Your Birthday, v2
Saturday, Nov 7. Eight people. Two ways to do a talking-and-chill night somewhere special, with a light activity built in. Pick one.
A private floating sauna on the harbour at sunset, with the CN Tower behind it and a cold plunge on the deck. Then dinner at Karasu, a new charcoal-grill counter in a black room.
Catches: the sauna's site only says it "Opens November 2026", so it may not be open Saturday. Karasu is a fixed 14-course chicken menu that includes organ meats, with no substitutions, and you'd share its 14-seat counter with up to 6 strangers. Friends bring swimsuits and two towels.
Bushido opened inside Casa Loma on Oct 23, for 16 guests a night. Cocktails in the study and the round room, a seated 10-course Japanese dinner in the Chinoiserie suite, then dessert and tea in Lady Pellatt's suite. OpenTable rates it quiet, from its first 2 reviews.
Catches: about $750 more than the harbour night. It's fine dining and business casual, so it leans formal. You'd share the night with up to 8 other guests. It's so new there are barely any food reviews yet. Saturday may already be full, though they also seat Thursdays.
Tonight
My birthday is this Saturday, Nov 7, from late afternoon. Keep it free, details tomorrow.
Can you make it? Tell me by noon tomorrow, plus any allergies.
It doesn't say where yet, so it works for either night.
Hi, will the Toronto sauna be open this Saturday, Nov 7?
If so, can I book a private session for 8 around 4:30pm, and what's the price?
Karasu
Hi, do you have 8 seats this Saturday, Nov 7, around 6:30pm?
Your site says no substitutions. If one of us has an allergy, is that a problem?
Bushido
Hi, do you have 8 seats this Saturday, Nov 7, at 8pm?
It's my birthday. Can you hold them until Wednesday 3pm while my friends confirm?
Groups over 4 at Bushido book by email. Its $150-a-person deposit goes toward the bill, but you lose it for anyone who drops out. Karasu charges $175 to $198 a person for changes inside 48 hours. So pay or confirm only after your friends answer.
Wednesday by 3pm: you have the headcount and the sauna's answer. Book one night and release the other.
How each night runs
The harbour night
| Private sauna session for 8last published price for this float was $465 for a 75-minute session for up to 12 (when it ran as Löyly), plus 13% HST. Saunoa now sells 90-minute sessions and hasn't posted a price, so it may cost more | $525 |
| Karasu, 8 x $175 to $198$175 during the soft opening, $198 after | $1,400 to $1,584 |
| Drinks at Karasu, about $100 a personmy estimate | $800 |
| 13% HST and a 20% tip at Karasumy math on the two lines above | $726 to $787 |
| Ubers: to the sauna, to Karasu, homemy estimate | $150 |
| Total | $3,601 to $3,846 |
The castle night
| Bushido, 8 x $350their listed price | $2,800 |
| Drinks, about $50 to $75 a personmy estimate; skips their $120 pairing | $400 to $600 |
| 13% HST and a 20% tipmy math on the two lines above | $1,056 to $1,122 |
| Ubers there and backmy estimate | $80 |
| Total | $4,336 to $4,602 |
With the $120 pairing it's about $5,080, over your cap.
Also checked, and why not
iflyTOTO's small plane takes up to 8 passengers from Billy Bishop after dark. But it's about 18 minutes in the air, resellers list a fuel charge of about $30 a person on top of $119 to $125, and they say weather means a reschedule, not a refund.
A dark, artist-made room on King West with dinner served in it. But karaoke is an activity, and you could do it any Saturday.
A Michelin-starred tasting menu facing a wine cellar in an old bank vault, with a fireplace, 2 minutes from your place. White tablecloths, so it's formal, like the castle but less rare.
All conversation, since nobody can see. But there's nothing to post, and a reviewer says it gets loud.
Window seats in the revolving room. But it's a big shared tourist room.
Sauna and ice bath, with an optional DJ. They recommend a few weeks' notice for weekends and say they'll try for shorter.
Vending-machine door and 25+ courses. Over budget, and the room is bright wood.
Same castle, but a steakhouse. The private suite starts at 10 guests, and the dress code is "Jacket Preferred".
Each helicopter takes 3 passengers, so your group can't fly together.
Renting the whole aquarium is Sunday to Thursday only.
What I can do next
- Once you've booked, a one-screen invite for your friends: where, when, what to bring, and the bet prompt.
- Write the bet prompts and the toasts so the night runs itself.
Built Nov 3, 2026. Nothing has been booked or sent. Prices are as published on Nov 3 and can change. Sources: Saunoa, Löyly's last Toronto prices, Karasu menu, Karasu policy, Bushido, Bushido on OpenTable, blogTO on Bushido. The earlier private-chef plan is still at hafu-bday-night.pages.dev.