I've been coming here for a few years now and must say this is my absolute favourite sushi restaurant within driving range. I've dined at many Japanese restaurants all over the world and in this neck of the woods, I have to say this is my go-to place when I don't mind spending $100 per person for an amazing meal.

I usually sit at the bar because, as known by any sushi eater, it is the only... more

First like to say food was good, fresh but the portions were just a bit too small after dinner it felt like i needed to go get more food. Some sushi and sashimi platter each were 15$ but the amount of food in those were like 6 pc of a combination of salmon, red snapper, a raw sweet shrimp. If priced better i believe that even more people will come. The people there were nice and friendly the... more

The food was very fresh and in a really good taste. But it was a bit expensive like almost 500 dollars for 4 people lol.

Hook: If you get a chance to eat something, just don't go to this restaurant.

Reasons:
1. It's not operated by Japanese. (mixed with Korean chief and 1-2 Japanese waitress)
2. Chief does NOT know Japanese.
3. The sashimi special is just salmon, red snapper, white tuna or something you will see in every all-you-can-eat sushi place. (only 5 small pieces, and it's $15, go for it if you are super... more

Went on a recommendation. I had very high hopes for an Izakaya that was off the beaten path. Here is my first impression and probably my last of Inakaya. They've cramped this space with as many tables as humanly possible. For such a small space this takes away from the experience by taking away people's enjoyable yet personal space. There was 2 servers and a person working the cash.... more

Terrible place to eat and a huge disappointment. Expensive for no reason. Service is bad. Food is nothing special as they promote. I am regretting spending my time in there. What a rip-off!

The worst Japanese food I ever had in Canada. Huge disappointment. Can't even find one single thing that I ever didn't hate. It was 2 two years ago that my friends and I had a celebration there, but till now I still feel terrible that I had to write a review. I have to say it's not my cup of tea.

I've heard good things about this restaurant, but it did not meet up to my expectations.

For a table of two, we ordered a la carte sushi (fatty salmon, geoduck, sweet shrimp, tuna, king crab, uni), wagyu beef, chicken katsu curry rice and skewered pork belly.

sushi was fresh but no wow factor
neat that you can cook your own wagyu beef (Caution: when we ordered it we got thin slices instead of... more

KOREAN chef faking authentic japanese cuisine. Don't even bother spending money here as it is over priced in the first place. Food is ok but considering the price, it is a rip off. To top it off, the main chef is properly missing half of his brain to be polite to the customers. Don't get me wrong, all other waitresses and waiters are nice. However, when you are spending 50 bucks or more per... more

Inakaya is a place where you can taste authentic Japanese food. All of the foods we ordered were absolutely delicious. As a fan of Jap cuisine like myself, I have never seen anything so creative like a fired-up volcano roll (from my photos). I believe the best part about food is when you can put some ideas in it to make it look presentable, and taste good.

This is a small restaurant so be sure... more

Wanted to like this place, looks so cute/cozy and authentically Japanese. Atmosphere reminds me of emetai downtown although this place is much tinier. The service was good very nice waitresses and fast although we sat at the sushi bar and the two chefs were moody as if we were putting them out. The food was the biggest problem though. We ordered a lot of different things cooked food, sushi,... more

Ive been a customer for this restaurant for almost 3 years now.

The foods are okay, but nothing too special in tastes, but very special in prices.
Overpriced. I normally spend about $80~120 when I go there for dinner with a friend and I always end up saying why didn't I just go to Zen or Taro?

They focus a lot on decorations of foods and to be fair, they do pretty well on it. But,
their sushi... more

Love the food and service here every time I visit Inakaya.
I'd recommend:

KOTAI (whole fish - sashimi)
It's sooo fresh! The texture is nice and chewy. Reminds me of the sashimi from Japan :)

BEEF TONGUE (Robatayaki - with BBQ sauce)
Rich flavour, not dry at all - I think the sauce option would be yummier than salt.

VOLCANO ROLL
A very picture worthy dish. Beef was tender and it's served nice... more

Very authentic but expensive. Omakase at $125 and need 48 hours advance reservation. Expect about $80 per person with drinks. Great for special occasion and the the booth on the side. More private & intimate experience. Good sake selection!

Great Sushi Place

You could almost miss the place walking by. It is very small but the food is to die for. The place was full both times I walked by. Communication with the staff is a bit of an issue, but the good food makes up for it.

Authentic Janapanese

When I read authentic Japanese, I always think Inakaya. We have eaten here a few times already and it never fails. Whether you go with sushi, sashimi, cold plates or hot plates, you will not lose. As we are talking raw fish, it HAS to be fresh and at Inakaya it is and it all tastes really good. And, moreover,... more

Great menu, food and décor. Price was fair but the value was good. I'll be back.

Borderline 3.5 stars for this place. It is definitely better than a lot of sushi places in North York, but can't compare to some of my favourite places in downtown Toronto. This would be my first choice for a close sushi joint near my home if I don't want to drive too far.

