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Oja Noodles House
Categories: Food Specialty Food Ethnic Food Restaurants Korean Restaurants Japanese Ethnic Food, Korean, Japanese [Edit]
689 Yonge StToronto, ON M4Y 2B2
Neighbourhood: Downtown Core
(416) 944-8371
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
20 reviews for Oja Noodles House
20 reviews in English
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Review from Christine R.
Scarborough, ON
4/16/2012 5 photos
On a quest for some Asian Fare for an after work early dinner I stumbled upon Oja, took a look inside and seemed promising with a few customers already seated.
A friendly waitress greets us upon entering and tells us to choose our seats, we pick a spacious wooden booth near the entrance. She later returns with menus and takes our drink orders.
Green Tea - Arrives in cute mugs with a generic tea bag inside, mild flavour.
The menu has lots of options and includes plenty of pictures which is helpful when ordering.
For appetizer we order the Dumplings - 5 deep fried golden brown dumplings come out piping hot. Average tasting but good.
(FYI don't order these if your getting a bento box b/c it comes with 2)
Next comes out the Salad and Miso soup - Loved the salad, very flavourful dressing the miso was also pretty good.
Then arrives the Bento Boxes - wowieee I was not expecting this much food in my bento box, the boxes come standard with a hefty portion of tempura vegetables and shrimp both perfectly crispy and delicious, cold noodle salad, 2 dumplings, choice of rice or california rolls plus your choice of meat....a lot of food!
Spicy Chicken with California rolls Bento Box - The spicy chicken was indeed super spicy, chicken cooked perfectly with lots of meat.
Bulgogi Bento Box w/rice - Beef tender not dry and flavourful
Finally to round out the meal we decided to get dessert
Green Tea ice cream - two small scoops which I'm glad are small because its the perfect size to satisfy your sweet tooth
Overall food came out fast, hot, and plentiful! Service was great and portions are huge and prices are affordable, just stick with the bento boxes and get the leftovers to go! -
Review from Kat S.
2/22/2012 1 Check-in Here
Huge portion of galbi at $12. Pretty slow service for lunch. Huge huge portion... enough for lunch and dinner tomorrow.
Really nice waitress.
Bento boxes for under $10 (bulgogi and jap chae). Close to work so I'll be back. -
Review from Lauren M.
1/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
Agreed with Jennifer M, this place doesn't do sushi particularly well (sloppy rolls!) but overall it's a good spot for lunch. They have a large lunch menu with an impressive selection of bento boxes and specialty rolls, most items ranging from $8-$12. Their regular menu has both Korean dishes and sushi.
Their Korean food is quite good, I had the kimchichiggae (kimchi stew with pork and tofu) which was tasty. At $9, it's a couple bucks more pricey than Korea town places, but still reasonable.
The staff here was very, very friendly.
Not a lot of seating in here and we saw people turned away who showed up for a late lunch. -
Review from H W.
Toronto, ON
11/12/2011
I come here occasionally for lunch, dinner, and take-out and am glad that a friend introduced me to this place last year (2010). Haven't eaten anything off the Korean side of the menu though so my review is strictly for the Japanese items.
Serivce is good. Food is also good. Nothing to rave about, but it is solidly good. Price point is fantastic (great balance of fresh and cheap sashimi). I usually favour specialty Japanese places found in the suburbs but when I get a craving and need something close by, Oja does the trick.
I order off the lunch menu often, which includes a green salad (which I hate) and miso soup (decent). They are fairly quick with lunch orders, so it's nice to not be stressed about being taking a really long lunch. A roll (or a combination of rolls) and/or sashimi is what I usually go for. My go to is #5, the spicy salmon roll and 8 pieces of salmon sashim, for $10.95.
And I almost always get the agedashi tofu. Not too battered or dense, but not too fancy either. Sometimes, they put too much teriyaki sauce and sometimes, it's just right.
In sum:
PROS:
-price vs quality
-location
-friendly, speedy service
CONS:
-inconsistent -
Review from Kathy H.
Mississauga, ON
11/29/2011
The waitresses were nice!!! I'm so glad :)! happy to eat there!
We thought this was a Korean restaurant at first... so my friend and I decided to go there. But we were actually standing behind the light post and it covered the world "Japanese." We didn't realize our mistake til we saw their name on the menu.
So it's a Korean AND JAPANESE restaurant, which is super weird for me.... kind of like saying, Canadian AND American food.
