647 748 0222  |   $16-55 Sushi, $7-18 Bistro

By all indications, the people behind Guu can do no wrong in this city. The first location (Izakaya) is still ultra-frequented, the second location (Sakabar) appears successful, and their recent foray into ramen (Kinton) is a prime contender for the best and busiest noodle joint in the city. All this said, their most recent opening is easily the riskiest concept. Naturally, I was eager to try. Here are my thoughts.

Food

I’ll open by saying that the restaurant is still in soft opening, but has been serving for about a month now. The soft opening menu is split into two main parts: premium sashimi + sushi and ‘bistro’ fare. You could call one part the ‘ja’ and the other the ‘bistro’. We went for a couple items from either side.

The first two items delivered were our bistro items. The salmon pie with mushroom and oyster sauce and prawn bisque (above) was our first bite. The bisque/sauce combo was flavourful and the pastry had the flaky quality you look for, but the salmon interior fell flat. Not much flavour, the fish was definitely overcooked and came in awkwardly large chunks. 

The other dish was nanban battered chicken (above) with tartar sauce, some sort of broth at the bottom and a slaw over top. From a taste perspective, this dish was addictive, provided you like a good tartar sauce. The juicy chicken was smothered in it, and on any given bite you were guaranteed flavourful moisture. My issue is that the best part of fried chicken, the crispy exterior, was unfortunately soggy. Sitting fried chicken in broth and pouring tartar sauce over top is a combination I’d recommend revising.

About a minute after our bistro dishes came to the table, both sushi items arrived. The tiger shrimp or ebi, was delicious and the most unique thing I tasted during the meal. The shrimp came topped with a sauce that I can only describe as bechamel and reminded me (quite fondly) of a savoury breakfast.  

Our other sushi dish was a torched mackerel topped with a jam/chutney of sorts that I couldn’t identify. The fish was fresh, tender, and flavourful (as mackerel usually is) and each bite made me want another.

To finish, we went with the nashi, a warm pear pie with ice cream and some berries. The pie was well-executed, had the perfect level of sweetness, and was pleasant with the pairings on the plate. I’d also say this was probably the most successful bistro-style dish of the night, but also decidedly unambitious.

Service and Ambience

From an interior design perspective, this is a beautiful space. It seems every Guu offshoot has a keen eye for what makes a comfortable yet premium atmosphere and I think the fairly large space, with open-concept sushi bar, accomplishes this with ease.

Image credit: Jabistro Website

From a service perspective, we had a few bumps over the course of the night.

• Felt a bit rushed when ordering, despite a half-full dining room
• All dishes arriving at once didn’t make sense and again rushed us to eat before everything got cold
• Ended up with $10 overcharge on a dish (corrected promptly though)

The Reco?

I’m positive you’ll really like this place if you come for sushi and sashimi, but this idea of incorporating a bistro theme is loose at best and definitely the weaker part of the menu today. While ambitious as a concept, the menus feels disjointed and the overall experience a little confused. For these reasons, I can’t say I’ll be back.

Other Reviews? 
 blogTO     |      Post City

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 3, 2012

416 551 6362   |   $3-$12 lunch rolls, $9-$19 boxes

I’ve eaten a lot on Baldwin Street. Having tried almost every spot of interest, you start wondering about places of no interest at all.

My coworkers and I have consistently walked past ND for one reason: the sign yells everything but “we have excellent Japanese cuisine!”. We’d walk down the street to Etsu for our sushi fix, completely ignorant of the quality that lay right before our eyes. Thankfully, I came across blogTO’s very positive write up and decided to walk in one afternoon for lunch. See how it went…

Photo Credit: blogTO

Food

We just popped in for lunch, so I’ll call this a mini-review since I’m sure their dinner options are more ambitious. 

The lunch menu itself won’t wow you with anything really different; a few apps, udon dishes, bento boxes and rolls are you options. The difference comes in the quality of what arrives at your table.

