Chako Vaughan — Restaurant in Vaughan

Me, my brother and my mom ate dinner here on Family day and we had the worst experience FROM THE MANAGER. While eating, I pulled out a hair from the rice that I was eating and pulled it out of my mouth (the hair was literally inside the packed rice since it was already my third scoop) and I called the server to tell him that I have hair on my found. The server took the rice bowl and told me he would call the manager, but I was just going say that I would just like a new bowl of rice. The manager came by and said “I’m sorry but this is not our hair, it looks like hair flown off from another customer in the restaurant” and I told her you wouldn’t even apologize for what happened? She then said “didn’t you hear me apologize to you?” At that point I was shocked, and I told her it couldn’t be ours because it’s not possible for the rice to be flying and get stuck inside and I told her at this point I didn’t want to argue and I really just want a new cup if rice. She then walked away and saw me that I looked really upset. She then tried to refill my glass with water and then tried to argue with my brother. She said “It’s okay if you guys don’t come back” (I was shocked she said this) and then my brother was explaining that I was just telling the server that there was hair INSIDE the bowl of rice and I just wanted a new one. The manager kept arguing with him which made my mom upset and then Julie (the manager) told us that she is very sure it is not one of their staff’s hair and she said it is my mom while pointing to her. At this point I got so mad and I told her how rude she was, especially with what happened and how she’s handling the situation. I told her that if she thinks we are looking for a free meal, we are not and if she really wants to check it that she can check her restaurant’s camera. She then became more rude and unprofessional and told us she was trying to explain to us so that we can have a good time. At this point I told her that her servers were doing a good job and it was only her (the manager) that is ruining our dinner. We had to literally tell her to leave us alone so that we can at least eat whatever we were paying for. This is the worst way to handle a situation especially with her bragging that she has been in the food industry for 25 years. I hope the owner of the restaurant can take a...

When Chako first opened in Vaughan, the excitement was real. Those of us who’d been regulars at the Richmond Hill location knew what to expect: great food, great energy, and a staff that cared. Finally, we had one in our own backyard.

Then came the pandemic, and everything paused. When life returned to normal, one of the first places we were eager to visit was Chako Vaughan. The first few visits were excellent—exactly what we were expecting. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.

The customer service, once warm and personable, now feels robotic—like walking into a discount nail salon. The music? Those same recycled vino house covers of pop songs you hear at average Pho restaurants. It’s uninspired and kills the atmosphere.

The food though is where it all truly fell apart. We brought friends from out of town—one of them a first timer to Korean BBQ. Even she could tell something was off. The sides, once fresh and full of flavor, now taste like refrigerator leftovers. The kimchi, bean sprouts, seaweed salad—all cold, lifeless, and stale.

The meats? A disaster. The ribs were rubber. The boneless ribs were rubber. The beef was flat, flavorless. The fish and calamari both carried that unmistakable “fridge” taste—like they’d been sitting uncovered for days. Our kids, who usually go two full rounds, barely touched their plates. None of us finished.

And for nearly $50 per adult, you’d expect a better ending than a single hospital-grade Styrofoam cup of ice cream. One per person. No variety, no quality, no generosity.

For 5 adults and 2 kids under ten years of age, my bill was around $350. They had included the gratuity into the bill and still told me I can tip more if I’d like.

Chako Vaughan used to be worth the price of admission and then some. Now it’s not worth a second look.

Do yourself a favor—head down to East Beaver Creek, where the real Chako spirit still lives. Or at least I hope...

Let me share my experience with you guys. It's Valentine's but it's not that busy when I went. Around 7 ish. Just a heads up, if your planning on having any alcohol beverages, they don't serve any because they don't have their liquor license. It was fine with me however, if you wanted to have a drink with your dinner, this isn't the place. Now, we were sat in the far back corner. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with my experience but, it was terrible. Let me tell you about their system. They have server with carts that have either meat or vegetable. They would make their rounds every 15 mins to see if you need either or. Also when you get sat down, youre given a piece of paper where you can write what you want for your first round and such. Anyways, that didn't work. They don't look at the paper. They just ask what you want. Their system does not work. When the server came around with the cart and I asked for more rice, she said "I only have meat" and walked away. Didn't even try to get someone else. Like I said, maybe because we were sat in the corner, maybe that's why there's no one that came around. Another red flag, they offered a promotion where they give you complimentary drinks and cake if you "give a 5 star review right when you walk in" Whoever owns/manages this restaurant, does not know what they are doing. The service is terrible. For 2 people it's was 101$ granted its Valentine's. I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THE ADDED 12% SERVICE CHARGE. I paid, I tipped then they ran off with both my receipts. So then I'm like, that's off... So I asked for both my receipts and sure enough, I saw that for 2 people, they already added the service charge even though they had sign that said they only do that for big groups... I didn't bother to fight it. They lost my business. Do not come to...