I ordered the OJA Udon and my friend got the Kalbi. According to the menu that I saw, LAST WEEK.... both our dishes cost the same, $9.95. On their website, OJA Udon says $8.85. It went up by $1!
It was really good :) busyish place in the afternoon, it was a Sunday for us. I like the place! Nice place. Nice people. Also, I loved seeing my friend thus that day was awesome, which automatically made my impression of OJA good. -
Review from Elisa L.
8/16/2011 2 photos
I've been here twice, once on a weekday night, once on a Sunday night. I am not sure why this is called a noodle house, because I believe their Korean dishes are more famous.
The first time I came here, I was with a group of 3. We ordered a large sushi combo to share and a small hot sake. The food came fairly fast, though there was only 1 other table. The sushi was quite fresh. The sake was very good as well.
The 2nd time I came here was with a group of 6. We ordered separate meals, ranging from teriyaki chicken, to bulgogi, to kimchi soup. The food came pretty quick from what I remember. The Japanese meals come with rice, miso soup and salad, while the Korean meals come with rice and side dishes - beans, radishes, and kimchi. The bulgogi and teriyaki chicken came in a fairly large portion, but only a small rice bowl was given. I believe they do let refills for side dishes and rice, but I am not sure if you have to pay. I had the kimchi soup, and it was very good. It was not too spicy (I personally can't handle spicy), and had good flavour.
In terms of aesthetics, the lighting is a little dim towards the back of the restaurant, but there are window seats near the door. The place is nicely decorated and they have matching furniture.
The food is fairly priced here, most meals are 8-12 dollars. If you share a sushi combo, it can come down to even cheaper.
The service was great both times I went there.
If you're near Bloor/Yonge and enjoy eating Korean and Japanese food, definitely check this place out. -
Review from Raymond W.
Toronto, ON
7/9/2011
Oja is a river in La Rioja, Spain. So, I don't know what its doing as the name of a Korean noodle house.
I was shopping for a proper pair of hiking shoes, didn't find them. I couldn't wait until I got home to eat, so I decided to step into Spring Rolls for a quick bite. But after being greeted by the waitress upon entering, I realized this wasn't Spring Rolls. The doors was so small, and both the restaurants looked alike! I should have been assertive and turned to leave, but I chickened out and took my seat.
Oh this place was in a perpetual state of autumn. There are dried leaves glued to the wall which was painted dirty amber. There were patches of strange shaped white things on the ceiling which seemed to be cracking. They looked like giant albino leeches. The little light torches seemed to be a nice touch, until you've taken a closer look, which appeared to have never been cleaned.
One stoic Man stood behind the bar, one older lady coming in and out from the kitchen, and one young waitress working the floor. I'm guessing family restaurant. It's a humble space with a crowd pattern I never seen before. It was either girls, or boys. Never mixed together. Obviously this must have been an odd day, because there was no parade of naked people on Yonge.
Ordering the food was easy enough, there were photos of almost all the dishes. I got the chicken katsu bento box, and a platter of three different kinds of sushi. This was actually more food than I would have liked, but the photos tricked my hunger into thinking it is greater than it was.
The wait was reasonable, and the service came in the form of a young 26ish woman.
The food was unremarkable. Nothing stood out. The spicy tuna roll was perhaps the only thing that kept my mouth chewing.
Honestly, not a single table where the genders mixed.
I paid $40 including tips.
I couldn't figure out whether if this was overpriced, or if I'm just a pig.
I stepped out to look at the sign and figure out what restaurant I accidentally ate in, it said Oja. I had to write that down. -
Review from Jon-Jon G.
Scarborough, ON
A Friday night craving for some good food led us here. We weren't looking for anything specific, so decided to browse the Yonge/Bloor area until we found something that seemed good enough. I was drawn towards the Korean food, and my friend was drawn towards the Japanese food, so in we went.
We shared a Maki Platter consisting of California rolls, Dynamite rolls, and Spicy Salmon roll. I must say, the rolls were much larger than we anticipated and definitely bigger than the standard sizes served elsewhere. As for the taste, lets just say the Spicy Salmon proved to be far too much for my friend.
For our entrees, my friend opted for the Salmon Teriyaki Bento Box, which came with the standard set of vegetable and shrimp tempura, dumplings, and instead of rice, it came with noodles. As for me, I went with the server's recommendation of the Spicy Pork hot pot (which also came with three sides), after being undecided between that and the Marinated Chicken hot pot. It tasted great, but was a bit mild for my taste. I needed that extra kick and the server was more than welcome to bring out both hot sauce and hot pot sauce.
