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Imadake
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
4006 St. Catherine WestMontréal, QC H3Z 1P2
(514) 931-8833
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu, Sun 5 pm - 10:30 pm
Fri-Sat 5 pm - 1 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Trendy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
24 reviews for Imadake
Review Highlights
23 reviews in English
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Review from Rawan K.
This place blows me away every time I come here! Among my usual orders that include the ebimayo, takoyaki, and karaage, this evening my friends and I also ordered the grapefruit and dungeness crab salad that was absolutely amazing, as well as the tsukune that was grilled to perfection. The salad had a great a balance between the citrus and crab, while the tsukune (mix of pork and chicken) just melts in your mouth. Make sure you order them next time, you will not be disappointed!
Being a fairly large group, we of course ordered a few large sake bombs... we started off with regular ones, and topped off the night with large rainbow sake bombs. In between, we had a few pints of sapporo that are served on tap.
This place never disappoints, the more people the merrier... so come one, come all!Listed in: Pubs/Bars, Late Night Drunchies, Asian Cuisine
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/26/2012
The more I come here, the more I love it. Similar to Kazu, this restaurant-pub serves great Japanese… Read more »
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Review from Sebastien C.
Brossard, QC
4/16/2012
Any place that has Sapporo on tap and makes it available in giant chilled mugs is cool with me.
The 6 dishes I tried weren't really my style, but my date loved most of them. The food did have potential though and their menu has a lot of variety, so I'm sure even a picky eater like myself will eventually find a few things I really like.
Overall, it's a bit loud in there for date night, but I can't think of a better spot for celebrating with a big group of friends. Great energy, atmosphere and decor. Highly recommended. -
Review from Pierre D.
Montréal, QC
2/19/2012
I've been to Imadake once and HAD to return two more times. The food was so interesting I really wanted to try it all.
In terms of food, the hit for me was the jelly fish salad. Lightly pickled and with such a different texture from... anything else really.
Overall all my food items were very tasty, prepared well and cooked to perfection. Everything there has an interesting flavor, out of the ordinary of what it typically expected of Japanese food. Like the gyoza with a lemony taste for example. It is also a place where it pays to eat at the counter and watch the staff cook. They're quite impressive.
I like the variety of drinks offered. Sometimes they have it the litchi ramune, which is a personal favorite ! Their sake selection is good, same for the beer (love my Kirin)
On the service side, I didn't experience any of the problems some other reviewers seemed to report, and I went twice with another person and once with a group. We always got what we ordered, with a smile and on time.
The decor is stripped down to essential and leaves ample room enjoy your meal. The ambiance is excellent... who doesn't like the sake bomb song ritual ?
Definitely one of the few places I will return to again and again in the months to come. -
Review from Sharm D.
1/21/2012
What makes this place really stand out is the artwork/ambience, service, crazy tasty umami food, and the sake bombs!!!!
Upon my friend's suggestion, we ordered the beef tataki, takoyaki (deep fried octopus), miso beef tongue, sea bass, and the dome salad, of course, with two sake bombs.
The sea bass was simply buttery melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Definitely the best fish I had ever had in my life (and I'm Asian and eat fish regularly!). The next best dish was the cow tongue, which looks nothing like the organ and is grilled to perfection with a delicate yet generous sprinkling of deep fried sweet potato. The combination made my head explode! The takoyaki was exceptionally good and is a definite must-try. The dishes that were less memorable were the tataki, which was over-seasoned and made my mouth pucker (apparently it was better last time according to my friend), and the dome salad was just "okay". The dessert was less impressive, as the cheesecake tasted like a giant square of philly cream cheese mixed with green tea. Not bad, but definitely not something to write home about.
The sake bombs were definitely fun. I'm not one for sake or shots, and my friend isn't one for beer, but we both LOVED them, and at 5 bucks a pop, it's worth it, if not only for the EXPERIENCE! Yes! I won't ruin the surprise so just ORDER it and see what happens...
