When a coworker suggested meeting at Nomé Izakaya for a team get together, it was a brilliant recommendation. After all, in Japan, an izakaya is often the place where groups meet after work for small plates and rounds of drinks before heading home. It’s an environment that you can be loud and getting things to share is a must.

After sampling two of their salmon rolls, I found them so similar that it’s difficult to distinguish between. Both the apple salmon roll ($19.80) and the seared salmon roll ($20.80) are encased in the fish with cucumber, avocado, asparagus, and crab meat salad on the centre. Where the difference lies are a few ingredients: the apple salmon including julienned apple and onion, while the seared salmon features cream cheese, coleslaw, and a host of other condiments. Both were freshly made, stuffed with fillings, and potentially the seared salmon having a slight edge with the plethora of sauces used to add interest.

For those who are squeamish about raw fish, Nomé Izakaya’s extensive menu offers tons of cooked dishes. Their chicken wings ($14.80 for a lb) were a hit with a shatteringly crispy crust and juicy interior having been wet-brined in soy sauce-based marinade. They were flavourful enough naked, but a hit of the spicy honey garlic made it even better.

The Japa-burgers ($17.80 for 3; extra piece for $5.90) are akin to a smashed burger slider with tomato, lettuce, onion, barbeque sauce, and a garlic mayonnaise. Interestingly, they toast the bottom of the bun so it resists getting soggy – I like it crispier so this was perfect for me, but I can see those who like a super soft bun finding this to be a drag.

While the sliders were delicious, there wasn’t really anything “Japanese” about them. I would have liked a more pronounce sauce (perhaps subbing teriyaki for the barbeque) and more Japanese ingredients (slivers of toasted nori in lieu of the lettuce) to differentiate the burgers.  

Dive into the mac & cheese ($15.80) upon arrival as it’s so gooey and rich when it’s hot out of the oven. Diced bell pepper, onion, and bacon are mixed throughout to give it interest (shrimp and scallops are also available, we eliminated these to accommodate an allergy). I didn’t expect an izakaya to make such a stellar pasta, but this rivaled many Southern joints.

The bulgogi tacos ($18.80 for 3; extra piece for $5.90) were large and filling but missed the mark. Firstly, the beef was the ground variety rather than shaved, which detracts from the bulgogi feel of the dish. Moreover, the menu mentions a host of toppings - lettuce, onion, fresh jalapeño, kimchi, Japanese beni shoga, garlic mayonnaise, spicy salsa, and furikake – but really what stood out the most was just a lot of mayo. Being a heavier taco, it really could have benefited from kimchi (mine contained none) and a fresher element like green onion.

If anything, a crispy pork belly ($12.50) taco would be a tastier dish. On its own, the slices of deep-fried braised pork belly were melt-in-your-mouth good but would benefit from a crispier crust to give the dish more contrast. It’s served with a generous squeeze of seaweed paste, which looks amazing but doesn’t offer much flavour, along with fresh scallions. They’re tasty to munch on but a couple of slices wrapped in a soft tortilla with a mango slaw and a stronger condiment would be incredible.

While izakaya’s are about sharing, if you’re a hands-off-my-food type of person the aburi salmon donburi ($16.80) would be the ideal choice for a single person. The small bowl of sushi rice was topped with a generous portion of diced seared salmon, aburi sauce (a mayonnaise-based condiment), shredded salad greens, red onions, and a raw egg yolk. It was flavourful and works as a complete meal for one.

But truthfully, most of the fun about visiting an izakaya is going with a larger group and letting go of niceties and just allowing yourself to be boisterous. At an izakaya, sharing is caring. 

Do you have a favourite neighbourhood restaurant? It’s that place you head out to for an impromptu meal, somewhere that offers a solid menu with reasonable prices, and you know you can likely score a table without waiting too long. The food may not be Michelin quality, but you’re usually not disappointed, and the menu’s varied enough that you’ll find something to eat. If I lived in the Yonge and Eglinton area, Wild Chicory could be one of those favourite local haunts.

Their menu is extensive, with several starters that would work well as “tapas” or even act as a main with a side dish, for nights when you don’t have a big appetite. The flavours of the Seoul chicken ($16) were decent – a combination of sweet, sour, and spicy – but could use more gochujang for heat and less rice vinegar as it was a tad tart for my taste. Crispy and juicy, these would have been even better if it arrived hotter.

My husband hypothesized that the chicken likely got cold as they were waiting on the rice nuggets in the crispy pork belly ($17). Indeed, they were searingly hot, very crunchy and addicting – the best part of the dish. Disappointingly, the pork belly wasn’t actually crispy. Perhaps it’s because the big chunks of meat are difficult to render and the dish would be better served as slices so there’s a larger surface area. More likely, there could just be too much hoisin sauce covering everything, which I did find overpowering and would have worked better smeared on the plate so diners can adjust the amount they want on the pork.

The problem with such strong-tasting starters is that the mains feel bland in comparison. A special that evening was the beef rib ($28) that was prepared to tender but not too soft. However, a thick piece of beef needs liberal seasoning to permeate into the meat. When I was having it au natural, it tasted plain. Luckily, the dish did come with a creamy sweet corn bisque and barbeque sauce, two things to dunk the beef into. What impressed me most were the sides, a light creamy potato salad that was bursting with flavours and a crispy and fresh coleslaw.

In the coast to coast ($38), only the scallops were seasoned perfectly, the bit of salt enhancing the beautifully crusted seafood that arrive just cooked through. The salmon was okay, not overly flavourful but at least had a lovely crispy skin. If it was done a touch less it’d be even better since the dish doesn’t come with a sauce and the fish tends to dry out quickly. Meanwhile, the leek and pea barley was too mild and so over powered by the lemon foam that it started having a bitter undertone. Perhaps, it could have been saved with salt.

Maybe I was lucky I didn’t finish the barley as it left me room to share Wild Chicory’s tiramisu ($12), it was delicious… the perfect balance of soaked lady fingers and mascarpone laced cream. Shaving chocolate on top was a nice touch, but I’d still add a touch of cocoa powder as its bitterness would better balance the dessert. Consequently, the tiramisu’s sweetness did go particularly well with an espresso martini ($17), which had a slight bitterness that diluted the sugariness.

Ah… an espresso martini, my go-to drink lately for elongating a meal to make it last a little longer. And time is what you have at Wild Chicory: you’re not being rushed to leave or warned about a two-hour seating limit. That’s how neighbourhood spots should be – walk-in, choose something new or order a favourite, and then just sit back and enjoy.