Chou Izakaya

Hello all, does anyone know what happened to CHOU? I pass by it the other day and it says they’re closed for renovation… but i think it’s been closed for a while now and nothing seems to be happening in terms of reno.!?

A few months back, my sister wanted us to try out this place and since she had a groupon for 40 $ off. why not.
Located around Church and Wellesley, Chou Izakaya is quite similar to other Izakaya places in that of having a bar style experience. However you have to make reservations before coming which seems a bit weird but nevertheless we didn’t have any problems with the reservations.
As I last remembered, we went there during the superbowl which I totally regretted later because I missed out the Superbowl but nevertheless the place wasn’t that packed and we were properly seated in picnic-​like tables similar to other Izakaya restaurants. Unlike Guu Izakaya, the ambiance was quite the opposite than that place, while Guu is quite noisy at these times, Chou feels quite somber although it could be attributed by the fact that it allows only people who made reservations.
Regardless, the service was somewhat a hit and miss. having the place to be half full and more later is one thing but waiting awhile for food to come is another.
The food is also a hit and miss, we had the kimchi pork cheese which was quite salty and we had other apps that just destroyed my appetite.
However the sushi burger was quite good, the rice patties that hold it together was crunchy and has some flavour to it even though the burger was decent and less juicy. The takoyaki was the highlight of our meal. at first I was creeped out by the wavy flakes on top of the octopus balls but it was pretty oishi (delicious). The curry korokke and niku maki was good as well.
Overall, if you happen to have a groupon for this place then its somewhat worth it considering that our bill was 30+ dollars (original was 70 $ minus the discount). Although other places like Guu Izakaya and Sakabar is much more worth it than having to make reservations. However the ambiance is quite somber and I would highly recommend the takoyaki…

KImchi cheese pork must try. I like their cocktails drink specially the calpico and the grapefruit one. I like their tapas. Service is a little slow. I prefer this place over the crowded loud and fattening all oil butter and mayo GUU Izakaya. The problem here is getting a table. We had to sit by the bar the times we came. However they do take reservation.

I am a big fan of the Japanese pub style experience and ever since hitting up the Vancouver scene before GUU back in 2000 i have been a big fan
reasonable pricing especially when you are eating on picnic tables
the staff can be overwhelmed at times but the really try hard to satisfy
order the specials on the display on the wall and you cannot go wrong
share the plates, order more food than normal and laugh and enjoy the moment
this is unpretenious fun food that is different, tasty and enjoyable… skip Jack Astors come here instead
order several torched mackerals and enuf said

Came back on a weekday with just my husband, and the wait time was still very long for food to come despite the fact that there was only 1 other table dining besides us. With all the new Izakayas like Hapa and Kingyo opening and also taking reservations, Chou’s food really isn’t that great in comparison, so I will have to drop its score.
Overall, not a place that is worth the wait since the dishes are hit and miss, the grilled eggplant and sashimi was good but the yakatoris and duck ramen salad are pretty bad.

I’m still left disappointed at Chou Izakaya.
It’s seems impossible to even eat here. Reservations were no longer accepted for weekends, and the Groupons were expiring.
My friend asked if we could get the $ 40 value for take out. — «No»
We asked if we can still use the $ 20 we paid for initially with Groupon — «No»
This establishment has created so much inconvenience I would never ever step in here again.

Food quality and price is great! It seems a little odd ordering all these small japanese dishes, but when they come out, it is like nothing else and it won’t cost $ 50 for a meal.
My fav experience is trying their blow-​torched tuna rolls and bacon wrapped greens. Not sure if it was even on the menu but it was recommended by our server.
Maybe some people expect fine japanese dining here, but they would be disappointed. This place is for drinking, fun, and food.

