Joon's Kitchen — Restaurant in Vancouver

I am very regretful to write somewhat of a harsh review for a restaurant that used to be my favourite restaurant. I noticed that the ownership changed recently and today I decided to give it a try and my dining experience was exactly opposite of what it used to be. The reasons are as follows (in the ascending order of importance): Punctuality: I got to the restaurant at 11:40. The sign in the front says it opens at 11:30. The door displayed "Closed" sign and I had to stand there for a minute or so until waitress came to open the door. Business hour is a promise from the business to its customers. Once it is set, business should adhere to it. Also, little apology would've been nice. Music: The music was obnoxiously loud today and the music choice was horrible. I did tell the server to lower the volume a bit. Now I'm thinking I should have left it so others could have complained. I wish the management realized there's different optimal volume for different times of the day. Price deviance: The menu says tofu soup $14 for beef topping and $16 for seafood topping. I was charged $2 more for each menu. I can only assume that they were using old menu before everything got inflated, but this could upset some people. Service: I did not hear a single word of apology when I raised the aforementioned issue. It is actually the server's attitude that made me write this review. Server provided minimal service without any smile on her face and she wandered around when we were trying to decide on the menu. In contrary, she wasn't available when we wanted her. We were the only ones in the restaurant. Due to the reasons, I tipped her 15% which was lowest rate of the suggested tips. I guess she was not happy with it and I heard her throw the receipt tray when she returned.

Believe it or not, it was the kind and friendly servers and owner that kept me going to this establishment. I used to tip 25% or more just to make them happy. I am deeply saddened to see one business go from one end to another in such a short...

Pretty disappointed with both the food and service here. • Jeyuk (4/10): Way too spicy, so I asked for extra lettuce—because there’s no way I was finishing that without it. The dish only came with four small pieces of lettuce, and when I asked for more, the server said it would be $2 for just four more pieces. Seriously? Lettuce is such a basic pairing with spicy pork, and it’s not like it costs much for a restaurant to provide. Just made the whole experience worse. • Mango sushi (3/10): Not good. They drowned it in sauce, completely covering up the salmon flavor. • Tempura (1/10): It was soggy, not crispy at all, and I could tell the oil wasn’t fresh. The batter was too thick, making it heavy and unappetizing.

Wouldn’t come back.

Reply to owner's respond: Thank you for your response. The menu clearly states that the dish comes with lettuce and rice, yet it only came with 3 pieces of lettuce. and a 3 additional pieces when i request more. That seems unreasonable of you suggesting that I need to pay $2 for just three pieces of lettuce. lettuce is inexpensive, other Korean restaurants I’ve visited are generous with side dishes. The dish was too spicy to finish without enough lettuce to balance it out. I did not finsih the food. I packed them home so i can have it with more lettuce. That was my second visit and I even brought friends with me. We ordered 5 items with 3 people. I was not trying to take advantage of asking unlimited lettuce. My first visit was good, but this time is just disappointing. You might want to consider offering more lettuce when requested, it could help make spicy dish better and more balance. After all, giving out more lettuce won’t cost you much, but losing a customer’s...

Visited for the first time last week for lunch with family and friends and had a very positive dining experience. It was an hour before they were scheduled to close until the evening but we never felt rushed and the service was attentive and friendly. With restaurants everywhere cutting corners to survive it was a delight to enjoy food that was carefully prepared with fresh ingredients and with good value relative to what prices are around town these days.

The lunch bento was a great example of this and was well presented and not your usual cookie cutter box. A couple of us sprung for the hot pot for two and were very happy we did - it had a healthy and generous variety of ingredients and meats. The beef bibimbap was also spot on.

Many restaurants try to pull off a Japanese/Korean fusion menu but don't quite do either cuisine justice. This place seems to hit the mark across the range of their offerings. It's not a large space but is smartly laid out with live edge wood tables we admired. It's not hard to imagine a lively ambience at certain hours.

As it was our first time at the restaurant, we didn't have any preconceived notions based on past ownership or previous menus and can only speak to the good time we had there. Reading some of the older reviews we were surprised at a few of the negative comments as they didn't jibe with our own experience. It may also indicate that the owner has been responsive to feedback and adapted accordingly. We spoke to him briefly and he seems like an honest man who cares a lot about doing things the right way.

As the restaurant continues to evolve we'll be happy to return and enjoy another fine meal while supporting a...