Izakaya | torontolife.com

The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com

All stories relating to izakaya

Introducing: DonDon Izakaya, downtown’s new spot for authentic Japanese bar food

A healthy strike of the taiko drum greets each customer (Image: Gizelle Lau)

When we first told you about DonDon Izakaya last summer, it was slated for an October opening, but as such things go, it wasn’t until early January that the Japanese restaurant opened quietly after nearly 10 months of renovation. Located on the second storey of an unassuming building at Bay and Dundas, DonDon took over the space once occupied by One Up Restaurant & Lounge. Despite the slightly inauspicious upstairs location, it’s already drawing customers (the big wooden entranceway probably helps), but not quite the mad lineups of its izakaya forbear, Guu—a least not yet.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

December 2, 2011 | 4:36 pm

Comments

Introducing: Enoteca Ascari 26, the new Leslieville wine bar from the people behind Table 17

(Image: Signe Lanford)

The duo behind the popular Table 17 has just opened another restaurant with a number in its name, Enoteca Ascari 26. Chef John Sinopoli and business partner Erik Joyal, at 35 and 37, respectively, already have three restaurants under their belts. During their 20s, they opened Front Street’s Izakaya (which they later sold; it’s now Le Papillon on Front). In 2008 they charmed Leslieville with Table 17, offering rustic French fare with local Ontario ingredients. Their new wine bar feels like a boy’s dream come true: a pasta restaurant named after a fallen hero, famed Italian Formula One driver Alberto Ascari.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Restauran-TO

August 11, 2011 | 5:00 pm

6 Comments

DonDon, a new downtown izakaya, to feature reservations and a chauffeur service for patrons who’ve had too much to drink

DonDon’s logo, which says “DonDon” in Japanese

The runaway success of Guu, first on Church Street and then in the Annex, highlighted a demand in Toronto for Japanese food that went beyond the ubiquitous cheap (and not-so-cheap) sushi joints. When DonDon Izakaya, a new restaurant at Dundas and Bay, opens in late October or so, it will attempt to meet some of that demand, albeit without Guu’s general boisterousness and no reservations policy. Instead, owners Tony Wong and Anthony Phang, of Sushi Time on Queen, and Kazu Maruyama, editor of the Toronto Japanese website Bits, hope to provide a quieter atmosphere and a lower price point.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

March 21, 2011 | 11:44 am

8 Comments

Introducing: Guu Sakabar, the new Annex location of Vancouver’s wildly popular Izakaya chain

Guu Sakabar’s open kitchen (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Despite rumours last week that the opening of Guu Sakabar (a.k.a. Guu 2) would be delayed due to the lack of a liquor licence, we’re happy to report that Toronto’s second Guu location opened this weekend. (Sakabar was originally set to open a couple weeks back, but was delayed due to a broken water tank). After almost a year of renovations, owner James Hyun-Soo Kim and Sakabar manager Natsuhiko Sugimoto, an eight-year veteran of Guu in Vancouver, are both eager to begin serving the Annex clientele.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Weekly Lunch Pick

February 7, 2011 | 8:28 am

6 Comments

Weekly Lunch Pick: Ematei’s unique take on the bento box

(Image: Renée Suen)

This old school, expat-filled izakaya elevates the traditional bento box ($8.50-25). Instead of generic teriyaki and tempura, our hexagonal lunch box arrives full of unique, bite-sized treats.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

January 13, 2011 | 9:04 am

Comments

Good Stuff Cheap: nine of the city’s best foods for under $6

A few bucks won’t fulfill your caviar dreams—if it does, you need to dream bigger—but it’s possible to taste the best of the city’s food for next to nothing

Inventively flavoured macaroons are perfectly pillowy treats worthy of a patisserie in Saint-Germain-des-Près. $2.10 each. Nadege, 780 Queen St. W., 416-368-2009.

