Tokyo Grill serves cozy homestyle Japanese food in a sleek and sultry setting.  

The second location of the longtime original at Yonge and Wellesley (which opened in 1999) this version caters less to the downtown student diner and more to uptown's night-out crowd.

The woodsy restaurant plays laid back Nujabes-like beats, with intimate booths, a large communal table, and a seductive faux-fire as its centrepiece. 

Rather than staying open all day, the restaurant breaks between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to prepare for an evening service, where they offer an extended dinner menu that's not available at the original spot. 

On top of the many udon noodles, don buri, and homey curry options that Tokyo Grill is known for, they now also have some more extravagant dishes, like Negi Tanshio ($13). 

This grilled beef tongue dish comes topped with Japanese onions and presented on a heated platter of stone, which according to the owner Tak, comes from Mount Fuji. 

They new menu also comes with tons of new grilled skewers. The Kusi Mori order ($25) is expensive for three sticks, but to be fair, each comes loaded with meat. There's three meat options: chicken, pork, and beef. The restaurant is most famous for the latter, but you can choose to try one of each. 

Tokyo Grill is also known for their home style comfort foods, and there's nothing cozier than a massive bowl of udon. 

The beef udon ($10.95) arrives in a gargantuan bowl. The noodles come with teriyaki beef, and the soup has an excellent wakame flavour. 

The portion is pretty big—though obviously not as large as its vessel—and you can get a good hulking chopstick-full of noodles here. 

Katsu curry rice ($13.95) is the definition of Japanese home food. This version arrives with deep fried pork and a creamy curry with a nice kick.

Sukiyaki ($14.95) is a pot of sliced beef, tofu, egg, veggies, and shirataki noodles (which are made out of konnyaku). 

Just drag and drop the contents of the sukiyaki into the bowl of rice that comes with the meal. 

Tokyo Grill is a good place for dining solo (you'll find a few guests grabbing some bowls of udon for dinner before heading home) but the lure of this fire makes it a good option for a casual meet-up too.