1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent
Food: 3
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 3.5
LUNCH:
Ordered: Tempura Udon Noodle (#16) 3/5
* Udon noodles with shrimp tempura servered in mildly flavored bonito based soup for $8.95
* Soup was light and flavorful, udon was cooked just right
* It came with 3 shrimp tempura as well as pumpkin, green bean and yam tempura
* Batter was light on tempura and it tasted fresh
* Very simple, light tasting udon perfect for lunch
Ordered: Spicy Salmon Bowl (#21) 5/5
* Spicy salmon and sliced egg over sushi rice
* Choose between Medium ($7.95) & Large ($8.95)
* I ordered Medium and it was still very big for one person
* This was actually really good with lots of spicy salmon sashimi, egg strips and tempura bits
* Just add a bit of soy sauce to the rice and mix as you eat
Ordered: Karaage (Side menu) 2/5
* 4 pieces of deep fried chicken for $3.50
* Chicken pieces were quite big and it wasn't very hot
* Usually there is seasoning on the batter but this one didn't so it was quite bland on it's own
Ordered: Octopus Balls (Side menu) 4/5
* 5 pieces of takoyaki for $5.50
* Perfect bite size takoyaki had decent sized octopus piece inside
* This wasn't served very hot either
* Batter wasn't too doughey
Because I enjoyed their lunch menu, I decided to return and try their dinner menu. This time, my expectation was set much higher considering I enjoyed their lunch menu and have tried many izakaya places that serves good, quality food.
DINNER
Ordered: Authentic Style beef Tataki 2/5
* Plate of seared angus beef steak with ponzu sauce topped with garlic chips for $11.95
* I was surprised to see how the ponzu sauce was served on the side
* Beef tataki pieces were quite small (picked up 2~3 pieces at a time)
* Overall it was very dry and could have used some more garlic chips
Ordered: Fin's Ebi Chilli Mayo 4/5
* 5 pieces of wild prawn tempura tossed in spicy mayo sauce for $7.50
* I love prawn/shrimp anything so it's hard to mess this up for me
* Prawn was decent in size but the batter could have been crispier
* Spicy mayo was very diluted and almost runny but overall it was delicious
Ordered: Mentai Carbonara Udon 3/5
* Sauteed udon noodle with pollock roe and pink creamy sauce topped with seaweed for $8.95
* This was served with a little block of butter on top
* Mix in the butter with the udon to melt it through-out
* It had very strong butter taste and it was almost too overwhelming
Ordered: Crispy Rock salt wings 2/5
* Crispy fried wings seasoned with spicy rock salt, 5 piece for $3.50
* This was a dish that was recommended by someone we knew so we decided to give it a try
* Intially I thought 5 pieces for $3.50 was a pretty good deal until the wings arrived
* Wings were so skinny they barely had any meat on them
Ordered: Tuna Tataki 3/5
* Seared tuna served with garlic ponzu vinaigrette for $7.00
* 3 pieces of tuna served with some vegetable
* For the price you pay, this is a really small dish and tuna is not even that expensive
Ordered: Octopus Wasabi Takowasa 3/5
* Small plate of fresh raw octopus marinated with chopped wasabi roots for $3.50
* Good appetizer to have with some sake
* Very strong wasabi flavor
Ordered: Blow torched Mackerel 4/5
* Vinegar pickled mackerel blow torched at your table for $8.00
* Mackerel tasted fresh but it was on the saltier side even for a vinegar pickled makarel
* Dipped in ponzu sauce with side of green onion- it's very refreshing
* Very distinct mackerel flavor
Ordered: Salmon Sashimi's Namareba 2/5
* Salmon sashimi with salted sesame dipping oil for $6.00
* I found this to be really weird how it was served with salted sesame dipping oil
* There was so much salt in the sauce and it just did not do well with fresh sashimi
Ordered: Beef Tongue Miso Zuke 1/5
* Sizzling shaved beef tongue marinated in miso sauce for $8.00
* This was over marinated in miso sauce which made it super salty
* Beef tongue is shaved so it tasted just like BulGoGi
Ordered: Pork Belly Kushi (Skewer) 5/5
* 6 pieces of pork belly on a skewer (choose sea salt or teriyaki sauce) for $3.00
* Perfect item to order when drinking beer
* This was really good, you can taste the charcoal
* Pork belly was just fatty enough
Ordered: Pressed Colorful Sushi (Oshi Sushi) 5/5
* Pressed sushi with diced sashimi and assorted fresh vegetables for $10.00
* This was another recommenOrdered: Pressed Colorful Sushi (Oshi Sushi) 5/5
* This is basically a chirashi pressed into a box shape
* It has very nice presentation
Summary: Overall, Fin Izakaya is def one of better izakayas in Toronto. However, given the fact that I am from the city of izakayas- it didn't really impress me. I really enjoyed their lunch menu for it's quality and price but the dinner menu was either a hit or miss. For izakaya, I would go to Guu