JouMak — Restaurant in Toronto

One more update: noticed a couple 5-star reviews have been posted right after my review. They are all complimenting on barley tea? lol just saying.

This is the worst Korean restaurant I've tried in a long time. I had a high expectation for this restaurant due to the very positive rating it received on Google Maps, and I was also excited to see some of the more traditional Korean dishes like Korean blood sausage soup (순대국) on their menu.

I went there with a friend and ordered Korean blood sausage stir-fry (순대볶음), which is one of my favourite Korean dishes. Before the main dishes were served, they brought out the side dishes, which included slices of kimchi pancake, radish kimchi, and sausage with vegetables. The kimchi pancake was very off-putting, with it being served cold and the texture being pasty (as if it was undercooked). Also, it had a pungent taste of Korean hot pepper paste; it did not taste like kimchi at all. The radish kimchi they served was overly fermented; the radish had lost the crunchy texture and was rather mushy. They should not be serving radish kimchi that's been fermented to that degree, it's unacceptable.

The most disappointing dish was the blood sausage stir-fry. Typically, the blood sausage stir-fry is cooked with lots of aromatics, such as onions, perilla leaves, and Korean green chillies. The one served at Joumak did not include any of those ingredients, it was actually quite bland and not spicy at all. Even the blood sausage pieces lacked the mouthwatering savouriness, and they were way too soft.

To make the dining experience worse, the dining area had an unpleasant odor of sewage, and the chairs were extremely uncomfortable to sit on for more than a few minutes. The only positive feedback I could leave is that the server was very attentive and pleasant. Overall, however, I would not recommend this restaurant at all. If you want good Korean blood sausage, you'll have better experience getting the frozen ones they sell at any Korean grocery stores than getting the ones they serve at this restaurant. Avoid this place, there are other, superior Korean restaurants within walking distance from here.

Update after a detailed response from the owner: the owner left a very detailed response to my review so I thought I'd return the courtesy by replying to their comment.

I rely on Google reviews extensively to pick which restaurants to go to, as I don't want to waste my hard-earned money on the ones that are known to be of poor quality. So yes, I do tend to go to restaurants that are very well rated.

This is also why I feel it's even more important for me to leave honest critiques of restaurants that failed to deliver despite having overwhelmingly positive ratings. I'm not looking for anything groundbreaking - I'd happily give 5/5 to restaurants that can serve well-seasoned food with good flavours. If I am giving less than four stars to a restaurant, that is because either the food did not taste good and/or the service was extremely lacking. I always try my best to provide well-rounded feedback and highlight both the positives and the negatives from my experience. In the case of JouMak, unfortunately the only positive feedback I could provide was for the service we received. So no, I am not going to give this restaurant more than one star, when it failed to deliver on the minimum expectation that all restaurants should strive for - to serve tasty food.

One unhappy customer and their review isn't going to take down an entire restaurant. What will take down a restaurant is if it continues to disappoint. I hope the owner and their team will take my review seriously and revisit their blood sausage stir-fry and their side dishes. It doesn't have to follow a specific recipe; however, if one can't taste clearly the blood sausage in a 순대볶음 dish, then that dish is a failure. Mushy, overly sour radish kimchi and pasty, pungent Korean pancakes are also failures. These are all basic knowledge I'd expect restaurant owners to have, given how highly competitive the restaurant...

One Korean food that Toronto has sorely been missing is soondae guk (순대국). In Korea, this is a staple comfort food that can be found almost anywhere. It is also one of my favourites. So when I heard about this restaurant, I was extremely excited.

The service was exceptional. It is clear that the owner and servers go out of their way to please the customers. The interior also has some nice traditional paintings, photos, and a small traditional statue (I think a 기생?).

However, we had some issues with the food. First, the side dishes looked different than the photos. Second, the spicy soondae guk (매운 순대국) was made with with soy bean paste (된장) and tasted more like Doenjang-jjigae (된장찌개) than a more traditional spicy soondae guk. It also wasn't spicy at all.

I would advise the owner to indicate this on the menu, as it may confuse customers. The food was advertised as being traditional, but this dish is completely unique. I know Korean restaurants in Canada are often concerned about how spicy to make their food so they can appeal to the common North American palate. The solution is to provide spice levels with each dish (Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu does this).

With that said, the owner is clearly very devoted and this restaurant is new. I'm confident that if they can address these issues, it will have staying power. Because I love 순대국 so much, I may try this place again in the future to see if there's any changes (and to try the regular 순대국) . Good luck, JouMak. I wish...

감사함니당 to the owner of Joumak!!!

My friends and I were looking for a Korean restaurant after a long practice session for our band. I came across this spot on Google Maps and wanted to try it out. Once we arrived, it unfortunately said “takeout only” and we were quite sad. However, the owner came by the door and let us in. He had such a wonderful smile and demeanor. He wanted to provide a welcoming entrance and had us sit at the best table by the window! My friends and I wanted to let the owner choose three of the best dishes and he did not disappoint. We had the chicken rice bowl, stew, soup, and eggs from his family farm. I could feel like I was in my own family home.

The experience was much more than the delicious food I ate at the restaurant. It really was the 150% service from the owner. He was so kind to us the moment he let us in the door until we left. We even told him that we’ll return again since our practice was nearby!

I’m also quite surprised the restaurant only opened on Jan 2nd. I’m glad there’s lots of reviews already!

My friends and I had the best time at Joumak, I would definitely go for an authentic Korean experience. When I was going through a low during the pandemic, I ordered Korean comfort food to help me destress or wind down. Joumak gave me those specific feelings.

Thank you for the amazing meal!...