Likes: - Quick and efficient service - Sashimi was very fresh Not a fan of: - The chef should be a bit more careful with treating the fish. I found a fish bone in a piece of my sashimi. I visited Guu with Garlic while I was on a work trip in Vancouver, so of course I wouldn't waste this opportunity to try out good food. I ordered the following dishes: - 3 kinds of sashimi ($21) - The daily specials menu included a few types of fish, including yellowtail, amber jack, sockeye salmon, yellowfin tuna, scallop and sea bass. The good thing is you get to choose the fish you like and not the chef! I chose the sockeye salmon, since not many restaurants offer it in Toronto. I enjoyed both the amber jack and the yellowtail. The amber jack was just slightly more firm and flavourful, but the yellowtail was a tad more fatty and had a melt in your mouth texture. I was quite disappointed to find a fish bone in the amber jack. - Grill beef tongue with garlic butter soy sauce ($9) - I really enjoyed this dish. The beef tongue had a bouncy texture with a rich buttery flavour and just the right amount of seasoning. - Puffy fish cake with soup ($2.5) - The broth must have been simmered for a good length of time, as it was clear, flavourful and I absolutely loved the sweetness from the boiled daikon. The puffy fish cake was interesting and unlike anything I have had before. The fish flavours were subtle and the puffy cake had a soft pillowy and almost slightly foamy texture. The two paired well together. I liked the fact that you are able to order the assorted oden, which includes all oden toppings, such as fried tofu, taro potatoe jelly, boiled egg and daikon. Or you can customize your order with only the items you like. - Boiled vegetable with sesame sauce ($4.80) - The vegetables offered for the evening was kale, which was perfectly cooked. I enjoyed the strong sesame flavour, although the dish was a little too salty for my taste. Overall, I really enjoyed my dining experience at Guu with Garlic. The service was efficient, food was tasty and the atmosphere was lively, without the noise being blaring. I will definitely return! read more

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Guu with Garlic is a popular Japanese izakaya located in the West End. On previous visits to Vancouver, I have walked through this area and always see a line of people waiting for a seat at this restaurant. Thus I decided to give this restaurant a try on my last visit to Vancouver. If you want to avoid having to wait, I recommend coming here when they open at 5:30 pm. I did exactly that following the crowd that had arrived before me into the restaurant. The restaurant is on the small side. They only have a bar seating area and a few long tables which explains why there is a wait for a space here nightly. I was seated in one of bar seats on the side which is really tight. To the point that you need to squeeze in almost. The menu (as well as the ambiance) here is reminiscent of another Japanese West End izakaya, Kingyo. Like Kingyo, there is a main menu and a daily specials menu to choose from. Their drink selection is interesting as Guu offers its own special beer and Ramune. For my dinner meal here, I ordered four items. Started off with a ramune yuzu mojito ($6.50) and paired it alongside the sashimi salad ($9.80) and a couple daily specials. The brussels sprouts, potato & sausage creamy gratin ($5.80) and grilled attka mackerel ($7.80). The mojito was served in a glass. The ramune is just handed to you to open and dump into the glass. Opening the ramune bottle is a bit difficult if you are unfamiliar with how to open it. Basically you need to push the top down really hard. I thought this drink was great in a refreshing type of way. As for the food, I found it to be a mixed bag. It wasn't as good as my meal at Kingyo and the wait was much longer. The sashimi salad was nice albeit a little ordinary. As for the gratin, it wasn't what I expected. I was expecting a casserole type dish, but this was more like a brussels sprouts and potatoes dish with melted cheese on top. Finally, the mackerel was good and nicely grilled but it was served bone-in so it was a messy eat since I had to pick out the bones. The food and ambiance at Guu with Garlic is comparable to Kingyo. But having tried both now, I have to say that I prefer the latter. The food came out more quickly and my dining experience was better at Kingyo. Though I think that there are many people who have the opposite opinion and prefer Guu to Kingyo as evidenced by the high Yelp review rating. I think Guu is worth trying, though I would go to Kingyo again before coming back here. read more

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Rowdy place that gets busy. As other reviewers have pointed out there is a generous amount of Japanese shouting that goes on. If you find it disturbing, dine somewhere else. Be prepared to wait. All the dishes were carefully prepared and very authentic. Service was attentive and prompt. Ishi yaki and udon dishes seemed popular. I will try it next time. read more

