sushi' AYCE (All you can eat) in Toronto.  They been here for over 2 years but I've never been before.  First off their prices are pretty incredible for sushi AYCE at $14.99/per person for dinner.  This includes sashimi as well as sushi.  I wasn't a big fan of their miso soup, but others enjoyed it.  I found it moderately flavoured, missing some 'umami'.  The salad was fresh, crisp but the dressing was more like 'French' in stead of Japanese, but no complaints.  The Chicken teriyaki and teppanyaki dishes were amazing!  Beef teriyaki as well was succulent.  The shrimp tempura was lightly battered and delicious.  Interesting addition was the chicken tempura, which never had before and it was quite good.

Okay, now for the not so good and I know it may seem I'm being picky but, I really think this place has a lot of pluses such as the atmosphere and the friendly attentive staff! but...the sushi, was room temperature, and personally I kind of like it a little cooler than that and the soya sauce was very salty, no low sodium soy around.  Oh and boo-hoo, no dessert! Well, maybe my waistline will thank me, but personally I love Japanese green tea ice cream ;) and fried bananas and chocolate sauce drizzled on top with icing sugar...(dreaming...;P)

Overall rating: 8/10