Salaryman Toco Hills — Restaurant in Decatur

Went there for lunch for the very first time this weekend. The restaurant was FREEZING COLD! 🥶 The servers were wearing coats, hats and gloves which should have clued us in at how miserable it would be. Evidently, the place doesn't have a heating system. They had a couple of space heaters and we asked to have one placed close to our table but was told no because there wasn't a close outlet for it. We ordered steamed dumplings as a starter - there were 6 which was perfect for the 3 of us. By the time we'd finished half of one, they were cold because of the cold air blowing on us and the ambient room temperature. We asked for something warm to drink and instead of providing hot tea as a courtesy, we were charged 12$ for 3 teas. As we huddled around our hot glasses to warm our freezing hands, we waited for our hot entrees. We ordered a bento box, the wagyu burger and fries, and the steak noodles. The burger was ordered medium rare and the steak was supposed to be medium. Both were served rare. Super rare. And while the flavors were good, my friend's steak was tough and hard to cut. The burger felt haphazardly thrown together. The fries were crispy and good but within minutes of being served, once again, everything was cold. We debated on complaining but we were hungry and so cold that we hoped the food would help keep us warm. Lastly, our server acted like he had seen the movie "Clerks" one too many times and decided to model his work ethic in that fashion. It was like being served by a grumpy millennial who was too cold himself to give a damn about his customers. He barely checked on us - probably because he didn't want to see us shivering - and it felt like we had to beg for refills of hot water. When he gave us the tab, one of us hadn't finished her meal yet, so we continued talking and less than 5 min later, he returned with a handheld payment device. We said we weren't ready, hadn't even looked at the check yet, and he said he wasn't trying to rush us but he continued to stand right there, waiting. Never having used this kind of particular device, it was taking a minute. Once the payment is made, it asks for feedback on your experience and how you want a receipt. After asking for a printed copy and while I was entering in my feedback ( a thumbs down 👎🏻 for atmosphere due to the freezing temperatures and clicking Other in the hopes I could leave a comment which you can't) he returned with my receipt and actually said to me, "oh, don't bother leaving feedback because no one pays attention to those". I replied, "Really? Well, that's unfortunate and maybe they should." The device calculates a recommended tip and starts with 20% based on the total bill. He damn well didn't deserve it. But having been a server in my college years, I understand how important tips are. So, I tipped him exactly 20% based on the bill BEFORE tax was added which looks like it was 18% on the total bill. He returned with what appeared to be even more of an attitude 😑. Lunch for 3 people, no alcohol, water and 3 hot teas, and 1 shared starter was ~82$ without tip - right at $100 with tip. Needless to say, it wasn't a good experience for our first visit to any Korean Wives restaurant. We should have left immediately when we realized that the place was an igloo and the staff wasn't doing anything at all to make it better or more accommodating. But we stayed because we had talked about visiting this place for a couple of weeks and had this luncheon planned on our calendars for 3 weeks. We waited for it. This place MIGHT be better in warmer conditions. 🤷‍♀️ Otherwise, bring your snow gear and take...

Really excellent. I wanted some craft cocktails and light bites on a Sunday evening and I wasn’t disappointed.

We started with the kimchi poutine, which honestly is a home run. The fries themselves are great (really - nice job) but the bbq meat, mozzarella, and of course the kimchi combine to make a gooey, crunchy, tangy, satisfying dish. 5/5

Husband got the Salaryman Wagyu burger. It’s pretty much exactly what the menu says and it is very good. He didn’t love the inclusion of prosciutto; he felt that it was too leathery in texture while something more crispy (like bacon?) might have been a better fit. 4/5

I had the fried chicken sandwich. I love gochujang and was delighted to find this on the menu. The chicken is cooked perfectly but I do feel like they made a choice to heighten the sweetness and tone down the heat of the gochujang in order to appeal to a broader audience, which I can’t blame them for. I personally wish it’d had more of a kick but if you’re a fan of “sweet & spicy”, you will love this. 4.5/5

For drinks, Husband got the TKO and he loved it. “Sweet, refreshing, bubbly, and they do a good job at balancing the lychee which could otherwise easily overpower the rest of it.” 5/5

I first had a Turn Up the Beet. I love all of the flavors in this cocktail, especially beets (don’t judge). I love ginger too, and would have liked to taste more of that in a drink meant to feature that flavor. Still, overall a very nice drink. 4.5/5

I next had a Traditional Asian Medicine. This appears to be a spin on my favorite cocktail, the Penicillin (look it up), and I really loved it. The inclusion of the Japanese whiskey instead of blended Scotch as the base leant the drink a lighter, more floral taste compared to what I’m used to, and I loved it. It’s crisp, cool, and refreshing, with a bit of bite. 5/5

Service was excellent and the space is cozy. It was a slow Sunday night, though, and I could imagine it being quite loud at full capacity due to all the hard surfaces.

I look forward to going back and trying more of...

updated from 3 to 4 stars Glad we came back for another visit! The lettuce wrap app was great. The ramen is better than Pao Pao Ramen across the street. Also happy to see that tint has been added to the windows so hopefully it's not as blinding when the sun sets.

I heard the hype about the Korean inspired pizzas and came to check them out. Different, but not exactly in a good way-- unfortunately, the Korean fried chicken pizza was not the texture we'd hoped for with floppy pizza crust and non crunchy chicken pieces.

On the upside, the cocktails are good and won't break the bank (