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"irasshaimase!!" "----irasshaimase!!" "----irasshaimase!!" *takes care of dining business* "arigatoh gozaimashita!" "-----arigatoh gozaimashita" "-----arigatoh gozaimashita" read more

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OMG it cannot be real. The food was great and we did enjoy the variety of choices they have provided, small plates sit well with us. Fresh, healthy, nutritious food. Highly recommend it. read more

In Japan, the staffs are yelling when the customer in and out the restaurant. But, just a bit too much at Guu. We passed by this place without going in for SO many times, maybe we didn't like very crowed and noisy place for dining. We have been Hapa for so many times and thinking to go other Tapas place. Therefore, we chose Guu this time. The foods were just OK range, not outstanding at all. Beef Tataki - Beef was tasty but the soy sauce was TOO salty. Salmon & Yellowtail sashimi - both of it were fresh and delicious. Grilled butter scallops - NO grilled scallop at all as seen in the pix!! Without garlic and onion flakes, it has NO flavour. Grilled pork cheek - it's ok but wonder it's not grilled. Grilled Squid - so disappointed on squid. I'm pretty sure it's boiled and heated it up before it severed. It tasted so bland. I probably wont return or try others Guu location soon. read more

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rating: 3.75/5 was initially worried about the service/wait time before coming here, but we ended up having a great meal here! - notes - both cash and card are accepted! their menus vary depending on whether you come during lunch or dinner hours. - atmosphere - the inside of this restaurant looks just like an izakaya you'd find in japan! everything from the wall decor to furniture gives off bar-style vibes, which is the perfect place to bring some friends or family for a casual meal. - overall experience - came by a little after 7:00 on a sunday night and the restaurant was surprisingly not too busy! we were seated right away and someone shortly came over to take our orders. the service here is overall pretty great; it took less than 20 minutes for all of our dishes to come out, even though the place started to get quite busy after a while. - recommendations - highly recommend that you must try their carbonara udon w/ cod roe & poached egg and yellowtail carpaccio w/ bonito ponzu & wasabi mayo! 8/21/22 -carbonara udon w/ cod roe & poached egg: this was such a satisfying dish! it came with thick udon noodles covered in a cod roe and carbonara sauce, along with a poached egg and nori on top. the sauce was super creamy and the noodles held onto the sauce really well; the cheesiness really stood out well! the portion was definitely worth the $12.80, and it was definitely on the heavy side. my only complaint is that we wished it was a bit warmer when it was served. (4.5/5) -corn karaage w/ butter & soy sauce: super unique and tasty! it comes with 4 small pieces of lightly battered and fried corn on the cob. they were crispy on the outside, and tasted really buttery too! even though it's a simple concept, we've never had anything like this before. so we enjoyed it a lot, especially since it was only $8.50. (4/5) -deep fried breaded pork tenderloin w/ spicy miso sauce: wasn't the biggest fan of this dish. the fried layer was a bit too difficult to eat and the pork inside was really tough. definitely overcooked and the flavor of the spicy miso sauce didn't pair that well with it either. really not worth the $12.80. (2/5) -ebi mayo: comes with around 6 pieces of fried ebi shrimp, which was very similar to smaller versions of shrimp tempura. there's a spicy mayo drizzle on top, and some colorful prawn crackers/chips on the side. the ebi was fried perfectly and piping hot! loved the crunch and crispiness, and it paired well with the mayo on top too. it's on the pricier side of $13.80, but we really liked this dish! (4/5) -premium garlic beef tongue: if you're a fan of beef tongue, then you'll probably really enjoy this. we decided to get it just to try it out, but i wasn't a big fan of the texture. the taste was pretty good, but the pieces of beef tongue were just too chewy for my liking. it comes covered in some type of sauce that pairs quite well with the beef. on the side, there are some pieces of fried garlic and a lemon wedge. the portion seems small for $11.50, but it did taste like pretty high-quality beef tongue. (3/5) -takoyaki: nothing too special about this dish, but it was delicious! it comes with 5 takoyaki balls covered in takoyaki sauce, mayo, bonito flakes, and nori. each fried ball had a small piece of octopus on the inside. wish that the pieces of octopus were bigger, but we had no major complaints! the balls were super crispy/crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside; they really were fried to perfection! and for only $7.80, it was totally worth it. (4/5) -yellowtail carpaccio w/ bonito ponzu & wasabi mayo: one of our favorites from the meal! it came with slices of thin, raw yellowtail covered in bonito ponzue sauce and wasabi mayo. they also garnished the dish with some pieces of lettuce, onion, fried garlic pieces, lemon, and red cabbage. this was the most expensive dish at 1$5.80, but we would definitely say that it was worth the price. the amount of yellowtail they gave was pretty fair, and the quality was amazing! it was a refreshing dish, and all the flavors complemented each other super well. the wasabi mayo didn't taste spicy at all either. (5/5) read more

