Nobu’s all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch ($110 per person, $55 for children 5-12 years old) is sprinkled throughout the second floor of the restaurant. As you’re guided to your table, hot food and carving stations line the walkway, doing a great job of whetting your appetite. Front and centre in the bright dining room is the sushi bar, where a team of chefs continuously turns out maki and nigiri. Off in the corner sits the dessert table, with a ceviche and spicy cucumber salad ice bar tucked in for good measure.

I appreciated how the food stations are spaced out. There’s no dreaded bottleneck of diners waiting, nor that frantic urge to grab everything at once just to avoid lining up again.

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa was one of the pioneers of Japanese-Peruvian cuisine back in the mid-90s. At the time, dishes like spicy tuna crispy rice and yellowtail crudo felt fresh and exciting, while miso black cod became a signature that kept people coming back. These are still dishes I enjoy, but decades later they’ve been copied endlessly, making what’s served at Nobu feel far less groundbreaking than it once was.

If you’re going for the miso black cod, make sure you get it hot. My first bite, taken from a platter that had been sitting, was bland and slightly fishy. A second round, straight from a freshly placed tray, was noticeably better. It’s tasty, but it didn’t rank among the best miso cods I’ve had.

The crispy rice station is a great idea in theory, but the execution falters. The wooden spoons make it awkward to scoop up the rice nuggets, and many of the serving utensils (spring-hinged chopsticks and oversized soup ladles) are poorly suited for a buffet.

Thankfully, the soft-serve ice cream station sits right beside the crispy rice, so I grabbed a simple stainless steel teaspoon. It turned out to be the perfect tool for neatly dolloping finely chopped tuna, salmon, and mashed avocado onto each bite. The crispy rice itself would benefit from being thinner and longer for easier spreading and eating.

Unsurprisingly, the sushi was underwhelming, even when taken from freshly dropped plates. The rice was bland and too cold, though at least the pieces were kept small, letting the fish take centre stage. All things considered, it’s better than most buffet sushi, though I usually steer clear of buffet sushi stations altogether.

Some of my favourite bites ended up being the unexpected ones. Nobu’s Greek salad has a generous feta-to-vegetable ratio that leans salty but spooning it over the garden salad below helps balance things out nicely.

The prime rib carving station also drew me back for seconds. While the meat quality wasn’t exceptional, the variety of sauces made it fun to sample and customize each bite.

Despite not having a big sweet tooth, I found it hard to resist the dessert spread. The pandan-laced crème brûlée and flan-like matcha panna cotta were standouts. Just do yourself a favour and skip the dry Earl Grey beignets.

Nobu offers something for everyone including the breakfast staples of bacon, sausage, tater tots, and eggs. Just be warned: their scrambled eggs are the ultra-soft, almost runny style popular in many Asian cuisines, which isn’t for everyone.

Nobu’s Sunday brunch is fun and indulgent - just don’t expect to be blown away by anything. It’s worth doing once for the experience and is a great option for an unhurried catch-up with loved ones (they did not kick us out after 2 hours). Some hits, some misses, and plenty of options to keep everyone at the table happy. Just make sure you grab the good stuff while it’s hot.

Happy hour menus have been making a comeback with the weakening economy. Planta’s menu is one of the most extensive and offers great value to boot. While beer and wine ring in at $6 and $9, respectively, it’s the $10 cocktails that wet my whistle. You can’t go wrong with the lych please, a gin cocktail lightly sweetened with lychee, lemon, and pineapple with a hibiscus sugar rim that delights.

Planta also provides a huge food offering that doesn’t skimp on portions. With the lettuce wraps ($12) being half off their regular menu price ($23), I expected a shrunken helping the equivalent to two or three wraps. So, when the full plate arrived with enough of the gochujang covered crispy fried tofu and roasted Brussels sprouts to make seven wraps we were flabbergasted. Oh no, we ordered way too much food!

The menu offers no description with the chick’n fried mushrooms ($7) but they turn out to be lightly battered oyster mushrooms that’s dusted with salt and pepper served with a thinned sweet chili sauce. They’re dangerously addictive and so tasty that I could swap these for a chicken nugget any day.

In a similar vein, the crust of the cauliflower wings ($8) was so crispy despite not being overly battered. Drizzles of unagi sauce and sweet chili mayo covered the vegetables giving each bite a burst of flavour.

