Kinka Izakaya North York

What a great experience it was! Took the best friend here for dinner on a Monday. We ordered the jellyfish, pork belly, baked oyster and some chopped salmon sashimi with 7 friends. Everything was amazing! Well, the chopped sashimi was meh. Maybe because we both weren’t big fans of the sticky bean. We also ordered drinks. She got her favourite drink, passion. I tried the February special drink, Green Island. They both were very tasty! The atmosphere is fun and refreshing. Always a nice place to stop by for some yummy food! The servers were helpful and so friendly. Will be back for dad’s birthday!

When boyfriend and I walked into this place, we were greeted right away by the staff. The atmosphere was loud and friendly which will make you feel happy. We ordered:
— Karaage: The chicken pieces were thick, tender, and so flavourful
— Takoyaki: It actually has a lot of octopus in it, unlike the takoyaki that you order from most ayce sushi places!
— Saba oshizushi and salmon oshizushi: I highly recommend these two dishes.
— Yaki udon: Really delicious
We definitely will be coming back and everything we ordered was delicious. The service was great. ¹⁰⁄₁₀

So I started writing this review back in Aug 2015, a week after my visit, when it was still called Guu, and forgot about it. So finishing it now…
I had been to the Church St location before and loved it, so was excited when my friend suggested we come try this location. The 3 of us came on a Sat. We didn’t have a reservation, but walked in around 8pm to see if we could get a table anyways. We were told there would be a 45min wait. We gave them our number, and they said they would text us when our table was ready, and hold the table for 10mins. Within 10mins, we were called back, so the wait wasn’t bad. We were originally told there was a 2hr seating limit when we gave them our number, but when we were being seated the hostess informed us that we only had a bit over an 1hr to eat since there was a reservation for our table afterwards. That was enough time for us, since we weren’t planning to drink, but we felt slightly hurried to order and eat, since we didn’t know how long it would take the food to come out.
It was pretty loud in there, making it hard to order. We just pointed at a few things, and hoped they got our order right. We ended up ordering 8 items. They came out 2 or 3 at a time, with about 10mins between each time they brought out food. It was a food pace, our table was never jammed packed with food.
We ordered: (in order we received)
~Salmon Tataki (Seared Atlantic Salmon Sashimi w/​Ponzu, Wasabi Mayo & Garilic Chips) [$ 7.8] — The combination of everyting went together well, it was good. Would order again
~Kurage (Marinated Jellyfish) [$ 5.5] — Like a jellyfish salad, with some sharkfin (not sure if real), cucumber, sesame, and some lettuce at the bottom. Really liked the overall texture and the lightly marinated jellyfish. Would order again.
~Ikapiri (Deep fried Calamari w/​Spicy Ketchup & Wasabi Mayo) [$ 7.5] — This was just ok, didn’t really like how the sauce made the calamari slightly soggy and kind of stick together. Might have liked it more if the sauce was on the side. Would skip this next time.
~Karaage (Deep Fried Soy Sauce Marinated Chicken w/​Garlic Mayo) [$ 7.8] — My friends loved this, very crispy and still quite juicy. Would order again.
~Brie Cheese (Deep Fried Brie Cheese w/​Mango Sauce & Berry Sauce) [$ 7.5] — My fav since I love cheese! The outside was nice and crunchy, the inside was all gooey, melt-​y, cheesy goodness. Sauce went well with it. Ordered it before at the Church location and still love it here. Definitely would order again.
~Unagi Bibimbap (Rice, BBQ Water Eel, Burdock & Egg in Sizzling Stone Bowl) [$ 11.3] — Flavour was good. Was hoping for more crispy rice bits since it was served in a sizzling stone bowl, but still good. Would order again.
~Gindara (Grilled Miso Marinated Black Cod w/​Yuzu Miso Sauce) [$ 12.8] — Ordered this before at the Church location and loved it. But this time the miso sauce was way too overpowering, and so salty. It came 10mins after our rice, and I wish I could of had some rice leftover to eat with it. The texture of the cod was grilled just right though. Hope it was a one time thing.
~Salmon Oshizushi (Blowtorched Atlantic Salmon Pressed Sushi) [$ 12.8] — This was slightly bland in flavour. Or because we got it at the same time as the cod, so it just tasted bland by comparison. Would probably try the saba oshizushi next time instead.
Service was pretty good here. Place was clean. Washrooms are well equipped, with even mouthwash and female hygiene products. This location didn’t feel as crowded as the Church location. It’s also a more convenient location, There is a $ 6 Parking at the Hallmark Centre (also where Wholefood is located) from 6pm-​6am, which is pretty reasonable is you’re not familiar with the area and don’t want to go around looking for parking. My friends and I will definitely be back to try some other items.