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The food was AMAZING! S A L M O N .... melted in your mouth. Had all kinds of stuff and my bad I cannot share what it was.. but I was too busy tasting the delicious sushi. I will return for lunch, like maybe now...hmmmm, ok maybe not but this is a must go to spot when ever I come into Vancouver. Small place, very busy, long wait times, parking is a challenge are all worth dealing with for the quality of food here. read more

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I am a big fan of Guu with Otokomae in Gastown. When I heard great reviews of Guu with Garlic, I immediately bookmarked this place. Luckily, I recently went on an impromptu Vancouver day trip. After spending hours at Aberdeen and Metrotown, my boyfriend and I decided we needed a mind blowing meal to end our visit. That is when I told him we HAD to eat at Guu with Garlic. For those who haven't heard of the Guu franchise, they all specialize in izakaya but each restaurant has its own twist to it. All the dishes have themes of garlic flavors (hence the name). Anyways, we decided to go to town and ordered the following: Sashimi special (yellowtail, salmon and uni) Clams in sake, butter and garlic (special of the day) Salmon carpaccio Broiled black cod Kakuni (stewed pork belly with egg and daikon) Sweet Shrimp (special of the day) Sashimi salad with sweet shrimp, salmon, seared salmon with plum dressing and wasabi mayo Belgian waffle with geren tea ice cream I wish the sashimi special came out last instead of being the first dish because it was a plate of MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH goodness, especially the uni. Good thing I took a small sample of the uni because I found out we got the last two slices so I had to save it for later. However, my boyfriend and I did notice that the sashimi salad was cheaper and yet had more fish in it so if you're looking to save a buck and some change, go with that. Everything was extremely delicious (and fresh). The Belgian waffle was perfect. It seemed like it was "candied" thanks to the granulated sugar. I wish this was a regular item on the menu because I would return to Guu with Garlic just for that. read more

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This place is uniquely unique for us tourist from the Bay Area, CA (which has an abundant amount of good sushi restaurants). The foods are considered fusion AND authentic as I was told (which is an odd combination in a good way). Prices are fair and portion is on the small side, but the quality makes up for that. Service is great all around. Sean is tentative and friendly. I would have given this 4-star yesterday right after our meal but I waited til today and finally decided to give them a complete 5-star. Here's why: We have 8 people in our group and the only way they can sit us together was one area where the tables are low and guests sitting low on the floor... Much to our surprise they are NOT tatami-style table (where you sit on the floor and able to drop your feet to the lower/hollow space below the floor). The area actually has kotatsu-style tables (i.e. there is no hollow spaces below the table for you to drop your feet down) As the results: I feel like I was enjoying good foods and practicing yoga at the same time! And with recent sciatic pinch nerve, this definitely didn't help. I was eating and crying inside a little the whole time!! At the end of the day, the table and seating incident is my personal issue, not the restaurant. That's why I waited til the next day (so the pain subsided) and am able to provide a full and complete review. read more

