Wild catches and Japanese imports with Sushi Nishinokaze in the Mile End

It’s a quiet night after hours at Sushi Nishinokaze in the Mile End.

Julian Doan, co-owner of this intimate, 8-seat Edomae sushiya alongside chef and co-owner Vincent Gee, has laid out a curated spread: Matane shrimp shiokara—salted and fermented as an old-school fishermen’s snack—sourced from the North West Atlantic around Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the Nova Scotia, young ginger from the Eastern Townships preserved from early fall, and British Columbian salmon roe lightly cured in-house.

The surroundings are equally curated. Designed by Montreal-born architect Justin Nguyen and Tokyo-based Taichi Kuma, the interiors combine modern minimalism with nods to traditional Japanese design. A long counter made of Canadian ash and sliding metal shoji-style doors form the backdrop to what is billed as a “living gallery.”