Bistro Isakaya

It’s a cozy little bistro place on Parc avenue. They definitely have there own little kick of flavours and homy feel. It’s a small little gem. Parking was easy but it could get a little tough during the rush hours. The only parking is street parking
The service is quick and easy. The waitresses were super friendly and easy to deal with. I had everything freshly prepared ! This place can hold many people around 20 – 30!even though it does not seem like it. There are tables and chairs tucked behind a wall. You may even reserve in advance.
I loveee their salmon tartar. It was so awesome I definitely recommend it to any tartar lover.
My sushi rolls were fresh, generous and Delecious!
Overall, very cute little cosy place. Quiet and perfect for a dinner date. Would definitely come back for more!
Enjoy !

Food is excellent. Fresh sashimi and seafood. Every time we come to this place we would certainly order sushi nigiri, specialty starters, and of course ramen noodle. I’ve been going to this place since 2002. Be aware that some choices on the menu, especially the teriyaki /​tepanyaki main dishes are made for Caucasians. Food is always stable in its quality.
Staffs are mainly Japanese.

I’ve eaten here twice and have had the best sashimi that I’ve had anywhere in Montréal.
Order whatever they have on the Specials board and you can’t go wrong!

My favorite sushi restaurant in Montréal. Sushi is fresh and the appetizers are what make this place unique. Love the carpaccio and the Gobo Ten and don’t forget the sushi with maple syrup.

I don’t normally write bad reviews but this place was TERRIBLE. I will never go back even though I live in the neighbourhood and love sushi.
SERVICE: SHIT. They sat us at the back of the restaurant. Guess what happened? YUP. The servers ignored us. AFTER 20 MINUTES OF BEING COMPLETELY IGNORED, we left to a different table and finally grabbed a server’s attention to PLACE THE ORDER. NEXT: ALMOST 1.5 HOURS LATER, our order hasn’t arrived yet. After feeling really frustrated about the wait, we asked one of the servers what happened to our food, she walked into the kitchen and walked out a minute later ONLY TO COMPLETELY IGNORE US AND DEAL WITH OTHER CUSTOMERS. THIS HAPPENED REPEATEDLY AND SHE NEVER GOT BACK TO US ABOUT OUR FOOD.
AFTER WAITING ALMOST TWO HOURS FOR OUR FOOD, IT FINALLY ARRIVED. Guess what? IT WAS THE MOST DREADFUL SUSHI we had ever eaten. The sushi had a snot texture to it and tasted like plastic. THE FISH TASTED LIKE IT HAD SWAM IN A SEWER INSTEAD OF THE OCEAN. Definitely not fresh.
To make matters worse, not too long after I HAD THE RUNS.
DID I mention how expensive this place is? TOTALLY OVERPRICED. I don’t mind paying a little extra for a nice meal, but for diarrhea?
Bistro Isakaya
Shit service. Overpriced food. Guaranteed diarrhea.
My grandma can make better sushi than these guys. AND SHE’S DEAD.

Sashimi was good and fresh. But Ramen and Udon were really disappointing. Not worth the money.

This is my favourite sushi restaurant in Montréal. I have been eating here for over 10 years and the reason being as this is the most authentic Japanese sushi restaurant I have eaten at in Montréal. The décor is not the best however, the quality of fish is very fresh and you can tell the chefs at this restaurant take pride in the food they serve. The miso soup is the best I have had in the city, so tasty yet so simple. The salad that comes with most meals is always fresh and the dressing on the salad makes you crave it until you eat it a next time. Order the black cod, it will be cooked to perfection and it will melt in your mouth. When in season, order the uni (sea urchin). I was extremely skeptical to try this but when I first did I was hooked. When I see it on other restaurants I always order it but it never tastes as good as it does from Isakaya. Another favourite of mine is the grilled squid.
When I crave sushi, this is the best it gets! Try it.

For a Zagat rated restaurant it wasn’t what I expected. Although the food is authentic, it’s a bit too homey for my style, and the atmosphere is quite shabby. I don’t know why, but I still haven’t found any restaurant in Montréal that can properly preapare sushi rice. The wait staff is very friendly and attentive, and you will not go home hungry.

