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    Mikaku Izakaya

    4.2 (44 reviews)
    Open 5:30 pm - 2:30 am (Next day)

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    MIKAKU IZAKAYA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Hipster
    Casual
    Outdoor seating

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    Beef Tartare
    Jeslyn X.

    A small izakaya located north of Yonge-Steels. It has a tatami, booth, and bar area - limited seating but functional. Food was pretty good, large quantity too. Beef Tartare and Pork Belly (Buta) were recommended. Fish Cake Soup was so-so, I'm not a fish/rice cake person so it's not my type. There are chillies in the soup which added some spicy kicks to it. The service was really nice. They accommodated our request of switching from the bar to the booth. Nice staff but there were only two of them at shift so seemed busy. Food (quality, presentation) - 4/5 Drinks (quality, variety) - NA/5 Ambience (interior, cleanness) - 4/5 Service - 5/5 Value - 5/5

    collective salad from two dishes
    Andrew B.

    3.75/5 Was pretty excited seeing that the overall rating was 4.5/5, had high hopes. Decided to come here since Nome Izakaya was closed today. The restaurant was pretty empty around 7 pm, but quickly filled up after I was seated. The waitress was very nice and there was no problem with the service. We ended up getting the spicy creamy udon, the buta (sliced pork belly seared), beef tartare bowl on rice and chicken karaage. The udon was flavourful and creamy as promised. You could see the base layers, starting by frying off pork belly (similar to bacon) and then layering that with vegetables, whole garlic gloves and then cream. I tasted a little bit too much umami, so I think that they do add a little MSG but there's nothing wrong with that. Only thing I would say is that the whole cloves of garlic were a little unpleasant and would do better with sliced garlic to perfume the dish instead. The beef tartare rice dish unfortunately was pretty unsatisfactory. I was expecting literally just beef tartare and an egg and a little sauce to make the dish more coherent. However, all I got was a heaping mound of box salad and gochuchang. All I could taste was gochuchang. If I closed my eyes and had I not see that there was beef there prior I would only be able to taste a leafy texture, and gochuchang only. I think that a little less gochuchang would go a long way. The chicken karaage had a nice texture and you taste the aromatics in the marinade. The only downside was that half the plate was filled with salad. It is understandable for plating decoration and to have less karaage to place on the plate as well. But if you look at one of my pictures, I'm able to make a full plate of salad from the salad from the buta and the karaage alone. The buta was the most disappointing dish of all. It came out when we had already finished everything. I was hoping they had forgotten my order but it came out so I decided to eat it anyways. The dish itself is too charry. This is due to incomplete combustion of the gas because they are holding the torch too close to the item being torched. The perfume of char was nauseating and was almost too hard to swallow. Even after finishing the buta, the smell of char still lingered on the plate. Overall, it was a decent experience but could use some tweaking here and there.

    Spicy cream udon
    Allison T.

    This small izakaya restaurant is the sister restaurant to @mikaku_udon_bar. They are more of a bar style spot with an Asian fusion sakebar. Their menu is quite large with lots of shareable starters, deep fry, soups and mains. We ordered: 1. Fried Cheese This had an assortment of cheese - Gouda, Brie and Camembert - deep fried and paired with a berry sauce. We enjoyed the crispness from the fry and cheese paired well with the sweet flavouring. 2. Taco wasabi Typical dish. This can never go wrong and is our go to item for Izakaya. 3. Beef Tartare One of the popular dishes, this was served with a house sauce and a side of greens. We found this super flavourful and enjoyed the greens as a refresher. 4. Buta A grilled pork belly dish that was paired with a house sauce and greens. We found the flavourings similar to the beef tartare sauce, but enjoyed it. 5. Spicy Cream Udon This was our favourite dish of the night. Not our first time trying it, but a must have. We enjoyed the creamy flavour and hint of spice. Overall, this spot is great for drinks and food. We enjoyed most of our dishes and would come back again.

    Sally L.

