Paldo Gangsan

Located in Toronto’s Koreatown, Paldo Gangsan (shortened to PG) is added to my list of favourite local Korean restaurants! I’m giving this place a well-​deserved ⁵⁄₅ star rating.
To describe my experience, it had been my first time, to which the waitress told me their best dishes are gamjatang (pork bone soup), L.A. kalbi (marinated beef short ribs), bulgogi (grilled marinated beef), and dolsot bibimbap (mixed rice dish served in a stone pot). I chose the latter and it was delicious! They serve the chilli paste separately so you can decide how spicy you want it, showing consideration for guests who may not prefer their food to be so spicy. I made a video of the dolsot bibimbap because I had to capture the food sizzling…
If you get the bibimbap, I would advise: A) add your preferred banchan (side dishes) that you receive to your stone pot for maximum flavour — if you want to eat like a true Korean, you can even pour in the excess soup from the kimchi; and B) leave your rice for a couple minutes before stirring all the ingredients because it will get crispy left in contact with the hot stone pot. Trying some of the gamjatang as well, I can vouch that it was also delicious.
PG earns 5 stars because several things really stood out to me that exceeded my expectations, namely: the food served was so delicious, and even their banchan (note: it is free) was thoughtfully prepared (e.g. their kimchi was marinated with sesame oil which adds to the flavour… most restaurants would not bother to put in the extra work). As well, they have cozy, intimate wooden booths that allow you some privacy; despite being in an older building, the restaurant really worked with what they had to provide a nice setting for any type of social gathering. Last of all, they were playing modern music from artists such as Adele and Justin Bieber — this was a nice touch on PG’s part to adapt to the culture here.
I will definitely come back to try out their other dishes in the near future. Kudos PG!

Bulgogi wayyyy too salty, and no side dish refills. No side dish refills at a Korean restaurant in Korean town? Too many choices around for me to consider coming here again

It’s one of my favorite Korean restaurant in Korean town. They have a lot of options with reasonable prices. I like their side dishes. They’re big portion, unlimited and most importantly delicious. I enjoy having some hot pot spicy soup with some rice in winter. I like the seasoning of the food there. You won’t regret it.

Dinner with 8 friends on a snowy and cold Toronto night for dinner. First and probably last time.
Ordered seafood pancake, Mandu, sweet and sour pork, this squid and Bulgogi with rice. Friends ordered soon tofu, bibimbap and pork bone soup. They said it was okay but not great.
I didn’t like the seafood pancake because it was very plain even with the sauce. The Mandu wasn’t great either…
The squid and Bulgogi with rice was okay. I give them that.
The side dishes was meh.
Service was friendly though :) they refilled our side dishes a lot.

Great food for great price. If you order combos with beer or soju, they provide service AKA free dishes. The service for lvl1 is japchae, lvl2 kimbap, lvl 3 salmon sashimi, and lvl 4 assorted fruit plate. In the end if your not drunk, at least I guarantee you’ll be full.

I Found this restaurant on Unilocal and decided to give it a shot. Turns out that was a great idea!
I really enjoyed the food we ordered.(pork bone soup, ddukbokki, bibimbap) the portions were vast and the pricing was good. The service was fast and very helpful. You could tell the restaurant is family owned, which normally makes a difference when it comes to customer service. It seems a lot of people go there to drink (who wouldn’t when you get a good portion of food and 4 beers for 24.99) and I would like to go back with a large group to drink.

Was in the ‘hood at the laundromat and decided to check out this place while I waited for the dryer. ‘Twas late Thursday night close to Halloween so pretty much everyone was drunk and having a great time. Regardless, I didn’t feel super awkward being a lone sober diner.
The server was super nice to me and attentive as could be given that he was handling the entire place, which was fairly packed. I went for the #6 — beef and squid bulgogi. It arrived surprisingly fast. Portions were massive and coupled with the side dishes, there is no way you can walk out of this place hungry. Side dishes were mediocre quality, main was above average yumminess.
I also enjoyed the cringey TV they had on — CP24 and This Hour has 22 Minutes. Will probably return if I have to use the laundro in this area again.

