Last week, Kevin, Rachelle, and I called Ginza and reserved a table. The last time we wanted to go eat there (without reservation), we were turned down. The restaurant was booked full on a Friday night. Even though it was only Tuesday night, I decided to be safe and called for reservation. When I first called, I made reservation for two. Kevin decided to join when his plans fell through. I called to change the reservation except there is no record of my reservation. So I had to make one again. That was kind of annoying.
Ginza is much smaller and intimate than Kanda and Odaki. It’s a great quiet place to take a date. I think we got better service than at Kanda and Odaki (Kanda being the worst). Our water was filled frequently and waiter was friendly.
Fried Tofu
The food was good. I seriously cannot remember if we had the fried tofu. As mentioned in my comparison post between Odaki and Kanda, Kanda was still the winner for best fried tofu. I can’t remember if fried tofu was on the Ginza menu or if we ordered it and it was just not memorable. To sum up, I guess Kanda is still the winner for best fried tofu.
Mussels
One of my staples at AYCE sushi places is the mussels. Since Kanda was the first AYCE sushi place I had in MTL, they kind of set the bar. Their mussels are yummy with the spicy mayo. The Odaki mussels had an unanimous thumbs down, for all three varieties. At Ginza, they had two kinds. We only tried one kind; the garlic mussels. Kevin did not like them, I thought they were tasty. However, the garlic mussel was a weird combination with sashimi. Kanda wins for this again.
Sushi and Maki options
Like Odaki, Ginza had a wider variety than Kanda. But Ginza also wins over Odaki for having a sashimi section. If Ginza had mackerel sashimi, it would be a hands down win for me. I love mackerel. Odaki has Mackerel sushi, but the last time I went they put some weird prune sauce on top of it instead of shallots and ginger. It was quite strange. Ginza’s presentation is much nicer than Kanda and Odaki. My salmon sushi was placed in a way to look like a rose. The raw fish was very fresh as well. They also had spicy salmon sashimi, which I liked a lot. I believe Ginza wins in this section.
Cooked foods
Ginza offers a much wider variety than Kanda and Odaki. Like Odaki, they offer yummy fried soft shell crab. They offer the basic stuff…tempura, teriyaki…they also offer a few different variety of Miso soup and salads, but we only sampled the regular miso, which was pretty standard. One of the things I like about the cooked foods at Ginza is that they arrive at your table piping hot. I almost burned my tongue from biting into the Shrimp Tempura. Ginza wins for large variety and freshly prepared cooked foods.
Service
I didn’t know what subtitle to put for this section. At Kanda, they prepare your food according to the section: sashimi/sushi, maki, cooked food. So if you order a gazillion makis, they bring it to you all at once. And you end up with a table full, but usually you’re halfway done with your makis before your cooked food arrives. Last time we went to Odaki, we ordered a lot of food. We just didn’t realize it until it was spread out onto two tables. They all came at the same time. Just seeing all that food made Kevin want to puke. At Ginza, they pace you. Perhaps this is why you get your food hot. They bring out only a few plates at a time, we didn’t have to move things around because a new plate always arrived minutes after we finish the dishes on our table. This got a thumbs up from Kev.
Portions
Kanda and Ginza are really good at portions. The menu tells you how many pieces you get. Odaki does not. One order of grilled scallops could be anything.
Dessert
Kanda and Odaki does not have AYCE desserts. Ginza had fried banana, green tea ice cream and Pina Colada ice cream. Enough said.
The Verdict
I believe Ginza wins. I would definitely go back even though it’s far from where I live. However, I’d keep going to Kanda just because my favorite fried tofu and mussels are there, and there’s a Kanda conveniently 5 min away from our place.
Restaurant Ginza
4593 Saint-Denis (north of Mont-Royal st.), 514.904.0079, www.restoginza.com
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