Koyoi Restaurant & Bar

With the explosion of ramens and izakayas in Toronto, it has been quite a challenge to find new Japanese culinary experiences. I was introduced to the hidden gem of Koyoi by my friend and was greatly looking forward to it. Entering the restaurant immediately transports you to Tokyo in the 1990s with a hint of Lost in Translation with the nostalgic ambience and furnishings.
For an intimate space like Koyoi, reservations in advance is definitely a must to avoid disappointment in the wintry cold. We started off we hot Japanese tea to whet our appetite and warm us up. To start, we had the beef tataki where the generous portion of grated daikon and green onion combine well with the perfectly executed slices of beef well-​seasoned with a secret sauce that includes ponzu and mirin.
In the manner of Japanese tapas, we had the chicken karage where the skin was crunchy and the meat moist and juicy. Still craving more chicken, we ordered fried chicken Okinawan-​style with special tartar sauce which was a great delight as the flavour profile was refreshingly original amongst the many variations in other Japanese izakayas.
Reserving much room for the dessert course, my dining partner and i ordered the matcha green tea cake which was a delight as it was served with a vanilla gelato sprinkled with crunchy cereal and fragrant matcha powder. And ending the izakaya experience is the apple and cheese tortilla with ice cream. The tortilla texture was crisp and aromatic from the light cinnamon dustings and yet different from the typical Canadian crepes. And when combined with the richness of the cheese, this dessert is a true triumph for this nostalgic izakaya.

They advertise that they’re open until 2:30, I called at 2:05 with a to go order and they made some sorry excuse that the kitchen closes at 1:30 and restaurant at 2:30. Makes no sense.

On a random trip to Toronto, I had the pleasure of stumbling upon this restaurant with my friends on a Friday night. We ordered one of everything on the menu and the only thing I regret is that we weren’t able to finish everything (we did finish all the pitchers though I’m not crazy). The waitresses were super attentive and the ambiance made me forget I was in a bustling metropolis.

Koyoi is a nice surprise in the food malaise of my neighbourhood. Their tapas style fare is both diverse and well thought out. Service is immediate, kind, and helpful. The atmosphere says «after work fun» more than «fine dining», but that works for me.
We had the fried chicken with tartare sauce, curry udon, salmon and cream cheese and the carrot/​root appetizer. I recommend them all. Especially sided with Sapporo!
My one criticism revolves around their bizarre decision to put generic dry salad mix on the side of each meal. It seems both unnecessary and thoughtless.
Salad blunder aside, Koyoi is great!

I love this place. I’m not much of a fan of Guu, i think it was cool first couple of my visits but the yelling and screaming to greet customers definitely became an annoyance for me than an excitement. The food here is awesome. It not over sauced to compliment the taste of the main ingredients and it quiet ambiance set itself apart from most other Izakaya. Definitely my go to Izakaya in the city! Keep up the good work guys!

Randomly found koyoi and it was absolutely worth it. The price is right and the food is amazing. Okonomiyaki is amazing. We also got the curry fries and the fried chicken. An absolute ⁵⁄₅. Service with a smile. Just go now.

Pioneer of izakaya in Toronto they’re here before guu and I’ve been here since they first opened.

Fuss-​free isakaya in downtown Toronto, steps away from noisy Yonge and Bloor intersection. This hole in wall Japanese establishment is a more authentic and intimate version of the famous isakayas, who are usually known for being cheerful and, unfortunately, a bit too noisy and showy just for catching up with friends.
I headed there on a Friday night, and it was calm, as expected. I didn’t have to wait long, because my host reserved a table. Albeit we were a little late, the waitstaff was understanding (I’m from out of town!) and still agreed to take us in. We were quickly seated on the patio, which was an enjoyable setting to chat over drinks since it’s by a quiet side street.
Pitchers were affordable, so we order 2 of the Sapporo on special for the 3 of us. Pitchers were $ 18 that night! The tapas we ordered came by pretty quickly (karaage, curry rice, okoniyaki). Food was tasty and cooked to perfection, with the right amount of crispiness and juicyness, but portions were unsatisfying. That’s why we also ordered a greens salad and a noodle plate to complete our meal. To be noted: food is really salty, so make sure you also get some water glasses on top of the beer! We didn’t order any dessert since we were full. Bill came at around $ 30 per person (for the 3 of us), tips and taxes included.
The menu might not be the most creative one, and the beer might not be the cheapest, but I would definitely come back for the low-​key ambiance that’s just perfect to catch up with friends in a calm but enjoyable setting.

Price like Guu, taste like Guu without the line up. Food was solid and the service was great. We were there for 2 hours and it was quite relaxing sitting in the patio. Maybe it was because everyone was avoiding Toronto during the Pan Am games.

