Zakkushi On Carlton - Toronto

Can't beat the greeting from staff here, both arriving and leaving! You hear staff greeting everyone this way, very special. Super friendly folks. Excellent food. My only compliant is that pictures on the menu are super close-ups, meaning portions served are not "large" like the pictures on the menu. Open late. Plenty of parking nearby. Plenty of seating in this establishment. Two or more Japanese beers on draft. Noise level of crowd is high. Nice place.

Decided to visit after seeing an online advertisement or article somewhere. Came with my girlfriend on a casual weekday date night. Was lucky and got seated right away around 7:30pm on a Tuesday night.Atmosphere / Location: Small place, sorta hidden, and in a pretty sketchy neighbourhood. Parking is free after 9pm on the street. Upon entering, you feel like you're transported into another world. The servers all shout a welcoming greeting. You feel the lively buzz in the air and the commotion of the diners. Decor is mainly wood, and their seating arrangements are pretty small. Probably wouldn't come with a large group unless you reserve ahead. Service: Super friendly and welcoming. Food comes pretty quick even though it was a full house. I guess for the most part, they're grilling skewers and it really shouldn't take that long! Servers also make recommendations on their popular dishes if you can't decide from their extensive menu.Food: So many options! Fairly overwhelming as the menu is full of enticing, mouth-watering pictures. Don't feel pressured to order. Take your time and go through each option! We basically tried everything, aside from their 'premium' Wagyu offerings. Having said that, we did have their Wagyu meatball, which had a very robust, beefy flavour. I really enjoyed their Premium Beef Tongue - super tender, and didn't have an overbearing 'tongue' flavour. Quail Eggs were also fantastic. Another memorable dish was their Monk Fish Liver appetizer - tried it for the first time and it really is like Foie Gras of the sea; similar texture and mouth feel. I can go on forever about how the other skewers were delicious, but best you come with a few friends to try them all! Other 'must-try' items: U-Don Carbonara, and all their desserts (tofu; mochi - perfectly chewy and not too sweet despite the 'honey' description; pudding). The only items I wouldn't get again are their "Tea-grias" - way over-priced.Value: Excellent as there's so much variety. Their "premium" items are still affordable, especially if you split in a group. The platters / sets are a great choice to sample a bit of everything.Overall, will definitely be returning. So many more items to try. Won't be splitting the U-Don Carbonara next time! Too good to share. Very fun experience.

It was late for dinner, 10pm on Tuesday. We had to wait for half an hour, still full house for that late at night. But the food was delicious with good service. The price, of course, worth every penny. The interior décor and atmosphere were great, especially for group gathering. Great place for dinner.

I was there more than 5 times per year but if you don't want to long wait, you have made sure to call for tables reserved otherwise you may have to wait. Very delicious skewers and you can able to see the chef to cook every single skewer in front of you if you close to the kitchen.

Went with a group for my birthday party, and we were not disappointed. The food was high quality and consistent. The servers were very attentive and polite considering the stress they must have. And to top it off, the lights in the whole restaurant dimmed when they sang "Happy Birthday" for me. Grossly embarrassing but fun.Considering I have been to Japan several times, the food is generally on par. The only thing is the price but you do get what you pay for. Been to other izakaya in Toronto and are not as good as this.