BOKU (Yonge St.) — Restaurant in Toronto

As a preface, I have visited Boku’s Distillery locations twice before, and have had stellar experiences at both. One was with a larger party, the other with a much smaller, and there were no complaints from either instances.

I expected this location to be no different, if not a bit better as it is situated in the core. Unfortunately, it was abysmal. I came here with my girlfriend to celebrate an occasion and if I could go back in time to stop myself from entering this restaurant, I would. There were 2, maybe 3 servers? One of them was couchlocked at the bar scrolling through his phone and never looking around him. Maybe he was the floor manager? But if so, that’s not a reassuring sight to see. The other two seemed to be more interested in talking to each other than anything else. They were also timid, and quiet. We had to ask them to repeat things as they talked as if they were afraid to be heard. Not to mention, they never came by the table, or any other seated tables while we were there with the exception of bringing the food. We called the servers twice, raised our hands, and after a few minutes they finally looked up and came over. The interior is quite nice though, great for taking some pics if you’re into that sort of thing.

The food… was disappointing to say the least. At their distillery location, I had the pleasure of trying several different items from their menu, from ramen to skewers to plated dishes, everything was delicious and had great proportions. At this location, we decided to order ramen. We’re both avid ramen enjoyers, and have experienced a wide variety throughout the city. Yet, somehow, the portions within the ramen were terrible. The ratio of noodles:broth was like 4:1. Maybe 10 spoons of broth in the bowl. The additional toppings that came with the ramen were as few as possible. It was essentially just an insane amount of noodles with a minuscule amount of everything else. The eggs were decent, I’ll give them that. But overall, as far as ramen goes? 1/10.

Additionally, we noticed a little blurb at the bottom of their menus. If their patrons gave them a 5-star review on maps or yelp, or whatever other sites there are, they would receive a free serving of gyoza. Now, normally, when restaurants do this, it’s usually to inflate their ratings. It makes sense why Boku would do this considering every other aspect of their dining experience was outright terrible. So, for those wondering if they should dine here, don’t. I’m not sure if their distillery location, or their Touhenboku locations replicate this sort of quality, but definitely stay away from...

Delicious and super filling food! Great interior that really stands out and even more amazing staff, super kind and professional this place is definitely a go to!!

||Avocado Fries|| At first I was hesitant, since I never tried these before and worried a hot avocado would melt or be mushy, however it was the complete opposite, the texture remained the same nice and soft while the outside was super crunchy! Definitely loved them

||Spicy K fried chicken Sandwich|| I was worried about the spice level at first but it’s definitely mild so don’t worry! The sauce is tangy yet sweet so delicious! The chicken inside was still sooo juicy!! I enjoyed every item, as for the pickles I’m not a huge pickle fan so I didn’t eat mine and appreciate the fact they weren’t soggy.

||Kimchi Fried Rice|| Definitely shocked, I was expecting a sour vinegary sort of taste also I’m not a fan of kimchi, but I enjoyed every bite! I’m not sure on how to describe the taste, but it’s definitely a 10/10

||Beef bento|| Super filling, I enjoyed the beef however (I’m not a cheese fan) but I found the cheese masked the flavour of the beef and caramelized onion and didnt let it shine as much, which is why I didn’t find a tangy or sweet taste to them since it was probably mixed in with cheese however I am biased since I don’t enjoy cheese, as for the lettuce I enjoyed that it’s not arugula or kale, I think I’ve seen them too much, the vinaigrette was interesting, sour definitely; I’m used to some lemon and salt so it was a different experience for me! in conclusion it was refreshing and tangy. The dessert seemed to be a cream cheese or blueberry mix, it was soft in texture and not too sweet however I’m not sure ❤️

||Service|| First time I came here I was greeted kindly, they have hand sanitizer when you arrive and then later on you take a quick Covid screening test. Our server was very attentive kind and sweet, my friend and I definitely enjoyed chatting with him and appreciated his friendliness and outgoing personality, he was very personable...

This is one of my toughest reviews as the scores were all over the place. The rating of 3 was difficult for me as there are no half star options so it would probably be closed to a 3.75 (or "almost 4). Read on…

In downtown Toronto on Yonge at the corner of Breadalbane St, Boku has a very light and airy feel. Windows line two of the four walls and there is a lot of nature light, in addition to the restaurant have light color walls and a high ceiling and are topped by beautiful and brightly color Japanese style parasols along the wall and ceiling. If you are expecting those dark cherry wood styles of more typical izakayas then this is not it. The menu is eclectic and I would call it more Japenses-ISH, than hard core Japanese. There are traditional dishes like edamame and miso soup along side bibimbap (Korean) and tacos. For our meal we ordered edamame's (over cooked and not salted enough), seaweed salad (good), miso soup (tasty), Boku Curry (very good), grilled broccolini (good), unagi bibimbap (very good), salmon nigiri sushi (not very good...from frozen), and tempura fish and chips (fish was very good and the fries were excellent having a tempura batter finish to them). Overall the meal was a mixed bag and difficult to pin down, being all over the place in taste and quality...hence the 3 star review. Even the sake menu was odd...favoring a sweeter palate and missing of classic junmai options.

Service, on the other, was very friendly and attentive and was a definite plus (although language was sometimes an issue but always resolved quickly and with a smile). The food came out from the kitchen as ready which is fine for a common order but we ordered as individuals...again, not a major issue, but was a bit off putting.

So you can see why the lower rating...it is certainly good to try but manage your expectations. I would try it again to see what would change for the...