The food is consistent. However, the service is bad. The waiter and waitress are rude the last two time I came here.
The chicken cartilage is good, I get it every time I come here.

Had it not been for the noise (plus loud music), I’d give it a 5 — only bc my entire conversation with my guest was yelled, and my throat started to hurt mid-​sit down, as we ended up talking MORE when we left since we could hear better lol (old person status, jk). I should also start off by saying that once you’ve experienced Japanese tapas, you will crave it the next day, I guarantee it. Everything on the menu is colour-​coded so you need not get overwhelmed upon coming here if it’s your first time.
At one point I felt I had more than one server as multiple employees were helping to clear our tables, replenish our plates and bring us drinks — not that there’s anything wrong with that but I got confused as to who I was really tipping towards the end of the night.
The food was amazing! I ended up ordering, and recommend: the ebimayo-​deep fried prawn w/​spicy mayo (6 pcs), takoyaki-​how can you not know lol jk it’s deep fried octopus balls w/​tomkatsu sauce & karashi mayo (6 pcs), the yaki udon-​pan fried udon noodles w/​beef, mushrooms & scallion, karubi-​grilled salt & pepper beef short ribs w/​scallion sauce (6 pcs), the salmon oshizushi-​blowtorched atlantic salmon pressed sushi (6 pcs), hojicha brûlée-​roasted green tea crème brûlée (soooo effing YUM) and a non-​alcoholic carbonated pink lemonade drink — didn’t like the drink so much, therefore I’d recommend you try something else, maybe water or sake.
What I also like about this place is that once you place a reservation, they send you a text an hour ahead to remind you of it and you must reply with instructions to confirm your seating. If you don’t show up after 15 mins, the table is no longer held so it’s always best to confirm.
I will also add that after some time of sitting in the middle near the bar that there was quite the draft. I was wearing a turtleneck and my guest, a sweater, so not too sure where it was coming from but hopefully management fixes this if it persists.
Another amazing thing is that the women’s bathroom contains women’s sanitary napkins for emergency purposes, as well as mouthwash + plastic shot glass cups which is soo refreshing and appreciative to see =D
Anyway, I would recommend this place again as I regret not drinking alcohol or ordering the unagi bibimbap (miso disappoint!) the location is also convenient for me so I’ll take it!

I wish I could afford to eat here more often because the food is really tasty!
It is really loud in Kinka, but that’s how most izakayas are; it’s a happy-​loud environment.
We ordered Kakimayo (baked oysters), deep fried Brie cheese with mango sauce, Kaarage, Yaki Udon, amd Kinoko Bibimbap. Everything was really good, but that udon was what stood out to me the most. I would go back just to have it again. It was so rich with beef flavour and had just the slightest bit of spicy kick. Sooo good.
The Brie cheese was very interesting, it was good but I think it needed more of the mango sauce. There are only four pieces per plate and our group just inhaled everything.
Two of us got the Cherry Blossom cocktail, it was really good, but there was maybe three sips in each of our glasses. It was like they made one and then poured half into a second glass and served it. Kind of disappointing.
I think the quality of the food is the same as the original location and it being located closer to uptown is definitely a plus. Bring some fun people and you’ll definitely have a good time.

Another Guu-​like experience with Japanese Tapas.
Booking at 3 person reservation still meant sitting at the bar, but like many reviews noted, this is not a bad thing because 1) you get to see the food prepared and 2) purse hooks and 3) amazing lighting for food pics.
What we ordered:
Bamboo — cocktail off the main menu with melon liqueur and 1.5 oz alcohol. Delicious and light, but not much in terms of booze.
Chicken Karaage — fried chicken is always a keeper — juicy inside, crispy outside
Beef udon — we needed some carbs too — was ok, but not the highlight
Salmon and 7 friends — beautifully displayed, server mixes up the dish and eat with seaweed. Delicious and salmon was so fresh.
Black cod sushi — beautifully served, and yummy. Love the big portions
Grilled black cod — this came last and was sizzling off the plate. Sweet and delicate, HIGHLIGHT!
Scallop sashimi — off the daily menu. Super duper fresh, came with wasabi and soy sauce.
Baked brie — crispy and melty brie. Was a lot less interesting after it cooled down, though… so eat quickly.
Food, as always, was amazing. I’m just not a fan of the noise level — it was migraine level at some point and couldn’t have a conversation with my friends. One of us was always shouting: «…wait, WHAT??»
But will definitely come back!

