Izakayas – there’s more to Japanese food than just sushi joints

When most westerners think Japanese food, they probably think ‘sushi restaurants’ (and most likely the all-you-can-eat-types).
Of course, that’s inevitable – it’s definitely the most famous kind of Japanese food next to chicken teriyaki.

Today I’ll introduce a type of Japanese restaurant that’s very popular in Japan and quickly becoming a favourite throughout North America.

居酒屋- Izakaya

The name “izakaya” is a compound word consisting of “i” (to sit) and “sakaya” (sake shop), showing that izakaya originate from sake shops that allowed customers to sit at the premises to drink (thanks wikipedia!).
Back in the day and even when my grandma was young (she’s 77 now) izakayas were places salary men went to after work with their colleagues. But with the rise of chain izakayas in the 1980s, they became places where women, men, couples, friends and families could casually go to. It depends on the type of izakaya but most of them are lively and customers can be quite rowdy! My grandma still thinks til this day that izakayas are places for men and I shouldn’t go with my friends. But that’s just my grandma.

So anyway, izakayas are like bars or pubs with great food and drinks and a social atmosphere. You order small dishes of food (tapas) and share with multiple people. Some choose to go alone, which is probably great too. But typically, you get to enjoy a good variety of food, drinks and conversation – izakayas are perfect for a relaxing night!

So as you may have guessed, I’m back in Japan for 10 days now and I went to a small open-counter izakaya just two days ago with my mom. I go to an izakaya every time I come home but this one was exceptionally good, so here is a review!

Gataro
Inside Kappa-yokocho
1-7-2 Shibata Kita-ku Osaka-shi
06-6373-1484
4PM – 11PM

He was a great sushi chef (you’ll see the pictures soon)

Menus on the wall

Sake bottles RIGHT in front of you

…and sake bottles RIGHT ABOVE you

I’m a Kirin fan. But we drank both.

Daikon salad

The first dish we had. Usually daikon salads are made of shredded daikon with other ingredients on top but this one was so different! The sushi chef cut the daikon in thick slices, then almost cut the slices in halves but kept the bottom so he can stuff them with shiso leaves and jyako fish. AMAZING.

Otsukuri (sashimi)

We had salmon toro, maguro (tuna) and aburi hotate (grilled scallops).
I can easily say that this was the best salmon I have ever had in my life. The salmon LITERALLY melted in my mouth as I tasted it. The taste actually differed from the first few seconds of the salmon in your mouth to when it melted. The flavour, softness and freshness of the salmon expanded in my mouth and it was so juicy. The maguro and aburi hotate were also great but my favourite was the salmon.

THANK YOU MR. SUSHI CHEF.

Renkon (lotus root) and steak with yuzu-kosho (citrus pepper)
The combination of the crunchy/crispy/fresh renkon and the tender steak with the sour-savoury taste of yuzu-kosho was phenomenal.

Kushikatsu (kushi = stick katsu = short, Japanese form of cutlet)

Kushikatsu is an Osaka specialty.
This was average-good! I don’t think you can get this wrong…

Then we had Korean-style agedashi-dofu (deep-fried tofu in dashi soup).

Now THIS was something. It was spicy yet sweet and the tofu was just the right tenderness. I would come back to this place JUST for this!

That was all we had at this place – then we went to another izakaya. Typically Japanese people “ladder drink” (hashigo suru, which doesn’t include the word ‘drink’ but it’s assumed from the phrase) at more than one izakaya per night and that’s exactly what my mom and I did. Gataro proved to be a great place to warm-up for a long night of laddering!

If you live in Toronto and would like to try an izakaya, I highly recommend Guu Izakaya or Fin. Guu is very loud and busy (in a very good way – you’ll see why when you go) with lots of young, bubbly people and Fin is more relaxed with older people and spacious seating. They’re both Japanese-operated so you’re sure to have an authentic experience! For a good review on Guu Izakaya, check out the Scion Canada magazine, page 7.  Fin is actually opened on Dec 31st until 10pm so if you’re looking for a good place to eat out tomorrow, I highly recommend it!

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