This place has a lot of different dishes and I would highly recommend the seafood pancake. It tasted amazing. This place is cash only! So bring cash! They have an atm machine

Just a quick update.
After all these years, the best Pork Bone Soup Search™ continues!
However, my friend Reggie and I, who have gone to… we forget how many Korean places in Toronto, have found a place which without doubt sits in the top two we have tried in Toronto.
We have looked here and there and this place still continue to deliver. Sometimes we have ordered banchan upon banchan round and they always deliver. Well, at least for me, anyway.
However, as far as their food? Still can’t complain.
The pork bone soup is literally the one thing I come here for.
The broth has a deep taste, not oily and it is always hot and welcoming.
I specifically order my soup «Real Korean Spicy» so it always has some kick. As I find just the «Spicy» in many Korean restaurants caters to much to milder Canadian food profiles.
Even though this place is still a hole in the wall, it still fills a small hole in my stomach.
Yeah, I am just romantic like that.
I will be going back, hungry for more!

They should change the name of this place officially to «Red Sign.»
I don’t think I’ve ever really been disappointed with this place. The food really isn’t to my taste and I genuinely dislike the beers that are available in the combos– but the service is consistently good. It’s really not their fault that the food isn’t enjoyable for me, but they still managed to get me in there over a dozen times in the past 5 years.
They also handle people that are extremely drunk really well. I saw an chubby kid who just drank way too much and passed out and threw up all over a booth– instead of throwing him out, they gave him a giant pile of napkins, moved him to a table with watermelon and snacks. From what I saw, he wasn’t charged extra.
Great place.

There are a few downsides to this place. It is definitely not a romantic atmosphere and you probably wouldn’t want to visit here on your first date but if you come here for what it offers you will find yourself returning pretty often.
The price and quality is perfectly balanced here hence I spent so much time here during my college years. Food is cheap and good and the drink combos are cheap so what more can you ask for? Basically a group can easily get drunk and full for the price you would normally spend in other places for just drinks or food, often even cheaper.
It’s kind of disappointing how the Christie k-​town scene dwindled quite a bit over the years but I’ll head over here from time to time for casual get together a with my old friends. We can eat, drink and have a good time without having to worry about money and I can pretend I’m extremely generous and cover the bill when in actuality I spent way more money on the chocolate I nibbled on on the way there.

I don’t know why so many times my friends and I end up here when from the outside to the inside there is nothing attractive that would in any other city make me want to go here but since most people enjoy it for the cheap eats and combos I end up here once a week.
None of the food i have tried is amazing, but then again i have not tried the pork bone soup yet. We always end up drinking way too much soju here and the last time i went i accidentally ordered pork belly and kimchi which was just a gross combo and i didn’t even touch. The chicken is just loaded in sauce to hide the fact it is either overcooked or tasteless, take your pick.
I give it 3 stars still because the staff are friendly and it is just a fun place to go with groups and be loud on soju.

This is honestly my favourite Korean restaurant in town (ok fine, except for soontofu). I have never tasted side dishes as delicious as they make it here, and the various stews (gamjatang, doenjangjigae, budaejigae, you name it) are HEAVENLY.
And SO CHEAP, did I mention SO CHEAP?
They only have a Korean sign outside so I didn’t even know what their name was for the longest time, except «that awesome restaurant beside the Owl». Don’t ever go into Owl — come here instead.

2.5−3* for me
This place is probably best suited for groups who like to drink beer as most of the menu caters to «combos» that includes either a Soju or 5 bottles of Molson Canadian. Combos are for 2+ ppl and with the exception of pork bone soup or bibimbap, the combos are probably the best value.
I don’t like beer, so I skipped the combos.
I ordered a dish that was described like Hwe Dup Bap, but I don’t remember what it was called. It arrived in this HUGE, 9″ X 9″ dish, and already pre-​mixed, slathered with hot sauce. So I had to eat that solo as my bf doesn’t eat spicy foods. :(
It was very difficult to eat ’cause the sauce was not only extremely vinegary, but also spicy, AND sweet all in 1. I was only able to eat a ¼ of it, with lotsa savoury side dishes. I asked the waiter was the diff was between this + Hwe Dup Bap and with difficulty, as he didn’t understand me, he said that there’s no rice and already mixed.
The LA Kalbi flavours were much more my taste, very flavourful. However, I found that there was lotsa gristle and a bit difficult to chew.
So unless you’re in a group and most of you drink beer, I’m sure that there are better places in Koreatown!

Friendly-​staff. Provided with popcorn to munch on while drinking happy-​hour beers. Ordered boiled dumplings (15 for $ 7) which were full of meat and the right consistency. Can’t comment on any other food entrees but lots of other tables were enjoying their meals quite a bit. Would go back and try a meal here.

