The northside doesn't have a ton of choice when it comes to Japanese food, let alone good Japanese food. So imagine my surprise when Gintaro opened up shop in the middle of Caernarvon last winter. Could this new Japanese restaurant be the answer to my prayers?
We've ordered takeout from Gintaro about 4-5 times before I actually dined in. Takeout is usually not the best representation of a restaurant but from what we've tried, Gintaro is great! Very, very solid Japanese food at a reasonable price. Probably our new go-to.
The restaurant, like I mentioned earlier, is located in the middle of a strip mall in Caernarvon. It's a decent sized place with a mix of booths and tables. Service is super friendly and food comes out in quick succession.
We started off with an order of assorted sashimi ($30.00), 15 pieces chosen by the chef. I think our order included salmon, sockeye salmon, hamachi, red tuna, albacore tuna, scallop, amaebi, surf clam, and octopus. From the pieces I tried, the fish was decently fresh. Nice presentation too.
Always a fan of ika sugayaki ($15.00), grilled whole squid with veggies and special sauce. The squid is chewy but tender with a good char. I only wished that there was more sauce to dip into.
We also really enjoyed the assorted tempura ($12.00). It comes with 4 pieces of prawn and 6 assorted veggies. The batter is light and really crispy. For the price, it's a great deal.
Onto the sushi rolls, we tried the aburi salmon ($15.00) first. This had cream cheese, avocado, and crab meat on the inside, with torched salmon and tobiko on top. Rolls are well-constructed here. Not too much rice and a good size. Not too big and not too small. I would probably ask to omit the cream cheese next time but it was still pretty good.
Our favourite roll is the rock n roll ($16.00) with tamago, avocado, crab meat, unagi, salmon, potato flakes, and tobiko. The potato flakes add a nice crunch to break up the soft and creamy textures. Even though there's a ton of sushi rolls on the menu, we always make sure to order this one.
We also tried the black pearl ($19.00) for the first time. This is one of their pressed sushi with seared BBQ eel, cucumber, tobiko, and eel sauce. This was okay. Just nothing more than eel on rice. Would probably try a different kind next time.
Gintaro also fries a mean katsu! We usually order the regular donkatsu, but since we were dining in, we tried the cheese katsu ($18.00). Deep fried layers of pork with cheese, salad, miso soup and rice. Dining in means you get a good, fresh cheese pull. It's a lot of cheese so it's a dish best for sharing. I find their breading really good. Nice and flaky. Also, shout out to their homemade salad dressing. We love it so much that we sometimes just order the green salad on its own.
Always reliable and solid. I'm probably due for a visit soon.
Gintaro Japanese Restaurant
11850 145 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB
(780) 473-8300
- CT
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