Ki
(modern kitchen + bar)
181 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario Canada
http://www.kijapanese.com/menu/lunch_dinner/
It’s rush hour in Toronto … and who’s not feeling stressed? The woman sitting in a back corner on the patio at Ki. She’s just discovered the Japanese farm-to-table joint you just can’t afford to miss in Toronto the Good.
Or that, so it’s said, once was the nickname of this bustling, thriving city of more than 2 million. But the amiability of this town – Canada’s largest – seems to qualify for a host of pet names: the Hollywood of the North, TO, “The 6ix” (by Rapper Drake). It’s entirely possible, then, that Toronto’s Victorian absolution as Canada’s most straight-laced city might or might not be deserved.
As far as we’re concerned, what matters is that Toronto knows its food. And, it stands well-schooled in the art of ambience.
Black granite bowls of languid fire. Harmonious Eastern accents forged from wood. Ki’s long, symmetrical patio affords an almost monastic refuge just off the bustling sidewalks of Bay Street.
Sink into an earth-colored couch. Admire a rapidly rising Toronto skyline soaring beyond the torchieres. Sip a Wakatake Demon Slayer sake. Savor its pear undertones.
Hold the menu in your hands. Another experience awaits. Ki, in Japanese, means raw or undiluted. And here it is: With Ki, you’ll discover Toronto’s finest farm-to-table experience, Japanese style.
Plump, grilled leeks with yuzu-momiji miso sauce? Grilled, sharp shishito peppers in spicy soy? Pork belly skewers flanked by green onion spears, brazed in chili-ponzu sauce?
Chill, friend. Order them all.
The flavor of pork – any kind of pork– cannot resist a dance with the flavor of pepper – any kind of pepper. Remember, then, to chase your pork bellies with mild jolts of shishito. Now, sip the Wakatake. Finish with a robust round of toasted, crunching leek.
Sushi? It would be a shame not to. The salmon, sake, is plump and pink as a flamingo newly gorged on shrimp. The marbled tuna, otoro, resembling a robust cube of raw steak, is better without the lemon spritz. But perfectly done rice and a fresh square of sashimi proffer nothing to complain about.
The best meals leave diners reluctant to say goodbye. The best restaurants leave diners sorry to forge their way back to the world. So, don’t, just yet. Sink into the couch. Embrace random conversational vignettes. A story about this man’s mother. Office doings among these architects. Pedestrians bustle by just beyond reach of the lilting flames. Far away. One more sip of Wakatake….
