398 West

This place is the best kosher restaurant in Toronto.
That previous statement should be taken with a grain of salt as kosher in Toronto is limited and poorly managed/​executed.
One of the things that 398 West gets right is the atmosphere. The wait staff is attentive and take care of most queries that customers have.
The Food itself is high quality and is great. The best kosher steak I’ve ever had (once again, grain of salt).
There are chicken dumplings that are offered as dim sum… It’s not dim sum. I could make better dumplings in my sleep and add more flavor as well. Not the best I’ve had ever.
The other drawback is the HUGE price that the food comes at. Be ready to lose everything in your wallet when you go here.
They offer a sushi menu, but if you want sushi, go to a Japanese restaurant or a place that specializes in Sushi. Don’t go here and waste your money on it.

We came here because we had a coupon, and thankfully we did! While the atmosphere was nice, the prices seemed unreasonable, especially for the quality of food. That’s not to say that the food was bad necessarily, however the selection for vegetarians was not that great. The only vegetarian options were veggie sushi (about $ 10 for only 6 pieces of maki), veggie spring rolls (around $ 10), and salad (about $ 12-​$ 14, not big enough as a full meal). I have to say, it’s easy to find the exact same quality of these food items for a fraction of the price elsewhere. I also ordered the fresh squeezed orance juice ($ 5), however they had added some sort of soda to it, so it wasn’t even pure fresh juice!
The service was alright, the waiter joked around with us a bit and we were brought our food quite promptly.
Overall, I probably wouldn’t come back just because of the price, however my boyfriend (who posted below), who is a meat eater, said that the price was worth it for the quality of meat, so I think that my diet limitations had a big impact on my experience.

The price wasn’t bad and thankfully we had a coupon, however even without the coupon the price is reasonable for the quality of meat you get. It’s too bad that the same quality isn’t apparent in the sushi and salad. The sushi was as good as any you’d find in a place on Bloor or Yonge St.
The place looks great but it didn’t seem very busy on a Tuesday night which is fine. The service was ok too.

I tried 398 West because Groupon was having a deal. I have never had a Kosher experience before and didn’t know what to expect. I went to their website beforehand to scope out the menu and found it ecclectic to say the least. Didn’t exactly think Sushi Bar when I thought about Kosher. We had a California Roll which was up to par with most sushi bars in Toronto. We had the 398 West salad to start and it was light and flavourful. For the mains, I ordered the House Egg Noodles with Chicken, and my friend ordered their daily beef special (can’t remember exactly what), medium-​rare. The house egg noodles seemed to be quite good until I tried my friend’s beef… Nice and juicy… just melted off the bone. My parents went the night after and my dad got it done medium and he said it was tough (but this could be because the cut of meat was different). Finished off with their crème brûlée, and it’s nothing special. In fact I found the consistency of it to be too runny. The cappuccino was amazing!

I really wasn’t all that impressed with 398 West. We came here on a weekday evening and the first thing I felt upon entering this place is that its pretty fancy schmancy and I felt a bit under dressed in my jeans and nice shirt combo. I hate that feeling.
The second thing I noticed and really bugged me was how our waiter hovered our table and kept asking if we were ready about every 2 minutes. I usually need some time to decide what I’m ordering and I am very indecisive, and this guy really wasn’t making me feel comfortable and I started to feel rushed.
Before we ordered, my bf went to the bathroom and the waiter chose this moment to come back to our table and read me the specials and then stand there and ask me if I’m getting any of the specials or what. Seriously? Pushy much? Also it would have been nice had he waited for my bf to return before reading me the specials. I felt so pressured over his constant hovering that I went ahead and got two of the specials even though my bf wasn’t there to decide whether or not he wanted to try them (The sushi taco and the salad roll).
We then went ahead and ordered an assortment of sushi rolls including the spicy salmon and 398 roll. We were in the mood for sushi and so we did not get any of the hot dishes. In hindsight, this was probably a mistake. The rolls were good, and the fish tasted super fresh but they really weren’t anything too memorable. And for the price, I was really expecting some fantastic sushi. Meh. My biggest complaint would be that the spicy salmon roll really wasn’t spicy at all, and when I order something with the word «spicy» in it, I expect it to at least tickle my tongue a little.
On the other hand, I’m glad I ordered the specials because the sushi taco (fresh tuna sashimi diced into small cubes on top of crispy homemade tortillas, topped with a tangy salsa) was absolutely delicious! As were the salad rolls which had fresh salmon sashimi inside. Fresh, light and oh so yummy!
4 rolls plus 2 specials and 2 glasses of wine came to around $ 120.00 so pretty pricey for a ho-​hum experience.

I am glad that I purchased a Groupon to eat at 398 West. because this place is pricey for the quality of food and services they offered and being a Kosher restaurant, some people may pay premium in order to dine here.
We ordered:
The Caesar salad ($ 12) — fresh and nicely presented
The Lamb Shank ($ 38) — is a little dried and the sauce is a little salty… I do like they put grilled yams as the side veggie. since I love yam. I do have a lot better tasting lamb shank in other restaurants
Complimentary Sushi Roll — cummber and salmon. they are ok…
Hot Sunkissed roll ($ 17) — the fish are fresh and nicely presented.
398 West is quite busy on a Monday night. the place is more than half full even at 9 pm.
The only complain I have is our server was really occupied… he was busy setting up tables so he can get off early when his sections need his services and attentions! A lot of time when I visit nice and fancy restaurant because I enjoy attentive services beside enjoying good food.
I don’t know if I will come back if I going to pay full prices.
3 stars for the food
1.5 stars for the services
They accepts all credit cards.

Ever heard of a Kosher restaurant that makes gourmet sushi? Visit 398 West for sushi that really schmecks. I just returned from another delicious Groupon choice and now I wish I’d bought two of that particular offer because this place is gorgeous. It was a bit difficult to locate because the sign isn’t prominent but I kind of like that about the place. It’s contemporary without being trendy, and the artwork and lighting work beautifully.
I came here with a friend and we ordered from the sushi menu only — I had to laugh when the waiter mentioned the «Rabbi Roll» special, but this one was the best! It comes with a choice of tuna or salmon with tempura and lox on top. Pedro, our waiter, provided exceptional service when he realized one of the rolls contained avocado (which I cannot eat), and he sent it back to the kitchen for a replacement! I told him twice that it wasn’t necessary and I’d eat the other roll we ordered, but he insisted. He was attentive without being overbearing and quick to accommodate the no-​avocado request, albeit with a measure of sympathy for my food intolerance. It’s funny how an intolerance for avocado provokes sympathy — quite touching, but at least I can still eat great sushi!
Yes — this place isn’t cheap, but Groupon helped!

Janna S. bought me dinner here. They have a large, slightly odd menu — lots of fine dining choices (kosher items) and then a sushi menu.
We stuck with the sushi and it was an absolutely fab choice. They have a good selection of unique speciality maki rolls, ranging from $ 14 – 17. These came out looking great and tasting even better.
Place is pricey but portions are generous. Service was absolutely 5+ star, I haven’t had service that good, well, ever! Props to Pedro the waiter; he had serious class. Maître d’ and the rest of the staff were great too.
The highlight of my evening was spotting Russell Oliver (
) walking by our window!!! *sigh* He is über dreamy in the flesh.

The prix fixe dinner
was nice but too much food. A
little expensive.