Finally, for all those who like to compare Imadake with Kazu, I have to say that these two are complete worlds apart. Imadake stands out on its own as a really fun hangout. I'm already planning on bringing a group of friends here for a fun and tasty night out! -
Review from Khanh L.
12/24/2011
with all the 5 Star rating this place got, i had to try it for myself...
First thing comes to mind when you visit this place, is whether or not it stands up to Kazu... my verdict? Naaaaaaah !!!! lol
On this point i agree with Concertina F. but whereas none of Kazu's dishes disapoint SOME dishes at Imadake do... and this despite the damn lineup at kazu, their habit of constant price INFLATION, their limited menu, no fried items and their cash only policy...
On to the food... :)
we had, ramen, beef tongue, chicken karaage, jelly fish salad, eel soup, eel omelet, agedashi tofu, bacon wrapped asparagus, and tempura.
of note is the beef tongue, quite delicious, tender and good flavor, I know I kissed a cow... And I liked it :P. The jelly fish salad was nice, refreshing, light and refreshing, except the portion was unforgivably small.
The rest was just all right nothing spectacular, one miss is the omelet, too much sugar, It's an omelet not flan!!! lol :P
Tempura was average, but really no one messes that one up... well except hot and spicy buffet, where it's as big as a celery stick and mostly batter lol.
chicken was good, but I like chicken karaage, so it was fine, but I've had better, at sumo ramen and ichiban.
the eel soup was another miss, the dashi was weak, no flavor depth, but the eel was good.
The agedashi was good, good soy sauce dashi, and the tofu was silky.
The bacon asparagus was a bit on the bland side, a dash of teriyaki or miso would have been nice.
Final verdict? more style than substance, small dishes... but nice drinks. -
Review from Rod M.
1/17/2012 7 Check-ins Here
I'd been to Imadake a few times shortly after they had opened (yes back when they were called Godzilla's) and thought that the restaurant was good but nothing special. I had dinner there with some friend on Sunday evening and I was very pleasantly surprised. Imadake has really come into its own. Apparently I'm not the only one that thinks this as the place was packed on a Sunday evening. Based on the crowd you would have thought that it was Friday night. The atmosphere was fun and lively the service was good and not overbearing and the food was terrific. As I'm writing this I'm wondering why I'm giving Imadake 4 and not 5 stars, but it feels like the right rating.
The menu and the food has matured since I first ate there. There are many great options on the menu, the food is fresh and tasty and the presentation is good.
Many of the reviews compare Imadake to Kazu. I guess this is a natural thing to do as they are both Japanese restaurants in the same part of town at similar price points. However, I think that this is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison as these are two very distinct restaurants with there own approach to Japanese cuisine and each offer a very different experience. They are certainly not interchangeable. Now that I've thought about Kazu (a definitive 5 star restaurant) I know why I was comfortable with a 4 star rating for Imadake.
Imadake is a great restaurant where you'll have a fun time and enjoy some great (and reasonably priced) food. Enjoy an evening with some friend and be sure to order the Saki Bomb. -
Review from Laura D.
12/13/2011 7 photos
There is so much more to Japanese food than just sushi but finding those other bits of Japanese cuisine can sometimes be a challenge. Imadake Isakaya offers Montrealers a taste of something they have been missing for quite some time.
This was my second visit to Imadake, the first happened by happy, hungry accident and I was wowed enough to plot another visit. I am just sorry it took so long! In any case, this afternoon, I finally got to revisit this place, and better yet, I was able to share this experience with my son.
We had really worked up an appetite by the time we got there so we ordered quite a bit, some takoyaki (octopus balls), agedashi tofu (my favorite tofu dish), some fried chicken skin and mashed potato croquettes. All were delicious, though I could have ordered a few more takoyaki!
For our main dishes, I had the rare beef and ramen in a soya broth, my son ordered the shrimp and vegetable tofu and my BF ordered pork belly in a miso broth. Again, all of us enjoyed out dishes very much.
