Kinome Japanese Kitchen

Went for their omakase. Had never heard of them and after reading reviews on here was a bit wary that they were benefitting from good press (globe and Mail best new resto article). However it was a stellar value for money ($ 70). We also had the sake pairing ($ 50).
ambiance — Kinome benefits from a very charismatic sous chef that is engaging with customers, So sitting at the bar feels interactive. It became a fun night. Otherwise unremarkable décor
Food– the omakase was innovative. Less flashy than zest but with the same style. (I thought this both tasted better and had better value than zest). This was not like octopus garden’s omakase.
Only 1 small sashimi course and the rest were prepped dishes. We actually got cod sperm sac shooter as one of the courses. It tasted good as long as you didn’t think about what you were eating. We ended up getting extras dished to try and the staff also made some freebies for us to try since we were really into it.
Sake– great value for $ 50. The service for the sake pairing was notably unstructured. I don’t believe they actually have a sake pairing so they were tasting and contemplating it for us as we went. Amazing sakes. And for those hesitant with sake due to the ‘nail polish remover burn’ rest assure not one had this issue. A good selection ranging from ones with floral noses to those with minimal bouquet. It was fun and a phenomenal deal for sake. If you drink sake you know how pricy decent sake can be at restaurants.
All in all, go there if you can consider this price point a fun date night and not a special occasion price point. The service is genuine but not white table cloth style so there is no pomp. Go on a day that you feel like having fun and interacting with staff while sitting at the bar. It’ll be significantly more Meaningful for your experience.

Avoid this place like the plague. Just got back from this place 20 minutes ago and I am posting only my second review ever on Unilocal.I feel like its my public duty to warn others about this place as the Globe and Mail recently had a positive review of this place. This was the worst restaurant experience of my entire life.
The décor is drab and depressing. Olive green painted walls, no art and cheap hanging pendant lights. We ordered two dishes and they did not arrive for 30 minutes. The waitress tried to explain that the chef was busy — there were a handful of people in the restaurant and those that came after us already had their entrees.
Shitaake mushrooms — three on a plate. Cold with some miso sauce on top. Horrible. Dried squid. Couldn’t even chew it — not fit for a dog. This place is supposed to be popular because of its handmade soba noodles. If you like dipping noodles in a cold soy sauce, this is your place. The service was horrible and the food was worse. Don’t accept the other reviews. We go to many Japanese restaurants and this was the worst place we have ever been to. At the end of the night they offered us a 10% discount. It ruined our night and we came home hungry, upset and dissapointed. Stay away!

Their food is delicious but be prepared to wait… for everything. Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time or else you won’t be getting a table anytime soon because it’s a very small restaurant. I wouldn’t recommend any large parties either. We made reservations on a weeknight at 7:30 for 2 and were seated shortly after a bit of confusion from the servers who greeted us… seemed like they couldn’t figure out where to seat us.
The servers are very friendly but lack training probably because the restaurant is still relatively new. Our tea was never refilled for the entire 2+hrs we were there (yes 2 whole hours). Food came at a snail’s pace… we ordered grass the fed organic beef tataki, calamari kara-​age, dashi egg omelette, miso marinated Berkshire pork, wild black cod & burdock Kara-​age, kamo seiro soba and matcha parfait.
We didn’t receive any food for the first hour we were there… sitting around waiting for an hour staring at other people eat is possibly the worst torture when you’re starving.
The beef tataki was good, the meat tasted fresh and tender. Nothing too special about the calamari… it was perfectly fried and crispy. The miso marinated Berkshire pork reminded me of chinese bbq pork with a miso marinade… it was super tender and moist. The highlight was the black cod & burdock kara-​age, it was perfectly cooked… the fish was fluffy and moist and the skin was really crunchy! Probably the more disappointing dish was the kamo seiro soba. The duck pieces that came with the dipping sauce was really tough and hard to chew. The dipping sauce was good but way too salty and also the noodle portion is a bit lacking. The dashi egg omelette was also a bit too wet for my liking… it barely held together but was still a tasty dish… it says on the menu that it takes 10mins to prepare but it came dead last on the 2hr mark of our dining experience. To end off our dinner we had a delicious matcha parfait. All in all the food was good but the servers weren’t very attentive and the food arrived way too slow. It’s definitely worth a try but i’m not sure i’ll be going back anytime soon unless i have another 2 – 3 hours to kill waiting for food.

4 stars for the dashi omelette and service.
The handmade soba was just ok, I didn’t find much complexity in the duck dipping broth. «I’ve had better». Namely, in Seattle at Miyabi.
The black cod karrage was just ok, small pieces and not quite as rich as I was expecting.
The wild eel sushi was disappointing, cold and bland for 6 pieces at $ 15.
The beef tongue salad was good, a few pieces slightly overcooked but the seasoning was good.
The udon with temoura bits was too bland for me, but the noodles were good.

Best restaurant in the city in my opinion. I’ve been waiting a long time for a Japanese place in this city that so closely represents what one would expect of fine dining in Japan. All the most amazing flavours are in play. Been twice and am now addicted. Only complaint is the lack of on-​line reservations given how busy it gets.

