Izakaya Tsuki

Everything tasted fine but nothing to write home about. We shared the smoked hamachi, tsuki don, hot BBQ chicken with cheese, squash poutine, and takoyaki. I would recommend skipping the chicken (definitely not worth $ 16) and poutine (more like tempera squash in curry sauce). There are other options on this street with better tasting and more attractive menu items. Service was what you expect from a bar — forget a few items or requests here and there. although no major complaints — it was simply mediocre.

My friend had really enjoyed his time here so when we wanted to meet up, he had recommended this place.
It’s true — you always walk by this restaurant without another glance — it looks almost dingy with no one ever there. WRONG! When you enter, the space is huge and black.
It’s best to order a couple of dishes here to share, but most of them are fried, greasy, and covered in Japanese Mayo. We had the Japanese pancake which was really yummy, but when we finished it, I could see all the oil on the plate.
Prices here are quite reasonable — with a glass of decent red at $ 4.99!!! Probably it’s no chianti but it did the job. What you really come here are for the Sake’s — there is a whole page (with pictures) dedicated to all the glorious Sake’s you can order. It’s a fun place to go with groups.
Seating is pretty spacious. Bathrooms are down a precarious set of stairs that look like you’re going to get jumped when you go down.

Makes sense that they have a chain of restaurants.
I came here last month with a friend around 8pm on a Thursday. We ordered a couple of things: buttered squid (I have tried it in the past and loved it), sushi roulette (I think this is the name where there are 6 makis and one has an insane amount of wasabi), green dragon roll, and a chicken dish with cheese and a spicy sauce.
The only let down of the night was the chicken dish (in my opinion). Portions did not add up to the price I was paying and there seemed to be too much happening on the plate. However, this may be because of how I prefer more «traditional» Japanese dishes. I liked how they used purple rice for the sushi.
The wait time for the sushis did take a while but might have been due to the place being pretty packed (no line up still).
Overall, I would recommend this place for its appetizers and sushis and probably lunch (what I had during my first visit).
Employees were polite as well.
Another con — small bathroom but this is common in Willowdale restaurants.
Note: I heard this restaurant along with the plaza its in will be shutting down soon.

More Korean than Japanese, still this place is a nice little joint with great food, and open late too! I’d eat here again, and I’d bring a dat me here if I had one.

So I must compare this one against the one in Richmond Hill. In short, this one isn’t as good as the one in RH. The staff is quite friendly but the food is not as good.
What did I have?
Sashimi Salad and Salmon Tataki — they almost taste the same.
Chirashi Don — The sashimi on this dish is quite fresh and tasty.
Buttered squid — A go to here but rather forgettable
What was good?
Chicken Teriyaki — While this is like eating in a foodcourt, it tasted really good.
Okonomi Yaki — I don’t think this tasted too traditional, but it still tasted good.
There is parking in the back though it is pay. Their prices are a bit cheaper than a more famous izakaya counterpart and with the moving in down the street, it’ll be tough. But they are cheaper I’m pretty sure.
Also good about this place is while it’s not quiet, it’s not as noisy either. It s a good place to get on this snack craze in T.O.

Nice uptown Izakaya. This may be my new Izakaya go-​to uptown, although I’m not sure if they can replace my don don.
My only complaint is that it was a bit dark in there even during day time and they kept playing with the lights. The music was a bit loud I couldn’t even hear the person across from me. The food was decent, my Izakaya favs/​standard bars are salmon warayaki and takoyaki. The salmon warayaki was flavourful, full of smoky aromas, on the pricey side. Combined with a pinch of sea salt it was good texture and taste overall. The takoyakis were nice and small, I like it better than bigger ones that just have more air inside. The piece of octopus inside was then proportionally bigger. There was lots of fish shavings on top and decent amount of mayo and okonomiyaki sauce. Each bite had a good proportion of octopus, warm potato mash and sauce. Since there was only two of us we only tried two other things. Cheese Buldak: hot BBQ chicken with cheese, basically pieces of grilled chicken with hot Korean sauce topped with melted cheese. This dish was okay for me, I don’t do so spicy. It wasn’t too flavourful and the cheese didn’t complement for some reason, I’ve had better. Also had the Tonkatsu Tamago Toji, fried pork chop with egg in broth. This was interesting to soak the Tonkatsu in broth and went well w the egg. Seems like a pork chop rice without the rice.
The service was okay, I really like the interior décor, was a good bar atmosphere. It was spacious and can accommodate larger groups. Will definitely come back to try more dishes!

