Guu… Tapas? Sushi? Yes Please!

As I look back on our epic trip to Vancouver, one of the many delicious food experiences stands out. In attempt to find the fresh sushi we’d heard so much about, we decided to stroll on over to Guu on Thurlow Street. We were surprised to find it was more Japanese cuisine that sushi, but the mind-boggling deliciousness we sought was found in the building.

Along with the expected but yummy dishes such as beef sashimi and edamame, there were some interesting combinations. The most delicious item I discovered was the Kabocha korokke, which is an unexpected combination of pumpkin, a boiled egg and Japanese mayonnaise all layered in a perfectly fried croquette. Get the defib paddles ready, ’cause I had a tastegasm that almost sent me marching to the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

In addition to the yummy, tapas-sized menu items, the restaurant was a fun take on the usual sushi bar/hibachi scene. The small restaurant offers what they describe as a traditional experience close to what you might find in a similar establishment in Tokyo. The waitresses, all Japanese, all greet you as you enter and leave the restaurant and shout out orders to the cooks from each table entirely in Japanese. While it’s loud and a little chaotic, I was overwhelmed by the authenticity of the experience.

Now for the real draw: the food porn. Arigato and sayounara for now!

–Lindsey

The Guu Restaurant canopy... Too bad it isn't a sun-setter retractable awning...

Lindsey Peacock and Maria Arshad pose with the menu.

This was Guu's special menu for the day, both menus offered something different and we used both for our order.

Maria Arshad goes through Guu's regular menu looking at the various choices.

The waitress cleans off a table and gets ready to seat another party. There were many people waiting outside the restaurant for seating.

Guu waitress walks to our table with our food in hand.

The atmosphere in Guu was definitely picture worthy. We all sat on small wooden stools or a equally small wooden bench, with only one plank. This was an experience worth noting.

Grilled Beef Skewer, the beef was cooked rare to medium rare and was absolutely delicious.

Kabocha korokke is an unexpected combination of pumpkin, a boiled egg and Japanese mayonnaise all layered in a perfectly fried croquette

Kabocha korokke, an inside view of the tastiness

This entry was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 10:03 PM. It is filed under Blog, Canada, Food, Lindsey Peacock, Places, Travel, Vancouver and tagged with Guu Restaurant, Japanese cuisine, sashimi, sushi, tapas, Vancouver. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.