Welcome to our cozy corner of the Plateau! Step into our warm, Japanese-style izakaya in Montreal. We serve authentic Japanese comfort food with a touch of French flair, in a space that feels just like a cozy spot in Tokyo.
Reviews describe SATO Izakaya as a cozy, well designed Japanese spot with a lively yet relaxed vibe, offering a broad menu of ramen, sushi, takoyaki, gyoza and tapas style dishes, with generous portions and solid value for the quality. The food is praised for freshness, flavor and thoughtful preparation, especially the katsu, aburi sushi, ramen and gyoza, while service is described as attentive and friendly and the atmosphere as welcoming. Some comments note that prices can be high for tapas and that pacing can vary on busy nights, but the overall sentiment remains very positive with guests planning to return to try more of the menu.
Delicious izakaya on St-Denis not far from the Mount Royal metro station. Had a yummy spicy ramen & aburi salmon sushi! My friend tried a variety of other dishes like katsu pork, raw scallop, cod... The waitress was very nice & recommended great dishes!
Mar 6, 2026
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Super yummy! valid price coming from students. We had ramen but the fish looks really good too. Why is there an avocado nigiri for 6 dollars? im also wondering that. Great service the girlies were very nice & attentive. Quiet place which was nice. Beautiful indoors.
I went to Sato Isakaya with my friends, & the experience was horrendous. The food was terrible. The sauce for the chicken katsu felt store-bought & was literally microwaved (half of the bowl was cold, the other half hot). The salad on the side was also incredibly low quality; once again, I think it might have been store-bought. In addition to the poor-quality food, the service was horrendous. There were six of us, & even though all of us ordered at the same time, not one of us ate with one another. Yes, it is true we were famished (which makes the food tasting terrible even more impressive), but there were prolonged noticeable gaps between each individual service. It made me feel like I was eating in a cafeteria, not a restaurant.
What a gem! We were able to get a reservation easily, but I don't think that's going to be the case for long, because this place is fantastic.
We had a variety of things, all were delicious!
I had the salmon Aburi sushi, very unique. A rectangular shaped Rice that has ribbons of salmon throughout & a slightly chared exterior. Each piece is top with a slice of jalapeno & a swirl of sato sauce. The flavours were mouth watering good! I then tried the Inari spicy tuna sushi, again very original. A marinated tofu pocket filled with rice & topped with creamy spicy tuna, I ordered another almost immediately after taking my first bite.
I enjoyed a saki martini with my meal & it complimented the flavours perfectly.
Every aspect of this restaurant is well thought out.
Mar 3, 2026
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Quelle belle découverte ! Sato est vraiment un hidden gem. Tout était succulent & délicieux. Les tapas étaient fraîches & pleines de saveur, & le ramen était également excellent. Je n'ai rien à redire, juste… wow ! À ne pas manquer.
Came in because it was conveniently located next to our Airbnb, but everything here is a 10/10. A highlight of my trip to Montreal.
Update: Circling back months later because I had a Hamachi Crudo recently that reminded me of this place. I still think about this spot sometimes all the way from nyc
We stopped by here for lunch. Everything we had was tasty ! Service was prompt & professional. The decor was what you'd expect from an izakaya. If I were to make one recommendation the salmon oshi could have a bit more salmon on it. Would also be nice to have a few more sushi options on the menu.
Mar 2, 2026
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Excellent restaurant. High quality Japanese food & great service. I have been 5 times in the past 6 months. I take all my friends there & it's also great for a date :)
Quelle belle expérience comme au Japon.
Nourriture goûteuse & fraîche.
Mention toute spéciale à Sarah qui a littéralement rehaussé notre visite avec sa sympathique attitude & service attentionné & amical. Bravo. Arigato.
Genuinely a fantastic experience from start to finish. The food was delicious, the service was attentive & the atmosphere was great.
Definitely a place I would recommend!
