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Paldo Gangsan
Category: Restaurants Korean Korean [Edit]
694 Bloor St WToronto, ON M6G 1L4
Neighbourhoods: Koreatown, Palmerston, Bickford Park, Seaton Village
(416) 536-7517
- Hours:
Mon 10 am - 2 am
Tue-Wed 7 pm - 2 am
Thu-Fri 1 pm - 2 pm
Thu-Fri 6 pm - 2 am
Sat-Sun 12 pm - 2 pm
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night
10 reviews for Paldo Gangsan
10 reviews in English
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Review from Tiffany G.
Toronto, ON
2/28/2011 1 photo
'Pal Do Gang San' has a name I would never remember. I actually had to take a picture of it just so I could write this review.I tell people all the time about this place - but tell them it's next to the owl place and has a red sign. I felt it was time to get its actual name - in fear of people getting lost and ending up in who knows where. Hey, I have a food rep to protect....ya know.
I LOVE this place specifically because it has the best price in town for DELICIOUS Korean fall of the bone, pork bone soup + a bottle of Soju for a wopping $20. What, come again? Yes, $20 my friends. AND that fills 2 people!
Truly, amazing.Listed in: Top Eateries
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Review from Rita M.
Toronto, ON
4/16/2012
The décor is nothing to look at, and you have to pay cash. But the food. Oh the food. I went with a friend, and we both had the spicy beef chigae, and split the marinated short ribs (which I've never tried before--hard to believe, but true.) As it ended up, there was so much food on the table it was outrageous! They brought us 8 different banchan! All-in-all, the entire bill came to 32 dollars with tax and tip. The best 16 dollars I've spent all month. I will certainly be back. Four stars!
The only reason I'm not giving five is because my sneaky Korean friend ordered my chigae extra spicy, which I liked, but it was so spicy I couldn't really taste the flavor of the chigae other than to know it was hot and spicy! -
Review from Jen C.
10/3/2011 8 Check-ins Here
Paldo Gangsan is really noisy. So noisy, that sometimes I've walked right back out because of the cacaphony. Still, food is decent here, banchan is plentiful, and it's open late.
My go-to dish is the pork hock plate. It comes with lettuce leaves to wrap with. With raw garlic and hot peppers, this is not what one should consider date-food. It is delicious though, and fresher than some of the counterparts you could order.
I also default to the mandu soup - nothing crazy, but it's simple, hot, and hearty. Things I definitely crave late at night and into the winter.
I think there are better places to go for Korean food, both for atmosphere and quality, but when you're just looking for a simple, filling meal, Paldo Gangsan is perfect. -
Review from shyni y.
1/15/2011 2 photos
My favourtie Boon Shik in KoreaTown Toronto.
I have brought people here for Korean BBQ and it was good.
I've come when I was too lazy to cook and it was great.
I've had intimate socials here and itw as great- they have alcohol as well.
I'm not entirely sure what they don't do well - service isn't ever so wonderful that i want to tip heavily but it's never so poor that I want to never return again.
This is the first place I bring my friends to try out real Korean food outside of Pork Bone Soup or westernized Korean BBQ- in a group and enjoy a couple of rounds of drinks for a relatively cheap cost.
The have great combo deals for groups.
The food here is so good - it is as good as the food my grandmas used to make in the country side - well seasoned, well proportioned.
They bring you a lot of different side dishes...I would put up a picture here if I knew how....
I would live here if I could.
I don'tk now about the new coat of paint but I'm not going there for decor so it doesn't bother me too much.
I highly recommend the place to anyone who want to experience Korean food....the way it supposed to be.Listed in: Korean & Asian Restaurants
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Review from Jacob L.
1/7/2012
Visit during a Saturday night: moderately busy, loud. Definitely not a place you should take your kids to on a weekend night, because it's more of a eat + drink place than a family restaurant.
As others have noted, this place is not easy to locate. It IS located next to Owl of Minerva, and above a mini-market. Inside, there are semi-private booths for friends to drink, and a small central open area. Like most Korean restaurants, this is a place to EAT. You will likely smell of (delicious) Korean food/garlic, etc when you leave, so not a good 1st date place.
Customers were mostly Asian: Korean, Japanese, and occ. non-Asian Yelp reader.
Banchan (little Korean side dishes):
Kimchee, bean sprouts, seaweed, cubed potatoes in sweet soy sauce and sesame oil, white jelly like thingy with soy-sauce (i don't know this is actually made of, but it's good). All banchan were solid. I cleaned up.
