Allow me to begin this post by stating that I have never been to Japan. I do want to visit the “land of the rising sun” but in the meantime, I’ll settle for a little taste of Japan here in Toronto. Guu Izakaya began in Vancouver (5 locations) and they recently opened a location here in Toronto.

An Izakaya is a bar where Japanese businessmen and co-workers go to after a long day of work to unwind with lots of booze. There is always an offering of small bites to accompany the alcohol. When you walk into Guu Izakaya, there’s not karaoke, no drunken Japanese men but there are rows of long communal wooden  tables and a long bar with seating in front of the kitchen and smaller bar with some seating there too.

Guu Izakaya is located where the late-night dive once known as Mr. Tasty’s burgers once served the hungry (drunken) crowds all evening on Church Street just north of Gerrard. I had read reviews of Guu Izakaya (all good), heard of the line-ups and actually saw people hanging outside (lining up) on a few occasions. Guu Izakaya opens at 5PM and likely closes at 2am (last call for alcohol in Ontario) and the turnover of tables here is the envy of every restaurateur.

Guu Izakaya IS busy, expect line-ups, no reservations are accepted and unfortunately for the well-connected here in TO who like to jump lines….you’ll have to wait your turn – Guu Izakaya sticks with its “first come, first serve” list at the reception. I’ve been to Guu Izakaya twice: the first time I was seated immediately and the second time I waited for an hour. I was a little miffed to have to wait (plus I was starving that day) but this place IS worth the wait. Arrive early (5pm) or tolerate the line-up.

Guu Izakaya is the funnest place I’ve ever eaten in my life: every single patron is greeted by the entire staff upon walking in and being led to your seats by the hostess. There are some smaller tables for two or four but in all likeliness you will be seated among strangers. I like this communal concept of dining and if you’re unfamiliar with the Japanese and pan-Asian dishes served at Guu Izakaya, you have friendly assistance right at your table.

Guu Izakaya’s menu is made up of appetizers (small bites) that span across Asia with Japanese and a little Korean thrown in (bibimbap). If an Izakaya in Japan is a drinking stop for businessmen with some small appetizers to accompany the booze then the Toronto take on Izakaya is more about the appetizers and there’s your usual Japanese beer on draught, bottles, sake, shochu and exotic cocktails. People come to Guu Izakaya to eat, share, sample and order more until the budget goes bust or the belly is about to burst from this gastronomic orgy.

The menu will include the specials of the day, salads, fried and grilled foods, items with raw fish and seafood and even some dishes that are borderline “Fear Factor” material. I’m game, I tried the more conservative Miso Soup and went as far as trying  pork intestines. You only live once, I’ll try any (almost) food for once and I can’t think of a better place to drop $150 (for two + drinks) at Guu Izakaya. Are you ready for the gastronomic orgy?

First up, order a beer…this Sapporo draught (at just under $5) is ice cold and fresh as I’m sure “Izakaya” goes through a few kegs a night.

I ordered something familiar, something comforting and a menu item that I have had before…Miso Soup. It was hot, little pieces of diced tofu floated in the broth and a hint of smoke rolled down my throat as I sipped the soup on this cool autumn night.

How about some deep-fried oysters? We have them fried with three different accompaniments (wedge of lemon, pink tarter sauce and tonkatsu sauce).

I knew we would be eating alot of proteins, so salad would have to be thrown into the mix. Here, we have a marinated salad with daikon radish served on shredded lettuce with a mild sesame dressing.

Here comes some meat! I really liked this seared beef (well marbled) carpaccio with a wasabe mayo.

This next dish was okay, I liked it but it’s not something I haven’t had before: a shrimp and avocado salad in a timbale form.

I saw that they had sea urchin on the menu. The plump sea urchin you see here is from British Columbia (Pacific Ocean) and although not cheap, it was worth the splurge.

I’ll stick with the seafood theme, I thinking of all the seafood I enjoyed in Greece and Greek cuisine celebrates using octopus. Three cheers to Izakaya for these fried octopus balls. Upon biting into these you get a creamy texture of cheese and octopus puree along with what is no doubt an octopus tentacle inside. Score!

Here’s a little riff on fish (no chips) & more of that yummy pink tartat sauce. The fish used here was black cod. A little fishy and perhaps the skin should have been removed.

Let’s hit up some more meat…this skewer pork belly had juicy pork and a not too decadent of an amount of fat that was glistening with a sweet and savory sauce.

Doesn’t this dish look pretty? Guess what it is? We have a stir-fry of pork intestines with sweet and spicy sauce. This tasted good but it tasted like pure pork fat. I found it very rich and this portion is definitely for sharing (a couple of pieces each).

Staying with the spicy and sweet theme, here we have a stir-fry of calamari tentacles. I like this kind of heat but it’s not for everybody. At this point, order another ice cold Sapporo.This dish was a pleasant surpirse: BBQ eel with some mushroom rice and topped with a gooey cheese. I love the natural smokyness of eel.

The next dish was a grilled pork cheek, the sauce was savory, you knew it was pork and although no surprises here, it was good to taste something familiar and the pork was indeed juicy.

This next dish was my favourite of all the savory appetizers. Get this: bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms and scallops grilled and finished with a soy-based sauce. I could have eaten two more of these portions.

What I’ve shared above are dishes from two visits….anyone wanna come with me on the third visit? I always leave room for dessert and if you want something small but something that will still satisfy your dessert craving, then try this almond tofu. Don’t let the word tofu turn you off here. This was like an almond panna cotta….delightful. I slowly ate this one.

The next dessert is a showstopper and it’s as good as it sounds: tempura battered and fried banana with mango and chocolate sauces and a scoop of coconut ice cream in the middle. I had this dessert on both visits.

Finally, the bill arrives and every customer gets a couple of these frozen grapes to suck and and slowly swallow as you figure out how much to tip. Just like when I entered Guu Izakaya (greeted by all the staff), I am seen out the door with a friendly wave and thank you from all the staff in the joint. Guu Izakaya is service oriented, it’s fun and it’s definitely about the food!

Guu Izakaya
398 Church St., Toronto
416-977-0999

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