Guu with Garlic

So this is my second time at Guu, the last time I was here was last September. Being one of the most popular restaurants in Vancouver, I had high expectations on the food. So I decided to bring two of my wonderful friends Mia and Lucas to Guu!


I arrived around 7 and was quickly seated. I was surprised the place was so busy as this was Monday night! The standard "Guu" experience was all here: the Japanese yelling, the loud atmosphere. As neither my friends nor I were familiar with the menu, we randomly picked some things off the menu to try their food.


We started off with some Hot Sake to share between the three of us. It was actually my first time having Sake, it was perfect on this cool Vancouver Spring Day, as I could feel the warmth throughout my whole body hah.

and here's what we ate:




Beef Tataki $5.20     3.5/5
thin sliced seared beef with ponzu sauce

+

• beef was soft
• fresh

-

• I wish it were served a little colder or warmer though, as I thought it was somewhere in between and sort of weird

Takoyaki $4.00     4/5
deep fried octopus ball with tonkatsu sauce and mustard mayo

+

• the innards of the octopus ball was very soft and tasty, the octopus itself was chewy in a good way
• size of octopus ball was just right, not too small, not too big, perfect size for putting the whole thing into the mouth in one large bite!

-

• again, a temperature problem, this dish did not come hot enough in my opinion, would be a lot better if it was hotter

Kakimayo $7.20     3.0/5
baked oyster with spicy cod roe and mayo creamy sauce cheese on top

+

• neatly presented
• fresh ingredients

-

• oyster was very small, did not look like to be a full oyster, for this price, they could do better
• tasted a little bland
• other ingredients (potato, etc) did not complement oyster very well

Kabocha Korokke $3.60     4/5
pumpkin and boiled egg croquette

A wonderful food smiley created by my food artist: Mia :)

+

• again, nicely presented
• pumpkin was very soft
• the softness of the pumpkin complemented the softness of the boiled egg very well, it was like they were unified

Spiced Chicken Wings $6.40     4/5

+

• sauce was good, a very wild taste
• standard-fare chicken wings
• portion was decent

Grilled Mackerel (Saba) $7.80     4/5

 +

• taste was nicely adjusted
• the ingredients besides the fish complimented the dish very good, I actually ate the other stuff too
• fish seemed fresh
• not too salty

Ishiyaki (Rice with beef tenderloin served in stone pot) $8.80      3/5

+

• came hot
• beef was pretty good, not too "old" or hard

-

• rice was a little too soft
• not enough taste, tasted a little bland
• would have liked it better if there were more "crispy" rice stuck to the pot, but this is just personal preference

Overall: Guu with Garlic is obviously a popular restaurant as it was completely packed even on a Monday night. It offers quite competitive prices compared to other Izakayas, our bill for three people was around $60, so not bad at all. It offers a great atmosphere for hanging out with friends (cool people tonight :) ), having some Japanese alcohol, and trying interesting dishes. All in all, a great place for a occasional dinner!