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Vancouver’s izakaya scene

By Sarah Musgrave

Uncover funky Japanese tapas on Canada's West Coast.

Canada’s West Coast is home to a thriving izakaya scene, with the neon signs of Japanese-style pubs glowing on Denman Street in downtown Vancouver. Opened in October 2006, Kingyo beckons like a film noir set. Its interior is a den of heavy wood and latticed screens that suggest historic Japan. Intricate carvings contrasted with black and white documentary photographs situate it somewhere between the severity of shogun rule and the modernity of an anime backdrop.

 

Casual and affordable, Kingyo is overseen by owner Minoru Tamaru and chef Hiro Shintaku, doyens of other successful Japanese establishments in the city. The ambience at this latest enterprise is energetic and exuberant, punctuated by the continual call and response between the youthful serving staff and the kitchen team. Amid all the action, it’s worth taking a moment or two to notice the quiet details: the hot hand towels to start, the temple-like roof over the bar, the communal yet intimate seating at a long table screened with bamboo leaves.

 

The menu offers many reflective moments of its own, including crispy chicken served with three kinds of salt, sourced from Japan’s Hataka Bay, the Himalayan Mountains and the state of Utah. Other highlights include grilled black cod in white saikyo miso presented on a banana leaf, beef tongue sizzled on a hot stone and yuzu jalapeño pasta. A shrimp dish called ebi mayo, the benchmark of the izakaya experience, passes with flying colors. To add a turbo boost to a traditional meal, try some Asian vodka called shoju.

 

Getting here

Kingyo, 871 Denman St., Vancouver, 604-608-1677
Tourism Vancouver, 1-877-826-1717, tourismvancouver.com
Tourism British Columbia, 1-800-HELLO-BC (1-800-435-5622), hellobc.com

Sarah Musgrave is a Montréal-based food journalist. She is the casual dining restaurant reviewer for the Montréal Gazette and the author of Resto-À-Go-Go: 200 Cheap and Fun Places to Eat and Drink in Montreal 2007.