Restaurants
Guu Izakaya
Guu Izakaya is the first Toronto outpost of the popular Guu group of restaurants from Vancouver. It's located in an otherwise unassuming strip mall on Church Street, though the striking design and warm atmosphere give it a distinctively cool vibe once inside.
The izakaya concept is simple - small plates, raucous staff, plenty of booze - and Guu Izakaya gets it all right. The menu ranges from classic Japanese dishes to more modern offerings, with prices starting at $4 for appetizers and ranging to $9-10 for some of the more substantial dishes. For truly adventurous eaters, they even offer one dish with natto, a Japanese delicacy made of gooey fermented soybeans that, to my unrefined western palate, smells like old gym socks and tastes only marginally better.
I went down on a Monday night with a few friends to check it out, and as soon as we walked in the door we were greeted with enthusiastic shouts from the kitchen staff and servers. The atmosphere is lively - you might even go so far as to say "rowdy" - and the menu encourages more liveliness with a good selection of sake and shochu (sake's evil distilled cousin), and cheap mugs of Sapporo (regularly $5, on for $3 during their grand opening promotion).
We had no problem getting a table when we arrived at 6:00pm, though the place soon filled up to capacity shortly thereafter.
The best way to experience the food is to go with a few friends and order a bunch of dishes as most of them are designed for easy sharing. We started with some maguro tataki ($7), a plate of lightly seared tuna served with ponzu sauce and crispy fried garlic chips. The textural contrast between the smooth, buttery tuna and lightly crispy garlic chips made for a top-notch dish that disappeared from the table in short order.
The ikapiri ($6) is a plate of deep-fried squid with spicy mayonnaise, which was well cooked with a satisfying spiciness that provided a good excuse to order more beer.
Next up we tried the karubi ($7), garlic short ribs served with a green onion sauce for dipping. The ribs were well seasoned with a bit of sweetness, but didn't quite stack up to the two previous dishes.
Chazuke ($6) is a traditional Japanese dish made with rice and a simple kombu dashi broth, served with a rotating selection of toppings. The topping of the day was salmon when we visited, and the dish had a nice clean seafood flavour that was the most "traditionally Japanese" of the dishes we tried. Unfortunately, there were a few tiny, dagger-sharp salmon bones in my bowl, which made eating it a bit of a chore.
The most filling item we tried was the buta kimchi bibimbap ($8.50), a big helping of rice, pork and kimchi served in a sizzling hot stone bowl with a raw egg yolk on top. Our server gave us about two seconds to admire the presentation before digging in and mixing it all together into a big, delicious mess. When asked for his opinion on it, my otherwise articulate friend paused just long enough to mutter "good" before inhaling the rest of the bowl.
Finally, we tried the yakiudon ($8), a plate of panfried udon noodles and beef with green onions and a tasty, umami-filled sauce.
Overall the individual plates are affordably priced, though if you plan on filling up on some of the more exotic dishes, it could turn into an expensive meal.
The kitchen sent over some complimentary frozen grapes to finish things off as we were heading out, which was a nice touch. The service was very friendly throughout the evening, though things got a bit hectic as the place filled up. It's tough to fault them for that though, as the chaotic energy is all part of the charm.
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I'm Japanese and lived in Vancouver pretty much all my life and I moved to Toronto this year.
I'm excited that part of my 'home' is here now in Toronto. Makes this city even better!
Cheers!
JasonM on December 23, 2009 at 6:44 PM , replying to a comment from Mad Max
"Yes, Japanese people like Korean and Chinese food, too. Hence you'll find those types of dishes at many Japanese restaurants. D'uh.
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Japanese people like McDonald's and KFC, too, so, how come it's not on the menu here?
Because you can get that garbage Western food from those respective fast food joints! What is the point of your question? The restaurant services Japanese cuisine, which has been historically and culturally influenced and has influenced Chinese and Korean cuisine. Thats why its there too!
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Mad Max
You are an ignorant bigot who needs some serious schooling.
"The restaurant services Japanese cuisine, which has been historically and culturally influenced...[by] Korean cuisine."
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Now, I know you're full of it, and you have no idea what you're talking about. You need to seriously read up on Japanese and Korean history.
Now, I understand what Mad Max's point was. It's particularly evident here as no one seems to acknowledge the fact that Japanese, Chinese, and Korean cultures are distinct. This type of attitude is disrespectful.
This is the real deal. Can you get better Japanese? Sure, go to Kaji and spend four times as much (and yet... worth it). If you know, or want to know, what an 'izakaya' is (think tapas, think pub) go here. Until now, the only other 'izakaya' I'd recommend is Ema-tei... but not without reservations. Guu is cheaper, louder, livelier and the food is at least as good. Maybe $50/per at most.
Spoke briefly with the manager. Very nice guy. He and much of the staff have been sent from Vancouver, where the other Guu are. He spent most of our time there slaving in the open kitchen. Details like that make a restaurant work.
As for the spew about how authentic this is? I lived in Japan for three years and was happy with Guu, but I'm just a pale-face. My wife thought it was authentic: she lived in Japan for... twenty-eight years.
It's funny, for example how the reviewer calls the grapes a nice touch - and if you're in a good mood I'm sure they would be.