Just to note, on my first visit, just after this place just opened, it was the evening and the noise level was louder and the place was pretty crowded. Even so, we received pretty good service and the food was impeccable.Listed in: How my Boyfriend wins me Over
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Review from Blair M.
12/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
Imadake is one of those places that is close to getting 5 stars from me but still needs to adjust a couple of things before I'm willing to go that far.
Now first off I'm all too aware that all Japanese Izakiya's are suppose to be loud but I find for whatever the reason that all 3 times that I have been there it becomes annoyingly loud, last time being by far the worst with staff members that had finished their shifts sitting with friends and standing by while their friends used some pretty foul language at very loud levels.
I also find that Imadake has a great selection on their menu but that every meal is missing that one component that could make it just perfect.
All and all I do really enjoy Imadake but feel they need to still tweak a couple of things before they get a perfect 5 from me. -
Review from Danan R.
1/31/2012
I had the smoked eel and takoyaki appetizers with the char siu ramen. The takoyaki was great and the octopus wasn't at all tough, which is the case at a lot of places. The ramen was nicely seasoned and perfectly complemented by the pork belly. The eel was good, but not amazing. But I'm also extra picky when it comes to eel. This is a fun, lively place on the weekends and the atmosphere is great. Food is better at Kazu but the ambiance is more fun here.
Listed in: Sushi!
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Review from Chen S.
Montréal, QC
10/21/2011
The 5-star is based on the assumptions that
1) you are down for a REAL Nihon-bar night experience, which means
2) you are tolerant of LOUD people, and cute(and/or hot) Asian girls in short uniform skirts running around who might miss orders sometimes
I'm down for both so I gave it a 5*
First of all, the food is, IMO, very close to what Japan has to offer.
Make sure you order Karrage, and Okonomiyaki. They are Delish!
- Okonomiyaki is this Japanese pancake made from eggs, shredded cabages, Dashi(Japanese cooking broth), meat (as far as I remember u get the option of octopus, squid or chicken), with the following topping - zigzagging Mayo, green onions and bonito (some kind of fish) flakes flying on top. the presentation and the taste is definitely A+.
- the Karrage I ordered was this deep-fried chicken pre-marinated in, probably soy sauce and garlic, with flour coating. I ate it with this garlic, soysauce dipping. hmm,hmm, tastay~
- I also ordered the pork-belly noodle soup. It's light but tasty to my taste buds, but some people might consider it bland.
Second, make sure you go there for dinner on weekends; Once I went for lunch, only to find out they are only open for dinner on weekends.
Something worth noticing of this place is: late at night, you might see a group of people doing shots, where they place little shots glass gently on top of two chopsticks that are stacked on top of some bigger beer mugs. The seismic wave created by either hitting the table, or probably just people yelling/cheering drop the shots glass into the beer mugs. This might explain why this place gets very loud sometimes.
Decor is all simplistic, industrial style, high ceiling with a lot of wood elements (which I appreciate a lot), Utensils and dishwares seem to be authentic Japanese style.
Last but NOT least, brace yourself for the chorus of greetings when you arrive and when you leave. Home-run for Imadake! -
Review from Concertina F.
Montréal, QC
8/2/2011
The main problem with Imadake is that it will always be compared to Kazu. And while both Kazu and Imadake are Japanese isakayas, they are actually quite different. Kazu is the homey, cozy, authentic older brother, while Imadake is the trendy yet eager kid sis.
Being greeted by a chorus of "Irasshaimase!!!" by the employees immediately reminds you of Kazu, however, being greeted so enthusiastically is cute and kind of works at Kazu because the place is so small, it's almost like walking into someone's home. Imadake however is a much larger space, so that kind of yelling seems... kind of crazy? The staff isn't all Japanese either, which makes it seem inauthentic and a tad contrived.
