i understand the whole Japanese ambiance thing.. but blasting music while you shout? It was also SOO DARK i couldn't even see what i was eating. Overall, i thought the food was tasteless and bland, really no bang for my buck. The "tea" was horrible. Probably 95% water and COLD. Disappointing.
The chairs were also wobbly, i couldn't even eat without feeling i was going to fall.

I LOVE this place! It's always so much fun!! Every single time we come here, we are exhilarated, curious and ravenous! First off, the menu is extremely unique and delicious, added along with the warm inviting atmosphere, you can't help but go back for more. From when you enter, sit down, eat, and leave, the chefs and the waitresses holler in Japanese at each other - it's hilarious. I can catch snippets of "Welcome", "If you please", "Table 4, 5, 7,8" , "Thank you very much", "No problem" with my small knowledge of Japanese. It's great! It's a noisy and cozy place but I don't mind it at all because it's all a part of the fantastic hip and happening ambiance of Guu. We often get seated at the bar, where we see the chefs in action. Our favorite scene is the engorged flame of the wok and the chef's handy flip work without dropping anything out of it, WOW! We've tried several dishes in our past 3 visits, but here's few worth mentioning: Japanese Pickled Rice, Grilled Chicken Wings, Sweet Potato Croquette, Grilled Beef Tongue and Deep-fried Prawns. The Rice is filling and yummy, the wings are tangy and spicy, the sweet potato croquette melts in your mouth and leaves a warm tingly feeling, the beef tongue is delicious and the prawns huge and mouthwatering!! Our favorite so far is EVERYTHING!! We found that around 5 or 6 of their tapa style dishes are pretty good for 2 people, but every time I see an order go out from the bar, I'm always curious what it is and want to order it even though I'm full from my own dishes! The food usually comes fast so no worries if the wait to get into the restaurant is around 15-20 minutes even on a Tuesday evening at 9:30pm! We've tried to go around 5:30 or 7pm before and it's always the same wait, but once you get in, you'll be addicted for sure!! =)

We've been regulars for years at this location. This place gets busier every time.

Food was great, we always have the assorted Oden (broth with assortment of Japanese fish cakes, eggs, radish). Recently, they had Ahi Tuna on the special menu and I have to say it's better than some of the mainstream restaurants. It's cooked just right. The best part was, it was $8 (other restaurants charge more than $20 for the same portion).

If you don't want to wait, go right at 5:30pm when they're open for dinner.

if you want cali rolls or bc rolls, this place does not serve them but that doesnt mean its a bad thing either.
wanted to try something "different" so we came here when it opens at 5:30pm and we arrived a little earlier than that. surprisely, there was already a line up to get in and fortunately for us, we were one of the last couples to get through the door.
the menu is basically all tapa-based so my gf and i ordered a wide variety of dishes and with all honesty, everything tasted great.. their food is packed with flavor, i can see why people enjoy eating here so much!
our waitress was sweet but forgetful, she didnt remember to fill up our waters when we asked and didnt bring our bill when we wanted it but the fact that she was very polite made it easy to overlook those things..
the atmosphere is very loud, everyone is talking and not to mention how everytime a customer leaves, the staff perform some cheer in japanese... kinda entertaining at first but its overdone after 10 or so people leave the store.
no real complaints here, would certainly love to dine here again but i would wanna try the other Guu restaurants and see how this place compares with the others

We loved it. An authentic Japanese Izakaya.

The other reviews were right about the noise. But this was fun and part of the atmosphere.

The food was great. We sat at the bar and watched them make everything.

The servers were nice and worked hard.

We were lucky and didn't have any lines to deal with.

The only bad things I could say, is I could have eaten more, as the dishes are small. It's not expensive, but it's not cheap either.

We enjoyed ourselves.

Want to try something different? Go to Guu's! They don't really have sushi, but their fusion menu is just absolutely incredible! I can never remember what I ate there b/c I always order diff. things each time I go.... This is the kind of place where you cannot remember the dishes' names (because the talented chefs create their own dishes where you will not find in other typical Jap restaurants) but you will definitely remember the great experience!!

This is my second time at Guu, the first time we went was the Robson location near Denman Street. This time we went to the Thurlow location.
They don’t accept reservations for 2 people so go earlier. We waited 10 minutes and we were asked if we would sit in a shared table; we agreed.
The place was very small although the bar seated more people than the location in Robson. It was very noisy too. Our server did a pretty good job, even though the place was jam packed.
We ordered 7 dishes:
Chopped Fresh Tuna Sashimi and green onion, it was more minced tuna and came with some seaweed so you can roll it yourself. The flavour was very pleasant and not fishy at all; the green onion added the punch that wasabi adds to sushi.
Fresh Beef Sashimi Calpaccio, the beef was not entirely raw. It was actually quickly seared on both sides, thinly sliced and place on the plate like rose petals. The combination of the sauces and the beef made it a well balance dish.
Fresh local Seafood Sashimi Calpaccio, the seafood was very fresh although I wouldn’t order it next time. This one was a not a good value at all. For the money I could order 6 pieces of salmon sashimi.
Grilled Black Cod with Miso Mayo, the black cod was cooked to perfection and the miso mayo was the perfect companion.
Grilled Beef Tongue with Salt & Pepper, the tongue was perfect, very tender and not chewy at all. This is one my favourite dishes. But somehow the Robson location had much better flavour.
Kimchi Fried Rice, as a Chinese-Latino, I had my shared experiences in the art of eating fried rice, and I tell you it was really good. It came with ham bits and it was not too spicy at all.
And from the special menu of the day, we had the Deep Fried Pork Stomach, the pork pieces came inserted in skewers and it tasted like one of the best Chinese Roasted Pig.
Overall, both places exceed my expectations and no doubt I will come again and try the other delicacies in the menu.

I brought some out-of-town friends here for a quick meal on Canada Day and we were all quite impressed. The food was tasty and nicely presented. We were very happy with the marinated eggplant and the calimari. The oden was also very tasty and adding additional items into it wasn't expensive at all.
During ordering the waitress yelled out a few of the items to thek kitchen. I could take or leave that aspect but it's all part of the ambiance. Service was friendly and fast.
We spent about $10 a person (not super stuffed, but comfortable feeling). If you're really hungry then you could potentially break the bank eating here to stuff yourself silly but I suggest saving some room for a dessert crepe down the street to finish off a great meal.
Affordable and tasty - I like!

This is always a very crowded restaurant and they wont take reservation unless you are going after 10pm. So you have to be patient to wait outside, which normally will take at least half an hour. All the servers are so nice. Food is good but not too many options thou. Not recommend for big party ^.^

The bacon asparagus roll and panfried bacon mushroom roll are so good. But the best part is the fried udon! Dont miss it. We didnt order any drink and the bill surprised us as it is only $24 per person that we are so full without any space left for dessert. And there is still full of people waiting when we left at 10pm.

and lots of 'em! Felt like they were hovering around us, took away our dishes before we were done. Food was mostly good. You have to know what to order. The assorted carpaccio was GOOD! The prawns and calamari were very good! The pumpkin croquette was good in a weird kinda way. Wouldn't order it again. The steamed mussels were quite bland, the cabbage roll tasted like it was stuffed with SPAM and the pickled veggies in rice wasn't good. The rice was hard and crunchy (stale crunchy). Loved the atmosphere. It's loud, fun and everyone around you is having a good time.