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Kakurenbo
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
793 Jervis StVancouver, BC V6E 2B1
Neighbourhood: West End
(604) 696-9965
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
4 reviews for Kakurenbo
4 reviews in English
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Review from Jme Y.
Edmonton, AB
3/9/2010
*I joined Yelp to write this review because I fell in love with this place*
I love izakayas for a late night nibble and a nice cocktail, and this one won me over with the details - in the ambiance, the food, the drinks.
The food here tend to be sutble and quiet but very pleasant, and I think that's how Japanese tapas should be. Service is great, without being intrusive, and the cocktails were well prepared and nicely balanced. I especially loved the mojito-like drink they had with the shiso and plum. The most important for me is the ambiance, because for me, izakaya is not all about food. I love a place that's relaxed, comfortable, just dark enough, with good music. I swear it makes your drinks taste better! And this place does it all, and literally transports you to Japan with the decor. And a nice bathroom is always a bonus. Will definitely go back. -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
11/23/2009
* Nice space *
I've been meaning to try this place for a while, and kept forgetting to.
It looks non-descript from the outside, and they play on their name a bit by hiding the restaurant behind some internal wooden doors. They certainly spent some time thinking about how to design the interior - which is a fairly small space, but done in such a way to make it feel more private than it could in such a small space. You are also entirely separated from the outside world when you are in there courtesy those internal wooden doors. So you get a bit of a feel like you do in many basement izakaya in Japan.
Service was also very professional - anticipating when you needed something, and watching closely without being intrusive at all.
I wish the food lived up to everything else though. While it was decent, it wasn't amazing.
Our group started off with the tofu salad, which was pleasantly dressed, and a good quality of tofu with typical greens.
The nankotsu karaage (fried chicken cartilage) had too much breading. I love nankotsu, and this just tasted more like breading with a little crunch inside rather than highlighting the nankotsu.
The yellowfin "steak" was sauteed with a non-memorable sauce. The yellowfin was overly fishy. I'm not sure why exactly - as it seemed fresh. But it was fishier than any yellowfin I've had before. Disappointing.
The maguro tataki was made with bincho, and once again it was overly fishy. Disappointing.
The mochi "pizza" (which just sounded like a creative interesting thing that we had to try) was a tortilla with a ton of mozzarella cheese and no noticeable mochi. Disappointing.
The cod korokke was presented creatively - as if it was fish and chips, with a side of fries. WTF?!?!? And the korokke actually tasted like those frozen fish sticks you used to get at the high school cafeteria. This was perhaps the most disappointing of all the dishes. I love a good korokke, and this just wasn't it.
The custard dessert was actually pretty good - not overly sweet, and nice and creamy.
The "housemade chocolate" was the best dish of the evening. It was a creamy scooped chocolately fudge type creation with a fresh strawberry. Very nice.
Overall while the space is nice, and the service on top of things, the food was a disappointment. I think many of the other izakaya nearby are a better choice when it comes to the food. Too bad. -
Review from Evilyn T.
1/20/2010
I went here for a friend's birthday dinner and of course I was late. the party had been seated and ordered so I pulled up a chair and weasled my way in. The decor of this restaurant is deceiving because when you first enter it looks like a standard Japanese restaurant, but when you get past the wooden door you relize how beautiful the decor is. The art and design of this restaurant is gorgeous, making it a wonderful place for a romantic dinner for two, as long as you aren't that hungry and you have enough cash in your wallet to order more than three dishes.
The food was very good, but came in rather small tapas style dishes, and for me, being a foodie, was a bit discouraging. I ordered the Tuna Tataki, which seems to be what I always order at sushi restaurants, and it was really good, but the pieces of tuna were about the size of a twoonie, so I was still hungry. So I ordered the edamame, which is pretty hard to screw up, and it was also really tasty, but I was still hungry, so I ordered the Curry Spring Rolls, which were pretty skinny (think bitch sticks, or femme cigarettes), but were probably the best tasting thing I ordered. BUT I WAS STILL HUNGRY! And I had spent about $20 so I decided to just get a buck a slice pizza after the party back on Granville.
I would reccomend this restaurant for sure, the food was good, the service was good, the decor was beautiful, but I am a broke ass, so it wasn't the right spot for me.Listed in: Sushies!
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Review from Steve Y.
10/19/2009 2 photos
My cousin recommended this place and it doesn't look like much from the outside. I've walked by it several times and barely noticed it's there. When you do look inside, it looks small and empty; But don't let that fool you!
Once you walk inside and pass the initial wall (which is all you see from the street), you enter this beautifully decorated room that's packed with people who know the secret, that this place is good.
3 of us shared about 7 dishes and they were all great! It's like GUU, minus the 45 min. wait outside in the cold. The grilled calamari comes with melted butter, smoked salt and table salt. The butter & smoked salt was so amazing with the calamari that I'm gonna try that at home with shrimp. Taiwanese Ramen was good. The pork with grilled cabbage (See picture) had a killer sauce on it that didn't mask the flavor of the pork and made the cabbage yummy, too.
The two waitresses were very helpful. We asked one how she found this place to get a job here. She said she only found out because of a friend as well. This place is kinda the neighborhood secret that they want to keep for themselves. Well, as a constant visitor here, I'm letting the secret out!!! Yelp! Yelp! Yelp!!!!
I spoke with the owner Daisuke, and his chef who created all these great dishes (some seasonal). I asked him about Yelp and confirmed that Yelp hasn't quite caught on in Canada, yet. Most of the reviews here are from visiting Americans. (BTW, I got accused of having an American accent by my cousin & friend).
If you want to feel like you're in Japan and forget that you're just a few meters off of Robson on Jervis, this is the place. Decor & atmosphere beats GUU hands down (and I LOVE GUU so that's saying a lot).Listed in: Vancouver