    This is such a hidden gem. If it wasn't for the reviews I would have never discovered this tiny snuck up izakaya restaurant in north York. I ordered the udon, beef tataki rice bowl, kaarage, grilled butter squid and pork belly! Let me say that all these dishes are GOOD! I especially loved the pork belly dish and this was recommended by the server as one of her faves. I enjoyed eating here and definitely the customer service, everyone was super friendly and nice.

    Grilled pork belly (buta)
    Tammy N.

    Service was great! They gave an explanation and tips on how to eat every dish. Nice interior and amazing food! Grilled pork belly (buta): marinated well, loved the flavour and the crunchy bits on top. Best way to eat it is taking a slice of pork belly and topping it with lettuce of pickled cucumber. Their tip was to make sure each slice was well coated with sauce before eating. Cream cheese rice cake: this was AMAZING, definitely my favourite dish of night. I'm not sure what flavours I expected but it exceeded my expectations 10x. Doesn't taste like cream cheese, more like a cream based french onion sauce. Comes with lots of sweet onions, shrimp and mussels. It comes in a big "bread" bowl, but it was more of a thin pastry shell. Their tip was to rip the bread, dip it in the sauce, and eat with the rice cakes. I would go back here just for this dish tbh and have craved it multiple times in the last few months Spicy chicken (+ extra cheese for $2): this dish is way too spicy for me it was on a hot plate too, and the heat amplified the spiciness. My fault for not taking the descriptor "blazing" seriously it was so spicy that I was coughing, nose running, was sweating.. not a good look during pandemic Also I've never had acid reflux before but I had 2 episodes of it that day due to this dish Very filling but I'd recommend to get the other dishes instead!!! Beef tongue: It's sliced very thin and has a bit of a chew to it. Sauce has a slightly sweet kick. I can't remember well but I think they said most places torch the beef tongue but they BBQ it instead? Overall really great experience! Definitely want to come back.

    Chicken karaage/ takoyaki
    Elaine O.

    Stumbled upon this izakaya spot when looking for a place to go to for food and drinks after work with coworkers. Izakayas are always a fun time so we decided to check out this spot and the atmosphere was so lively and service was great! Our server recommended some dishes to share and we were impressed with how good the food was. Ended up getting chicken karaage, takoyaki, spicy creamy udon, buta, and maze udon. Our favourite dish would have to be the spicy cream udon for sure, the creamy sauce was so good we had to order a second! Topped off with some beer and soju and friendly service, this izakaya spot is definitely worth a try!

    Outdoor sitting
    Veronica C.

    It's a Surprise!!! I didn't have any expectation when coming to this restaurant. I came at about 9-ish pm or kind of close to 10 pm with three others. My party was seated in the outside because it was full inside of the restaurant. There were patio heaters at the patio and it functioned effectively. I could stay warm throughout my 2-hour stay. We ordered karage, beef tartare, squid, buta (pork belly), pork cutlet and beef brisket. All of these dishes were extraordinarily delicious!! I would like to highlight the karage dish. Other than the deep fried chicken pieces, there were salads and two spoonful of mashed reddish on the side. Usually I would not pay attention to the sides but yuzu juice was added to the mashed reddish to bring out the refreshing flavour. It was so good that I repeated this order. The second one I would recommend would be the beef tartare. It was fresh and so smooth to mix it with the quail's egg on the side. Every single dish I ordered has not disappointed me. Need to come back again!!!

    Beef tartare & cream cheese rice cakes
    Kristen P.

    Amazing customer service & delicious food!! The outside patio was warm even during this Fall season. Highly recommend making a reservation as this place is super busy during the weekends.

    Outside
    Danica C.

    3.5 Stars The ambience is great for group of friend drinking and eating. The choice of music is great and I enjoyed all the Kpop they played. The service is very friendly. There are only two staff on the floor yet attentive. It took awhile for the food to be served. Mikaku has a wide selection of Sake and a few choices of beer. Food menu is limited yet has a good selection of meat and udon to enjoy with sake. We ordered chicken cartilage Karaage. Chicken knee soft bone is crunchy and nicely deep fried. The sauce is sweet and has little spice. Grilled butter squid is very delicious with the sauce. Buta the thin sliced grilled pork belly served with the smoky sauce which is nice done. Spicy Creamy udon is very cheesy and creamy. We asked for no spicy. You can order extra bread to finish the sauce. The seafood they used was frozen seafood though. Nagasaki udon is a spicy broth udon. It was okay. The broth is very flavourful yet the seafood again is just okay. I would come again with friends to drink and eat.