They felt like more of an insulting attempt at a dessert treat after what could be best described as a train wreck of a visit to Guu in Vancouver this past summer - half the menu being sold out, staff being generally unhelpful in suggesting alternatives, and assorted other lesser calamities that built up into an evening that was only fun because of the company.
I'll grant that the rowdy staff made things amusing despite the food angle being off that night. And let's ignore pricing - admittedly hard to do if you just got off a flight from seemingly anywhere in Asia where you can get just as good or better for a seventh the price! :P
Kalbi and bibimbap? Why would you order that when reviewing an izakaya, which is a rarity in Toronto?
I want to know what makes this an izakaya, exactly. Is it the shochu, the hot towels, or what?
If you want to know what an izakaya is, Google it, or spend some time in Japan, better. If you want to criticize the authenticity or prices, knock yourself out. From what I can tell, the people on this thread who like it are the only ones who sound like they have any idea what they are talking about. If you didn't like it, or don't like the sound of it, stay home killjoy.
As for vegetarians, go to a vegetarian restaurant and stop pissing in our soup. I respect your choice, but it's not my problem, nor the non-vegetarian restaurant's. If they have accommodated you on the menu, that's because they thought it made good business sense. If they didn't, they don't. Stop whinging and find a place that accommodates you, rather than creating a scene in front of your long-suffering friends and waitstaff every time you go out. Do you need attention that badly?
Happy Holidays!
I went with a big group of friends, and we had an AMAZING time. We just ordered a bunch of random items off the menu and tried everything. The tuna was amazing, the oysters were great, and the beef tongue was exotic but tasty. I highly recommend going here in a big group, and being adventurous in what you order.
It was also SUPER loud, as the whole staff greet you when you walk in. Definitely a unique experience.
Living in Japan at the moment. Thanks though.
Besides the food, which was very good, Guu succeeded in capturing the "vibe" of a real izakaya. And that in some ways might be even harder than getting the food right. That's much closer to how real Japanese people eat and socialize. Until very recently in this city, it was almost sushi or nothing. With the opening of the downtown Kenzo ramen location, and now Guu, the Japanese food scene in Toronto is starting at least, to gain a bit of much needed diversity. A gyu-don shop would be a great addition, but we might still have to wait for that. I wish Guu all the best, and I fully intend to head down there on a pretty regular basis from now on.
Went on a Tuesday night around 9:30, waiting list, didn't get seated till 10pm, with a 2 hour seating limit, it was perfect timing since they closed at 12. we had a table of 4
the lighting was really nice, cozy and warm. Staff is enthusiastic and extremely vocal....i don't even know how their voices and keep up with all the yelling and screaming that they are CONSTANTLY doing haha but kudos to them for having voices of steel.
now...the FOOD.
I don't recommend going to this place on an EMPTY stomach, oh god, bad choice on my part...the tapas are quite pricey considering the portions you receive are very small, and being that it was our first time there we did share our tiny portion out to our friends....my boyfriend and I only got one bite out of our $7 dish...it was a little heart breaking but it was all for the experience..beh...
at the end of the night between me and my boyfriend we spent $50ish with no alcohol. still really hungry we refrained from ordering anymore knowing it was going to break the bank.
another thing i'd like to point out was although the food was good, i wasn't really impressed, we ordered the beef and tuna takaki and both were soaked in onions more onions and garlic. I was really sad knowing that this little expensive dish was mainly onions...although i do love onions and garlic, i was hoping to taste the fish and beef.
my favorite dishes of the night was the eel on rice and takoyaki. everything else we ordered were drenched with...yet again onions and garlic!
anyways, I'm not sure if i'll go back to Guu mainly because it's just a good place to have drinks ( in my opinion )
the food was so-so and definitely not worth its money to me.
And yes, I'm actually one of those people. We arrived at Guu at 4:45 and waited 15 minutes for the doors to open (note - opening hours have since changed to 5:30, apparently), at which point just about everyone waiting got a table. I recommend a similar approach to anyone belonging to the anti-parking lot crowd.
As for the food? It's all right I guess, though I found several dishes to be on the salty side. I lived in Japan for 5 years and my wife is Japanese, and unlike message board warrior dabidzi above, neither of us were particularly impressed.
(Koyoi, about 15 minutes away on foot, is much less unassuming and the food considerably better - too bad they never change the menu, but that's a story for another time. The food at Guu isn't horrible, but the 25/30 score it received in Zagat is plain shocking. Some things in life simply don't make any sense.)
Anyway. I digress.
The service at Guu? Nice enough, except for that sticky 2-hour limit. Amazing, what we Torontonians will endure in the name of cool. We were slow to get served at first and even slower to get our initial order (everyone having arrived at the same time, it was understandable). But there came the server at 6:31pm to take our "last order", with a smile. Good times!
Without attempting to, uh, "piss in your soup", Guu is not where you want to be spending your valuable time, folks. There is *so* much choice now in Toronto: a beautiful thing! Even 25 staff members bleating "irasshaimase~~~" at once is patently ridiculous, a clown show that doesn't exist anywhere except in silly Canadian izakaya chains. In an ironic twist, the antics meant that our 7pm "deadline" couldn't come fast enough. An indisputable annoyance? Or merely clever tactics?
My advice? Find an izakaya in Toronto that values your business, and prioritizes food & quality over schtick & expedience. And for crying out loud, take your time! Even more than 2 hours, if you want. You deserve it.