sushi 67.

There are few activities that bring a smile to my face quite like treating myself to some funky sushi.

I've started a new, exciting and pretty-demanding post-grad course in public relations at Humber College and have been feeling a little soulless as I attempt to jump back into the full-time student routine (8 am classes + an hour and twenty minute commute = a kinda grouchy me. Sorry loved ones!)

So, I figured, what better time to treat ma-self to an epic sushi feast?

After driving around Toronto like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off for what felt like hours last Thursday (who knew a wrong turn could so suddenly place our car on the DVP?) some gal-pals and I finally arrived at Roncesvalles' Sushi 67, ready to reward our travel efforts with some yummy grub.

And boy, did we do just that. 

Sushi 67 is the kind of eating establishment I love to support. 

For such a small place - they're literally a shoebox with two tables and a counter - their attention to detail was grandiose. It's a colourful space with adorable touches like the modern soy-sauce dispensers (below) and water infused with slices of fresh fruit. Their staff was incredibly attentive, friendly and generally... happy. I was catching the good vibes big time (my housemates/dining companions might argue this was much-needed.)

With that being said, it was their sushi that had truly caught my eye. 

I had read about this place on BlogTO and from the sounds of it, they had kind of an Eatery thing going on. Kooky and innovative rolls with non-traditional ingredients.

I was down.

And even more down after trying the first thing we sampled, the sushi pizza. 

Sushi 67's version was different than any other sushi pizza I've tried. No rice, for starters, with a base of a crisp tortilla instead. The toppings weren't standard, either. Fresh tuna, jalapeno, red onions, avocado, olives and THREE types of sauces: soy caramel (in which you could actually taste the hint of caramel, making for a great touch of sweet) spicy and regular mayo. Between the creamy avocado, tender tuna, crunchy onions and crispy tortilla the combination of flavours and textures made for an awesome and complex bite.

To sum it up: In. Heaven. 

We followed up with the Green Valles roll - fresh avocado on top of a creamy crab and tamago roll topped with spicy and regular mayo and gorgeous little dots of puffed rice - which tasted as delicious as it looked...

...the Manhattan Bridge roll, which was spicy pulled crab on top of a roll stuffed with more crab, asparagus, cream cheese and tempura shrimp... 

... a Hungry Vegetarian roll fille with sweet yams, mushrooms, crunchy asparagus and lettuce and topped with crisp-fried onions, regular and spicy mayos and more of that lovely soy caramel sauce... 

... and the special of the day, a roast beef roll.  

Awesome, right? 

This was caramelized shitake mushrooms, asparagus, crispy tofu and marmalade rolled up and topped with roast beef, horseradish mayo and shredded asiago cheese. While decidedly un-sushi-esque, it was such an interesting and decadent combination of ingredients that it just worked. 

The scallop pot pie 'roll' was the biggest surprise of the night in that it wasn't really a roll at all. While the menu described it as "butter phyllo cup with creamy scallop, white sauce and melted mozzarella on top of a signature california roll" it arrived looking like a seafood casserole of sorts. I guess the tip-off should have been when our server told us there would be a longer wait time because it needed to go in the oven. We couldn't seem to find the "california roll" beneath all the creamy scallop-pie mixture going on, although we'd randomly hit spots of crab and rice.

While it wasn't what we expected and definitely pretty far from the sushi spectrum, it was still quite nice in a Granny's-pot-pie kind of way and garnered a couple of chuckles from the table (the things an overtired brain finds humour in). 

And, like all my sushi stories, this one too had a happy ending. 

Just as we were about to lug our satisfied bodies home, the owner presented us dessert on the house: fresh strawberries and premium vanilla ice cream topped with lemon honey and crushed oreos. It was the sweetest bite-sized sundae of sorts to finish off our feast and the presentation was, unsurprisingly, perfect.

There's no doubt in my mind that touches like this will keep Sushi 67's tiny space full with satisfied sushi lovers like us in the future. Go check this gem out and get your crazy sushi fix as soon as you can - and make sure you reserve one of their two tables!

Sushi 67

67 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, Ontario

647-717-8744