Aburi Hana reopens under a new chef in Toronto

Aburi Hana has reopened on Yorkville Avenue in Toronto with Aiko Uchigoshi as executive chef, a year after the Michelin-starred restaurant closed for renovations and lost the chef who built its reputation. The new menu drops the kaiseki tasting format for a la carte Edo-era Japanese cooking, built around nigiri, grilled skewers and small plates meant to be ordered through the evening rather than served in a fixed sequence.

Uchigoshi joined Aburi Hana as pastry chef and now runs the kitchen, promoted after Ryusuke Nakagawa, the chef recruited from Japan to open the restaurant, left in 2025. Nakagawa's kaiseki menu had earned the restaurant a Michelin star in 2022 and a place in Canada's 100 Best Restaurants, where it peaked at number 29 in 2025.

An Edo-era menu replaces kaiseki

A tasting menu is a promise; a la carte is a negotiation with the diner.

The shift from a multi-course kaiseki format to a la carte dining is a deliberate repositioning rather than a downgrade: Edo-era cooking favours quick, direct preparations, closer to an old Tokyo sushi counter than a formal tasting menu. Owner Seigo Nakamura and the Aburi Restaurant Group, which also operates Aburi Hana's sister rooms, oversaw the renovation and the concept change together with Uchigoshi.

Michelin's inspectors had previously praised Nakagawa's “modern take” on Kyoto-style kaiseki, a description that no longer applies to the room. Aburi Hana keeps its star for now, pending Michelin's next Toronto selection on 22 September, which will be the first chance for inspectors to record the new format on paper.

A test for Toronto's Japanese scene

Toronto's Michelin roster has leaned heavily on Japanese kitchens since the guide's 2022 launch, and a well-known kaiseki address changing hands and format is a bigger test than a routine chef move. Diners who booked Aburi Hana for its tasting menu will find a shorter, less expensive way into the same kitchen; those chasing kaiseki specifically now have fewer Toronto addresses to choose from.

Uchigoshi has not announced a fixed menu price, saying only that dishes will be added through the autumn as the kitchen settles into the new format. Aburi Hana's shift echoes a wider pattern in Japanese fine dining, where a la carte formats are gaining ground on the fixed tasting menu.

Whether Aburi Hana keeps its star will become clear at the Michelin Guide Toronto's 2026 ceremony, the first opportunity for inspectors to weigh in on the new kitchen.