I’ve neglected this place for the past few years. COME AT ONCE. It was packed on a Friday night, with cool young Asians getting their buzz on. Come here for a nice date night or for a night of fun. Didn’t drink however, but here’s what I ordered.
Tsuki Don: Sashimi bowl, it was so amazing! Coming back for more and it’s topped with melt in your mouth salmon and tuna, avacado. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ 13 $
Butter squid: infamous butter squid, flavoured with butter and soy sauce? And a spicy mayo for dipping sauce. Amazing. Would order again. ⁹⁄₁₀ 9 $
Beef tataki: pretty good raw beef– first time having it at an izakaya and it was served with a salad with balsamic vinagrette. Would come back for this. ⁸⁄₁₀ 13 $
Sashimi salad: amazing salmon and tuna pieces in a salad. Nowhere IVE been to in Toronto has tuna sashimi this good-​and IVE had otoro in osaka. ⁸⁄₁₀ 10 $
Ox tongue: I would stick to raw fish for this joint, it wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t order it again when I come back. ⁷⁄₁₀ 9 $
Come for the raw fish. Can’t go wrong!

Went last weekend with a friend and had a lovely time! The waiter we had was very friendly and when we asked him about some things we had to try, he suggested the buttered squid, tatakis, and some fried plates. I wasn’t feeling too well that night so we tried the first two and some other Korean styled soup bowl he suggested. The buttered squid and beef tataki were AWESOME. Korean styled soup was.interesting. It consisted of a very thick soup with some seafood in it (squid, shrimps, and mussels). I was a little bummed out about the fact that the mussels weren’t fully open (aka fully cooked) and the soup lacked a bit of flavour. I think I was expecting it to be like an udon so I was completely thrown off by it. However, everything else was delicious! Would definitely go back and give it another try!

My boyfriend and I decided to come here for Valentine’s Day and made reservations about an hour ahead. We’ve driven by this place quite often but never really thought of stopping by to try it. Glad we finally did though!
Right as you enter you are greeted by all the staff in the restaurant. We didn’t really like the seats we were given as we kept feeling the breeze. Thankfully the restaurant wasn’t packed yet and our waitress gladly switched us further away from the door. We were offered tea right away to warm up and started looking for what to order. I really liked the fact that almost every item on their menu had a picture to represent it visually. The only items that weren’t were the maki and sushi that I guess everyone is used to seeing. This made our picking items that much easier.
We definitely decided to try the grilled squid, as so many people have Unilocaled about how delicious it is. I decided to get the ramen soup, he got a massive seafood noodle dish (with shrimps, calamari, etc.) and we also ordered a spicy salmon roll (which I think was made with brown rice). One of the waiters came up to us so happily to tell us that they were serving a special Valentine’s Day drink for only 4 $. It was a lemony slushy drink that tasted really yummy. The table next to us saw them and decided to order them too!
The food was incredible. The ambiance was very romantic, even though it is a small place. But, the best thing about this place was hands down the service. We were made to feel very special. All the waiters were very attentive and ensured that we had a wonderful time. Always smiling and asking if everything was okay.
I will definitely be back here and bring my friends and family to try the food here. If you like Korean and Japanese food, this is definitely a great place to go.

