Korean Grill House - Queen/University

This Korean Grill House (one of several) is located at Queen St. West in downtown Toronto, quite close to the Osgoode subway station and just west of University Avenue. It was busy and a lively place with plenty of customers. Decor is modern. Reusable metal chopsticks are used just like at the Yonge location. Soy sauce sauce was sweetish and very fresh and good. Free Wi-Fi is available. AYCD pop is available for $3.

Beef broth was good, much the same as the Yonge location. Both of us liked the potato appetizer, loved the spicy bean sprouts which had a nice savour and were fermented well. The regular bean sprouts we also loved and they were well seasoned. Tofu was very good and we both enjoyed it. Kimchi was very good, with nice spicing, not too hot and no odour. Pickled radish was excellent; Mishy loved it and it is one of her favorites so she ended up having three portions.

And finally it was on to the main courses... beef was excellent with included sauce, both definitely loved it and to me it was better than the Yonge location's beef. Beef short ribs are delicious and excellent and we both loved them. Pork was excellent, savory, well-marinated and spiced. Chicken was also excellent and very well spiced. Sausages were sweetish and authentically spiced, also exactly like the Yonge location. Salmon was very good, it arrived unseasoned but a little soy was all that was required. Squid was good (I'm not usually a fan) and wasn't too rubbery/chewy.

There are no desserts but I can do without them. As long as the diner arrives before the 3 p.m. lunch ending time there is no dining cut off other than the 1.5 hour time limit, which is a nice change from other places with their last calls. Service as with the Yonge location was very fast, friendly and attentive. Note that there is a 13% gratuity built-in, so that sufficed as my tip. There is also a $1 Interac fee. There is no lunch/dinner differentiation; price is $22.99 weekdays and $23.99 weekend, $2 and $3 more respectively for lamb and shrimp inclusion, however there a "Night Owl" special for $16.99 and $17.99 respectively from 10 p.m. to closing, assuming the diner can hold out that long. With the gratuity and pop this is pricey but again this is for AYCE meats which are quite expensive, so it's a good value compared to à la carte. I did find it slightly better than the Yonge location so the rating will reflect this.

Rating: 8/10