I can say that the authenticity of the food here is top-​notch. By ‘food’, I refer to all the seafood here. I am not sure I can testify the same level of authenticity for the ramen. I was tipsy when I walked in, so my immediate choice was a bowl of hot soup and noodles (among the best hangover foods). That meant either the udon or the ramen. I opted for the latter. For ramen, there are only two options: miso or shoyu. The shoyu was as hot as I wanted. Great! The vegetables were there. Great! The soup of good. Great! What was wrong then? Well, they did not give me enough noodles! Just for the record, I’ve been to a crazy amount of ramen shops in the Greater Vancouver region and Montréal, but this… this…was unacceptable. I felt like I was robbed a third of my money. Plus, the appearance of the soup did not look like the shoyu ramen at Misoya (a Japanese ramen restaurant on Rue Bishop that has sister restaurants in Tokyo).
Oyster was good, though I was only able to taste it for exactly a second (I ordered just one). $ 3 for each oyster. However, I had to question whether the lemon slice that came with it was fresh.
I appreciated how the waitress asked whether we wanted tea or cold water right when we were seating ourselves. I replied «tea.» I loved how she made sure our teapot was always full. Tea, I feel, never disappoints me at any Asian restaurant. We weren’t charged for the tea either! Yay!
The atmosphere was nice. If I had to summarize it in one word, it was cozy! Definitely felt like a mom and pop store. The floors were carpeted and the lighting had the same sort of tinge and brightness seen in some small kitchens of family homes. The chairs and sofas weren’t the really fancy ones, but were comfortable. And comfort is what matters the most!
I give it 3 stars mainly for small portions relative to the prices, not just for my ramen but for my friend’s expensive plate of assorted sashimi (sashimimori), and the feeling that the lemon wasn’t fresh.

Been coming here for years
I love the authenticity of the food here
The food is consistently great
And the service is quite good if sometimes slow
If you’re a small enough group I’d recommend sitting at the sushi bar
I always get the Gobo Ten (it’s not on the English menu) and daifuku for dessert

Located right on Park Avenue, the sushi is fresh and inventive. And yes, they actually have Japanese making the sushi!

PROS:
1. Atmosphere is warm relaxed. A good place for date night. Service is fast and friendly.
2. The food is delicious, but hurts the wallet! I’d have to say, I’d rather spend that dough at Kazu because their food is deemed better.
3. You can get little Asian candies/​chocolates at the cash on your way out. Which I definitely indulged in.
4. The one thing I loved the most was the strawberry mochi. MIAM!
CONS:
1. Expensive (Unless you get the Ramen) and portion sizes are teeny tiny. But quality over quantity right?
OVERALL:
–I would go back but It wouldn’t be my first choice like Kazu.
–Get the strawberry mochi!

Un des meilleurs bistro Japonnais de Montréal.
Je dois avouer qu’avant d’avoir l’avis d’une experte j’ai souvant été déçu par le Isakaya. Mais un jour la Lumière Fut… Merci Yuriko J !!!
Les plats les plus autentiques sont écrit à la main sur une feuille photocopié recto-​verso dans le menu. Le reste du menu est surtout composé de cuisine d’inspiration asiatique pour occidentaux.
Lors de ma dernière visite: gobo ten 6,75 $, sashimi de petoncle sauce miso 8,50 $, croquette de crabe 7 $ et Udon Tempura 10,95 $ (j’avais faim!!!) …
Sashimi de péroncle: deux gros pétoncles frais servie avec une sauce onctueuse au miso légèrement vinaigrée, algues et mince tranche de concombre. MIAAAAM !
Udon tempura: la pâte a tempura qui recouvrait les 3 crevettes et les 3 légumes était savoureuse mais pas aussé croquante. Mais pour le reste parfait.
Croquette de crabe: savoureuse, onctueuse… seul défaut elle sont trop petite.
Le gobo ten c’est un peu particulier. Certain aime d’autre non… moi j’aime!
Comme à mon habitude je fut au début systhématique… savourant chaque élément un à un… et à la fin comme un enfant j’ai tous mélangé pour tous gouter en même temps. :)
Ledécor pourait franchement être rafraichi.
Le service lui est toujours exellent. Si votre serveuse né parle pas français né vous inquièté pas il y en a d’autres qui maîtrise la bête dans le Resto… juste à demander.
En passant y a t’il quelqu’un qui peu m’expliquer pourquoi il y a un «m» à
la fin de faim ?
Pour ceux que ça intéresse!
Une des cerveuses est une véritable fan du Canadien. Et la je né parle pas d’une serveuse qui fait l’interessé pour avoir plus de $$$ …C’est une vrai fan. Elle connais les joueurs à son petit mots à dire sur les performance du CH…
Lors de ma dernière visite le CH avait encore perdu :(… mais la «mon chou on s’en fou» !

