Nakayoshi Izakaya — Restaurant in Toronto

Went here on a whim while looking around. Food was great, service was excellent and dining area, washroom was well kept and clean. I ordered the lunch special which was an amazing deal.

Food - before the meal arrived, we were served tea, miso soup and salad with a house dressing. The miso soup was well made, I found the flavor balanced with a good mixture of green oinions, tofu, and seaweed. It wasn't overpowering like some places I've visited. The salad was good at first but j found the flavor of the dressing too much on the creamy side, but was a nice change from the sweet dressing most places use. The tea was good however found it too light for me, the serving were inconsistent, one cup had nice subtle hints of flavor while the other tasted like hot water.

The teriyaki Bento I ordered was a great value. The chicken was moist and the sauce was rich. The rice tasted fresh. The tempura crab, fish, and shrimp that came in the Bento was delicious however I found the crab to be soggy. Fried Gyoza was also part of the deal, the shell was crunchy and wasnt too greasy with oil. The filling was good however I found it needed more flavour. The dipping sauce that came with it didn't really add much aside from a light salty taste.

Overall i rate my experience 4/5 because of Great service Cleanliness Value for meal Great lunch special

Gyoza filling needed more flavor Tempura crab soggy Inconsistent tea Salad dressing too rich and...

Unfortunately, this was not a positive experience. We came around lunch and there were a few tables (2 other tables). I wouldn't call this true izakaya; it's more just a sushi place with some BBQ. Every dish was quite bland, and the maki and Sunrise rolls were so, so sloppy. I have a hard time believing an actual sushi chef is in the kitchen. Sashimi was cut very poorly too. Agedashi tofu had no flavour and I have no idea what half of the tempura veggies even were. They were deep fried to death and then some. Except for broccoli which was full of raw batter.

Service was nice but very VERY slow and inefficient. She kept forgetting things and we had to ask multiple times for just tea. Trying to pay the bill was insane. A less ethical person would have walked out. We literally had to chase her down across the restaurant to pay, and she kept saying "ok" and then not bringing us the bill. She put walk-ins ahead of us. You also can't get a copy because it's handwritten, not even with carbon copy. Clearly she couldn't handle the whole place alone. If we had just sat there waiting, we easily could have been there another 30 min at least. Especially for people on a lunch break, avoid this place if you have a time limit.

The prices are way too high for the low quality of food and service. Very disappointed....

Who: A couple

When: Friday Night (9PM)

Food: Saba Shioyaki (3/5) Chicken Karaage (2/5) Black Cod (3/5) Yakitori (2/5) Shio Ramen (2/5)

I'm not sure what happened. It's possible it was just an off day, where my partner's palate, and mine were just off, or maybe the food was just not to our liking?

Atmosphere/Menu I feel that this restaurant is a little confused, it almost lacks an identity by trying to do too much. Ramen? Izakaya? Sushi? There's plenty of restaurants in Toronto that focus on one, or perhaps even two of these. Maybe it's possible that the chef that day specialised in Sushi (which we didn't order).

Deeper Dive. The Chicken Karaage was a bit of a disappointment, although crispy it lacked in seasoning, the flavour was lost throughout simple. The Yakitori was relatively basic as well and relatively small for the quantity. The Saba and Black Cod was not bad, however it did seem like they were both over done. Lastly, the Ramen was also disappointing, the noodles honestly tasted like spaghettini, the broth lacked richness.

We were very excited to try this place; perhaps it was an off day? We'll have to come...