KINKA IZAKAYA ANNEX

I went on yelp to find a good japanese restaurant, because generally I don't like Japanese food. Too much raw stuff, and too much fish.

Their food is like Japanese meets New American.

Anyway, when I read "And what's their obsession with spicy mayo on fried food. It really starts to get old when all the dishes come out swimming in grease and spicy mayo." in the review below, I thought this is the place for me. I love japanese mayo and I love greasy Chicken Karaage.

None of the food was what I would call greasy. They use oil, yes, and if you're expecting most of your food to come out uncooked and bland like at most Japanese restaurants, you're not going to like Guu.

We had Bibimbap (leave it for a few minutes and it gets a crust on the bowl), which was Rice with seaweed, cheese, mushrooms, and egg). I don't like seaweed but it was sooo subtle yet sooo delicious!

Chicken Karaage was A+

We also had rice bowls with sweet soy, deep fried brie (too much brie for just two people, and you should try and eat it a tiny bite at a time).

There was a line up at the door when we left. The whole staff greeted us when we arrived and said goodbye when we left, which put an immediate smile on our faces.

I like going where people are. There was so many people in this place, it was like a cacophonous symphony of people really loving their night out!

It was noisy, as a restaurant should be! This is a great place to take a date if you want to impress them with your slick style, but don't want to spend too much money. If you're not sure about how the date conversation will go, best to take her here where you can't hear what the other person is saying anyway =)

The best thing was the service. We asked for our bill and after we paid, she filled up our water glasses so we didn't feel like we had to leave.

Dinner for 3 (2 Rice bowls plus four mains and pop) $42!!!

welcoming service. expect a pricey menu with small dishes.

i got the salmon which was very much on the lighter flavoring side. it was extremely light but a bit bland for me. the salmon itself wasn't fishy at all (opposite of my personal preference).
the prawns were perfectly fried - crispy, juicy, LARGE!!! flavoring was on point.
the beef udon was pretty impressive and gave a decent amount of beef! juicy and flavorful as well.

The lychee mojito was yummy!! Ordered the beef udon and raw beef. The broth in the beef udon was good and flavorful. The raw beef was very different from what we were expecting. What they brought out looked completely different from the menu photo that I thought she brought the wrong dish. She let me know it's their newer version but would've been nice if she'd informed us before we put the order in. I really enjoyed the playlist! It was jazz covers of hip hop songs. Nice atmosphere overall.

Kinka izakaya was my first meal in Toronto and we came late at night around 930-10pm. This was definitely a great way to start my weekend in Toronto! We came to this location since the original kinka izakaya location showed a 1 hour + wait. When we had arrived there were only a couple other parties at the restaurant. The lighting is a little bit dim which makes it harder to take good photos of the food but this is a great place for a date or to eat with friends.

We got a number of small bites including the short rib, various nigiri, hamachi yellowtail sashimi which we actually ordered twice because it was so good. We also had a salmon sizzling bowl and everything we had was really tasty, fish was fresh, galbi was cooked well and marinated well. I think everything you get off the menu is well worth it and delicious. Would definitely recommend this place on a visit to Toronto!

Visited Kinda Izakaya for a friend's birthday celebration. The creamy udon was incredibly rich and satisfying. We opted for a peach mojitos pitcher to share among the group, and it was the perfect choice. The blend of flavors in both the udon and the cocktail added to the enjoyment of the evening. The service was outstanding, contributing to an overall fantastic experience. Looking forward to returning!

Definitely has the Japanese authenticity and vibe. Takes me back to Japan. Food quality is up there and I can maintain a good connection with the waiters/waitresses as they understand Japanese as well.
One thing to point out is the price and it's a little on the high end for me. However, it's understandable because of current inflation in Canada (nothing that I can do there).
Worth going back to the restaurant especially for special occasions. Also easy access from universities, for those young college students out there!

The food was delicious, definitely comfort food! We had the: oysters, shrimp tempura, cheesy curry, carbonara udon, and brûlée.

The drinks were also delicious!

There are several locations for Kinka Izakaya, I visited the one at the Annex with a party of 5. Reservations can be made on their website and is very easy to use! I would recommend making one if you plan on coming on a weekend in the evening! We arrived close to 7 and the restaurant was packed!

There is a separate food and drink menu. A karaage bucket is also available for take-out only. It helps to write down everything you want on your phone and then the server will use a tablet to take your order which makes the transaction smoother.

In the restarant, there are two sides once you enter. On the left is the dimmer area with plenty of tables and chairs (almost feels like you're at a club!). There's good hip music playing as well so the atmosphere is lively for those looking to have a good night. You can also see the chefs in action as the bar seating and open kitchen is just across on the other side of the area. On the right side is where diners need to take off their shoes as it is more of a traditional Japanese seating area where you could sit with your legs crossed on a cushion.

The place is great for both shareables and drinks. The sake bombs are always popular and gets the staff involved in cheering. Shareables were also delicious - my personal favourites were the original karaage and the prawn tempura. I also really liked the salmon oshizushi.

Amazing Japanese tapas, fabulous bar and great service! What really stands out to me is their willingness to accommodate my allergies and make everything with sauces on the side! The atmosphere is fabulous without being too loud!

The set menu is updated also it has a price increase
I would recommend this place and the set menu

I'm not sure how to rate this. 4/5 stars pre-COVID because everything I ordered was amazing and the menu selection was huge. But I came once indoor dining was open and the menu was considerably condensed. The explanation was a lot of the items were not in season (like the baked oyster with cheese, almond tofu dessert). And a lot of my favourite items weren't there. I guess with COVID, ingredient prices have gone up but I feel like the whole reason I enjoyed kinka in the past was the wide variety of flavourful items. Anyways, today we ordered the ebimayo deep fried shrimp, takoyaki, takowasabi, karaage, salmon & scallop pressed sushi, special items menu.

Things I'd order again:
takowasabi - strong wasabi flavour and a classic nose punch burn. Very flavourful. Yummy).
Aburi buta bara (grilled pork belly with garlic sauce) - nice smoky bbq taste. Good flavour.
Tokyo fry (French fries with garlic mayo)- mc Donald's like French fries. Tasty.
Nama grapefruit cocktail- you get to squeeze your own grapefruit. Picturesque. Tasty!

Things that coasted in the middle:
Salmon oshizushi (blow torched pressed salmon sushi)- salmon was tasty but the rice a little too mushy but held it's shape.

Things I wouldn't order again:
salmon nattoyukke (salmon sashimi/seaweed/onsen tamago)- the lightly cooked sunny side up egg mixed with the salmon sashimi seaweed salad just didn't suit my taste buds at all. I found it very unappealingly bland. My least favorite dish of the night.
Kamo tataki (sous vide duck breast)- okay taste but dry.
Hotate oshizushi (pressed scallop sushi)- bland
Karaage - nothing special.
Ebi mayo - all I could taste was fried batter doused in mayo. And I'm sad because I swear this used to be one of my favourites. Batter was quite thick.
Takoyaki- good texture but the sauce was overly ketchup-y. Overpowered the overall taste.

My server was nice and I enjoy whenever they greet you upon entry. I look forward to the day they bring back their usual menu that I loved so much. I'll update my review then.