Guu with Garlic

We got the ebi mayo, scallop mayo pizza, tontoro, and some other fried chicken tender dish, as well as some yuzu mojitos.
The ebi mayo was really tender and delicious (guu never disappoints with this dish), the tontoro was also really good but the portion was extremely tiny, the scallop mayo pizza was very mediocre so I would skip that (it just tastes like a regular below-average cheap pizza with some scallops thrown on top) and the fried chicken tender dish was good too. The yuzu mojitos were awesome and weren't too expensive. The food, on the other hand, was quite pricey but that's pretty normal with izakayas in general.
There is very limited seating and they get busy often so expect to wait if you go during a busy time!

So similar to 居酒屋 in Japan 🥰🥲 - great selection of food and daily specials and too many 日本酒 to decide. They even have Kamoizumi Shusen Honjikomi but I would have to buy a 720ml bottle USD50!? 🤯 and drink it all onsite. Tempting 😳😍 - but not this time!

We use to go there almost every 2-3 weeks. Love their snacks and lunch meals. First 2 pics were taken from 2020 and they were superb. We always go for their sashimi lunch meal. However with the most recent two visits after the pandemic, things seemed to have changed. The meals tasted less good, felt less well made and less fresh. But for anyone who’s into Japanese snacks, this is a good place to try.

Saturday night and we didn’t have reservations but the restaurant was able to bring us in. It was not too busy inside. We took our shoes off and sat on the floor on little leg less chairs in front of the short tables. One hint for older people: pull out the cushion so just your hip bones are on it and then when you cross your legs your ankles can be on the cushiony part too. A quick google search says sitting like this can help your body’s nervous system (vagus nerve) detect it is full more effectively. We were able to eat and have dessert comfortably after so maybe that is true?

But I digress. We ordered six things between three people. My favourite was the deep fried sea smelt followed by the takoyaki. The ika maru was simple and good as well. The tuna tataki was nicely done and topped with deep fried garlic slices. The beef curry poutine was tasty but it didn’t seem to match with the other food for me. The mochi and shrimp gratin- I didn’t know what was going on there and it came out as just random sauce and cheese.

The drinks were fairly priced but one drink was brought in error and fixed up afterwards. Service other than that was polite and timely.

Overall a nice casual dining experience for Robson street.

We enjoyed eating here on Robson and yes, “garlic is Guuu’d”. The reviews were great and we gave it a try. It didn’t disappoint as we all enjoyed our meals. The place was busy and the layout of the restaurant was ok. The service was a little slow, and I’m guessing because staffing was tight and it was busy. The kids enjoyed their noodles and edamame. Overall good food with an authentic experience.

This place used to be extremely popular in 2013-2016 - it was impossible to get a seat. Over the years the quality of the food has definitely gone down hill.
Just isn’t hitting the mark anymore.

Stopped in for dinner with a friend who is a huge fan of the restaurant. My first time and it was fabulous. We were accommodated even though they really had no space. We were seated between reservations, this meant we did not have time to linger, but hey. We go fed! Great service, excellent food. Made a fan out of me. I will be back.