I finally got to try out this Izakaya. Being a huge fan of Guu, I got a deal to come here and could not be more excited. Arrived @ 5:30 pm, which is early for an izakaya, but soon realized that this is probably the best time to come as it got busy later on and I felt that the kitchen/​service ended up being slow towards the end of the meal.
Really small quaint place, reminiscent of Guu/​DonDon with the wooden tables and benches but a lot smaller. A little less hustle & bustle and the loud cheeriness that the former have though.
The tapas in general were pretty good and tasty, but portions were really small. I mean, I know it’s meant to be small side dishes, but it felt like I just gobbled it up really fast and be left waiting for more, picking at the small crumbs until the next dish came. I don’t have a huge appetite, but it still felt lacking.
Memorable dishes:
— Tuna tataki: I would order this as this is one of the popular dishes; really nice succulent tuna with a sour vinaigrette, but gobbled it up in seconds
— Takoyaki: A bit more crunchy than the typical interpretation of it, but still really good; I would order this
— Kamo rice: It was REALLY tasty, the duck was perfect and the rice I could eat forever; as others have mentioned, came in the smallest bowl possible and literally had like 2 spoonfuls
— Fried shrimp: A nice portion, nice charcoal taste from being grilled from this Japanese wood… would recommend ordering if you like tempura
— Ika yaki: Nice grilled squid, but took forever to come…
— Kimchi pork cheese: Personally I love this, it was a definitely popular with that hit of saltiness & grease; who would’ve thought such a good combo existed?
— Grilled eggplant: Had a sauce I wasn’t a fan of, so I was disappointed. However, the rest of the party enjoyed it…
Didn’t try the sushi as it seemed kinda expensive, but looked really good. Tried a cocktail without alcohol (cause the LCBO was closed) and it was good, but probably would pass on it since I’ve tried better sours at DonDon. Without a discount I think my overall bill was ~$ 70 – 80 for 3 people, which was not bad for an izakaya I guess (?), but none of us really left with the feeling that we were full/​satisfied.
I think the flavors is all there, and I would come back with friends if I was in the area, but I wouldn’t particularly go out of my way to eat here. Maybe it was the SLOWWW service after 6:30 pm, or that the servers need to be slightly more attentive (they were nice but forgot my order, then doubled my order and charged the bill wrong), or it was the SAME background Japanese song that looped over and over again (I usually don’t pay attention but it’s hard not to when it’s the SAME song not even a shuffle of songs replayed 20x the whole dinner)
Overall: Still a Guu enthusiast, sorry Chou… you still have some things to improve on.

Ohh, how my hand itches to give them 1 star. But I’ll play nice. Reviews are not the place to extract personal vengeance — I will leave that to my samurai sword on a cold dark night.
Food versus price score: ⁴⁄₅
In order of recommendedness:
— Shimesaba [torched mackerel]: excellent. Well worth the $ 8
— Eringi butter yaki [oyster mushrooms in garlic butter]: chopstick-​lickin good. Totally worth the $ 5.50
— Yaki nasu [eggplant with bonito flakes]: so good. possibly best value at $ 5
— Amaebi karaage [deep-​fried jumbo shrimp]: pretty good, $ 7.
— Salmon tataki [seared salmon]: good quality ingredients. Not bad for $ 6.
— Ika yaki [grilled squid]: disappointment. Smokey flavour and good texture, but it was lukewarm by the time it got to us and it failed to wow. Could’ve been really a good deal for $ 6 though
— Kamo rice [duck rice]: $ 6. for that tiny bowl of boring?
Service & ambiance: ²⁄₅
Interior is chill, kind of like a nicer bar
HOWEVER, it took one hour for our food to arrive.
It was not busy.
People arriving after us were served first.
Servers seemed to not see us.
… I can deal with a lot when it comes to service if the food is good, but it’s taking a lot of restraint not to rip on them for such terrible service. Probably most negligent service I’ve ever experienced. Was it because we had a groupon? It doesn’t matter. Samurai sword time.
… Admittedly, though, I might be back for the food, if my inner rage ever subsides. I might not even bring the sword.

the food is great, the price is great, and the beer is great. Also great are that there’s typically no line and that it’s quiet enough to have a conversation, unlike Guu down the street.
Lots of great dishes here and very nice Takowasa. I like Takowasa so it works well for me :)
The hours seem a bit random though — for whatever reason they’re only open when I’m already full! (hasn’t stopped me.)

