Kinoya Izakaya

Not serious, poorly organized. You reserve and they overbook. Don’t make this a staple of your night

Good food but very small portions and the fried shrimp came very oily, the service was good however we were practically expelled cuz half an hour before closing they began to close the restaurant putting the chairs on the table forcing us to go out, I have no desire come back!

Really good service and the food is pretty good but as it is a tapa restauraunt you don’t feel especially full if you don’t order a large amount of side dishes which can get pretty pricey. I recommend the okonomoyaki, oysters (a dollar each on wednesday), and the karage (fried chicken). The ramen was good, but not spectacular. The small portion for the price was not really worth it and it didnt taste that authentic. Still, there food is okay-​pretty good, be prepared to spend money if you intend to be full!

For Japanese Tapas, this is THE spot in town.
I’ve been therea few times. I loved their salmon in spoons, tuna tartare, ceviche, grilled scallop, squidé Everything is tasty
But, the service is little bit slow.
Not too pricy. You must try this place, a great spot

Excellent place. We had split two ramen dishes between a table of three. The food was delicious and authentic, the atmosphere is spectacular and very unique, and the staff were excellent. The prices were very reasonable considering the size and quality of the dishes.

The service speed is terrible. We ordered at 7:45pm and we’re still waiting at 9:15pm. The food is delicious. Octopus balls are to die for. The zen cocktail tastes delicious.
On the other hand, I need to reiterate the speed of the service. Bottom of the barrel service. Sure, the ambience fits the small space but i would expect to have my food by the 30 min mark.

Beaucoup aimé le service ! La bouffe est délicieuse, nous nous sommes régalés. Le principe des petits plats me plait beaucoup. Le seul bémol: le décor de bois envahissant !

Very good. This has been on my «must try» list for a little. I had the chance to go for lunch today.
Was impressed by the décor. Feels like your in a ship with all the wooden walls and ceiling.
The bento was full and tasty. The fried chicken well seasoned, the potato croquette was very crunchy and not oily. The miso soup had lots of umami present.
The price was very affordable too. Will be back for dinner!

Izakayas or Japanese-​style pubs have becoming very popular in and around Montréal over the past year or so. Previously, there was Imadake and… well no others really. Now, each neighbourhood seems to have one and more are soon the way. Through a friend’s birthday gathering, I found myself at Kinoya along St-​Denis curious to see if this particular Izakaya holds up to my previous experiences itself in the city and elsewhere.
Walking into the wooden hut/​grotto Kinoya has structured within the standard plateau storefront, the restaurant definitely has a unique visual appearance compared to many of the new Japanese pubs in town. They do have the classic «salute» from the staff when you walk in — which I’ve always loved despite the awkwardness that it can create for the uninitiated. Also, it is rather weird to be saluted in Japanese by an entire French Canadian staff I must admit but I digress… The space is nice overall however the low ceilings created by the grotto look creates more cacophony than is ideal.
We were at a pub after all so a drink is a must. Given the presence of some speciality cocktails on the menu, we decided to try a couple. First was the Zen — Sake, Midori and Lychee Juice. Very strong on the Lychee side of things which worked for my girlfriend but not so much for me.
My choice was the Gingin — Gin, Ginger Ale, Fresh Ginger Juice And Soda. Once again, the non-​alcoholic components overpowered the alcohol. I enjoy ginger but not on the level that this drink brought forth. A totally miss on my end here.
Given the nature of an Izakaya, over the course of the evening, we ordered a much of plates in no particular order. The key is that process is that service is spot-​on and the dishes come quickly which is exactly what occurred. First up, I can never say no to a nice bowl of salty edamame.
The Tako Kimchi or octopus and cucumber with spicy kimchi sauce was less successful. The spicy kimchi was good but the octopus was a little chewy and frankly the portion was much too small given the price of the dish. The plate could barely be shared by 2 people. I know an Izayaka is all about small plates but this was pushing it a little too far
The Kamo Carpaccio — seared duck breast carpaccio with spicy tahini sauce — was a better success. The rich fatty duck was sliced thinly and paired well with the sauce although it wasn’t as spicy was perhaps I would have expected.
I couldn’t help ordered some Gyoza — pan-​fried Japanese dumplings — as well. The dumplings were okay nothing more sadly. The filling was nice and meaty but I wanted them a little more fried up and the sauce was unremarkable.
The big hit was the Ikayaki — squid marinated in sake and grilled with shichimi spice and mayo. The squid was beautifully tender and grilled nicely although the sake marinate really wasn’t noticeable flavour-​wise. The spicy mayo provided a nice kick and a good pairing to the squid.
I also wanted to try the Kara-​Age — Japanese style fried chicken marinated in fresh ginger and soya sauce. Very enjoyable on my end. Great crunch to the chicken while still keeping the meat tender and juicy. Again, the marinade wasn’t noticeable flavour-​wise but it was good regardless.
Lastly, I felt the need for a dessert so I went with the Anmitsu — mochi pearls in red bean sauce with ice cream and matcha. A very nice dessert — I love red bean sauce and matcha with vanilla ice cream matched well with that sauce. A great way to end the meal.
Kinoya was a good experience but not a memorable one. Some dishes were hits. Others were disappointments. With an Izayaka, the ambience is very important but if the dishes don’t hit consistently, it is hard to be a memorable night regardless of the rest. Kinoya goes into the mix of all of the other Japanese pubs in town but doesn’t elevate above the fray to be one of the best.
Cheers!

