Nak Won

This was my go-​to Korean restaurant downtown but I have found a hidden gem further North in Chinatown. However, I still prefer this one to the ones further east along Dundas.
You will find affordable and good eats here. My favourite is the Kimchi Chigae. Their free apps has gone a bit downhill the last time I visited — less options and poorer quality.
The service is good and I like how every table has a buzzer so you can easily get someone’s attention if they’re all in the back.

Not a bad place to get some Korean food. I was starving when I got here so the food tasted especially good so my review might be biased! I got the gullang tang or something like that which had beef brisket in there. The broth was great, had a lot of beef flavour and portions were big enough to get me full!
My sister ordered a fish soup which had a million tiny bones you can choke on at anytime. I wasn’t a fan of that but she seems to have the agileness required to avoid the bones. I would say if you’re not prepare to do a lot of «prep work» for your food, don’t order anything with fish in it! I’m pretty sure she spent a majority of the time picking out the bones than actually eating. But I did get a taste of the broth and have to say, it’s pretty good.
Service was decent since there was a bell on the table to call the waitress over when needed. Love it when restaurants have it! Great place to head to if you’re in Chinatown and looking for some cheap Korean food.

I have been here several times before. however when I came to dinner today it was horrific! at the beginning when they give us the tea the teapot was not even half filled. Then we asked the lady to fill the teapot for us. The lady totally forgot and had to ask her several times and during the time she was trying to ignore us. later on the lady gave our teapot to the next table. but that wasn’t the most frustrating thing. Finally when we waited the food to come over she misunderstood the order that I wanted which was writing clearly from the order sheet and repeated her several times since she didn’t speak English. She was expecting me to know Mandarin even I have a Asian face but doesn’t mean I would understand. PLUS the food has changed its a very bad quality I DONT recommend any one going!

I think I’ve eaten here a total of four times. The service at Nak Won was probably the best I’ve ever had, although they had a lack of staff for quite a large amount of customers throughout the restaurant, but they also gave us free drinks on the house so that’s a plus. The food was extremely good and came out quickly as well. Overall, the entire experience was great.

This is by far the worst korean food I’ve had in Toronto. Right off the bat from the banchan to the final bite of the main. Atrocious by Toronto standards. This restaurant shouldn’t even exist in the remotest of villages.

Decent Korean food. They give a lot of sides. I really like the potatoes — they are very sweet. I always ask for extra side order and it’s free as long as you don’t ask too many times. Had a seafood jajangmyun. It was a huge portion, enough for 2 people.

Wish i had looked up reviews here first. Anyhoo, food just isnt good here, save yourself some money and go to korea house at dundas and elizabeth st
This place is the equivalent of a phở place run by chineses people.

I’ve never been to a Korean restaurant where they give you an attitude about side dishes. For as long as I’ve been eating at Korean restaurants I’ve always got unlimited side dishes, I’ve never once in my life got bitchy and shitty attitude from a waitress about the fact that they won’t make a profit if I keep asking for side dishes. What the heck is that! I will never come back to this location, which is a shame because I like this franchise.

RUDE PEOPLE, SMALL PORTIONS AND BAD SERVICE.
No smile, no friendliness, impolite, and slow, even when the store was not busy.
There were four of us and we got a kimchi jjigae, bibimbap, teriyaki bento and fried pork cutlet.
Bibimbap was bland and so much «burnt» hard rice. I mean I know bibimbap is supposed to have a bit of that, but you could not even bite through it and it did not even taste good. Furthermore, the pork cutlet was very dry, and there was barely anything in the bento box. Like literally, some of the box spaces were not even filled with food. Portions were so small. The portion of the jjigae was decent, but it was supposed to have in pork in it. But, it had like three small pieces and the soup was way too salty. Literally there was so little in it, it was practically nothing but soup. So much for «stew».
They gave us a lot of side dishes (6 types), but there was barely any quantity on it. When I asked for more of each side dish they questioned me because there was like 1 piece of kimchi left on the plate and said I had to finish it. Then, they only gave like three of them out of six side dishes. I mean they’re free right, so I have the right to get more.
Lastly, they had the audacity to ask for tip, as if they were entitled to it. They literally just thrust their hand and said 10%. No other explanation. They would not let us leave unless we gave 10%. I mean half of us tipped but others who did not like the service did not, because tip is based on if you think the service was adequate or if you like it. One person did not get their change because they said it was tip (which was over 10%). Plus, they were so rude and impudence to demand tip. If they wanted tip then they could at least ask nicely. If it is the store policy to have tip, at least write it down on the menu (but it shouldn’t be a policy because tip is not something you are entitled to.)
Disappointing food, but way more disappointed in the service.
I have been to this place twice because I thought I might give it another go as it might have changed and be different and better. Obviously it stayed just the same, bad.

This area has lots of Korean restaurants with similar menu items and the all you can eat side dishes. For me, when you are serving something you basically can’t alter, you have to have the ‘wow’ factor and this place just does not have that.
I ordered the Spicy Korean Kimchee beef stew and while it was spicy it was more like a phở soup than a stew. It was was watered down and contained very little beef (I have had this dish before at other Korean Restaurants, and they were much more generous with the meat portions). The restaurant itself was clean though, but the service was also below par (once again, other similar Korean restaurants I have gone to are quick to refill empty side dish plates and you tea, where as in this place you had to chase down your server)
With so many other Korean options in this neighborhood (all very similar in pricing) this is one establishment you may want to avoid.