4 stars for the food and another star for the terrific staff
The butter squid, Tsuki salad, and seafood pancake were very good
The portions are more than generous
The staff was helpful, friendly and very professional
I mentioned that I was staying at hotel nearby and was told that they offer a 10% discount to the hotel guests

Doesn’t look like much on the outside, but the inside has beautiful décor, great service, and excellent food. One of the better izakayas in Toronto. Extensive sake selection too!
Food comes out fast! Butter squid was indeed delicious, but alot of protein for one meal. Wish they had more veggie options, though they do have the classic edamame and seaweed salad, both of which are well flavoured.
Service was super on point — waiters and waitresses are always quietly scanning the tables and are ready to help you at the first sign of anything being needed, but don’t feel intrusive at all. One waitress noticed that I was making a bit of an effort to squeeze the last drop of lemon juice onto my butter squid, and promptly brought me a bowl with more lemon slices. THAT’s attention to detail!
Would definitely recommend as a great place for a group dinner or a cute date.

I love the location, because many of my friends reside in downtown and this is a great place to meet halfway. It is minutes from the subway station and very close to the 401, making it easy for the suburbans to meet up with their downtown dwelling friends more! The place how ever is medium sized and has cute intimate setting. Great for groups six or under, although I am sure they can accommodate larger groups. The have a cute patio in the front, which is closed for the winter obviously.
After reading reviews on Unilocal! I decided to try the wasabi octupus, and it was delicious! I absolutely loved it, for many reasons. It was something new and unique that I hadn’t tried before, it was very tasty, and it was under $ 5. I liked it so much that we ordered it twice! The bibimbap pot was good, tasty yet simple. We also ordered the Maguro Tataki (tuna), good but the pieces were very thin in my opinion. The teriyaki fries were nice too.
Overall the meal paired with a Japanese beer did not disappoint at all! In fact the food made the night very enjoyable!

I keep going back to the restaurant!
This reviews over here are so honest because they reflect the truth! I went there twice already and planning to visit more times! Their sushi are so fresh and good in quality, and i love how they use a different kind of rice. If you like fresh raw food, this place is amazing! And i love their cheesy chicken, and squid! Yum yum! Its not the cheapest you can get but you are paying for the quality. The only thing is food can come quite slow during weekends. Other than that its amazing!

I visited here on a slow weekday at a slow hour, which probably explained why the service was really quick considering we were two of the only customers there. Unlike the larger izakayas like Guu or Don Don which would cater to groups better, I think this is more for parties of two if you don’t want your food super delayed
Beef Tataki — Tasted so fresh with the spicy radish! ⁹⁄₁₀ I usually don’t like beef tartare/​sashimi for the raw taste, but this one was just right :)
Pork Kimchi Duruchigi — Very flavourful mostly because of the spicy kimichi, standard Korean dish taste but it helped fill us up since the rest of our dishes had the reg. small izakaya portions!
Gyu Tongue — It was cooked well but seasoning was really lacking, we finished it by dipping the tongue with the pork kimichi sauce per above…
BC Tuna Herb Yaki — My favourite at the dinner, it was semi-​cooked and the buttered soy sauce made the tuna melt in my mouth :3 Highly recommend!
Would come back again to try other items on the menu in the future :)

My friends and I (party of 8) came here on a rainy Friday night for a birthday celebration.
This particular izakaya stood out as it offered reasonable prices on the menu and wide selection compared to some other izakayas such as Guu. In addition to traditional Japanese choices, there were also some key Korean dishes. We ordered a the buttered squid, octopus balls to share as well as chirashi, rolls and bibimbap for entrees. The selection is perfect for sharing with a large group. Overall however, the service was poor which resulted in only 3 stars.
Food:
The chirashi was small, with purple rice and only a few slices of fish. However, I thought the fish was very high quality. For only $ 14 I would say this is a reasonable price for a nice light meal. The buttered squid was larger than I expected, and very tasty. Overall I was the food was reasonable for the price but you may want to order a few appetizers with an entrée due to smaller portions.
Service:
This is where the restaurant failed in my opinion. All the dishes came at random times (over the span of 15 minutes) for our group of 8, resulting in some of the food getting cold. Maybe they were not able to handle such a large crowd, but the buttered squid also arrived very late, when everyone was already done their meals. On the bibimbap, they had asked if we wanted an egg, but the dish arrived without an egg. The waiters rarely visited us to refill our waters and were generally not attentive to our needs.
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced izakaya place, I would recommend trying this out. Otherwise I don’t think I will be back.

