Super impressed by this find in Yaletown. It provided a great setting to catch up with old friends and have some delicious bites to eat. I came in with the mindset of small Japanese tapas but it was actually a lot of food with greater than usual tapa portions. The large sized Hapa Chicken salad was huge - definitely for sharing. I will note that they appear to have a strong affinity to using chili sauce on everything. It was drizzled onto the volcano roll and the beef tataki. I'm not used to that when eating Japanese dishes and personally not a huge fan of it. I did like the Japanese greetings the entire staff would belt out when you come in and leave. It added to the atmosphere. Their Hapa hour menu items are a great and economical way to taste test a variety of items too. I also thoroughly enjoyed their unagi ishiyaki and yaki udon.
Hapa Izakaya is located in the heart of Yaletown. They serve an assortment of Japanese tapas and a few main dishes as well. Hapa Izakaya is great for group gatherings but you need to make sure everyone arrives on time to keep your table. ⭐⭐⭐. Rating: 2.5 out of 5. I knew I wanted to get the Midori salad because we were going to have some pretty heavy menu items later on. The two of us aren’t fans of heavy salad dressing. We were pleasantly surprised to see that this salad had a nice light citrus vinaigrette style dressing on top. However, if you’re a fan of dressing, I think you’ll have to ask for a bit more.
This is the only Hapa Izakaya left in Vancouver, I believe! There used to be a few locations but they closed down in recent years. Good place to come for drinks and some Japanese tapas. It can get busy so I would recommend getting a reservation beforehand.
The food was delicious! But there are other places which make comparable items but portions are a bit bigger and the food is a bit cheaper. But I ADORED dessert. The kinako panna cotta was so good. I think I might go again for just drinks and dessert
The Hapa TOY menu is $25 and comes with three shareable items. Instead of doing regular appetizer, main, and dessert courses, they stuck with their tapas style sharing environment and made a menu designed to provide items that you can share with your dining companions.
The first course is a choice of: Beef Tataki, Ahi Tuna Yukke, and Agedashi Vegetables.
“Hapa” is that restaurant you go to for a good time. For me they are synonymous with clinking glasses, boisterous laugher, and delicious small plates. And this is no different during “Taste of Yaletown”, with their all-savoury, three course menus. The Yaletown location is actually my favourite, given their proximity to the skytrain and me always leaving with a warm buzz and a grin; then climbing on to transit for an easy and safe ride home. Your experience begins as soon as you enter their threshold. As everyone takes the time to shout a greeting to you, making you feel welcomed, whist setting the tone. The tone that being loud and having fun is a part of what they are all about. The restaurant’s narrow space is kept dark by their all black bar stools and high tops. There really isn’t an decor to speak of. The most ornate feature of the room is their ceiling with criss crossing beams.
Meal: Saba Aburi, Yakiudon, Ebi mayo (not pictured), spicy pork rock pot rice, and large cold sake. . Service: Good service albeit our server messed up our sake order and then gave us a bit of shade. . Atmosphere: Loud, pretty hard to have a conversation in here unless you have a loud voice.
Something you guys probably don't know about me: I eat a whole lotta takeout. A whole lot. Everyday in fact. But I rarely ever blog about it. I don't know...I always eat takeout at an odd hour (read: 9 pm on the dot) the lighting's weird, the food looks hella unappetizing sitting in a styrofoam box so I find blogging about it kind of...pointless.
Hapa Izakaya is one of my favorite izakaya restaurants to date. They have some great classics as well as some cool spins and twists on their own creations. Food, service, ambiance are all on point here - great place for a solid meal with friends.
I had the negitoro, tartare, sashimi salad, sukiyaki, and the nigiri combo. Everything was perfectly seasoned - from the negitoro to the sushi rice. I really like the garlic bread crostinis, very unique and complementary touch to the richness and freshness of the dish.
Portions are small, but you can taste the quality and attention to detail - worth every penny. Servers are very friendly and knowledeable although there is a bit of a language barrier some of the time. The restaurant is beautiful. Parking can be difficult and expensive. Highly recommended for parties or just for a nice dinner.
My girlfriend and I found this eatery on Zomato and we are both glad we did! Such a nice restaurant with friendly staff and amazing food. Highly recommended :D
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