Ahhh, this place might be 1 of my favorite Korean restaurant ever. The food’s freaking delicious, extremely cheap & it opens until 2 AM. Their service’s also really good. They gave us a lot of complimentary side dishes, noodle & soup since we came close to their closing time. It’s so good that we came the following night lol. I’m close to drooling as I’m writing this review as it brings back so much good memory.
Their Galbi (Marinated Beef Short Ribs) are really delicious & cheap as heck. Definitely 1 of the best galbi I’ve ever had. Their soup goes for around $ 7 — $ 8. I had their Galbitang (Beef Short Ribs Soup) — very tasty, good portion & cheap. The soup’s very nicely seasoned & the beef’s so tender that it easily fell off the bone. It was only around 7 bucks.
I’d recommend their deal = Budae Jjigae + 1 bottle of Soju for like $ 20-​sh. Budae Jjigae contains Hot Dogs, Ham, Spam, Pork, Instant Noodle, Veggies, Kimchi & Tofu in spicy broth soup. This meal is big enough to feed 3 – 4 people. It’s extremely delicious, great portion & really really cheap; Anywhere else, budae jjigae alone would’ve easily cost you like 30+ bucks excluding the Soju, which’s additional 8 – 10 bucks. So technically, it’s only ½ the price!
Overall — This place’s somewhat hidden, small & low-​key. Best bang for your buck — Not only the food’s authentic & really delicious, the portions’re big. Service’s good and gave us a lot of complimentary stuff. If I live nearby, I would’ve come few times a week lol. Highly Recommended!!! ** 4 ½ stars **

4.5 stars!
This is our go-​to place when we dont’ feel like staying in … it’s a super simple authentic korean joint right in the heart of the korean-​strip on Bloor.
The best bet is really the beer/​soju deal. Can’t remember the exact number? But it comes to something ridiculously cheap like $ 30-​something with tax/​tip and 5 beers PLUS a main dish to choose from. We’ve had a couple meat dishes and even though it came out super hot (we asked for not spicy), they still took it to the back and gave us a new one. Great service, it’s always busy.
One con: cash only. So come prepared!

Sadly, I’m finding that the only thing I really enjoy at Korean restaurants is pork bone soup and the side dishes. I’ve tried a ton of other things, but nothing sticks in my brain as much as pork bone soup.
That being said, their pork bone soup is excellent. The broth is flavourful, if a bit salty, the meat falls off the bone and tastes GREAT and the potato wasn’t gigantic. I’d definitely return for it. It’s also only $ 6.95.
The ambiance is just. it’s just loud. It seems like everyone’s yelling. It’s so loud, I can’t hear the crazy K pop coming from the TVs.
I’m not sure if I’d be back again, because though their PBS is really great, it’s also really great at Owl of Minerva, which isn’t as noisy and is open 24 hours.

‘Pal Do Gang San’ has a name I would never remember. I actually had to take a picture of it just so I could write this review. I tell people all the time about this place — but tell them it’s next to the owl place and has a red sign. I felt it was time to get its actual name — in fear of people getting lost and ending up in who knows where. Hey, I have a food rep to protect… ya know.
I LOVE this place specifically because it has the best price in town for DELICIOUS Korean fall of the bone, pork bone soup + a bottle of Soju for a wopping $ 20. What, come again? Yes, $ 20 my friends. AND that fills 2 people!
Truly, amazing.

My favourtie Boon Shik in KoreaTown Toronto.
I have brought people here for Korean BBQ and it was good.
I’ve come when I was too lazy to cook and it was great.
I’ve had intimate socials here and itw as great– they have alcohol as well.
I’m not entirely sure what they don’t do well — service isn’t ever so wonderful that i want to tip heavily but it’s never so poor that I want to never return again.
This is the first place I bring my friends to try out real Korean food outside of Pork Bone Soup or westernized Korean BBQ– in a group and enjoy a couple of rounds of drinks for a relatively cheap cost.
The have great combo deals for groups.
The food here is so good — it is as good as the food my grandmas used to make in the country side — well seasoned, well proportioned.
They bring you a lot of different side dishes… I would put up a picture here if I knew how…
I would live here if I could.
I don’tk now about the new coat of paint but I’m not going there for décor so it doesn’t bother me too much.
I highly recommend the place to anyone who want to experience Korean food… the way it supposed to be.