TSUKI IZAKAYA

Having more than one izakaya option within walking distance for dinner is one of the perks of my neighbourhood. I was craving something light and since it wasn’t a Tues/Wed (those nights, I head to Nome Izakaya for their $1 oysters) we decided to give Tsuki a try. One of my favourite parts about izakaya style restaurants are the small portions and matching prices, which let me try a lot more dishes than a single entree and appetizer.

Atmosphere: We arrived early in the night, around 6pm, so the restaurant was still empty and just beginning to fill up as we left at 8pm. Like most Japanese restaurants, the decor is heavy with dark woods and empty sake bottles. There were tables available for large groups and smaller parties but no booths.

Service: Every aspect of the service at Tsuki was fine. Our server was friendly and sat us at a larger table for four since the restaurant was still fairly empty at the time. We didn’t wait long on any dish and tea was quickly refilled throughout the night.

Food: The menu at Tsuki is extensive offering a large variety of sushi and cooked specialties. I like how the menu accompanies each item name with a picture, which helps visualizing dishes that are listed only in Japanese.

Going with the theme of lighter fare, we didn’t order anything from the fried section. Starting with a tako wasabi (raw octopus, chopped and mixed with wasabi and green onions), which I order at every izakaya, we centered the meal around a bowl of oden accompanied by teriyaki fries, grilled mackerel and an asparagus and tofu salad.

The broth of the oden was rich and sweet, filled  with flavourful napa, fish cake, eggs, daikon and enoki mushrooms. It was a very comforting dish with a good balance of salty ingredients in the sweet soup. The tak wasabi was pretty standard, good texture and not slimy, could’ve had more wasabi and pickles. I really liked the teriyaki fries, this was the surprise hit of the night. Each fry was crispy and soaked up the sauce, again a good balance of salty and sweet. Our last two dishes were just ok; the mackerel was a little hard to eat and didn’t come apart easily while the asparagus was creatively presented but needed more of the miso sauce and a less viscous version.

I will be back to visit Tsuki again, the menu offers more variety than Nome (the other Izakaya in the neighbourhood) and it’s a larger space. The meal was good but not on par with Guu or even Fin.