I loved the food but the portion sizes could be bigger (like guu). My bill was enormous and I was still hungry. Their chou high drinks are delicious (get grapefruit). Just disappointed on portion size :-(

— an izakaya where you dont have people yelling, screaming, or banging drums.
— very reasonably priced place.
— shimesaba (blowtorched vinegared mackerel) is really really good. like, get 3 orders worthy.
— i also dig the curry korokke.
— really finicky with the groupons, so just make sure you have the right number of people stipulated. i went with 3 trying to use the $ 80 value one… and they snubbed us saying we HAD to have 4 in our party.

Reading back older entries, its nice to be able to recall those memorable meals. So I’m back after 3+ years!
In Japan, izakayas are a place where salary-​men and office ladies get together after long hours at work to take a load off. This place reminded me of this casual iz in Naka-​meguro where everyone’s all cramped sitting on wooden stools at a communal table. Japanese wait staff, j-​pop, authentic flavors and presentation made this a solid izakaya experience. Oh and they take reservations!
B O O Z E:
Kaido Imo shochu — it was snowing hard so nuttin’ better than some booze to warm ya up! Given that it was the only shochu on the menu made from sweet potato and wasn’t the typical Yokaichi brand most places carry, it wasn’t bad. The price point hurt a little 2 shots worth for $ 9 but that’s just Canada.
Kubota senju — kubota makes different kinds of sake. This wasn’t exceptional but bold and full flavored
F O O D:
Tako wasabi — slithery appetite opener with a hint of kick
Tuna natto — only for the brave that can handle the pungent pellets
Sashimi — gorgeous assortment of fresh hotate, salmon, hamachi, ikura and amaebi. Extra points for frying the heads for us upon request
Avo-​ten — small avocado nuggets fried in tempura batter. Don’t bother
Duck salad — surprise ramen salad under all the greens. Be sure to take a little of the sprouts, onion, ramen, lettuce and duck w each bite
Ume chazuke — it’s what I tend to get as dessert. Agree w all the Unilocalers. It’s one of the best ones I’ve had
It was the day after Xmas and blizzardy outside so it wasn’t packed. I’d love to come back on a busier night to capture that essence of loud debauchery to transport me back to that izakaya in Naka-​meguro.

I found the atmosphere to be great for two or even for a big group. I lived the duck special. I bought a groupon so I decided to go and I will definitely go back! Some of the portions are smaller than what I expected. The staff are friendly and the food is good. I would definitely recommend this place. If you like gu izakaya and you don’t like the overcrowding and loud atmosphere. Make Chou izakaya your second choice.

After some discussion, Regina and I decided to first order the Kimchi Pork Cheese which consisted of stir fried pork belly and kimchi with cheese on top for $ 6.50. I love kimchi and I love cheese, so it seemed only natural that I gravitated towards this dish. Oh boy did I want to love it. But I could not taste the kimchi or the pork. All I tasted was cheese. It should not have been a bad thing, since, as I mentioned before, I love cheese. But it had a weird taste to it-​almost acidic. I just did not think that the combination worked.
The 2^nd dish we ordered was the Chicken Kaarage, which consisted of crispy fried soy marinated chicken served with mayo for $ 6. Biting into the chicken, all I tasted was oil and fat from the chicken. I let Regina finish this one. I like to chew on meat, not fat. Just a personal preference.
The 3^rd dish we ordered was the Oba Chicken, which consisted of deep-​fried chicken breast, with Japanese mint leaves, served with sweet chili mayo for $ 7. I was excited about this one. It looked so good when it arrived. I took a bite and bit into a sliver of garlic. Raw garlic! Are you serious? But I continued eating it and I had to keep dipping it in the mayo because the chicken was so dry. Appearances really are deceiving.
The 4^th dish we ordered was Yaki nasu, which consisted of grilled eggplant, topped with bonito flakes and toasted on sweet miso sauce for $ 5. Being a huge carnivore, I was shocked to find this dish to be my favorite. The eggplant was perfectly seasoned and it was the perfect texture (not too soft and not too tough/​raw).
The 5^th dish we ordered was fried rice. Simple enough. Specifically we ordered the Oba fried rice which was a chicken fried rice with Japanese mint leaves. I swear, I could not taste the chicken or the mint. On top of that, it was so bland that I had to pour soy sauce over it. Come on! It’s just rice!
The 6^th dish we ordered was the Niku Maki for $ 6. You are probably thinking by this point, «dude! If the food was that bad, why did you keep ordering more?» Well, all I can say is that I am a sucker, and I always hope and wish that a restaurant will redeem itself. Unfortunately I apply this theory to people as well. Something I am working on stopping. Anyway, so we ordered the Niku Maki, and it consisted of a deep-​fried angus beef roll with asparagus and cheese. How could it go wrong? I love asparagus, I love cheese, and I love meat. Plus it was deep-​fried. Bonus! Oh Lord did it taste bad. The meat tasted like it had not been seasoned or marinated, the cheese again was overpowering the whole dish, but it’s saving grace was the crispy asparagus.
It is clear from this review that I really did not enjoy the food at Chou Izakaya. However, I have to be fair and admit that I was not exactly in the mood to even be in public. But there is one thing that I always assess with an open mind, even when feeling sad, and that is food. Heartbroken or not, my palate rejected this meal (minus the eggplant). But hey, if you want to be adventurous then go to Chou Izakaya and prove me wrong. I, on the other hand will stick to Guu.

