Kazu

My friends love the tuna and salmon bowl, but it tastes like bonito flakes to me, which is off-​putting. So my favourites are the chicken bibimbap and the 48 hour pork bowl. I’m not on board with the cramped seating though. Sitting elbow to elbow and feeling all the eyes of those waiting in line willing you to eat quicker is super awkward. I much prefer placing a phone order, which take about 10 – 15 minutes to be ready for pick-​up. If the weather is nice out, enjoy your delicious meal in the nearby park and revel in the luxury of eating at your leisure. (Although the food is so good you might scarf it down quicker when you can throw table manners out the window.)

There’s a line-​up for a reason! Definitely worth the wait… but if you don’t want to stand in line there’s always a take-​out option!

Tout ce que nous avons pris était vraiment bon. Service impeccable!
Le bol de tartare, les ravioli, la crêpe crevettes et légumes et la joue de porc!
Avec une belle présentation pour chaque plat.
Une file d’attente … qui en vaut la peine.
Je serai de retour … C’est certain!
Par contre, Le look des feuilles jaunes (menu) au mur est a retravaillé — ça jure avec le niveau du resto.

Went there for an impromptu date night after reading all the great reviews! Although we did have a bit of a wait, but were expecting it, we found the food to be absolutely delicious! On top of it, the waitress noticed we were vegetarian as we were giving our order and immediately told us that their soup broths were made with chicken broth so we shouldn’t order the vegetarian hotpot. Almost unheard of it Montréal! Husband and I shared the eggplant dip, vegetable bowl and japanese vegetable pancake. Absolutely amazing flavours and textures! A delight for any foodie! I just wish they had a few more veg options, but still, a solid restaurant to try out! We ended with the green tea ice cream– so good! All this plus 2 beers for 50 $ — cant complain! Highly recommend!

came here twice, both times with cute girls and it made a very good impression
the food was spectacular, very well priced, and the atmosphere and service was phenomenal.
the girl I came with the second time didn’t like the salmon tartar, but she’s too white for good food anyway: p
would recommend to anyone looking for a well priced meal (15 – 25 $ a person) with an amazing atmosphere and delicious food.

Japanese food meets French food. I had ramen and they were great.
Notes to Americans: they only accept Canadian Debt or Cash. If you use US dollar its 1 to 1 so bad deal. I even got my change in Canadian dollar so lost out little more.
However food is all good and very reasonably priced. Expect long line.

I recommend that you order take out for Kazu, unless you like not having much space when you eat and having to eat quickly and then leave.
The food is good, especially the ramen, which is only offered during lunch. I think that the ramen and the 48 hour pork are the dishes you must order when going to Kazu.
Service is efficient, waiters are really nice and polite, and even though the wait can be long at times, I think it is still worth it to go and eat inside at least once.

I was a little reluctant to try this place since I’m a little claustrophobic and it’s a crowded layout but I’m so glad I decided to go in anyway. I had the gyoza and meatballs for appetizer and the shrimp burger as an entrée my date had the kalbi plate. The gyoza and meatballs came quick and were amazing, best I’ve had anywhere. The shrimp burger was juicy and flavourful, the bun was a very pleasant texture like nothing I’ve had before. The beef kalbi was tender and juicy my date really enjoyed it. I already want to come back here.

My open letter:
Bonsoir Kazu… I’ve now been in your legendary establishment about ½ dozen times, and what was once an innocent crush has now ballooned to become an all-​out infatuation. My nostrils have fogged up your windows while staring enviously at the dining patrons and awaiting impatiently in queue to put ass to seat… But damn you’re worth it. So worth it.
I travel from Boston and have on occasion endured 9 hour Greyhound rides to achieve my fix, and there is no denying it… Le burger aux crevettes (shrimp burger) changed my life. It simply makes my toes curl. Every. Fucking. Time.
This is what you do to me. I’ve even considered switching hockey allegiance to conform with your surroundings, but Patrice Bergeron said he would un-​friend me on FB if I did so. The beef between our teams is too real out here in these streets. I hope we can come to another compromise. Let me know, I’ll be around.
Do you like me, Kazu? Please circle: Oui or Non
–Bean

I visited here already twice, thanks to everybody in Montréal just LOVING this place. They can’t stop talking about it!
The burgers were alright. Very very tasty but I wouldn’t line up for this one. I would line up for the ramen and the 48-​hour pork rice!!! Both of these are incredibly delicious.
Staff is forever friendly, even with the rush and jam-​packed space that is Kazu. A great place to be!!! I sat at the bar both times I was here, and the kitchen staff are full of smiles and kindness. Kazu deserves my 5 star!

