Sushi Atlantico, new on St. Clair Avenue West, offers a unique Brazilian take on Japanese cuisine that can’t be found anywhere else in Toronto.
“Brazil actually has the biggest Japanese community outside Japan, and 90 per cent of this community lives in São Paulo,” says head chef and owner Vivian Puentes. “In Brazil we love to eat sushi, so the inspiration behind Sushi Atlantico was to have sushi here like the sushi you can find on any corner in Brazil, using ingredients Brazilians like most.”
So, when visiting Sushi Atlantico, expect a menu filled with protein-rich spins on sushi favourites.
The Japanese-Brazilian fusion restaurant first opened its doors in Newmarket in 2020 and has since expanded to open a second outpost at 1154 St. Clair Ave. W.
The combination may sound unique but, according to Puentes, the flavours draw on a long history of Japanese influence in her home country.
“Brazilians love everything with a lot of protein,” she says.
Popular takeout foods such as pizza will often include 3 or more meat toppings, and sushi follows suit. Bestsellers on her menu feature a lot more fish than you’d typically find at a standard sushi shop, with rolls piled high with salmon and tuna.
Sushi Atlantico’s current bestseller is the salmon, cream cheese, and green onion tempura roll, called a Hotroll, topped with a homemade teriyaki dressing and a side Temaki (known more commonly in Canada as a hand roll).
Other popular dishes up for grabs are Sunomono, a cucumber salad dressing with rice vinegar, salt, and organic sugar, or the Brown Shimeji, a mushroom fried on butter and dressed with light soy sauce and Sake.
There are also traditional Brazilian dishes such as steak picanha (a highly flavourful cut of beef), empanadas, and croquettes.
There is also a selection of fresh, house-made juices, or kick it up a notch with Brazil’s national cocktail, a Caipirinha, an alcoholic drink made with cachaça (rum made from fermented sugarcane juice), sugar, and lime. Think of it as the Brazilian version of a mojito with a subtly sweet, slightly earthy aftertaste.
Puentes immigrated to Canada five years ago and worked her way up to a district manager role in sales. Despite her success, she longed to get back into the kitchen and bring her love of Brazilian-style sushi to the Canadian masses.
“My family always had a restaurant in Brazil, and I was trained under a Japanese chef of a 5-star restaurant in Brazil,” she says of her food industry experience.
This formal training, coupled with her time working in sales, taught her the ins and outs of opening up a business in this country, familiarizing herself with laws and processes. Once the pandemic hit, she felt compelled to follow her lifelong dream of owning her own spot.
“I decided it was time to dedicate my life to something I am completely passionate about – and that is cooking,” she says.
For Puentes and her team, Atlantico is so much more than a sushi place, it’s home. As an homage to her culture, each sushi roll has a Brazilian city name and every table has a Brazilian state/province name, with unique details and subtle nods to the country that raised her. Patrons can listen to popular Brazilian music and all the servers speak at least three languages (English, Portuguese and Spanish).
“Usually we are fully booked two or three weekends in advance,” says Vivian of the outpouring of support she has received.
Atlantico initially opened in Newmarket but, due to building issues, Puentes says the spot will be relocating. For now, patrons can swing by the 1154 St Clair Avenue West spot, with plans for two new locations coming to downtown Toronto and Vaughan Mills later this year.
“Atlantico Sushi is all about passion, every single person working with us is incredibly dedicated and willing to keep growing with us. Our mission is to become a reference for culinary innovation.”