Ok, stuff that I ordered:
KamJaTang (pork bone soup): This was very, very good. It is interesting how this dish has so many variations, even on Bloor street. There is a lot of meat and the soup is thick. Mmmm... (Contrast to KaChi on Bloor, which is also well known for their KamJaTang: KaChi's has a decent amount of pork/bones, but the soup is a bit thinner, and there is a LOT of bean sprouts (a bit too much for my liking).
Spicy bulgogi:
Spicy, a bit sweet, tasty. My only problem with this was that it did not come to me piping hot, despite it being served on a thick black hot plate that should have kept the heat... Made me a bit suspicious.
Service:
2 ppl working the tables tonight, and they were hustling, if maybe a bit overwhelmed with the number of tables they had to cover. But they were nice, and they were hustling.
Of note: This is a great place to stuff your face and chill with friends over drinks. Some might be there more for the alcohol than the food, actually.
Overall, a great find! Will try their other stews and dishes soon.... -
Review from Esther C.
Mississauga, ON
2/18/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I was debating whether or not I wanted to write a review because Paldo Gangsan is a little gem. My husband did not want me to write a review because he wants to keep this place a secret.
It definitely is a little hole in the wall and not very noticeable, unless you are looking for it.
We ordered all our favourite Korean dishes: beef kalbi ribs, seafood pancake, soon tofu and pork bone soup. Everything was so tasty. The kalbi was a little sweet but not too fatty. The pancake was crispy instead of greasy. The tofu and pork bone soup had a great amount of spices without overwhelming spiciness. It was clean and fresh. Since I'm not Korean, I don't know what it's like to have these dishes home-cooked, but I imagine that this is what it would be like.
The prices are good and the staff are very friendly. Definitely a new favourite! -
Review from Tee Jay R.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 3/31/2011
I have to downgrade my review based on my second visit last night. We ordered bulgogi (which they call "sweet BBQ beef"), which is cooked in a kind of shallow pan instead of grilled on a habachi. So you need to serve it on something, like rice. Which they didn't give to us until we asked for it, at which point they seemed kind of surprised. Also, second time in a row -- no kimchi!!! I had to ask for it again. Meaning they don't provide kimchi standard. Which is beyond bizarre for a Korean restaurant. Finally, even though there were twice as many of us this time, we got the same stingy helpings of just 5 varieties of panchan with no refills. Most restaurants I've been to include, for a group of 4 or so people, at least 8 panchan, which always includes kimchi, and they always keep the dishes full. So I get the feeling that these folks are cutting corners.
I guess I might come back here some late night for dukbokki or kimchi fried rice, but not for a full meal with guests.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/20/2011
Unconventional, tasty panchan, big helpings of raw meat, veggie soup, and 5 beers or one bottle of… Read more »
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Review from Dallas H.
11/23/2009 1 photo
Korean-only sign on the exterior awning means this place is legit as it gets. Cute little booths housing small parties of mostly Korean students, this place is open very late and has a huge menu of Korean favorites.
I recommend getting a combo: you get a dish and five beers (or a bottle of soju) for $19.99-$24.99.
There's not much to it, but somehow it's my favorite Korean restaurant in Toronto since I keep coming back. -
Review from susan o.
5/9/2010
Chicago proper is a dire wasteland when it comes to decent Korean food with the exception of maybe one diner and so I was on a mission when I came here for the weekend.
A friend showed me this discrete hole-in-the-wall in K-town which was packed with mostly Korean students on a late Friday night, even in the midst of a harrowing rain and thunderstorm. The food was worth it.
The place is small but lined with spacious booths and the service, which you can take a serious hit on in Asian eateries, was surprisingly efficient and pleasant.
For $8, I had the seafood Soon dubu chiggae (soft tofu soup) which came piping hot and spicy, with generous portions of mussel and squid with the tofu perfectly cooked. It was excellent and came with the usual suspects of banchan (side dishes) of kimchee, blanched sprouts, sweet glazed potatoes, and mung bean cakes. All of it was fresh and perfectly seasoned. Best yet, we had double rounds of $3 domestic beer.
Will definitely hit it up again before heading back to Chi-town. -
Review from karen k.
Toronto, ON
4/29/2009
I started coming here a few years ago and referred to it as "the place next to owl of minerva" until i finally saw the english translation of the restaurant signage.
the banchan offered is pretty standard, (kim chi, ggakdugi, kongnamul, gamja jorim, japchae, more) but always fresh, delicious, and with unlimited refills.
i always get the spicy bulgogi and squid on rice and am never disappointed. enough heat, enough flavour, rice is a great texture. a massive plate of this runs for about $8.
the decor/atmosphere leaves much to be desired, but who cares? there's something nice about watching k league with a boisterous young crowd.