Nice Japanese restaurant. I like the neighbourhood and the taste of food here. They have really good beef tongue (raw and grill) and raw scallop/​squid. Come and challenge ur mouth! Don’t forget about the signature salad, won’t let u down.

I have fallen in love with Japanese food again ever since I’ve been back from Japan. I especially like the Izakaya type places, where it serves small dishes of food for sharing. My friend and I ordered a lot as we were stress eating. It was a hot day so eating inside was very stuffy, it took a lot of cold water before we cooled down.
We ordered these dishes to try:
— Beef tataki — very fresh with radish and green onions in sweet ponzu sauce
— Scallop carpaccio — with seaweed and salad, scallop were fresh but not much taste to it
— Deep fried chicken — very juicy meat in the inside while crispy on the outside, delicious
— Grilled Ox Tongue on hot plate — served with bean spouts, love the hot plate but need to eat right away so the beef doesn’t cooked too long and the tough to bite
— Okonomiyaki — this is the first I’ve had found in Toronto. They don’t cook in front of you but they serve it done on a hot plate. It was delicious with cubes of octopus.
— Sukiyaki — with beef, tofu, mushroom, cabbages in hot pot. I love the soup, very tasty. It was a small pot, wish there was some udon in it.
— Green tea cheesecake with ice-​cream — after eating that, there is still room for dessert. I like just about anything with green tea so a cheesecake is no exception. My first time having a green tea cheesecake, its good, not sweet and have flavours of green tea. A good light dessert option.
The place is decent size but the tables are pretty cramp together so not very comfortable. Not here for the ambiance. Noisy as in you can hear clearly the conversation next to you but not loud that you have to scream at each other across the table. They have a variety selection of alcohol too so if you want to chill in the patio for drinks, its an option as well.

Tired of waiting in line for Guu? Well, now you have another place to wait in line for your Japanese Tapas craving… Koyoi! Yes the off to the side, hole in the wall Japanese Izakaya is your one stop for delicious authentic side dishes, hot pot, udon, bbq and Saporro on tap. Also before you start throwing money at your screen while you read this, the prices here are very reasonable! A proper meal can be had for less than $ 30 with a beer to boot!
Service here is pretty good and I would compare it to that of Guu. The staff are bombarded with orders and cleaning up tables, but they still manage to have a smile on their faces. They take their time explaining things on the menu and always mention the house specials available. They treat you like fam, knowmsayin?
The food is on point and you can’t get a better slab of Octopus with Wasabi on a piece of seaweed in the city. That fried chicken tho, oh lawd it was some tasty poultry! It’s finger lickin’ good and even Colonel Sanders would shed a single tear biting into a piece.
Watashi wa kono basho e kaerimasu yo!

The food tasted above average, however portions were quite small and service was slow. Stone pot dish was good, highly recommended.

There is some authentic shiz going on here!
I’ve walked by many times, and even tried walk-​in — learned my lesson and made reservations instead. The staff is friendly, but their English is not the best. No problem, just point to the items in the menu!
I came here with my bf, and two friends. Here’s what we got:
Sapporo pitcher — only $ 15, and filled 4 tall glasses. Definitely a steal.
Hhotpot — 2 orders for $ 30. This came in big bowl bubbling over with broth, veggies, intestines (nom) and we added udon too.
Beef tataki — beautifully presented, and perfectly fine. Served with ponzu sauce
Scallop carpaccio — was delicately sweet, very good!
Beef tongue… it was just ok. Kinda rough.
Raw octopus in wasabi sauce — per bf’s request — this was AMAZING! Perfect texture, not chewy but had a bounce to the bite! We ordered nori (seaweed) to go with it too.
Deep fried chicken — very crispy, very tender inside. Fried chicken is fried chicken, but this was GOOD fried chicken.
Grilled black cod — so so so delicious! I recommend. The fish is firm and sweet.
Green tea cheesecake — heavy on the matcha flavour, nice treat for the end. They charged us for the ice cream, though
Apple and custard tortilla — 10 minute wait for this, plus they burned the first one they made. It was… ok. Just ok. It’s literally apple slices baked on top of a tortilla with sweet custard. The flavours don’t meld together.
Overall, great experience. I think I prefer this over Guu — the food is similar, but ambience is great and sitting is more comfortable. Will be back for more Sapporo pitchers in the summer, when their patio opens up!

Excellent! We had a variety of dishes and they were all great! Today’s special was baked scallops which were perfect and wonderful. Great, attentive service. Place packed… Reservations a really good idea.

