Kimchi Korea House

Kimchi house is one of my go to Korean restaurants in downtown Toronto. While it doesn’t necessarily embodies the true authenticity of some of the restaurants in K-​town, it certainly has its charms in terms of the food and the décor.
Having been to Kimchi Korean House multiple times, I’ve had a good sample of their entire menu. The food is always great and true to Korean culture. The bulgogi is a regular dish I get and it has consistently been delicious. The sampling of side dishes are also good compliments to the main dishes themselves.
If I had to criticize one thing, is that they’re menu seems somewhat static. I’d love to see them venture into newer creations, or even Korean fried chicken. Nonetheless, even with the same menu over the years, I’ve gone back many times.

I have always walked by this place on my way home from the office. I finally decided to try this place with a few girlfriends before an event at Philip Nathan Square. What I think of this place:
1 — Seating: It was satisfactory
2 — Service: I thought the servers were nice, but service level was below average. I wouldn’t say poor but it was below average. Why? I think there were just too many tables and not enough servers. I had to ask a few times just to get refill on my tea. The service could be improved.
3 — Ambiance: This is a causal place, depending on the amount of tables, this place can get really, really packed and a bit noisy.
4 — Food: I have to say, the food was okay.

The staff are super friendly. I was taken by surprise on the amazing service and the tasty bulgogi. I will be coming back here on the regular.

They have rice wine and bring you a bunch of little appetizers (kimchi, noodles, pickled vegetables etc.) before your meal which makes this a legitimate Korean restaurant for me, comparable to something in nyc’s K-​town.
Our service could have been improved, after bringing our meals our waiter never came back until we put our coats on and signaled across the room for the bill.
The inside has a nice ambiance, the food was what I expected and we enjoyed it. Just what we were looking for!

If you like spicy Korean pork bone soup this is the place to go, but for some reason lots of servers standing there yet women servers are the worst compared to the guys, especially for takeout.
Maybe they’re only like that to other women or to their own race? I’m not sure but better to get a guy to serve you so you enjoy your experience.

We came for Friday dinner and we got seated pretty quickly since we came in around 5pm. I came in a group of 5 and we were placed at a booth.
The area that we sat was pretty quiet so it was good for conversations. However, they don’t have a designated waiter for each table at this restaurant, so a more quiet seating area means it was difficult to get a server to come.
After we ordered we received 6 small plates of Korean appetizers. Honestly I wish we could have gotten 2 servings because with 5 people we quickly finished what they initially gave us. And since we were sitting at an obscure booth it was difficult to get a server to come and give us refills.
For main dish we ordered the bulgogi bibimbap, kimchi bibimbap, and beef soup. I ordered the bulbogi one and it was pretty good, lots of beef, and the beef was flavourful. I wished they could have given us more rice though.
The bill came up to around $ 15-​$ 20 after tax and tips per person for ordering a bibimbap. Apparently they don’t let you pay by debit/​credit unless you ordered at least $ 15 before tax.
Overall for me this place is just ok, the food wasn’t spectacular and the service was slow and they are kinda understaffed. Other dishes are quite expensive I feel and they don’t come with a lot of meat. I wouldn’t come back any time soon.

Good service, good food! Best Korean place in the Downtown core! We had the regular & bulgogi bibimbap + the complementary kimchi side dishes. More to try next time & can’t wait to

Came here with two other friends from school (this place is just a few minutes walk from Ryerson) for dinner and we ordered the kamjatang (pork bone soup). It was good, I liked the flavour of the broth and the meat was tender and fell off the bone without resistance. For an Asian restaurant, it isn’t loud so its a place of quiet if you’re looking for it. Price is mid-​range; the service staff was timely. Tl;dr: it’s good! *3.5*

My friend took me here during the winter break after exams. I have to say that this place had the best bibimbap that I’ve ever had. They service was also very friendly. Would definitely come back.

I used to come here pretty frequently for lunch because the location is close to my office. They give you a lot of sides and the food is pretty cheap & tasty. However, one time I found a bug in the chap chae and then we told the manager. Then the waiter also spilt water all over us by accident. After that incident, I never went back.

All I really have to say about this restaurant is: it’s alright.
The first time I visited, I was impressed. But that was partly due to the fact that I don’t eat out often and rarely have Korean food. I visited a few more times after that, and with each visit, I grew wary of the food and the expensive menu.
The Good:
— no line-​up, fast service
— good ambience in the restaurant, whether it’s for a family outing or a romantic date, this is the place for you.
— very clean and organized.
The Not-​So-​Good
— the pricing is a little high for the quality of the food. Most of the stews/​soups are above $ 10, and the flavor doesn’t match up to the price at all. There are cheaper korean places with better tasting dishes, so if you are going for the food, I’d say check out Korea Town on Bloor or the restaurants on Spadina China Town.
— when I went to eat alone, they put me in an awkwardly small table crammed between two larger ones. I felt uncomfortable and I’m sure the groups sitting beside me felt that way too. It wasn’t the best experience.
— debit card can only be used when you spend past a certain amount of money.
The Final Verdict: ⁶⁄₁₀

I’ve always had a fear of eating alone in a restaurant, but I think I’ve gotten over it all thanks to Kimchi House! Odd? I know but I have reasons for it. I was able to notice a lot of the little nuances that I would normally miss because I am usually conversing with my friends! Plus, I didn’t feel rushed by the staff which is always a plus.
Service: The Kimchi House staff were so kind and attentive. They worked well with each other! They were singing and enjoying their time together which made the restaurant more lively especially during the slower parts of their day. An added plus was hearing some stellar music (R&B and the newest kpop songs).The staff ask for your drink order shortly after you sit down and serve the banchan right away. If you’ve never had Korean food before, the staff will explain each dish to you so just ask them!
Food: Banchan — it is on the sweeter side which I preferred since I opted for the Kimchi Stew. They did not fry their potato dish before coating it with the sweet sauce and it tasted just as good.
Kimchi Stew — It had pieces of thinly sliced pork, rice cake, kimchi, and tofu. It was on the spicy side, but I liked it! I found it to be fairly sour but it may be from the kimchi. I can say that I’ve had better stews at other establishments but I left satisfied and full.
The meal was around $ 12. They take debit even if it is under $ 15.

