aside 2 Oct

Kingyo Japanese Izakaya on Denman Street

UPDATED: 11/7/2006 06:00 AM
I’ve since returned to Kingyo a number of times. On yesterday’s occasion, I took some more photos (below).

Of note, service was excellent and the food was great as well. My favourite is the Chicken Karaage which comes with three types of salt or shio to dip in – from Utah, from the Himalayas and from Japan.

Umami’s Hiro is no longer the bar manager – he’s moved into where his passion lies, in the kitchen. Yasu has taken over his post.

You can read the menu in the photos below as well – and check out Yasu’s daily drink special next time you’re in:

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Original Post: 10/02/2006 06:00 AM

Kingyo occupies the space which was once Enthuze on Denman Street (Vancouver). The sign on the front window says ‘See you in Aug’ but August came and went… now it’s October.

I recently passed by and was invited to take a couple of pictures while they put the finishing touches on the place. They’re still finishing the mural and other small items but overall you can get a feel for how it’s going to look inside.

DSC09171 DSC00376 DSC01416 DSC01417 DSC01418 DSC01419 DSC01420 DSC01421 DSC01422 DSC01423 Kingyo Business Card Front Kingyo Business Card Back
Also, stay tuned to my flickr stream (and specifically photos tagged kingyo) at: http://flickr.com/photos/urbanmixer/tags/kingyo for more photos from Kingyo.

So what’s the scoop? Well, two elements come together. Firstly, Hiro (ex chef, owner, and sommelier of Umami) will be the sommelier and bar manager of KINGYO. Secondly, the restaurant is owned by the same group that brought Guu with Garlic to fruition (amongst other restaurants).

Sounds like a hit.

Cross your fingers, the city’s inspectors are going to be visiting in the next couple days.

KINGYO
Telephone: 604-608-1677
Address: 871 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC V6G 2L9

  • Keko

    It opened 3 days ago. Good food as Guu’s chefs are in charge but front line is still not up to the speed. Waiters don’t seem to be experienced enough to serve customers to seat quickly. They can use an experienced head waiter who can manage bussing,seating and bringing a cheque quicker and a few experienced waiters. Reasonably priced and nice ambiance, too.

  • http://raj.jp Raj

    I’m officially the first customer at Kingyo. I arrived at approx. 5:30 PM on Friday (October 13th).

    I actually left my camera at home for this round since I don’t really think it’s fair to take snaps of food, etc. while a restaurant may be ironing their bugs out.

    That said, there are definitely a few service-oriented bugs that we experienced. Hopefully this dissapears as the staff get up to speed. The food was good and very reasonable which means that they will be a winner for the neighbourhood.

    More pics coming up in a future posting – stay tuned.

  • http://andreatam.com andrea

    service kind of slow, but i thought the food was great – better than all the izakaya’s in town. chef came and did some magic tricks too so that’s always nice ;)

  • http://none Kevin

    You gotta try the beef tongue. It’s brought out raw and in thin slices. Next to them is a smooth rock one and a half times bigger than your fist. This rock is grilling hot and glossed with cooking oil.

    What you do is you grill the beef tongue yourself on the rock. Do it quick before the stone cools down!

    This is another speciality of Guu restaurants.

  • Veggie

    i went for dinner there last night with my wife and was super disappointed. let me preface the remainder of this comment by saying that we’re both vegetarians (no fish either). stupid going to a restaurant which serves mostly fish and meat dishes i hear you say. but most other decent japanese restaurants have vegetarian alternatives to most of their entrees. this place definitively does not. we asked and were told no but that we could have some vegetarian noodles. we were served singularly the most bland plate of noodles we have ever tasted.
    oh and why is the place called Kingyo when they dont serve gyoza? some presearch on the menu would have been a good idea but you take certain things for granted with the quality of the food here in vancouver. bad mistake.

    Hapa Izakaya on robson, Kitto on granville, Gyoza King on robson all offer infinitely more variety for vegetarians than Kingyo and are some of our most visited restaurants.

    We wont be returning to Kingyo until they offer a choice of starters and a choice of real entrees for vegetarians. Not doing so is pretty near sighted and commercial suicide in such a competitive market.

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Veggie,

    I don’t recall ever seeing an Izakaya in Japan that serves Gyoza either. Usually, you see Gyoza at the countertop diners throughout Japan where salarymen hammer them back with Ramen after a night of drinking. Think Denny’s and you’re in the right genre.

    RE: Veg – I don’t see many Japanese restaurants that are veg friendly, either. Kintaro’s Veggie Ramen, for example, is still pork-based. The question, however, is: was there ever an intention to have veggie-friendly meals at the restaurant?

    I certainly wouldn’t expect something similar at a BBQ, for example. Which brings me to ask – what about veg restaurants. Shouldn’t they have a meat selection to accomodate people who choose not to eat vegetarian fare? :P

    Hmmm…

    BTW – next time you’re in, try their tofu and okra appy. It’s delectable.

  • Jason

    Veggie,

    I don’t understand why the place named “Kingyo” would prompt you to think that they should have gyoza.

    Kingyo is Goldfish no?

  • Reformed Vegetarian and now carnivore

    Veggie,

    AS a ex vegetarian and now hard core carnivore who has been to Japan a few times, I must agree that short of eating in a private home or buddhist temple, you won’t find vegetarian food much in Japan. Nor will you find it much here (at an izakaya) either. I do agree, going to an izakaya and expecting to find veggie fare is stupid..but typically a veggie thing to do- I don’t go to say, the Naam or Bo-King and bitch that there should be carniovore friendly options because I want a steak..and dammit, they should serve me one because *other restaurants do*

    Not doing so is pretty near sighted and commercial suicide in such a competitive market.
    Only if you’re a near sighted Vegetarian! Seems that almost every other izakaya is doing just fine. Stick to a veggie restaurant then. Not being rude here, but come on, open your eyes.

  • Reformed Vegetarian and now carnivore

    oops. sorry, my bad, it should be Bo-Kong!

  • Shinta

    Editor’s note: person who posted left a fake e-mail address. As a general rule, posts like this should be classified as highly suspect – especially considering that a question was asked with no recourse in being able to answer it.

    Is Hiro still there? Who is the owner? Yasu or Hiro? or both?

  • Jay

    The owner is Minoru-san
    Floor Manager is Yasu
    General Manager / Kitchen Manager is Koji

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