I came here a second time at 8pm (first time was at 5:30pm) — and boy does the 2.5 hour make a difference. When we got here they were already out of all of their soba noodles and most of their specials of the day. We were quite disappointed as we really wanted their soba noodle. They were also a full house and it took a long time for the food to come out. Other than that, the food was still as awesome as before. Next time, we are definitely coming earlier (when they are not that busy and when they still have most of their menu items).
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A newly opened izakaya in the kitsilano area. We were very excited to try this place because we were told by some friends that the food was good. Make sure to reserve ahead of time — we phoned on two separate occasions on the day of and were told that they were full both times. After trying it, we were not disappointed.
Their food is a refreshing difference from the other izakayas (eg Gu’u, Zakkushi). My favourite dishes here were the chicken karaage, kale and shrimp kakiage and kale and asparagus kakiage. Their kale and shrimp kakiage is a unique izakaya dish that is not offered at other izakaya places. Their chicken karaage is fried very well — crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
We also got their zaru soba. It was cool how they brought a teapot of hot water for us to pour into the soba sauce to sip as soup after we were done our soba noodles. Apparently, this is how people finish their soba noodles and sauce in Japan!
I would definitely recommend this place to friends. I can’t wait to come back again!

Nice and authentic, server are friendly, shop is clean, food is delicious.
Portion is very small, this place is meant for friends to hang out, drinking wine and beer, while having some small munchies to pass time.
Kitchen is not exactly fast too, but once again, you should not be here if you are just looking to grab a quick, filling meal.
Don’t come here expecting a hearty meal, it’s all about savouring the delicate cuisine and wine, while spend some quality time with friends.

I was here with a large party for a birthday, and we all ordered the omakase which was $ 50 a person.
All of the dishes were fresh tasting, and it was obvious that the ingredients were of a high quality. Negitoro was perfect: I especially liked the ikura and snow crab rice. The homemade yakisoba were fresh.
Service was excellent. No complaints on that end.
There is no air conditioning so it got really stuffy inside, but that’s minor.
Would return again.

I lived in Tokyo for many years and still visit 1 – 3 times each year. My wife (who is Japanese) and I are hard core foodies and grow a lot of unusual herbs including many from Japan. So we are a bit picky about Japanese food. We used to go to the previous restaurant at this location (Dan) and enjoyed it as a less expensive alternative to Zest. My wife dropped in soon after Kinome opened and was not blown away, so we did not get back until last week. The kitchen seems to be finding its feet. The food uses really good local ingredients, is well prepared and interesting. The guys cooking know what they want to do. Floor staff could be a bit more into the details of the food. I have a gut feeling that the guys cooking could take this a long way and that in five years this will be one of the top restaurants in the city. If you like local, get Japanese food, and want to follow some young people who may just be the real deal you should try this one. I plan to go back regularly. And fortunately this is not one of those places that thinks it cool to stuff random things into a roll and give it a funky name. And it does not slather Kewpie mayo on everything or try to invent new versions of teriyaki sauce. Good clean flavours. Technically probably still a four star but I have great hope for this place.

Great! Very authentic and good quality Japanese. My girl friend is Japanese and has a high standard when it comes to her countries food and kinome delivered! Thanks for looking after us

It was a Friday, we went to this place with one of our friend. He recommended this place for it’s great review from other food review website and it’s fresh opening in the area. This restaurant was a small revenue with a few tables and sushi bar at it’s center. We were quickly seated when we arrived and ordered a few dishes from the menu. We ordered quite a few dishes and I would only list a few of them for my review (we ordered lots… sashimi special, chicken karaage, chopped kale & prawn kakiage tempura… etc.). The sashimi special was good but the portion size was a rip –off to me. The fish pieces were the size of my pinky, 3 pieces for each fish, 12 pieces in total. I was not impress and I was not looking forward for the rest of the dishes. The chicken karaage was a bit over-​fry but still eatable (luckily the parsley mayo sauce saves the dish). Lastly, the worse, kale & prawn kakiage tempura. The dishes was good with its presentation, but the texture of the dishes was like eating glass. The dish was under seasoned and sadly, I could not even tasted the freshness of the prawn. As for the rest of dishes it was great in presentation but lack of favors. The service was not good either. The waitress were new to the business and lack of the social skill to most of the restaurants. I only recommend this place if you try to impress someone but leave them to hunger for the rest of the night.

Newly opened Japanese spot in Kits which prides itself on local and organic ingredients. The menu is very different from other Japanese restaurants in the city. They also have a seasonal menu along with the regular one. Most of the dishes are tapas style. So small portions and you’ll have to order 3 – 4 plates per person. 5 – 6 if you are really hungry. The service is a bit slow, but again its not a fast food place. Everything is made fresh. Also make a reservation as the place fills up pretty fast. Bit on the pricey side, but its organic grass fed meat blah blah… so its understandable.
Food: Really good
Service :Very Polite & Friendly, But a bit slow
Ambiance: Casual
Worth the price: Yes