Established in 2014 at Boat Quay, OmoteNashi Dining Gosso, also known as Gosso Yakitori Dining on Google, is a yakitori izakaya but they also serve many other cooked dishes. The menu is rather extensive. They recently open another outlet at Telok Ayer. In times of  COVID, they can still open another outlet, they must be quite something, right?

But we found it just okay. For customers like us who are eating at Gosso for the first time and don’t know what they are good for, they recommend the 12 sticks of yakitori which go for $35, including 2 sticks each of:
–bonziri (chicken tail, a la carte price $2.50 per stick),
–negima (chicken thigh with leek, $3.50),
–yuzokosho-yaki (chicken fillet with yuzu pepper, $3),
–tsukune (chicken minced ball, $3.50),
–gosso dama (chicken liver wrapped in caul fat, $3.90), and
–sunagimo (gizzard, $2.50)

Negima (chicken thigh and leek)

Gosso dama (chicken liver) comes with a 40s timer

Gosso dama (chicken liver in caul fat)—they also call it “white liver”—is their star. When it arrives, it arrives with a timer of 40s. Customers are advised to eat within 40s. I think it is a gimmick because I ate it after 40s and it still tasted delicious. It’s iron-ly while inside is still very soft and tender.

yuzokosho-yaki (chicken fillet, seaweed, with yuzu pepper)

Tsukune (minced chicken ball)

The super delicious gosso dama sets the bar high, and the other items fail to deliver. The sauce is way too sweet and salt is used too liberally. Bonziri (parson’s nose), which is supposed to be tender and full of fat, is not. Tsukune, which is usually presented in the shape of a ball,  is long an elongated lump and has 16 kinds of herbs and spices. It is not bad, but too sweet. I would rather eat Tori-Q.

Nanban (fried chicken with tartar)

Nanban ($13.80) is deep-fried chicken topped with tartar but here, they marinade the chicken differently so it turns out black (probably with soy sauce?), instead of the usual golden colour. Not too bad but a tad salty.

Mentaiko omelette

I didn’t like the mentaiko omelette ($7.80) because there is water leaking out of it. I don’t like my food with water.

Chicken Sukiyaki hotpot

The Torisuki ($12.80) is chicken sukiyaki hotpot. It is satisfactory.

Eel Rice

Eel rice ($15.80) is eel topped with rice in a hotstone bowl. I thought this would be more like unagi don with some sauce, but still, it’s satisfactory. We drizzled the soup from the sukiyaki over the rice to make it tasty.

We spent $112 for two persons but we overate. We could easily do away with one dish (definitely the mentaiko omelette) and still be stuffed. The cooked food is generally okay but I was slightly disappointed in the yakitori. They are known for their yakitori but all I could think of while I was eating was Tori-Q is cheaper and more delicious. Gosso is not terrible but it’s the sort of place that I don’t mind visiting but wouldn’t recommend it. I fail to see its appeal that Japanese customers see.

Food: 6/10
Price: 6/10
Decor / ambience: 6/10
Service: 6.5/10

You may be interested in…
–Sumire Yakitori House, Bugis Junction: New Offerings at Established Japanese Restaurant-
–Bincho at Hua Bee, Tiong Bahru: Yakitori at a Post-Apocalyptic Setting, Hipsterism At Its Best
–Kiyoshi Japanese Restaurant, Amoy Street: Specialises in Inaniwa Udon and Many Popular Japanese Dishes
–Jinjo, Shaw Centre Orchard: Modern Sumiyaki Restaurant by Les Amis

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.