Restaurant: Chou Izakaya
Cuisine: Izakaya
Location: Gay Village
Address: 556 Church St
Price Range: $ 5~10
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent
Food: 2
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 3
Extra information:
* Open for dinner (5:30PM)
* Late night on Friday & Saturday
* Closed on Tuesdays
* Serves alcohol
Is Toronto slowly opening it’s arms to the world of Izakayas yet? Chou Izakaya just opened couple months ago on Church street and I was actually informed of this by someone on Unilocal.
It was a while back so I can’t clearly remember but they messaged me telling me about the new izakaya that just opened up and how I should check it out.
I went with my sister right after I got off from work so it was still early and they had just opened up for dinner service (hence the empty restaurant).
Inside of the restaurant is quite cozy but not too crammed with enough space between tables. A lot of the tables were more so communal style so expect to share tables unless you come in with 4 or more people.
Ordered: Fresh fruit Sour ⁴⁄₅
* DIY cocktail for $ 5
* Choose orange or grapfruit and it comes with half of it
* You squeeze/​juice the half fruit and mix it
* This cocktail is lots of work! but is quite refreshing
Ordered: Pork Skewers ⁵⁄₅
* Choose teriyaki or seasalt for $ 2.50 each
* We got 1 teriyaki and 1 seasalt, 2 in total
* Pork skewers were fatty and perfectly cooked
* I enjoyed both types and it would be perfect with beer
Ordered: Kimchi Pork Cheese ²⁄₅
* Stir fried pork belly and kimchi with cheese on top for $ 6.50
* I find this to be more of a side dish
* It is too salty/​spicy to be eaten by itself
* I would probably order a bowl of rice to eat this
* Pork belly balances out the spiciness of kimchi
* I didn’t really enjoy this very much
Ordered: Amaebi Karaage ⁴⁄₅
* 5 pieces of shrimp karaage for $ 7
* I was surprised to see the shrimps be so big in size
* With the head attached, the entire thing is fried with the shell on
* Be careful when you eat this because you can cut inside of your mouth
* This didn’t arrive at the table very hot
* Inside of the shrimp was filled with eggs
* I liked it but my sister was creeped out with the tiny eggs
* This is def worth $ 7, bang for your buck!
Orderd: Curry Korokke ²⁄₅
* Deep fried potato with grounded beef in curry flavor for $ 5.50
* I found this to be lacking in flavor
* It was quite bland the texture was boring
* Everything was too mushy
* I felt like I was eating curry flavored potato
Ordered: Shrimp Sashimi ⁴⁄₅
* 5 pieces of shrimp sashimi for $ 7.00
* I love sweet shrimp sashimi when they are fresh
* Usually I would ask them to deep fry the head but I already had amaebi karaage
Ordered: Gunkan Sushi
* Spicy salmon gunkan sushi $ 2.50 each
* This is slightly bigger than your average nigiri sushi
* It was filled with fresh salmon pieces covered in delicious spicy mayo
* Topped off with some green onions
* Too big to be eaten in one bite
* I def enjoyed this a lot although my sister found the sauce to be a little too rich
Summary: I really wanted to like Chou izakaya, some dishes were hit or miss but overall– I felt like it was missing something. They have potential and the dishes were well made, but nothing overly impressed me. They did just open couple months ago so I feel like the restaurant can improve over time, the dishes are good but they all lack a little something to make it amazing. I am glad I gave it a try and maybe if it’s around in another year or two, I will give it another go.

