KoSam Korean Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

Kosam is a Korean restaurant situated in a dense cluster of restaurant outlets and condominiums. There is only street parking in surrounding areas or you can park in the garage next door. I recommend parking at the residential streets about 1 block west of Yonge St. It's free parking after 6 pm.

The restaurant was very busy and luckily my brother got a reservation for 7pm. We ordered the following:

H6. TTEOK GALBI JUNG SIK $20.99 - Grilled minced Korean style short rib marinated in soy sauce. Served on a sizzling plate with a cracked egg, rice cake, and cabbage.

F1. Kosam fried chicken $20.99 - crispy boneless fried chicken thighs.

B3. DOL SOT KORYO BIBIMBAP $19.99 - Koryo bimbimbap served in traditional Korean hot stone bowl

B4 DOL SOT NAH MUL BIBIMBAP $19.99 - vegetarian DOL SOT KORYO BIBIMBAP

A2. PA JEON (SEAFOOD & GREEN ONION PANCAKE) $19.99 - Korean style pancake made with shrimps, oysters, squids and green onions, etc.

The bibimbap and dupbap came out first. You would think the PA JEON pancake would come first since it's an appetizer. I had to wait for an extra 15 minutes before my Kosam fried chicken would come out. The server said they only have one deep fryer, and they are very busy. Getting my fried chicken and pancake order when my family is almost finished eating was disappointing. It looks like the kitchen could not keep up with the volume of orders.

Pancake was mostly green onions and not much seafood. I did see some pieces of squid but no shrimps or oysters. The pancake needed seasoning. The soy sauce provided helped offset the blandness of the pancake. My wife enjoyed the minced kalbi rib, which was like a burger steak. The dish was well executed with a cracked egg, rice, and veggies on a sizzling plate.

Overall experience the food is decent, and some minor adjustments in the kitchen to ensure appetizers come out earlier and to get orders out in a reasonable amount of time. Please make sure the you give more seafood in your pancake. I would give them another try and hopefully see some...

I’ve been coming to this restaurant for years since it’s close to my office—probably a few times a month. Tonight, after working late, I decided to treat myself with a takeout order of Yukhoe Bibimbap. Well, imagine my surprise when I opened the package at home. What you see in the photo is apparently worth $23.99 + tax. Honestly, I thought I had accidentally ordered a lunch special.

This was a $27.10 dinner, yet the quality was on par with a $10.99 lunch box from Galleria. At the very least, one would expect the rice to be packed separately and maybe even include the soup that’s served when dining in. The side dishes were barely passable, and the radish kimchi looked dried out and borderline spoiled.

And the Yukhoe itself? Let’s just say I’ve seen more generous portions served with a single spoonful of rice.

I’ve been having lunch here for about five years, and in that time the price of this dish seems to have gone up five times while the portion size and quality have steadily declined. Dining in is one thing, but takeout at this price point is just unacceptable. If this is what a $27 dinner gets me, I’d rather spend $24 on half a Korean fried chicken—it feels like a much better investment.

Yes, Shepherd area doesn’t have many Korean restaurants, but Gosam is really pushing its limits here. After this experience, I don’t think I’ll be returning.

It’s a shame Google doesn’t allow zero-star ratings, because I think I may have finally found a place that truly deserves half a star—if even that. One particular moment stood out: the staff member casually asked me, “Do you need a spoon?” I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s really the kind of question you ask someone picking up dinner after working late.

Honestly, if I had just ordered the $12.99 Kimchi Fried Rice, I might have at least gotten a soda. Instead, I’ll just consider the $27.10 I spent tonight as a...

Been here for lunch three times. Try the Samgyetang!

A bright space, the large window front, uncluttered straight space and neutral colour allows for natural light to reach even the back. The clean, thoughtful style makes for a very pleasant modern environment with K-Pop playing in the background. The waitresses are cheerful and provide quick and attentive service in English or Korean.

I preferred the G3 Special Seol Leong Tang soup over the G5 dumpling rice cake and dumpling soup (in the photos). The rice cake in the G3 was soft whereas I like it more on the chewy side. I also took a photo of the vegetarian Nah-Mul Bibimbap which, I was told, was also tasty.

I enjoyed the good selection of complimentary, tasty side dishes. On my most recent visit, the garlic scapes pickled in soy sauce were tidbits packing bombs of unami enhanced flavour.

Also tried the S1 Samgyetang ginseng chicken soup. I can dine quickly when I must at lunch but this dish is best suited to a more leisurely dinner. It does comes out at a rolling boil (as in the photo) so it is certainly well suited to any day in winter. I especially enjoy the rice within the cornish hen which has stewed with the flavours of the hen, ginseng, red date, etc. Tasty and healty, Samgyetang is definitely their signature dish!

It's a very good lunch spot for those opting for quality Korean dining.

And for dinner, parking is available on Yonge Street and other roads (do not park on Yonge during rush hour or you will be towed), there is a Green P within walking distance, and two subway stations (Sheppard-Yonge and North York Centre) are also within walking...