Ematei Japanese Restaurant

I’m a fan of this place, it’s tucked out of the way on St. Patrick. If the Japanese restaurants in Toronto this one is a bit different. The façade you notice first, an old style, wooden decorated entranceway. The interior also is quite Spartan and simply decorated — forget the raucous spaces of Don Don or the elbow to elbow of most new sushi chains.
I always come back for the curry, noodle and rice dishes. In many Japanese restaurants, these are an afterthought, for a primarily sushi going customer base. But the rice dishes here are made with the same care and attention.
They’ve got sushi available, but honestly I go elsewhere for that. Ema Tei is a nice reminder that Japanese food doesn’t have to be sushi to be done well.

I came with my friends and got the nabeyaki udon. This place has interesting interior in that walls are decorated with kimono, old beer ads (Japanese), and other cool Japanese stuff, which added to the authentic experience.
The food was alright, but the scallop and chicken piece were overcooked and became chewy. I would have liked to get some water when I got in, but otherwise the servers were alright as well. I’d say it’s worth a visit when you’re nearby, but considering the price range overall experience I am not in any hurry to come back again.

The Suriyaki was really good! But it is kind of big so it’s better if you have at least 3 people to order the Suriyaki.
The eel was great too! Overall it was a good experience

Amazing! Just went here with co workers for a team lunch and I didn’t expect much thinking that it would be just another japanese restaurant on queen. This place is spectacular! Highly recommended and will return to try other dishes.
Food: 4/​5, I got the combination box with mixed tempura, pork cutlets rolls, soup-​salad and rice. I’m glad I got this like my c workers but the sushi looked good too. The rice is well cooked and tempura was nice and crispy and they were not stale like some other places around the area.
Service: 3/​5, very nice but they could be more attentive with waters etc.
Ambience: 3/​5, comfortable seating, cool dark décor and quiet enough and tables are spaced apart for good conversations.
Price: 3/​5, very comparable to others in the area. About $ 10 – 15 per person for lunch and perhaps a bit more for dinner.

The hot food here are really the stars — although, I have not tried the sushi, so cannot speak to that. On various occasions, I’ve tried the bento box with fried chicken (the skin is nice and crispy while the meat is tender and juicy). The cold soba noodles dipped in sauce is also nice — the tempura bits and finely sliced green onions are a nice touch (and delicious). The seafood udon bowl with raw egg was delicious and tasted like something my mother would make me if I was sick (a la chicken soup for the soul), although I do wish the pot was just a tad bigger with a bit more noodles.
The only dish that fell a bit short for me was as curry special with chicken and veggies. Although the flavour was good, the two tiny pieces of chicken in my bowl was disappointing, and I would have preferred the veggies (turnip and carrots) to be cooked longer in a curry dish.
I have only been here during lunch hours, and it is always packed. I will aim to come back to enjoy the dinner hot pots, as they look amazing.
I agree with the previous reviewer that this is best Japanese place I’ve tried in all of Toronto. The food is delicious and reasonably priced, with an atmosphere that is inviting and cosy.

its a 3.5 stars at least.
The first time coming to this restaurant so really don’t know what to expect from this restaurant. The look and feel made it look like it’s authentic Japanese restaurant.
Since the weather today is quite cold so I really feel like having something hot and therefore we choose the Sukiyaki, the beef hot pot, and an order of Sushi just to see what the sushi is like. The service staff there are quite friendly and made me feel I am welcomed in this restaurant!
For the Beef hotpot, the portion is quite big but considering it is $ 68, looks about right. It’s served with an iron pot and somehow, it made this hotpot experience a lot more appealing to me (yea, I am kinda wierd. it is just a regular iron pot :)). This hotpot has a numbers of ingredient such as: tofu, mushroom, enoki mushroom, vegetables, onions, beef … and it also come with beaten egg to eat with the hotpot food. The taste is what I expected for a Sukiyaki and I am not disappointed.
We also ordered one order of Sushi. we got Hamachi sushi and it actually has fish taste to it! quite good! When I come next time, I will focus more in trying out their Sushi! As mentioned, will come again for sure!

