Yakitori Bar

My cousins and I came to try this place out. We had the kim chi fries, Squash DdukBbokKi, Spicy Chicken wings (fried), Honey Garlic wings (baked), Kalbi philly cheese steak, baby bibbimbop, Jap Chae, and Aphrodite’s salty and sweet beef satay.
The restaurant is very small. We went on a Tuesday and it was half price wings that day. We tried one fried and one baked. The fried spicy chicken wings were great and flavorful and spicy. The honey garlic wings didn’t look as appetizing baked, it was okay. The kim chi fries were a disappointment, it was covered in gravy and very strong and sour kimchi that over powered everything. I prefer the kim chi fries at Banh Mi Boys. I thought the Squash DdukBbokKi was too fishy tasting for me and there was no cheese! =(I did enjoy the fact that it was baked in a squash, i love squash!
The Jap Chae is as it is at any other korean restaurant. The baby bibbimbop wasn’t how i pictured it to be. It was tiny and came with a vinaigrette instead of the spicy red sauce I’m used to. They were out of the alligator bites so we got the salty and sweet beef satay and that was delicious and so was the kalbi philly cheese steak yum.
I would come back again just for wings, kalbi sandwich and satays.

Servings are a bit small, but go on certain days and the specials will make up for it.
Of note, the Sapporo mega mug, the kimchi poutine, and the wings, which may just be the best in the city. Seriously.

I love this little Baldwin gem!
Beautiful patio, check! Extensive menu, check! This is the perfect spot for lunch!
They have skewers, salads, sandwiches and my favourite, the raw bowls! Raw salmon or tuna on a giant bowl of brown rice? OK! I’ve been here with big groups and there is definitely something for everyone.
Just a note that I find when they get busy, the service can get a little slow. Also, there are lots of hornets on the patio in the summer. To the point that I remember it, even though I’m writing this in October. They need a hornet trap.
This is definitely my top Baldwin lunch spot.

One of my favourite restaurant/​bars in Toronto!
Almost every thing is perfect in this cozy corner restaurant!
More like a restaurant in the day time, but at night it turns into the local hot spot! Live dj on Thursday and Fridays, always has great drink and food specials!
They have an amazing chef that makes masterpieces every time! I love the food here! Love the area! (Baldwin is torontos little hidden gem) I love the super nice servers, and the atmosphere this place gives off! A must try!!! They have a cute patio as well!
Don’t forget to try their yakitori sticks, and the hot stone pot! And wash it all down with an XL mug of their sub zero cold sapporo!

I got a message on Unilocal from the owner of Yakitori Bar. He told me that they have hired a new chef, changed up the management team, and asked me to come by to try their food one more time.
I came by on a Saturday afternoon with the same friend who visited this restaurant with me the first time around.
This time the food and serve have definitely improved! The server was very attentive. She constantly made sure we had enough water and brought extra sauces for dipping. The food was also much better this time around, kudos to the new Chef. Every thing was fresh and hot, as what it should be.
After this dining experience, I will definitely bring my friends by and support this restaurant!
Thanks Yakitori Bar!

After the last failed restaurant experience for yakitori, this is attempt number two at this place at Baldwin Village. It was a weekday so it was not crazy but it there was a few tables eating. There was a lot of interesting things on the menu. I started off with the ‘gangnam style’ — soju, Korean yogurt & orange frizantte. My first time trying soju and I never knew you can mix Korean yogurt with alcohol. I love drinking Korean yogurt so this drink is perfect for me.
They had Tuesday special — if you buy a drink, can get poutine and wings for half price. AWESOME! We got the kimchi fries with pulled pork. Also my first time trying kimchi fries, yummy! We got the kimchi honey wings. The kimchi had a good kick to it, spicy and then with the honey to even it out.
We had the mixed yakitori platter — mixed vegetable, shrimp, chicken thigh, beef ribs and pork belly. The best skewer was the beef ribs, very flavourful and tender. I was disappointed on the pork belly, there was no belly fat on the skewer, only the meat part and was very hard.
We also got the beef tataki — seared angus beef in ponzu sauce with garlic chips. The beef was very thin and good, it went really well with the ponzu sauce and the tasty garlic chips! The tuna carpaccio — seared tuna with maple tamari sauce. It was fresh tuna, the sauce was good. But out of the two, I like the beef tataki more.
Finally, we also got the takoyaki. It was small ones served on a skewer like the Chinese style fish balls. There was a big piece of octopus meat inside. It was alright, not the best or the worst one I had.
It was a nice atmosphere to hang out in small group and talk all night long. We were there for over 3 hours just chatting, time flies. I think if we weren’t like the second last table or that we had to work tomorrow, we would have stayed longer. The food came pretty quick, the food came faster than our eating speed so we were never waiting for food. Definitely a better dining experience than the last place.

