Daldongnae Korean BBQ - Dundas Square — Restaurant in Toronto

I went here for dinner last night with my cousins. There were six of us in total. We did book a reservation ahead of time, so we did not have to wait long. Once you get to the restaurant, it's on the second level, and the stairway is just so narrow that you had people waiting in line on the stairs. They don't really have an area for you to wait apart from a bench that seats three people at the top of the stairs. This was not a good start because that is a safety hazard, and there was no space for us to stand and wait for us to be seated. The workers also complained that we were in the way, but there was nowhere else for us to stand, so I didn't understand their logic for telling us to make room when there was none.

Once we got to our table, it was one of their medium-sized tables that would comfortably sit four people. With six of us, it was a very tight squeeze. We were all uncomfortable, and we didn't really have space to move our arms. They should have seated us at the table next to us as it had a longer bench and table which had two grills. They seated 4 at that table, which is bad seating management on their part. Our table only had one grill. So, you can imagine how long it took us to cook our food. With the amount of food we had to order, there was very little space to put it all. Again, they didn't seem to take the number of people into account when seating groups. PS. While we just got seated and still figuring out the seating situation, we were approached by three different workers asking if we were ready to order yet. Like come on, let us breathe for a moment in your crowded restaurant. Once we are ready to order, we will let you know.

To add to the venue atmosphere, there is barely any space to walk through the restaurant. I understand that a business wants to make more money by adding as many seats and tables as possible, but that should not take away from the fact that there's less space for people to walk around and even enjoy the experience.

When it comes to the food, the food was excellent overall. We had several types of meat including the beef boneless, short ribs and pork belly. The side dishes and seasonings were also really good. There was one food item that we did not particularly enjoy and that was the complimentary soup. We ended up trying one spoonful, and just told them to take it away.

Overall, I would recommend you check this place out if you enjoy Korean BBQ, but definitely come on a weekday for lunch when I assume it's less busy. I would not recommend coming here on a weekend or dinner time because it could get quite busy and crowded. If you are coming with one other person, you can probably come at any time, but if you are in a larger group and want the Korean BBQ experience, I would say...

After seeing that the restaurant had a long line on a Friday night, we decided to come back for Monday lunch. We made a reservation, but it probably wasn't necessary as it was pretty empty. I really liked the decoration of the restaurant and the vibes were great.

We got two meats (thinly sliced pork belly and thinly sliced beef short plate, 대패 삼겹살+우삼겹). I thought the beef was better than the pork -- more tender, while the pork was tougher. The slices are medium thinness. Overall the meat wasn't my favorite that I've had, but everything else that comes with the meat made up for it!

The egg, corn cheese, and kimchi on the grill were all delicious. We are big egg lovers so we got 3 refills of the egg, 2 refills of the corn, and 1 refill of the kimchi. That definitely filled us up. I also loved the mung bean jelly side dish. The dwenjang jjigae was also very savory (maybe a little too salty) and tasty.

The actual grilling space for meat and vegetables is a bit limited, perhaps due to the space taken up by the egg ring. I think this normally shouldn't be too much of a problem for quickly-cooking meat, but because the vegetables took more time to cook, it was a bit difficult to optimize grill usage. My friend got the vegan set which came with Beyond sausage, tofu, and vegetables. The tofu stuck pretty badly to the grill (even with a layer of pork fat), so perhaps some other form of tofu would be preferable.

Overall even though we didn't have rice, we were all very full after this meal. Maybe it's because of all the sides we ate, haha. I thought the price was very reasonable considering all the food you get. We had a great time, and I could definitely see myself returning...

First of all, I believe the food here is great. But today, me and my friend experienced something unpleasant. One of the staff accidently placed down the grill too violently during a grill switch, splashing hot oil on my friend. This staff owns up to his mistake and said he would take off some charges from our bill. Some sloppy service; if the oil was hotter, it will be really painful. Since my friend is ok, I do not blame on that particular staff; anyone can make a mistake. I was expecting a around $10 deduction. (We spent 85)

However, when a different staff came to charge our bill, the only thing cut from the bill is my friend's pop drink, which cost 3 dollars. I feel like this is kind of disrespectful, as it seems like the most "easy" way of dealing with this situation without financially losing.

My friend was given some medicine and ice. I do appreciate the staff's effort. Again, I would not be blaming the staff here.

Also, I am not really satisfied with today's service pace in general. Way too frequently was staff asking if they can replace grills, but when we ask for empty bowls, the wait time is a bit long.

I personally think the food is great, but my friend who is a frequent visitor said that the meat is a bit chewy today.

I give this two stars because I feel a little lack of organization in service pace, and more importantly the disrespect in the bill cutting as a solution to the oil incident. Just imagine if my friend didn't buy that cheap drink, will the manager simply come out and say we don't get...