Guu with Garlic is a Japanese restaurant/sushi bar who's food and staff are 100% Japanese. Few places will get as close to Japan as Guu with Garlic. My Overall Rating - 4 1/2 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return) Atmosphere - Everything about this place screams Japanese (more on that later). It's VERY small restaurant, so expect a wait or tight seating. There's a main sushi bar and some tables inside and that's it. Also, the menu is a photocopy of hand written Japanese with tiny English translation. Also, I'm pretty sure we were the only non-Japanese folks at the restaurant. 1 Star. Service - If you're seated in the main dining area, as you place your order, your waitress will literally SCREAM the item to the chef, who will then scream back in acknowledgement. We didn't expect it but when it happen we were giddy little tourists. Food comes out fast, but being a busy restaurant, it was tough to get refills and they forgot our Ramune drink order. 1/2 Star. Food - I've never been to Japan, but I'm pretty sure Guu's food is as good as the home country. Every single item we ordered was fantastic. I'll start with ebi mayo, fried shrimp with mayo sauce. The shrimp was lightly battered and plump, and the mayo sauce was mild with a hint of garlic. In fact all their fried items were all lightly battered but not greasy, resulting in very tender items. Our kids loved the chicken wings, and we loved their beautiful sashimi plate which included a sweet shrimp. The star was the tuna tataki. It was sprinkled with bits of fried garlic which added the perfect punch. 2 Stars. Will I Return? - Yes. I'll be back for more than the food, I like seeing Japanese people yell at each other. It really is an amazing experience. Just know it's really small so expect a wait. 1 Star. My Yelp Rating Scale (Sum of all parts): 1 Star - Atmosphere - Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I'll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm. 1 Star - Service - You can have a great meal with bad service. But that's also what can make a five star joint drop to four. It's important to the dining experience that service is great and on point. 2 Stars - Food - I'll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it's really all about the food. 1 Star - Will I come back? - If I know for a fact I'll return, I'll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return. Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Yelp score read more

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First off, when we walked in, we were greeted by a very loud welcome. It was a nice touch, and was among many examples of their friendly service. For some patrons, I could see how it could be off-putting, but I enjoyed it. As far as the eating experience, it was hit-or-miss for me. We sat in the upstairs area where we took of our shoes and sat on the ground, and that was a cool experience. It was a little sheltered from the noisier part of the restaurant, so if you are noise-averse, you should probably try to sit upstairs. Here's what we ordered: -Kabocha Croquette - This was a fried ball of mashed pumpkin with a boiled egg in the middle, and was one of the better dishes I had. However, I would highly recommend requesting the sauce on the side. It's what we did, and it was a good decision, because the sauce was pretty heavy (think Thousand Island). Other tables didn't get the sauce on the side, and their croquette was drenched in the sauce, which I think would have been overwhelming. -Salmon Carpaccio - Thinly-sliced raw salmon soaked in a vinegary broth and garnished with some greens and some mayo. This was also a great dish, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys salmon. -Karaage - Essentially Japanese-style fried chicken. They do a pretty good version of it, although it's nothing spectacular. -Beef Tongue - The menu described it as grilled beef tongue with garlic soy sauce and garlic chips. We ordered this because of the good reviews it got on Yelp. Be forewarned that beef tongue has a unique texture, and it's not for everyone. It kind of tastes like you would imagine a tongue would taste like. I usually enjoy eating beef tongue, but for some reason, this beef tongue was a tad tough for me. I usually prefer it to be more tender. They did a pretty good job of seasoning it, though, so I thought the flavor was good. -Ume Udon - This was pan-fried udon with beef, mushrooms, and green onions. It was a pretty small portion for how much they charged. It tasted fine, but was overpriced, in my opinion. -Grilled Tuna Salad - This was on the daily specials menu, and was basically grilled tuna on iceberg lettuce with some soy-based salad dressing. The tuna was good, but the rest was just.. lettuce. I would have preferred just getting grilled tuna, but I suppose it's good to have some fiber in the diet. Like I mentioned, the service was very friendly and helpful, although not everyone spoke great English, so sometimes it was hard to understand what the waiter was trying to explain. But they tried hard, so I can't blame them for that. The 3-star rating boils down to having overall so-so food with a few highlights (Kabocha Croquette and Salmon Carpaccio). I'd give 3.5 stars because of the service. read more

Guu with Garlic - Karaage, Ume Udon, Salmon Carpaccio, Beef Tongue. Of these, the salmon was my favorite. - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

We originally wanted to dine at two other Japanese restaurants, but had no luck. Good thing we already had some apps to cure our hunger prior to coming here because it was a hard restaurant to find! We literally parked next door to this place, but walked around the block back and forth trying to find it LOL. Once you enter this eatery, you'll be taken upstairs past the bar and onto the second floor.The atmosphere is lively and looks like a great place to hang out. I was disappointed that they didn't offer any sushi rolls, so we ordered a few tapas instead. We ordered some sake, miso soup, beef tataki, tuna tataki, chicken karaage, and a hot stone rice bowl. Everything was flavorful and fresh! My favorites were the beef tataki and salmon carpaccio. Both dishes were light and had delicious sauces and dressings. Service was okay, one of the workers had to go on break and the new person seemed nice, but inexperienced. I was surprised we got some complimentary frozen grapes at the end of our meal- one for each person. Woohoo! hahaha. read more