I know it’s silly, but I’ll start with edamame. Most of us enjoy these absent-mindedly, but I’d swear these were ‘fresher’ than usual. Couldn’t really tell you why or how, but they just were.

After having polished off all the beans, the mains arrived. The first order was a vegetarian box with crispy agedashi tofu, veggie-filled maki, and a great seaweed salad. The presentation was meticulous (shards of nori over the tofu) and all the elements on the plate were beautifully executed. I’m usually not a huge tofu fan, but the textural contrast was dead-on.

Next up was a spicy salmon roll with avocado, crispy tempura bits, and scallion. I’m guessing you’ve had your fare share of of spicy salmon rolls, but here are the little details that shine: the rice falls apart when it hits your mouth, the salmon melts, and you can actually pick out the flavour of the scallions. It’s still just a spicy salmon roll, but I can’t imagine it being done much better.

I decided to go a bit more ambitious for my main and went for the Spicy Rainbow roll. The layering of tuna, salmon, and butter fish with tempura prawn, and avocado running through it called my name on the menu. I put the first one in my mouth with a nice chunk of ginger and it was delicious. 

The heat comes from spicy oil drizzled atop that builds as you make your way through the roll. Without the ginger to contrast, I think it overpowered the fresh fish a bit. That said, the textures are excellent throughout and the portion size was also good for a $12 roll.

Service and Ambience

The room itself is pretty bare bones and is surely not meant to be the focus of the experience here. It’s also pretty evident because there are rarely large groups of people inside. With some more positive reviews and a new sign, I could see this place picking up many more loyal customers.

Photo Credit: blogTO

Our server was very pleasant and ensured our water glasses were filled throughout lunch. Unfortunately, it was necessary because (1) there’s no A/C and (2) it took about 30 minutes for the food to come out of the kitchen in a pretty empty restaurant. You can tell your food is made to order, but I wonder if there’s any more than one chef in the kitchen.

The Reco?

I struggled between 2.5 and 3 stars on this, but I think it’s important to promote excellent food even in the presence of some negatives during the service. I used to call Etsu the best sushi on Baldwin, but I’m comfortable crowning ND as the new champ. I’ll be back.

Other reviews:
 blogTO

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited June 20, 2012

416-492 5292    |    Ton of variety, can eat cheap or not

If you’ve ever been to Guu Izayaka, you’ve wished there was more than two locations in the TO area (wish I’d had this blog when I ate there). No one’s really come up with something as potentially captivating, until Don Don came along with promises of awesome izayaka. Was it? Keep reading to find out.

Food

No it wasn’t. See you didn’t have to wait that long (I know, you saw the 1.5 stars already).

I dropped by for the lunch menu, which is decidedly simpler than the dinner offering. That said, I think the uneven execution speaks for itself. There are noodle dishes, bento boxes, a variety of less conventional apps, and of course sushi/maki. 

We started with the black croquettes (above), who’s inviting name I couldn’t pass up. The aesthetic was interesting, with squid ink used to create the darkness but the promise of shrimp and cod roe was a lie. It’s essentially a creamy potato popper. It’s also pretty poor value given the size of the croquettes and the $7 price tag.

Also gave the yakitori (skewered food) a chance and again was disappointed. From left to right (above), you’ve got mediocre chicken, chewy pork something, boring eggs, and two bacon wrapped options (mushroom and asparagus) neither of which were creative, hot, or ultimately satisfying. 

The seafood stir-fried noodle dish was actually good for the most part. All the bonito flakes on top moved like living things, the noodle texture was nice and starchy and the majority of the seafood was grilled tender (calamari included, some other pieces not so much).

Then came the spicy bento box again with spicy noodles (yum again), the usual rice, breaded chicken, and salad. BUT, here’s my enormous warning: watch out for the kimchi. I’m not promising yours will be the same, but ours was gross. Heavy-handed vinegar and this strange rotten taste that I can’t describe. All I know is I couldn’t shake it for the rest of the day. Just can’t serve that. 

