The Manna

Ordered the tuna kimbap for $8. The lady made it right away, quickly. Tasted great, big portion of tuna slathered on top. Definitely a nice go to for quick takeout.

A small place but mostly for takeout here - there is seating for about 5 people. I was in the area and looking for a place to grab some food - I'm so glad I remembered to check out this place.

The menu is fairly small but many good choices to pick from. I ordered the bulgogi kimbap (6.50$) and kimchi fried rice (9.99$). The food is made to order so don't expect the food to be ready super quick but it's made in a timely manner.

The lady who works here is lovely and very friendly. She made the short experience very pleasant and even wished me a Happy New Year (I visited on Dec 30th).

After trekking my way home - I tried the food and both tasted really good. Portion of the kimchi fried rice was good for the pricing and packaged in aluminum to keep it warm which is a plus. The kimbap is made with fresh rice so it's very fresh in comparison to ones I've had from H Mart and Galleria but it was tasty. I would definitely come back to try the other options on the menu.

The Manna-oh-nanana
Half of my heart is in The Manna-oh-nanana
(sing to Havana by Camila Cabello)

I'm funny right?! This super cute, independent woman-owned korean restaurant has all the essential korean main dishes you need in your life! I got the kimchi fried rice and bibimbap to go which were both just perfect to satisfy my hunger while still being relatively cheap. Most dishes are $3-4 cheaper than your typical korean restaurant's and it's without tax. One downside is there aren't many side dishes but she does give you miso soup everytime!

Absolute gem. I luv this place.. so fresh n mama behind the counter is so accommodating.. cheap but sooo good! Been going here for years, never disappointed

Stumbled upon this place when my family was on Toronto vacation. If you had to define "hole-in-a-wall," this place would represent. The whole place is set up with one row of people to sit along the bar under the wall of mirror, and just enough space for one person to squeeze behind the row of people sitting down towards the counter. There were, I think, 5 seats at the bar.

When my family of three walked in, there were nobody, and the described setup completely threw us off, I have to admit. Menus are simple enough, and all written on the wall so you just have to make you choice. This place is set up -- from the layout to the menu choices -- like what's called a "boonshik" (snack) joint. Not meant for a sit-down dining experience, but traditionally more for young students to stop by and have a quick snack meal. Hence kimbap (Korean version of seaweed rolls), ddukbokki (spicy rice cake), oden (fish cake & soup), ddukgook (rice cake soup) etc...

We shared all of the above. Could it have been the surprising first impression of the place, leading to absolute low expectations? Could it have been the cold whether we were in that numbed our senses?

They *all* tasted like exactly what they were supposed to taste like.

I know it's a weird statement to make, I know. I'm sure some of you will be wondering why this is such a big deal, and might even sound stupid for me to state. But the truth is, it is not easy to find a restaurant that can pull off the true grit of all aforementioned food. The owner knew exactly what she was doing when she prepped all of those staple traditional Korean snack-meals. Dare I say it was one of the best anyone has ever come to mimicking the comfort level of Korea's street-level vendors in all of the places I've tried in North America.

What you have to understand is that these dishes are meant to be street-level snacks. They're supposed to be your street taco, street jerk chicken, street samosa, street pierogi, festival okonomiyaki, street poutine.. you get the point. They don't require crazy quality or quantity ingredients to cook up. But what they can and *should* have, is a very distinct taste that can only come from knowing how they were originally prepped back-in-the-days. And these days, I definitely fall under the category of someone who should know what they're supposed to taste like. (a.k.a. old enough to know the street food of Korea)

A nice young man came to sit down and eat next to us halfway through our meal. He overheard my conversation with the owner about how her food tasted legit, apologized first for eavesdropping, then proceeded to tell us he's originally from the area, now visiting from NYC and this is one of his go-to spots. The owner was very modest about it, but this young man also confirmed it's hard to find this level of Korean comfort in the big Apple either.

I generally save my Yelp reviews for at least the second visit. That's why I only have 4 stars here. I look forward to re-visiting the second time and confirming consistency so I can bump my rating up to 5.

The Manna is more of a 3.5 star restaurant for me, but its tuna kimbap is bomb! Therefore, it needs a 4!

Small in capacity size and highly inconspicuous, The Manna is truly a ''hidden'' gem. If you're a commuter, it's right beside Christie Station. You can probably fit up to 6 people in here. As the seating is bar style, I don't really advise using this place as your first choice for an intimate discussion though.

The prices have gone up over the years, unfortunately. Despite not being able to call them cheap eats any more, I can at least say the meals are still at a fair price. The kimbap options are the cheapest items with them being priced at about 4-5 dollars. The pieces are large in size and the portion is perfect for a light eater. The tuna version spills over with a delicious tuna-mayo spread, so it's a must-try item in my belief! In addition, you can also order the regular home-style fare from kimchi fried price to oden to ddukbokki and more. However, other than the kimbap and the bean/nut soups (or jook), which are rare in the GTA, nothing really stands out. Just grab a jook and kimbap to snag good quality for the price and portion size.

First meal in Toronto. So many freakin' choices on Bloor Street West, it's unreal. I walked all the way down to Koreatown and could not for the life of me figure out which Korean place to eat at. I finally pulled the trigger and opted to try The Manna as it reminded me of the small mom and pop restaurants back in South Korea. I was the first visitor of the day as one of the workers was sitting in the middle of the floor but moved right away once I stepped inside.

Outside menu to entice you inside. No one else was there so I quickly perused the menu (all hanging on the walls with pictures to boot). Surprised it was empty given that it was Friday lunchtime. The place is tiny with only a handful of seats to eat at the counter. They pack everything up takeout style so I ended up heading over to nearby Christie Pits Park for a mini picnic.

- Soup - pretty standard side soup but I liked how it retained it's hotness while I sat outside.

- Tuna kimbap ($4.50) - you get 10 pieces of kimbap which is a killer deal. Fresh, filling, they hit the spot. Would have been nice to have ordered half tuna and half beef to change things up a bit.

- Chicken bibimbap ($8.50) - fried egg, carrots, yellow pickled radish, spinach, cucumber, bean sprouts, radish and a few other things. They served the gochujang in a separate container so you can adjust to the amount of heat level you like. I wasn't a big fan of the fried egg but I guess it's hard to do a raw egg when it's takeout. Overall, decent bibimbap.

No fuss, hole in the wall Korean joint.

It's a tiny little place near the corner of Bloor & Christie, but what a gem! I've been looking so long for the "chamchi mayo kimbap" that I loved in Korea & this lady makes it perfectly! Both times I've come, she's prepping everything by herself in her little kitchen. It's so sweet! There is a counter along one wall with some stools if you want to eat in as well. I always want to come try some of her other dishes but can't resist the tuna kimbap I love so much!

4.5- Ordered from Ubereats, so I cannot comment on the restaurant itself, though I gather it is a small family business. I really enjoyed the rice cakes and fish ball broth. Some of the gimbap unfortunately fell apart quite a bit in the delivery process so it came somewhat mashed up. I didn't really love the cold noodles either. Otherwise, we enjoyed the meal - it was different and quite homey tasting.

Found out about this place from a friend and I'm glad I did! Nothing feels better than buying some cheap tteokbokki takeout on the way home and supporting the super nice lady who works there! I don't speak Korean, but she was still really friendly and welcoming.

The inside is pretty much the size of a walk-in closet, but don't let that scare you away. It's nicely decorated and has a long bar table for you to sit and scarf down your delicious food.

Definitely come here if you want cheap, affordable, but delicious Korean food~