[Izakaya] Nome Izakaya
Restaurant: Nome Izakaya
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: North York
Address: 4848 Yonge St
Price Range: $5~15
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent
Food: 3.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Extra information:
* http://nomeizakaya.com
* Only open for dinner (6PM)
* Oyster special on Tues & Wed
Nome Izakaya is one of the newer Izakayas that's opened up North- I actually dropped by Nome Izakaya for the first time way back in August. I know it's been awhile but I've gone back several times after, which must mean it's good, yes? Well, read the rest and decide for yourself.
I first heard about Nome through a friend that lives up North and she told me how they have oyster specials on Tuesday and Wednesdays for only a $1 each. There are couple locations in downtown that's closer to me which also has oyster specials for $1 but I love izakayas so I thought what the heck.
So my friend and I dropped in on a Wednesday night to get our oyster fix as well as to check out some other items off of their regular menu. Walking in, I was pleasantly surprised by their clean, somewhat brightly lit interior. I don't know what I was expecting, but a lot of the restaurants uptown are run-down so it was nice to walk into a clean restaurant that wasn't falling apart. They also have a sushi bar so feel free to drop in even if you are by yourself!
DIY Drink with grapefruit
Grapefruit Sawa, TaDa!!
Ordered: Oyster Special 5/5
* $1 per oyster on Tues & Wed
* They had Malpeque oyesters on special so that's what we got
* Came with horseradish, white wine vinegar and cocktail sauce
* Oysters were fresh and didn't need much condiments
* I asked for tabasco sauce and had it with some horseradish
* Personally I prefer creamier tasting ones but for $1, you can't really complain!
Ordered: Octo-Wasabi 3/5
* Pickled Octopus with chopped wasabi stem for $3.50
* This was a little stickier than I would have liked
* Overall it had good wasabi flavor
* Use your best chopstick skills since it is hard to pick up the tiny slimy pieces
* Some places serve it with seaweed/nori to wrap it in which I like
* This is usually good as an appetizer
Sake Time!!
Ordered: Shrimp Udon Salad 5/5
* Fresh vegetables with assorted seafood on bed of udon topped with wasabi vinaigrette dressing for $7.80
* This is really big in portion for what you pay (it could be a meal for one)
* On the menu it says assorted seafood but it only comes with shrimps
* I personally really like this dish because it is light and I love the vinaigrette dressing
* They say that the dressing is wasabi-vinaigrette but really it's just a soy-based vinaigrette
* Underneath all the salad, there is udon and you mix everything together
* I've had this couple times and they were a little inconsistent with the udon (once it was over cooked) but overall it is a solid dish
Ordered: Mack Attack 2/5
* Lightly seared mackerel with ginger, green onions and soy sauce for $9.80
* I think this was probably the most disappointing dish of the night
* I know this is suppose to be lightly seared but it was way over done and served a little too warm
* Also it was way too salty, soy sauce was not needed at all and even by itself I needed some water after
* I wouldn't order this again
Ordered: Beef Sashimi 4/5
* Thinly sliced beef sashimi and fresh egg yolk $8.70
* This is a beef tartar also known as Yuke in Korean
* Served Korean style with egg yolk and Korean pear, you are suppose to mix everything together
* The soy sauce dressing that the meat was already marinated in was a little too sweet for my liking
* But overall it was fresh with good quality beef and enjoyable with some beer
Beer Time!!
Ordered: Tiger Shrimp 3.5/5
* Deep fried tempura with sweet chili mayo $8.50
* 6 pieces of shrimp tempura served with shrimp chips
* This is one of my favorite things to order from Izakayas
* Because the tempura was pre-covered in sauce prior to serving, by the time I ate them the batter was a little soggy
* Other than that I really like the sauce and the shrimp chips that was served on a side became good snack for beer as well
Complimentary: Maguro & Avocado Tartare 4/5
* This was complimentary from the restaurant
* This dish probably had the best visual presentation with balsamic reduction sauce and flower petals
* Sashimi went well with avocado chunks covered in garlic oil
* Overall a very smooth tasting dish
Summary: I appreciate the fact that I can actually hold proper conversation when I am at this place, let alone hear myself think. I really can't stand to sit through an hour meal with the typical izakaya shouting every other minute- that's over rated and irritating now. Overall I really like Nome Izakaya and I will def go back, the waitresses are always friendly and sometimes it's nice to not wait for 2 hours before you are seated. I just hope they will improve on keeping the consistency of the dishes down the road.
Reader Comments (2)
Thanks, I hadn't seen this restaurant covered elsewhere yet!