Coleslaw delivers creamy crunch with a kick (even better as a topping on the pulled pork sandwich). $4. The Stockyards, 699 St. Clair Ave. W., 416-658-9666.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

January 7, 2011 | 2:42 pm

3 Comments

Second location of ever-packed Guu to open soon

The always-packed Church Street location (Image: snowpea&bokchoi)

For some time now, we’ve been crossing our fingers that a second iteration of the absurdly popular Guu would make its way to the Annex. Finally, we’ve got some solid news. James Kim, general manager of the Church Street restaurant, confirmed for us that a new Guu will indeed be taking over the former Burger King at Bloor and Bathurst. Ever-vigilant Chowhounders recently speculated that the new location would open later this month, but Kim says construction has been slower than expected. A more realistic opening date would be late February or early March. He also dished a little on what customers can expect: a bigger space (albeit without a patio), a different menu (with “some more interesting fish dishes”) and a traditional Tatami room with low tables, mats and no shoes. We’d like to think the new location might help out with the restaurant’s legendary queues, but who are we kidding?

The Dish

Opening

July 19, 2010 | 1:30 pm

4 Comments

Guu looking to take over the Annex’s defunct Burger King

The King is dead: this Annex property may be the next Guu (Image: Google)

Torontonians have been salivating over the possibility of a new location of Guu, rumoured to be located in the Annex. Well, word got out via the Compendium Daily’s Twitter feed last week that the second iteration will likely be at 559 Bloor Street West, former home of a Burger King. A quick call to Guu owner James Kim confirms it. Well, sort of: “It’s coming, but we’re still working on the paperwork for the lease and going over things with the head office. For it to be 100 per cent confirmed, it’ll take some time,” he said, to be on the safe side.

• Guu’d news? The jam-packed izakaya may be opening second location in Toronto [Toronto Life]

The Dish

Rumours & Rumblings

July 12, 2010 | 3:06 pm

5 Comments

Guu’d news? The jam-packed izakaya may be opening second location in Toronto

Toronto the Guu'd: the Church Street izakaya may be expanding (Image: Gabriel Li, from the torontolife.com Flickr pool)

Our appetite for Japanese food spiked today after hearing the rumour, via Chowhound, that Church Street’s Guu Izakaya is planning on opening a second location at Bloor and Spadina in the fall. Since the Vancouver import opened up in Toronto last December, it’s been packed to the rafters (a two-hour wait for a table is not uncommon). A new Annex counterpart would suit Guu’ casual-yet-authentic Japanese offerings, but Vancouver office manager Yoshi Negishi says they haven’t officially decided where they’re going to open a second location. “The first one is pretty good,” Negishi says. “In the future, if it’s possible, we would like to open up a second.”

The Dish

From the Print Edition

April 8, 2010 | 4:00 am

55 Comments

Best New Restaurants 2010

This time last year, the future looked awfully grim. We braced for restaurant closures and recessionary menus, but 2009 was surprising. Though we lost some good places (Perigee, Truffles, Alice’s and Gamelle, in particular), and mac-and-cheese quickly wore out its welcome, it was an exciting time to dine out. Anxious restaurateurs dropped corkage fees and slashed wine markups, while chefs cooked up imaginative prix fixe menus. It suited our mood as well as our wallets: these days, Torontonians want informality. We’re still hungry for local produce and nose-to-tail dining, chefs are once again finding inspiration in Italy and Japan, and the city is finally beginning to develop a serious cocktail culture. Most encouraging of all is the number of new restaurants opening. Here, the best of the vintage.

By James Chatto, Photographs by Brendan Meadows and Ryan Szulc, Illustrations by Jack Dylan

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Restauran-TO

February 19, 2010 | 10:02 am

7 Comments

Corey Mintz to Toronto’s Guu fans: chill out

Guu's salmon natto yukke (Photo by Jen Chan)

Corey Mintz thinks Torontonians need to get a grip—at least on our obsession with Guu, the city’s offshoot of the Vancouver-based izakaya chain that has everyone from Ryerson students to West Coast defectees lining up for hours to get a seat.

