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This is the second and final review in our special Montreal series. Have you ever been to an izakaya?! Like a real one? We don’t have one in Roc. I mean, we have a Japanese bistro that says it’s also an izakaya. But, damn. It’s not like Imadake. This place is a whole experience and vibe and engagement with Japanese culture in such a cool way. For this one we had the same four Rouletters that reviewed Tiradito.
We kicked off the evening with the Spicy Edamame: Spicy miso green soybeans with sesame seed. We love edamame and the spice just added to the joy. Don’t get us wrong: some nicely steamed soy beans with salt are a delight. But, YUM! The zesty chili oil on top lifted everything to where it needed to go. It sort of makes you reconsider how bland so may edamame start out. This is a new standard for these simple and humble beans. ⭐ 4.4⭐
Next up was the Gyoza: Japanese pork raviolis served with spicy pickled cucumbers. The size of these! They were about 30% larger than you’d expect a gyoza to be; it’s neat to have a two-bite problem to solve with a time-honored fave. The pastry was pleasantly thin and not too sticky. The pork was nicely flavored. And, they were actually not too hot to eat, which is a cute little thing dumplings always do and it’s not their fault but we usually burn our tongues.
⭐ 4.0⭐
The second highest rated dish of the night was the Vegetables Gyoza: Japanese vegetable raviolis served with spicy pickled cucumbers. These were much more interesting than the pork, despite our expectations. I feel as if we ordered them on a lark but there was a shocking complexity and depth in the flavor. You could get the taste of individual veggies (we picked out carrot, cucumber, and was that pea leaf??). Plus they tasted like they were fried in toasty love. shockingly good.
⭐ 4.8⭐
Holy heck: the Torikawa: Fried chicken skin seasoned– a heart attack never tasted so good. It was easily the top-rated dish of the night. What can we say? A couple of us famously hate pork rinds so we had some hesitancy going into it. Ya know, smoky oily fatty dishes just aren’t our favorite. BUT! The crisp airy puffy (popcorny?) approach to this dish was an utter delight. These puffs of heaven were perfectly crisp and not at all greasy. We’ll be thinking about these for a long long time – unsurprisingly all four of us had this listed as one of our favorite dishes. As the biggest surprise of the night and a solid 5 across the board, we have ANOTHER Golden Shrimp Toast Award winner. ⭐ 5.0⭐
Next up was the Karaage: Japanese fried chicken served with wasabi mayo. This is just exactly what karaage should be: not overly fancified, just tender and perfectly fried bits of fried boneless chicken thighs that make you want another beer. However, we wish that these were a bit smaller: karaage pieces get too hot to eat when they’re this big, but cutting them in half seems a bit counterintuitive for something so popcorn chicken-y. Finally, while the wasabi mayo was delicious, it interrupted the classic profile of a dish that doesn’t really need the benefit of innovation. ⭐ 4.1⭐
The EbiMayo: Tiger shrimp tempura served with spicy mayo and crushed almonds were a delight. These were really, deeply scrumptious plump shrimp, perfectly fried, crisp and not oily, plus nicely sauced. Note: if you don’t dig mayo, these aren’t for you: it’ll brush against one of the “ick” factors you have with food.
⭐ 4.2⭐
Next up was the Yaki Tori: Grilled chicken skewers with homemade yakitori sauce and served with pickled napa and daikon: excellent, simple yakitori. We loved the distribution of sauce and the way the chicken melted into the bite. This is such a different treatment of the meat than the karaage. It may not the most memorable, but it is in the sweet spot of what yakitori should be.
⭐ 4.0⭐
The Yakisoba: Homemade Noodles, Black tiger shrimp, Vegetables, Mayo, Ginger, Yakisoba
Sauce was a special for that week and also the most Parisian Paradox of the night. One of us had this as a tie for our top dish. Basically, you were either like “Yum! These sweet, savory noodles are amazing! The noodles were grilled so lovingly! What a fun presentation and hearty dish.” Or you were like “On paper it’s everything I could want, including my favorite noodle, a lovely concert of flavors, mayonnaise, what’s not to love!? Something, I guess. It seemed dry to me. Unflavorful. A swing and a miss kind of thing. It made me want to make it at home, because I think I can do it better.” Either way, THIS is izayaka food, folks. Get on board. ⭐ 4.0⭐
We followed these up with the Kaki Furai: Fried oyster with Japanese tartar sauce. Two of the three Rouletters who reviewed this one are a bit on the fence with fried oysters, but these puppies delivered. The first thing they did right was having them on the menu. They then proceeded to make them well, and then further to send them out with tartar sauce. The tartar sauce was an especially nice pairing as it lifted things to a more tart and awake place, especially when these could have easily been a belly bomb. They were well fried and the tempura batter was delightful. Importantly, these oysters tasted fresh even after being friend in tempura and dipped in tarter sauce. ⭐ 4.3⭐
The lowest rated dish of the night was the Okonomiyaki: Japanese Pancake, Seafood, Cabbage, Aonori, Ginger, Katsuo, mayo, Okonomiyaki Sauce. Not usually a sit-down-in-a-restaurant dish, but not badly done. It really leaned into its origins, embracing the gooey texture and fishy aromas that define it. However, okonomiyaki works best when it’s crispy on the verge of latke, but this one sagged a bit. Perhaps it was bogged down from all of the wet greens they put in it? This is better suited to walking through a festival, more funnel cake than fine dining. Oh well – watch the video of the fish moving on the top! ⭐ 3.1⭐
Ah, the drinks. You can get Sapporo in three sizes with the largest being a liter. Two of us absolutely ordered a liter of beer each and it was such a great decision! This place felt so good: not a hint of pretense or ego, just big beers and fried food. They also had a lychee martini that was outstanding. The Tokyo mule was also super good. ⭐ 4.8⭐
The service was also outstanding. Our server was super friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable, plus he took time to treat us like real human beings. He perfectly straddled the line between chill and enthusiastic. ⭐ 4.9⭐
This place felt like an izakaya and was oozing charm – of course a Japanese bar that serves sake bombs, fried food, and beer by the liter is this beautiful. With cigarette smoke it would have been just like one in Tokyo. It’ll be fun to visit another izakaya in Montreals and see if this is as much the best one as I expect it is. Izakayas should be simple and easy – not fancy or overthought: like this one! It held itself together with integrity and charm. A couple of quick notes: restrooms are down a flight of stairs and gendered, so not the most accessible. ⭐ 4.8⭐
