Simon C.
Yelp
A hippy izakaya with great atmosphere and staff.
* * * EXPERIENCE * * *
Walk-in on a Wednesday night at around 7pm, almost full house but I came alone and fortunately there's the last open seat at the counter! I was impressed by the friendliness of the staff I encountered, my server really took his time explaining the menu and his personal recommendations. Not to mention they serve great cocktail as well, just tell them what you like and they make something great out of what they have. It's not one of those traditional izakayas so do expect some western influence on dishes.
* * * FOOD * * *
Cold Shucked Scallop: A-
The presentation was wonderful - the scallop meat was arranged into a flower shape, I was told to use the back of a spoon to press from the top, once I did that the scallop dipped into the onion + olive oil dressing, crunchy (not the fried type) mouth feeling, sour and sweet, very refreshing. If they added a bit salt it would be even better.
Gindara (Aburi) Nigiri: A+
The fish skin was grilled, again looking very pretty, and they added some miso and soy sauce before serving. Charcoal smell. The meat was soooo fatty, instantly melt in mouth. The rice was grilled too which as a result gave a more complete feeling to the whole thing.
Ruri Nasu (Eggplant): A+
One of the best I have ever had, the amount of miso added was perfect, not too salty or oily, the eggplant skin was perfectly intact, not too mushy neither.
Saba Nigiri: A
A lot of times Saba would come with some ocean taste but I couldn't taste it here, and there is more fat than other Saba I usually eat.
Egg yolk in soy sauce: A
This is a dipping sauce for the yakitori, it really helped adding another dimension to the grilled food coming later on, and balanced out the charcoal flavor as well.
Mushroom/Knee/Neck yakitori: A
Perfectly grilled, they were all a bit saltier than what I usually have from other yakitori places but because of the egg yolk dipping sauce it turned out they complemented each other's existence which was a wonderful sensation.
Bone Marrow: A
Smelt garlic-y, looked wonderful, did not taste too salty or rich, the arugula added offered good balance to the gamey marrow, eating together it's almost like a hot salad. I'm usually not a bone marrow fan but all those elements blended together really well. There was also escargot added and they tasted perfect too.
What a great find of izakaya in the area, never expected I could have such good Japanese food in Calgary. Will definitely come back again when I am in town!