F-​bomb phenomenal.
Get there when the door opens or risk waiting for a bit. But just know this is a line most would gladly stand in for an hour.
Menu is alike what we ate in Japan. Seriously. I’ve only been able to say this once before.
It’s a busy spot. If your entire party isn’t there, they move on to the next. SORRY NOT SORRY.

So I came to this restaurant expecting some incredible Japanese cuisine due to the hype.
I’ve been to Japan in the past. In fact I lived Osaka for several years to learn as much as I can about the culture. Obviously I know what authentic Japanese food tastes like and I didn’t expect to find good Nippon inspired food in Montréal.
There were way to many people in the restaurant and it was way too hot. Also I expected a little extra curtousy because I told them I’m a Unilocal reviewer but they treated me the same as everyone else (wow im not a gaijin like the rest of these people I even spoke to them with my osaka dialect).
The food was okay I guess. I tried slurping my ramen like they do in my favorite animé’s but I spilled most of it on my limited edition Himouto! Umaru-​chan shirt which almost made me have a panic attack. At that point my day was ruined so I said arigato gozaimas to the staff and threw my money at them.
Needless to say if you want real Japanese food you can only get it in Japan but if you’re in Montréal I guess this will pass.

Absolutely, without a doubt, the best Japanese food I’ve ever had the honor of eating. It is truly a blessing to have been able to eat here twice.
My boyfriend and I visited Montréal for four days and two of them were spent at Kazu. On one of the days, my poor, cold, boyfriend had a craving for ramen. Thanks to his craving and Unilocal,we were able to find Kazu! When we got there, there was a line to get inside. It was so cold but we stuck it out and made it in! This place is small. There’s maybe 6 counter seats and 5 tables inside that can seat 2 – 4 people each.
We had the ramen (which btw is the absolute BEST ramen I’ve ever had) and the beef rib bowl the first day we went and the second day we had the ramen and tuna/​salmon salad. The second day we went we were driving five hours back home. We lamented not having any accessibility to Kazu anymore so we ordered a beef rib bowl to go. They gave us two huge ribs! It was awesome!
I don’t know how to describe the amazing flavor in all their dishes. Their food puts me at a loss for words. At best, all I can say is it is amazing and savory and delicious. Their food tastes like edible love.
My boyfriend and I still talk about how amazing Kazu is and if it’s feasible to drive five hours and cross the US/​Canada border just to eat there. Seriously, it’s that good.
If you are blessed enough to live in Montréal and haven’t tried Kazu yet, go! You are SO lucky! I envy you! And if you’re in Montréal visiting and trying to decide where’s a good place to eat, I’ve decided for you, it’s Kazu! GO!

Great Japanese food. Make sure you go a bit earlier as there’s always a queue. We waited for 15 – 20 minutes on the latest visit but you could see the turn around time inside the restaurant was quick and the service was ON it with the many staff working there. We ordered the aubergine starter, chicken gyozas, pork kebabs and tofu kimchi salad, which were all delicious. When we finished these, we were promptly served our main courses — a Korean pork bulgogi-​like dish called Buta-​Don, a bibimbap with the massive beef rib and a Vegetable Bowl. All were great and well made, well balanced dishes.
I would call this Japanese fusion. No sushi is served here. Service was quick. Not the place to go for a long chatty meal.

Opens at 12 for lunch so try to arrive 15mins early to make sure to have a seat.
Tiny little japanesse restaurant with super good good. Had the tuna and salmon rice bowl and it was delicious.
The restaurant is very small and tables are really close to each other… you are seated extremely closely to your neighbor table… If you mind that then it’s not the place for you. If you are into great food and friendly service than make sure to check it out.