Decided to come to this place the day of and table reservations had entirely been filled, got seats at the bar instead.
Staff were friendly, ambience is very cozy since the restaurant is relatively small compared to Guu. It seemed like this place caters more specifically to a Japanese community– noticed all of the customers spoke Japanese.
So did it live up to the hype?
I found the menu choices much more limited than other izakayas. Items prices are reasonable. We ordered the takowasabi for $ 4.50; the grilled scallop with cheese, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, garnished with anchovy for about $ 10; and the kaarage for about $ 10. Kaarage was excellent, one of the better ones I’ve had. The scallop was a special dish I didn’t see elsewhere, and the anchovies gave it an interesting kick while the cheese made it rich in flavour. Takowasabi was alright, met standards but average.
Overall, the quality of the food met my standards but the limited menu choices and overall (under)creativity of the menu led me to decide on three stars for this one. I may come back to try the hot pot next time though, since it is popular for Japanese guests.

What leaves people flocking to koyoi on any day of the week? Its their great sapporo on tap and cheap tasty food. Its your local izakaya that you would like to pop in daily for a some good japanese beer, chicken karagae, beef carpaccio or their special pork hot pot at the end of a long day. The ambiance and set up is low key and nothing spectacular. You come here for the cheap eats and drinks.

Solid 4 stars for this authentic izakaya which caters mostly to Japanese clientele. Staff is courteous but may have some ESL issues.
Other than a few (perhaps too few) daily specials, Koyoi’s menu hasn’t changed at all from last year. This is why I deducted 1 star.
All my Japanese friends highly recommend this place for comfort food. They all prefer Koyoi to Guu for its authentic setting and ambiance. Motsunabe (hot pot with leeks, cabbage, burdock, deep fried tofu and pig offals) is back and will be offered till Feb. $ 15 per person (2 ppl min). 追加/​add udon or rice for $ 2.99. Perfect for chilly autumn evenings! Limit 10 orders per night.
Our all time fave is the Koyoi salad. Must order! In fact, we’ve tried all of their staff picks and liked them. These are highlighted in their new menus (yes, new menus but with the same old menu items though!)
Easily accessible by subway (just north of Wellesley station).

Guu without the long line up (still there was a decent wait but reasonable) pretension, and price. I liked the Sake selection they had and food was very good and unique. Even a Japanese friend who I went there with said some food is unique liked grated yam (tastes better than it sounds). My favorite was beef tartar, well sauced and fresh. I was disappointed with scallop tartar — the seasoning didn’t really bake in. Tako wasabi was good but a bit fishy after taste, shio style yakisoba was great with some fresh squeezed lime juice. I also liked their fries — bit salty but very crispy and tasty.

Koyoi vey. It would have been awesome to discover a great izakaya in the neighbourhood, especially with its lovely little patio… but we didn’t.
The good: fries with curry & cheese ($ 6), agedashi tofu ($ 4), Koyoi salad ($ 6) and «pizza» (a small super-​thin crispy flatbread with cheese and the very awesome burdock plant, $ 6) were really tasty, albeit all priced a dollar or two too high. Our friend enjoyed the karaage (deep fried chicken with lemon, $ 5.5).
From there, downhill:
— Avocado with wasabi & soy sauce (a ludicrous $ 5) was, sadly, exactly what it sounded like: half a sliced avocado with a dab of soy sauce on the side.
— Onigiri (rice ball, $ 2) and ochazuke (rice in broth, $ 4) both offered a «choice of salmon, marinated plum or okakamayo» but should probably have just read «rice». A single quarter-​sized plum and an amount of salmon so minuscule there is no unit of measurement to adequately describe it. Literally too little to taste.
— «Chilled Chinese noodles» ($ 11) were appropriately named, I guess, but with a few sliced cucumbers and scant pieces of ham, the medium-​sized dish of yellow noodles was grossly overpriced.
— Our meat-​eating friends were underwhelmed by the «#1 customer favourite» beef tataki ($ 6).
— Oden ($ 1.50 per item): fine. Fish cakes were fish cakes.
We shared a couple rounds of the house sake ($ 15 for a large size — actually a tokkuri on the small side) which was nice, though why the waitress said it would be enough for 6 people is unclear — there were five of us and not much to spare.
We wanted to order the grilled potato but they were sold out, and they also couldn’t/wouldn’t make the okonomiyaki without meat, for some reason. Our friend ordered a desperate second helping of karaage and wondered aloud if an evil wizard had cursed the restaurant such that the more its customers ate, the hungrier they got (suspicion unconfirmed). $ 125 later, we went across the street for cookies and fro-​yo.
In summation: getting a full meal here is a Sisyphean task. Maybe worth a happy hour visit? I’ll definitely head over to Guu (or try one of the many other izakayas around) the next time I’m jonesing for Japa-​tapas — a much more generous menu, inventive kitchen and better service/​atmosphere at the same price. For delicious Japanese pancakes (made with whatever you want in them), go to Okonomi House.