We ended with a fresh sushi platter that was visually very appealing and mostly delivered with a clean array of fish covered orbs. If you’re going to eat anything here for lunch, just go with noodles or sushi.

Also, if you’re just coming for the sake, ignore this review. We didn’t delve into that world, but apparently the selection is extensive.

Service and Ambience

One thing Don Don got right was the look. It’s a well-decorated spot lined with sake and packed full of things that look authentic to uninformed Torontonians. If Guu had a lot more space, it’d probably look something like this place. I’d say the lunch menu needs a lot of work from a design perspective and looks like an afterthought.

The staff is cheery and evidently plentiful as you walk in to the traditionally vocal chorus greeting from all the staff. There’s a big drum (above) that also adds some novelty to the experience. From a service perspective, the food arrived somewhat slowly given the empty tables surrounding us, but our waitress was kind and happy to help whenever we needed her. 

The Reco?

It’s one thing to offer underwhelming food, but it’s another to serve something that tastes inedible. I can’t forgive that, thus the harsh rating. On the plus, the environment is fun, the look is down pat, and the dinner menu may have some gems. Unfortunately, I won’t be returning or recommending that others do the same.

Other reviews:
  Amy’s Food Adventures    |       dine.TO

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Feb 21, 2012

416-599-4200    |    45 Baldwin St.

No website that I can find for menu details and haven’t sampled anything other than the sushi here (well, unless sake counts) so I’ll go with a mini review here.

Food

I’ve had a bunch of sushi at this spot before and always come away very happy with the value here. It’s not super cheap, but very reasonable for above average Japanese and Korean. I’ve heard good things about the Korean dishes, but since all I’ve had is the sushi, I’ll focus on the three rolls we sampled today.

The two featured above are the caterpillar (no need to point it out) and Rick’s Roll. These are two favourites on the special roll menu. Each is around $10, quite big, and are delicious. The caterpillar has BBQ eel (unagi) inside with creamy avocado layered on top with some garnish and sauce to make it look like it’s animal relative. Could use more eel given the size.

The Rick’s Roll has - I’m probably gonna mess this up since there’s no website to double check - tempura shrimp, softchell crab, and tobiko with a variety of toppings and a distinct ginger finish. This was the table favourite. Had the spider roll as well, but that fell a little flat.

Of course, topped it off with an 8oz bottle of sake between the three of us for really cheap as well.

Service and Ambience

Warm and pleasant servers with frequent refills of the tea/water always appreciated. Also spoke to the owner as we were heading out and he let us know there’d be a new Taylor roll (his name’s Taylor) with different preparations of prawn. Good to know. 

The inside is long and narrow but the tables are very spacious and the chairs are quite comfortable. Also large prints of Taylor’s unique photography grace the walls and add some quirky character to the joint.

The Reco?

Easily the best place on Baldwin for sushi and probably the best in the general area before you hit Chinatown. Will continue to come back here for sushi lunch and recommend the same to you should you be in the area. Cheers.

Other reviews:
 blogTO  |     Toronto Life    |   Sushi Toronto

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Nov 23, 2011

416-205-9808    |    $10-25 entrees

Walked by Yuzu a few times at Adelaide and Duncan (just beside Crocodile Rock). Was a little concerned it might be one of those pseudo-upscale sushi places with disappointing food, but luckily gave it a shot for lunch.

Food

Wasn’t entirely in the mood for sushi/maki and was freezing my ass off coming in from the rain. Also found the lunch specials a little pricey and opted for a bowl of Nabeyaki Udon. I didn’t know what Nabeyaki meant.

The dish is described as a noodle soup with ‘shrimp tempura, egg, and vegetables served in hot pot’. I’ll say now that it was woefully under-described. So now I’ll over-describe its contents to compensate.

Came with mussels, flavourful pieces of whitefish, a few scallops, Japanese mushrooms, tofu, nori, tender leeks and cucumber slides, a perfect over easy egg and a large piece of tasty tempura shrimp on top. All these elements created a captivating broth that smelled and tasted wonderful. Accompanied by thick, hearty square-cut udon, this soup hit the spot on so many levels.