Alternative to the izakayas with a Korean flare! Nice intimate place on Baldwin St. perfect for an after work drink/​snack or a tasty lunch! Tried the pork belly, chicken gizzards and Hokkaido scallop skewers. The pork belly and scallops were pretty good to me. Unfortunately they were out of the pork neck and black cod skewer that we wanted. Also had the salmon tartare in wasabi mayo. The salmon was fresh and the hint of wasabi in the mayo was a good kick in the dish. The fried shrimp with kimchi mayo was nice and crispy. I love anything with mayo and the kimchi flavour sets it apart from the usual Izakaya. I also tried the takoyaki also served w kimchi mayo. I was a little disappointed since I had expected okonomiyaki sauce with bonito flakes but it just came bare and was smaller than I had expected. But the taste was good and it had a small piece of octopus inside. Since they didn’t have the skewers that we had wanted, we decided to try the tsukune burger skewer which was ground chicken with cheese. Was kinna disappointed because of the price and it was a chefs recommended dish. The chicken was dry and lacked flavour and the cheese was this unnaturally bright orange piece inside the «burger» and it had a hard texture. I’ve never had cheese like this, considering it was hot I had expected it to be melted so I wasn’t sure if there was anything else (additives) in it.
Overall, they had good snacks that will go well w drinks. They also had many korean dishes like duk bok ki, bibimbap and ramen. Since they are called Yakitori Bar I think they should have more stock in their yakitori ingredients (it was still early in the evening). Also the parking situation is not great, parking garages are pretty expensive and street parking is hard to find. Mainly for people working or living in the area.

I came here with a group of people and it was okay. The menu didn’t look too appetizing but we came up with a yummy solution. They sell skewers of meat and bowls of rice. One of my friends and I decided to each order a bowl of rice and two skewers. It was definitely a nice sized portion and we each enjoyed it. We had the salmon skewers.
If you’re struggling with the menu, that is definitely a good choice.
It’s worth trying if you are craving pure protein.
The ambiance wasn’t anything special and the menu could definitely be updated to look more appetizing. I think it would help their business. :)

MEGA MUG!!!
Huge fan of their mega mugs. One big mug of beer for a great price any day. One of the best beer deals in the city.
Also had their Kimchi Poutine with pork, loved it, a little spicy but great

Came here on a Friday night with a reservation for 4 but it was quiet in there. Since Yakitori is the latest trend in Toronto, with the owners of Kinton ramen opened a new one, decided to check out this spot on Baldwin-​knowing it’s more Korean style. We ordered the kimchi Poutine-​yummy and creative, the premium Yakitori platter: Angus beef, chicken, shiitake mushroom, scallops etc-​not bad overall but don’t recall much about them. We also had the chicken skin-​which was great. The drinks special is a great deal. Good value for money I would say, service was slow and the food came slow too. Be patience.
Plus two TV screens, the décor reminded me of modern Asian bar more than an izakaya.

I’ve wanted to try this place for a while. So when my friend suggested that we go here for dinner I was happy.
Food 2.5÷5
I tried the Albacore Tuna dish. The tuna was nicely seared, and I liked the sauce and salad that accompanied the dish. I really enjoyed the Takoyaki dish. It was fried nicely and served hot. It’s a good way to start the meal. I also ordered the slow cooked pork belly. The pork was too fatty for me. The fattiness of the pork overpowered the pork meat. I also had the kimichi poutine. I didn’t enjoy this dish. The fries reminded me of over fried McDonald’s fries; they were super crunchy and greasy. The pulled pork and kimichi topping was good, but fries brought the dish down. I also sampled the Chap Jae. This dish was tasty. It’s a bit different from the traditional Korean Chap Jae.
Service ³⁄₅.
The service was ok. Our waitress was okay, but she could have been more attentive.
Décor/​Mood 2.5÷5
The colour scheme was black and red. There wasn’t any one thing that popped out to me. It was pretty quiet for a Saturday evening. Not sure if it was because of the holidays. The place is bigger than I expected with lots of seating.

Just did the Sunday $ 6.95 ramen special with purchase of alcohol for dinner. For starters, I had the Kimchi poutine. It was okay, but I’ve had better. The chasu pork butt ramen was pretty tasty and this is the first time I had absolutely zero allergic reaction to this type of dish. Woot!!! I actually finished it all and enjoyed it.
Our server was great! Totally attentive and personable. The place itself is cute too.
For the price, this was a decent meal and a pleasant dining experience.

