Imadake

Another new izakaya in Montreal! Imadake is situated on the same street as Kazu. They are actually not far from each other, so if one day, you really crave for japanese izakaya food, and you are afraid that the queue for Kazu is too long, Imadake may be an interesting alternative.

This day, my friend and I decided to try Imadake, yes for my birthday again! We thought that since this izakaya was new, we probably didn't need to reserve. Surprisingly, the restaurant was very full! So maybe next time, it's better to call for reservation first! In general, izakaya serves more appetizers than main courses. The concept of izakaya is like bars in the Western culture. You go there to have a drink with friends, so food like tapas are designed to be shared. We ordered many appetizers to share together to enjoy a "real izakaya time"!

Imadake has an open kitchen, which I like because you get to see how the chefs are busy preparing your food, the smell that comes directly to your nose intensifies your appetite, and more importantly, the restaurant is forced to keep the kitchen clean! heheheh

Look! The chef responsible of the grill is so busy!
Black cod is one of the specialties of Imadake. It is one of the BEST cooked fish I have had in my life! It is cooked PERFECTLY! If I could recommend only one dish, this would definitely be the one! It is marinated with miso, allowing a lightly sweet taste and the texture of the fish is not dry at all, very very smooth. Truly impeccable!
Beef tataki. Outside grilled, the middle is raw. Some oil, some sauce, a tiny sour, a tiny spicy, served with green onion. Taste is very good.
Grilled chicken skin. My expectation was very high for this dish since this is a very famous appetizer in Japan. Unfortunately, this was simply deep fried. It tasted like the Chinese deep fried fish skin.
Cow tongue. This is grilled. The texture is different from what I remember I have tasted in Hong Kong, this one is smoother. I personnally find this appetizer looks more like a Vietnamese meal hahaha Nevertheless, the taste was wonderful!
Takoyaki. Another famous snack from Japan. It is a flour ball with a piece of octopus inside. I believe this one was also deep fried, so the outside is more dry than what it should be. Otherwise, the taste comes mainly from the brown sauce and the mayonnaise, so takoyaki tastes almost the same in all restaurants.
Unagi canape is a specialty that I do not recommend. There is nothing special about it. A piece of rice cake deep fried topped with a light mayonnaise-like sauce, avocado, unagi (eel) and cucomber. It was dry to me. Nothing impressive.
Lastly, we ordered 2 desserts. Green tea cheesecake looks better than it tastes. The taste of green tea was subtle..too subtle we could barely taste it. The strawberry sirop was also too strong and hid the green tea even more.
Black sesame ice cream was all right. It was not my first time having this ice cream so I was not as amazed as my friend was.

Bigger than Kazu, Imadake provides a very comfortable and nice ambiance. Since it is darker, you feel like you are eating in a Japanese style bar. It is a place that I recommend to all of you!

4006 St. Catherine St. West
Montreal, Quebec
H3Z 1P2

(514) 931-8833