Montréal, QC — Sushi et Bistro Japonais Isakaya

Sushi et Bistro Japonais Isakaya 3469 Avenue du Parc Montréal, QC

514.845.8226 website map

It was Grand Prix week, a great time to be in Montréal. I was working at a client site in the downtown area and decided to go out and find some sushi. I went on line and found some reviews that suggested Isakaya would be a good bet. Isakaya is located in the McGill district of Montréal. a little ways (by taxi) from downtown.

Isakaya is a full service Japanese restaurant with a small, four seat, sushi bar. I decided to order a sashimi combo and they had my favorite mirugai (giant clam). The soup and salad were decent but not really special. I have not had mirugai for some time so I was anxious to try it. The mirugai was absolutely perfect, it was firm and flavorful. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed mirugai. If only the rest of the meal were up to the same standard.

I started my sashimi combo and the fish was great. I don't remember what kinds of fish I had but they were all excellent — right up until the last two. The combo included octopus and red tuna. The first piece of octopus was good, the second piece tasted spoiled. I ate a good sized piece of ginger to get rid of the taste, then I tried one of the two pieces of red tuna. It was awful, I nibbled the other and it too tasted spoiled.

Usually, everything is good or everything is bad. In Isakaya's case some was excellent and some was horrible.

Because so many things were good Isakaya holds on to two rice bowls not one.

Isakaya: 2 rice bowls