Really enjoyed our lunch here. We walked in on a Sunday afternoon and it wasn’t busy. Lunch sets are available. Grilled Salmon was absolutely delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bobbie W.
I love this place. I went a few times when it first opened and it was a bit hit and miss compared to the original guu on Thurlow but I think now they have found their stride The food at Guu restaurants are always innovative and add a bit of fusion and they're offering in this place maintains that same standard fresh seafood, awesome and big portioned kimchi fried rice, nicely fried chicken karaage and creative appies so full with a few pints of sapporo beers and snow white. super service and exuberant staff
J Y
They made a good impression on me. One of my pet peeves is when restaurants post closing hours and you go there 15 to 30 minutes before the closing hours and they won't serve you. Why put closing hours, making it seem like you will receive guests when they are already closed??? Anyways, arrive here at 1030pm almost confident they won't let us in since they close at 11pm. To our surprised they let us in warning us that last call is at 11pm, the way it should be! And they were friendly and helpful and didn't act like we prevented them from closing.Food was delicious too. Nice to know there a late night or semi late night place that served food.Salmon Yukke with prawn chips. The salmon is good but didn't go well with the prawn chips. Ended up eating the salmon alone. Assorted oden was really good. Really enjoyed having the hot broth. Okonomi Yaki which is a Japanese pancake. I liked it very much. Sauce wasn't too sweet. Shrimp Yakisoba was ok. It was fried in probably a hot wok or pan so that's good but to me nothing special. Lastly karaage. Can't remember if it was good or not. But generally hard to mess up karaage so must have been ok.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
tinny tso
The food was delicious, but we were so thirsty afterward. (Enough said)I did make a reservation, so I was disappointed to know that we were being seated at the sushi bar and not a regular table.Service was fast, and we were able to finish everything within an hour. The place was very warm, I saw that most people were in their tees.
Excellent food, good service, busy restaurant... make a reservation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Chicken Karaage
Pooneh Ash
#3On our third visit, we were there for a quick bite to eat, so these are the things that we ordered: miso soup, fish cake tempura, smokey sausage with carrot sauce, and an appetizer with tofu. I must say, I enjoyed every dish.I'm not sure if it was happy hour or just a special deal for that specific day, but they had an offer of three appetizers for $15, so we took advantage of it and ordered these dishes.#2During our second visit, we ordered chicken karage, Japanese pickles, deep-fried assorted skewers (pork, quail egg, asparagus, lotus root), and beef carpaccio. What we noticed was that the food didn't all come out at the same time.It seemed like they were really busy, so there was a bit of a wait between each dish.But I have to say, the chicken karage and Japanese pickles were really good; I totally enjoyed them. However, the deep-fried asparagus skewer was kind of tough and chewy.The beef carpaccio came last, so we didn't have anything else to eat it with.Overall, the timing of the food delivery was a bit of an issue for us.#1Our experience at Guu Toramasa was really nice. Even though we didn't book ahead, we got a table right away. We ordered the Tan Ramen with spicy pork and soy milk, along with some kimchi rice. Both dishes were really tasty. The service was friendly and quick. I also tried the melon soda for the first time, and it was surprisingly good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Louis Seki
This new edition of the successful Guu Izakaya Japanese restaurant chain in Vancouver has my thumbs up all over? Seriously, how many places in town serving great food and drinks at a reasonable prices are open till 11pm on a Monday? Need I say more?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smoky Sausage with Carrot Sauce, Pork Intestine
Liam Crozier
It took an hour for the food to arrive and one of my colleagues found a piece of plastic in his food (he was refunded for this). I've had excellent meals at Guu Garlic and the original Guu Izakaya, but this was a very disappointing experience.I'm giving two stars instead of one because it seemed like a recently opened spot and maybe the team was undertrained. I'm hoping that they can improve over time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Lynn Chen
Great authentic Japanese restaurant! Love it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chirashi Don
Lauren Young
Super friendly staff. Lively, high energy atmosphere without being too noisy. Seafood Yakisoba noodles were amazing! Gomae beans were absolutely delicious. I would highly recommend the Grilled Squid.
