The Best Omakase in Toronto, Compared: Michelin Sushi Counters and What They Cost

Toronto's omakase scene has quietly become one of the strongest in North America, and the Michelin Guide's Toronto selection now includes a cluster of Japanese counters that would hold their own in any major city. The catch is that these are small rooms with short booking windows and wide price gaps — the difference between the top of the list and the entry point is several hundred dollars a head. Here is how the main options compare.

Sushi Masaki Saito: the top of the market

Sushi Masaki Saito in Yorkville holds two Michelin stars, making it the only two-star restaurant in Canada. Chef Masaki Saito serves a 17-course omakase with fish flown in daily from Tokyo's Toyosu Market, at an 18-seat counter, with a price that starts north of $500 per person before drinks.

Booking is the hard part. Reservations open 30 days in advance through the restaurant's Tock page and sell out within hours, so this is a meal you plan a month out with an alarm set, not one you decide on over the weekend. If you are marking a milestone and want the single most technically accomplished sushi experience in the country, this is it.

Shoushin: the connoisseur's one-star

Shoushin, in midtown, holds one Michelin star and is the counter most often named by people who eat a lot of sushi in this city. It offers a prix fixe omakase alongside the option to let the chef build a meal around your preferences — a slightly more flexible format than the fixed-course rooms.

It sits meaningfully below Masaki Saito on price while staying firmly in the fine-dining tier. If you want a serious Edomae-style meal without a $500 cheque, this is the most common recommendation.

Aburi Hana, Kappo Sato and Yukashi: one star, different formats

Aburi Hana holds one Michelin star and works in a more contemporary register, with the aburi (flame-seared) technique the group is known for. Kappo Sato and Yukashi, both in midtown, also carry a star each and lean toward kappo-style cooking — meaning the meal is not sushi end-to-end but a progression of cooked and raw courses.

The distinction matters when you are choosing. If you specifically want nigiri after nigiri, a sushi counter is the right call. If you want a broader Japanese tasting menu with sushi as part of it, the kappo rooms give you more variety for a similar spend.

Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto: kaiseki, not sushi

Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto in North York is the one-star outlier — a traditional kaiseki restaurant rather than a sushi bar, built around seasonal multi-course dining. It is worth knowing about precisely because it is often listed alongside the sushi counters and is a very different meal. Go if the ritual and the seasonality are the appeal.

What it costs and how to book

Budget roughly $150 to $500-plus per person depending on where you land on the list, and treat that as the food cost before sake pairings, which can add substantially. The practical rule across the board: book 30 to 60 days ahead through Tock or Resy, depending on the restaurant. Same-week availability at any of the starred counters is rare and usually the result of a cancellation.

How to choose

Decide first whether you want a special-occasion event or a very good dinner. If it is the former — an anniversary, a once-a-year splurge — Masaki Saito is the destination, and the month-ahead booking discipline is part of the deal. If it is the latter, Shoushin gives you a starred omakase at a materially lower price and is easier to get into.

Then consider format. Pure sushi counters reward people who genuinely want to eat twenty pieces of fish in sequence; kappo and kaiseki rooms suit diners who want range. And consider geography: Yorkville and midtown hold most of these rooms, so pick one that does not add an hour of transit to an already long evening. Whatever you choose, arrive on time — these are small counters, and the meal starts when the chef starts.