Zakkushi on Denman

So we wanted to try something we haven't had before and this place is sort of a bucket list item. After doing some research and we found out it's a short (but steep) walk, we made a reservation. Trust me, you want to make a reservation.

The restaurant is located in a vibrant neighbourhood and the restaurant has lots of good energy that makes it quite lively. We sat down and started to glance over their menu. We ordered a bunch of stuff and it came in a steady pace not long after. The oden came out first and the broth is flavourful. Then the real goodies came along after. I highly recommend the pork skewers in general as it has more flavour to it. The other skewers are also good. But this place has good amounts of ambiance. It is very lively! Lots of people having a good time. And when we ordered our second round, the service team collected our old utensils and gave us new ones. I love the level of details for service.

Zakkushi used to be my go to restaurant when I was working in Vancouver downtown and living in the area. The food still tasted the same as I remembered. There are definitely a lot more choices compared to before. We ordered a bunch of stuff to share (for two people):
2 Zakkushi Set
1 Chicken Liver
2 Garlic beef
2 Negi Tongue
2 Cha-shu Yakioni
1 Sockeye Salmon Sashimi
1 Chicken Karaage
1 Hamachi Tartar

Also note that by checking in on Yelp we got two free appetizers: Kurage and Takowasabi.

Everything was very delicious. B also got a Yuzi Beer which he never had before. The bill with tips and taxes came to $130. The food was good but it seems like they are not as good as before. I do prefer this location more than the main street one. I will need to try the Toronto location to find out if it is better (which I have passed by multiple times and never got a chance to dine in). The sashimi was very fresh. The Cha-shu yakioni was my least favorite. I didn't like the burnt rice taste.

Service has definitely been better than what it was before. The place seems to be less busy compared to the past. Overall, B and I really enjoyed the food and will definitely be back.

Parking is a nightmare. There are NO parking nearby and the 5 available spots in front are generally taken by the employees. Prepare to park at least 5-6 blocks away.

Our wagyu was the basic type of wagyu, no true marbelling and was a bit dry.

Kobe beef was very lacking in any flavor.

Stick to their premium beef option, it's worth the extra $3 over the regular beef. Z

Zakkushi has been at this location for many years, and for good reason.

Whenever I step inside I can feel the izakaya atmosphere like in japan. The grilling and smoke is all part of it.

It's a rather small place so I recommend making reservations, or be prepared to wait for awhile.

This location, in my opinion, is better than the one on Main Street. Their skewers are grilled and seasoned to perfection. It's good to get their sampler set to start if you can't make up your mind.

We l also enjoy ordering sashimi here as it's always very fresh. We were feeling adventurous one time and ordered the pork intestine, I can't say it was the best I've had, a bit too chewy.

Overall, service was speedy, food is good, and things were served at a fast pace. Can be a bit crowded but all part of that izakaya experience and vibe!

Good service, fast enough for skewers cooked fresh, delicious everything, just get anything you should be fine.

Zakkushi on Denman will fill your heart with a wide selection of yakitori and much more. Be sure to check out their cocktail menu with some unique drinks! Look at their board for specials of the day and we had the spot shrimp sashimi and the sashimi with yuzu. If you don't know what types of yakitori to get then they have two plates that come with a mix of choices. On Yelp they had a coupon for one free appetizer so check that out as well. Also you can conveniently make a reservation on Yelp. The atmosphere and service were good and I really enjoyed strolling the street of Denman afterwards.

Might have ordered too much for two people but everything here is tasty! My favorites meat are lamb chop and premium beef tongue. Salmon sashimi and tuna sashimi are surprisingly super fresh ( some izakaya places don't have good raw fish).

Cute and cozy ambiance, good for friends to get together/ late dinner. Drink up and eat up!

Very authentic yakitori. We are our way through the menu with gyūtan (tongue), momo (chicken thigh), teba (chicken wings), ra-yu yaki (chicken w sesame oil), kawa (skin), hatsu (chicken heart), tsukune (chicken meatballs), eringe (king trumpet mushsrooms. Then, we added some sides: tsukemono (pickles), tako wasabi (grilled octopus with a wasabi dressing), gindara saikyo yaki (grilled sea bass w miso). We finished with perfectly executed yaki-onigiri (grilled rice ball)

It was nice to eat in a Japanese restaurant run by young Japanese

OVERALL: 9.2/10 (Yelp Converted Score: 4.6/5). Ingredient quality is good (better than a certain izakaya place in Seattle).

My partners thoughts:
- Wasn't over seasoned - felt very true to japanese cuisine.
- Chicken ball was really good!

My thoughts:
I can't think of a dish I didn't like. The beef tongue was so addicting I was debating on ordering more.

VERDICT: This place is legit. You gotta come here!

1) VARIETY/SELECTION: 8.5/10. The only "gripe" about this place was it's lack of variety. It's quintessentially a skewers place - but it has some ramen options, and some sushi options. And some sake options...

Now, don't get me wrong, their daily specials menu was amazing, and we ended up ordering some of our food from there, but the fact that all of the menus were all over the place, it was really hard to pin down "what was good here". For someone like me, with an appreciation of Japanese izakaya, I would at least have some idea of what to order, but if I was brand-new to this genre of food, I'd be overwhelmed by the options, and not even know where to begin.

2) FRESHNESS: 9.5/10. I think the foie gras was the highlight, bar-none, but every dish had it's own memorable flavours. The -0.5 stars would honestly only come from the fact that the uni we ordered was previously frozen. Besides that, it was AWESOME.

3) VALUE FOR MONEY: 9/10. For two hungry people who came in expecting to eat - it came out to $164 CAD - which is $125 USD - after tax and before tip. Wow, what a good meal. Not the cheapest in Vancouver by any stretch, but given the vibe, the cost, and the portion size, this place is definitely fair.

4) SERVICE: 9/10. I was impressed at how fast they came by to pick up empty dishes and provide things like more water/tea. I was slightly concerned at the lack of organization with regards to how to "tetris" the table to accommodate new dishes, but with a little bit of work, we got everything on the table, so no harm, no foul.

5) CONSISTENCY / FIRST IMPRESSION: 10/10. Definitely the best part about this place - they honour reservations! I called them ahead of my 5pm reservation that I was running late (thanks America), and they held our table (until 7pm). We arrived at 6:30pm, were quickly seated, able to quickly order, served quickly, ate, and promptly left by 7:05pm. This place was fantastic!

We had dinner at Zakkushi while visiting Vancouver. Here are my thoughts:

LOCATION:
The restaurant is conveniently located on Denman Street in the West End area. Lots of shops, restaurants, etc around.

ATMOSPHERE:
If you have ever eaten at a Japanese Yakitori restaurant before, Zakkushi will seem very familiar. It features a traditional decor, which is very warm and inviting. As with all Yakitori restaurants (at least the ones I have been to) the kitchen area is open and you can see the chefs grilling the meats and preparing the food.

SERVICE:
The service here was pretty good. Nothing stellar, but in all fairness, they were extremely busy when we went. Every table was taken and they seemed to be a bit short staffed. They did try their best to attend to all the tables, but I think they were a bit overwhelmed.

The servers were all very nice. They were running around like crazy--very hard working. Communication was slightly challenging because they didn't speak English very well, but we managed without too much issue.

FOOD:
This is where this restaurant really shines. We ordered several things and loved them all. We stuck to the grilled skewers, which were all amazing.

Recommendations:
Miyazaki Wagyu
Rib Eye
Lamb Chop
Tebasaki
Oropon Beef
Saikyo Miso Beef
Garlic Beef
Yakioni
Zucchini
Garlic Prawn