Walked in on a weekday, and despite the busyness, they kindly found us a seat. The sashimi was incredibly fresh and well-presented, while the Kushikatsu was both delicious and beautifully arranged. When I ordered one dish, it didn't have a pleasant smell, and I suspected improper preparation. The server, however, handled it well when informed, and I appreciate their prompt response. The daifuku was exceptionally silky and delightful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ananda Enkhtur
Really enjoyed our time here! Everything was delicious and the service was really good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kimchi Udon and Yaki Udon, Noodles, Takoyaki
Mike Ruth
Amazing chirashi donburi today…great lunch spot. Perfect green tea on a cold snowy winter day.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chirashi Don
PookyCake
Guu (Japanese slang for “good”) first hit our radar in mid-2022 when we spied it on an episode of the Food Network’s “Big Food Bucket List” (originally aired 2019). In particular, the Kabocha Korokke AKA “Pumpkin Croquette” is what caught our attention. It resembled a Scotch Egg . . . only . . . it wasn’t! Unfortunately, it took the better part of a year to finally get here because the Pumpkin Croquette, the apple of our eye, is only served during dinner and we don’t often feel like Japanese izakaya for dinner when in town. This time, though, we felt it would be a suitable early snack option. We chose Guu @ 757 Seymour Street because it was within close proximity to our location at the time (Granville and Robson) AND it had the bonus of being a mere 5-minute walk from our hotel. When we realized the latter, we thought, “what the heck? If it was this close, why didn’t we come here earlier?” As it turns out, Guu Toramasa is a fairly new addition to the “Guu family.” It just opened in April 2023, taking over the space previously occupied by Ryuu Japanese Kitchen (and Toyama before that), and so is less than a year old. Well, that explains why we didn’t come here earlier! It also probably explains why this location has zero reviews on TripAdvisor (still kind of surprising given this location has been open for 9 months). Unlike other Guu outposts, this location specializes in dishes from Osaka because the two owners originally hail from there. We arrived right at 5PM to avoid any potential dinner rush. As such, the restaurant was fairly quiet upon arrival, but it did liven up significantly during the hour we were there. The atmosphere was thus casual and inviting, with staff warmly greeting you @ entry and bidding you adieu upon departure. Because we wanted to keep things light, we ordered the Shrimp Ebimayo, Pumpkin Croquette, Pork Belly, and Chicken Karaage. The Shrimp Ebimayo was a pleasant surprise. Served with a chili mayo, its presentation was simple – I’d say almost boring – but, oh my! Was it ever delicious! First, the shrimp were pretty large; second, the batter was light and crisp; third, the shrimp were cooked to utter perfection and you could tell they were fresh because of that inviting “pop” they gave when bitten; and, finally, the chili mayo, while not spicy, added a nice creamy element to the dish. The Chicken Karaage was equally inviting. Presented in a few large “chunks,” the batter was crispy while the chicken meat inside was juicy and full of flavour. Again, presentation was simple but the flavours were outstanding! And the Pumpkin Croquette? Not only was it exciting to finally see in person, but it was definitely worth all the hype: Crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside, the pumpkin played beautifully with the boiled egg and made or a nice gestalt. Of the dishes we had, I would say only the Pork Belly was kind of disappointing. It was served in an ample portion, but we found it somewhat bland. FOOD: 4/5 SERVICE: 5/5 ATMOSPHERE: 4/5 VALUE: 4/5 RECOMMENDATION: Guu certainly lived up to its name. Our Izakaya-style dishes were all quite “guu” ;) The Shrimp Ebimayo and Pumpkin Croquette deserve special mention for their deliciousness. We would definitely return for another light bite! Recommended! PS: If you found this review helpful in any way please consider hitting the "helpful" button!
Eddie Lluisma
Food and service here are excellent. I love the sashimi plate and the spicy menma. I will be coming back. Thank you for the meal?