    Beef tartare with quail egg
    Tiffany C.

    Pleasantly surprised! This Izakaya specializes in sake, so they have a wide selection. We tried the seasonal yuzu sake and it was incredible! Really bright and yuzu forward, very tasty!! Beef tartare - this didn't look like much, but it packed a ton of asian flavour and I would definitely order this again Pork belly - this dish was also good, but I felt it the sauce was lacking - I wanted more of it! Yuzu fried chicken - rated as a favourite on their menu, however, it was missing salt! The yuzu bits that you put on top were great but missing in the salty and savoury notes, very underseasoned! They were nicely fried though. Spicy creamy udon - just the right amount of spiciness to balance with the creaminess, this dish was really good! Lots of seafood and a bit of bacon, noodle texture was chewy and perfect. Would order this again! Good service and cute interior, they have booths and walls decorated with empty sake bottles.

    Rice for mixing the udon sauce
    Saturn M.

    Place is good, environment is good, small store but they have patio with heater, very warm. Lots of parking spots. We arrived at 7 on a Thursday and it's full. No reservation so you might need to go early or else you'll have to sit at the patio. Very warm no a problem for us. Mackerel is good, very nice cut with ginger on top, I like this dish. Their udon is also very delicious, chewy type. Sometimes they like to add chilli in the dish so please mention to the waiter if you can't eat spicy food. We ordered 2 non spicy udon (no chilli symbol on the menu) and they're mild. Portion is izakaya portion, not too big. Two people might need to order 4-5 dishes and drinks if you like. Service was good. The waiter was very busy walking in and out with food and when we asked about the last dish we ordered, he quickly apologized and cleaned up our table and take out the dish for us. Slightly pricy but it's the general izakaya price. They don't have in house sake. Warm sake was too hot that disrupt the flavour of the sake (my friend is a pro so he told me that) Very thirsty after dinner, keep drinking water but still thirsty when I get home. Overall this is a good place for small party to chill and catch up. Prepare your wallet though :)

    Grilled Pork Belly + Sapporo
    Christina Q.

    Located a bit further away from the bustling scene at Yonge/Finch, Mikaku is a great Izakaya to visit! Great ambience, food and service! I would literally come here just for the spicy seafood cream udon! Tons of flavour that accompanies the nice bouncy udon noodles. You have some slices of baguette to soak up the sauce when you are done. Also ordered the pork belly which is salty and smokey. Staff are super sweet and accommodating. The restaturant space is really small so you might have to wait during peak times for a table.

    Bonnie I.

    Korean | Japanese fusion | LLBO | Opens late | Limited seating Came on Boxing Day evening (Dec 26) and they were opened. Service Lovely hostesses/ servers. They were energetic, welcoming and hospitable. They and the environment gave me a 'good vibes' feel. They greeted me promptly and made suggestions as it was my first time visiting. They always answered with a smile. Food Yuzu Chicken Karage Fresh and hot karage paired with grated yuzu flavoured seemingly radish. Accompanied with some veggies. Should try! Beef tartare Similar to yukhwe but instead of real pear they use pear juice. Just as delicious and fresh. Spicy creamy udon The sauce is to die for! But once you have a few more bites it does get spicy. Not a whole lot of ingredients inside but definitely a heart and stomach warmer. New Brunswick "Sex on the bey" oysters Not bad, minimum 6 per order. Small and flavourful. Comes with Korean sauce or cocktail sauce. Environment Fun, live, positive and young. Clean and chill. Overall, I'd definitely come back and visit again!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Mikaku Izakaya Reviews in Other Languages

