Chako Barbecue and Izakaya - Eglinton is located at 14 Lebovic Ave., in Scarborough, Toronto’s eastern borough, in the Eglinton Town Centre plaza at Eglinton near Warden. If this location, and even moreso the specific building, seem familiar this is because it was the previous home of Tatami Sushi before its demise. Chako just recently opened so has a nice new interior. Electric burners instead of gas are used which is a major bonus and didn’t affect the quality of the output noticeably at all. Soy at table was very rich with a tannic flavor although not salty; it was unique. Disposable chopsticks are used unfortunately, but we brought our own as usual.
Unfortunately, we were not off to a good start as we both noticed that the miso soup was watered down, and sadly would have been excellent if this was not the case... not acceptable for this price point unfortunately. Mishy also said that the seaweed salad was the worst she had ever eaten, although I don't know whether it was a case of her mood being affected negatively by the miso soup or not. Green salad had a nice mix of leaves and the sauce wasn't bad, although was a bit too sweet. Even the kimchi was not exempted as it had added sweetness, which is doubtless sugar and would have been perfectly fine without it. There was a little added of sweetness in the pickled radish as well, but it deserved it more than the kimchi did.
Mishy changed her tune, which happily confirmed her objectivity, as she absolutely loved the sushi kaki rolls. The spicy salmon roll was indeed excellent, and paired well with the soy sauce. Mishy even ate and enjoyed the Alaska roll, before realizing what it was. Salmon nigiri was very good and fresh, as good as at most sushi places, well... at least the first one, but the second one unfortunately had a fishy aroma. We had opted for the classic menu, so did not have sashimi as it would have been another $3 and usually I would do this, but not at this base cost.
At least the meat made up for any prior shortcomings; the first piece of beef I had was a fantastic, thick (at least for tabletop barbecue places) cut and with seasoning to perfection, it was just like having a nice steak. Beef strips were more of that wonderful beef just cut differently into semi-wide strips rather than a small slab. Short ribs were fantastic and made me understand why they are appreciated; perfectly seasoned large pieces. The additional barbecue sauce and shichimi spice were both excellent and paired very well with the beef. Salty garlic pork was very good, and was not actually salty but rather well-seasoned. Chicken thighs were fantastic and pre-seasoned with curry and other spices, so did not need anything else added.
For dessert, rather like Gyubee and other barbecue places there is only ice cream with one permitted per customer; double-chocolate, vanilla and strawberry sundae cups. There is an all-day $45.99 classic menu weekend lunch and also the $48.99 premium menu that includes sashimi and other offerings, but we had opted for the classic. Again, Gyubee is my gold standard for Japanese/Korean grillhouse and their Scarborough location is $15 cheaper at $30.99 currently. I will give Chako an extra point for the steak-like beef offerings but it loses a further two over this for the cost overrun and notable shortcomings. Lunch was still enjoyable due to the meats, but the price will keep us from ever returning.
Rating: 7 - 7.5 / 10