For a lighter nibble, the summer rolls ($6) are an option. It’s just filled with a lot of carrot and rice noodles and needed more of the other ingredients (papaya, tofu, and herbs) to stand out.

The crispy rice ($9) would work better left intact, so the starch doesn’t become cold and dry. At least they put plenty of the spicy ahi watermelon and guacamole on top to balance out the tasteless rice ball.

I preferred the spicy crab hand roll ($5 each), which was stuffed to the gills with shredded hearts of palm tossed with ponzu and spicy mayo. It’s more of a taco than handroll so it isn’t the easiest to eat but does mean there’s little rice and tons of filling.

The sole dish that threw us both off was the spinach and artichoke dip ($11). How can you mess up a creamy dip? By adding so much coconut oil into the recipe that coconut was all we could taste.  It felt like I was eating a savoury coconut cream pie with chunks of vegetables. Its only saving grace was they don’t skimp on the tortilla chips… too bad we didn’t need more than a few each.

Luckily, we had ordered so much food that we didn’t need the dip. Even without the dish, we left stuffed and with enough leftovers for another meal. Washed down with two cocktails each, our bill came to about $70 a person including gratuities and taxes. Welcome back happy hour dinners.

With a name like Café Le Majestik you may be picturing a dining room of grandeur that sparkles with magical touches. Heck, you may even expect a French touch. In reality, you’ll find a HK café with décor that may elicit memories for those growing up in Hong Kong before the turn of the century.  These establishments were created to offer British inspired dishes tweaked for a Chinese palette and at a price point the masses could enjoy. As they grew in popularity, so did their menus.

HK cafés are known for their baked dishes; hence I had to try a classic baked pork chop in tomato sauce with fried rice ($13.99). It’s a bargain arriving with a bowl of overly tangy tomato borscht (adorned with vegetables and no beef) and a hot drink of choice. The mixed tea and coffee drink was properly strong but did take a while to arrive given the solo person making drinks was overrun with orders.

The actual baked rice dish was lacking. While I enjoyed the thick tomato sauce and cheese, the pork chop was lukewarm indicating they likely pre-fried them and assembled dishes to order by placing the meat, sauce, and cheese under the broiler and sliding it onto rice. I like my baked dishes sizzling hot where everything goes into the oven and no one would dare touch the dish as it’s presented. At Majestik, touch away. 

Things improved with the wonton noodles, which did remind me of bowls I had in Hong Kong. The noodles are thin and springy with a lovely chewiness that’s different from those found in supermarkets. Their four-item noodle soup ($13.99) is ideal for trying a bit of everything with two pieces of fish ball, cuttlefish ball, fried fish cake, and meat/fish dumplings. While Majestik’s noodles were amazing, the accompaniments were passable and too soft for my taste. Of the four, the fried fish cake had the most promise.

Despite having so many broths in our meal already, I had to try their imitation shark fin soup ($5.99) and this was the most impressive. Large enough to share amongst two or three people, it’s thick and flavourful with a strong kick of sesame oil for an aromatic essence. With a fair amount of bean curd thread (the “shark fin”) and slivers of black fungus, pork, and bamboo shoots it was hearty and hot. In a pinch, order the imitation soup with another snack item and you’ll have a satisfying lunch.

If you’re heading to Daimaru, do yourself a favour, hop on Yelp and join the waitlist before leaving. It gives you an estimated seating time that’s surprisingly accurate. Sadly, we didn’t know that. Sadly, we had no idea this feature existed, so even though we arrived at 5 p.m., we didn’t get seated until 7:30. If only we’d queued up from the couch first. Lesson learned.

The AYCE premium dinner set per person ($34.99 on weekdays and $36.99 on weekends or holidays) as well as a soup base per table ($19.99). Most tables go for the classic sukiyaki, that sweet and salty broth that seeps deliciously into everything it touches. For variety, we added the pork bone broth, a cleaner, more neutral option that lets seafood flavours shine.

After that long wait, we were starving, so Daimaru’s selection of cooked items was a welcome sight. The Nagoya-style chicken wings were a hit! Sweet, salty, peppery, and lightly crisped while still juicy. The beef tataki, thin slices of seared beef swimming in ponzu and scallions, was another flavour bomb.

There’s no shortage of fried bites either. The crispy pork was spicy, crunchy, and generous in portion. Miles better than the steak cutlet, which was a little too soft for my taste.

