Jun i

In Montreal, you can find just about any type of cuisine. There’s certainly no shortage of sushi places, and Jun i is regularly rated as one of the best in town. It makes sense when you consider that head chef and co-owner Junichi Ikematsu, the man whom the restaurant is named after, studied cooking in his home country of Japan and brought authentic techniques with him to Canada.

“Junichi is probably the best sushi chef in Montreal, to me at least,” says Jonathan Daunais, one of the three owners of Jun i along with Chef Junichi and Ped Phimphrakeo. The three founding members met when they were working at another Japanese restaurant called Soho, which had four locations throughout the city. Soho eventually went into bankruptcy, so Jonathan, Junichi and Ped decided to strike out on their own.

“(Junichi's) always working. He's always there," says Jonathan. "He always says welcome to people every time they come through the door. People feel at home here. We have lots of regular customers who come every week.”