NEW RETRO - BASEMENT BAR

I first heard about New Retro from my friends who frequents this basement bar a lot. It is located underneath Zakkushi; it uses the same entrance, and just down a flight of stairs. The ambiance is moody and dim, and the music from the 80s-90s really hit the spot. I did see other tables using flashlights on their phone to look at the menu though, so you can imagine how dark it must be inside XD The kitchen is open-style; you can certainly see the all the actions going on behind the scenes. Since there were so many choices on the menu, we opted in for the 6-course tasting menu (85). The tasting menu was quite sharable between the two of us; you can order more food/snacks a la carte later if you want more. The food was delicious - loved the appetizers, hamachi sashimi, chawanmushi, wagyu beef, and the somen was SO GOOD. The only thing I had an issue with was the salmon fish roes used in the rice dish at the end. The roes were too salty for my liking, and I had to unfortunately pick all of them out :( The rice itself was amazing. Other than the little hiccup, we really enjoyed our meal.

November 5, 2024 on Google

Food was just okay this time around, came back because I had an amazing kaiseki don last year which is sadly gone along with the other dishes I really enjoyed. The ambience is nice but expect dishes to come out slower and one by one as everything is made to order. Most disappointed in the egg omelette, we thought they forgot to add it to our order when we got the bill but it actually just took them that long to get to it. Paid and waited for the last dish to arrive and was pretty underwhelmed… it really was just egg and not much else- smallest bit of uni on top and overall pretty bland

October 8, 2024 on Google

The atmosphere takes you to a small hole in the wall place in Japan where skilled chefs prepare the most exquisite dishes.

July 5, 2024 on Google

I discovered this hidden gem in downtown Toronto and I am so glad I did! Everything here is amazing - the food tastes so authentic it's as if we are back in Japan! We ordered tasting menu for one person and added a bunch of other stuff so that we can try everything. I'm very happy to learn that not everyone in the group has to order the tasting menu if only certain people want to (it's not something you can do in Japan, so I'm very glad they offer that flexibility). The drinks are also very unique and Japanese. The service here is great, and the waitress introduces every dish. It certainly gives you a fine dining experience even though this is a izakaya. They change their menu every two weeks (including the drink menu), and it gives us more reason to keep coming back! Highly recommended!!

June 10, 2024 on Google

I had a wonderful night at NEW RETRO! The staff were extremely professional, helpful, and observant. We ordered noodles to share, and they impressively distributed them into three bowls before serving. As it was a birthday dinner, they also went above and beyond by helping with storing the birthday cake we prepared, lighting it with candles, and playing the birthday song as background music. Highly recommend for their exceptional service!

June 7, 2024 on Google

New Retro Japanese restaurant is located in the Cabbagetown South neighborhood, in Toronto, Ontario. It's hidden in a basement, underneath the Zakkushi on Carlton Japanese Izakaya. Amazing food, great atmosphere and very friendly and interactive staff. Discovered this little gem completely by chance, while dining at a restaurant located right above it. The menu boasts a wide variety of Sakes, delicious cocktails and highly refined, amazing dishes. Every single dish was an explosion of flavours. Ended up trying almost the entire menu, and everything was on point. (Had 4 dinners at this place in a span of 3 nights). Can't recommend this place enough. If you have a chance, definitely grab a spot at their beautiful bar, if you'd like to interact with the team for a highly immersive experience. On the menu: • Thailandaise Seared Mackerel: Vinegared mackerel, cilantro, pine nuts, sansho, house made sauce with mustard, saikyo miso, sesame, soy sauce. • Potato Salad: Potato, shuto, bacon jam, parmesan cheese. • Stewed Oxtail: Stewed oxtail with potherb veggies, hatcho miso, red wine, served with grilled seasonal veggies. • Roasted duck: Roasted confit duck, balsamic vinegar, garlic teriyaki sauce, duxelle paste, blue cheese sauce. • Chicken Nanban • Grilled & Steamed Sablefish: Black cod marinated in sake kasu, saikyo miso. • Dashi maki: Rolled omlette, soy sauce, kombu & bonito dashi stock. • Obanzai: Chef's assorted sampler. • Ryu Kyu: Chef's choice of sashimi marinated in sweet soy sauce, sesame, shiso basil. • A couple of off the menu items ;) Dessert: • Yuzu Semifreddo Instagram: newretro_b1_193carlton

August 5, 2023 on Google

new retro - basement, you can find the most attentive servers, peaceful dining atmosphere, and exquisite dishes, a gem in the east side of the city. the best service I’ve experienced in the city, water was always full, provided explanations to the dishes, asked for our feedback, timed each plate to perfection so we never waited too long for the next one, just hands down brilliant. we tried nearly the entire menu (if you’re able I recommend you do so as well), not a single flop, but the most memorable ones were: cha-one-mushi kaisen don unagi dashi maki I was so satisfied with every serving, it’s was an incredibly enjoyable experience watching them cook (we sat at the bar). As for drinks, their yuzu soda* (made with home made syrup) it’s an absolute delight and super refreshing during the summer. We were too full for dessert, but will definitely comeback to try any items I may have missed. *non-alcoholic

June 16, 2023 on Google

New Retro is a basement bar flooded with divine dishes. Loved how a tiny menu could offer such an outsized variety of tastes. Plates are small-ish, flavours are big, and would suggest sharing to maximize the experience. Went here for dinner and got: - Stewed Oxtail: Superb fall-of-the-bone oxtail with a rich thick sauce. You believe it when they say this was cooked for five days in hatcho miso and red wine because it tastes that way. - Sea's Harvest: Raw spot prawn that is really juicy. Side crab and uni miso sauces were excellent counterbalances to the raw freshness. Afterwards, they deep fried the leftover heads, and it came out really tasty and crunchy. - Thailandaise Seared Mackarel: The rich fishy-ness of the mackerel was balanced nicely by a generous amount of cilantro and sauce. My wife doesn't usually like mackarel and she loved this dish. - Kaisen Don: If you're on the hungrier side, get this dish. It's your standard chirashi bowl but with uni! - Smoked Katsuo Tataki: Came with the theatrical smoke bowl. The sear on the tataki was spot on. - Dashi Maki: Rolled omelette which was traditional in its delicacy of taste and consistency. After the strong flavours across the dishes, this was almost like a palette cleanser. - Yuzu Sorbet: Looked like a mess, tasted like the absolute best yuzu sorbet I've had in the city. - Salty Lychee: Refreshing cocktail that tones down the sweet soho lychee with some rum, lemon juice and salt. Everything is pricey but the quality makes it worth the treat. Service is top-noth: informative, welcoming, efficient. Overall vibe is casually energetic. New Retro will easily be one of those (literal) underground places that everyone talks about because it is that good.

April 29, 2023 on Google