Nomé Izakaya North York — Restaurant in Toronto

Finally back after a looooong time - glad to see some of the menu items I previously enjoyed are still here. Make sure if you are planning on coming here with a reservation, and expecting to sit upstairs/patio that you specifically ask if that area will be open that day as I didn't mind sitting downstairs - I did overhear several parties inquiring about whether or not they could be seated upstairs though when they arrived for their reservation 😅

Service was amazing - hostesses were super friendly, as were the servers! Be aware that the seating is quite tight due to how popular this place is, and how the tables are placed!

ONTO THE FOOD

-[TOKYO MULE - SUMO SIZED] $16.30 🍹The original refreshing ginger and lime moscow mule with their added Japanese twist! 🍹 Sumo Sized is basically double the alcohol portion but I honestly could have used triple or four-times of it since I like stroooong drinks 🍹 Very enjoyable! Almost dangerously enjoyable haha

-[6 MALPEQUE OYSTERS] $14 (not pictured) 🦪 Love the choice of sauces that comes with the oysters but a small thing that could help both the restaurant/customers is labeling each sauce! 🦪 Our oysters were on the smaller side but I mean, I have no idea when oyster season is so that could be expected right now 🦪 Not a grain of sand to be found in my oysters which is great

-[DOUBLE SALMON MAKI] $20.80 🐟 Grilled marinated salmon, cucumbers, avocado, asparagus and topped with smoked salmon, horseradish mayo, onion chips, and aonori (dried green seaweed) 🐟 I wanted the flavors to work better together but it was just fine - probably would get a different roll next time 🐟 Each piece is quite packed with ingredients thus making it tough to eat in one bite 😅

-[KOREAN STYLE BEEF TARTARE (YUKHOE)] $15.80 🥩 Thinly sliced beef sashimi with a korean style soy sauce dressing. Topped with a fresh egg yolk and crispy seaweed chips 🥩 I think the beef was a bit too long in length for each slice as it was a little tough to scoop some up with the seaweed chips 🥩 Very well seasoned though - I'd order it again but I'm a sucker for yukhoe 🤭

-[BEEF SHORT RIBS (GALBI)] $19.80 🍖 I typically almost never order meat dishes with bones in them simply because I'm just too lazy to eat around them but my goodness, if I followed that rule during this visit, I would have missed out on trying some of the best galbi ever 🍖 No idea what is in their sauce to make it so good but the sauce/smokiness work so well as a flavor for this 🍖 The meat was also really tender, and easy to bite off for even someone (ME) who is horribly out of practice at eating off of bones

-[4 BAKED OYSTERS] $16.80 🦪 Oven Baked Oyster with spinach cream sauce 🦪 I loved this dish originally when I had first come here, and prior times as well - still very good 🦪 They do arrive pretty hot as they are baked so eat...

TLDR; if you're going for oysters, great. Oyster quality is literally the only raving factor. Expect a long wait for oysters. Service is friendly, but I wouldn't say good. Problems don't get acknowledged and servers don't really seem to care that much if something went wrong.

Went 3 times in 2 weeks to give the place a chance for service (and had a serious craving for oysters). If you're going for oysters for buck a shuck and are willing to wait possibly one hour for the oysters, great! Service is friendly, but despite each visit having problems, you never get an apology from the server(s) or a visit from a manager. For a place that charges as much as nomé, I do expect some actual management. You basically get the service of an AYCE sushi place (i.e. barely there service).

Visit 1: Tuesday Buck a Shuck Ordered an appetizer, drinks, oysters for round 1. Appetizer and drinks came at a reasonable time. Oysters took about 45 minutes. Ordered oysters again for round 2, this time took 1 hr. I know it's oyster night and I'm not going to complain about oyster wait time, but kind of annoying that the servers would come by and remind you that your seating time is up without checking if your food has even arrived yet. Overall visit #1 was ok.

Visit 2: Wednesday buck a shuck Came with friends for oysters. This time oysters took 1 hr each time to arrive (2 rounds). We ordered other dishes in between because we expected the oysters to take a while. A sushi roll took 45 minutes. A Oden soup took over 1 hour (we asked twice to check, and were just given a generic "it's coming"). Most likely they had forgotten about it and didn't bother checking until we said we were waiting over 1 hour for it. Once again because we had an empty table, a server came by to remind us of our seating time, but we were still waiting on all our food to arrive (including that soup!)

Visit 3: Tuesday Buck a Shuck Seated upstairs this time. Food and oysters came SURPRISINGLY fast this time. Only one dish was missing - the sushi roll! Even the server was surprised. Everything was looking good. 1 hr later, we finished the food but still didn't get the sushi roll. At the 45 min mark, I did ask one server, but he gave the "it's coming" comment and that's it. At the 1 hr mark, I asked another server to please check if it's coming. A quick check ok the iPad shows that it was never put in. Great. We ordered it and it took only 10 minutes to arrive, but again, no apologies, no management, no effort.

Overall, if I had a serious craving for oysters and I had no other choice, I'd come back to nomé. Otherwise, there are better izakayas out there and better service at lower end restaurants. Don't believe their "it's coming" comment if...

Nome Izakaya Seared Salmon $19.8 8.6/10 Wow! First of all, the balance of colors really stands out. It seems as if everything comes together perfectly! A perfect composition. The real surprise is the first bite. It tastes like a savoury celebration that melts in your mouth. The crispy tapioca on top complements the dish well with a nice crunch, but it is hard to taste the salmon. Theres just so much going on at once, but it was very yummy. I would order this again.

Spicy Poke (Tuna) $12.8 4.7/10

I mean.. its alright. Its a messy party on a cucumber. Im not a fan of the tomato, and i cant really taste it. Presentation is alright.. its just overall .. meh. The flavour doesnt really jump out there, it just tastes like a bunch of things thrown together. Its hard to pick up, and easily falls apart. Would I order it again? No.

Bulgogi Taco $18.8 + 5.5 7.7/10

Flavour packed tacos that smack your tastebuds instantly. Cooked perfectly, the bulgogi was a bit overpowering, a bit too salty. The first bite was like an instant punch to your tastebuds, albeit a good one. Presentation was colorful, neat and well composed. The tortilla was soft, well-sized, perfect for one handed eats. Gone in about six to eight bites 😁 I would def order again if I was in the mood for tacos, but its definitely not for those with sensitive tastebuds.

Blue Samurai (sumo) 9.4/10 The name of the drink is misleading! A perfectly sweetened alcoholic drink, the blue samurai instead boasts a luscious jade green, and as its name suggests, goes down super smoothly like the slice of a samurai’s sword. I opted for the sumo, which is essentially a double shot. The perfect ratio of ice, and drink, the presentation is simple yet adds a nice touch. However, the pineapple did taste off, maybe because it was out of season. Without the pineapple, this drink would have received a ten! Im ordering this every time!

Service (6/10) The service was slow, but the restaurant was packed on a Tuesday night(it took about 25 to 30 minutes for our first dish to come). But our waitress did check on us every time a dish was sent out to our table.

Overall, a good experience. Seating arrangements are a little cramped, but the food was good, the drinks excellent, and the overall vibes were immaculate. Service was a bit slow, but thats to be expected at a place thats packed on a Tuesday...