Okay, I'm obviously moderately fond of Kazu, but I'm going to stop comparing them now. Publicly anyway.
So the evening began when my friend and I both ordered Sapporos. Sapporos that turned out to be so large that we could have filled a small swimming pool with what arrived at our table. Hey, I'm not complaining! There's no such thing as too much beer. Except that time in 1999, but that's another story.
We decided to order a few small dishes because it's always more fun that way. First came the Japanese style fried chicken, which was actually a freebie because the kitchen had made it by mistake. I wouldn't have ordered this on my own because it just doesn't sound that interesting to me, but it was pretty good.
The dishes we actually ordered came after. Grilled beef tongue, pork belly brochette, octopus balls (takoyaki), some kind of whitefish carpaccio, black cod, and jellyfish salad. The tongue was fantastic, as was the jellyfish salad and carpaccio. The takoyaki is the type of dish for me that is died-and-gone-to-heaven upon the first bite, and as you continue, your body slowly begins to tell you that you can take no more. Maybe it's all that mayo sauce or something, but by the end of it I was kind of glad it was over. Am I alone on this?
The biggest disappointment was the pork belly. When I think of pork belly, I think "bursting with juicy flavour" and "layers of sweet heavenly pork fat". What we got was a plate of skimpy, dry and flavourless skewers. Not impressed.
Dessert was green tea cheesecake. I'm not sure why we ordered this, since my companion isn't a cheesecake fan. But who cares. More for me!
So... I lied when I said I was going to stop comparing this place to Kazu. Sort of. What I want to get across is that if Kazu didn't exist, or I had never been, Imadake would be The Spot. It generally has all the qualities I like about a restaurant. Cool, casual vibe, fun small portions, nice space, good food, simple yet creative (at least creative in the sense that we don't have many isakayas in Montreal, so we don't see these types of dishes often), etc. However, Kazu DOES exist, and while only one of Imadake's dishes was a real disappointment, none of Kazu's are.
I'll definitely be back to Imadake... on days where I don't feel like waiting forever for a table at Kazu, or on a day when I want to be able to relax over drinks with a bunch of friends without feeling cramped or rushed. But for any other day, Kazu has my heart. -
Review from Stéphane S.
Montréal, QC
1/13/2012
The place present itself has a Japanese pub and I did enjoy my meal there. Having been to a few authentic ones in Japan I felt a bit underwhelm... still a nice addition to the restaurant scene in Montreal.
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Review from Mathieu B.
Roxboro, QC
12/4/2011
Version Française après.
Number one: There was no food poisoning and no mistake in my orders! So i hope this kind of kill the other that gave ridiculous small marks. IMO if you say on a public thread you got food poisoning from a restaurant maybe there is something else to it: Like taking too much alcohol, having the flu, being sick from something else, anyway!
Yesterday was one of my new struggle when i decide on Japanese food but new place versus one tried more than once ...Imadake won. First, the Decor kind of remind me of M:BGR second of all, I kind of stuck comparing meal with Kazu which is their competition who has been on open for a long time and has a way smaller place than imadake. So without going into deep description, i will say that this place scores the same as Kazu and the only true difference would be physical ( larger place). I think this place doesn't have much mistakes. Most staff are polyglote (speaks more than 2 languages which is a big plus compare to Kazu where some staff might not be fluent in french). But at the end of the day, if you were to ask me where will you go next time Kazu or Imadake: I might say Imadake because I will not wait! Kazu is overpacted and you now need to get there at least 20 minutes before opening and right now it's cold outside.
Ok Ok, I think i will have to make this review a comparaison between Kazu and Imadake after all!
Well food wise, it's really similar presentation execution and taste. The upper side might go to Imadake in term of booze! They have sake that i have never saw at Kazu
IMO the Okonomiyaki is a bit better at Kazu because they had a nice salad to the meal but Pancake VS Pancake it's equal! Imadake serve it more classical.
