Terrible weather out so made a quick dash to this well known Japanese Izakaya: Guu Garden.
Very close to the Sheraton Wall Center and St Paul’s Hospital on a corner block at the far side of a plaza with a walk up of 2 flights…can be missed if you aren’t looking for it.
The space is moderate in size with seating at the bar, scattered tables and chabudai. While I’ve seen the custom of publicly greeting the arrival and departure of diners and the ordering of food in Japan, I’ve not seen it outside that country but you will find it here. It’s a lovely thing to do and enlivens the dining experience.
We started with traditional edamame followed by oden which was very light with adds of diakon, mochi tofu bag and fluffy fish cake…..outstanding on this wet and cold night! Followed with shrimp tempura with chili mayo and the chicken karaage with garlic mayo. The wait staff recommended the sweet sesame tuna tartar which was a great choice. Ended with a pumpkin pudding…..basically pumpkin creme brulee. All excellent.
If your experience with Japanese cuisine is limited to classic sushi and sashimi then you absolutely need to give this a try.
