For a restaurant that hasn’t even seated its first customer, Yokai Izakaya has been keeping busy. Since teasing their opening in January 2022, the Yokai team has been releasing weekly “Tuesday box drops” and tasting menu pop-ups with some of the city’s hottest names and chefs, including Toro Toro and Chef Ken Yau (k.Dinners).
Like many other restaurants early in the year, Yokai needed to make ends meet through the ups and downs of COVID restrictions. Looking for a way to jazz up the takeout experience, the team created box drops after the traditional Japanese Osechi Ryori, a beautifully prepared feast with small bites of local delicacies usually reserved for New Year’s celebrations.
Wanting to simultaneously foster a sense of community, these box drops allowed the team to test the waters with different recipes, dishes, and collaborations before officially opening their doors. With Head Chef Rob Yu at the helm, Yokai’s menus all contain that low-key intimacy and openness to experimentation which characterizes the modern izakaya.
“These days, more than ever, we’ve learned that engaging and communicating with our audience of customers is essential,” says Sasha, Yokai's Marketing Director. “We also see the collabs as this great way to shine a spotlight on other brands, businesses, and walks of life as we start to establish our own identity.”
For their first box drop, Yokai partnered with Toro Toro Sushi and introduced their approach to contemporary Japanese flavours, including Wagyu Sliders with Foie Gras Torchon, Lobster Summer Roll, and Sous-Vide Short Rib with Pickled Shiitake.
Since their grand debut with Toro Toro, Yokai has partnered with other well-known food personalities like Reynold Pan (EatnMingle) and Chef Cindy Fung (Preserve Indulgence, Sixteen Ounce) on box drops that taste as good as they look.
In addition to highlighting Toronto chefs, Yokai also worked with a team from Japanese beer company Sapporo, who has dedicated divisions to consult izakayas around the world.
“Beyond just using the beer, we wanted to highlight the region that Sapporo comes from—Hokkaido,” says Sasha. “Sapporo, Hokkaido is well-known in Japan as a foodie destination for seafood and other things.”
To reflect these Sapporo specialties, the resulting collab menu included a Japanese crab curry, seafood ceviche, and roasted Japanese sweet potatoes. With Sapporo beer as a component in these recipes, there was a sweet maltiness in every dish.
As COVID restrictions began lifting for restaurants, Yokai introduced their series of tasting menu pop-ups, starting with Chef Ken Yau. This highly anticipated event made its first whisper through an Instagram poll, which confirmed the excitement of Toronto foodies to see this collaboration come to life.
“Ken is an old friend, so we had a good idea that we were going to collaborate with him in some form or another,” says Sasha. “We just confirmed and finalized it when he was the most popular responses on that IG poll.”
When it comes to choosing the right partner to create menus with, Yokai sticks to their motto of energy and community.
“We're open to any brands that aligns with similar values of creativity, quality, taste, fun and usually a little quirkiness,” says Sasha. “We draw a lot of insights from social media and, of course, just from industry referrals.”
Like their carefully prepared box drops, Yokai’s tasting menu dinners highlight innovative contemporary flavours with intimate, mindful plating.
For their next pop-up on April 7, Yokai is departing from their partnerships with Asian and Asian-inspired chefs to create yet another spectacularly unique menu with Ration Beverley. This pop-up will see Chef Rob cooking side by side with Chef Jef Edwards, along with a collaborative cocktail menu combining the talents of Ration’s own award-winning mixologist, Eleni Bock, and Yokai’s Beverage Director, Hugh Gauntley.
As Yokai continues to prepare for their store opening this summer, Toronto foodies can expect a few more big collaborations with some of the top hospitality and lifestyle groups around the city.
Order Yokai Izakaya's limited-quantity Tuesday box drops and reserve your seat for their upcoming pop-up with Ration Beverley by visiting their website, and keep an eye on their next releases by checking their Instagram. Once their store is open, you’ll be able to find them in Vaughan at 3175 Rutherford Road, Unit 28.
