Ehwa Uptown — Restaurant in Toronto

Not Worth the Hype (or the Wait)

I don’t usually write reviews, even when I say I will — I forget. But this one stuck with me. I woke up still thinking about it, and that feels like a sign to share. It’s a long review, but stay with me.

Honestly, the one star is purely for the waitress. She kept a smile on her face and did her absolute best despite everything she went through that night. I genuinely felt bad watching her run around nonstop.

We came here after the Blackpink concert, along with a crowd of other hungry people. We were seated fairly quickly, and the atmosphere was lively, but that’s where the good part ends.

⏱ The Wait Times Were Unreal • 30 minutes just to take our order • Another 30 minutes to get water • Finally got our food at 2:00 AM — we were seated at 12:30 AM We asked for updates and got no clear answers. Again, the waitress was lovely, but two people handling both the restaurant and the patio during a post-concert rush was just poor planning.

Honestly, it felt like the food only came after we said we’d cancel the order and leave. Suddenly, dishes started arriving within 5–15 minutes.

🚩 Red Flags We Ignored (Lesson Learned): • Tables behind us weren’t “just chilling” — they were still waiting on food • Some people hadn’t even ordered yet • With most restaurants already closed, our options were limited We should’ve taken the hint and left, but we were too hungry.

🍽 About the Food: • Rose Tteokbokki: Flavorful and chewy. This was honestly the best thing I tasted all night… • Chili Cream Hamburg Steak: Disappointing. The cream sauce was bland, no truffle flavor, and the rice wasn’t even crisp or hot enough. I had to mix it with the tteokbokki sauce just to make it taste like something. • Injeolmi Honey Pizza: Sweet, dry, and kind of tasteless. I prefer injeolmi on its own.

❌ Overall: Sorry to say, I won’t be coming back. The food was average at best and absolutely not worth the hour-and-a-half wait. Honestly, McDonald’s would’ve been better — and a lot cheaper. If you can’t keep up with demand, it’s better to turn customers away or at least be transparent about wait times. Lesson learned: Never ignore red flags, no matter how...

I visited this restaurant last night after the Blackpink concert, as it was one of the few places open late (around midnight), and I was looking forward to a satisfying meal. Sadly, the experience was far from what I expected.

First, the service was extremely slow. We were seated right away, but nobody came to serve us for a long time. We didn’t get any water or utensils, and no one came to take our order. After waiting 1HOUR , we asked if we could cancel our order—only for the food to arrive right after. It was especially disappointing after sitting in the cold patio, hungry and exhausted from the concert.

I understand the waitress was trying her best. She was running around trying to manage everything, but it was clear the restaurant didn’t have enough staff for the number of customers they were taking in. It’s management’s responsibility to either hire more people or limit the number of reservations, especially after a big event like a concert. The staff should have communicated wait times better, or at least given us some indication of what was going on.

As for the food:

The Rose Korean Rice Cake was chewy and decent.

The Chili Cream Hamburger Steak was a letdown—the cream was tasteless, which really affected the whole dish.

The Injeolmi Honey Pizza was confusing. The combination of ingredients just didn’t make sense, and I couldn’t get behind the flavor.

After such a long wait, sitting cold and tired, it’s honestly more disappointing when the food doesn't live up to expectations. The staff was nice, but the service was chaotic and the food wasn’t great. I really hope the restaurant improves its management and staff levels, especially for busy...

Food: 3 Stars Service: 5 Stars Ambience: 4 Stars Value: 3 Stars Sanitary: 4 Stars Overall: 3.8 Stars

Visited Ehwa Uptown for the first time and honestly, the vibes were great from the moment we walked in. It’s got a lively, trendy energy that makes it a fun spot to catch up with friends. I came with a close friend of mine and we were both excited to try something new.

Service was lovely—friendly staff who were super attentive. They kept our table stocked with water and napkins (major win), which made the whole meal feel more relaxed and easygoing.

We ordered the Bulgogi Hansang, and the portion size was impressive. What really caught our attention was the variety of side dishes—it was a full spread! That said, there was just a lot of onion going on. The beef itself had too many onions mixed in, and then one of the banchan was also onion-heavy, so it felt a bit repetitive. Like onion on onion—kind of overkill.

We also tried the Crispy Boneless Sweet & Spicy Chicken. The flavour was solid, but it was drenched in sauce. The crispiness totally disappeared, which was disappointing since that was what we were looking forward to.

It did get packed pretty quickly after we ordered, and the seating started to feel tight. Not ideal if you’re someone who likes a bit more space while dining.

All that said, the menu is huge and definitely worth exploring more. I’d come back to try a few other dishes—there’s a lot of potential here and the experience overall was enjoyable.

Great first visit, just hoping for a little less onion and a bit more crisp next time.

xx...