JUN I

If you want Japanese  food in Montreal, the buck pretty much stops at Edo-style sushi, clowny teppanyaki joints (usually located in strip malls) and a few tentative forays into ramen. Leaving the latter two aside, sushi in Montreal tends to be overwhelmingly North American in style and decidedly average in terms of technique and freshness (proving perhaps that just because you have a port doesn’t mean you’re near the ocean). You can have okay sushi at Sho-Dan, Kaizen, Mikado, Takara or Maiko, but for my money, Jun I is tops and the only place worth sitting at the bar for omakase. Chef Junichi Ikematsu has tended to lean towards more traditional sushi than many of his contemporaries with a focus on nigiri, a broad variety of local fish and less of a reliance on cream cheese and deep frying. More recently, the sushi menu has expanded to include more of the exotic rolls that drive sushi sales in the city, but the technique and quality of ingredients remains second to none. Jun I also offers a very interesting menu of dishes that blend Japanese ingredients with western techniques and flavours. It has included a millefeuille of breaded sweetbreads, raw marinated scallops and shitake mushroom with balsamic reduction and an eel risotto with avocado and parmesan, both of which scored very high. Jun I features  one of the better selections of affordable quality sake in the city. High marks for the sushi and as well as the regular menu.

CONTACT

Jun I

156 Laurier W.

514.276.5864

TRI EXPRESS

Tri Du is a sushi veteran having ran any number of Montreal’s hottest sushi joints over the course of the past ten years. Now settled into a little sushi counter with a handful of seats and a booming take-out business, his personal take on sushi has never been more potent. While I often find North American style sushi pretty objectionable, Tri Express is the perfect example of how sushi can be innovative while retaining its integrity. Key in the Tri style is areliance on an addictive mirin, soy and sesame oil based sauce as an alternative to straight soy which is used as a dipping sauce and as a component of a tri-style “tartare” of  tempura and fish. Rolls are inventive and novel but still tasty and have made the soft spoken chef into the closest Montreal has to a sushi icon. Nothing traditional here, but it’s good food at a great price.

CONTACT

Tri Express

1650 Laurier E.

514.528.5641