Shiso Tree Cafe

Hey all!  Sorry for the hiatus :(, but I’m finally back with another review!  Actually, I’ve been meaning to make lots of reviews – I’ve been taking many many photos of food, but I just haven’t had the time to write the blog and post pictures.  Since I’m more available again, hopefully I’ll be able to share some pictures of succulent (or not) food and my overall opinion.

This post will be dedicated to my visit to Shiso Tree Cafe with C.  The unique thing about this restaurant that it it’s a Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant, specifically famous for their Italian pastas mixed with a spice of Japanese culture.  C and I were really looking forward to going here because it just seemed so one-of-a-kind type of thing.  Also, being a Torontonian, I always find it quite amusing because the vast majority of Japanese restaurants are actually not owned by Japanese people.  However, this restaurant is actually owned and served by Japanese people – it’s authentic!

Here are some pictures of how it looks:

This restaurant is tucked inside…you won’t be able to see it on the street. Walk into Jtown, and keep going inwards 🙂

Interior~

The interior. It’s really nice and cozy, but a little small in my opinion. It’ll probably be difficult to find a spot during busy hours.

For you curious monkeys out there, did you know what shiso is? It’s actually a Japanese herb related to mint and basil, with an aroma of cinnamon, anise, basil, and citrus. How cool is THAT?

When we saw the menu, we just wanted to try everything because everything just sounded so interesting! Here’s a glimpse of the pasta menu:

This is the pasta menu (you’ll have to tilt your head to read this, sorry!) Soo much to choose from *-*

Less talking, and more pictures!  Here’s what we ended up ordering!

For starters:

Okonomiyaki fries. I love the flavour of okonomiyaki, so this would be my bias. But the flavour did get a bit salty after a while.

Free complimentary salad. I’m not a big salad fan, so this wasn’t too spectacular.

Shiso clam vongolé – white wine, olive oil, garlic, bacon, tomato, fresh Manila clams & shiso

In my honest opinion, this was sort of a disappointment for me. I found it quite bland and lacking in flavour. I didn’t taste the wine at all and it just felt like I was eating a load of oil ><. Haha, I think I'm making it sound worse than it actually tasted. Nonetheless, the toast was goooood :D.

Sukiyaki – thinly sliced beef rib eye cooked in house made Japanese soya sauce (shoyu)

This, was no question, the best dish that I had that night. It was so flavourful, and again, to my bias, I love the original sukiyaki :D. The beef was juicy and cooked well. Oh yes, the toast dipped in the sauce is a perfect combination!

I asked C for her opinions about the dishes, and she felt the same :D. Sorry, I don’t have the prices for the things we ordered..I forgot them :P! I approximate that the pastas were around ~15-20 and the okonomiyaki fries was ~10. Finally, for dessert, C and I shared a (matcha, if I recall correctly) green tea toast. I wouldn’t say this dish was too special, but the toast was good and it was a nice close to our meal.

Toast with (matcha?) green tea syrup.

In conclusion, I think I would come back to this place – the dishes are fun, unique and interesting. In my opinion, I would return to satisfy my curiosity of the other dishes than my taste buds, though.

Here’s my rating:
– atmosphere: 8.5/10
– value: 7.5/10
– food: 8.5/10

Stay posted! I’m planning to make more posts soon~

-ksdn