Jeju Restaurant — Restaurant in Tofino

WOW. This restaurant blew me away. We were not expecting much as we walked in 40 min before closing. There was a bit of a wait but the hostess seated us promptly and explained the menu.

I love the “ mother- son” combo which we could see working their magic together in the open kitchen. Very inspiring to see such a close maternal relationship being manifested in a local Tofino eatery. The understated weaved emotions of a 1st and 2nd generation Asian/ POC owned business is just incredibly heartwarming to see. I have profound respect for this mother-son duo.

The menu was designed lovingly as such as well. The left side was the mother’s specialties- typical home style Korean dishes you might find at a Korean restaurant. The right side was the son’s (Dylan) specialities - fusion style tapas.

Service was prompt and dishes were cleared readily due to the small size of the table.

Onto the food:

Spot prawn - dill, orange vinaigrette, garlic aioli (6/5) Woops. I could finish a few plates of these. Very succulent raw spot prawn pieces cured in a citrus sauce. Balanced well with the garlic aioli. A small dish but such is the tapas style nature of gastronomy. I really enjoyed this dish and the presentation was spectacular.

Soondubu (4.5/5) A very heart serving of the classic tofu soup with lots of seafood. Served in a hot stone bowl and partially raw egg that is left to cook slowly. Perfect for a rainy day in Tofino. Good amount of spice. My only comment is I wish the broth had a bit more depth -perhaps a bit less gochugaru and more anchovy broth? But that is just me being picky.

Bibimbap (5/5) Standard, fresh ingredients with veggies and beef bulgogi, and an egg. Again perfect for a cold rainy day. Gochujang and soy is served on the side for your convenience. A stone bowl would’ve been nice to make the rice crispy, but the ceramic bowl made it more home style.

Sung style rib (5/5) Fall off bone tender pork ribs - I have never had them cooked in this way before ! The arugula salad was a welcome addition and cuts through the oiliness. This was perfectly cooked with a mild soy bean paste flavour. A big enough portion to share.

Amidst all the egg bennies, bacon, donuts, and coffee in the area, this restaurant was a refreshing taste of Tofino serving authentic Korean and fusion style dishes. A must visit for sure and an excellent palate cleanser.

Thank you for the incredible meal. Next time we come back, we will have to try the GALBI! And maybe buy some merch...

Customer alert!!! I wish I can leave comment with no start. I have never been treated like this. Tofino suppose to be a paradise but this is the restaurant makes me feel so disgusting. We went there around 8 pm, I tried to call before we arrived but no answer. So the staff told me there is waiting list for half an hour because I did not reserve before. I told her I did try but no one answer. She said sorry they were short with staff. I wonder if I can pre order some food before we get seated because our kids are starving. She said no. I was not happy so I said :well you shouldn't short staff at peak season. But if I have to wait, I will wait. Then I didn't say anything anymore. We left contact info and waited for half an hour, no one text us, we went back to the restaurant then the owner came towards me, gave me the ugly face and start complaining about I should not complain about his staff, it is not their fault if short with staff. He speaks fast with accents so I only can understand certain words. But I can tell from his face he is angry with me. This is unacceptable. He said i complain his staff, I did not say an abuse word or any dirty word to his staff. I was upset only and the reason I wanted to order earlier was because I have two young starving kids. I can't believe he compain about me first as an owner. With this unwelcome attitude, i have to left there with two starving crying kids eventually because I can not eat there anymore, that is a place has no respect to customer. I lost my temper and loundly repose to them: sorry, i should not bother you in that case. After i calm down, i trully suggests: As an owner, if you can not stand to have a customer with light complain, please do not open the restaurant. There are all kinds of customers in the world, you have no right to require all people understand your situation or like your restaurant, especially when your services is not good enough. May be your food is five start, but you took away my right as a customer. It is your choice to choose not serve food to us But I wish u can tell me 30 mins earlier so my poor kids can eat something somewhere...

Some friends of ours had visited Tofino a week before we did and they told us we had to try JeJu. They were 100% correct!

We could only get reservations for a late dinner, but going in hungry probably elevated the experience. The staff were all super nice and knowledgable about the items on the menu.

We decided to start with the Fried Chicken and ordered the Denver Steak and the Sung Style Ribs.

Our server told us that all items were made in house, including the sauces. The gochujang sauce that came on the Fried Chicken was outstanding! It was less sweet than the store bought stuff with a much more delicate taste. The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. We have not had a chicken this tender or juicy, especially considering that they use white meat. The portion was also a healthy size even when shared by two.

The Denver Steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare. It also came with all the ingredients you need to make single bite lettuce wraps. The homemade ssamjang sauce was just as flavourful and delicate as the gochujang that came with the Fried Chicken.

Our personal favourite were the Sung Style Ribs. Our server told us that the recipe for these ribs was created by the owner of the restaurant. These ribs were nearly fall off the bone with just the right amount of bite. The meat was super tender without disintegrating in your hands. The sauce was flavourful and paired really well with the greens and rice that came on the side.

Our server recommended a Korean pear juice to go with our meal. It was refreshing and not quite as sweet or acidic as apple juice, which made it perfect for such a warm day.

We plan on coming back to Tofino regularly as an in country vacation spot; when we do, JeJu will be one of the first places we come back...