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| - Came in on a freezing Wednesday night, so there was no wait as they were only half full. It's pretty quiet, with just the owner and one other employee greeting you as you come in or out. I definitely prefer the quiet atmosphere - call me overly Western but I want the food and drink without the noise level of the typical izakaya place. The location is chic and trendy, with mirrors and comfortable lounge chairs and benches. A great place to enjoy a meal and conversation with a friend - why ruin it with drums and incessant chanting?
The food was well presented and of good quality. We had the Tondo Tonkatsu Special Ramen, Poki Salad, Shrimp Mayo, and Tuna Tartare. They brought us small bowls so we could split the ramen, and small spoons so we could split the tartare. Everything was delicious, but my companion felt that the shrimp tasted either not fresh, or overcooked. Also, as an earlier reviewer pointed out, the Poki Salad has some weird textures. The seaweed is a bit chewy, and the tortilla shell is not crispy.
Service was good - friendly and prompt, good banter and anticipated our needs. The owner also wanders around making sure everyone is having a good time.
The reason why this place did not get a better rating from me was their drink menu. Izakaya is supposed to be focused on drinking and serving small delicious dishes to complement said drinking, yet they completely missed the mark with their drink menu. I was hoping for a crazy cocktail list like Guu's, and was sorely disappointed to see that their list of cocktails were merely standard bar cocktails with clever Japanese themed names. (Sex on the Okinawa Beach? Long Okinawa Island Ice Tea?) All they had was a standard restaurant selection of beer, wine, and cocktails. Where's the lychee or yuzu themed drinks? The macha smoothie with whipped cream and vodka? Not cool guys, not cool.
Next paragraph, and I'm still not done complaining about the drinks. Stay away from the Chu Hi drinks. These are glasses of soda and booze, with fruit of your choice on the side. They bring you a juicer and a piece of fruit, and you get the "fun" of juicing it yourself and pouring it into your drink. I go out and pay high prices for cocktails because I expect someone *else* to do the messy, labour intensive work of preparing my drinks *for* me. My companion insisted she enjoyed herself, but by the time she was done, there were grapefruit bits and juice ALL over the table and her hands.
Overall a pleasant experience, but I am unlikely to come back.
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