Really enjoyed our lunch here. We walked in on a Sunday afternoon and it wasn’t busy. Lunch sets are available. Grilled Salmon was absolutely delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love this place. I went a few times when it first opened and it was a bit hit and miss compared to the original guu on Thurlow but I think now they have found their stride The food at Guu restaurants are always innovative and add a bit of fusion and they're offering in this place maintains that same standard fresh seafood, awesome and big portioned kimchi fried rice, nicely fried chicken karaage and creative appies so full with a few pints of sapporo beers and snow white. super service and exuberant staff
They made a good impression on me. One of my pet peeves is when restaurants post closing hours and you go there 15 to 30 minutes before the closing hours and they won't serve you. Why put closing hours, making it seem like you will receive guests when they are already closed??? Anyways, arrive here at 1030pm almost confident they won't let us in since they close at 11pm. To our surprised they let us in warning us that last call is at 11pm, the way it should be! And they were friendly and helpful and didn't act like we prevented them from closing.Food was delicious too. Nice to know there a late night or semi late night place that served food.Salmon Yukke with prawn chips. The salmon is good but didn't go well with the prawn chips. Ended up eating the salmon alone. Assorted oden was really good. Really enjoyed having the hot broth. Okonomi Yaki which is a Japanese pancake. I liked it very much. Sauce wasn't too sweet. Shrimp Yakisoba was ok. It was fried in probably a hot wok or pan so that's good but to me nothing special. Lastly karaage. Can't remember if it was good or not. But generally hard to mess up karaage so must have been ok.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The food was delicious, but we were so thirsty afterward. (Enough said)I did make a reservation, so I was disappointed to know that we were being seated at the sushi bar and not a regular table.Service was fast, and we were able to finish everything within an hour. The place was very warm, I saw that most people were in their tees.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Grilled Squid, Chicken Karaage
Excellent food, good service, busy restaurant... make a reservation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Chicken Karaage
#3On our third visit, we were there for a quick bite to eat, so these are the things that we ordered: miso soup, fish cake tempura, smokey sausage with carrot sauce, and an appetizer with tofu. I must say, I enjoyed every dish.I'm not sure if it was happy hour or just a special deal for that specific day, but they had an offer of three appetizers for $15, so we took advantage of it and ordered these dishes.#2During our second visit, we ordered chicken karage, Japanese pickles, deep-fried assorted skewers (pork, quail egg, asparagus, lotus root), and beef carpaccio. What we noticed was that the food didn't all come out at the same time.It seemed like they were really busy, so there was a bit of a wait between each dish.But I have to say, the chicken karage and Japanese pickles were really good; I totally enjoyed them. However, the deep-fried asparagus skewer was kind of tough and chewy.The beef carpaccio came last, so we didn't have anything else to eat it with.Overall, the timing of the food delivery was a bit of an issue for us.#1Our experience at Guu Toramasa was really nice. Even though we didn't book ahead, we got a table right away. We ordered the Tan Ramen with spicy pork and soy milk, along with some kimchi rice. Both dishes were really tasty. The service was friendly and quick. I also tried the melon soda for the first time, and it was surprisingly good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
This new edition of the successful Guu Izakaya Japanese restaurant chain in Vancouver has my thumbs up all over? Seriously, how many places in town serving great food and drinks at a reasonable prices are open till 11pm on a Monday? Need I say more?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smoky Sausage with Carrot Sauce, Pork Intestine
It took an hour for the food to arrive and one of my colleagues found a piece of plastic in his food (he was refunded for this). I've had excellent meals at Guu Garlic and the original Guu Izakaya, but this was a very disappointing experience.I'm giving two stars instead of one because it seemed like a recently opened spot and maybe the team was undertrained. I'm hoping that they can improve over time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Great authentic Japanese restaurant! Love it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chirashi Don
