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Korean restaurants in Toronto

Eug

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What are your faves?

There are several I like, and one is Chodang Soon Tofu in Etobicoke. If you like Tofu, they make all theirs in-house. Before the main dishes come, they'll serve you complimentary small grilled fish, which is great for me because I love grilled fish.

There's also Imonay in Koreatown, which I discovered just walking by, because it had no English signage and was full of Koreans. I figured it must be good. They have great pork bone soup and seafood pancakes. The Korean grandma that was working there didn't speak any English, but then again the prices are really cheap and the food is good so who cares.

However, the reason I started this thread was to tell you just how bad Grill Time Korean BBQ at College and Yonge was. This is probably amongst the worst food (of any kind) I've had in the past year, and the servers were clueless too.

I think my mistake was not to have the BBQ, but just ordered off the menu. First of all the servers didn't know anything about any of the dishes. Second, they served what I ordered, but without the rice and side dishes they were supposed to come with. When I asked about it the server said it doesn't come with any of that, even though I pointed right at the menu which said it did. So I had to call a second server over who checked the menu too and discovered that's what it said. :rolleyes: Third, the food quality was quite bad. The kimchi was very weak tasting, the potatoes were chewy, and the seafood pancake was extremely greasy and looked like it was deep fried. Even the tofu was bad, with a texture in some pieces like cardboard. This seems to be a Chinese run place, but that in itself shouldn't make the food bad, but unfortunately, it is.

I should have known better, as the restaurant was almost completely empty. Yeah it was early at 5 pm, but on the Yonge strip even at 5 pm there usually is at least some business. I should have just gone to Ritz Caribbean next door, for their $5 take out meal or whatever, or else up the street to Bibim Q. Bibim Q is not as nice inside, as it's more a take out and fast food type sit down place, but ironically the service and definitely the food are both better than Grill Time. I'm not sure I'd get the stuff sitting the cafeteria style metal containers at the front, but the stuff that they have to prepare separately when you order is actually quite decent. Bibim Q is run by a couple, a Korean woman and her Caucasian husband, and it seems he's fluent in Korean as well, although I wouldn't know as I don't understand Korean.

Closer to where I live I usually go to Makkal Chon at Lawrence and Warden. Inexpensive, relatively attentive service, and pretty good food. The local Koreans seem to like that place, since I see a lot of Korean families and their guests go there. The vibe is very similar to a lot of the sit down restaurants in Koreatown. Simple interior and not really trendy or anything, but comfortable, spacious, and practical.
 
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My favourite is a small place at the corner of Bloor & Clinton, southeast corner (just eats of Christie). I don't even know the name of it until I Googled it to discover it's called "Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu". There aren't a lot of different plates on the dish but the ones that they do offer are all great. There are mostly Koreans eating there but you'll always see a few non-Koreans who "just know about the place" through word of mouth or Korean friends, which is how I found out about it. There are certainly more fancy, bigger Korean restaurants with more variety but this quiet little place is inexpensive, simple and just an overall easy-going experience.

Google street view, looking southeast

Review on BlogTO
 
Yeah, I love that place, but I forgot the name, until now. :) To us, it was always just "that Soon Dobu place on the corner".
 
My old fav was Oh Geul Boh Geul on Yonge south of Finch, until I found my new fav Cho Won family style restaurant at Yonge + Drewry (Cummer).
 
I'm a big fan of Korean Village / Han Kuk Kwan, on the north side of Bloor between Euclid and Palmerston. The stone bowl is great. The atmosphere is fun and the service is amazing. The owner's son (Jason, I think his name is?) is a fantastic host.

12 O'Lunch on Dundas by Chestnut is quite good as well. They're very friendly and it's tasty and quick. I work in the area so I frequently go there for lunch.
 
I live near the intersection Finch and Younge St. and this area is full of Korean restaurants and they are always crowded which my indicate that they are good, didn't try any of them though.
 

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