Wouldn’t go back because food wasn’t awesome :(great service, very clean, extremely polite. If it wasn’t half price Wednesday skewer nights, I would have been really upset with the bill. Came to $ 65 taxes tip, items below and 2 sapporos.
Kimchee poutine: perfectly marinated beef an gravy with kimchee. This is the only thing I loved and truly enjoyed on the palette.
Scalop skewer: meh. Tasted black pepper more than the scallop.
Tuna tartare: tasteless. Not sure how it was so bland even with the marinade!
Chicken thigh skewer: dipped in sriracha sauce. Nothing creative.
Lamb chops skewer: no flavor, perfectly grilled and tender though.

My friend and I came around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Very clean, great service and free wi-​fi!
We ordered slow cooked pork skewer, scallop with bacon skewer, beef tongue skewer, baby bibimbap, squash tteokbokki, Korean chili rellenos, pork kakuni and bulgogi sandwich.
Slow cooked pork skewer: melts in your mouth– grilled to perfection, comes with 3 different sauce but you don’t really need it.
Scallop with bacon skewer: yummy, scallop was cooked perfectly.
Beef tongue: was my first time trying any kind of tongue. Was served with lemon wedges and beef tongue was sliced very thin. Tasty but a bit salty for my taste.
Baby bibimbap: big enough to share. Not a typical bibimbap. Ton of fresh veggies (julienned carrots, chinese broccoli, bokchoy and a fried egg on top) served on a bed of brown rice. You will get recommended daily servings of veggies.
Squash tteokbokki: one of the last dishes to arrive b/​c of cooking time. Rice cake and fish cake gets cooked inside the squash and the server will cut the top off and cut it in half for you on the table. It was divine!
Korean chilli rellenos: super spicy but was stuffed with the right amount of meat. I dipped mine in pork kakuni sauce to neutralize my tongue.
Pork kakuni: fatty chunks of pork belly with half boiled egg in abundant apple-​soya sauce. Can’t go wrong with this dish.
Bulgogi sandwich: we were stuffed so boxed it to go. I had it for lunch the next day and it was delicious! Bulgogi was marinated perfectly and crunchiness from kimchi and cucumbers added nice texture.
Can’t wait to go back soon.
Tip: get slow cooked pork skewer, squash tteokbokki and bulgogi sandwich

If you don’t like meat then this restaurant may not be for you. I enjoyed the alligator skewers and other meat kabobs but there is not many veggie heavy foods here. The best thing on the menu is the bulgogi burger, its PERFECT. Will be back for that dish alone.
This place can get really cramped for a large group of people so book ahead. Also be prepared for kpop madness on their TVs!

Okay — I have to admit. the Service is impeccable here.
I came here with my friends for our Christmas dinner last year, and we had SO much food. Like, a ridiculous amount. We had about 12 people, and we had split up the tables into three different «sets» (since one «set» of my friends were vegetarian and all).
My table had ordered a variety of different things (which I don’t really recall thoroughly since I didn’t take pictures this time).
However, this is what I can recall:
1) BULGOGI CHEESEBURGER: Big, but a tiny bit underwhelming. However, I did hear from my other friends that the kalbi philly cheesesteak was amazing.
2) SPICY CHICKEN WINGS: Pretty good.
3) GOCHU RELLENOS: It was good, but not amazing.
4) KIMCHI POUTINE (update): They had totally upped their game this time. It was SOOOO much better than the first time I had them, I was quite impressed.
I’m sure there were other things, but I actually dont’ remember which skewers we had. They were definitely good though.
What really made my night was the service. We had a few things that didn’t arrive yet, and Sang (the owner) being awesome as he is, gave us a few plates of food on the house. We were awfully full by then, but we were sooooo grateful and happy that he gave us extra food (I mean, we’re Asian after all). I really appreciated this amazing gesture.
In total, with all the plates of food that we had (… we had A LOT), plus the alcohol, etc. etc. (and 25% off due to a previous coupon), it came to about $ 20 between all of us. I would have to admit, that was a hella damn good meal.

Pretty good service, cool atmosphere, too bad there are so many ‘buts’ to follow! We were the first ones at the restaurant on a Friday night, and found to our chagrin that they were out of at least two of the items we wanted — the jap chae and alligator. The squash with the rice cake and cheese was OK, though from the reviews I think my expectations were a bit too high. The chicken gizzard and pork belly skewers we ordered were still raw in the middle.
I think this restaurant will do well due to the marketing hype, the genuine care that you can sense from the people working there and the fact that yakatoris are so hot right now.

