KINKA IZAKAYA ORIGINAL — Restaurant in Toronto

I had a horrible service here that I don't want anyone else to encounter. We arrived to the Kinka Izakaya Original location before 11:15, and we were instantly greeted by the server telling us that we have 15 minutes for last call of food and drinks. I personally had a great time at Kinka Izakaya Harbour, and I enjoyed the Gyu Carppacio and Kakimayo so much that I wanted to stay and dine in. We ordered two sapporos, Gyu Carppacio, two Kakimayo, Salmon Oshizushi and Kimchi Nabe which in total costed around $67. The first problem occurred when they made the last call before any of the food was brought in. The server literally said "you have 8 minutes until last call, so should I take the menu or do you want to order something". I was fairly disappointed by the rude server, but I understood because the kitchen had to close. The second problem was when they brought the Salmon Ozhizushi. It is a basic restaurant rule to bring the soup, salad, appetizer and the main, but for some reason, our main was brought first. After the Gyu Carppacio, which was only the second food, they brought the bill, and the time was around 11:42. I paid cash and asked for change, and the change was roughly around $12.95. When the server brought a $10 bill, I asked her to split the bill so I can pay the tip. At this point, I was willing to pay 10% tip, as no service was given, only half the food was a provided, and the servers were desperate to settle the bills. However, the server told me she cannot split the bill with no specific reason. I assume it was because she wanted the $10 as tip, or that they didn't manage their changes properly that they had no spares for $10. I managed to find loonies, and toonies to give 10% tip. The rest of the food was horrible. Kinka Izakaya's wasabi mayo often tastes really good, but for some reason, the chef decided to put the sauce on only one side of the dish. Kimchi Nabe's broth was delicious, but only to find bulks of beef that were not separated during the cooking process. As well as the Kakimayo, brought in too late to enjoy the flavours, with too much cheese that I can hardly taste the spinach sauce I enjoyed at the Harbour front location. The servers were extremely rude, speaking Japanese with coworkers WHILE serving our table, and one of the server passed by saying "Tasukete" which directly translates to "save me"..... This location needs to manage their staffs properly. We left the table with both Kimchi Nabe and Kakimayo barely touched, and the servers didn't even bother to check up on us. If you really want to go to Kinka Izakaya, I highly recommend you try other locations, or don't go near the...

I was honestly disappointed by not only the service but the food as well.

My partner and I had come here for my birthday (this is important later for the review). We had picked this restaurant thinking the food would be great and the service would be awesome too, judging from other reviews. However, this was not entirely true.

We had both ordered the set menu which was $39 each. It came with 4 or 5 smaller dishes/appetizers and 1 main Kinka Cheese Bibimbap.

The first dishes that came up were the miso soup and the salad. The salad was simple which is okay but there was barely any dressing. The tofu was unseasoned completely and It felt like eating raw vegetables. But fair, that is okay. I think the most disappointing thing was the cheese bibimbap. I really hoped that they tasted prior to serving. It does not taste like anything and we could not really taste the cheese either. It just felt extremely under-seasoned.

The MOST disappointing thing is: we saw someone else being cheered on for having their birthday at the same time as us, yet we received nothing. It made me wonder why we had received different treatment. Additionally, as we would normally think, when someone celebrates their birthday in a restaurant, they would perhaps receive a free dessert but we also did not receive anything. My partner specifically reserved this spot indicating that it would be my birthday, however, they dismissed it completely. Further, when my partner asked if they did anything special for people celebrating their birthdays, the server replied with "uh... We usually put a candle on for customers who purchase a dessert." This was especially awkward because we were in the middle of eating our dessert and there were no candles at all. She did not apologize and she did not say anything else further to mitigate the issue.

We had put a lot of time and effort to this reservation but it felt like we were treated unfairly and completely dismissed. It also felt disappointing when we paid over 100 dollars for two people for a birthday.

That being said, the salmon tataki and the...

5 reviews 4.0 star rating 8/15/2017 This is a strong four stars. Beautiful plating, delicious stuff. It's lovely to find a Japanese restaurant in Toronto that doesn't specialize in sushi or ramen. Definitely a standout amongst the throng of 5+ other Japanese places just a few minutes from here.

We came right before last call at lunch (2pm) - they don't admit new customers, but you are free to sit there and eat. Service staff was very nice and accommodating. Blizzard happening outside so we stayed till 4:40pm without question. Fantastic service, happy & outgoing guys, could not recommend this part enough.

Now, for the food. The descriptions that they went with on the menu didn't make me salivate, but the food did. For small plates, ordered the okonomiyaki (fried squid pancake drizzled with mayo & tonkatsu sauce) and takoyaki (exquisite deep fried squid balls drizzled with mayo & tonkatsu sauce). Both were delicious - especially piping hot immediately when served. Crispy on the outside, melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside. Fairly authentic, Osaka-style, if I remember correctly.

Super yummy, but the tonkatsu sauce + mayo was a bit overkill. I wouldn't say it drowned out the flavor, but it made the meal pretty heavy - good for feeling full, but next time I probably wouldn't order two dishes that were that similar... Sauce was getting a bit too much and we were bored and full of it.

The kaarage don was okay and on the smaller side, but nothing to write home about. Miso on the salty side, salad pretty lacklustre. Both of us have "small" stomachs and we were satiated, but not full. For the price, the serving sizes are mediocre, not great. We finished off with a small slice of delicious matcha cheesecake which was drizzled with chocolate sauce and presented with a dollop of whipped cream.

All in all, above and beyond for service and atmosphere, a light 4 for the food. Looking forward to come back to get...