Super friendly staff. Lively, high energy atmosphere without being too noisy. Seafood Yakisoba noodles were amazing! Gomae beans were absolutely delicious. I would highly recommend the Grilled Squid.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki
Restaurantji Recommends
Walked in on a weekday, and despite the busyness, they kindly found us a seat. The sashimi was incredibly fresh and well-presented, while the Kushikatsu was both delicious and beautifully arranged. When I ordered one dish, it didn't have a pleasant smell, and I suspected improper preparation. The server, however, handled it well when informed, and I appreciate their prompt response. The daifuku was exceptionally silky and delightful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Really enjoyed our time here! Everything was delicious and the service was really good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kimchi Udon and Yaki Udon, Noodles, Takoyaki
Amazing chirashi donburi today…great lunch spot. Perfect green tea on a cold snowy winter day.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chirashi Don
Guu (Japanese slang for “good”) first hit our radar in mid-2022 when we spied it on an episode of the Food Network’s “Big Food Bucket List” (originally aired 2019). In particular, the Kabocha Korokke AKA “Pumpkin Croquette” is what caught our attention. It resembled a Scotch Egg . . . only . . . it wasn’t! Unfortunately, it took the better part of a year to finally get here because the Pumpkin Croquette, the apple of our eye, is only served during dinner and we don’t often feel like Japanese izakaya for dinner when in town. This time, though, we felt it would be a suitable early snack option. We chose Guu @ 757 Seymour Street because it was within close proximity to our location at the time (Granville and Robson) AND it had the bonus of being a mere 5-minute walk from our hotel. When we realized the latter, we thought, “what the heck? If it was this close, why didn’t we come here earlier?” As it turns out, Guu Toramasa is a fairly new addition to the “Guu family.” It just opened in April 2023, taking over the space previously occupied by Ryuu Japanese Kitchen (and Toyama before that), and so is less than a year old. Well, that explains why we didn’t come here earlier! It also probably explains why this location has zero reviews on TripAdvisor (still kind of surprising given this location has been open for 9 months). Unlike other Guu outposts, this location specializes in dishes from Osaka because the two owners originally hail from there. We arrived right at 5PM to avoid any potential dinner rush. As such, the restaurant was fairly quiet upon arrival, but it did liven up significantly during the hour we were there. The atmosphere was thus casual and inviting, with staff warmly greeting you @ entry and bidding you adieu upon departure. Because we wanted to keep things light, we ordered the Shrimp Ebimayo, Pumpkin Croquette, Pork Belly, and Chicken Karaage. The Shrimp Ebimayo was a pleasant surprise. Served with a chili mayo, its presentation was simple – I’d say almost boring – but, oh my! Was it ever delicious! First, the shrimp were pretty large; second, the batter was light and crisp; third, the shrimp were cooked to utter perfection and you could tell they were fresh because of that inviting “pop” they gave when bitten; and, finally, the chili mayo, while not spicy, added a nice creamy element to the dish. The Chicken Karaage was equally inviting. Presented in a few large “chunks,” the batter was crispy while the chicken meat inside was juicy and full of flavour. Again, presentation was simple but the flavours were outstanding! And the Pumpkin Croquette? Not only was it exciting to finally see in person, but it was definitely worth all the hype: Crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside, the pumpkin played beautifully with the boiled egg and made or a nice gestalt. Of the dishes we had, I would say only the Pork Belly was kind of disappointing. It was served in an ample portion, but we found it somewhat bland. FOOD: 4/5 SERVICE: 5/5 ATMOSPHERE: 4/5 VALUE: 4/5 RECOMMENDATION: Guu certainly lived up to its name. Our Izakaya-style dishes were all quite “guu” ;) The Shrimp Ebimayo and Pumpkin Croquette deserve special mention for their deliciousness. We would definitely return for another light bite! Recommended! PS: If you found this review helpful in any way please consider hitting the "helpful" button!
Food and service here are excellent. I love the sashimi plate and the spicy menma. I will be coming back. Thank you for the meal?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Squid, Monkfish Liver, Beef Carpaccio