Excellent food. Try the octopus balls and okonomiyaki. Excellent cocktails and plum wine.
Sashimi was a tad less than excellent however.
Service was exceptional. Not just friendly but super-​friendly.
Very fun atmosphere.

La bouffe est correct, les gyoza (dumpling) etaient excellent! Les bouchées de homard etait également tres bonnes!
L’ambiance est agreable, le service correct mais sans plus.
Sans que ce soit un classique, le
Kinoya est une bonne place pour le 5a7 et un snack rapide.

A friend and I wanted to try out some new Japanese restaurants that aren’t that popular in Montréal and this was one of them. As we went into the restaurant, there were several Japanese designs on their wall that makes it look very stylistic and modern. It was around 1PM at the time so we were only able to order from the lunch menu.
Service was pretty slow although there were only a few groups dining. We got the pork broth ramen along with the sashimi-​don. I really anticipated on having some nice Japanese flavors in these two dishes, but as it turned out, we don’t think the place is Japanese owned. Ramen consists of Chinese noodles instead of Japanese (noodle was wavy instead of straight), and the broth has a Chinese taste to it. Sashimi-​don had decent fish and sushi rice along with a few pieces of avocado, but the salad side-​dish consisted of a Westernized sauce. I wish the salad had a Japanese vinaigrette instead to complement the dish.
Overall, I think the price is not bad for what we get, but I really wish it was a real Japanese restaurant with real Japanese flavors.

Bonne nourriture. Bonne ambiance. Bön rituel de «saké bomb»! Thumbs up! Excellente soirée avec un groupe d’amis.

Je cherchais desesperement un endroit ou manger un ramen bien chaud a ma pause a la job et j’ai trouve a par hasard.
Le ramen aux fruits de mer est tres bon et bouratif, bon prix pour ce que c’est!
Le service etait rapide et le serveur vraiment gentil! Puis le resto a vraiment une belle deco a l’interrieur, on se sent vraiment ailleurs!

Slow service. Too small. Place was ram-​crammed and not in a good way. Food was OK — some dishes were great, while others were mediocre. Not worth price or ambiance.

Overall, not impressed with the experience.
Arrived on Saturday 630 to avoid the rush. After being seated we were quickly served with beverage. The place isn’t busy yet it took about half an hour for the waiter to come take our order.
The food was served very slowly. We ordered two appetizers with five main (not quite but slightly heavier portions) to be split amongst three people. Strangely the appetizers (one of which was sashimi) weren’t served until another twenty minutes later. We already ran out of tea and the server never walked by to refill it. I caught him playing on his phone for most of the time I was waiting.
The food didn’t blow me away either. Out of the 8 dishes ordered we were only satisfied with three of them — the sashimi platter, the ramen and the tuna/​salmon/​avocado rice bowl. The chicken skewers were dry, the mushroom /​cheese stir fry didn’t bring out the flavours of the mushroom, the rice balls tastes bland, the deep fried tofu was overly watery on the inside and over-​fried on the outside, the deep fried cheese stick w Yuzu was just. Kinda weird. I can’t really formulate an opinion about this last dish because I just have no idea what it’s trying to be.
Overall the experience is passable. The price is not exorbitant (100 before tips for the three of us) so I don’t feel robbed. But probably won’t make my way back there again.

I wanted to visit Kinoya ever since I was passing by this place and saw their $ 1 oyster on Thursdays promotion. Unfortunately, the experience left me disappointed and a little bit angry with the «service» (or lack of it) we have received.
I made the bookings for 18:00 for 2, my husband and I were there on time sharp. I was looking forward to oysters and eating delicious Japanese appetizers and drinking plum wine. We arrived to this place and there were only few occupied tables (it’s important later), so not it was not busy.
First of all, the service was almost non– existent, once we received our bottle of wine and oysters it pretty much went downhill from there. Several waiters/​barmen came to bring the food, no one asked if we wanted anything we had to always try to get staff’s attention to ask for more ice or water or anything. The oysters? I get why the price is $ 1 now because the way it was presented and the taste? One of the worst ones in my life.
The food took a while, and we were prepared to wait since the bar/​resto was getting busier and busier, however, when the tables closer to the entry were getting more food and dumplings while we did not even get our dumplings that we’ve ordered.
Suddenly we have received one of the appetizers that we certainly did not ordered, however, not wanting to be difficult or cause inconvenience I said we’ll keep it and informed the person to put it on our bill.
After almost an hour and fifteen/​twenty minutes of wait, a different staff member brings another of our orders and informs us that this is the LAST from our orders. We gently explained the situation and told him that we were still waiting for one more plate that we still have not received. This is where my patience started to run a bit low. Anyway, we have finished with our meal and waiting for the plate of dumplings that we’ve ordered over an hour an a half ago by that time. I definitely saw several plates of dumplings being carried to other tables, not ours.
At that time I’ve told my husband that I’m going to give the last chance and wait 10 more minutes, however, if we’re not getting our plate we’re definitely out of there. Well, as I thought it did not show up, so I got up and asked for the check. This was just not a good service at all.
Finally, when I came to pay the check, surprise surprise! The dumplings that we have never had were definitely included in our bill. This was the last straw for me, I was disappointed and angry and felt like I’ve just wasted our night on something which is not worth it. I asked for the bill to be corrected and paid the bill. However, for the first time in my life I left 0 tip. Since I was upset I didn’t bother explaining the staff or complaining because it’s not something I do. However, I thought I would leave my feedback here to help you to build a good customer service and reputation.
Please take my constructive criticism and use it to improve this place if you want to have a successful business and happy clients. It would not hurt to hire maybe few more people and give them a proper training instead of training them how to say «Irasshaimase» in badly mispronounced Japanese. Anyway, that’s my review of this place. Would I recommend it to any of my friends? No.

