Izakaya
69 Front Street East
416-703-8658
Complete lunch for two with all taxes, tip and tea: $65

It’s official, there is just too many sushi restaurants in Toronto. In the July 8th issue of the Toronto Star, Christine Sismondo reviewed two books to that point: The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, From Samurai to Supermarket by Trevor Corson and The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by Sasha Issenberg. At the beginning of the article, Sismondo writes about the influx of Japanese restaurants, saying:

[I]f you ask a real traditionalist, you’ll find out most of us don’t really consider that stuff they serve “Japanese” anyways.

I love sushi and I agree with Sismondo. Sushi is definitely Japanese but there’s more to Japanese food than just sushi. Try Izakaya for example. Unlike Fune and Nami, two other well-known Japanese restaurants in Toronto’s core, Izakaya’s menu has skipped sushi to concentrate on traditional choices such as ramen, teppan yaki, soba, and udon dishes. It’s also relatively cheaper since fresh, sushi-grade fish tends to be expensive.

The décor is a mix of traditional with modern sensibilities. There’s green bamboo and red ladles on the wall, making the place feel almost Christmassy. There’s a patio that could seat about 8-10 people, while indoors two sections in front and in back on the bar area can accommodate another 80.

The serving staff were friendly, even if there were only two of them. During a hot summer afternoon in Toronto, you’d think there would be more people. When we stepped in at around 2pm, there was a small party of three sitting on the patio and another party of six near the bar. The back area was completely empty. Our food came quickly and our water and teas remained filled throughout the entirety of the meal.

For starters, we opted for the traditional and chose Edamame ($4.45) seasoned with sea salt. It’s usually a side dish, but I’ve found that it makes a great appetizer as well. Edamame is such a simple dish and it’s really hard to screw it up, but it’s just as hard to re-invent and evolve. Eager and hungry, I gently picked up a soybean pod and popped the little beans out directly into my mouth. I haven’t had Edamame like this before. As our server walked past, I (almost) grabbed him. I just had to know what kind of salt they used. Izakaya uses Maldon sea salt, a flaky gourmet English salt which is completely natural, and melts in the mouth.

For our main dishes we had Chicken Katsu Curry ($11.95) and Yaki Soba ($10.95). The panko (bread crumbs) on the chicken was very thin and I enjoyed the crunchiness of it as I bit into the soft, juicy chicken breast. The dish was covered in mild curry sauce, which I thought was going to be a bit spicier and less tangy. The sauce did go very well with the pickled bean sprouts.

The Yaki Soba was nothing new. The teppan chicken was good, but there was little of it. Same with the shrimp, at about 4 pieces. The serving size in general was appropriate. The tare sauce was sweet (my lunch partner thought it was too sweet). It’s a healthy meal, with plenty of noodles and vegetables, and again, not a lot of meat. Seems we got more bean sprout and vegetables than noodles though.

The noodles were done well and were easily the best part of the meal. We also loved the use of bonito flakes (dried flakes of skip-jack fish native to Japan), as it helped bring all the flavours together. The flakes looked so much like fragile gold foil that touching, let alone eating them, seemed wrong. The pickled ginger was a nice touch though it’s not for everyone. I liked it, my partner didn’t.

Desserts offered were sparse: chocolate and fruit. We had room for neither. Feeling somewhat full and very satisfied, we ended our sushi-free meal with some Genmai-cha tea. Again, the tea was nothing spectacular but it did bring a soothing and refreshing end to our lunch with its popcorn-and rice-infused smell and flavour.

Izakaya’s menu was diverse enough, with plenty of interesting choices, for a return visit. With no other Japanese (not sushi) restaurant in the area, I think I will be back for more—with a double order of Edamame.