Kosoo Korean Restaurant - Cardero Location — Restaurant in Vancouver

It was a 30 min wait time at the Robson location on a Wednesday evening so we trotted to the Cardero location which had no wait time. (The distance between the two locations is only a 9 minute walk.)

Menu was online via our phones due to covid19, which was a bit annoying because they have the longest menu ever. Also, it turns out that the two locations have slightly different menus! More on this later.

What got me to this restaurant, is really the pictures I saw on Instagram. However, keep in mind that IG pictures will always look better. Two things you must order here:

Korean fried chicken. Robson's location has many different flavours and options including boneless or bone-in. Easy choice at us at Cardero location, it was either soy garlic or spicy soy garlic. Juicy and tender chicken with flavourful deep fried skin. The fried tteobokki which came with this dish helped balance out the strong flavours. In pictures, I do see this dish being served with some chips on top, but guess that's the Robson location?

Jokbal (pig trotters). We got half jokbal and half bossam (pig shoulders). This dish came with like 4 side dishes, garlic, sweet sauce, and the rest I don't know. I wished the waitress taught us how to eat this dish properly with the sauces. The bossam on its own is really plain, I liked eating it with the sweet sauce. Meat was tender and lean, with a nice slice of fat in between, overall kinda like pork belly but not as much fat. The jokbal that we got was spicy (though I believe one could choose original or spicy, but we were never asked??). I really enjoyed the delicious and chewy jokbal but it was a tad bit too...

Whenever we find ourselves in Downtown Vancouver, our compass invariably points to Kosoo. This time, we went to their 1st branch on Cardero Street.

Gimbap is our comfort zone, and Kosoo delivers comfort in abundance. Whether it's the classic tuna or beef, their portions are hearty, and they even toss in creative gimbap flavours to pique your taste buds. It's like Korean-style sushi with a twist you won't want to miss.

The highlight would be their beef brisket Budae Jjigae, also known as Army Stew. It's a dish that graces the screens of K-dramas, and Kosoo's version doesn't disappoint. The serving is enormous, loaded with beef brisket, spam, kimchi, vegetables, and instant noodles, all swimming in a flavoursome broth.

What adds to the delight is the interactive element. With a propane stove on the table, you can play chef and cook this communal Korean feast yourself. It's a perfect option when dining with the company. Kosoo's take on Korean cuisine has won our hearts once again, making it a dining experience worth revisiting.

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Food: 🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘Must Try! Service: 👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳 Kids: 👶👶👶👶 Yay! Presentation: 📷📷📷📷 Parking: Paid street parking Tips: 📝 have an extensive menu with budget-friendly options. 📝 serve generous portion sizes, perfect for sharing. 📝 have two Downtown Vancouver locations: 1st branch on Cardero Street (West End district) and 2nd branch on Robson Street (central shopping location) with distinct menus. 📝 have online ordering on their website. 📝 can get crowded during peak hours; use the QR code to join the waitlist. Would I...

We ordered the cold noodle + beef galbi, as well as the traditional hot pot.

Cold noodle + beef galbi -

Amazing flavours and the noodles were so bouncy! I was so pleasantly surprised at the texture. The cold soup was made almost perfect as well - tasty, not too salty and complements the starchy nature of the noodles beautifully.

Hot pot -

Not their best dish. I was disappointed that was actually no meat except for 2 dumplings. For $30 it is way too pricey as the dish contains mostly scallions, carrots, lots of instant noodles and even more rice cakes. I was also disappointed there were two boiled eggs in the hotpot - if anything it should have been an uncooked one that we could add at the top to integrate the egg white into the dish. It wasn't spicy enough but it was certainly salty.

Overall, while Kosoo has their unique flavours and approach to serving their dishes, I did not like they did not have any side dishes, nor dessert. The food came fairly quickly but they had 2 servers at the restaurant so were short-staffed organizing in-person dining tables and LOTS of takeout orders.

COVID protocols were done very carefully - this is why I gave them one more star than 3 for the overall dining experience and food. They gathered full contact tracing information, had wooden panels between tables as dividers, and had their porch window opened to allow for air flow. There were hand sanitizers at the door and outside the bathrooms, and all the chefs wore their masks properly. So kudos for them for taking COVID so seriously to keep diners and their...