Guu Davie has the best Karaage and Takoyaki I have ever had. I was surprised with a lovey valentines dinner date here. We sat in the traditional seating area that had a view of the whole restaurant but was tucked away enough to still feel fairly private. Not long after sitting someone came to take our order. Since it was a few hours before closing and they had a busy Valentine's Day service they advised us what was sold out before we ordered. Thankfully we didn't have to modify our order. We got the Karaage, Takoyaki, 8 oysters, happy hour oden, the Unagi Bowl, and the Sukiyaki. Everything came out around the same time which was great! The takoyaki had a generous amount of octopus inside and the outside was light and crispy while it had a chewy and soft center. I've never had a takoyaki this good and I usually steer away from ordering it. The karaage had a perfectly light breading and was just dripping with juicy when I bit in to it. We almost ordered another round of both! The sukiyaki was standard, but it was missing the tofu that the menu listed. We didn't mention it and had just assumed they ran out since it was the end of the night. It was delicious without it as well! This will absolutely be one of my revisits when I'm back in Vancouver! read more

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Guu is a great place to visit if you love japanese food. It is a japanese izakaya located on Davie street. There's a cute sitting area where you have to take off your shoes, or the usual tables and chair in the main dining room, or there's also a small outdoor patio. Japanese toilets, yes they have those! There are several Guu locations in Vancouver but I only have been to this location since it is the most convenient to me. I quite like the layout and japanese toilets. The menu has everything for everyone. Lots of different option of sashimi, very nice "otsumami" small dishes to share (3 kinds is 15 $), or the usual menu. I like to look at the recommandations on the back board, there's always something nice to try. For desserts, options are more limited, the kitty pudding and churros are quite good. Everything is very tasty (except the nachos, a bit odd to have that on the menu anyway). I would like more cocktail options but am satisfied with the current menu. Prices are quite affordable for Vancouver so we come here very often and so should you ! read more

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I always have a positive experience at Guu on Davie. The food is good, service is decent and the ambiance is warm and rustic. I definitely prefer this Guu more than others. I feel this location just has better options and staff are friendlier. This place is also more spacious. If you haven't gone, I definitely recommend that you make time to check it out! read more

Guu Davie - Mentaiko carbonara - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Another excellent and totally satisfied lunch at Guu. This was my first time dining at Guu Davie and, like the other Guus, it was Guuuuud. The restaurant itself is much larger than the other locations. I imagine it be a suitable place for a nice dinner gathering/outing with friends. We arrived right when they opened at 1130 am and were there for approximately an hour. We did not see any other customers during that time. I'm not sure if it was due to the location because other Guus are generally busy around lunch time. Everything we ordered was delicious. * White sangria - i asked for no ice and it was perfect as my sangria wasn't diluted. It had yuzu in it and tasted like an adult version of juice. * Half a dozen of raw oysters. They were $1.50 each and came with ponzu and grated radish. Our first time eating raw oysters Japanese style and I found them to be very refreshing. * Miso pork cutlet lunch combo - It tasted like the miso katsu I had in Nagoya. The meat was crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. The miso sauce gave the meat a nice kick. I also loved that the miso wasn't overly sweet, which I've had from other restaurants. * Yakiniku lunch combo - yakiniku is one of the staple food in Japan. It got a little bit salty near the end as the meat was drenched in sauce but overall it was delicious. Both lunch combos came with salad, side dish, miso soup and rice. The pickled radish was a nice refreshing side to the heavier meat. It was a nice balance. Yin and Yang. The great thing about eating Japanese food is that they are never overly greasy/salty/heavy. read more

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Service was great! Ramen was probably the best ramen I've ever had. It was busy for Valentine's Day but we were in and out in an hour. I will dream about the tonkotsu ramen, made me realize I've never had bamboo shoots cooked properly before. read more

DAILY HAPPY HOUR 3-6PM ?! Starting from June onwards, one of my favorite izakayas will be offering happy hour every. friggen. day!!! What makes @guu_davie stand out from the others is that they have darts, Foosball, and several stand out menu items I tried the following and my faves!! 1 3 kinds of Sashimi $28 2 Beef Tongue Steak $18 3 Motsu-Nira $14.80 - pan fried pork intestines w spicy bibimbap sauce 4 3 pc Chicken Karaage $6 (happy hour price) 5 Edamame $6 (happy hour price. Yall, they deep fry their edamame after they marinate it in soy sauce. This combo is life changing ) 6 Otsumami 3 for $14 - Otsumami means finger foods in Japanese. You guys know I LOVE my variety so this was perfect for me. They had a bunch of fun menu items in this bunch but we opted for the Age Nasu (marinated eggplant), Mimiga (spicy pork ear), Kawahagi (grilled fish jerky w shichimi mayo) 7 Yakiniku Naan Pizza $12.80 8 Oysters w Ponzu Sauce $1.50ea read more