Everything you’ve heard is true. We came here twice in four days because we couldn’t get this food out of our MINDS.
Cons: The wait and squished eating experience.
Pros: THE. FOOD.
Just order everything.

This is a well known restaurant that usually has a line-​up outside. The wait is worth the time though! Very flavourful dishes with awesome staff. Reasonable prices and cute restaurant but very little space. Yes you may have heard of this place as being totally awesome and making heavenly Japanese food, but it’s a quite normal little restaurant! Oh and never come in here with more than a group of 4 people!!!

This was my first meal in Montréal and I was glad I came here. My friend and I came here after wandering down the street. Because there was a line, we thought that this is definitely a place to go!
After waiting for a while, we were seated by the bar so we got to see chefs making every order. Since we didn’t eat anything since the night before, we ordered a lot of food. We got mackerel, okonomiyaki, grilled squid, and a chicken burger. We were very happy with the dishes. The mackerel tasted a bit fishy though.
Anywho, I’d definitely come back here agin when I’m craving Japanese food and when I’m in the area.

Everytime I go by Kazu, I always see a long line up that starts within the restaurant and all the way outside. The line up is there for a good reason. Everything on their menu is so great that it is definitely worth waiting!
Although the restaurant is very small, all the servers are quick, very friendly, and organized. I’m surprised at how organized the entire restaurant is despite being a very small restaurant!
The food is incredible, classic authentic Japanese & Asian cuisines are available with a fusion twist that fits almost everyone’s tastebuds. If you sit at the bar, you’re able to see all the chefs at work at their open kitchen which is incredibly cool. I always want to go back to Kazu but I’m not a fan of waiting in line.

Not my first visit, but it had been a while (2011 as I backtrack my pictures!).
We basically ordered whatever the waitress suggested.
Conclusion? The food was divine, well thought-​out with intricate flavours and textures. However sauces do repeat themselves and you fell pressured to order fast and to eat fast; all to ensure their tremendous turnover.
Food is a 8.5÷10 but the experience as a whole would be more a ⁷⁄₁₀ (i.e.: good place for a quick bite on a day you don’t want to cook, bad choice for a ‘wine and dine’ kinda night).

Se remplit vite. L’attente est parfois longue mais j’ai beaucoup aimé les dumplings, le carpaccio et burger de crevettes

Excellent bistro japonais authentique a découvrir
Il faut souvent faire la queue mais ça vaut la peine
La place n est pas très grande
Manger au bar est une expérience a né pas manquer

Sans surprise on identifie le restaurant rapidement par sa file d’attente visible à 500m. Finalement l’attente n’est pas très longue et on se retrouve rapidement à table dans cette espace atypique ou l’on compte 5 – 6 tables et un comptoir devant la cuisine. Une partie du menu est affiché sur le mur, façon dessin d’écolier :). Il contient une bonne variété d’entrée et de plat, mais il devient vite difficile de faire un choix quand vous vous apercevez que les plats qui défilent dans la salle on tous l’air excellent. Et effectivement vous né serez pas déçus, le burger de crevette était léger et sa galette de crevette accompagné d’une sauce japonaise un délice. On a ensuite enchaîné rapidement sur la salade de tartare saumon et thon, le bœuf teriaki et la crêpe, tout est très bien équilibré et assaisonné, un régale. Le tout est suffisamment copieux pour vous caler, et son prix est en accord avec la qualité des plats, compter dans les 30 – 40 $ par personne. Il reste beaucoup de plat à tester comme la pieuvre, la joue de porc, le ramen … nous reviendrons :).