Food 5
Service 4.5
The food was amazing. Everything was fresh and delicious! The only items we didn’t like we’re the sashimi salad and the Japanese hot pot, we thought they were meh. The soup didn’t stand out but it was nice to have something that wasn’t so rich in flavor but I wouldn’t order it again. The sashimi salad didn’t have much sashimi in it so that’s why we didn’t like it much. Everything else was to die for!
The service was good. They explained the menu quite well which helps if you’ve never been. We were seated at the back which we requested because we wanted a bit more privacy and something a little but more quiet as we were celebrating our anniversary, the only downside to sitting in the back was sometimes it was hard to get a servers attention.
But all in all the experience was amazing and worth the $$

Great food, it is really authentic (not your typical sushi and rolls), the quality and variety are just amazing. The bad part is noise, it is absolutely crazy — there is a lot of shouting going on between the servers and the chefs, it is very loud and just goes on non-​stop. I don’t know whether the management invented this to add «authenticity» but it is clearly a bother for everyone. It is impossible to relax or to maintain a conversation. We had an older couple sitting next to us, they were so bothered by this constant shouting that they left in the middle of the meal without finishing their food.
Next time we come there (and we will), we’ll bring ear plugs…

Brighter lighting than the other izakayas I’ve been to. Apparently all the guus have been changed to kinka izakaya. Very loud environment that may take some time to get used to if it’s your first time here!
We were a party of 3 on a Saturday night. Didn’t think we needed to make a reservation, but the place was packed and waited about an hour. That was okay, and we were seated at the bar area. I liked it actually, being able to see the food being made, which then they would hand right over to us.
The eel hot pot dish was the highlight of the evening! We also ordered karaage (fried chicken), takoyaki, tataki and a scallop dish (I forget the name). Great food and service here, despite it being so busy.
Next time, I’ll remember to make a reservation.

Guu/​Kinka is one of my favourite restaurants in the city. My girlfriends and I decided to come here for dinner on a Sunday night and it was nice not having to go all the way downtown for some of our favourite food.
The first thing we got was the salmon tataki for $ 7.80. It’s a seared Atlantic salmon sashimi with ponzu, wasabi mayo and garlic chips. Everything in this dish, including the radish garnish came together very nicely. I especially enjoyed the garlic chips!
Second on the list was 5 pieces of deep fried oysters. It was part of the daily or weekly special on a separate sheet of paper. I thought that this was quite a disappointment because I really enjoyed their other oyster dish off their regular menu. Next time, I would stick to the kakimyao which is a baked oyster with spinach, mushrooms and garlic mayo topped with cheese.
While we’re on the topic of disappointment, my drink was also a disappointment. I got a virgin cocktail — ramune mojito ($ 6). They charged $ 3.50 for just the raume so it’s already a ripoff. I paid an extra $ 2.50 for lime and mint so it was a super ripoff. For $ 6, I expected them to add some sort of extra touches to the drink to make it worth the price.
Third on the list was takoyaki ($ 5.50). There were 5 pieces of deep fried octopus balls with tonkatsu sauce and karashi mayo. This dish also tasted very standard to me.
Fourth on the list was the ikapiri which is a deep fried calamari with spicy ketchup adn wasabi mayo for $ 7.50. This was one of the first dishes I’ve ever ordered from Guu and it’s still as good as the first time I’ve ever had it. I highly recommend that this! The spicy level was just right. Even my friend who normally cannot handle any sort of spicy said it was perfect.
Fifth on the list was the yaki udon. It’s a pan fried udon noodles with beef, mushrooms and scallion for $ 9.30. Again, it tasted very standard to me. I normally enjoyed udon and this was no exception.
Lastly, we got a bibimbap. I usually go for the kinoko bibimbap because I really love the cheese in it. However, they have a new bibimbap on the menu called unagi bibimbap for $ 11.30. It was one of my favourite dishes of the night. There were small pieces of eel in the dish with burdock and egg in a stone bowl. Either bibimbap is good choice in my opinion.
I’m so glad they opened up this restaurant in North York! I’ll definitely be coming here more often for some Japanese tapas.

