On my past few trips to Japan, I always preferred dining at casual restaurants rather than formal ones. I like casual bars and grills in Japan because they’re filled with energy and fun food that doesn’t cost an arm or a leg. The other day, I tried out Zakkushi on Main, a casual Japanese grill in the Fairview neighbourhood that is similar to what I’ve been to in Japan.
I liked Zakkushi’s colourful and funky menus; it’s exactly like what you would find in Tokyo or Osaka.
To start off, I got the Samurai Cocktail to drink. It’s a mixture of sake, vodka, sprite, and lime juice. I liked how it had a refreshing taste, but I would’ve preferred it to be a bit stronger.
Samurai Cocktail ($5.8)
My friend got the rather interesting Pink Beer to drink. This drink is composed of beer and cranberry juice and has a unique sweet and sour taste.
Pink Beer ($4.8)
The first appetizer we got was the Zakushi Set. This set has 5 skewers of chicken, beer, and pork. These skewers were freshly grilled and tasted fairly delicious. The quality of the meat was mediocre, but that was expected since we got the least expensive set. The beef could’ve been slightly less cooked though, since I prefer a more rare beef; but to each their own on that one.
Zakkushi Set ($8.5)
After the skewers we got the Appetizer Sashimi Platter. Sad to say, I was not impressed with this sashimi. It could smell the fish from afar, which is an indicator that it’s not fresh. The sashimi pieces were in general pretty mushy and lacked of a good texture. Normally I like to eat my sashimi without any condiments, but for this one I had to drench it in soy sauce to make it eatable.
Appetizer Sashimi Platter ($14.8)
For the main dish I got the Bukkake Udon. I normally like dry udons because they’re different and more concentrated in flavor. This udon was passable, but not the best, particularly since the sauce was too salty for my liking. For dry udon I prefer the one at Gyo-o in Richmond more.
Bukkake Udon ($7.8)
My friend got the Yakitori Don, a teriyaki chicken rice with egg. Being a safer menu choice, this rice was very good and the combination of all the ingredients worked out well.
Zakkushi on Main offers a fun and casual Japanese grill experience. For appies and drinks, this restaurant would be quite ideal. But for a full meal, I found that the portions were too small to be satisfying, and things add up to being quite pricey. Also, I must repeat how disappointed I was with the sashimi. Depending on the occasion, I wouldn’t always rule out Zakkushi. In a bigger group, I can see this place being kind of fun. But for a dinner for two hungry people, there are definitely better options around the area.
- Fun Japanese atmosphere
- Great selection of appetizers
- Small portions
- Bad sashimi