The dark rice tastes especially good!
While the cocktail is so-​so

Chou Izakaya is a good neighbourhood Izakaya if you are in the area and want to meet up with some of your friends for drinks or some snacks.
Great for late night as on Friday and Saturday they opens till 2 am!
I met up some of my friends here before Nuit Blanche and shared some dishes. The deco is simple and quite homey. Staffs are super friendly and nice. The lighting can be a little dimmer. Quiet place and not too crowded great to just catch up with your friends.
We ended up sharing:
Dynamite Roll ($ 7) — A-​OK, quite standard
Oba Chicken ($ 7) — deep fried goodness
Chicken ($ 2.50) and Beef ($ 5) Skewers — will definitely skip the yakitori here, especially the Angus beef for $ 5?! both lack the charcoal off the grill smokey taste
Curry Korokke ($ 5.60) — more deep fried mash with great curry flavour, so fresh and crispy…
Niku Maki ($ 6) — Angus beef definitely wasted here, overcooked and just not working for me.
Eringi Butter Maki ($ 6) — I love mushrooms! Buttery mushrooms definitely really yummy and smell so good too!
The Yuzu Mitsu Sawa ($ 6) is A-​OK. I always love Asian inspired cocktails… a little weak but sourness is good to wash down all these deep fried food!
Glad to see all these Izakaya popping up all over the city. I definitely will be back to Chou for some pre dinner drinks or late night snacks.

Found this place when my partner and I were walking to the Cabbage Town Festival. we went home and looked it up on the internet but couldn’t find very many reviews, just very mouth-​watering photos, which helped us decide to give this place a try.
We went in a group of 6 on a Friday night and were surprised that the place wasn’t packed like other izakayas downtown (i.e. Guu or Don Don), but this meant very good service and not having to share a communal table with strangers. We sure weren’t complaining.
So we decided to order a bunch of different dishes to share, which was a great idea because all of the ones we tried tasted amazing!
The Niku Maki was on the small side and very difficult to share between 6 ppl as it only had 2 pieces, but it was super delicious and looked exactly like the photo on Chou’s website. The roll was made of thinly sliced beef wrapped around asparagus and cheese and then fried to perfection. How I wish we ordered more of this!
The Ika Yaki was definitely another highlight. The meat of the squid was perfectly tender and packed sooo much flavour. This was gone in minutes because we all loved it.
We also each got a rice burger as we were all pretty hungry. This was absolutely yummy… the rice patties held together very well and sandwiched a juicy burger with a light fragrant sauce and lots of fresh greens. Priced at only $ 6, this was definitely a bargain.
My partner and I most enjoyed the salmon ochazuke. It’s a simple looking dish but the broth was delicious and not doused with MSG, and the rice soaked up all the good flavour from it.
All in all this place was as good as if not better than Guu — it’s more reasonably price, less noisy, and the food itself was top-​notch. MUCH much better than Don Don IMHO. Would love to go back for sure!