As for the service, our server started out great, making comments and suggestions with our order, all while presenting herself in a friendly manner. However, towards the end of the dinner, the staff had a meal prepared for themselves at the back tables, and neglected to serve the tables at the front of the house. A few tables next to us had to wave them down, that it soon became a frenetic rush to serve all tables at once.
Another strike has to be their washrooms. It's upstairs, around a long, winding hallway, and there was no running water in the faucet of both the men's and women's washroom (haha yes, I went to the women's washroom to try to wash my hands, since I already had a blob of liquid soap on my hands).
But other than that, I'd give them 3.5 stars out of 5, and I'd definitely come back for the food and reasonable prices and selection (the menu also has pictures accompanying most dishes for those not too familiar with Japanese or Korean cuisine). -
Review from Dom L.
Toronto, ON
9/29/2010
Pretty standard. Had the Kimchi Chigae and a drink and it totalled under $12.
The food was pretty average. The washrooms were a little bizarre, and might be completely inaccessible for some people, with a low sloping ceiling and a trek to be made up some very narrow, creaky stairs. The service, however, was top-notch. Friendly, helpful, and smiling. And I never felt rushed. -
Review from Alana C.
11/8/2011
The food was gross and there was a tentacle sticking out of my soup when it didn't say there would be a tentacle on the menu. Afterwards, I headed over to McDonald's because I was so unhappy I didn't touch my meal.
-
Review from Steve B.
6/3/2011
Man, what a fantastic bowl of noodle soup. I tried the samsun jampong and I was not disappointed. Spicy, perfectly cooked thick noodles, and a big pile of seafood and veggies.
If you like Korean food do yourself a favor and check this place out, your stomach will thank you. -
Review from Henry L.
East York, ON
11/19/2011
We use to come to Oja frequently many years ago.
It comforting to find out that the food is still very good and reasonably priced.
We had the BBQ short ribs and fried meat dumplings for appetizers.
The short ribs were very tender and flavorful.
The fried beef dumplings were good. I prefer a more tart and hot dipping sauce but it was fine.
We had the Japanese Teriyaki Chicken and the Korean Spicy Pork dinner.
The chicken was moist without being overly sweet. They serve it with a bowl of miso soup and a refreshing salad at the start of the meal.
The spicy pork came with rice, Kimichi, pickled daikon and beans.
It had a reasonable amount of spice.
I would be happy to order this dish again or try the same dish as chicken or beef.
We ended up taking half our dinner home so I would probably skip the appetizers...
maybe not, the BBQ ribs were so good.
I guesss our last visit there was some 8 years ago.
Prices haven't risen that much. Back then, Bulgogi beef was $7.95 (I have a good memory for price of items) and today it $9.95 and the portions are still huge.
Thanks Oja, we'll be back more frequently. -
Review from Avitania B.
Toronto, ON
7/12/2010 1 Check-in Here
Cute little place on Yonge that serves a mix of Japanese and Korean favorites. I ordered the beef jap chae bap: a GIANT serving of jap chae (a sweet-ish dish made with cellophane noodles, soy sauce, veggies and bulgogi) and white rice. The noodles were nice and chewy, and there was plenty of shiitake mushrooms and beef to make it especially hearty. And a decent deal at $11.95, considering I had plenty leftover to take home for a midnight snack. :)
On the other hand, the Red Dragon Roll was just okay - it was strangely warm, which made me a little nervous. The warmth was probably from the tempura in the center of the roll, but there wasn't any coolness coming from the raw salmon on top. Eee.
I think next time I come here, I'm going to stick with the Korean stuff; it seems their strong suit. -
Review from Vivek S.
10/13/2009 1 photo
Enjoyable Pan-Asian joint near Bloor and Yonge. Showed up at noon and we were seated promptly and courteously. Their lunch menu offers lots of specials: sashimi, bento boxes, rolls, and noodles. My shanghai noodles were excellent, but my date regretted the lemon chicken she ordered. Service was top-notch and prices seemed reasonable.
Obligatory Title Pun: OJA Horses! (Terrible, I know.)
Menu Readability: The lunch menu featured pictures of everything, which I like.
Need to mention: A good pick for lunch if you work in the area. Not rammed like the overrated Spring Rolls next door.
What this place teaches me about myself: Not every restaurant title is o-pun to humourous modification. -
Review from Drew D.
11/25/2010
Ate there on a recent business trip to Toronto and we loved it.
My noodle soup with beef ribs was excellent, as was the kim chee that came with it.
Service was also spot on. -
Review from Angela L.
