Although vegan and vegetarian diets have become increasingly popular over the past few years, it is still quite rare to find an all-vegan sushi spot. Well, Tenon has just arrived in Toronto to change that and offer up their unique take on Japanese cuisine.
Tenon Vegetarian Cuisine originated in Markham in 2011, where the team behind the restaurant focused on doing ample research to create tasty vegetarian alternatives to fish and other sushi components. They utilize a variety of plant-based ingredients to develop dishes that have an authentic colour, taste and texture, mimicking traditional Japanese elements like meatless salmon, beef and chicken. Their goal at Tenon is to make it easy for people to switch to a plant-based diet, while still being able to enjoy all the foods they love and crave.
Tenon Sushi in Toronto opened up at 487 Bloor Street West a few weeks ago with their menu of loaded maki rolls, Japanese-style appetizers and even a few Thai dishes. An order of tempura comes with crispy, golden soy shrimp, broccoli, sweet potato, taro, zucchini and other veggies, and satay skewers are made with vegan "chik'n" and served with peanut sauce.
Sushi rolls are offered with classic vegetable fillings like sweet potato, cucumber, asparagus and even spicy broccoli, while more adventurous rolls are filled with spicy vegetarian salmon, deep fried soy "ebi" (butterflied shrimp) and soy crab meat. Thai-style dishes include curries, sweet & sour or General Tsao soy chik'n and soy beef and broccoli. They also offer large format sushi combos if you want to try a bit of everything or share a meal with a few friends.
Due to the current Toronto lockdown rules, Tenon is open for takeout only, and you can order for pickup directly through their website -- they'll even throw in a free order of spring rolls to thank you for your support! Those who prefer delivery can grab their vegan sushi through UberEats or SkipTheDishes.
