This Montreal sushi restaurant racked up over $30k in MAPAQ fines in the past year alone

A sushi restaurant in Montreal’s Saint-Léonard neighbourhood has accumulated $34,000 in fines from Quebec’s Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) across five separate violations in the past year, according to records published in the provincial food safety registry.

Ojo Sushi, located at 9468 Boulevard Lacordaire inside the Faubourg Lacordaire shopping centre, was cited for infractions ranging from unsanitary premises to operating without a valid permit and eventually continuing to operate while under a permit suspension or cancellation.

Google now lists the restaurant as permanently closed. MAPAQ records confirm that the operator who was running the restaurant at the time of each infraction has since ceased operations.

One note before diving in: the inspections cited here did not necessarily take place recently. In many cases, several months or more can pass between the date of the infraction and the official publication of the judgment, as the legal process runs its course.

While the restaurant has had health inspection fines dating back to 2023 and 2024, here’s a breakdown of every fine from the past year, listed chronologically by infraction date.

February 25, 2025 — $3,000

Inspectors found that the premises, equipment, materials, and utensils used for food preparation, storage, transport, and service were not being kept clean. The judgment was issued March 11, 2026.

May 6, 2025 — $1,000

Inspectors found that heat-sensitive perishable products were not being kept at or below 4°C until delivery to the customer. For a sushi restaurant handling raw fish, that’s a significant finding. The judgment was issued February 16, 2026.

December 19, 2025 — $10,000

This fine marks a significant escalation. The restaurant was cited for operating while under a permit suspension or cancellation, which carries a minimum fine of $10,000 under Quebec food safety law. The judgment was issued April 29, 2026.

December 30, 2025 — $10,000

A second fine for the same violation, operating under a suspended or cancelled permit, was recorded just eleven days later. The judgment was also issued April 29, 2026.

January 7, 2026 — $10,000

A third consecutive fine for operating under a permit suspension or cancellation was recorded in early January, bringing the total across these three infractions alone to $30,000. The judgment was issued April 29, 2026.

The restaurant’s Google reviews paint a similar picture.

“The fish tasted off and not fresh, and the chicken had a strange smell and taste,” wrote one customer, who added it was the first time they had ever left a Google review. “When I got home, I threw up,” wrote another, who said their friends got sick too.

Multiple reviewers flagged basic service failures as well, including no water being brought to the table and running out of staples like salmon and tuna. “What kind of sushi place is short on tuna and salmon?” one customer wrote. Ojo Sushi had a 3.6-star rating across 512 Google reviews at the time of its closure.

MAPAQ fines are issued by the Montreal Municipal Court and published in the provincial food safety registry. The violations listed do not necessarily reflect the conditions that existed at the establishment up until its closure. As noted above, MAPAQ records indicate the operator who ran this location has since ceased operations.