Food is good. Not sure why people complain about the price tag. Sure the skewer portion is small, but it is also $2, so order more. $12.99 Sapporo draft pitcher summer deal is redonk. Food is tasty, fresh, and well cooked.
Service is pleasant, but god help you if you need them. They need to be more alert and attentive. If it takes you 20 minutes to take my first order, you're not allowed to tell me that I only have 30 minutes left on my table.
Make sure to call for reservations before coming in. There were quite a number of items to choose from the menu. The skewers were quite good and the platter was a nice variety of skewers to try. Remember that prices are per skewer so order the number of skewers you want. The service was very good and the food was delicious. The dorayaki matcha dessert was yummy but I found that the green tea roasted pudding had a unique flavour and consistency, something that I probably wouldn't order again. Overall, great place to check out!
This is one of my favourite robatayaki places in Toronto!
I ordered mostly meat-skewers but the one that stood out the most was the tsukune (chicken meatball) set - the norimayo and cheese sauce were my favourite :P
I would also recommend the shoyo onigiri (soy sauce on rice ball) and the Oropon Hamachi (yellow tail with daikon and ponzu sauce). I'm getting hungry just typing this up..
I'm usually a fan of takowasabi but I thought they added too much wasabi sauce onto it - it actually made me tear up haha! :*D
I'd recommend Zakkushi to anyone who enjoys lively environment, although it's a little crowded. Our server was very friendly. I'd definitely come back :)
Great food with great friend! I would like to try more food there! The oden was tasty! Tongue and meatball skewer were the ones I loved~ next time must try some sake!
This place is awesome. There’s a huge variety of interesting skewers to try. Everything I had was great, especially the wagyu which was done perfectly. The only thing is that these are just skewers so I would need many to get full – and this can rack up quite a bill at the end. But still, it’s one of the best Japanese restaurants in town.
This was my second visit to Zakkushi, my last visit being when they first opened a couple years ago. The food at Zakkushi was delicious and I would definitely recommend going. Even after opening a couple years ago, it's still quite busy so reservations would be a wise choice. I would highly recommend ordering the Mochi Maki, Chicken Gizzard, and the Waygu Beef as those were my favourite skewers. Also, all the main dishes that were ordered, including the Kura Buta Bacon Caesar Salad, Foil Yaki, and Negi P-Toro, were full of flavour so I would definitely give those a try as well.
This isn't a spot to be missed, both because of the quality of the food and the wide array of offerings. It's a quieter place with welcoming vibe.
Once seated, you'll be offered a hot towel for your hands.
The barley tea works as a delicious palate cleanser between dishes. And you'll want to try as many dishes as you can.
The star of the show is the agé mochi. Each piece is a sticky mouthful of rice topped with shredded seaweed and crunchy toasted sesame seeds that are in perfect contrast with the sweet soy sauce.
That's not to say that any other dish is less than delicious. The zucchini skewer, the garlic prawn, the scallops or the BBQ beef are delicious as well and belong to my favorites.
Actually, everything you taste here is awesome.
One of the best Japanese restaurants in town is worth visiting even if you're not the biggest fan of Asian cuisine or sushi. You won't leave hungry for sure!
This was a new experience for me. I have never been to an Izakaya before. The atmosphere was hectic, but casual. The food was delicious! I ate the takowasabi (calamari w/ wasabi) as an appetizer. Then I ate the Zakkushi set which was four different meats on a stick. I also ate some individual items (cheese tsukune/chicken meatball, cheese yaki/chicken thigh, and beef tongue) before I ordered the chicken karaage (deep fried chicken) which was my favourite. Finally, I ordered the ikayaki - grilled squid - which I could take or leave. . I used some soy sauce mayo on the side and it was tasty!
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Fantastic food, great service. Leaving hungry and disappointed from the badly disorganized rip-off that was the Toronto Sushi Festival, we went looking for the rest of our dinner. We decided to give Zakkushi a try, not realizing it was an Izakaya. I'd read about Izakaya, but never went to one, because at my age, I'm not much interested in boisterous places that are more about drinking than the food. Boy, was I ever wrong, at least about Zakkushi.
