Hono Izakaya

Karen

5.0

Everything we ordered--quail eggs, picked daikon & cucumber, kaarage, pork belly, & the chicken thigh yakitori special--was absolutely delicious! The quail egg dashi was so good I wouldn't let the server take it away, I had to taste it with my rice. The two cocktails I had were inventive & great, especially their take on the aviation. Service was outstanding. This was our second visit to QC & to Hono; hopefully we'll be back soon. Definitely get a reservation!

Camille

5.0

Super resto avec de belles découvertes culinaires !
La formule de plats à partager est super intéressante & tout est excellent. Gros coup de coeur pour les Yakitoris King eryngii & Sake miso.

Bianca

3.0

We had a mixed experience at this restaurant. The food itself was generally good; we especially enjoyed the yakitori king eryngii (grilled mushroom) & the vegetable okonomiyaki. The momo chicken thigh yakitori, wagyu & fish temaki were just okay.

Where the experience unfortunately fell apart was with the dessert of the season & the way the situation was handled. It was described as a Black Forest-inspired dessert with chocolate cake, berry & chocolate sauces, & whipped cream. When the dessert arrived, we identified a very strong taste of alcohol & immediately asked the waiter about the alcohol content, as one of us is pregnant.

He initially told us the cake batter contained beer but insisted it was safe to eat because it was baked. When we asked if the berry sauce might also have alcohol, as the taste was too strong to come only from the cake, he went to check with the kitchen. He returned & confirmed that alcohol was also used in the chocolate sauce, & again reassured us it was safe. Unfortunately, this reflects a common myth: alcohol does NOT fully disappear when cooked or baked.

Alcohol should always be disclosed, as it affects people who are pregnant, medically restricted, avoiding alcohol for religious reasons, or in recovery. The dessert was removed from the bill, which we appreciated, but the interaction left a negative impression.

The staff would benefit from doing proper research on cooking with alcohol & ensuring full ingredient transparency.

Judy

5.0

This was the best meal we had in Quebec City this visit, & one place we went to was $600 for two. Hono Izakaya was 170 for two before gratuity, including a few unique cocktails & we had a lot of food. So it is saying something. The food here is very good & it has good vibes & service. Standouts were the miso salmon & mono yakitoris, & the crème brûlée, but everything was good. Fair warning the okonomiyaki were pretty huge so don't order both if there are only two of you (lesson learned haha), also the meat one has very strong smoked fish flakes on it that was not our cup of tea but can understand some people may love it if smoke fish is your thing. Anyhoo thank you Hono Izakaya for restoring my faith in the Quebec food scene 🙏 I will go here again! Side note it's across from a big Eglise de Scientologie which is also a bit of a novelty to see for those of us that are small town folk at heart.

Alexander

5.0

The reviews certainly weren't lying when they said this is one of the best Japanese restaurants around.

Coming from Toronto where I've had many great Japanese meals, I wasn't sure where this restaurant would rank. After dining there, it's definitely one of the top Japanese restaurants I've been to in Canada! The highlights for us were the edamame, sashimi, & all of the skewers (standout was the pork belly, but the others were all amazing as well). For us personally, the curry karaage & rice bowls were not as impressive, though still great. If I had the chance to come back, I'd treat this as purely an appetizer & yakitori restaurant, because those aspects were extremely delicious & reasonably priced.

Service was also great & attentive, which is important in a place where you will (likely) be ordering multiple times due to the small size of the tables. Hopefully we have the opportunity to try their ramen restaurant next time!

Laura

5.0

Outstanding service, menu, cocktails, design. We were thrilled to find this restaurant in Quebec City. We love Japanese food & Hono Izakaya did not disappoint. Our waiter, Alex, was attentive, knowledgeable, friendly, & calm despite the large number of people he was serving. The cocktails were creative & delicious, the yakitori were perfectly cooked & delicious, especially the duck heart. Their take on the classic agedashi is light & flavorful, with a darker, umami-full dashi. We hope to return soon!

Geoffrey

5.0

Très belle expérience dans ce restaurant japonais ! Ambiance épurée & chaleureuse, accueil souriant, nous avons vite été à l'aise. Les cocktails sont très élaborés & la nourriture délicieuse, mention spéciale pour les yakitoris. A noter egalement le prix doux. Nous recommandons fortement cet endroit si vous cherchez un restaurant gastronomique japonais dans une ambiance chaleureuse.

Ajay

5.0

Small & cozy restaurant. Food is excellent. Pork belly, fried chicken, salmon yakitori were stand outs, everything was good. Great friendly service. Pricing is reasonable . Highly recommend.

Ric

5.0

Merveilleuse expérience culinaire.
Accueil & service impeccable. très bonne limonade au Yuza pour les amateurs de boissons citronné. La nourriture était excellente, particulièrement les Yakitoris Momo (brochettes de poulet) & le Karrage de poulet (poulet frit).
Nous avons pris aussi Shashimi, Tataki de boeuf, Dumpling de porc Nagano & bol de riz avec porc.
Miam miam, nous reviendrons lors de notre prochain passage à Québec

Jennifer

5.0

My boyfriend & I went to dinner at this restaurant a week & a half ago. The food was so fantastic, especially the yakitori & tataki (definitely get this if you are going). If we lived locally we definitely be enjoying this restaurant often.
I contacted the office later as my boyfriend left his sunglasses behind & we had left town back to Toronto. The manager mailed them back to us! I'm so impressed by this entire experience.
Definitely come & try it out if you are in Quebec!