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