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Food 10/10 Service 10/10 Ambience 10/10 Great sushi and fresh sashimi, overall excellent meal with a nice ambience and friendly staff. read more

Look, i don't know if this place is suppose to be authentic Japanese... me being in Japan a very short time on holiday, but I imagine with the menu that was presented to us, with the chef daily special, I'm going to say, it feels that way. I don't expect my experience to be like that of a 5-star restaurant, but what we ate there was tasty, generally flavorful, and we cleaned all the plates of food, if that means anything. The service was good, the server was on point, knew the dishes, and for anything he didn't (understandably mostly the chef daily specials) he was honest and said he would ask. The water glasses were always full, empty dishes were taken away, The ambiance... is good, dark, but clean. So what's the verdict, it's good. read more

I was drawn in by the sign promoting the $1 oysters after 5pm. I heard from the neighbours on the Davie strip that they have good happy hour. So we ended up with a small group of 4 on a Friday night. The food was good. Standard izakaya style on smaller plated but served Guu style withe some IG worthy moments. I dove in and started with what I came for - the oysters. They were fine. The texture was a bit soft so not sure how long it's been sitting out. Salmon tataki was lovely with the nutted coating. Beef tataki has enough fat on for a chewy bite. The chicken karaage stood out as it was different. Batter is thicker. Mayo on the side for dipping. Lemon wedge added a kick. Good size with no bones! Not sure if it's the COVID effect but the energy was low compared to other Guu I've been too. There was the thunderous "irasshaimase" shouted in unison, and the exit was mostly prompted by us saying bye. I hope all this will be over soon allowing us to return to the bustling dining atmosphere. read more

Guu Davie - These $1 oysters are killing me - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Their bento boxes during COVID 19 are amazing, with plenty of food for an amazing price! BUT their sushi rolls, and sashimi bowls are quite sad. With little to no fish, flavourless rice and high prices, these were not a good deal and NOT recommended. Their izakaya dishes (fried food) are great so stick with those. Definitely go for their boxes but AVOID EVERYTHING ELSE. read more

I usually do not write a bad review for Guu Restaurants, neither do I write a 1 star review at all. But this place was just a disappointment. The place itself is just sad, depressing, and the food itself was just not up to a Guu Restaurant standards at all. I don't think it was the pandemic, because this place was packed full of people. It was a Saturday Night and all their tables were full. It was good I gave a call that morning to reserve a table of 5 for me and my friends. We ordered tons of food. And their specials for that day, the pressed sushi, a salmon chirashi don, and their regular menu has everything sold out, literally asked for 6 off their regular menu and they were sold out. Their specials were just really bad made too. Their pressed sushi had no sushi rice flavour, it was crispy, not the good crispy either.... And their chirashi don was just okay at best... with the sliced fish breaking apart instead of the regular proper cuts. On top of that, asking for mackerel off their regular menu was sold out and their ebi mayo as well. All sold out for some reason as it being a regular item on their menu. On top of that, their hot plate fish piece was just filled with fries that you can get down the street. SIGH.... As a person who LOVES Guu restaurant chains, this one really does NOT hit the standards. I am so sadden by this experience and for sure will NOT come back. SIGH..... read more

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I had dinner at Guu on Davie St. around 7pm on Friday. The restaurant wasn't busy and the staff was friendly. I found the food delicious with some interesting dishes. The only detractor was the service. While friendly, our wait was forgetful and we were left waiting for water for extended periods twice over the course of our meal. The worst of the two waits was over 20 minutes and we had asked 2 different members of staff for water. Not great when you're serving up salty food. read more

We loved going to that hidden little spot after afternoon running when we were living on English Bay . Their ramen egg Caesar was the hit on a hot summer day ! Was on Davie yesterday and walked in for a Miyagi Oysters happy hour deal , we were first costumers and picked best table . Ordered 1.5 dozen fresh oysters , pitcher of red Sangria , two portions (yeah it was soo good and it's six slices in one order) of salmon sashimi and wagyu tatami with ponzu sauce . Recommending all the dishes including their drinks . They do serve bottled yuzu sake we loved last summer as well but didn't serve ramen egg Caesar though . Hopefully next time! Prices are reasonable and food is very fresh and delicious! I can't recommend more this place . Japanese server is also sweet and tentative . Wish Guu family will open one more spot in Brentwood area in a future since not many restaurants are opened here yet . read more