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My first day in Vancouver ended with dinner at Guu and I couldn't imagine a better meal to wrap up a long day of travel mishaps!! I was seated quickly at the bar upon arrival, at the best - but also the worst - seat because I had a full on view of every dish coming out of the kitchen. Guuhhh. It made me want to order everything I saw!! Most notably, I saw many orders of the udon come out of the kitchen, and that is something I definitely wish I had ordered! As I was dining solo, I only ordered the eel rice bowl - which is what I was really craving - and a takoyaki appetizer. Both items were delicious. The takoyaki came piping hot with the fluttering bonito flakes and were a good ratio of dough to chewy octopus pieces. I polished those off quickly. The rice bowl came beautifully presented with each ingredient placed carefully in its designated spot in the bowl. I appreciated that they don't mix the rice for you but allow you to mix it yourself. I took my sweet time shooting some photos before finally mixing the egg and all the other ingredients in with the rice. Thankfully the stone pot kept the rice piping hot and stayed hot enough to more thoroughly cook the poached egg once it had been mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. As others have mentioned, parking in the area is a headache, and you will not get away with free parking. I think this is the biggest deterrent for me at this point, but I would definitely be back again to try other dishes if I'm in the area! read more

+++ - salmon carpaccio was my favorite ++ - Calimari was really good + - high turnover, so your way won't be long - The udon noodle looked lit, although I didn't get to try any (sad face) - garlic shrimp was alright - BBQ beef was tasty - - staff rushes customers, you can feel the urgency already, when they're seating you - our 'double' plum wine and soda was only half a glass full (sad face) TIPS: - 5 dishes between two people was perfectly satiating read more

this is a legit izakaya with the bustling kitchen & servers, boisterous crowds, vast selection of small plates... the food we ordered was so delicious, we ended up ordering more of a couple of the dishes. 4 days in vancouver, i this was absolutely my favorite meal. read more

There were many eating highlights in Vancouver for me but Guu with Garlic is probably one of my top 3 favorite restaurants. Service was warm and frienly and the food, oh the food is just delightful. Here is what we ordered/ ratings: - Premium Garlic Beef Tongue: sliced beef tongue w/ garlic butter soy sauce (5 stars) LOVE the garlic bits, tenderness and flavors of this dish! - Beef-Tataki: thin sliced beef sashimi w/ plum sauce (5 stars): Melt in your mouth beef sashimi. The plum sauce definetly set this apart from other tataki. -Seared albacore-tuna with ponzu sauce and garlic bits (5 stars): This was also one of our favorite dish that night. Those garlic bits! - Uni - meshi: bbq eel and rice in hot stone bowl (5 stars): My friends love this dish. The eel was very flavorful and had a smokiness to it. - Grilled pork cheek (5 stars): Lightly seasoned grilled tender pork in ponzu sauce, simple yet delicious. - Potato-Mochi: deep-fried sticky potato cake w/ melted cheese inside (4 stars): Crispy outside, gooeyness inside. YUM! - Kabocha Croquette: boiled egg wrapped w/ mashed pumpkin croquette w/ Guu original sauce (3 stars): Pretty presentation but it was a little too sweet and a little too bland. - Smoked monkfish liver (3 star): Buttery and creamy. YUM. - Calamari (3 stars): Typical calamari fried legs -Deep fried spicy chicken wings (2 stars): Crispy wings but it wasn't spicy. -Agedashi tofu (2 stars): Typical agedashi tofu dish. I would come back here in a heart beat (LOL) and order more dishes from their specials that night. And if you love garlic, I recommend getting any dishes with those fried bits. read more