Not sure what I was expecting, but I was definitely expecting more. Came here for an impromptu dinner and was excited to try something new. They have a small menu of featured skewers that were inspired by other known chefs so I was intrigued by the collaborations. Ended up trying the dragon piri piri chicken skewer and the Alabama skewer — a beef carpaccio skewer wrapped in bacon with maple. The piri piri skewer was nice and moist, but the piri-​ness was really lacking. You could smell it, but I couldn’t see or taste it. The beef carpaccio skewer was delicious — you can’t go wrong when you wrap anything in bacon
My friend and I also ordered the kimchi fries and the braised pork butt in a steamed rice bun. The kimchi fries were good — the fries were nice and crisp and the gravy was great. I wish the kimchi had a bit more flavour. The pork bun meat was plentiful and moist. I just wished that there was more sauce on the sandwich. Overall these 2 items were tasty, BUT in comparison to Banh Mi Boys, they don’t stack up in taste or price.
Probably wouldn’t make plans to go here, but would pop in if I was in the neighbourhood needing a meal.

Korean food is making a comeback with restaurants like OddSeoul, Yakitori Bar + Seoul Food Co. popping up in 2012, expect more from this reborn food trend.
The décor at Yakitori Bar is not dissimilar to the harem of izakayas you find in Toronto. Wood, wood, and more wood.
For those of you who don’t know Yakitori = food on a stick, think Asian equivalent of a kebab.
The restaurant itself has a large communal table, a few smaller tables (4 – 6) and cozier ones for 2 near the front. For me, the interest in this restaurant lies in the menu items done by guest chefs (Matt Basile of Fidel Gastro, Francisco Alejandri of Agave y Aguacate). While the starting point is Korean cuisine, the path leads in all sorts of delicious directions.
Take for example the Gochu Rellenos, deep-​fried korean peppers stuffed with pork and encrusted in Panko — Mexican + Korean? I’m all for it!
The Kimchi Poutine here I daresay rivals the one over at Banh Mi Boys as this one has actual cheese curds and a rich and thick gravy. A true poutine with some fermented goodness. Those who want to go all out can add pork bits for $ 2 more.
The Bulgogi Cheeseburger was also a winner for me, even if it was a bit messy to eat as the burger falls apart with each bite like a sheet of phyllo pastry. The meat is caramelized and sliced very thin.
The actual yakitori wasn’t bad, though I wish the pork belly was more fatty and melt-​in-​your-​mouth. The beef tongue was extremely tender and flavourful and the short ribs were delish!
One of the more disappointing dishes for me was the Squash Duk Bok Ki, spicy rice noodles served on acorn squash. The squash didn’t do anything but serve as a presentation vessel and I would’ve been just as content if you had just served me the rice noodles solo.
Their lunch menu is slightly different and much more compact. The name of the game is combos here. I had the Panko Cod Burger which featured an egg salad in place of mayonnaise that was a great sub as it added texture but maintained the creaminess of mayo. However, I urge you to stay away from the Japanese Beef Curry which to me tasted quite artificial and while I love my curries, this one was so overpowering that it was the only thing you could taste.
Overall a great place to go with a group to sample a variety of dishes while washing back some drinks. I’m interested in checking out sister company Seoul Food Co. (just behind via a separate entrance) whose specialty is bibimbap.

What makes Yakitori Bar stand out is its warm atmosphere and genuine vibe. Immediately upon arrival, the owner of the restaurant introduced himself to us and brought us into the back area of the full restaurant where we were offered free edamame. I have to say that I was immediately sold! The owner was friendly, well-​spoken, passionate and very professional. The edamame was perfectly cooked, salted and had a zing of lime.
Yakitori Bar has a tapas style menu that was perfect for sharing with a small group. The menu had many different and interesting dishes, which is great for the adventurous foodie. I also want to make a point to say that there were no raw items on their menu, which makes it a good restaurant for people who are squeamish about eating raw fish. The items that I was most excited to try on the menu were the grilled alligator, kimchi flight (1 day old, 2 week old, 3 month old), and the squash duk bok ki. I have to say that the squash duk bok ki is a must-​have. It is a baked squash with spicy rice cakes and cheese inside, yum!
This place has a liquor license and a variety of bottled and draft beer. I had this soju, cucumber and sprite mix that was really refreshing.
Interesting fact, the owner opened this place in 31 days and blogged about it every step of the way on the restaurant website.