Did a late weeknight visit to Guu Izakaya with friends not too long ago. Just so you know: it’s still busy, even at 10:30 pm on a Monday night. I also discovered that the Cheese Bim Bim Bap isn’t as gross as it sounds. I’d get it again! The food is still good and Guu has the best cocktails of all the Izakayas I’ve tried. And best Takowasa (though it’s all from the same place, I hear). On their specials menu this time around was pig intestine with garlic shoots. Tasty, if strong. You can check out all the dishes we had that night below:
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A place I’d really been looking forward to trying was Izakaya Ju. Chicken hearts, cartilage, real coal – so promising! But by the end of the night, all I had was a giant gaping pit of of disappointment. Not-fresh ingredients, poorly prepared items, lacking service, and they still don’t have their liquor license. So at heart, it’s not an Izakaya. Sigh.
One more! Sort of. Look for the Fin Izakaya post later this week.
Guess the only one of note I haven’t tried is Koyoi, off Yonge St. on Irwin… Any others?
- Guu Izakaya 398 Church St., Toronto
- Izakaya Ju 3160 Steeles Avenue East, Toronto (in J-Town)
- Fin Izakaya 55 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto
- Koyoi 2 Irwin Avenue, Toronto
June 17, 2010 at 10:59 am
ju was very disappointing…
June 19, 2010 at 8:58 pm
constance > agreed. I had liked it better when it was just an unassuming outdoor vendor in from the of the mart…
June 23, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Just opened at Elm and Bay — Sushi Queen Izakaya. Serves izakaya menu after 4 p.m.
June 26, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I have been preaching the cheese bibimbop gospel! I loved the dish so much it caused me to rudely interrupt Holt Renfrew’s exec. chef when he suggested that Asian flavours should never have a dairy component.
July 1, 2010 at 3:22 pm
I’ve only had lunch at Koyoi and it was sometime last year!
I really have to go back for their nighttime menu but their alcohol menu was pretty expensive from what I recall. That said, their list was fairly extensive when i last checked.