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We made 630pm Friday dinner reservation here. Sat at the main indoor dining area in lieu of the outdoor patio facing a noisy street. The high percentage of Japanese speaking customers evidenced its authenticity. The cold Sapporo draft beer hit the spot after our long walk from hotel on a warm evening. We started with a trio fresh tasting sashimi. For entree, the grilled saba was tender and moist with a beautiful texture, albeit a tad over-salted for me. The oden was quite good, but not spectacular. The flavorfully-seasoned Yakiudon was the surprising standout. Service was very attentive. read more

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We went to Guu on a Friday night without reservations, and the place was very busy. It only took a few minutes before we were seated at a great outdoor patio table for the two of us. I've eaten at a lot of sushi places, but very few authentic Japanese restaurants. Let's be honest here, this is not going to be one of those places with little wooden sushi boats floating around the sushi bar on a pretty little water channel. Guu is very authentic, and the menu was pretty overwhelming. All in both Japanese and English, so no issues with translation or explanation. There was a main menu, a daily specials menu, and then a seasonal sake menu. Right from the start, I could tell we got a fantastic waitress. We made it very clear that we would like some guidance and recommendations. We are fairly adventurous with international food, so I explained that we were willing to try a couple of things we'd never had before. She absolutely steered us in the right direction. Both of us are more craft beer drinkers, and do not usually order sake. Being at this authentic restaurant, I couldn't pass it up. She recommended Ippaku Tokubetsu Junmai Ryoshin (cold) and it was one of the best I've had. It was slightly sweet, and had no sharp bitterness. Very drinkable, great pairing with all of the food. Our waitress started us out with the Ceviche Salad, and it was amazing. The tuna and other assorted sashimi in it was so fresh and it was served in a paper thin pastry shell that you could use toward the bottom to scoop up the last bit of it. Oden was on the menu, and very honestly I had to look this up. I love miso, and that is one of my favorite Japanese soups. Oden is similar, but is a far more clear broth that seems to be made from a base of mainly dried bonito flakes and kelp. The kelp is probably fresh, because it grows all over the coast of Vancouver Island. The idea with Oden is to start with the broth base and add your meat or vegetable options. We were recommended to do fish cake, daikon radish, and sausage. We don't really eat sausage and passed on that. The fish cake was unusual, very spongy texture and it soaked up a lot of the broth. The radish was fantastic, though. This was a very unusual soup, and I'd like to try again with more ingredients. The last items we picked were the Atlantic Salmon pressed sushi roll and the Grilled Attaka Mackerel. The sushi roll had some of that great BC coast fresh salmon. It was amazing. I ordered the Attaka Mackerel because that fish is only caught in the North Atlantic. I've always liked mackerel, and this was very unusual. It was bone-in, but easy to pull the bones out almost all in a single piece. The fish was thin, lightly spiced and had great texture. Based on the fantastic table service, sake options, and fresh fish I would absolutely return to Guu again. I'd highly recommend this place for a night of expanding your international food experiences in Vancouver. read more

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This was a sad dining experience. Yes, COVID, but the space is depressing and vacant. The service was attentive and accommodating, but the food was not great. The fried chicken was covered in too much tarter sauce. I love sauce, and this was even too much for me. We ordered several other dishes that were disappointing. I didn't even bother to take home leftovers, which is rare for me. However, the pickles were excellent and we finished the jar - recommend those for sure. Overall, this was a disappointing experience compared with my visits to other Guu locations. I'm not interested in returning for in-person dining any time soon. I doubt I'd even get take-out when there are so many other better options nearby. read more

Guu Davie - Tsukemono - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Considering this is still new, they still have many many kinks to sort out. I never went to the other Guu locations, but this was kind of disappointing to me and hope the other locations are better. Food: Classic Oden - broth was good, but would never get this again. Also, for the quantity, they have a very misleading menu picture. 2/5 Shabu - meat quality is good, but very very little provided for the price. Recommend getting vegetables, noodles, other cheaper options, and drinking all the broth to "fill you up". 3.5/5 Poutine in hot stone bowl - this was good, but it was burnt hard black on the bottom that we couldn't even eat half of it - had many bitter crunchy chews because we were still left hungry. 2/5 Chicken Karage - this was the best item we got. Recommend this one! 4.5/5 Atmosphere: 5/5 comfy, clean and modern yet traditional Service: 4/5 server was very nice, but never got water refilled, and had to ask twice before it was done. The restaurant was barely halfway full during that time. Price: 2/5 My boyfriend and I spent over $100, but weren't full after. I resorted to drinking all of the three broths we had from shabu/Oden and eating the burnt pieces from the poutine to "fill me up". We are pretty skinny/average and eat a normal amount. Overall, I would much rather go elsewhere to spend our money. They still have many things to sort out as this is a newer location. My tips are to make sure the food that comes out isn't burnt, be more attentive to water refills, and have honest pictures of the size of the menu items. read more

