To my knowledge, this is the only Izakaya in Toronto, but let's start at the beginning: What is an Izakaya? It's a place where Japanese people go to get drunk and eat lots of food. Typically, In Japan, there are private rooms that can be booked to consume all you can drink alcohol for a few hours and stuff your gullet full of noodles, tempura, yakitori, and other Japanese Tapas-like food-but traditionally, sushi is not offered. Fin serves sushi and it seems like a smart move in their part; I'm not sure that Torontonians would understand the idea of a Japanese restaurant that didn't have it.
As soon as you walk through the door at Fin, you'll be greeted by hails from the staff, welcoming you by shouting "hello!" in Japanese. The emphasis on booze is apparent by the large wooden wine rack that flanks the front door, as well as the bottles of sake that are decoratively perched and several of the shelves running along the walls. The decor is a much more warm than in a sushi restaurant and the lights are dimmed low around 8 pm providing a breeding ground for chatter, loud spontaneous proclamations and, of course, drinks.
The Wing was my favourite: a true to it's description, refreshing drink made with sake, grapefruit juice, and blue curacao halo-ed with a salted rim. It did a beautiful job of quenching my thirst for a Friday night starter. For something sweeter, try the Heaven: sake, guava and lychee. Vodka (Shōchū) cocktails are aplenty with combinations including any fresh fruit juice of your choice. Shōchū is a Japanese Vodka-like beverage that contains only 25% alcohol. That's how they are able to serve pitchers of these cocktails and not get shut down by the LLBO. Brilliant, I say!
The food at Fin is good. It's not amazing, but for the price, you'll get to try a lot of different things. Save your sushi appetite for another night and tuck into what they do best at Fin, appetizer -like portions of meat and fish. The Braised pork belly a bit shy of melt-in-your-mouth, but nonetheless delicious, served in a hot bowl with a bit of bok choy and a half boiled egg. A while Squid is grilled and expertly sliced in thin rings. Ahi Tuna Tataki is done beautifully on little soup spoons, featuring a nice helping of tuna that is a not quite as buttery as would be expected, but nonetheless acceptable. Tempura is light and crispy, with sweet potato, squash and bell pepper. Tsukune are lovely tender balls of chicken on a skewer done in a sweet barbecue glaze.
Fin is the perfect place to go with a big group of friends to drink fun cocktails and chow down on fun Japanese finger food. Great for a large group, or for a party-starter before the bar. For the price and the whack of fun you'll have sampling cocktails or chugging back a pitcher of beer, it's a sure bet.
Price: 20-40 per person with a beverage and five or six dishes.
Value: Average (cocktails aren't big and can get expensive.)
Jenny Likes it: ***Seconds, please!
(647) 347-3864
55 Eglinton Ave E
Toronto, ON M4P
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