Still, pace yourself... you’re here for the hot pot! Daimaru’s ingredient list has a few surprises, like garlic pork ribs and beef tendon. The garlic mellows in the broth but still holds flavour, while the tendon softens quickly, turning silky and jelly-like in under ten minutes.

With six sliced meats on the menu, it feels like the sky’s the limit. We stuck to crowd-pleasers (beef chuck, brisket, and sirloin) each with subtle differences, all perfect for dipping.

Out of all the other ingredients, a few stood out. The squid balls were dense and bouncy with real bits of seafood. The shrimp paste had actual shrimp chunks that plump up beautifully when cooked, giving a great contrast in texture.

I also loved the crispy tofu skin rolls - an underrated alternative to noodles that soaks up broth like a dream. Oddly, Daimaru doesn’t offer spoons, so if you want a sip of soup, this is your best bet. The slotted bowls, however, are genius. They drain excess broth, so your dipping sauce (go for the spicy garlic soy) stays punchy, not watered down.

For the shabu shabu enthusiasts, Daimaru offers both raw and onsen eggs for dipping. The onsen version looks raw but cracks open to reveal a just-set custardy yolk. It's oddly satisfying when it slips out of the shell.

The vegetable selection is generous, with a few surprises like a-choy, which you don’t often see elsewhere. I did miss watercress though, my go-to hot pot green. Still, the king oyster mushrooms and black fungus made up for it, both soaking up the broth perfectly.

Whatever you do, save room for dessert. The Hokkaido milk pudding topped with a peach-pineapple compote was a little on the sweet side but refreshingly tangy. Still, the real star was the soft serve ice cream cone: creamy, nostalgic, and the perfect happy ending to a comforting meal.

Operationally, Daimaru runs like a well-oiled machine. Orders hit the table almost as soon as you submit them, the broth arrived while we were still picking ingredients. Despite the two-hour dining limit, we finished comfortably in under 90 minutes, never once feeling rushed.

By the end, I was full and already planning my next visit... this time with that Yelp waitlist trick. Daimaru hit the spot and is the kind of place that makes you forget the wait once that first bite of sukiyaki-dipped beef hits.

As the holiday season descends upon us, team lunches at work are about to kick off. Walking into Afuri on a weekday, I couldn’t help but think what an ideal spot it would be for a group of 12 or fewer: the restaurant is large, bright, and surprisingly quiet during lunch.

They even have a special ramen lunch menu where $29.95 gets you a starter (some with a $2 supplement), a bowl of ramen, and a non-alcoholic drink (or beer for an extra $4). For many office budgets, that’s a festive win.

Not long after ordering, the homemade ginger ale arrived. With its pale yellow hue and lemon slice, it looks like lemonade... until that bold hit of ginger reminds you otherwise. Lightly sweetened and topped with soda water, it’s bright, zippy, and refreshingly crisp.

Afuri’s mini tori karaage hit the spot: big chunks of lightly breaded chicken coated in a thin yuzu mayo that’s tangy and light. Just eat it quickly - once the chicken cools, the lean meat gets a bit tough. A couple of roasted shishito peppers on the side add a nice touch.

Tsukemen, or dipping noodles, isn’t something you find at every ramen joint, so I jumped at the chance to try their kara-tsuyu. The spicy version had just a mild kick from the chili powder, definitely on the gentler side. Apparently, if you find it too tame, they’ll happily bring chili oil to heat things up.

I appreciated being able to choose hot or cold noodles. I went with hot, which paired beautifully with the cool dipping sauce. Made with soy and chili powder, the sauce comes on the side, and you can either pour it into the bowl or dip as you go. Dipping was my move, it let me control the saltiness and enjoy each bite just right.

Afuri makes their noodles in-house, and it shows. They’re thick, chewy, and perfectly springy, easily the best part of the meal. The soft-boiled egg was also lovely, jammy in the center and well-seasoned. The rest of the toppings were a mixed bag: the chunks of pork belly fat were too heavy (thin chashu slices would have been better), the bamboo shoots overpowered everything, and the arugula felt out of place. A mix of wood ear mushrooms or bean sprouts would have balanced things out better.

While not everything hit the mark, Afuri still delivers a solid lunch deal in a city where ramen isn’t hard to come by. If you’re hunting for a relaxed lunch in Toronto that won’t wreck the office budget, this one’s worth slurping (or dipping) over.