The Owl of Minerva Waterloo — Restaurant in Waterloo

THE ABSOLUTE BEST Korean restaurant I’ve been to in the GTA. I was born and raised in Korea, and the food here reflects the authenticity and quality of food I used to get in Korea. If you get a chance, definitely give this place a visit – the quality, price, service, and the atmosphere of this place won’t disappoint you.

One of the dishes I ordered was the Budae Jjigae (Army Stew). As you can see from my picture, the tofu was THICK. I also ordered stir fried squid and stir fried spicy pork, and they didn’t hold back on the proteins. Proteins are generally the more expensive ingredients so the ratio between protein and vegetable is a bit off in other Korean restaurants, but this place was really generous with the use of ingredients in all their dishes.

The fried chicken here is easily one of my favourite dishes I ordered. Fried chicken sauce recipe varies depending on the restaurant, but this place’s sauce was a replica of the ones I had in Korea – this is rare in Canada, so I was pleasantly surprised. Also, the chicken pieces were HUGE!! Considering the quality, other Korean restaurants can’t compete with the price at this place.

Last but not least, the service and the atmosphere of this place. The servers were so welcoming and were quick to notice any of our needs. Also, I’m really sensitive to sanitation, but everything – cups, cutleries, tables, floor, washrooms, etc. – were spotless.

I can’t recommend this place enough. This place is now one of my favourite restaurants. Give this place a try – I’m confident it would...

It was a pleasant surprise to find this restaurant. I had dined previously at a The Owl of Minerva on King St, Waterloo but since the Covid pandemic, it has closed permanently. This small restaurant is newly owned and very friendly and clean. I guess it has just opened a week ago but you can already see the care and effort the staff and new owners are putting in it. I applaud their attention and their menu that caters to all diets but it is still Korean in essence. We ordered as a starter Gaeranmalyi, which is a fried egg roll with green onions, carrots and ham. I asked for no ham and it was pretty good and not greasy at all. This suits me perfectly. We also ordered Dolsot BiBimBap, an assortment of vegetables on rice with an egg all in a hot stone bowl. You can have beef or vegan options to a number of their menu selection. My husband ordered Dakchulpan, spiced stir fried chicken, vegetables on a sizzling plate accompanied with a bowl of rice. The food was very good indeed, very generous portion and not swimming in fat and msg but still tasty. As usual, the Korean hospitality brings side dishes of kimchi and other pickled vegetables to enjoy with your dishes. Everything was well served by a very kind and polite young staff. It was indeed a very pleasant experience. I wish the owners, chefs and staff a successful continuation. We need good restaurants in Waterloo that have integrity!!! This seems to be one of them. 감사합니다 Diners, I hope you give it a try and enjoy the food and the...

My friend had horrible food poisoning (nausea, vomiting, extreme diarrhea) from the kimchi rice. My other friend and I were ok since we didn't have any kimchi but we also felt the quality of the food had gone down significantly compared to other locations.

Edit: the response from the owner is actually really rude. If you check out my other reviews you will see that I almost only leave good reviews as I don't like hurting small businesses, but this time the experience was just so upsetting. My friend is a business owner as well and she missed two days of work due to the food poisoning. It was her first time trying the restaurant and I actually raved about how good the food was, so the whole thing was extremely...