Iru Izakaya Brossard — Restaurant in Brossard

I went on opening night. Some hiccups were expected, but this experience was barely acceptable.

I reserved for 9pm and arrived promptly at that time. I was seated ahead of another couple who was there before me. My brother was late and arrived at 9:15. No one had yet come to see me to offer water or otherwise. At 9:20, I considered calling the restaurant as we were unable to flag any waiter or waitress down (not for lack of trying).

My brother finally caught someone's attention. We advised her that we had not received any sign of a waiter till this point, not even water. She apologized and indicated she would get us water and asked if we were ready to order.

We ordered age tofu, takoyaki and karaage to start, as well 1L of beer to share. The waitress confirmed the order and asked if the beer was to be split. I confirmed. She brought water.

By 9:45, we still had not gotten any beer. Our food arrived. The couple seated after me left. We flagged another employee to ask about our beer. Our waitress returned at 9:55 with a large 1L tankard of beer. She belatedly brought 2 glasses and tried to pour from the tankard to the glasses, spilling most of the beer on the floor. She said she would return with a new glass. She never returned.

The tofu was firm, not soft as it should be. Either overcooked or they used hard tofu. It was not good. It was severely overpriced at 12$ for 5 pieces of about 1.5x2x2cm.

The karaage (12$) was underwhelming, not juicy, seemed like something you could buy at the supermarket.

The takoyaki was good, but contained very little meat and was overpriced (13$ before tax and tip for 5 pieces).

At this point, around 10:10 someone finally came to see us to ask us about our experience without us having to flag anyone down. It was the only highlight up till then.

We provided feedback as above. She told us that the couple who left had similar complaints to us and asked for our understanding as it was opening night, that it wasn't their intention for us to be neglected. She asked if there was anything she could do to make our visit more pleasant. We requested for beer as our beer was on the ground. She removed the beer from our bill and gave us 2 pints for the trouble.

My brother wanted to try more items on the menu to better judge the food. While waiting for our waitress to return, we received a tuna tartare plate that we did not order, and that did not seem on the menu. The head chef, Van, came to see us to describe the plate as it we not on the menu and was on the house. The vinaigrette was good. The tuna was tasty, but still had freezer taste as though not having been defrosted for long enough. Still good though.

The room was less crowded when we placed our next order, consisting of yakiniku and ikayaki. The chicken was a good portion and was at a good price point at 10$ for 2 large skewers. It was decently tasty. The ika was delicious, the outside perfectly cooked. The inside was undercooked, but understandable for the opening night with tweaks to be made. It was still the best dish till then, but pricy at 15$.

We were offered a yuzu verrine for dessert to make up for our experience. It was delicious.

We waited for our bill, but ended up having to flag someone down again to get it done. We left at 11:45.

I would have given a 1-star review after our first round of orders, but the second round was redeeming enough for 3 stars. However, did the service become better because we complained? It seemed that other tables were being adequately served by the staff.

Regardless of my initial misgivings, given that one of the managers was receptive to our feedback, I am open to returning in a few weeks or months to try it again. I may change my...

I went to this restaurant on New Years' eve with some friends. The restaurant had a special 7-course omakase menu including dessert and a small glass of champagne. The price was $120 per person. Truthfully, the food isn't exceptional enough to warrant that amount, but given that it's a unique occasion, it was acceptable. I would suggest $100 for future events. The restaurant was fairly empty, which may have been the intention with the entry price - to keep a quieter atmosphere for the guests. As such, the atmosphere was very pleasant. Staff was extremely friendly and attentive as always (we've been there before - service is always top notch).

Overall, the food was very good, but not exceptional. I want to be clear in this description - I've been to many high-end Japanese restaurants in different countries, and I'm trying to make a fair comparision - for this price level. High-end Japanese food, or a Michelin star restaurant, have very little in common with what was served. However, the food at Iru Izakaya is excellent for a "medium price" fusion restaurant. I don't want to understate that. Notably, the presentation was very nice.

What stands out: -Beautiful atmosphere -Excellent service -Above average food -Very nice presentation -Cleanliness

What wasn't great: -A staff member (kitchen staff, I believe?) poured himself some beer from the bar tap and started drinking it right in front of us. As a guy, on New Years' eve, I totally get it. Naturally though, it's completely unacceptable for any restaurant, and staff members should be aware to never do this, or to at least be discreet. -Price is a little high for what was offered

One tip I would give to the owner or head chef, is to think about what Japanese food represents. Japanese cooking focuses on fresh food, minimal preparation and subtle flavours. This restaurant serves fusion cuisine with well-cooked ingredients and strong flavours. There is nothing wrong with that, and I understand the business of restaurants perfectly, having been a consultant for hundreds in the past. I would suggest for you to come up with one or two seasonal, traditional, and still "fun" dishes that you could afford to get "really right" every time, as core Japanese offerings at a slightly reduced profit (to ensure that enough people can try them), and market those aggressively (important). If portions are kept small, other more profitable dishes would then supplement them. This would give guests a talking point that's specific to your restaurant. "I want to go to Iru because I want dish X." Given that you're a fusion restaurant, you also have some flexibility with fun yet profitable options such as specialty bubble tea, which would be a magnet for the Asian demographic. :) Guests would be left quite happy in these scenarios, and a few solid dishes would help increase the unique appeal of your restaurant. Improvements like that could make a big difference for when the new REM station finally...

Where do I start. This was such an uncomfortable and awkward dinner situation. I showed up at the restaurant just passed 9pm. I had absolutely no expectations but I noticed they had a sign in the entrance that said they had a special from Sunday to Thursday starting from 9pm for 3 items for 33$. I was thinking thats cool, so i went online and saw that they had 10 options you could choose from the 3 for 3 menu. So i kindly told my waiter thats what i would choose. He said the menu had changed a bit but didnt specify what exactly had changed. I also asked if he popular go to utems on his menu and answered yes but didn't specify what they were 🤔 I ended up picking my own choice of 3 options from the 3 for 3 options and picked one item that wasnt (hence 4 items total thinking i would pay 33$ plus my item that wasnt on the 3 fir 33 menu) . When my food arrived my second item was something i had never ordered so i asked the waiter and he kindly said there was a misunderstanding and that the item I originally asked for was no longer on the menu. So i went back to the 3 for 3 menu and told him to give me a bit of time to choose something else. I end up choosing a 3rd item. At the end of my meal the waiter kindly brought me a dessert and said it was for not having the item i had asked for initially whuch I gladly accepted. When it came time to pay for the bill i didnt understand why it was much pricier than what I expected it to be. I looked at it sbd to my surprise there was no 3 for 33$ special it was everything at its original price. I kindly told the waiter I didn't understand the price and asked why the 3 for 33$ special hadnt bedn applied to my bill. He said im sorry the 3 for 33$ spexhas not been removed from our website. I looked st him puzzled and said you have a big sign in the entrance way stating 3 for 33$ after 9pm??? He then said ge was dorry and thst he would change the bill. It was a very unpleasant situation. Its a shame because i live right nxt to this restaurant and it was my first time there i would really wanted to love my experience so i could go back but it just made me uncomfortable. Also a shame because the food was really good. Unfortunately i will not be returning be ause of...