My friend had the tempura udon with more battered shrimp and vegetables to accompany the soup and said that both the crunchy sides and broth were delicious.

We finished with sake cheesecake (how do you say no to this?). The sake taste is very subtle, but the impressive part of the cake is its lightness. It’s almost a panna cotta texture without the jell-o/rubbery mouth feel. Really clean and simple dessert with fresh berries.

Service and Ambience

Nothing of too much note with the service. Fast enough, no mistakes, good tea refills.

Photo Credit: Toronto Life

The room looked great with hundreds of backlit sake bottles around that add character to the place. A lot of exposed break and well-positioned lighting probably makes this a good looking spot when the sun goes down as well.

The Reco?

I can’t comment on the actual rolls (other reviews have and loved them), but if the chefs apply the same care as they did with my dishes, I’d absolutely recommend Yuzu as an excellent choice for Japanese downtown.

Other reviews:
Sushi Toronto    |   Toronto Life  |    dine.TO

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Oct 26, 2011

What happens when you ask all your friends if they’ve eaten anywhere awesome recently? Tried on Facebook last night. People come out of the woodwork. See below for their answers:

• “Marben…brilliant. i’ve been there a bunch of times, and the gnocchi stands out to me—super pillowy soft, ‘cause they make ‘em fresh and without a lot of flour. i also got the marben burger, which isn’t too bad.”

• “other places of note: the black hoof, woodlot and the stockyards if you haven’t been there already.”

• “YES! Gal’s Sushi in unionville. Awesome-ly fresh and they add interesting things to the meals.”

• “Terroni’s grill menu is awesome”

• “black hoof is a wild scene, man. their charcuterie board included horse, duck tongue and other assorted meats. sweetbreads are good, too.”

• “Ed’s Real Scoop has some of the best ice cream flavours in the city.”

• “Snakes and Lattes is also an incredible experience, though the food is very simple (but tasty! - I love their milkshakes..)”

And saved my favourite comment that ended the thread:

• “the ultimate goal is frog sashimi somewhere in the depths of tokyo, where they serve a still-beating heart to you on a plate while they prepare the rest of the animal for you. those who finish one of these meals gets a photo on the wall. see you there!”

 Posted by: Jacob, Oct 14, 2011

416-599-3868    |    A la carte small dishes $2.50-6.50 for sushi bar

I’ll make this a mini review since we didn’t really sample the menu, only had the sushi bar so that’s what the review focuses on.

Service and Ambience

Starting off here first because the big feature of the place is a conveyor-like sushi delivery system around the bar. Seen it in movies, but this one has floating sushi boats on a circular-flowing river. Definitely gets cool points.

It’s also a good option for a quick lunch if you’re looking to power through your meal. Each dish off the boat is priced in relation to it’s colour/design, so it’s easy to see what you’re racking up. Your total gets tallied at the end based on your plate stack.

Service is very polite and speedier than you average Japanese restaurant. Quick on the waters and the mess clearing.

Food

Didn’t have anything exotic, but the maki and sashimi options were plentiful and fresh. Good ratios of filling and topping to rice. Also had a pricier 6.50 plate with two pieces of wagyu beef (wouldn’t expect it to be kobe) that was very tender.

On flavour, nothing stood out in particular. A spicy crab roll was nice as was an avocado and mango mix. Other more mild fishes were definitely tender but it was all about texture. Found this with many of the plates.

The one beef I have is that you pay for the novelty of the boat setup and variety of your selections. $30 after tax/tip on a sushi lunch yielded about 12ish pieces.

I felt a little jipped given the number of very reasonably priced sushi choices downtown. The main menu’s not too bad for lunch though. I’ve heard the udon and soup dishes are really good.

The Reco?

Go here for a fun first date. The novelty is appealing and rolls are above average, but be prepared to splurge for what you’re getting at the end of the day.

Other reviews:

Couldn’t find any others.

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Oct 12, 2011