New location is more laid-back than downtown, serving the same delicious menu items at reasonable prices
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Justin and Lea Ault recently opened their second Hapa Izakaya in Kitsilano. The first, an all-out success story, opened on Robson Street four years ago. Photograph by : Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun
When I reach Justin Ault on his cellphone, he’s plane-hopping in Hawaii. While there, he was reminded –as many travellers are — of Vancouver’s restaurant prowess.
He and wife, Lea, who run Vancouver’s Hapa Izakaya, had checked out Hawaii’s best restaurants only to be reminded of how good they have it back home.
“When you pay $42 for an entree, you expect something pretty good but we find it’s over-priced. We’ve yet to be wowed. We’ve paid $150 for a meal that we’d pay $75 for in Vancouver and enjoyed it more back home. The fact that it’s a tourist destination is no excuse,” he says.
The Aults recently opened their second Hapa Izakaya. The first, an all-out success story, opened on Robson Street four years ago, one of the first hip izakayas where there’s no sushi or tempura to be seen; instead, there’s a lot of creative, small plate dishes, styled after the casual after-work beer with some food spots in Japan. Their new one is in Kits, joining a chic boomlet of new restaurants like Fuel, Gastropod and Bistrot Bistro. It’s in a step-down space done up in dark browns and blacks. Energetic vibes and music rescue it from gloom.
The izakaya idea bided its time before its recent burst on to the restaurant scene. In the early ’90s, Raku Kushiyaki on West 10th introduced us to the idea and Sushi Wabi Sabi took over with a similar feel of zen calm and refinement. But izakayas are not temples — they’re traditionally deafeningly noisy places, a place to blow off steam, an escape valve for an extremely polite society.
Here in Vancouver, the Guu group got things hopping, spreading its izakaya tentacles, mostly appealing to Japanese language students who needed homes away from home. Hapa was the first to strike the hip, happening chord, thanks to Ault, a third-generation Japanese Canadian who worked in Tokyo for 10 years as a stockbroker. His izakaya, along with Kingyo on Denman, are the standouts in today’s crowded izakaya scene.
Hapa’s Kits location is more laid-back than downtown and they’re seeing a lot of people who once hoofed it to Robson Street for the small-plate Japanese food. As you enter, you note that staff might be chosen for good looks and for lung power as they blast out a deafening “Irashaii!!!” from all corners of the room with every arrival.
The menu is the same at both locations but each has its own daily features section; the tapas-size dishes are reasonably priced in the $7 to $8 range.
My favourites from the regular menu are Ebi Mayo: big bruiser prawns with a spicy mayo, and Kinoko Meshi, a rice dish served in a blazing hot stone bowl which makes me skittish as it’s not idiot-proof — I’ve been branded by a hot pot handle, grabbing it from the oven. Anyway, the rice, mixed with pine mushrooms and other goodies, turned crisp on the outer edges upon sizzling against the hot stone bowl.
Tora Aburi (seared albacore tuna belly with sesame dressing) and Gyu Kushi (beef skewers marinated in yuzu miso) both featured quality products.
Yubu Salad with its large helping of spinach provides a nice hit of fresh greens; Hapa Chicken, too, comes with a side of greens. Kabocha Salad really could do triple duty — it’s called a salad, is light, sweet and moussey like dessert but is served as a dip.
I tried the homemade pickles and, well, they’re different. Cheese tofu was unusual. They’re cubes of cream cheese and tofu, once again, sweet, with a maple syrup sauce. Some items are not for the uninitiated — like the Tako Wasabi (octopus). Too slippery. And for that matter, the Yaki Udon also had a slippery, chewy texture.
The Asian servers are friendly and English isn’t their second language but they’re not a fount of information, especially when it comes to wines.
Try the cold sake in bamboo, a popular call; otherwise, I found the Wild Goose Autumn Gold (a blend) worked well with the multiple flavours of izakaya. There’s also a nice roster of cocktails, martinis and mojitos which would be nice sipping once the patio is completed with a view to a slice of Kits Beach.
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HAPA IZAKAYA
Overall: 3 1/2
Food: 3 1/2
Ambience: 3 1/2
Service: 3 1/2
Price $/$$
1516 Yew St., 604-738-4272. www.hapaizakaya.com. Open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