My first Japanese hot pot experience was AMAZING (and felt authentic)! I got to try the best miso soup base ever; it was super flavourful, rich, and shames every other variation of itself. We had an assortment of shrimp, chicken, beef, mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, meatballs, and udon. It was more than enough for the 3 of us. We also ordered chicken karaage (fried chicken) as an appetizer, which was nothing special, but still tasty :)

I had a tempra don. it was really nice and good portion. and not expensive!
I really recommend the restaurant! and taste like a real Japanese food! I could enjoy dinner there!

Ematei is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Toronto, no contest. It’s like the elusive unicorn of the culinary world, where flavour, experience and satisfaction are at peak levels.
Where to begin rhapsodising about my love for this restaurant and their food? Well, I’ll make the bold statement that every dish I’ve had thus far has been excellent. If you only get one thing, order the pork katsu curry. This is comfort food at its finest. The curry is dark and aromatic and silky, coating fried panko-​crusted pork cutlet and rice alike. Savour a spoonful of the curry, pork and rice topped with the Japanese pickles on the side: you won’t regret it.
But why would you only order one thing, silly goose? The nabeyaki with udon is also comfort in a bowl (with a lovely poached egg, shrimp tempura and just cooked veggies!) I can also recommend the oyakodon and tanuki udon if you need a simple meal. While Ematei does hot dishes well, note that their sushi is always fresh and very, very good. I recently had lovely amaebi and uni sushi a la carte, which ticked all the boxes.
Try the korokke (potato croquette), various yakitori skewers with sauce or salt (I love the chicken skin and juicy tailbone), and kabocha tempura if you’re craving more of an izakaya vibe! Bf and I did this for our last Ematei dinner, with Asahi and Ematei cocktails respectively (I like the cassis-​soda and nama lemon hai best for the latter).
Both lunch and dinner are excellent here. If you’re looking to be kind to your wallet while still enjoying a great meal, Ematei has decent lunch specials (yesterday was a sushi set; tempura and fried chicken set meal; and traditional Japanese meal of grilled fish with rice, tofu and miso soup). You can also order off a modified menu at lunchtime (if you crave katsu curry all day, every day like us).
I love you Ematei. I love your food, your retro resto (your eye is drawn to the colourful ema, or wooden wishing plaques, and vintage Japanese advertisements adorning the walls). Service has always been efficient and pleasant. Note that while some items are a little pricy, the food is excellent and satisfying. I mean it when I say it’s the best Japanese food I’ve had in Toronto, and I really hope you can discover that for yourself soon!

The beef hot pot is delish with a large portion of beef, several kinds of veggies, raw eggs r provided as a dipping sauce
Around 75 $ after tax

Such an unassuming place! Try the eggplant miso dish and the grilled squid and don’t forget the ginger ice cream.
Great place to take the family

Steady as a rock. Uni special, also deep fried crab. Cold sake traditionally served, smooth and floral. Tongue and chicken hearts salty and wonderful
Muted polite service can morph into sophisticated guidance (familiarity can bring more than contempt)

Ematei is one of the few a la cart Japanese restaurants hidden in the downtown core. Consider this place is just around 10 – 15 minutes walk away from the financial district, coming here for a lunch or dinner is not a bad option.
The decoration of this restaurant is nice, however, the inside is very dim and I personally do not like dim places, so I wasn’t a big fan of the environment.
Food wise, I had been here 2 times, once for lunch and once for dinner, and both times, I thought the food was decent. Sashimi was fresh and the sushi was well displayed in the dinner sushi combo. For the price I paid, the combo already came with Eel, Salmon Roe and Uni, which are considered as higher end sushi and I am happy to share they were fresh and tasted wonderful!
Service wise, lunch time they are super busy so don’t expect much service, but dinner time I though the waitress was very attentive and kept checking with me if I was having a good time.
3 solid stars for this restaurant! Only negatives I had was the dim environment and the slightly higher than average price.

