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Aware of the giant waiting list that we’d probably face if we arrived any later, Benson and I went to Guu right at opening hour.  We were actually the first ones to arrive and be cheerfully welcomed by the lovely staff at the newest Toronto location, Guu SakaBar (in the Annex, right across Sonic Boom).  We sat in the zashiki room, shoes off. 

The moment you step in you can’t help but laugh, smile and just feel either comfortable (*or awkward, depending on how well you receive the restaurant staff yelling and saying hello to you in Japanese).  We tried a bunch of stuff off the menu and shared, since it’s pretty much tapas style dining.  The photo above is the Salmon Capriccio, which was our favourite dish of the evening.  It was off the daily special menu.  We also tried the baked oysters with spinach & cheese - and we just had to get a second round.  So good.  Also had the bacon/potato skewers and shrimp sashimi.  Least favourite (though still good) dishes were the scallop sashimi, and the rice burger with ginger pork.  I can’t quite remember what it was called, but Emily (our friendly and helpful server) suggested a very pretty & pink drink with rice wine and grenadine in it.  Benson had a macha & malibu drink, which he loved - but personally, I’m not a fan of coconuts.

The food and experience of eating at Guu was all-around enjoyable, up until the moment you leave (they all - and by all I mean, kitchen staff, servers, etc. bid you goodbye and thank you).  I would definitely go back there, probably to get some drinks and some food to munch on rather than enough for dinner.