They are missing one item on their menu: Onigiri rice balls. Kazu win that one!
On the other side, i would argue that they have a slightly larger menu and the booze got all to do with it!
If you want to try it, i would suggest you to buy everything you can humanly eat and share it with a friend. It pretty much reduce the price of the bill and you end up trying so many things! it's really fun.
Francais
En premier lieu, je crois que si nous sommes pour argumenté sur une erreur idiote comme: il me manquait un truc, c'est à soi-même de faire le décompte. Honnêtement, je suis surpris de voir que nos serveurs se rappelle de tout la majorité du temps. Il faut laisser le temps au staff de s'accoutumer au menu et prendre de l'expérience. On ressent effectivement des vibes de débutant mais sans problème. Je veux dire, je ne parle pas japonais, eux non-plus, ils sont souvent vietnamien, laosien, cambodgien etc. Ahh et je n'ai pas eu d'empoisonnement alimentaire .
Hier c'était un vrai débat: On essaye imadake ou on retourne chez Kazu. Étant un foodie hardcore, j'ai pas prit énormemment de temps a choisir le nouveau venu. Imadake me fait penser à M:BRG comme décor, dans le genre branché, clean, pas trop sérieux avec des murs en tableau noir d'école. Je m'étais dit que j'n'allais pas faire de cette critique une comparaison entre Kazu et Imadake, mais j'abandonne. C'est vraiment semblable, c'est simplement plus gros chez Imadake ce qui se résulte en moins d'attente avant de pouvoir manger.
La différence des deux dans le menu c'est quelques trucs. Imadake ont quelque trucs que Kazu n'ont pas. En revanche, Kazu ont des (boule de riz collante assaisonnée) Onigiri et pas Imadake et Imadake ont beaucoup de choix d'alcool et peu chez KAzu. C'est comme comparé des jumeaux non-identique. Ils sont pas mal semblable mais pas pareil. Je donnais la partie pour la crêpe japonaise (Okonomiyaki) à Kazu à cause de l'ajout d'une salade et d'une vinaigrette légèrement acide plus relevé. La Crêpe chez Imadake vient plus neutre, seule, sans accompagnement sans l'assiette: présentation plus traditionnelle.
J'ai une prédiction pour les Nihon Bar (Pub Japonais) à Montréal et c'est que ça va explosé en nombre dans 10 ans! C'est une cuisine hyper accessible au occidentaux et c'est de la bouffe pour la classe moyenne: bref, c'est pas cher, sans prétention et sans ôté à la complexité des saveurs et la «pureté» de la façon de traité les aliments en cuisine japonaise, le Nihon Bar c'est la nouvelle affaire qui gagne à grossir en nombre à Montréal car Imadake nous prouve qu'ils sont compétitif à Kazu et ont un avenir prometteur devant eux. -
Review from Masao K.
Montréal, QC
8/9/2011
Real Ramen is hard to come by in north America.
Montreal in particular has very little to offer.
When i heard about Imadake I went to give it a shot and I was pleasantly surprised. Their Miso chashu men was actually quite good.
By far the best Ramen you can have in Montreal -
Review from Krystle J.
Montréal, QC
7/7/2011
Now first off i'd like to say that I've only eaten here once, and if/when the day comes that I go back and decide what I wrote is wrong then I will change it...
But, anyways.
The look and decor of the restaurant is nice and trendy, the employees there were nice. Menu was really small.
I tried the fried dumplings, they were average.. And I also had the ramen, only because that was the only option as a main dish, and I was not pleased at all, it was the second worst ramen i've ever had! :-/
Benefit of the doubt.. .. Maybe it's just not for me, I see alot of good reviews for this place. But then again, this is the point of reviews! :-)
Happy eating! -
Review from Bobby A.
3/5/2011
For those of you who want to try other kinds of Japanese food, besides sushi, then head over to Imadake ASAP.
