Fans of Toronto’s only two-star Michelin chef are in for a treat. During a Q&A following the premiere of chef Masaki Saito’s new documentary, Still Single, last Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was revealed that Saito and his business partner, William Cheng, are planning to open a new high-end restaurant next summer — one designed specifically for Saito’s longtime sous-chef, Tsuyoshi Yoshinaga, who recently returned from Japan to helm the new project!
As first reported by INsauga News, Cheng told the audience during Monday’s Q&A that, after dinner and drinks at Sushi Masaki Saito, he worked up the courage to ask Yoshinaga to FaceTime his wife so Cheng could propose the idea of opening a restaurant.
“I wanted to talk to [Yoshinaga’s] wife directly and I said that Saito-San and I are opening a new restaurant in the Hazelton Hotel, specifically for his top student and it will be sometime next year in summertime. We really wanted Tsuyoshi to have that. Without his wife or his family’s permission, we could not do that. I was brave enough to say, ‘Can you call her and let me talk to her?’ After just five minutes of talk, his wife said yes.”
The news received massive cheers and applause from the audience
“Actually, this is not decided yet. But yes, something’s happened,” Yoshinaga coyly told the audience.
While many details, like the menu concept, pricing and even a name, are still mum, we can expect the restaurant to honour the chefs’ commitment to omakase excellence and fine dining (and the the Hazelton Hotel is frequently recognized as one of the top hotels in Canada, so we know the venue will be swanky!)
In the meantime, you can check out the charismatic relationships between the chefs in Still Single (the next public screening takes place on Sept 13 at Scotiabank Theatre). The 93-minute documentary is directed by first-time filmmakers Jamal Burger and Jukan Tateisi and offers a behind-the-scenes look at chef Saito, who’s sometimes described as a notoriously meticulous sushi chef, revealing his charm, precision and personal quirks.
Saito, who grew up in Hokkaido, Japan, was always interested in the art of sushi, and using a grassroots approach, he worked his way to the top of his craft. The 36-year-old chef closed his two-Michelin-star New York restaurant, Sushi Ginza Onodera, to move to Toronto, where he co-founded Sushi Masaki Saito in Yorkville. That restaurant earned him two Michelin stars in 2022.
Even with prices starting over $100 — and the omakase dinner running $780 — Sushi Masaki Saito remains one of the toughest reservations in town. But with another restaurant on the horizon, Torontonians may soon have more chances to taste Saito’s celebrated cuisine.
