Guu Izakaya
398 Church Street (just south of Carlton)
Toronto, ON
416-977-0999
www.guu-izakaya.com
I had the fortune of experiencing Guu first hand at its “soft” opening today, just a mere couple days before its official grand opening.
The izakaya chain hailing from Vancouver made its way to the eastern part of the country where a budding Korean entrepreneur decided to make his mark. And that he did. Importing two of the main chefs from Vancouver, this Guu has all right stuff in making a mark of its own in the ever-so competitive Toronto restaurant market.
As soon as I entered the thick, wooden, door, I was taken aback at how busy the place was. With waiters running about filling orders, customers in the aisles waiting, talking amongst themselves, and mingling, it was as if the place had been open for months. The front line at the kitchen was bustling with chefs pouring out small appetizer portioned dishes all the while exercising their vocal chords by confirming menu orders and welcoming customers as they enter the door.
It is by far the liveliest Japanese restaurant in Toronto.
I quickly seated myself with the rest of my party at the communal table that’s no longer than about 15ft. Taking a look at their menu, ordered in perfect square sections, the dishes were well explained in english, along with their Japanese titles. So many to choose from, I didn’t know where to start!
I noticed their selection of sake was quite extensive ranging from a couple dollars per glass, all the way up to $11 per glass. Their cocktails were also something of interest with some traditional Japanese flavourings like Calpico, and even melon juice. Just for kicks, we had to order the Guu original Ramune (Japanese soda, at $3), which turned out to be slightly less sweeter than the other brand. Note to self, must get one of the cocktails the next visit.
Our table of five ordered so many things it was too much to write down. There were still a lot of things that we had to wait to try out on our next visit. Small dishes ranging from gindara (miso-flavoured cod, at $9.50), agedashi (deep fried tofu), oysters with spinach and cheese, kimchi udon, bibimbap, beef carpaccio, karaage (deep fried chicken with mustard-mayo sauce), okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake), takoyaki (bite-sized octopus balls), amaebi (sweet shrimp), black sesame ice cream, banana tempura (lightly battered deep fried bananas), and so much more, were ordered, savored, and devoured by all.
I have to say, it’s a very refreshing restaurant that is a great welcome to Toronto. With tonnes of tapas, dim sum, and wine bars in Toronto, I often wondered why it took so long for a Japanese izakaya to come here. I suspected it was because of the usual: not enough demand. Although this may have been the case before, I believe the Toronto restaurant landscape is slowly changing, and is becoming more welcoming to new and creative places. With more people willing to try new types of food, and with all the hype of healthy eating, this place has definitely made its mark, even before the grand opening.
You can bet I’ll be coming back here plenty of times. And knowing that they hope to expand their menu in the future to include more traditional izakaya fare, I can see myself liking this place a lot.
If you ever want to try a Japanese restaurant that doesn’t serve the typical westernized sushi rolls, pizzas, and chicken teriyaki bentos, Guu is definitely worth your visit.
Moderately priced, excellent flavouring, and with some of the most attentive waiters around, Guu is easily one of the most exciting Japanese restaurants to come to Toronto. Highly recommended.
Tagged: delicious, food, Guu, izakaya, Japanese, restaurant, toronto, vancouver
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2 Comments
I was thrilled to read online months ago Guu was coming to Toronto. Having lived in Vancouver for 7 years Gyoza King, Hapa Izakaya and Guu were places I loved and frequented once a week. When I called to see if they took reservations I was told no (as per usual) So we arrived early and sat in the car from 4:20. We watched car after car pull up and park on the street, but no one was getting out. And then at 4:55 like clockwork the car doors flung open and out tromped a heard of 40 diners, a sight I have never seen in Toronto. We were the first in line and last to be seated for some reason but who cares we were there and good eats were on the horizon.
We were presented the menus and clearly told we had a two hour limit, no problem right? WRONG!
We ordered a good bottle of sake and tea. We didn’t receive our tea until 5:35 and by the time our first item of food arrived if was 5:45 Surely they would take the slow start into account. But just to be safe I got up and asked the manager if we needed to really rush because of the two hour limit? “we want to respect your time limit but its kind of hard since we started so late” I said. He replied “don’t worry we never gonna kick our customers out” bowing profusely and smiling. I congratulated him and his team for finally bringing a proper izakaya to Toronto and told him how thrilled we were to be here and thanked him for his understanding. At this point there is a 60 person line up inside the restaurant that snakes its way between tables all the way back to the washrooms. Btw Im sure the fire Marshall will fix the overcrowding problem
By this time we were speaking to a single diner next to us sharing plates and having a great time. At 6:45 we asked our waitress for two more orders of black cod. “No I’m sorry your time is up!” “Im sorry there must be some kind of misunderstanding, I spoke with the manger about it” said I. So I went back to the manager and explained the waitress was kicking us out. His reply “well did you get everything you ordered?” Mine was “Well yes we did but we didn’t know we only had one shot at it but besides you knew we started late and we agreed we got our first item at 5:45. So what’s the problem”?
Now here where it goes really pear shaped. At 6:40 He walks us to the table looks at the start time on the bill and concludes “ITS TIME TO GO!” Bows and smiles. We have half of our $60 bottle of sake and a full beer on the table and now we are getting kicked out? I implored him. My wife implored him. The lady next to us implored him with “please you don’t understand they are having a great time here, they love it here, your making a mistake” I explained you cant kick customers out mid meal. I eventually told him he was being greedy and he should take care of the customers he has before accepting new ones.
This is now when I raise my voice and get everyone attention including one drunk Japanese guy who is all too eager to stick up for his brethren. Now he’s yelling at me across the table. My wife is speechless thinking “can this be happening are we getting kicked out of a restaurant”??? I regret paying the bill including the sake we weren’t allow to finish. And then we were flanked out the door like some unruly customer that had been violent. I cant recall ever being so humiliated or wronged in my life.
If you were there, yes I did raise my voice and so would you if you were in that situation. If the disruption ruined your dinner I know how you feel. I am genuinely sorry for my contribution but I have never been evicted from a restaurant mid meal before and I doubt neither have you.
For me this was an especially painful slap in the face because I have proudly worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years. So when we go out for dinner (which is far too much and never enough) Its rare for me not to know someone I have worked at some point and consider family(those in the industry will know what I mean by this) But this time you disgraced the industry I love. You cheated and abused the patronage of one of you own, one of the best potential customers you could wish for. I congratulated you sincerely from the heart. I tried to respect your rules when many wouldn’t bother. Then you kick my wife and I out on OUR ANNIVERSARY!
I wont forget, and I will tell EVERYONE what greedy bastards you are.
Dude, give it a rest.
Guu was very good. Sure, we had to wait outside for an hour or so, but the entire night was a very good experience.
If you don’t like Guu, good. The wait will be shorter!