Elysium Korean Bistro and Restaurant — Restaurant in Richmond

We went out to Elysium Korean Bistro & Restaurant recently with some visitors from out of town. Korean food isn't something we go out for very often so it's quite a treat when we do manage to get out for it.

Elysium is defined as "a place or state of ideal happiness" and we were definitely in a place of happiness while dining at Elysium Korean Bistro!

Even before receiving any of the dishes that we actually ordered, the small side dishes that were brought out to us were already very flavorful.

The Honey Garlic fried chicken was crispy, juicy and well balanced in terms of flavor. It was neither too sweet nor too garlicky.

We loved the seafood pancake. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Even our daughter who had never before shown any interest in Korean seafood pancake, asked for seconds of this dish!

Loved the Bibimbap. It was piping hot, and the rice was nice & crunchy at the bottom of the bowl.

We ordered a Soybean Paste Stew and this was an item that I had selected. I thought from the title of the dish that it would be vegetarian but it turned out that this dish had meat in it. I only realized this after already have scooped some and put it in my bowl. I picked out the few pieces of meat I could find in my bowl, gave it to my husband, ate what was left in my bowl and didn't scoop anything more from this dish for the rest of the meal. Unfortunate that it didn't agree with my pescatarian diet as the flavor from this dish was most impressive.

My one critique of this restaurant is that their menu could be a bit more descriptive. How would a person be able to guess from a title like "Soybean Paste Stew" that there would be meat in the stew?!

Aside from the hiccup with Soybean Paste Stew, we were super impressed with this restaurant and would highly recommend it!

Service: Good Parking:...

I’ve known about this place for a while through social media, but since it’s quite far from Vancouver, I never had the chance to visit. However, today, my friends and I finally decided to make the trip. We arrived around 11:00 AM and found plenty of parking spaces outside the restaurant. Parking is free as long as you scan the QR code provided by the restaurant. The interior is spacious, with many seating options, some of which have small dividers for added privacy. The decor is warm and inviting, creating a cozy and comfortable dining atmosphere. Since we arrived before lunchtime, the restaurant was still fairly empty. We quickly ordered four lunch sets featuring chicken, squid, short ribs, and stir-fried beef. Each table has a large pot of hot tea for self-service, and if you need anything else, there are many call buttons for assistance. Not long after ordering, our sizzling hot main dishes and six side dishes per person were served. The tableware for the side dishes was elegant, adding to the dining experience. Given the cold weather, we all started with the soup, which immediately impressed us—it was rich, flavorful, and comforting. The seaweed and bone broth blended perfectly, making it hands down the best seaweed soup I’ve had in Vancouver. Each side dish had its own distinct taste, and none were overly greasy. When the short rib hot plate arrived, the sizzling sound and rising steam made it even more appetizing. Every dish we ordered exceeded our expectations—the chicken was tender, the squid was fresh, and the slight spiciness made everything extra delicious. Overall, we had a fantastic meal, and it was definitely great value for the price. If you love Korean food, this place is absolutely...

It's not worth your time and money to visit this restaurant. We did not enjoy a single dish from here. Saw an Instagram posting and thought it was worth trying, but regretful of even trying. Their banchan absolutely tasteless, flavorless, and the noodle dish had strong artificial taste that it's no different than instant noodle. Clams had so much sand in almost all of them. Bbq is pretty much good anywhere. This place is no different than anywhere else. It's marinade meat. Ordered Bossam that was not at all steamed and warm. It was sliced braised meat that was chilled and hard. Meat had a strong gamey smell to it. It looks like to me they just sliced pig hocks on the menu to cycle. From nowhere, I had a cold, hard Bossam from the restaurant. Do they honestly think they can fool customers like that? Lastly, their ham and cheese kimbab was a joke. It had a thick hot dog sausage, sliced cheese, and thick thing of egg in it, nothing else. Serive was nothing to mention as there was no service. Servers brought food, that's it. No one ever checked on us or asked how we were doing. We didn't even bother to mention anything and just pressed the button for the bill, and no one brought us the bill. Good thing about this restaurant? Maybe their paid, a well-made Instagram post that has great...