Izakaya

What do you think of first when you hear Chinese food, Italian, German, Japanese, and Vietnamese?

I think spring rolls, pasta, sausage, sushi, and pho. Maybe you're thinking along the same lines. It all seems so stereotypical. I'd be really surprised find pasta not as the recommended choice at an Italian restaurant.

Surprise is what I felt when I went to Izakaya. This is a Japanese restaurant that didn't serve sushi or sushimi.

I ordered some fish plate that seemed like it had lots of tomato . It didn't seem very Japanese to me. I had a feeling it was fish as I could see the pieces of fish still moving. The atmosphere was calm and lively. The food was alright. I'm not fond of writing restaurant reviews so you'll just have to find one on the net and taking too many pictures would have freaked out my friends.. It was definitely a change - really nice not to see bento boxes and order the usual california rolls.

This restaurant didn't seem like a place I'd go again. I'd still like to be able to order sushi rolls at a Japanese restaurant. Sometimes a culture is able to rid themselves of that stereotype like Chinese food. I wouldn't be surprised if you can't get chicken balls or spring rolls at a Chinese restaurant in Toronto. But don't take away my spicy tuna rolls from Japanese restaurants!!