Best Sushi Restaurant

For 30 years, Doraku has been a staple of Dartmouth’s downtown—and one of the city’s best-kept secrets from the tourists who flood the boardwalk every summer and fall. The atmosphere is cozy and unassuming, and that’s because the real star at Doraku is the sushi: It’s the best you’ll find in the city, whether you’re after maki rolls, sashimi or nigiri. The Coast’s readers agree, too, awarding the Ochterloney Street restaurant its second straight gold award in the category. (Dartmouth author Karen Pinchin has a soft spot for the maguro—Atlantic bluefin tuna caught locally.)

Ask chef Haku, and he’ll tell you the secret to Doraku’s sushi is in the rice: He finds Haligonians like it “a little bit sweeter” than elsewhere. The BOH nod is an “honour,” he adds: “I just like to interact with local people, share traditional Japanese sushi and make them happy.”