Very clean and modern. Great décor!
All the food was good and came out piping hot. Scallop sashimi very fresh. Beef carpaccio recommended. Pressed salmon sushi surprisingly good!
We also found the service was very friendly and efficient. Everyone was so cheery and genuinely helpful!

This guu is completely different than the other one on church. Or should I say ‘kinka izakaya.’? I’ll never get used to saying that. this one seems to be a bit bigger with much harsher lights. The ambiance is exactly the same, with the loud yelling. does anyone wonder if they’re yelling real phrases or just yelling random japanese words because they’re so tired of it? We made our reservation and it was great that they sat us as soon as it was time, even though the rest of our party wasn’t here yet (the other guu won’t do that)
The area we were in was in the back of the restaurant, where it was very hot due to the harsh + bright lighting. We also had to take off our shoes for an authentic japanese experience. Our server, Brandon, was extremely friendly and trés mignon ;) we ordered a lot of food and drinks and they were able to accommodate it all with an appropriate amount of time. The dishes I ordered were all delicious, especially the yaki udon, which was very filling and creamy. I also enjoyed the beef tataki dish, which left me wanting more. The last thing I ordered was the matcha cheesecake, which was very flavourful and creamy. All our group members had something to drink, and they were all unique and very well mixed. The cassis peach oolong (see pic) was amazingly fruity and tasted like an adult candy. it can be very dangerous especially if you order a few. I think all of us enjoyed our meals, except the calamari, which tasted a bit sour and the taste was just. off. Overall, minimal complaints for the food. «So guuuuu’d»
I didn’t like was the uncomfortable seating, with the blaring lights that eventually brought on a migraine. The only other thing is that there are no separate bills, which makes it extremely difficult to divide through when there’s a big party. we spent over 20 – 30 minutes trying to determine each person’s total with the tip/​tax that’s already included.
Another thing already mentioned in my tip– they charged the 15% gratuity after they charged the tax. which many restaurants’ ethics goes against. it’s a bit shady but whatever?

Great ambiance and mood in the restaurant! Food we ordered were takowasabi, spicy tuna tartar, $ 10 starter combo, pressed sushi, almond tofu, okonomiyaki, pork cheek and oden.
All were great though some of the dishes i had better else where. Nome has better oden, i have had better salmon pressed sushi. Pork cheek was ok salt and pepper.
Yuzu hi ball was a refreshing drink!

An uptown Guu horray! been to this location 3 times because its so much easier than going downtown. At the back corner of the Hullmark Centre it is easy to get to by subway literally right above the subway, there is also underground parking which is $ 6 or free with a $ 15 purchase from Whole Foods.
Same loud greetings as the other locations, but this one the lighting is much brighter, nice large windows leading out the patio. The wait without a reservation is not bad at all (but the only option you will get is the bar, which I actually suggest to see all the kitchen action) The longest I’ve waited in about 25 minutes, once no wait at all and seated right away. However there is a 2 hr seating time limit.
Drinks: Ruby — beer, grapefruit juice and a bit of gingerale, super yummy sweet and refreshing, a girly beer drink! Ramune mojioto is alway delicious my go to drink.
The food is mostly the same, the beef carpaccio, takoyaki and salmon tataki is what you expect and solid as usual. The not so great dishes were one of their daily specials was a grilled squid which was ok a bit bland and pumpkin croquette with a hard boiled egg inside it was just smothered in thousand island sauce and didn’t look appetizing
The highlights though was another daily special which was an octopus carpaccio which was bold in flavour lots of spicy jalapeño and different seaweed textures (a party in your mouth) The pressed sushi was also amazing (a bit pricey) but the rice was soft and the fish was torched it comes in both salmon and mackerel. The mushroom and cheese bimbimbap is also always good. I’ll keep coming back since the location is convenient, never have a problem with the staff and I always leave satisfied =)

Guu! Another expansion into North York this time, much closer to where I live! No more downtown driving! This Guu is a little bigger than the Bloor one but not as big as the Church one, but regardless, this location has good spacing with a nice patio.
Their menu is pretty much the same as the Church Guu, which is good, because I already know what to order! If you are a first at Guu, you must try what i consider as their top 3 items! Kimchi Udon, Kinoko Bibimbap and Maguro Tataki! The vibe is very similar to the other two location, similar materials used for chairs and tables and always LOUD, every staff pretty much yells whenever you enter the restaurant, leave, order something special or have a birthday person in the table, which can make the experience better or worst depending if you mind people yelling out loud around you!
4 stars for this Guu location, only because I took away one star because one of the staffs did not know what he put down on our table. He said Kimchi Udon, but it was clearly salmon on rice. lol