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I've been wanting to try this spot out for over a year now and finally got the chance to drop by the other day. The wait wasn't too long for a friday night - we got seated within a half hour or so of being there in a sideroom which had you take your shoes off to sit on the tatami mats. Kind of fun, though can be hard for people like myself with back pain. Anyways, onto the food: Takoyaki was a bit mushy, had a lot of filler, and didn't have a lot of octopus in it. Tuna sashimi - fish was relatively fresh and had some good favor to it. I'd rate it as a solid B. Chicken karaage was addictingly good. I think my favorite out of what we tried. Beef carpaccio: this was just ok. Thinly cut slices of meat with not much flavor except for the dipping sauce it came with - didn't feel like it had much substance to it as a whole. Almond tofu dessert - I was pleasantly surprised with how simple but good this was. It was a light refreshing way to end the meal. Service wise, the waiter was friendly but he was all over the place... I'm not sure if it was his first day or not, but he was a bit spacy... he would leave midway taking an order, forgetful of what we had asked / ordered, and then left midway of cashing us out, which I thought was really strange. Another waitress had to come 5-10 minutes later to finish cashing us out and get the machine from us. At the end of the day, it cost us about $20 a person to eat there for mediocre food and mediocre experience/service and still a bit hungry. read more

Guu with Garlic - Karaage, beef carpaccio, sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

One of those places that always has that warm feel when you enter. You are greeted by the workers behind the bar screaming out something to welcome you. The place really is a small box in size, and always is filled with people sitting, and also with people waiting. For the many times I have come here, it still is the same, and that is not a bad thing at all. What keeps this place as one of the spots to eat this type of food is the entire package, of food and that trusted style of service you know. When ordering, the server screams your order directly to the kitchen, who also repeats the order, which creates atmosphere! All the Guu locations do this, as it is a signature for them. The place is small, and creates a great closeness to who you have brought with you to the restaurant. The place can get extremely loud at times, which is probably good if your close to the person in proximity so you can speak to them. The chairs you sit on are just small wooden benches, and the place is very simplistic in the dark non-finished wooden look. The food is the real star here, there is no where to really start where you can go wrong, as well as finish, it is what you are craving at the time. On this night, we started out with raw shrimp, and in the middle had their stir-fried udon, and ended off with beef tataki. The freshness and flavor stick out and make you want to stomach the next bite of whatever selected dish hits the table. The food on the menu is great for sharing, which makes this the perfect social place, also the fact that there are beer specials from day to day help lighten the mood. One of the hot spots in the city, since it opened up years ago, all I can say is - give me a call, if your going down here! read more

Guu with Garlic - Ebi Mayo, yummy goodness is what it means. - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Great service, awesome food. Had the chicken tariyaki don and takoyaki. The chicken did not have skin (I wish it did) but was still tasty. The mayo sauce on the rice made it perfect. The takoyaki was cooked to perfection and crunchy with the octopus not too chewy. I also ordered the oolong tea cocktail which was honestly kind of gross but I haven't had it before so that might just be how it tastes read more

I've been at this Guu location many times for lunch and dinner, and I will add that there are very mixed experiences depending on the visit. I will focus on my most recent visit, during lunch, but will also sprinkle in some color from previous visits. Service 1/5 -- A mildly bad service experience. The reality is, they put the better servers on at night, and the servers during the day are terrible, resulting in an average score overall; in my experience this is consistent across most Guu locations. Never greeted or offered water at tea, the server came to our spot after a hefty wait and spoke thusly: "what do you want?" Off-putting but perhaps excusable due to language barrier. The restaurant was quiet. Food 3/5 -- I wish they would mark their menu with vegan and vegetarian options. I don't know why every restaurant can't do this. It's so obvious. Anyway I ordered something with meat in it after reading a menu item that included ingredients bit didn't mention bacon. It was good but I had to pick out the bacon to give to my girlfriend. Disappointing. Atmosphere 3/5 -- This location is nice, with the traditional floor seating, and patio -- maybe one of their nicest locations. However the restaurant is totally partitioned off with big wood dividers. I get the covid restrictions, but these things make your feel like you're in an office cubicle. Dropping a deuce in the bathroom is always nice here. It's kind of decorated like spa waiting room. Very relaxing, and perhaps a nice place to drop trou and read a paper. Cleanliness 4/5 -- They do a pretty good job, but the restaurant does have a bit of a cluttered thing going on, both in the front and in the open kitchen. Overall 2.75/5 -- Guuu'd for dinner, okay for lunch. read more

The #1 most recommended restaurant per my friends upon my visit to Vancouver. Upon entrance, I find the place to be very small, but they have a section separated for private parties or large groups I guess. What irked me the most is that although I had reservations, we were still seated at the bar because only groups of three or more were allowed at the actual tables. Food section wise was a little limited ONLY because I went for lunch and not dinner time. I wouldn't say the menu is the greatest for vegetarians, but it is possible to eat there. We ended up ordering a bunch off the tapas menu and a sashimi plate. All were delicious and none were regrets. We even ordered the scallop pizza, which was very stingy on the scallop so it was like eating a cheese pizza with mayonnaise. All in all, good impression with food. I would definitely come back here on my next visit to Vancouver. read more

