Kyõ-Kaiseki at Aburi Hana

Finding good restaurants for date nights and special occasions can get difficult when you can only rely on Google Reviews and Yelp. We listened to our clients in the GTA and noticed the hardest part of planning a date night is finding a detailed guide about the experience and an honest opinion. We wanted to start a series for couples looking for unique date night opportunities for every occasion!

For our first date night series restaurant, we wanted to start with a flare. We chose the restaurant Aburi Hana.

We had the opportunity to experience Aburi Hana’s Kyõ-Kaiseki experience. ‘Aburi’ translates to flame-seared, and ‘Hana’ translate to flower. Chef Nakagawa uses flame-searing techniques to maximize the depth of umami. One of my favourite touches is that Aburi Hana has private dining rooms for guests as well as the chef’s counter. Overall, it was an amazing experience with highly attentive staff and mind opening dishes. If you want an extremely memorable date night, Aburi Hana is a great choice.

Overall: ★★★★☆

Food: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★★★

Ambience: ★★★★★

Value: ★★★★☆

Noise Level: ★★★★☆

Cost: $$$

Occasions: Date night, proposals, birthdays

We visited Aburi Hana at the beginning of June, allowing us to experience their "Early Summer” menu. The items on their menu change every 2 months.

We chose to sit at the chef’s counter to witness the magic first hand.

We did not opt in for the alcoholic pairings. However, we did try the non-alcoholic options. It was an amazing yuzu drink.

Our first dish was the Corn Tamale Tofu. The colours and plating of the dish was incredible. With the creamy uni texture coupled with the umami taste, this dish was an excellent starter to the rest of the dishes to come.

The next dish was called Hiram Ryuhimaki. The main taste was the beets and seaweed. I loved how the chef explained it as “What you would eat on a hot summer day”. This dish was extremely refreshing and balanced well with the umami uni we had previously.

The third dish was called Otoro & Caviar Sushi Monaka. This dish was extremely intricate due to the rice cracker bottom. At first we thought the rice cracker was a smaller plate, but then realized it was supposed to be eaten together.

The next dish was a Lobster Shinjo. The chef sprayed water onto the lid of the bowl to signify that no one that opened the dish earlier. The dashi was made in house and this dish was a rich soup with a lobster rice cake.

Next we had the Maguro Flower. This dish we learned afterwards is a repeating iconic dish by Chef Nakagawa. The chutoro and akami was cut thinly and used to create a beautiful rose. Chef Nakagawa personally came over for this dish to create the dry ice cloud. We loved the theatrics and experience of this dish.

The next dish was a duck dish called Duck Akamiso Sumibiyaki. The chef explained their team wanted to incorporate Canadian aspects to their experience. We loved the presentation and thought the dish was prepared extremely well considering duck is not easy to cook.

Next is the Suzuki Zucchini Age. Presented beautifully above a pile of shells, this symbolizes that the sauce was made from seashells. The sauce was even poured out of a shell by the chef that was specifically chosen as a serving cup.

This dish was called the Kinmedai Netsuke, which is braised fish. We loved the presentation and the colours of this dish. The baby sardines added a nice crunch, and the richness of the fish was nicely balanced out by the acidic gobo.

Next was the Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Ribeye Yakishabu. This dish showcased Chef Nakagawa’s flame-searing and placed on a hass leaf. As expected, the wagyu was tender and melted in your mouth.

The next dish was the last of the savory portion of the night. However, it was definitely one of our favourites. This dish had 3 parts: the Shimaaji Nigiri, Tachiou Yakishimo Oshi Sushi, and Amaebi Temari. This was placed on top of a clear glass container that contained a small piece of the ocean. The small crab, seashell, and sand in the container was extremely creative and cute. On top of the presentation, the taste was exceptional. The miso soup paired together was rich and flavourful.

We were then presented with a young Japanese ginger icecream. The ice cream was an extremely creative way to cleanse our palettes. Even though we’re typically not a fan of ginger and was at first skeptical, the ginger did not overpower the sweet ice cream and was surprisingly refreshing.

We were then presented with either the choice of tea or coffee. We would recommend the tea options, as they are exclusive to Aburi Hana! We chose the Gojicha and loved it!

The final dish was the dessert. We had a Rice and Strawberry dessert with a sushi vinegar sauce. We loved how the flavors were paired and how refreshing the dessert was.

Throughout the whole experience, the staff attended to us and our every need. From bringing us a small stool for our camera, to explaining every dish in detail, the the service was impeccable, and we truly enjoyed the experience.

If you’re looking for other date ideas, be sure to check out the rest of our Toronto Date Night series!