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    Hana Don

    Hana Don

    4.2(60 reviews)
    15.6 kmDowntown Core, Discovery District

    Having been to the other Hana Don location in North York multiple times, I was delighted when they…read moreopened a new location in downtown. It's my go-to spot to get my don fix - I love the wide variety of dons (rice bowls) that they offer with various fish and seafood combinations. There are also unique appetizers in the menu, such as Purple Yam Croquettes, Crab Crackers, Braised Bamboo Shoots with Shirasu (immature whitebait fish), and Takowasa (marinated raw octopus pieces, to be eaten with or wrapped in nori / seaweed). Although the dons are the main highlight of their menu (hence the restaurant name), they also offer traditional sushi, sashimi, sushi rolls and sets (similar to other Japanese sushi restaurants). Miso Aburi Scallops were very flavourful - nicely torched, giving the scallops a nice grill / char taste. They came with red and green seaweed, and a bit of fish roe. Large Premium Hana Don contained a good amount of fish and seafood, including a whole abalone, uni, shrimp in the shell, aburi salmon, ikura (salmon roe), salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi, yellowtail sashimi, other various fish sashimi, tamago (egg), and a few slices of cucumber on a generous bed of rice. I liked that the rice was a mix of white rice and some type of dark-coloured grains. Unatama Don came with a big piece of unagi and tamago (egg) that were both excellent. The sashimi were all fresh. Okonomiyaki was disappointing but it was sort of expected... for only $9, it was about 99% just flour pan-fried in a patty, without any substantial fillings (unlike real okonomiyaki, which usually contains protein / seafood, cabbage, eggs, and other ingredients). Location is super convenient near Bay & Dundas, ambiance is very casual, and service is quick.

    First time trying this place and I was very pleased with the service. We went pretty late and they…read moremanaged to accommodate us. What I really liked was that they had 3 options of warm water - Hot, Warm, and room temperature. Instinctively I knew this place cared about the clients digestive health. Though I'm sure if you asked for ice water, they would accommodate (my friend asked for no sauces in her maki roll). The fishes were plated very pretty and because it's sushi of course it tasted good. But I was surprised at the level of wasabi that was plated. Cleared up my sinuses for 30 seconds. The establishment is very clean and bright and a great place to head to if you're in a rush.

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    Hana Don
    Hana Don
    Hana Don

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    Taisho Japanese Grill

    Taisho Japanese Grill

    4.2(56 reviews)
    15.4 kmDowntown Core

    Food and service was amazing. The table and utensils were clean. Suggestion: prime kalbiread more

    English We were…read morelooking for a new food place for dinner where we can try a good Japanese food. So, we decided to visit Taisho Japanese Grill located in Toronto, ON. If you're looking for a phenomenal food / dining experience, look no further than Taisho Japanese Grill. Their menu is a culinary masterpiece, offering an incredible selection of dishes that cater to diverse tastes and preferences. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the staff ‍‍‍ is friendly and attentive, making every visit a true pleasure. Taisho Japanese Grill is a lovely place. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city in spite of being in the city . There's an ample parking space around the building. The place has the huge indoor seating arrangements and the seating arrangement is super comfortable and spacious. The staff is really nice, friendly and kept following . The food menu is great and there are many choices to choose from and they also offer quite a lot of small bites options to choose from.Pricing is decent, good value for money and the place is more suitable for a group of people. French / Français Nous cherchions un nouveau restaurant japonais pour dîner et déguster de la bonne cuisine japonaise. Nous avons donc décidé d'aller chez Taisho Japanese Grill à Toronto, en Ontario. Si vous recherchez une expérience culinaire exceptionnelle, ne cherchez pas plus loin que Taisho Japanese Grill. Leur menu est un véritable chef-d'œuvre, offrant une incroyable sélection de plats pour satisfaire tous les goûts. L'atmosphère est chaleureuse et accueillante, et le personnel est amical et attentionné, faisant de chaque visite un vrai plaisir. Taisho Japanese Grill est un endroit charmant. À l'écart de l'agitation citadine , tout en étant en ville . Un grand parking entoure le bâtiment. L'établissement dispose d'une vaste salle intérieure avec des sièges confortables et spacieux. Le personnel est très agréable, accueillant et attentif . La carte est excellente et propose un large choix de plats, ainsi que de nombreuses petites portions. Les prix sont corrects, un bon rapport qualité-prix et l'endroit est idéal pour un groupe.