Guu Davie - Classic Oden - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

The $1 oyster buck a shuck is definitely worth coming by. Don't walk in expecting Kusshi quality oysters, this is a fantastic place to indulge when you have a huge appetite and a huge craving for oysters! The Brie cheese and chicken karagee were sadly the only other things that really stood out to us besides the oysters. The squid guts were too salty (yes we know it's supposed to be salted squid guts but we couldn't even finish it. Maybe with rice this dish would of balanced out nicely) The gyoza chicken wings were average (a bit salty too) The cha shu was cold and dry. The oden was just okay. The stone bowl rice was too sweet for my liking. I have to say my disappointment is only due to the fact that guu original and guu kobachi are my favourites! I will definitely come back at a later date because every new opening restaurant needs its time to blossom and I'm a big advocate for all guu chains. Keep in mind guu changes their daily features constantly and each location is free to create its own culinary representation. So give emerging places a chance. Guu Davie I hope to see your restaurant get better within the next few months. read more

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The small GUU of Denmon ´ last born, closed for demolition, and the brand new GUU Davie opened less than 15 days ago. A little more revision and it will be perfect. Only downside, the awful decoration, station hall hyper lit by balls above your heads, waiting room of hospital or municipal premises we can not classify it!!!! Yellow color - goose poop, but the bad yellow... horrible monumental staircase that leads to a very small terrace On the other hand, the cuisine is fabulous as you would expect with the GUUs...... Udon with mussels, mushrooms, sashimi of fatty tuna, yellow tail in very good portion... pot au feu japonais ( their specialities...) In conclusion very good cuisine on DAVIE, this is rare !!!!) decoration, furniture, table, chairs to review in Emergency... read more

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I have been to other Guu locations. This branch is new so we decided to try it out. The servers are super nice and all, but I feel like the food needs to catch up to their other locations. The quality feels different. I was underwhelmed by the hot pot. I will probably still come back to give their other dishes, and maybe their oden a try; but for a newly-opened spot, I felt it was not at that level yet. However, who knows, it might be on its early days; lots of room for improvement. read more

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Food was good, service was average, prices were average, ambience was average. We had a number of items come to us that we didn't order, and we saw our items going to other tables before coming to us. Food service was fast but we had to try hard to flag down staff. They were friendly when they did show up. Chicken nanban - can't go wrong with fried chicken, and this was no exception. Tender, crispy, great sauce. Taco rice - ok this was FUN. Japanese take on Mexican food. Pretty tasty, but would have been better with an egg Tan tan noodles - wouldn't get this again, it's average. Too soupy and not enough flavour. Would come here again for the food if we were in the area but not in a rush to go back for it. read more

Guu had a buck a shuck (3/5) and I decided to pop by and get me some oysters. They weren't as fresh as I'd like them to be. It's definitely on the creamy side. It also needed some of the ponzu sauce that it came with. Along with that I got some oden (very reasonably priced at 8.90 for 5 skewers - 4/5) and if you come at happy hour it's 5 bucks or so? One skewer you must get is the fish cake. It's so soft and pillowy. It's like eating a marshmallow without the sweet sugary taste. This was my favourite and then is the beef shank which was nice and tender. Other things I tried was the beef tataki (3.5/5) which wasn't too bad but I wished their was more sauce. Luckily our oysters came with extra sauce and I dipped it in there. Last thing we ordered was the tuna melt pizza (2/5) wasn't exactly what I expected. I had something a tuna pizza in Japan and it was amazing but this one compare. It's more like a frozen pizza with tuna in it. I'd pass on this one. Server came to check on us from time to time and topped our water. read more

Guu Kobachi was so much better, a hundred times better. I was expecting more or less the same atmosphere when I heard about the move to Davie, but to my huge disappointment it's a totally different atmosphere, just feel like a school cafeteria of sort when you walk into the Davie location. As to the food, even more disappointment, sub par compare to Kobachi or other Guu locations, the sashimi are definitely cut by amateur chef, and the salmon is not fresh we only had a piece and left the rest. Oden does not have enough flavor, just didn't have the luck to order anything worth mentioning. The only good thing worth mentioning is the service, the servers are nice except one who can't seem to remember anything I asked her to bring. I'd probably stick to other Guu locations. read more

