Nome Izakaya

Restaurants outside downtown Toronto are not my forte. Nothing against them but there's just not enough of ME to go around (I also blame the stupid traffic, can't get anywhere at a decent time.) It would be perfect if I can replicate myself - I would love to have one "me" in downtown, another "me" in midtown / uptown (i.e. anything north of Eglinton), a third "me" in the west-end and also a fourth "me" that just stays home for my Mom's cooking. Heck, spread me around the world (ok that sounds weird) but imagine the possibilities! Think of all the hidden gems in the world, all the food you can stuff your face with! Incredible. *SIGH* A girl can dream, right? 'Cause yeah these are totally the things I dream about. 

Sorry, I digress. Back to reality. Back to TORONTO. 

My foodie friend Alex (@tsangzillavs) introduced me to Nome Izakaya a couple of weeks back. Nome, on Yonge just north of Sheppard, is practically Alex's second home (helps that he lives two minutes away from it.) He's always there so this obviously peaked my interest. Izakaya? Midtown? Highly recommended by a fellow foodie? I'm down. Even if it meant driving (more like crawling) on the 401 doing 60 km/hr in the rain two Saturdays ago. OK I'm exaggerating. It wasn't that bad. But close enough.

From Nome's website:

"Nome Izakaya is a Japanese tapas restsaurant and lounge located at 4848 Yonge Street in Toronto. Specializing in the freshest sashimi delicacies and boasting the city's best oyster bar, Nome will surely impress you."

Once we sat down, I let Alex do all the ordering. It was a nice change :)

NIGORI SAKE ($19)

ONIKOROSHI JUNMAI ($35)

Which sake cup tickles your fancy?

OYSTERS

TAKOYAKI ($5.50)

Deep fried octopus ball served with tonkatsu sauce, mayo

TIGER SHRIMPS (EBI-MAYO) ($8.80)

Deep fried shrimp tempura with sweet chili mayo

MAGURO & AVOCADO TARTARE ($9.70)

Diced tuna sashimi and avocado, garlic oil, sea salt with a balsamic reduction sauce.

GRILLED BEEF TONGUE ($8.50)

Grilled beef tongue with green onion

WARA YAKI ($9.50)

Slightly seared salmon, smoked in house and served with sliced onion, sliced garlic and salt.

LOBSTER FANTASY ($18)

Deep fried lobster roll, cucumber, avocado topped with lobster salad. Served with grilled red pepper sauce (8pcs)

JAPA-BURGER ($8.80)

Nome's original homemade sliders made with sliced rib eye meat and topped with tomato, spring mix, onion, smokey bbq sauce and garlic seasoning

BAKED OYSTERS (KAKIMAYO) ($9.30)

Oven baked oyster with spinach cream sauce (4pcs) 

DESSERT TRIO

Creme brulee, chocolate covered deep fried banana, taro ice cream

I can see why Nome is such a popular spot in the neighbourhood; the restaurant was packed by the time we left. It's no doubt a very happening place - it has a great, hip vibe - there's even a live DJ on Friday and Saturday nights. Nome is a place you go with a couple of friends for drinks, a few munchies - a good alternative for those nearby who doesn't want to make the trek downtown. 

The food at Nome was decent. My favourites of the evening were the oysters, the ebi-mayo, the maguro & avocado tartare and the dessert trio (that taro ice cream is the best I've had.) The takoyaki and the kakimayo were a miss; both had too much filling and not enough octopus and oyster, respectively. The japa-burger was good but a bit more of that smokey bbq sauce would've been nice. The following point is not a big deal at all but aesthetically, I think it would be nice for Nome to switch it up with the plates once in awhile (they always used the long ones!) Just sayin' :D

Having said all that, if I lived in the area I would totally hit up Nome on Tuesdays for some $1 oysters! Check out some of their other amazing daily specials:

Monday - Japa-Burger + Saporro Pitcher = $20 OR Japa-Burger + Pint = $20

Tuesday + Wednesday - $1 Oysters

Thursday - Half Price Sangrias + $5 Cocktails

Friday - DJ Night + $5 Frozen Cocktails

Saturday - DJ Night + $3 Menu-Listed Shooters

Sunday - $1 Off Premium Oysters