Had the sushi and sashimi starter. Very fresh, but nothing out of the ordinary. They seem to cut the fish in crisscross... more

Not just sushi. Menu offered many other Japanese dishes, which was refreshing considering the many mostly sushi places in the neighborhood.

Food was yummy. Eel was very tasty, salmon very creamy. Prices on the pricier side. Cozy atmosphere.

Waitress was incredibly friendly, recognized it was my first visit, kneeled down to table level and walked me through the entire menu with great... more

Way over priced...Japanese food which seemed to be opened by Korean.
We tried their beef amikayi.. It sure did gave us a fun experience to cook our own meat but the food itself tasted.. Bad. It's just cheap meat..
If I really have to recommend.. I would say their volcano roll is quite interesting. It's beef not fish.. Diff but yummy.
Other than that I don't think I will ever go back to this... more

They are gonna get two stars. Why? Food was just Ok. Nothing special, but too expensive. Take my word for this. Nothing special, too expensive. That's all.

Volcano roll? Specular some said, but it's just a beef roll with firework. Just beef roll, nothing special, no flavour.

Oh, the waitress there really wants you to order really expensive fish- some are like $55,$65 for two pieces of sushi.... more

Worth the price, but still quite expansive. Authentic Japanese restaurant.
Walking in you feel at ease straight away. It is a very peaceful and relaxing place, not too noisy like most Toronto restaurants. The sake we selected was not available and there were no other small bottles so had to order by the glass. Sashimi salad was awesome. Waitress was was very helpful. Had japanese snapper with... more

Previous reviews are right in that service is definitely lacking here. We were seated near the back washroom and I could barely pull my chair out to sit down because there was a pole behind the seat. I asked the waitress if we can move the table out and she pulled it out by probably half an inch and walked off..

Second complaint is lack of parking available. We almost missed our reservation... more

The only real advantage I would say is that this place is not near as busy as the other more popular places.

Seems to have a lot of different fish. The food seemed fresh but wasn't astounding. Ordered the Sashimi chef selection or something but really nothing special. Had the beef tongue as well, it was alright. The volcano roll was highly recommended but it wasn't that good, maybe because I... more

Fresh raw seafood and the only place I've been so far where they serve very exotic sushi/sashimi.

Don't hesitate to ask the server what's on the special menu and they should be able to help you out especially if it's your first time !

I was just there tonight for dinner and the overall experience was mediocre.

The entire restaurant is quite small and fits not more than 30 customers. We had 5 adult and a 1.5 year old and we were seated at a 4-person table in a small corner area. The waitress who reserved our table already told us it will be a little tight, which I accepted.

The service was 2 stars for me. The waitress we... more

OMG i didnt even know this was a restaurant until my gal took me to this place for dinner. Its literally located in a house, away from the noisy yonge street restaurants. This is an authentic japanese cuisine that is not runned by chinese or koreans but by japanese people which is hard to find in uptown japanese restaurants. If you plan to come here, get reservations because from what I... more

Love love the uni and sweet shrimp sashimi here!! Been here for like 5 times. Wish the price could be more reasonable.

This place is in the middle of nowhere - and it survives. This should tell you something. In Toronto, it's hard to find fresh sashimi - given that the nearest saltwater sea is some distance away. Hence, you invariably pay a premium for good quality sashimi and sushi. Prices here are a little on the steep side but I believe it delivers on quality.
Service is a little sporadic as the servers seem... more

Quality of sashimi and cosy authentic ambience gives this place 4 stars. But because of the above average prices and the uptight attitude of the owners this is at most a 3. They are open till 11 which is rare for NY businesses.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place. Very small, cozy, friendly joint. Sushi chefs definitely displayed an aura of authenticity and professionalism. The table beside us decided to share a plate of sushi and placed it in the centre. The waitress quickly went over and asked the plate be placed the other way, with sushi facing inwards.. else the chef will get mad! Whoa!
We ordered the volcano... more

Restaurant: Inakaya
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: North York
Address: 126 Willowdale Ave
Price Range: $15~25

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent

Food: 3
Service: 2
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 2.5

So my journey to finding fresh seafood/sushi continues here in Toronto. I heard many good things about Inakaya so I was excited to make a trip to North York to try out this restaurant. We made... more

I've been to Inakaya on Willowdale on several occasions. They have been average to pretty good in past visits depending on the day however my last experience was terrible.

To be fair, the restaurant is very nicely decorated and provides a good atmosphere although certain spots can be crammed and unpleasant. The service is sub-par at best on any given visit.

Down to the food,

Aji Tataki -... more

I'm not really much of a fan of sushi. And I didn't have any. I went with some friends and they've said that it's pretty good though.

