Dining Out: One Asian barbecue eatery excels, while another flops

On Elgin Street, Kyoto Yakitori serves skewers of grilled meat, while Takumi BBQ is a grill-it-yourself Chinese eatery on Merivale Road.

Published Apr 19, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 4 minute read

Zucchini, king oyster mushrooms and thinly sliced marinated lamb shoulder on a table top grill at Takumi BBQ restaurant on Merivale Road Photo by Peter Hum /ottTakumi BBQ

956 Merivale Rd., 343-588-0873, takumibbq.wordpress.com
Open: Thursday to Monday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday 3 to 9 p.m., closed Wednesday
Prices: platters of meat $18.99 to $20.99
Access: steps to front door, washrooms downstairs

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Kyoto Yakitori

3-280 Elgin St., 613-695-1300
Open: Tuesday to Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday, Saturday 5 to 11 p.m., Sunday 5 to 9 p.m., closed Monday
Prices: most skewers between $7 and $10
Access: no steps to front door or washrooms

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In China’s northeastern Dongbei region, the locals love barbecuing so much that the Dongbei diet, according to one quip, consists of three barbecues a day. Where do I sign up for that?

Meanwhile, in Japan, chefs have elevated yakitori — the grilling of skewered meats, and especially chicken, over charcoal — to a high art. Years ago, I treated myself to a Michelin-starred yakitori dinner in New York, and the sophistication and flavours on display were revelations.

The good news in Ottawa: Dongbei-style barbecue is well-represented at Takumi BBQ, a modest but impressive eatery on Merivale Road near Carling Avenue. The bad news: Kyoto Yakitori on Elgin Street is not doing yakitori any favours.

At least, those are the conclusions I’ve drawn from several recent dinners.

Takumi is an attractive, woody, casual place with about 34 seats, although this year-old eatery will soon expand to take over the other half of its stand-alone building, which happens to have its own small parking lot.

Butane canister-powered grills are recessed into Takumi’s tables for four and six. Clients equipped with tongs cook their choices from the menu, which range from thinly sliced red meats, some of which are halal, to more recherché off-cuts to bits of seafood to sliced mushrooms and other vegetables.

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The dining room at Takumi BBQ restaurant on Merivale Road Photo by Peter Hum /ott

At two dinners, the thinly sliced lamb shoulder, pork belly, beef and duck breast were nicely marinated and of high quality. They were easily grilled, and the restaurant’s attentive owner offered coaching and tips so that we soon felt like Dongbei locals. Each grill comes with a powerful fan in a long tube mounted above it, which keeps the spread of cooking smells and fats to a minimum.

Beef grills on the table-top grill at Takumi BBQ on Merivale Road, while (bottom left to right)strips of pork belly with cabbage, duck breast and enoki mushrooms await their turn. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

Once our morsels of meat were cooked, we placed them on thin, supple pancakes or large, fresh, almost minty perilla leaves. Then we garnished them with house-made sauces, which were sesame-, chili- and soy-based, as well as a complex spice blend that was cumin- and nut-based. Bits of raw garlic, jalapeno pepper and kimchi — eastern Dongbei borders North Korea — added more assertive punches of flavour, not that they were needed.

lamb shoulder do-it-yourself Chinese pancake wrap at Takumi BBQ restaurant on Merivale Road Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA Condiments at Takumi BBQ restaurant on Merivale Road, including soy sauce, sesame sauce, ground cumin and chili paste. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

Eating at Takumi was as economical as it was quick and enjoyable. Not only were the platters of ingredients generous, sauces were free to start and so were refills. Carafes of hot, refreshing barley tea were also on the house.

While we got a good feel for what Takumi offers, the menu teemed with other choices such as beef aorta and pig intestines. We felt that on future visits, we could either dine more adventurously or stick to our favourites, because every bite was basically customized by condiments and add-ons.

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Kyoto Yakitori, which opened earlier this year, was also easy on our wallets. But in most other ways, this tiny, no-frills Elgin Street restaurant let us down.

Grilled items at Kyoto Yakitori on Elgin Street Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

If only its skewered meats and seafoods had been as tasty and expertly grilled as they were reasonably priced. Best was a serving of ribeye beef chunks. But other items were either under-grilled or under-seasoned or both, and the dipping sauce and salt on the side did little to redeem the food.

Skewered chicken wings and chicken skin were just OK. Chicken thighs with green onion should have been a juicy, delicious highlight, but the meat had a distressingly off-putting taste that left us wincing. Eggplant and the bacon that wrapped some under-seasoned scallops were undercooked. Skewered octopus was rubbery and had a bad, lingering aftertaste.

Grilled chicken thighs at Kyoto Yakitori on Elgin Street Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

Miso soup with clams was lukewarm and my first clam was a little gritty, sufficiently so that it discouraged further sampling.

Miso soup with clams at Kyoto Yakitori on Elgin Street Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

Thankfully, Japanese whisky and beer were available to drown our culinary sorrows. Service was fine and solicitous, and we were even offered a free salad to start and a free dessert. We accepted the former, and it was fine, but we declined the latter, after having lost our appetites.

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I wasn’t expecting transcendent, Michelin star-level yakitori from the Elgin Street eatery. After all, Torishin in New York charges USD$190 for its tasting menu, while two of us dined at Kyoto Yakitori for basically half of that. But I’ve also had quite fine yakitori at Kintori Yakitori in Toronto, where its chicken skewers are roughly twice the price of what Kyoto Yakitori charges. Maybe Kyoto Yakitori needs to raise its prices as well as the quality of its ingredients and cooking.

Prices aside, there was simply the promise of the large photo of skewered meat beside Kyoto Yakitori’s front door. The yakitori in that photo looked more appetizing than what we received, and could serve as an example for the kitchen.

Until I hear that Kyoto Yakitori has improved its grilling game, I’ll stick to doing the barbecuing myself at Takumi BBQ.

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