Omiwol K BBQ & Noodles — Restaurant in Toronto

Rating: ⭐⭐ (2/5)

We recently visited Omiwol with a group of six, excited to try this spot after seeing it hyped up on social media. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of expectations.

Ambiance and Seating: The atmosphere was cozy, but the seating arrangement was disappointing. Despite making a reservation for six people, we were crammed around a grill table clearly designed for 2-4 guests. It felt cramped and uncomfortable for our group, making it hard to enjoy the meal fully.

Service and Timing: The service was frustratingly slow. I understand that this was their second day opening, but the service was painful. After ordering, it took over an hour for the meats to arrive at our table, leaving us awkwardly nibbling on rice and soup while waiting for the main event. For a restaurant centered around grilling, this delay was hard to overlook especially when the restaurant was half empty when we arrived.

I will say, the server was new. She tried her best to juggle everything. They were understaffed. She was pleasant and doing her best. She did her job with a smile dispite seeing upset customers.

Food Quality: The banchan (side dishes) came in small portions and were overly salted, lacking the balance that’s usually a highlight of Korean cuisine. This sweet potato one is pretty good but they brought two pieces to share for 6 people. We had to ask for more and prompt the server to make sure that there was at least 1 PC per person.

The dipping sauce, don't even get me started. We had 6 people and they gave us two portions to share. The dips were all thumbnail sized too. Just disappointing.

The raw crab was a major letdown—tiny, shell-less halves. The taste was sweet and delicious. But it was disappointing because when you order raw crab, you want the shell so you can have the delicious goodness in it. But out of three crabs, there was no shell. Definitely not worth the price.

The spicy raw marinated shrimp was equally disappointing. The shrimp was soft, soggy, and carried an off-putting smell, a clear indicator of a lack of freshness.

The meat, while of decent quality, didn’t live up to the hype. It was alright, but certainly not the standout experience the TikTok and Instagram reviews had led us to expect. On top of this, the server didn't know which cut of meat was what, she just said it's all the same anyways, beef is beef, pork is pork. Considering the price tag of this place, that isn't the level of knowledge I would expect. No idea what was dry aged, water aged or ice aged.

Overall: While the cozy atmosphere and decent meat quality were small positives, the poor service, cramped seating, and underwhelming dishes made this an overall disappointing visit. It seems this place might be riding the wave of social media hype rather than delivering an exceptional dining experience.

I wouldn’t recommend Omiwol for groups or anyone expecting high-quality Korean barbecue. The initial reviews seem like they're from invited influencers. There are definitely better options out there that offer more value for your...

Jeju Island BBQ comes to Toronto!! OK, I must be dreaming of Jeju again but this is the best K BBQ experience I’ve had since we went to Sukseongdo in Jeju (숙성도노형본관) and Bekmiwoo in Seoul. I will have to return at least 4 times to try their entire menu - and that’s only if they don’t add some other new and delicious things. My foodie son all the way down in Florida read about Omiwol on blogTO and paid for my birthday meal. My 94 yo mom and I enjoyed the Lunch Feast C for $90. Everything was so delicious! I was a bit confused by the different 2-person sets so I asked the friendly waiter. Lunch Feast A is $70 and comes with a choice of noodles. Lunch Feast C is $90 and includes a choice of raw appetizers (beef tartare, crab or shrimp) + a stew (jigae) and rice. Both lunch sets offer the same amount of meat and Melona popsicles. The Mini Omiwol set is $110 for 2 people and comes with kimchi fried rice. Today we opted for the Lunch Feast C because we wanted to try their soy sauce marinated raw crab. It was a fresh and tasty “flower” type crab which I believe is the type used in Korea. Most GTA restaurants only use blue crab. Too bad Omiwol’s didn’t have any precious roe or tomalley. Was it because they were not female crabs? I don’t know but I like the roe. Probably female crabs are more expensive. The veggie side dishes were all delicious. I haven’t had the pickled perilla leaf since my friend’s mother visited from Korea and she shared with me. It made me think fondly of her. The stew was very delicious. Served bubbling in a Ttukbaegi, it was a thick red soup chock full of tender pork, kabocha squash, tofu and zucchini. The squash naturally lent its sweetness and thickness to the stew. Although it was bright red, it wasn’t too spicy and Mom could enjoy it too. I would happily drink it every day. The waiter said the ingredients might change depending on the season. In any case, I’m sure Omiwol follows a nose-to-tail approach to meat use and will take advantage of their abundance to create a rich, meaty stock for any of their stews. And what should I say about the meat? The sets currently do NOT include the Heritage cuts so I will return next time and order à la carte. I told the waiter that we enjoyed the aged black pig in Jeju and he suggested that next time, we try their Ontario-raised Heritage pork - a breed similar to the Jeju black pork. Our Lunch Feast C offered a pork belly and collar plus a beef picanha and flatiron. They were very rich and delicious. I wanted to taste the meat only so I ate mine NOT as a ssam. Later, I made myself some ssams with the lettuce, yummy kimchi and jangajji (pickled, non-fermented veg). Portions are generous so we asked for take out containers. I’m looking forward to eating those. Dessert was a choice of 5 Melona bars. I’m normally not a supermarket dessert person so I have never tasted Melona before. After today, It’s my new obsession! The melon flavoured popsicle tastes exactly like honeydew melon and cream. It was the perfect ending to a...

My boyfriend and I were here on Friday night, which was their second day of opening. We were excited that a new kbbq place opened althought it was a bit far. We had a reservation at 8:00pm and arrived by 8:05. The atmosphere was nice and it was very spacious. After we sat down, we had to wait quite a while until a server approached us. We had to ask each time for a server to bring us water, utensils, complementary rice and stew, and something to cook our meat. The wine glass they brought us was dirty and the server left the wet utensils on the table and not on the napkin, which seemed unsanitary. On top of that, our grill wasn’t working and we had to wait about 20 mins for two servers, and then the owner to come and fix the grill. We were starting to run out of patience as it was 8:50pm by the time we started to cook our meat. We had to speak with the server and the owner. The owner apologized and brought us a free bottle of soju and jangajji, saying that he is trying his best. The owner was non-Korean, and as Koreans we were grateful and impressed as the menu and the atmosphere showed great interest in Korean food and culture. Most of the servers were nice as well, but there was a significant lack of system and organization. Servers were not assigned to tables and were just working together and it seemed like there should be at least twice the number of servers for the space and number of customers. It did not make sense to us that we had to call, wait, and ask for most basic things like water and utensils, and that we were left unattended for so long. It was to be honest, a disaster. In terms of the food, the pork jowl and pork belly were pretty good, but portions were small compared to other Kbbq places, while the price was on the higher end. The free beef that was given as promotion was below our expectations. It was very tough and unseasoned. The marinated crab was also below expectations and different from what we get in Korea or other Korean restaurants. It was a few small crabs and not worth $24. The complementary side dishes and stew were mostly good, especially the jangajji, but the green onion salad was a no. We usually love green onion salads but this one was not what we expected. The price we paid was not bad with the promotions and the tax break. The tip options were quite low, with the max being 18% so I manually gave 20% tip as the servers seemed to be having a hard time. Overall, we would not be going back unless there is a significant improvement...