Although the Toronto Star food writer is a fan of Guu’s Japanese pub grub (fried, salty fare that’s perfect with beer), he laments that we have not been “cool” about Guu’s arrival. “We have lined up, kvetch-blogged and snapped iPhone pictures, capturing all the lustre of Nick Nolte’s mug shot… In short, we have spazzed out over Guu.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

February 6, 2010 | 11:18 am

Comments

Get a sneak peek at Toronto Life’s nine new restaurant reviews

My friend Guu's got a new review (Photo by Jen Chan)

Toronto Life’s March issue hits newsstands on Thursday, but we’ve got a preview of the nine new restaurant reviews contained therein, including ones for Guu and Hoof Café. Click on the links below to read the reviews and see how many stars the establishments earned.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Read All About It

January 8, 2010 | 10:02 am

Comments

Q&A with Guu’s chef, hangover-free alcohol, Corey Mintz’s castrated rooster

• Home chefs are increasingly turning to YouTube for cooking lessons. Eschewing the Food Network’s plucked and preening stars (except Guy Fieri, who is neither) and dishes, viewers are embracing the shaky camera angles and amateur stylings of such series as Maangchi’s Korean Cooking Show. The host, ex-Torontonian Emily Kim, has tens of thousands of subscribers, and her most popular recipe, kimchi, has been watched almost 300,000 times. Good start, Kim, but call us when you reach sneezing panda or dramatic chipmunk numbers. [Globe and Mail]

• The Star’s Corey Mintz extols the virtues of brining, which promises juicier meat and uniform seasoning. The capon—a castrated rooster prized for its tenderness—Mintz cooks for guests gets a 24-hour bath in a solution of salt, brown sugar and water, which produces a near-perfect bird. In talking about the emasculated chicken, Mintz ends the article with the observation that “we all have a tendency to get soft and juicy once we no longer have chicks on the brain.” [Toronto Star]

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

December 18, 2009 | 11:24 am

21 Comments

Just Opened: Guu Izakaya slings Japanese beer and comfort food on Church Street

Get inside: Guu's interior mixes comfort and modernity (Photo by Renée Suen)

The year 2009 was an offal one in Toronto. The success of The Black Hoof, Buca and Local Kitchen showed that are many adventurous diners left in this city. December’s most anticipated opening shares that adventurous spirit. Tonight, doors officially open at Guu Izakaya, the first Toronto location of Vancouver’s intensely popular Japanese watering hole. Will the diners that embraced the offal trend take to Guu’s fusion of Japanese flavours?

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

October 20, 2009 | 1:39 pm

12 Comments

Toronto the Guu’d: Vancouver’s popular izakaya chain lands on Church Street in December

My friend Guu's got a new debut: Osdas is overseeing the opening of the restaurant's first Toronto location (Photo by Renée Suen)

My friend Guu's got a new debut: Masaru Ogasawara is overseeing the Toronto opening (Photo by Renée Suen)

“Patience is a virtue” is an axiom that Toronto fans of izakaya have been repeating to themselves since we first reported that Guu, the west coast’s popular Japanese restaurant, would be coming to town in 2009. Recently, we met up with Masaru Ogasawara, the chef at one of the Vancouver locations (Guu in Gastown), who gave us the lowdown on the opening date (early December), the cause of the delay (the municipal strike) and the location (398 Church Street, near Carlton).

Right away, he tells us that Guu’s new home will be in a strip mall close to the Ryerson campus. The middling Sushi Plaza restaurant that once occupied the space has been gutted, leaving barren walls and ceilings, and kitchen equipment shoved into one corner. The 76-seat Guu will fill the space with long communal tables—think Salad King, but with more wood than chrome—designed by Bennett Lo, veteran of Spring Rolls. Come summertime, 20 more seats will be added on a patio.

Read the rest of this entry »

All stories relating to izakaya

Contests

Links and Offers

Most shared stories today

The latest from across the St. Joseph Media network