10/30/2009
I got some of the most sincere service I've had in a while at Oja during lunch the other day. The dainty server with the massive smile must have asked me how my food was no less than five times over the course of my meal.
The many options of lunch specials (featured at the store front that initially lured me inside) looked great, but were not offered on weekends. My default chirashi ($11.95) although nicely arranged, was actually quite sparse when the decorative parsley and lemon wedges were removed. Regardless, the fish was fresh and the rice nicely seasoned. However, nothing else really mattered once I was presented with a "nanosilver sterilization spoon". Wrapped in what I am assuming is nanosilver sterilizing paper, the metal spoon seemed so sterile I didn't even want to disturb it's packaging. I have to admit I was definitely amused.
The entirely red interior features a single wall of cute dishes in various sizes mounted onto it. The decorative pieces on the ceiling are reminiscent of the lids of miniature coffins. You really have to see this to understand what I mean. I'm guessing that heading over on a weekday to try one of the many delicious looking lunch specials is probably your best bet. -
Review from Jennifer M.
Toronto, ON
8/16/2010
This is a favorite in our office. It claims to be Korean/Japanese but I personally don't really like their sushi. The Korean Food is really what shines here.
My one coworker loves the Hawaii Roll (Dragon with Spicy Tuna) and the Kimchi Chigae. He goes back and forth between the two. I however, have found the best dish on the menu and cannot possibly ever stray. Kimchi Udon. I love this Kimchi Udon more than any other Udon Soup I have ever had. Maybe Noodle Soup Even. It is slurpingly, sweatingly, completely and ridiculously fabulous. I also think its about $6.95. Ask for the Korean Apps, those little dark beans are fantastic here and they will bring you some if they aren't too busy.
I have only 3 complaints.
- Washrooms are not really accessible.. Through the kitchen, up the stairs and in the back.
- Service is good, but they don't really work with the office/lunch crowd. We are rushing, and it would be nice to get and be able to pay our bills swiftly.
- Green Tea is not free. They Charge, and it is bagged tea not a pot. I like Tea with Japanese Food.
Lunch Specials (Roll with Soup or Bento Box offerings) in the $10 - $12 range. They also are very accommodating to our last minute/large party reservation requests. -
Review from Steph L.
11/9/2009
It seems like giving a one star rating is harsh...
but really, this is one of the worst Korean restaurants I've ever eaten in.
Service was horrible.
Unless you are into being completely ignored.
I ordered bip bim bap with beef.
...On the menu, they should rename it Bip-Bim-find-any-meat-if-you-can-we're-too-cheap-t o-give-you-a-real-serving-Bap.
I was so hungry after I was ready to kill my own cow and throw it on a Korean grill... with an egg..and rice...
Anyways, OJA, I shake my fist at you. -
Review from Laura C.
Toronto, ON
5/7/2010
For a lunch time meal, this place is pretty good. We were in and out in an hour, and they offer some good bento box specials for $9.95
The place was packed, I even saw then turn away people. I like that they had both a choice of japanese and korean dishes.
I got a bimbimbap (or rice in hot pot). It was kind of bland for some reason. Correct me if I'm wrong, But I thought they were supposed to use a special kind of rice.
The plain rice tasted like butter. the bottom got crunchy which I do like, could be because I avoided stirring it there and also all the butter in the rice. I'd give this dish a 2 star
My friend got a shanghai noodles. Sorry dude, that looked nothing lik shanghai noodles. It looked red/orange like they mixed teryaki and hot sauce on it. I'm sure it was tasty tho.
The staff were friendly and efficient.
I came here before actually. I had a japchae here and it was good, I didn't see it on the menu tho. -
Review from Aaron G.
Toronto, ON
3/2/2010
I took my parents here on a whim while they were visiting me this weekend. We arrived very early for lunch and there was no one in the restaurant yet. The service was good. I liked the simple decor in the place.
The food arrived very quickly. The fried dumplings were lovely and the spring rolls were very nice and super crispy.
My father and I both ordered the Beef Bulgogi Hot pots and my Mother ordered a chicken Yakisoba. The Bulgogi Hot Pots were VERY hot. I think we both burned our tongues but that was our own fault. The dish was delicious. The beef was plentiful and tender. I loved how crispy the rice got on the bottom of the hot pot.
Mom had a hard time picking up her noodles with the metal chopsticks provided but her dish was very tasty as well. The three of us could have easily shared two dishes. We had lots of leftovers for dinner.
The price was right on at about $12 per person plus tax and tip.