Je voulais y retourner une deuxième fois avant de mettre un avis. Pour une des rares fois, je n’ai pas attendu. On était plutôt surpris, car le restaurant est habituellement reconnaissable de loin par la file d’attente sur la rue Ste-​Catherine ouest.
Décor: On n’y va pas pour le décor. La caisse enregistreuse devrait être remplacée. Le restaurant est très petit. Le menu accroché sur le mur nous rappelle des restaurants en Asie.
Menu: La première fois, on avait été avec le cou de porc, le ventre de thon, la pieuvre et les côtes de boeuf.
Cette fois, on a pris le sashimi de thon, la salade de thon et saumon avec riz, la crêpe japonaise aux crevettes et les raviolis japonais (gyoza). Le calmar n’était pas disponible. On a également essayé les crèmes glacées maison au gingembre et celui au thé noir.
Étant fan de sashimi, j’ai été déçu de voir à quel point on inondait les poissons dans des sauces. Il y a eu au moins 5 bouteilles de sauces. Et on avait l’impression que les plats goutaient la même chose. Les sauces sont quand mêmes bonnes, mais le goût du poisson est camouflé.
Cela dit, dès qu’on sort des sashimis, le reste est intéressant et succulent. En s’installant aux bars, on voit la préparation et la cuisson. L’assaisonnement est parfois trop salé à mon goût, mais ils prennent des viandes ou des parties de viandes qu’on né retrouve pas dans tous les restaurants et font de très bons plats.
La crème glacée, ce n’était pas ce que l’on croyait. C’était de la crème glacée blanche saupoudrée avec de la poudre? avec la saveur et non une vraie crème glacée.
Ambiance: Il y a très très peu d’espace, mais cela crée une ambiance amicale avec le personnel du restaurant. Cela nous permet aussi de discuter intimement avec nos proches.
Prix: La facture grimpe très vite, car on a envie de tout essayer, mais ça en vaut la peine.

I was actually excited to try this place out as I’ve seen the kind of monstrous lineup this place can have. Kazu is really small and the tables are tight. The staff were really friendly and you can occasionally hear them yell «thank you» to customers in Japanese, which is quite amusing.
Because there was so much hype I was expecting amazing mouth watering food. Unfortunately for me, most dishes were just about mediocre. My appetizer consisted of pork cheek paste served with tortillas. It was okay but I think it would make a better snack than an appetizer and the presentation was a bit messy. I had beef galbi as my main which is korean BBQ short ribs which was served with plain white rice and salad on top. The beef itself was good and well marinated but the salad was really subpar. The salad was cut into strips and appeared boring to me. Also, the dressing was minimal and nothing special. My friend had the ramen and he told me that it wasn’t mind-​blowing neither.
My favorite dish throughout the course was probably the homemade ice cream with wasabi sauce. The waitress told me that they make their own wasabi and it shows. This green Japanese mustard was smooth and it goes surprisingly well with their homemade vanilla ice cream. I didn’t get too much of that kick in the nose that you get from commercial wasabi and the flavors were fresh and fragrant.
But overall, Kazu to me was just an ordinary visit. I don’t know why there’s so much hype about this place. Maybe I have to give Kazu another try during diner to change my mind. I will update this review upon my next visit.

Un peu coûteux tout en restant dans la limite de l’abordable (prix variant entre 11 et 18 $ par plat plus ou moins gros). Mais la nourriture est excellente et vaut totalement son prix. Le service est très rapide et chaleureux. Espace confiné mais qui apporte du charme (évitez de venir avec vos courses quoi…). Toujours plein, s’il n’y a pas de queue vous êtes chanceux. Cash ou débit seulement.

De loin l’un des meilleurs restaurant de Montréal. Sans prétention aucune, la carte compte que des mets EXCELLENTs et très frais. La cuisine ouverte rend le petit espace très chaleureux. Je reste fidèle à mon bol de saumon/​thon, gyoza, poulet teryaki, sandwich de crevettes! Une tuerie!

