507 Church Street, Toronto, ON M4Y 2C9
(416) 929-0678
Sushi is one of my favourite foods. I can eat it all the time and I don't think I could ever get sick of it. That's why when Torch Pressed Sushi recently opened their downtown Toronto location I had to check it out.
Torch is not your typical rolled sushi restaurant. They specialize in Aburi-style Oshi sushi, which is a pressed (or boxed) sushi that is flame seared. Instead of being tightly rolled in seaweed (nori), the ingredients are layered and formed into a rectangular shape.
The sushi menu offers a variety of fish and seafood options and you can choose between either three pieces or six pieces of sushi. We ordered three pieces of spicy tuna and three pieces of shrimp. Spicy tuna is always my go-to when I have sushi and Torch's offering is probably one of the best I've ever had . Not only is it topped with tuna, the bottom layer has tempura shrimp, avocado and rice, which adds texture to the dish. I could easily eat about a dozen of them. The shrimp sushi was lighter and seasoned with simple lime juice and zest, which was a nice contrast from the heavier spicy tuna.
The menu at Torch also includes a variety of rice bowls. We ended up eating the sushi as an appetizer and ordered the bowls as our main course. I ordered the small ocean bowl, which had snow crab, scallop, butterfish, shrimp, salmon and tuna over rice. Sean had the small wagyu beef bowl, which had thinly sliced pieces of beef, Japanese barbecue sauce, sesame seeds and green onions over a bed of rice. Since I love seafood so much the ocean bowl was right up my alley. The butterfish, salmon and tuna were raw and each piece of seafood and fish was diced into cubes (similar to a poke bowl). Sean's wagyu beef bowl was also really good and flavourful, although I'm not completely convinced that the meat was actually wagyu beef.
The prices at Torch are a bit higher than average with three pieces running between $6.75-$8.75 and pieces being anywhere from $12.95 to $9.95. The bowls cost between $7.95-$18.95 for a small bowl and $14.95 to $25.95 for a large bowl.
When we got to Torch I was little surprised how small the restaurant was. The dining area has long, communal-style tables and there are smaller tables on the perimeter of the restaurant. We went to the restaurant on a Friday evening, so the restaurant was quite busy and we initially had trouble finding a seat. Luckily, a group was leaving so we sat at the end of the table. You have to order at the cash register (like a fast food restaurant) and servers bring your food to you when it's ready.
Although the food was excellent, the small space and lack of an automatic door button caused some challenges with accessibility. The restaurant is more suited for take-out or delivery rather than a dine-in experience, especially if you use a wheelchair or scooter. Next time I might just order three or four types of sushi to-go.
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