Got takeout from here several months ago and ate here with the family just last weekend. A very nice Japanese restaurant for the area. It’s a bit pricey from what I remember but the food is pretty worth it. Service was very slow though and there is one waitress there who I don’t particularly like. She seems very grumpy with an attitude. But nevertheless, I refused to allow that to stop me from enjoying my meal and good time. I had the salmon shogayaki and it was fantastic. It’s a great place for a date as well for all you lovebirds out there.

Don’t go there. The food is not bad, but it is waaaayy overpriced and the menu doesn’t have much selection. You can spend more than $ 35 on average Japanese food here and not even be full. For example, the crab cake is $ 7 and only comes with two small patties.

Isakaya is a hit ans miss kind of place. I’ve been here quite a few times and I have to say that 80% of the time the food is awesome but every now and then I’ve had so so food. I think this maybe when to cook has a day off or is on vacation.
Isakaya is a family run restaurant most of the wait staff and kitchen staff are related giving it a nice ambiance. You may not feel the family vibe the first time you go but once you go two or three times you’ll start to feel it.
I find the sushi to be good, not the best ever but very good. The dishes I prefer here are the unagi pie and the black cod. If you happen to come on a day when the main cook is on duty then you wont be disappointed. To tell the truth it’s worth taking the chance because even if you don’t go on a day when the main chef is in the food will still be pretty good.
Isakaya is worth a try.

Went here for my birthday for my birthday!!!
wasn’t my first time, and i ate so much… and a bit on the pricey side…
ok I don’t think this place is very authentic Japanese, there might be some fusion at play here…
One dish I thought was interesting it the eel puff pastry pie with teriyaki sauce, which looks great on the menu, actual reality? bit sweet, original yet not as satisfying as you would think, different but not necessarily amazing…
The fish is fresh, but the sushi and rolls seem uninspired, nothing so good that you go crazy for…
they have chawanmushi, which is made with steamed egg lightly beaten egg with broth, and they put seafood and mushrooms in it, it’s soft and warm, very soothing and mild, it might be too subtle for some. definitely an accustomed taste but i like it :)
The pop corn shrimp is tasty, lightly battered and fried coated with a light and spicy mayo sacue, delish.
The Lamb is very well executed, i asked for medium, and it was just right, and well caramelized with miso sauce, just right. Did I say i love miso?
Teriyaki chicken was a no no, really are we at a chinese take out window and odered chicken teriyaki? because that’s what it tasted like…
The miso soup was exeptional, hit the spot for me, it is such a simple soup, but hard to pull off. This one as you sip it, the flavor develops depth where you sense other base ingredients coming through… for me that’s good…
I would have given this place 4 stars, except it was more pricey than it’s worth and the chicken teriyaki was unforgiveable, so yeah 3 stars: P

Delicious black cod!

This is our favorite Japanese Resto in MTL!!!

I don’t know where Jennifer R L here below ate, but it was NOT at Isakaya. This restaurant serves Japanese cuisine, and certainly not Italian fares…
Anyhow…, for those that are interested in a more realistic review, this restaurant serves amazing food. Probably the best Japanese in the city, considering that their dishes are closer to traditional fares than the common Sushi Shop crap most are familiar with. Fish and seafood are fresh and well seasoned. Dishes are tasty and pleasing to the eye. I especially love their horse maquerel, «saumon brûlé» nigiri and yakitoris :)
As you come in, don’t be fooled by the décor… The staff/​owners are super friendly and prices are reasonable for the quality of products served. Tell them you wish to experiement, you will not regret it!

We have been to a lot of Japanese restaurants around the world and I have to say that this place is only average… The prices are high compared to other places I have been to (although I don’t know how expensive it compares to other Japanese places in Montréal) and the food is only so-​so. We ordered off the lunch special, I got a lamb on rice dish and my boyfriend got a chicken teriyaki. There were only 2 small strips of lamb and the rice tasted as if someone dumped an entire container of ground pepper on it… The chicken teriyaki looked like boiled chicken breast with an entire bottle of teriyaki sauce dumped on it… The lunch dishes came win either miso soup or salad or noodle soup and dessert. We picked the salad and it was nothing special, the dessert was just fruits soaked in sugar water…