I came to this restaurant really late at night and the food was delicious. My friend and I needed to eat a really late dinner and we were both satisfied. I tried the Tonkatsu Tamago Toji (Korean Egg Soup) and it was amazing!!! I had never had an egg soup until this point in time and I was miraculously surprised at how good it was. I loved it! I’m actually going to try and cook it at home. If I don’t succeed, I will definitely be back to eat some more.
My friend ordered sushi and a meat. They were also very happy with their meal.
I gave this restaurant three stars because I didn’t like the ambiance too much.
The waitress was a doll though. :)
It’s worth checking out!

I was hungry and it was late.
Tried it out and it was good. Not sure if I would go again.
The restaurant is amongst many good restaurants.
It doesn’t stand out, but does the job when you are there.

Love this quaint little Izakaya restaurant in Willowdale!
I’ve been here approximately 4 – 5 times and it has never disappointed me! The wait staff is friendly and the atmosphere is dim, so it can feel a bit «romantic» but it’s great for a group of friends as well. It’s not a loud environment, so you can have a clear conversation while enjoying and sharing your food with others.
I’ve been here with my partner as well as a group of coworkers. I’ve ordered the following and all have been very flavourful and cooked well.
Tako Wasabi (⁸⁄₁₀)
Tuna tataki (⁸⁄₁₀)
Ebi Mayo (¹⁰⁄₁₀)
Sushi and sashimi (9.5÷10)
Yaki Soba (6.5÷10)
Udon in soup (⁸⁄₁₀)
Spicy sashimi salad (¹⁰⁄₁₀)
Grilled buttered squid (¹⁰⁄₁₀)
As for pricing, it’s a bit more expensive to come here vs. a regular sushi restaurant or AYCE place. However, I would highly recommend coming here at least once in a while to get away from the mediocre and to try something fresh and better quality!
BTW.they recently promoted this polar/​frozensapporo beer with extra slush on top. I don’t recommend it and I don’t recommend paying an extra dollar for it. My partner and I tried it and you’re basically getting more «head» (i.e., frothy part of the beer) than the actual beer itself. Only get it if you like that part of the beer… Otherwise, you’re just waiting for the head to dissolve, which could take a while because it’s frozen! :P

We went on a Saturday night and it was pretty empty. 2 or 3 other tables when we arrived and only 1 when we left.
The layout and service was great. The food in general was really good and portion sizes were good for the money. I do need to recommend stay away from the sushi and rolls as they are not as good as the other dishes.
Ordered:
Buttered squid: really good and I will be back for this
Sashimi salad: also good. Dressing was nice and they are generous with the sashimi pieces. Good variety of greens too
Tongue appetizer: nice but pieces were tough. Won’t order again
Seafood pancake: huge and delicious. Great value and this will also my be in my go to order
Sashimi 18 piece: only ok. There wasn’t enough variety. The pieces were cut too thick too. Taste was decent. I won’t get this again mainly due to lack of variety. Mainly salmon and tuna which gets boring
Rainbow roll: ok. Taste was decent but I’d have to say below average compared to what I’m used too. Too much rice
Fried sampler: this was great. Even though these were fried it was pretty light.
So overall a good meal apart from the sashimi and roll. I’ll definitively be back but will stick to the other stuff

I came here with a friend and us 2 girls can pig out! It costs more to order these little dishes than at a AYCE place, but the food was different and unique, so it was ok. I say the prices is on the higher side, most of the dishes we ordered was $ 9-​$ 16 ish and they are pretty big, good for sharing. We ordered 6 dishes and was just right.
The rice dishes was small, little rice but lots of toppings so thats good. sashimi was fresh and the squid was good, tuna dishes are also delicious, but i would skip the chicken and deep fried stuff,
I like the menu has pictures and lots of selection, I would return again.
This place is small, you can kind of hear conversations near you, it’s not good for private chats.
There is parking lots near by, expect to pay around $ 5 for parking.