Vancouver izakaya to get Toronto counterpart

TORONTO—Another izakaya is coming to town.

A Toronto version of the popular Vancouver restaurant Kingyo Izakaya will be opening this year, Koji Zenimaru told blogger and Toronto Star columnist and Corey Mintz recently. Zenimaru is corporate head chef for Kingyo and Suika restaurants in Vancouver.

The popularity of the izakaya, a boisterous Japanese pub that caters to the after work crowd, has been growing in Toronto since the Vancouver Guu chain opened a unit in Toronto in 2009. It now has two restaurants in the city, and a competitor, DonDon Izakaya, opened in January this year.

Kingyo’s menu includes sashimi salad and a Japanese style caesar salad, as well as tuna, salmon and scallop carpaccios.

Even more offbeat is stone grilled beef tongue.

A vegetarian section of the menu includes are pan fried udon noodles and rice balls with takana pickles.