What I did get, though, was the Volcano Roll. It looks like a sushi roll, only with beef wrapped around it. And best of all, it's on FIRE!!! It was $18 for the roll though, which isn't that cheap given the portion size, but it's still good. I would recommend it... more

Amazing sushi

Very very fresh! Great find in North York area. I recommend this place for sushi

Sadly Inakaya no longer offers lunch... no more lunch specials!! :(

Dinner experience here is so so... the food is really good... but the service really lacking and a little over priced for some of the items we shared!!

Rainbow Roll ($15) - Excellent!
Wagyu Beef ($55) - MEH!!
Sashimi App ($15) - OK
Chirashi ($27) - love the sea bream and the sweet shrimp!
Cold Sake Draft ($15)

That Wagyu... more

Very authentic Japanese cuisine, fresh seafood and nice service. I ordered the chef special sashimi, the quality is prob one of the best in Toronto, and you will have to try the volcano roll, very cool presentation and great taste! btw the Asahi black beer goes well with sushi and sashimi :)

Awesome service and really good food. I know others have complained, but we came here on a snowy day, maybe it was slower than usual.

The volcano roll was spectacular (see photo). I also loved the grilled fish... I forget the name, but you can always ask them. I walked in rather clueless.

While the name of this restaurant may not be familiar to many people, I've been hearing lots of buzz about it. In fact, now that I've eaten there, I realize how many pictures there are on Facebook of one their most popular rolls (rest assured I ordered this and took some nice pictures of it!).

Inayaka is located just north of Toronto, and really there isn't much else in that area. It's a... more

Very authentic even though the owner and chef is Korean and not Japanese. Although both he and his wife previosuly lived in Japan.

Among the best sushi in Toronto but it's priced accordingly yet still cheaper than Ki or Hiro Sushi downtown Toronto. If you can come for lunch, the prices are much more reasonable and for the quality of food and service I would consider it a steal.

The place is... more

Good but overpriced.

I order chef special for sashimi and sushi. It is not a surprise with the minimum order for $50.

The volcano sushi is beef roll with flame. Again it looks interesting, but taste is ok only. The beef grill - grill beef kebab by yourself - it is another ok dish. I have no surprise to all the 'famous' food in this restuarant.

With the bill for 2 for $130, I can get much better quality food... more

So disappointed, after waiting to come here for 2 plus years. Don't get me wrong my shrimp sushi pizza was great and my Maki lunch combo was pretty darn decent. So technically if i was just rating the kitchen, Inakaya would get much higher....

So why the 3 star review, it comes down to service... but more specifically the waitress.

Now she wasn't overtly rude to me, or anything that would... more

I've been to this place 4 times. The service sucked. I once went in the evening when it was empty. They sat us down at this tiny table in the centre of the room. When we asked to move to a booth by the window, the girl replied "no you can't because this is the busiest time". I looked around the room. There were only 2 other tables around. Not 5 min ago, she gave someone a booth (no, they didn't... more

My favourite place for Japanese - if I didn't eat it so often and need to budget, this is the place I'd go every time hands down. That and Taro's.

Highlights: the sashimi and raw fish sushi. Spider roll is excellent (crispy and fresh). Salad is also excellent. The attention to detail from the fine fresh shaved turnip (not done with a grater like so many places) is appreciated.

We also tried... more

A little hidden gem, this place is TINY! they need to expand! it is very authentic Japanese Food! We sat at the bar in front of the chef making all the food, and he's amazing! especially how thin he can cut the fish! The sashimi is super fresh! must get! the TORO is to die for. Of course we got the volcano roll, which looks and tastes amazing, we also got this raw beef thing where we cook it... more

The price you pay here it could end up for so many better choices... more

This hidden gem in North York, I love this place. It's one more level than the restaurants you would normal find in the area like Ichiban. The place really takes it up a notch with it's high quality food, friendly service and unique environment.

I brought my parents here on a Saturday evening. the place is small, but I was able to make a reservation a few hours before arriving. She did advise... more

While "Friends" went on their separately planned HOT date-night, I didn't do so bad myself. Even Paris Hilton would have said "That's Hot" in her sensual tone. Unfortunately instead of pointing at me, she would point at my date with Inakaya's Flamin' Hot Volcano Roll. Marshmallows not included.

Inakaya while not a substantial size establishment by any restaurant's standards is able to find a... more

As far as restaurants in Toronto goes, this place definitely has it right. From the nice decor, to the extremely diverse menu and the excellent customer service, this restaurant is one of the best places I have been to in Toronto, and I have tried out quite a few places here with limited success in food taste.

The food here is really good. The service is friendly, and it feels really... more

Went to Inakaya today for lunch and I was thoroughly impressed!

I read a feature of this place in a local Japanese magazine and had been meaning to check it out so I'm glad that I finally did so today ... thank you Snow Day. The owner of Inakaya is legit... he's worked at other Japanese restos as a chef. He also had a stint at Mikado (another one of my faves in Toronto).

The menu is extensive... more