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Great place for a late night snack. This restaurant was literally across the street from our hotel and the only restaurant opened at 12am. Loud music, loud conversations, loud workers...everything in here was just LOUD. But that totally sets the ambiance to this place. The few patrons dining in during midnight were those who are just chilling with their friends over good food and good company. And I was one of them. The almond tofu is delish; so delish that I had to order seconds. The texture is silky and it really tasted like tofu, a sweet tofu with a hint of almond. I also ordered the Oden which is a broth where you have the option to add in what you want. I opted an egg, daikon and fish cakes. This was total comfort food. The grilled squid was good. It didn't taste rubbery or chewy compared to other places. Menu is small. Keep in mind this is a tappa bar so don't expect a full meal entree. They're small dishes with small portions. My late night hunger was beyond satisfied. read more

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Come here!!! This place is fantastic! I stopped by here on my trip to BC, and I just found a new favorite place. I would rate this place so highly that if you only have 1 meal in Vancouver, spend it here. Guu is much better than your average izakaya joint. Really, everything I tried on the menu was amazing. I would be hard pressed, to recommend only 1 thing because everything was stellar. All I can say is like Pokémon, gotta catch (try) them all. Food aside, service and ambience are spot on. Enjoy! read more

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Everything is just soooo tasty!! My wife likes it a lot. Did not try the sushi though read more

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The restaurant doesn't accept reservation for party of 2 people. In order to avoid the line, we decided to arrive 10 minutes before the opening time. It turned out that we had made an extremely wise decision. The place was full 5 minutes after opening OMG. My personal favorites were the beef tataki and the scallops pizza. The former dish was lightly seared on the outside, and was paired with a yuzu sauce. The inner part was juicy and tender. The sauce perfectly elevated the flavor, without stealing the show. It was refreshing, with a light sour, sweet, and savory flavor. As for the pizza dish, it was a genius combination. Yes! Cheese please! Lol The steak dish was a bit disappointing though -- the flavor of the sauce was overwhelming. And while the inner part of the beef was tender and well cooked, the outer was burnt, with an unpleasant bitter flavor. We left most of the dish:( Overall, a great experience. But may not worth getting out of your way to come here. read more

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Their motto is 'guuu'ing may be addictive'. So. Much. Truth. Winners: Uh, everything. You really can't go wrong with whatever you order. I have never seen such a long menu where everything is equally delicious. I love that they have handwritten daily special menus. My personal favorite was the oden which is one of the permanent items on the menu. Its light broth was incredibly comforting on a cold night. Must: Order a dish with raw fish. Whether its sashimi or carpaccio, it's guaranteed to be fresh. The quality of fish was just as good as the fish you eat in high-end sushi restaurants. We sat on the side of the bar which was pretty cool since you order from and get served directly by one of the chefs. You also get to see all of the action of fish slicing and plating sitting on the side of the bar. There are only 5 seats that get this special treatment. All of the staff were very kind and attentive. The prices are very reasonable. We ordered so many dishes (did not get a picture of every dish), and I thought the two of us would easily break $100. We didn't even break $90! Less than $90 for a stomach-exploding night of the most fabulous food? Sign me up again. You can make reservations for 3 or more people. They keep seats open for walk-ins, so if you aren't able to book in advance, it's still worth checking if they have open tables. Waiting is actually not painful. They take your phone number, so you can wander the famous Robson Street until they call. We waited one hour for 2 on a Saturday evening, and it was well worth it. Just make sure to account for your wait when paying for parking (which of course is terrible here). My name is Denise, and I am a Guu addict. read more

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This place was amazing! Visiting Vancouver of course so we decided to try Japanese for dinner and Guu came up as one of the better restaurants in the area. It's not wrong, the una-meshi caught my eye from the menu so we headed straight there. We were seated quickly, the staff here are fast and the food comes out pretty swiftly. Started out with potato mochi and the salmon garli yaki. The potato is pretty simple but I thoroughly enjoyed the salmon. There was a nice crust to the skin and it was tender and moist. Moving on to our meals I had the una-Meshi and it looks similar to a bibimbap, a bowl of rice, baby eel, and an egg. I loved the flavor and was honestly full from the portion. My boyfriend had their recommended special of pig intestine with spicy miso and the add on udon, he loved it. Try it out honestly we left full and satisfied. read more

