Darren MacLean named this sleek, darkly accented restaurant for his mother, and it is a celebration of some of her favourite things: namely fish, sushi, plants and vegan cuisine. The cooking reflects his twin passions for Canadian ingredients and Japanese techniques. The best way to enjoy that is at the intimate six-seat omakase bar. Here, lucky guests experience 17 to 20 courses of premium fish that is always sustainably sourced, usually domestic in origin and — when appropriate — dry-aged in the fish chamber displayed at the centre of the dining room. The selection might include P.E.I. bluefin or smoked B.C. sablefish presented like unagi — a luscious facsimile of the eel experience delivered free of guilt about the dwindling eel population. While these hard-to-book counter seats are the hot ticket here, a table in the main restaurant is a great consolation prize. Its menu is heavy on vegetarian and vegan offerings (sweet potato gyoza, seared braised daikon “steak,” and so on) and much of the excellent produce that drives it is grown on MacLean’s farm. Selections of high-end sake are rounded out by cocktails that often include tea and other herbals.
Suzuki sea bass, poblano vinaigrette, basil.
Suzuki sea bass, poblano vinaigrette, basil.
