What restaurants to enjoy it in and what to pair it with from Toronto’s renowned sake educator.
More and more, sommeliers turn to sake to round out their beverage lists, as they’re drawn to fruity Ginjos and savoury or mineral-driven Kimotos that offer unique pairing possibilities. We asked sake educator and Hakko Gakko owner Mariko Tajiri where she drinks it, how to pair it, and why Canadian sake is worth exploring.
Where do you like to drink sake?
Mhel in Toronto tops my list. Their team knows the bottles deeply, and the Korean and Japanese imports mixed with Ontario-grown ingredients creates a smart, cross-cultural menu. Montreal’s Beba offers a tightly curated sake list, and chef Ari’s blend of Japanese seafood, French technique, and Jewish-Argentine roots just works! Vancouver’s Burdock always slips a perfect sake or two into their tasting menu.
What can sake do for food that wine can’t?
Sake delivers umami, where wine—aside from maybe sherry—often falls short. Sommeliers use it with tricky dishes, especially those with sweet or herbaceous notes. At Pearl Morissette, Robert Luo pairs sake with an apple, hazelnut and barley koji millefeuille. At Alo, it shines alongside dashi, kombu, and uni, oceanic flavours that tend to stump wine.
Can you share your go-to sake and snack pairing?
Try Grey Owl cheese with punchy Bodaimoto, a sweet temple-style sake. It’s a fresh alternative to Sauternes and blue cheese. Creamy Yamahai with buttery chips or Ginjo with Atlantic oysters are never a miss!
What do you think of Canadian-made sake?
Toronto’s Izumi brews an accessible range. Their Arabashiri Junmai is juicy, unpasteurized, and each batch tastes a bit different. BC’s Kizuna makes a sparkling Nigori that’s bursting with Asian pear—perfect for sake newcomers.
Does something make those distinctly Canadian?
Not in profile, but in logistics. Unpasteurized sake is tough to import, so having year-round Nama sake here is a win—even Japanese drinkers can’t always get that.
– Lindsey King
Arabashiri Junmai – Izumi Brewery, Toronto, ON
Nigori Sake – Kizuna Sake, Okanagan, BC
Arabashiri Junmai – Izumi Brewery, Toronto, ON
Nigori Sake – Kizuna Sake, Okanagan, BC
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