Kitanoya Guu With Otokame in Gastown joins Raku and Guu with Garlic as intimate hangouts
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Sharad Arora and Malani De Leon enjoy some saki before a sashimi salad at Kitanoya Guu With Otokamae in Gastown. Photograph by : Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun
If you’re in search of an izakaya nosh, maybe with a beer and a gaggle of friends, this place won’t exactly be front and centre.
Kitanoya Guu With Otokamae is located up deep inside The Landing complex in Gastown with seating on the second floor. Grab a table by the expansive windows — it’s a lovely setting looking down upon Water Street.
It bears a name that doesn’t easily slip off the tongue. Just try to remember it if you’re not Japanese. I won’t try to explain the meaning to you because after talking to staff, I’m still not quite clear — something about the owner’s name, being a man and being high-end.
It is one of three izakayas owned by this man. Raku on Thurlow was one of the earlier izakayas, an intimate hangout for young, noisy English language students from Japan. The second, Guu with Garlic is bigger and just as noisy, except in this case, it’s the staff yelling orders down to the kitchen, right from your table.
The small plate dishes are all under $10 and you’ll find shareables such as seared tuna sashimi with ponzu sauce; grilled king crab with wasabi mayo; black cod with sweet miso sauce.
There’s no fear of fusion food here and some of the dishes declare that — like the deep-fried brie with mango sauce and mussels with garlic cream sauce and garlic baguette.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars. (mstainsby@png.canwest.com)
– – –
KITANOYA GUU WITH OTOKAMAE
375 Water St., 604-685-8682
© The Vancouver Sun 2006