February 25, 2007
VANCOUVER: Delicious yelling
Posted by are you gonna eat that? under Eating / Food, Restaurants, Vancouver | Tags: izakaya, Japanese |
There’s a lot of yelling at Guu with Garlic but in a good way. When you walk in, the chefs and servers holler “IRASSHAIMASE!” It’s never really in sync so it’s more like “IRASSHAIRASHAIMASEEEEE!!!!” which still means welcome. Welcome indeed.
There are two other Guu locations in Vancouver but I’ve been assured this one on Robson has the best food, service and atmosphere.
It’s an izakaya, where traditionally drinks and food are served to an after-work crowd in Japan. Izakaya is huge in Vancouver probably because of the big Asian population and the general love of tapas and Japanese food there.
Where Shiru Bay Chopstick Cafe is a great place to impress the in-laws, Guu is the destination for a rowdy group of friends. You don’t come here for sushi, but you do come here for fine homestyle dishes. Plus it’s cheeeeap!
At dinner time, there are huge lineups in the relatively small location, but we’ve come for an “after dinner refresher” so it’s easy to grab a spot for four.
The blackboard specials are a good indication of the kind of place Guu is, such as “Sho-Chu. It’s Japanese vodka. It’s very smooth. It’s very Japan.”
We begin to order. “Tuna tataki, please.” The tiny waitress screams, “TUNA TATAKI!!!” The kitchen confirms, “TUNA TATAKI!” And so it goes. “EDAMAME! YAKI UDON!!! BEEF CARPACCIO!”
Everything arrives quickly. The tuna tataki ($5.40) comes with deep fried garlic chips and disappears fast. The beef carpaccio ($4.80) is very tasty. The yaki udon ($7.50) is memorable because the noodles are cooked just right, chewy and not mushy. The sauce is light and not goopy like those disgusting VH sauces.
The dishes are medium-sized and meant to share. You could order the whole menu and it’d still be a good deal. I just might do that next time - though there’d be a lot of yelling.
Guu is instantly friendly and comfortable. The giant bottles of Kirin beer ($7.80) are friendly and comfortable too. Hee hee.
Guu with Garlic, 1698 Robson St., Vancouver, (604) 685-8678. Open seven days, 5:30 p.m. to midnight. Menu here.
February 26, 2007 at 10:36 am
Dude! Guu rules. If you are still in Vancouver, I’d recommend the similarly-named but totally unrelated Burgoo Bistro. Delicious stew and wine for cold winter days!
February 27, 2007 at 2:43 pm
My brother took me to Guu in the fall. There was a very complex process for getting a table - a reservation, then standing in a crowd outside until our number was called. Then much jostling for a table, and yelling, and then eating of delicious food.
Don’t ask me what we ate - I have no idea. I just know that it tasted v. v. good.
Now you’ve let out the local’s secret!