Food was delicious. Got seated with only 45 minutes left in the night. Was fun sitting at the bar watching the chefs and feeding off the staff's energy. read more

My wife and I were visiting Vancouver and met up with my sister and went to Guu. We got the baby octopus and it was amazing! Our service was fantastic and she was fun. The atmosphere is a blast because they shout each order towards the kitchen and they shout it back. Really fun. The food all around was 5 star and not to terrible on the price point. Great stuff. read more

Guu with Garlic - Wasabi and baby octopus appetizer. Spicy but GOOD! - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

The sizzling eel bowl is awesome. You have to have it. The ginger they offer in the bowl is the best ever. The selection of the menu is not extensive. The service was so fast. The food was on the table less than 5 minutes from ordering. The ideal scenario is you come here with 4 people and order several plates to share. The cost is very reasonable at less than $10 on average. What did I learn today? This is a great place to start a food crawl. read more

Guu with Garlic - Eel bowl - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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This little restaurant packs a big punch of flavor with cool dishes that you don't find at the usual Japanese restaurants. Don't expect sushi for lunch. They have a set menu that has amazing choices. We loved their udon noodles and the grilled salmon with side of rice and rice! read more

We came across this place while looking for a spot to eat a late dinner. They were open till 10.30 pm and it worked out great for us. We stopped by around 8.40 pm (without a reservation). We were told that the wait time was 20 mins, and sure enough our table was ready in exactly 20 mins! The table had floor seating that was cute. We ordered their fried cauliflower, chicken tempura, beef yaki udon, veggie yaki udon and grilled salmon. Their service was super quick. Food arrived piping hot within a few mins of placing our order. All the dishes tasted delicious with a special mention to the Yaki udon that was so flavorful! We felt that the tempuras could've had better seasoning. Overall a great place, I would definitely go back to try their hot pot and other offerings. read more

Outstanding and different in so many good ways. Daily menu is creative and fresh with half changing and half static. Small loud and packed inside with a cosy, heated patio too. From the printed menu: Guetan had much better in Sendi. Too chewy baked oysters with cheese were spectacular BBQ eel was fantastic Sashimi was VERY thin and not worth the price Yukon gold with chorizo surprised us with its twist. I could eat an entire bowl enjoyed a saki before moving to their own beer, a pretty good pale ale. A great experience and well worth any wait read more

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This has been my all time favorite. Very engaging atmosphere and great taste for food, especially good when I don't know what to do on some evenings. Perfect location as well. read more

Guu with Garlic is a very interesting place to dine. First of all they don't have menus but the menu is all around you on chalkboards. The food is well priced and pretty cheap and of the 3 things I tried the food was decent. The octopus balls had a good sauce with good texture but the balls themselves were not very good. The salmon was slightly over cooked but still good. And the noodles on the 3rd plate were heavenly. The waiters were nice and the place was nice and cozy. I think if you end up in the west side of Vancouver this is a good place if you are looking for unique East Asian cuisine. read more

I had the seafood hotpot and it was so obvious that the "seafood" was frozen. Very disappointed. Maybe it's just what I ordered but def would not recommend and if you do go don't get the seafood hotpot. read more

My best izakaya spot in Vancouver. Highly recommended. I am Going there many times a month.

It came with much hype and good ratings ... Service was decent, not personable. The menu of daily specials was strangely organized. We ordered 9 dishes for the 4 of us and liked only a few; Noodles w pork and grilled octopus (although it can with regular mayonnaise... it should have come with a garlic aioli. Cheesecake as desert was not as airy as expected - had good flavors though. Conclusion: unimpressive quality/flavors, average Service and all of us had an upset stomach afterward read more

YUM!! Great service and delicious food. The curry flat udon noodles were our absolute favorite (curry soup btw). The noodles were cooked perfectly. We also got one of the hot pots and the scallop pizza, which consists of little scallops, cheese, and a delicious crust. SUPER cheesy. One piece would've been enough for me. I highly recommend this spot. I love that they give us 2 mini dishes each as free appetizers. We chose little macaroni bites, beans, and seaweed salad. We were the first ones in the door at 11:30am on a Wednesday. read more

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