I am only giving them one star because I am not allowed to rate them for 0 star.
1. Service: Worst experience ever!!! Got a lot of attitude from them (waitress and a man that seems like the restaurant owner). We asked them several times to refill the water, they said yes and then just not doing it. When we asked for bill and the POS machine, we literally had to wait for more than 30 min!!! And when we got declined using the credit card due to accidentally entered wrong PIN number, the waitress refused to let us try again using the same card and even questioned if we have enough money to pay! RUDE!
2. Food: Food was ok, not bad but definitely not amazing. We had the sukiyaki (hot pot), it was just average. But be careful when you order water, every cup of water will cost you $ 2.
Overall terrible place to eat, will never come back. And if anyone is reading this review, stay away from this restaurant

Sukiyaki is out of this world.

Taste is goood, especially the sukiyaki (Japanese style hot pot).
Though the restaurant may last for a time so the environment was not so good.

I really enjoyed my meal at Ematei. All the dishes were delicious and authentic. I especially liked the black cod. «Americanized» Japanese food is nice in it’s own way, but this was a welcome change of pace.

Haven’t tried the sushi/​sashimi here for a while so I can’t comment on that yet.
The other kitchen food (bento boxes, donburi, udon, etc.) is much better than what you’d get at an average Japanese restaurant, but it’s a bit more expensive as well so it balances out.
The hot pot here is fantastic, I would’ve given this place four stars for that alone.
The establishment is quite spacious and is family-​friendly (in case you have a baby stroller or something).

Came here several months for a family event. Got several sushi items plus the hot pot.
1) Service was poor. Waitress seemed like she didn’t care about us and rarely refilled our drinks.
2) Food was decent. It wasn’t ultra high quality and for the price you pay, Jabistro or Japango are much better quality. The hot pot had a nice soup base but it was very expensive. I’m not sure if this is normal for a Japanese hot pot but you’re essentially paying for the soup base and fresh ingredients. Not worth it in my books.
I would not come back here as there are much better jap places that have amazing sushi and service.

This restaurant deserves 5 stars for food. Hands down the best Japanese food in Toronto. I needed to give this place justice because I saw there are a few reviews that rated this place horribly. Every restaurant has bad dishes and those reviewer just don’t know how to order well at authentic Japanese restaurants.
This place is basically my boyfriend and I’s cafeteria. We always come here for their lunch special (only available on weekdays) maximum you will spend $ 15. I recommend their chicken katsu curry (lunch menu), Udon (Tuesday today’s special), and all their sushi specials, today’s specials (curry beef stew especially) Combination specials are good if you like fried Japanese food like karage (fried chicken) and tempera.
During dinner there are a few must orders:
— Seafood hotpot — comes with jumbo Shirmp, chicken balls, udon, other seafood that I don’t remember and vegetables in a heavenly delicious broth!
— Sukiyaki (Japanese hotpot) — comes with raw thinly sliced beef, and a huge variety of vegetables. So good!
The hotpots are pretty pricey around $ 60 but it can serve up to maybe 4 – 5 people.
— bbq pork fried rice (soo delicious. so much better than Chinese fried rice!)
— yellow tail sea salt seasoning (there are two options. Not the neck one. The normal one)
— California Roll. This may seem typical sushi but Ematei’s California roll will blow you away. You will never eat another shitty California roll from anywhere else. This California roll has caviar is just rightly salted and as combines with the shredded cucumber, crab stick, rice and seaweed it is just and orgasm in your mouth. LOL maybe it’s just me but the taste was pretty awesome.
Okay, there are bad things too. Sometimes you have a wait a little while for dinner because they are packed on weekends. And sooo sad that they are not opened for lunch on weekends. In conclusion, love this place, favourite restaurant in Toronto, and I recommend this place to all the Japanese cuisine lovers!