@movernie
MoKenny and I visited this brand new Japanese Bar called “Sampo Bar” on its first day of soft opening and we enjoyed it very much! This place was packed! I guess word of mouth spreads when people want to try new place.
You didn’t see the signage outside as there isn’t one and for me, when there isn’t a signage, you know it’s good shit! It’s hidden gem! “You know when you know” type of deal.
One of the owners Jason told us that it took them ONLY 16 days to renovate the entire place. From getting the keys, putting in all the equipment, furniture, putting the food & drink menu together. That’s crazyly insanely fast! Amazing!
The moment we walked in, passing thru the curtains (to keep the cold air from entering the place), you hear Japanese music being played. Dim candle lights and dim bar area lights build a relaxing ambience and good vibe. This space isn’t big, it has a few tables and a few small seating space along the wall with 4 high stools at the bar but it does the job to maximize the space.
But small bar and resto are very common in Japan as most Japanese restaurants and bars don’t offer much space, so it reminds me a bit of my trip to Tokyo a few years ago (I miss Japan!). This place feels so warm, cozy and intimate. It’s perfect for date night or hanging out with friends.
Since it’s just open, the food menu and drink menu are pretty basic but does its job. The owners informed us that they will expand its bar food menu and cocktail menu at a later time. Currently, they wanted to have a concise menu to improve efficiency and keeping the kitchen and the bar for smooth operations.
MoKenny and I really enjoyed the food offerings here as many of these dishes are truly authentic Japanese food items that you may not able to find elsewhere from other Japanese restaurants here in Toronto. For example, el-hire, dried, roasted chewy stingray fin, it has a good char and perfectly match for a highball drink. Honestly, I never had stingray ray fin before, this was my 1st.
The pork stew soup was hearty, comfort food that I highly recommend.
In Japan, Japanese people luv their highball (pretty much any base alcohol drinks such as vodka, gin, tequila, rum mixed with high percentage of soda, fruit juice and tea). It’s refreshing yet it’s light alcohol which is easy for anyone to drink and drink lots. We personally prefer stronger drinks such as whiskey, hard liquor or vodka/gin than highball but we did enjoy the variety of highball being offered at this place.
Manager Mami recommended us to try the Jasmine tea high ball. When have you ever try an alcoholic drink with tea in it? It’s so smooth that you didn’t even know it’s a highball. It’s super tasty. Another one that we like was the Crown Royal Apple highball. It’s smooth and we luv the aroma.
One of the major attraction here for me is how great value the food items and drink items being offered here at Sampo Bar. Food items range from $5 CDN to $20 CDN. The soup at $5 CDN is super great value. Takowasabi (2 kinds) at $10 CDN is also a good deal. The spinach ohitashi is our favourite dish, good veggie dish, nice texture and at $6 CDN, it’s great value!
Most of the highball and beer range from $9 to $11 CDN, which are great value proportions. As compared to other bars who charges you an arm and a leg, Sampo Bar provides a cozy, relaxing place for its guests to enjoy some authentic Japanese music, Japanese food and drink items.
I highly recommend this place.
MoVernie FUN FACT: Did you know….this same location has 2 different businesses, operating day & night. At night, it’s Sampo Bar. In the morning and afternoon, it’s Ohiru Cafe (serving different food menu & beverage menu).
Click here to check out our brunch experience at Ohiru Cafe.
Sampo Bar Toronto – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 370 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1S6
Instagram: @Sampo_Toronto
PS – This place is so new that they currently don’t have a website or telephone number. Once they have it, I will update it on this MoVernie BLOG.