Great service and equally great food. A little on the expensive side but worth it even just for the ambience! We just randomly stopped in while looking for a restaurant on st Denis and we definitely weren’t disappointed.

Super bon, 5@7 super convivial et délicieux pour le prix! À essayer! Bouffe originale, de qualité et bien préparée. Le décor est chaleureux et le service aussi.

Neat little taste of Japan–
My wife and I ended up an hour ahead of reservations. We felt bad, but figured we’d chance it. The place opens at 1700 so as we sat down they were still prepping the dining room. Still, no problem. Notice how i said sitting down. Our waitress let us pick a spot and the house had no problems with our (very) early arrival.
We had a Tuango coupon for a tasting for two, so we passed that to our server, and ordered some cocktails and some sake bombs (if you go make sure at least 2 of you have the sake bomb. They have their own mantra for enjoying this little devil and you will smile).
The meal was so much fun to see and eat. Everything was cooked beautifully, going by taste and presentation over size and breaking belt buckles. Out of the foods brought to the table a few stand outs were the Salmon spoons, with popped rice, with a honey wasabi sauce,
the butterfly shrimp, covered in a wonderful garlic sauce and topped with fish roe, the fried balls of octopus, and beef sashimi, that had a ponzu ginger sauce that could melt away a sour Monday.
Only one gripe is the Kimchi Cesar. It wasn’t anything like it sounded it would be… but the waitress traded it for a lychee cocktail that tasted like a rush of all the wonderful smells of a botanical garden.
I cannot stress enough the service was wonderful (but a bit slow due to full front of the house and one server). She did her job though and kept us happy as customers.
We will definitely come back for more with friends.

Pour la bouffe japonaise, vous pourriez faire bien pire que de manger ici. Rien de spectaculaire mais quand meme satisfaisant pour un izakaya.
J’ai apprecie le tartare de saumon wasabi et miel, le poulet karaage et le tsukedon (bol de riz avec thon marine… quoique le riz pourrait etre meilleur)
Mes seules deceptions: j’ai cherche longtemps pour le morceau de pieuvre dans le takoyaki tant il etait minuscule. La fraicheur des morceaux de poisson crus etait dans la moyenne des restaurants japonais montrealais.
Pour ce qui est de l’ambiance, je né peux m’y prononcer car il n’y avait personne (c’etait un dimanche soir).

Went there tonight with friends, good service. Nice shoyu ramen. It’s a must try!

Nice atmosphere and good service but terrible food. My girlfriend is Japanese so naturally, we try all the Japanese restaurants and I’ve become a bit of a snob having had the best. This restaurant is subpar in almost every way. Most of their food is shipped in boxes from Japan and frozen on site. If you look into the kitchen you can even see them pulling everything out of the massive freezer. The butterfish wasn’t real butter fish, the salmon in the rice ball was from a can, the miso soup was basically salt soup (more than usual), etc. Afterwards, I even had strong stomach cramps. To top it all off, it’s insanely overpriced. I only gave it two stars because of the atmosphere and waitstaff.

Quiet Japanese restaurant with great tapas!
I have to admit that I am a Japanese tapas addict. Kinoya is one of of must-​try restaurant in Montréal. Recommand the tenderest beef tongue, ramen soup, and wasabi salmon.

Le plus récents de izakaya et premier du genre sur le plateau, le Kinoya offre une belle alternative aux établissements du genre du centre-​ville. Et oui, on est accueilli avec la salutation (faudra qu’on m’explique ce qu’elle est, car je me retrouve toujours à crier un semblant de syllabe né faisant aucun sens), un staff compétent et un beau choix de «tapas» japonais. Mes préférés sont définitivement le poisson au beurre, la brochette de bœuf et la pizza Sushi servi en format bouchée. Beau choix de saké et de cocktails (amateur de gingembre, essayez le gingin), le seul point faible reste la carte des desserts. Finalement le décor style manga donne une belle ambiance. La prochaine fois, j’y en gang car j’aurais essayé toute la carte.