Ce restaurant n’annonce vraiment pas ses vraies couleurs de loin. Devant, j’ai eu l’impression d’être dans un pays (Japon) en faisant la file. Beaucoup d’Asiatiques parlaient dans leur lange maternel et les serveuses s’exprimaient avec un fort accent. Pendant que mon amie et moi attendions en file dehors, une serveuse nous a remis un menu pour accélérer le processus (brillante idée, une vraie torture, quand on a faim). Une fois à notre table (20 minutes plus tard et nous avons été chanceux), nous pouvions déjà commander. Dans le restaurant, c’est un autre monde, je me sentais au Japon (très agréable comme sensation de voyager sans le savoir). Laissez-​moi vous dire que l’espace est utilisé au maximum (très exiguë), mais ça n’affecte en rien l’expérience culinaire.
Notre serveuse a été impeccable avec nous (très bonnes explications des plats) et tout sourire malgré l’effervescence du travail. Nous avons été servis rapidement et la présentation ajoutait au plaisir. J’ai pris «LE» hamburger (Burger Teriaky au poulet)… Tout simplement orgiaque, pour ma bouche qui en redemandait. J’ignorais qu’on pouvait servir un burger sur le côté. Mon amie n’a presque pas parlé pendant le repas (fait rarissime), car tout ce qu’elle a pris était excellent, pour né pas dire: divin. Il y a aussi des bières importées qui complètent l’évasion gastronomique.
Bref, c’est l’un de mes coups de coeur culinaire de Montréal.

5 étoiles, obligatoire car la nourriture et le service étaient parfaits! Savoureux, frais, tendre, j’en salive juste de l’écrire. Une petite (plutôt grande) soupe au poulet bbq style miso avec algue et tofu: le bouillon était excellent et le tofu un des meilleurs que j’ai mangé. Ensuite, j ‘ai pris le bimbap japonais au boeuf, c’était trop bon: le boeuf fondait dans la bouche, le riz collant et l’oeuf mirroir mélangés, puis la salade sésame! Mon ami a pris le burger teriaky au poulet: encore là savoureux, mais petit, donc à prendre avec une entrée.
Un peu déçu de la crème glacé, c’est bon mais très petit (125ml environ) pour 5 $. Par contre, le choix de topping est varié!
Le resto est minuscule et je pensais que ça me derrangerait, mais non. On oublie rapidement nos voisins trop proches car c’est vraiment bon et le service est extrememt rapide et courtois.

Très bon resto mais un peu trop cher pour moi et surtout je né m’attendais pas à de la fusion food. Je pensais tomber dans un izakaya avec yakitoris, tsukemonos… à consommer avec un petit verre. Mais c’est plus un resto traditionnel qui mélange cuisine japonaise et cuisine occidentale. Ce mélange est réalisé avec brio mais ce n’est pas ce que j’attendais.
Si vous voulez manger de la fusion de qualité, c’est le bon endroit.

Né vous laissez pas décourager par la file d’attente! Kazu est un des meilleurs restaurants japonais en ville et il en vaut VRAIMENT la peine!!!
C’est petit et pogné, donc ce n’est pas idéal pour un groupe. Mais, si vous êtes comme moi, vous n’aurez aucun porblème à vous asseoir au comptroi pour regarder les chefs aller et manger à la va-​vite!
Mes mets favoris: la salade de tartare de saumon & thon et le ramen. Oh. Que. Oui…

Très bon restaurant avec des plats frais tous écrit sur des post-​it. quelque rajout pour le souper mais lorsque je me suis rendu la c’étais le midi. Un gros bol de saumon et thon bien agencer avec cette bière froide au yuzu PARFAIT. et on fini avec une petite glacé tout cela avec un service très sympathique,

Comment caractériser Kazu: file d’attente qui né met pas trop longtemps à se résorber, très petite place (mais digne d’un endroit japonais), rapidité de service (au point que la serveuse a failli tomber à plusieurs reprises en essayant de se faufiler à travers les chaises), décoration pas très présente, bouffe originale, savoureuse, colorée, un vrai délice!

Tout simplement génial ! Petit endroit très accueillant avec un personnel poli, serviable et aimable. Service en japonais, anglais et français. Les plats sont frais et excellent, préparé devant vous, si vous êtes au comptoir, avec des portions raisonnables qui comble sans alourdir, à moins d’en reprendre… Bonne sélection de bières japonaises, de sakés et il y a du vin de prune !

Délicieux resto japonais, nourriture fraîche et service rapide & courtois. Ça goûte comme au Japon, pour y avoir été 2 fois. Le seul moins, c’est sa popularité, au moins ³⁰⁄₄₅ minutes d’attente à l’extérieur.