Their washroom has temperature control toilet seat and Listerine. I was pleasantly surprised. Even though their washroom seems clean, their chef is not. We sat at the bar and we saw the chef, who was in front of us, didn't wash his hands before and after he handled both raw and cooked food. His hands touched everything (e.g. counter, kitchenware, tools, towel) and he didn't wash his hands even once after he sneezed into a paper towel a few times. It was gross. Moreover, the BBQ salmon was salty, and they had one of our sashimi orders wrong so we let them know. Unexpectedly, the chef swore in Japanese when he fixed our order. I'm glad that I knew some Japanese. Also, when we asked the waitress for more hot water to fill our teapot, she brought the kettle with a new cup which we didn't ask for. Then she poured the hot water from the kettle into the new cup that she'd brought, and the bottom of the kettle hit the rim of that cup with a loud thump. She pushed that cup towards me but I gave it back to her because I was fine with the cup that I'd used. I don't know why she would bring us another cup and gave a dirty cup to customer while the customer has a cup already. I'm curious if the other Guu has the same low standard of hygiene and service as this location. read more

service was above and beyond ! they all personally greet customers as a group when new customers come in and also when they are leaving :) our server was really tentative and kind. I ordered the karaage as an appetiser which was super yummy with garlic Mayo as a dip. My main however, was okay (haburger steak) ... definitely would have been bland without the sauce! I would maybe order the shabu shabu next time :) my dessert was the banana tempura which is fried banana with vanilla ice cream for and it was delicious but has little vanilla ice cream , would have loved it if there were more! Between me and my partner, we spent around 73 dollars + tip which came about to be 80+ dollars. It's a lot bur we did order 2 mains , medium appetiser, and sodas and dessert. Ambiance itself was very nice and I would definitely come back but try something different ! read more

Presentations were okay but thier is nothing I find special about the food. We ordered the kraage, mussels and tongue. The beer was served cold which was good on a hot sunny day! read more

Reallly good food and I've been to a ton of Izakaya in and outside of Japan. The space was relaxed and felt like an Izakaya should. No pretentious decor or anything trying to make it something it's not. Service was friendly and quick. The chickens kuraage was super crispy and came out hot. Really recommend this place for a real Izakaya experience. If you want some California idea of an Izakaya that's is full of hipster garbage go elsewhere. read more

Very new, so I'm being forgiving. As a huge fan of their Thurlow location, I had very high hopes. The oden was fantastic, as was the king salmon sashimi, but everything else we ordered was just ok. Service was very friendly and efficient. However, the final bill was significantly more than what we normally spend at the Thurlow location even though we didn't order drinks the night we visited. I'm sure we could have ordered smarter, but one of my favourite things about their other locations is how reasonable the prices are. I will definitely return as I don't think it's fair to pass judgment on a restaurant the first month they are open, but I'll give them a bit of time to tighten things up. read more

I ordered 3 dishes and after eating 2 and enjoying them I tried the 3rd and it tasted off and sent it back after 2 bites. I wasn't even comped half.. be suspect of the mackerel and don't expect a refund if it's shit. read more

We have been to the new Guu on Davie twice now. Food has been mostly good - the chicken karaage is excellent. Buck a shucks are a good deal although the creamy consistency takes some getting used to. Service has been hit and miss - had good servers and one that was so bad it was funny. We love the other Guu's - they are always a reliable drop in for drinks and dinner with great atmosphere. The decor and atmosphere at the Davie location is worse than awful. It feels like a cheap cafeteria. And they have an incredible patio overlooking Davie St that should be fabulous, instead the floor is painted a hideous, glow in the dark green, there are a few cheap Home Depot tables and no other decor. Bare and unwelcoming. It's too bad, this should be a great Guu location, we will give them some time to work out the kinks and hopefully it will improve. read more

Just tried this Guu for the first time the other day as I am a huge Guu fan (especially the Gastown location). This is probably my least favorite Guu location. The place itself looks like just a random plain restaurant/bar, unlike the other locations which have a very unique Japanese decor. Food was not what I expected. It was more of a shabu shabu type of menu with some izakaya. We ordered several izakaya dishes, none of which I really loved. The shabu shabu was the best part, but if you're looking for the normal type of guu food, this would not be the place to go. Service was really great, very friendly. We started with a group of 5 and ended up having a few friends join half way through and they were very accommodating! read more