Holy crap this place is expensive! Now that I got that outta the way, here is what I thought of Guu.
I like the renovation and the layout; patio looks chilling too. Service was exceptional. A lot of yelling, but exceptional. Our food came out fresh and promptly. I had been to Guu downtown and the tapas were delicious from my memory. Couldn’t say the same this time though. Surprisingly, their sashimi was friggin’ amazing. Probably the best I have had in Toronto. The dessert platter was a great way to end the meal. Highly recommend it if you have someone to share the platter with.
Parking is limited and you’ll have to walk a little. Hot food was mediocre and holy crap expensive. I probably would not come back to be honest but I would invite ppl to go try it out.
BTW… Bad place to go on a date, loud and not much privacy.

Fun Place– and its all about the staff there. You will feel like you are walking into a different country as soon as you arrive. The seating and low tables.
The staff will scream and welcome you. if you never experienced a Guu Izakaya before– try not to get a heart attack or get over anxious or egotistic. They do that for everyone.
Tapas based– the larger the group — the better this place is. Their pitcher and Saki prices are very affordable– Almost to the point where you will get drunk!
Their menu is not the easiest to figure out– however the staff is knowledgeable and the amount of items constantly being run from the kitchen to customers — you will definitely find something that would connect your eyes. I ordered the Karaage and the Giant prawn and sashimi. Karrage is fried chicken strips almost. Was delicious. Crisp outside– nice and chewy inside. The giant prawn was cooked CRISP — and when I say crisp– i mean with the shell and tenticles all battered. Deep fried to the max. It changed the entire taste of the item. Almost turned the shrimp into like a roasty peanut taste. Interesting to say the most. I loved the sashimi shrimp. I was surprised how good it was. Arent all cold shrimp supposed to taste teh same? I am curious to find out if there other sushi’s are jsut as good.
I definately will be back here with a larger group.

3.5 Star
Coming here on a Saturday night around 11 pm and I was expected Guu Izakaya would be packed and the restaurant was half full. We have a choice to be seat at the bar, back area, communal tables or at the patio.
I had been to the other Guu locations and I knew what to expect: loud and cheerful service. So I was not bothered by the loud greeting and lively vibe. My only concern though is the lighting. The interior just too bright with spotlight light set up everywhere. I could barely open my eyes after a few drinks with such bright intense lighting. Please dim the light or I would be wearing sunglasses next time.
Menu is similar to Guu’s Church Location. The food is Japanese pub fares with a lot of deep fried items so good to enjoy with a Mega mug of Sapporo.
We ordered off the Daily Special menu which has more interesting items:
Pan Fried Pig Intestine
BBQ Salted Beef Short Ribs
Tako Sashimi
Nothing really wowed me but something good to snack on for late night!
I do love the Sake Mojito with GUUD! Ramune!
Will I be back? For sure especially if it is not busy and I can drop by whenever. And hopefully they would dim the light for late night Izakaya experience. Why would an Izakaya has such bright lighting? The only good thing maybe for food photo taking? At least all my photos looked great!

This is not a sushi place! Their sushi items are VERY limited and they also serve fast food items disguised as fancy/​overpriced food (ie: chicken nuggets and fries!) The majority of the items have unfamiliar names and nobody bothered to help us out picking a foreign dish. I honestly did not really feel welcome here.
This is a SUPER LOUD Place. (did I type that in caps?) You are greeted with all the staff yelling something very incomprehensible together when you open the door. You have to take off your shoes for some weird reason. If you don’t have reservations, you’ll be placed at the far back, where the tables are placed so close to one another, you have to watch out for your neighbour’s elbow not to hit you when you eat.
The menu has no pictures and for someone who’s not familiar with the items it can take forever to figure out what to order. The waiter brought the wrong food to our table, thinking the guys next to us are in our group!
I’ll give them 2 stars for the good Salmon Sushi. I just got hyped up to try this place because of the fancy exterior and thinking it’s a sushi place. Now I know the real deal with this restaurant.