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    Taisho Japanese Grill
    Taisho Japanese Grill - Dragon roll

    Dragon roll

    Taisho Japanese Grill - Salmon sushi taco / IG: Ayeween

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    Salmon sushi taco / IG: Ayeween

    Yuugi Izakaya

    Yuugi Izakaya

    4.4(104 reviews)
    15.4 kmDowntown Core

    Came here for a casual dinner and drinks, and overall it felt like a really easy, relaxed…read moreizakaya-style spot in downtown Toronto. The space itself leans more modern and clean rather than the typical dark, cozy izakaya vibe, which I actually didn't mind. It felt comfortable, not too loud, and easy to settle into for a slow dinner. We ordered a mix of small plates to share, and everything came out looking nicely put together. The aburi-style salmon sushi was one of the highlights for me.. lightly seared, with a soft texture and just enough flavor on top without being overwhelming. The tuna tataki was also fresh and clean, simple but well done. Some of the fried dishes leaned a bit richer with the creamy sauces, but they were still enjoyable, especially if you're in the mood for something a little more indulgent. The beef fried rice was straightforward but satisfying, one of those dishes that's easy to keep going back to between everything else. Drinks were a nice touch too.. refreshing, nicely presented, and added to the overall experience. Overall, this feels like a solid spot for a casual night out with friends. It's not overly traditional, but it's easygoing, shareable, and comfortable.. the kind of place you'd come back to when you just want good food and a relaxed atmosphere.

    Great spot for small plates and drinks!…read more Love the vibes here. It really does remind me of Japanese izakaya. Their pressed sushi is a signature! Dont skip on the karaage cuz the sauce with a onsen egg is bomb! It can get busy and its a small place. So go early!

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    Yuugi Izakaya - Yuugi sushi & Wagyu sushi

    Yuugi sushi & Wagyu sushi

    Yuugi Izakaya - Yuugi Sushi and saba sushi

    Yuugi Sushi and saba sushi

    Yuugi Izakaya

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    Katsuya - Honeycomb Katsu

    Katsuya

    4.4(564 reviews)
    15.2 kmDowntown Core
    $$

    Super yum, I loved the sweet chili chicken katsu I'd totally recommend! It's a very nice spot and…read morethey give you a little miso soup too!

    Visiting Toronto and found Katsuya on yelp. The restaurant had great reviews. We walked to the…read morerestaurant for lunch and was promptly seated when we arrived. The menu is set up to where you pick the entree and then what type of protein you want out of pork loin, chicken, fish, cheese, and sweet potato cheese. I settled on the sweet chili katsu. A piece of chicken arrived on a plate accompanied with rice and shredded cabbage. The chicken was breaded in a light panko like crumb and was half covered in the sweet chili sauce. I ate a couple of pieces and the crisp texture and flavor was wonderful. I had a bite of rice and when I got to the cabbage to my dismay I found a long piece of hair in it. I immediately lost my appetite and all I could think about was how great the two bites of chicken was. I gave up the plate and showed the staff what I found. They offered another plate a couple of times and after I declined a refund was issued. Katsuya. sucks for serving me one of the best pieces of breaded chicken in my life with hair in the food. I'm struggling to hold back the tears now as I write. I did get to try the parmesan fries which were ok. I also tasted the udon which is not one of their stronger dishes. This probably would have been five stars had it not been for the hair. I know this happens on the rare occasion but probably shouldn't if hair nets are worn. If you do try out this place, expect great katsuya.

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    Katsuya - Bar area

    Bar area

    Katsuya - Original Katsu

    Original Katsu

    Katsuya - Furikake

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    Furikake

    Mikaku Izakaya - japanese - Updated May 2026

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