[Review] Black Bear Japanese Fusion in Markham

Website: n/a , Instagram @blackbear_Japanesefusion
Address: 4567 Highway 7, Unit 3, Markham, ON
Date visited: April 2017
Rating: 3.5

Black Bear Japanese Fusion opened mid-April 2017 and is located where the long running AYCE “Sushi on 7 ” used to be. The restaurant is owned by a husband and wife couple, Barry Cheung and Vivien Tam. The couple had opened two successful restaurants over the last 10 years in Hong Hong, including Wing’s Kitchen in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). With few Japanese fusion restaurants in Toronto, they wanted to tap into the market.

Black Bear Japanese Fusion serves Japanese and Korean fusion dishes, and specializes in Japanese omelet rice (omurice), as well as burgers with rice patties, which are served during their dinner service only. The menu is categorized by appetizers and salads, burgers, noodles and rice, and dessert. Examples include kimchi fries, chicken katsu caesar salad, seafood omelet rice, and udon carbonara. The appetizers are about $10 on average, and the mains range from $10 to $24. They also offer specialty drinks and beertails (beer cocktails). The decor is modern with cute cartoon mural walls.

As for many new restaurants, it normally takes a few visits to gauge how consistent the food is but I had a great first experience. I was surprised that most of the dishes we ordered were nicely presented and tasty. As for the service, everything went smoothly initially but did have a hard time getting the servers attention once all the tables filled up.

What we ordered:

Golden Krone Beertail and Mango Paradise specialty drink – This was my first beertail and it won’t be my last.

Melted Cheese Corn- The chips were tostitos and not made in-house but the sweet cheesy corn dip was a hit with our kids.

Japanese Fusion Fries with miso mayo green onions, nori and mentaiko. The salty roe really made the dish pop!

Black Bear Wings with sriracha mayo- The jumbo wings were moist and well seasoned.

K-pop chicken- These tender bites was my favourite appetizer.

Pork Katsu Omelet Rice with Japanese Curry– A really tasty dish with a flavourful curry, a crispy pork katsu and a fluffy omelet. Plus, the portions were huge.

The soft shell crab had a light batter and great flavours but I felt the entire burger and bun was too soft for my liking.

Overall:

Although the restaurant advertises that they specialize in omelet rices and rice burgers, their menu has much more than that. This family friendly restaurant will satisfy those who want comfort food with a Japanese fusion twist. My top recommendations are the k-pop chicken, Japanese fusion fries, and the pork katsu omelet rice dish.

*Disclosure: The meal with complimentary but the views in my post are my own.