156 ONEFIVESIX — Restaurant in Toronto

OneFiveSix has made a brilliant transition to the vibrant Queen West neighbourhood, bringing an exciting, elevated approach to Korean-inspired cuisine. From the moment I walked in, the experience was marked by outstanding hospitality, a beautiful atmosphere, and expertly executed dishes.

Walking in, I was immediately greeted by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable hostess who patiently and engagingly explained the restaurant’s concept, a fantastic start. The dining room itself is wonderfully inviting, a warm, moody space defined by rich wood paneling, thoughtful lighting, and comfortable, modern booths. It sets a perfect tone for a sophisticated meal.

The service throughout the evening was a true highlight. The staff are friendly, professional, and attentive; table maintenance was consistently on point. Each dish was introduced with a professional and informative explanation. A particular gesture of flexibility that stood out was the staff informing me that half-orders were available for the potato pancake and beef tartare a simple but brilliant suggestion that allowed me to try more of the menu.

OneFiveSix successfully blends traditional flavours with modern culinary techniques.

The Potato Pancakes (9/10) were exceptional: a small, hash brown-style base with a crispy crust and soft interior, topped with well-cooked mussels, Myeongran Aioli, and fresh horseradish/dill. It was a perfectly balanced bite.

The Beef Tartare (8/10) was tender and delicious, featuring a hint of homemade coconut Gochujang and served on a tuile wafer with semi-sweet pear gel. However, the flavour profile felt like it was missing an element. A touch more acid (perhaps a citrus zest or sharp pickle) would elevate it and make the flavour "hang out" longer.

The Mushroom Jook (7/10) was a comforting dish featuring Koshihikari Rice and Pearl Barley with a hint of truffle oil and a silky poached egg. While well-executed, it felt quite heavy and leaned very close to an Italian risotto, which, as a personal preference, wasn't my favourite when looking for a Korean-inspired dish.

The Kalbi Marinated Australian Wagyu (10/10) was flawless. Presented beautifully with an array of banchan (including homemade coconut Gochujang, chimichurri, and pickles), the beef was cooked to a perfect medium soft, tender, and truly melt in your mouth. It's best enjoyed wrapped in the provided lettuce.

The Argentina Shrimp (10/10) was superb. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, soft, moist, and buttery. Served with a silky corn purée, avocado, and corn nibs, the dish achieved a harmonious blend of textures and an excellent umami flavour.

For dessert, the Bingsu (10/10) was a perfect ending. This shaved ice dish with condensed milk, marshmallow, caramel, and popcorn was light, smooth, and utterly delicious.

Final Thoughts & Minor Area for Improvement The meal concluded with a beautifully presented bill, nestled in a jewel box alongside a plum digestive drink—a truly memorable and upscale finishing touch.

The overall experience was top-tier, Great service, great execution of food, and an expertly designed restaurant.

The only minor area for improvement was the washroom maintenance. While the dining room's ambiance was warm and polished, the washrooms needed a little attention (slippery floor, lack of paper towels). Addressing this would complete the five-star experience from start to finish.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a modern, high-quality dining experience...

This is going to be honest but detailed so pls bear with me. If I could lower this to a 2.5 I would. I visited July 1st.

Service: For a restaurant of this price bracket, I was disappointed. The servers did not check in on our table between meals. It took a long time to flag someone down to get the bill started and note - it was NOT a busy dinner, there were ample empty tables. The menu itself is very simple with little to no descriptions of the dishes themselves (I would have liked to see mention of major ingredients or seasonings used). That said, as the server brought out the dishes they called out the name of the dish and we learned nothing more of the plate itself and the ingredients used in it. This experience was already lacking. As for kitchen service, for a small plate menu I would have liked to get more time in between the shareables. All of the apps came out at once which didn't make sense for such a small table and can impact the taste due to changes in temperature.

Food: I'll start off with the best dish (and the only truly enjoyable one), the beef tartare. There was a lot of play on texture and the flavour was perfect. I would have liked it to be a bit more cold as the raw beef felt weird at room temp. The Bugak was fantastic but the caramelized onion dip tasted more like a sour cream and onion aioli, I couldn't pick up the caramelization. The salmon was a disappointment. The roe was fishy, the dill was extremely overpowering (for an herb as strong as dill, this should have been mentioned on the menu) and the perilla emulsion tasted nothing like perilla (probably because of the dill). The Sujebi was very heavy. I thought the decision of adding boiled potato to an already thick and chewy carb was odd and overall the dish felt bland. The Halibut again tasted very strongly of dill. I don't know if other herbs were used in the sauce but all we tasted was dill. It was also a very pricey small slab of fish that came with no sides except for a sprinkle of diced Daikon that added nothing to an already underwhelming dish. Most if not all the dishes were highly acidic with little umami or heat (save for the tartare). This acidity made it more difficult to taste delicate flavors such as perilla (at least when it wasn't all overwhelmed by dill).

Drinks: These were fantastic (we got the lavender lemonade and pear spritz) no complaints here.

Overall I expected much more for pricey yet tiny portions. The quality and taste were not up to par. The service could have more detail. Good spot if you just want to come and have great drinks with mediocre food but at that point you could find more...

Our first time dining here and since we LOVE Korean food, we decided to try this restaurant (reserved via OpenTable) due to their glowing reviews.

The food was delicious and we enjoyed each and every dish. However, we were shocked and at a disbelief that during our last course - we were asked to finish our meal as soon possible to accommodate other guests. (EXTREMELY UNPROFESSIONAL)

Upon entering the restaurant, we were informed that we would have 1.5 hours to finish our meal to which we agreed. Our two appetizers and cocktails arrived fairly quickly but waited for over 40 mins for our main courses to arrive. Just when were finishing off our last course, the server asked us to eat fast because there were guests waiting. Mind you, the restaurant was NOT busy and our 1.5 hours time limit was NOT over. There were plenty of empty tables beside us including the tables in the patio and yet we were asked to finish our meal quickly.

To conclude, this has been a very disappointing experience. I question how this restaurant received a Michelin guide with such poor service but we will not be returning nor recommending this restaurant to our peers.

Update

Thanks for responding so promptly. However, to clarify; The original reservation was not pushed back but was cancelled and we rebooked the 7:00 pm reservation since there was availability on open table. We would have booked with another restaurant if the 7:00 pm spot wasn’t available.

Your restaurant’s reservation policy had a 15 minutes hold and a 1.5 hour seating time. We were 12 mins late which is within the 15 min window. We arrived at 7:12 pm and the server attempted to take away our food at 8:27 pm. When we told her we were still working on our food, she pointed at her watch saying our time was up.

That being said, we ordered 2 appetizers, 3 drinks, 2 main dishes and was expected to finish our entire meals in about 1 hour (note that we had to wait for over 30 mins between our appetizers and main course).

When we decided to have our dinner at 156 Cumberland, we expected to enjoy our meal and not dine at a fast food restaurant.

Also, there should have been a clear communication with your front of your house staff and the kitchen staff to not delay in serving meals to your guests if you were expecting a full service on a weekend.

We dine regularly at various restaurants including once with long wait lines and never have we experienced such poor service. Truly a huge...