Chou Izakaya is the newly open Japanese bar open at Church St and Wellesley Ave, it’s nice to have somewhere else to go to apart from Guu with all it’s lineup and Fin Izakaya (post here). So just this past Wednesday, I met up with Amy (@lu_amy7), Chris (@chrisunagi), Claire (@Clairehohoho) and Ben so that we could order more dishes to try and not break our bank ;)
Love how it’s a smaller place with commual table on one side and smaller table on the other.
I know that a lot of people find Guu Izakaya too loud although I personally love it, so this is a good alternative for Japanese bar food since you still get the feel and slight shouting from the kitchen to the wait staff but you could actually chat and hear each other.
Specials on the wall but the handwritting wasn’t that great and we had trouble reading it :(
They actually didn’t hand us the Sake menu until I ask and they actually don’t carry all of the bottles that was on display…
but their sake was really well priced (a lot cheaper that other Jap restaurant I’ve been to)
What we ordered:
Nanbu Bijin (Southern Beauty) Junmai Ginjo Sake $ 56
This 720ml bottle was only for $ 56 where most other place would have easily sold it for $ 90 or more and they small carafe is also available for $ 11. Yes as I mention here, this is one of my fave sake :) And the others don’t really drink so me and Ben finish the whole thing =P
Mentaiko $ 6
~ marinated Pollock roe from Japan
~This was very «roe» tasting but since it’s been marinated, it tasted rather salty… ~Very interesting both flavor and texture wise.
Ika Natto $ 5
~ fermented soy beans served w/​fresh squid
~Oh my this was sticky stinky weird tasting beans, it was slightly better than with a bit of wasabi… but really, all 5 of us couldn’t manage to finish this tiny portion
~But the squid was very fresh and soft (non-​chewy at all).
Yuzu Duck Shichu $ 7.50
~This was from the special on the wall. There was a bunch of scallions underneath and the sauce tasted like water down wasabi mayo?!? Not sure but really nothing special
Curry Korokke $ 5.50
~ deep fried potato w/​grounded beef in curry flavor
~This was basically DF curry flavor mashed potato, this was made fresh and served piping hot. Simple but love it, perfect w/​some cold sake or beer :)
Oba Chicken $ 7
~ deep fried chicken breast w/​Japanese mint leaves served w/​sweet chili mayo
Pork & Chicken Skin Skewers $ 2.50/ea
~This was so good especially the pork, it says pork on the menu but it was really pork belly. Perfect crisp and fatty goodness, love how the fatty part was actually «al-​dente», not sure if the term apply to meat but it wasn’t soft or fatty or oily or overcook.
~But they only had 4 type of skewers to choose from (pork, chicken, beef and chicken skin), I was surprise they don’t offer more choices.
Kimchi Pork Cheese $ 6.50
~ stir fried pork belly and kimchi w/​cheese on top
~Arriving on the mini sizzling plate, it just smell so good and nothing can go wrong since kimchi and cheese are just perfect for each other
Anaebi Karaage $ 7.00
~ crispy fried sweet shrimp
~I think this was the best deal from the menu and mind you this was only one serving given that it was rather big shrimps (around 7″). I love it so much that me and Ben order an extra one to finish off our sake with
Ochazuke $ 4.50
~ rice in bonito broth top w/​salmon or plum & seaweed
~We all like the plum better which give it a pop of sour goodness but however this was def the best Ochazuke I’ve had in Toronto
Gunkan Sushi $ 2.00-$ 3.00/ea
~ It look so pretty and just as tasty.
~ a bit pricey for 1pc but it’s a rather big size and I find it really worth.
Rice Burger $ 6.50
~ hamburger w/​choice of crispy or deep fried rice & greens w/​galic mayo
The waitress suggested we get the deep fried, this was really crispy but very heavy and the hamburger is really ordinary (less than average)… maybe they should do a tuna version or something =P
Ika Yaki $ 6.00
~ grilled squid w/​butter soy
~ I can’t believe this huge squid/​portion was only for $ 6 and it was perfectly cook… most place either over or undercook squids but this was so soft and perfect (^_​^)
Tonjiru $ 4.50
~ miso flavored soup w/​pork & vegetable
~This was really too salty and oily to be enjoy on it’s own, I wish it was served with noodle or rice.
Salmon Don $ 6
~This was from their special on the wall but we didn’t like it… some sort of mayo mix with salmon and rice, it was all pasty (O_​o)
Sweet Shrimp Sashimi (5pcs) $ 7
~ Yummmmmmmm, my sweet shrimp
~ great deal
Verdict :
Great time, great space, great food and great sake all at a great price
Will definetly be back with my girls :)