Yes, the music was bouncy, but it was in my wheelhouse. Most importantly, the food was incredible - succulent, tasty, cooked to perfection, with a unique grill flavour (could it be the Japanese hardwood?). The salmon teriyaki skewers were quite delicious, but it was the scallop skewers that blew us away. Scallops are hard to get right and these were delicately cooked, soft and tender. I groaned out loud when I first tasted the bacon of the bacon/asparagus skewer, it was that good! And the shitaki mushroom with ponzu offered an elevated depth of flavour. We also enjoyed the rice balls with soy sauce and the tofu, which were both crispy, warm and flavourful. All this for $30 (two of everything except one tofu skewer) plus tax & tip, including two small pots of tea. (My only criticism was that the bill was presented to the man at the table and she would not leave until he caught her eye and thanked her, even though I had already done so. And I was the one paying.)
I have to say a bit about the attentive service, from the moment we walked in the door to the time we left. Even though we were more than twice the age of most of the people in the place (including the staff), we were treated with kindness and warmth, even though we were a bit startled at first by the loud and exuberant greetings and goodbyes that erupted from staff at each arrival and departure. Sort of like the old Licks or Johnny Rockets routine, except these kids do it with disciplined gusto, not the limply forced and embarrassed chirrups of mainstream chain diners. The staff seemed genuinely pleased at our effusive praise of the food. From the confident and cheerful guy managing the front grill, to our friendly servers, to the two staffers who walked us all the way to the door and sent us off with a sweet wave, they were all incredibly adorable.
What a happy and delightful accident! We will be back, if they won't mind a couple of old folks like us crashing the party. :)
What a fantastic place! I went there last night with my boyfriend and we had an absolutely wonderful time. The service was excellent! As a waitress myself with years of experience, I was super delighted by how friendly and cheerful the staff were. I think it's such an important part of the dining experience. This is a fun place to go for a date or with friends! If I lived in Toronto I'd absolutely want to go here with friends to grab a drink or two and have some delicious food. It's not too loud either, no need to have to shout over the loud music or anything. Chicken karagee and chicken heart skewers with sea salt are a must try. And the prices are VERY reasonable.
Most authentic-feeling izakaya in downtown that I've ever visited. Great atmosphere and service. A nice variety of food and dishes available at decent prices. Great selection of drinks as well. Recommend making a reservation well in advance on weekends, or expect long wait times.
Zakkushi never disappoints, whether it’s Vancouver on Denman, on Main, or Toronto on Queen west or here on Carlton. This location has a more traditional atmosphere, you can smell the charcoal smoke in the air, and it’s lovely. You don’t get the trademark menu to mark yourself, but that’s a minor detail. We went through a lot of options, appetizers, mains (organ meats and muscle) and cocktails. Due to the popularity of the location, the sake list has a few options missing but that happens. The very warm welcome and good bye stands out. The chefs are skilled and everything is served to perfection. I will add this location to my favorites & revisit often.
Food is perfectly grilled and the flavour is balanced.
Atmosphere is great for groups of friends.
Only 2 sakes are available, very limited for a izakaya and very disappointing for us.
Food quality is consistent.
Will come back again, just hope they have more sake selection.
Prompt service and friendly staff! Food and drinks were great!
The shiso cocktail (the green drink) was incredibly good, never had a cocktail that’s unique and this delicious!
It can be hard to decide what to get so the Zakkushi set can be a good way to explore and it’s good value. I tried a variety of chicken, beef and pork skewers, and they were all grilled perfectly. Two skewers that particularly stood out were the premium beef tongue and the quail eggs wrapped in pork. The Cassis Oolong cocktail was so refreshing and I really liked the blackcurrant flavor.
Food was delicious and atmosphere was lively!
Servers were friendly but we were rushed to leave when we were non-stop eating and drinking. I was told we can stay up to 2 hours when I made a reservation and I thought it’s also because their food takes some time (which is totally understandable for a busy restaurant like this). We were there for about 1 hour and still finishing the second round and a server came and told us it’s last call. We planned to order more but we left instead and went somewhere else. Again, I understand the restaurant is very busy that they need a table and I would definitely go back, but it will be nicer to have time to enjoy the experience more.
I went to Zakkushi with a couple of friends and was absolutely impressed by the fantastic service, beautiful presentation, and delicious food. We had a good variety of the menu and everything was just so very well done. From welcoming us in to ordering to presenting the food to sending us off with a greeting in Japanese, the entire experience was wonderful. The staff were very friendly and courteous. We had brought cake to celebrate a friend's birthday and the staff not only offered to keep it refrigerated, they also dimmed the lights when it came time to bring the cake out, lighted a candle for the cake, and also got the whole restaurant to sing happy birthday together!! It was a blast and I would highly recommend!
Good food and ambience. A little too enthusiastic (i.e. loud) staff made it hard to have a conversation, but we got used to it. Yakitori, karaage, bonito, and matcha ice cream all very good.
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