Modeled on Osaka's street food eateries, Imadake offers some wonderful hard-to-find Japanese foostuffs including melt-in-your-mouth tako yaki, Japanese deep-fried octopus balls which were just amazing. Their seafood salads were excellent also with the earthy sesame seed dressing.
The menu is cut up in two sections, those small appetizer-like dishes of which you can order many and share with a friend, think of it as Japanese tapas. The other side is the hefty Ramen noodle soups and meals.
Desserts have the predictable green tea ice cream, red bean ice cream and black sesame ice cream, as well as the green tea cheesecake.
Japanese beers here are resonably priced but not a lot of selection if you're a non-beer drinker.
It's a fun place to try out, I really liked the way the whole bar basically yelled out "Arigato" (Thank you) when you leave. -
Review from Kiera S.
8/6/2011
Point form:
- Ordered 6 dishes. Only received 5. Charged us for 6.
- Ordered water to accompany our drinks. Never saw a drop.
- Cheap decor. Random baseball cap pinned to the wall. Seems like the roof is falling apart downstairs.
- Good selection of food. And the 5/6 we did receive were good.
- Had to ask for the bill 3 times. As I post this, I am still waiting for the bill...
Note: maybe this is better for lunch than dinner, but in general I was not impressed. -
Review from Didier N.
3/21/2011
Thank you God for hearing my prayers. Finally a truly fabulous isakaya in Montreal!
Truly a great place to share delicious authentic Japanese food while downing sake bombs between dishes amongst friends. Decor is simple and trendy. I just wished the music was less loud as it'd be cool to hear the staff greet and thank you in Japanese when you enter/leave the restaurant like they usually do for this type of establishment.
In my own opinion, Imakade kicks Kazu's butt. I am just worried about its location. Imadake is more for the younger crowd, not the stuffy Westmount crowd that would expect overpriced sushi.
Please encourage the owners and run to this restaurant! :P -
Review from J.F. H.
I love this place! The ramen noodles are great and the fried goat cheese with raspberry maple syrup are a must.
The staff are supper nice and service is quick and efficient but doesn't seem rushed.
The decor is nice, not really my cup of tea but that's just a matter of taste. The ambiance is fun I've visited three time now and only once was it a little blah but it was late and a Monday evening so I guess I asked for it.
The prices are are good, you could get away under $30 per person easily without any booz, add a beer or two and you might still get out for around $30.
All and all a good restaurant worth visiting.Listed in: Best of Asia
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Review from mike t.
2/9/2012
The price was fair and the service was excellent. However they should rename this restaurant Sesame Street as they put sesame on everything.
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Review from Antonella Y.
9/18/2011
Was here on a Saturday night with friends. The crowd is made up of mostly 18-25. The decor is minimal, almost industrial...plain square tables with square "crate" stools. The kitchen is open concept and in plain view of everyone. The staff is made up of young, hip students, and despite the loud music they were able to hear/see us when we needed something. Our waiter was helpful and made good suggestions. We ordered Vegetable tempura, tofu salad, Chicken Karaage and Chicken Yaki Tori and the fried cheese with a plum sauce. All were excellent. We ordered a round of drinks that included 1/2 Beer with ginger ale, and a Malibu Pineapple...all were great! Would definitely go back, but have to be in the right state of mind, because again, it is rather on the loud side.
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Review from Al A.
8/30/2011
Wonderful food. Good service. Very Japanese.
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Review from Tin C.
Montréal, QC
The environment of the place is flexing. It is a good nice for hanging out with friends and food. This place is different from most Japanese restaurant in north America. The waiter or waitress said "welcome" and "thank you" in japanese when I came in and left the place. It is very common for Japanese restaurant in China, Hong Kong and japan. I am a little suppose that they carry this tradition; beside that, the food is really nicely made. One suggestion the food come out fast. If you wanna order different appetizer to share, you will be better off to order dish by dish or told the waiter or waitress service the food dish by dish. Overall, I like the place.
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