Visited Kimchi for the first time today, and it seems to be a popular lunching spot as the doors were packed with waiting diners. At the 12−1pm mark, the lineup was reasonable at waits of about 10 – 15 minutes for pairs or small groups under 4 guests.
The food is what I think you’d expect — $ 16 bought me a bento box containing — 6 pieces of L.A. ribs, a small portion of tempura (one each of shrimp, squash, broccoli, and a couple others that I can’t remember at the moment), a couple gyoza, a heaping bowl of rice, and a miso soup. Our lunches also came with a freebie serving of cold tofu and four small side plates of the usual banchan (like bean sprouts and kimchi).
L.A. ribs were tender, tempura was fried in well-​maintained oil (unlike some other places where you can taste that the fry oil needs changing or that they didn’t wait for it to come to temp before frying).
Plenty of booths, seating is spacious enough to be relatively comfortable for a short stay. Décor is… ehhh, nobody’s there for the view anyway.
All in all, A-​OK for a quick weekday stopover spot.

The pork bone soup was not that great. The egg pancake was decent and the kim chee was average. A pretty average restaurant but with an above average price I would say. Somehow spent $ 60+ on just 3 dishes. I do not think it was worth it though.
One couple beside us got bad service ie) was not being served and they just left. I have not seen something like that in a while.

Food is great! I had bulgogi bibimbap and takoyaki. Takoyaki was the bomb ! I had them in other places but this one was the best. Although, a little pricey compared to other korean resto. But can’t complain! Their food is awesome!
Tried their pork bone soup as well. Delish! I am so gonna go back for it.

Walked in on a cold Friday night and got a table immediately. But the place is pretty big so wasn’t that surprised.
We ordered some hot sake, green tea, spicy beef soup and a bulgogi bibimbap. Our server was really nice, always smiling and our good was out in 15mins. I liked my bulgogi but it’s not best I’ve had, it seemed little plain. The beef however was very well marinated. The spicy beef soup was also nice but I think the pork would have been better. The sides were really good though.
Overall it wasn’t bad but it’s also not the best for Korean cuisine. I would like to give 3.5 but I don’t know how to on Unilocal :/

This is one of the best pork bone soup and bibimbap restaurants in downtown Toronto. I have to say the taste is great, service is moderate (it used to be superb) and the banchan is delicious. Unfortunately I guess they cheap out lately. We used to ask for some extra banchan (just once) because we love it so much but they are now hesitate to refill them for you, although if you ask a few more time they will bring it to you. What a shame!
The only complain I have is that they have been using too much MSG in their food. But this phenomenon is recent. Why ruin your wonderful recipe with fake msg flavour??? I get a serious headache every time I step out of their restaurant. I will come back for your bibimbap but honestly as much as I want to have your pork bone soup again, I hate to get that migraine every time.

I randomly decided to try this place with a friend and thought it was okay. Didn’t have to wait to get a seat on a Saturday night, unlike Japango and Sansotei (other places we tried first before we came here). This place is pretty big, although in the area we were sitting, the tables were all placed really close together — made it difficult to get up and leave without disturbing or bumping into your neighbours’ table.
In general the food was pretty good, and I left quite satisfied and full. We even had leftovers to go. We ordered the sweet and sour pork and jap-​chae noodles with beef. The sweet and sour pork was pretty interesting, maybe this is just like the typical Korean version of it? But it wasn’t the red sweet and sour sauce I was expecting, it was a lighter, yellow version that had a citrusy taste, and I liked it! Jap-​chae was also pretty good, although the beef in it was a bit dry.
Service was a little less attentive than I would have liked, maybe because we were sitting kind of in the corner by the window, but maybe that’s just the way they do things here. I did like that they gave us a lot of side dishes though, and a wide variety. I wouldn’t mind coming to this place again if I happen to be in the area and need a quick bite to eat, but wouldn’t make a trip specifically for it.

Good Korean restaurant in downtown Toronto. We came across it we walked along the street looking for restaurant to catch our eye.
The banchan they served with all well done and my boyfriend really enjoyed their kimchi. It was his first venture into Korean food and he found this place to be a great intro to it! Gotta love a guy who can take his spice!
He ordered the kimchi stew and me wanting to venture out from my go to soon tofu, went with the bulgogi stew. The kimchi stew was pretty standard of with plenty of meat and veges within. I enjoyed my bulgogi stew, the soup having the sweet and savory taste of the bulgogi meat.
The stews with in good portions and I loved how they had rice cakes in both of them, something I miss in most other Korean restaurants. Prices are very reasonable at about $ 10 a dish, comparable to the California Korean restaurants.

This place is not bad despite its basic Korean name. I had the Kimchi chigae and it was very tasty. But then again, it is a dish that is hard to screw up. Everything in the menu had english names which made me doubt their authenticity. For example, Kimchi Chigae was listed as «Kimchi Soup» and KamJaTang was «Pork Bone Soup». Prices were also high compared to other korean restaurants in town.
The servers however were very friendly and food came in a relatively fast speed. They failed to note that tea is $ 1 extra and my Kimchi soup meal ended up being $ 15.