If you’re craving something hot and satisfying, I recommend trying the soups at this place. My roomate and I always come here around the afternoon and the evening time and order either the Soft Tofu Stew or the Pork belly grill lettuce wraps (both of which are reasonably priced). We realize we come here at least once every week haha its kind of an addiction really. The service is ok, sometimes a bit rude but the food comes out pretty quickly which is always a good thing. If you ever want to try some korean food, this place is a safe bet.

Mediocre food. The service is slow in Friday night only 4 tables. the side dishes were not fresh at all tasted stale this location is not reccomended for nakwon … The porkbone soup was doused with spices too spicy and hot not good. Not a happy camper here not returning at all the server has an upset face when gave a complaint …

This place is yummy. I came here late so it wasn’t busy at all. I like that they have jajangmyun which not all Korean places have. It’s very yummy and a good portion for the price also. Will definitely come back and recommend this place to my friends.

I’m not much of a student of Korean food, but I do know what I like, and I like Nak Won. The bulgogi, spicy chicken, and glass noodle sharing plate are all excellent, and the ban chan is hearty and tasty. The décor is garbage, but the place is roomy and the service is, though smile-​less, prompt and courteous. No complaints.

This is a shame. I like Nak Won in North York a lot, so want to give this branch a try since it is close to work. But what a big disappointment! This really is not good. Try pork bone soup today and it’s nothing compare to North York location, the soup tastes spicy alright but sour, and not in a good way. What’s more disappointing is the side. I love side dishes served in North York branch because the portion is generous and taste so delicious. But the side here tastes very bland except noodle is editable. I don’t think I would ever come back to this branch but I will continue frequent North York location.

I came here on a friend’s recommendation. Upon entering, the interior decoration is nice and gives a nice comfortable feel despite the tacky dish display store front. The waitress promptly seated us.
I ordered gamjatang while my friends had dukbokki and dak galbi tang.
Free sides with unlimited refills is always a plus.
The gamjatang came out boiling hot, the dak galbi tang sizzling and the dukbokki with sauce that was a bit thin.
The gamjatang was warm and spicy and the meat was plentiful along with the pork bones. It was really good but the only disappointing thing about it was the slightly undercooked potato that came with it. It seemed a bit lacking compared to the one from The Owl of MInerva but good nonetheless.
The dak galbi tang was seasoned nicely and the chicken was moist and tender.
The dukbokki was a very interesting dish since the rice cake thing was chewy and kinda sweet but at the same time mesmerizing to eat. My friend said the sauce was a bit thin and didn’t stick to the rice cake like the last time she had it.
The service was quick but lacked emotion and words. The waitresses were like robots who just did what you told them to. Could use a bit more customer interaction
The prices were fair but increased based on complexity/​amount of different things in your dish. It was a bit weird seeing so much variation on pricing for dishes which are sorta similar to each other save slight changes.
When it came to checkout time and we wanted to get separate bills but they told us we had to go into the back to do so. We went to the back and told the cashier what we ordered while she stared intently at the tip. Kinda weird.
Upon inspection of the back room, I feel like there might have been some minor health code violations.
Overall it looks like a nice place but nothing really popped out at me. If my friends feel like going, I’ll go but this is not a place I’d visit of my own volition. 2.5÷5 rounded up to ³⁄₅

The food was good but the service sucks balls!
If you must go, avoid going when they’re almost closing. They will tell you they’re closed even if you’re trying to finish up your food.
They actually stood behind my friends and I and bitched about us. We had 3 more minutes to finish up our food but they made us feel super uncomfortable.

I came here this week with a group of 5 other co-​workers and we were seated very quickly. There are many tables that can seat 2 – 4, but not that many that can seat a larger group. Our table had a door bell on it so that we can get the waiter’s attention, but thankfully we never had to use it.
The menu is pretty large. The first thing we noticed was that it had a bit of weight to it. I immediately knew what I wanted — the pork bone soup ($ 7.99). After a bit of wait, the wait staff brought over some of the appetizers, chopsticks, and a napkin. Unfortunately they didn’t bring any plates, so everyone waited until our lunch was served.
The pork bone soup was very good (I’ve only had it 3 times ever), and it was way better than the PBS at the Owl of Minerva just across the street. There were two large pieces of bone with plenty of meat on it. It comes with a small bowl of rice. I wish there was more rice, since there was a lot of soup. It’s definitely salty, but not overly so.
I’ll definitely have to give the other dishes a try, but so far Nak Won is my favorite place for PBS.

What does it take to get a hot tea refill… or just a glass of water for that matter? Apparently, at Nak Won, you have to tell three different waitresses five different times and wait ~20 minutes on top of all that for any sort of liquid sustenance to appear. I was literally about to get up and grab a pitcher of water from the cooler myself. I don’t think anyone can expect great service at a Korean BBQ dive on a Saturday night… but the service I experienced most recently was sub-​par by any standard.
But, what does keep me coming back to Nak Won is its pretty decent and moderately-​priced grub. The seafood pancake (~$ 13) is a great hot appetizer and can be shared among a group of 4 easily. Their kalbi is pretty standard — nothing mind-​blowing but tasty just the same. But I do think their soups are generally very good — I especially like the gamjatang (~$ 7) that includes super tender pork bone, potatoes, and rice cake. The cold appetizers/​small plates they provide for free aren’t too shabby either, I loved the variety — everything from pickled veggies to bean sprouts and glazed potatoes.
Another note on service, the food *does* come out rather quickly, as does the check (of course). Everything else, like water or even napkins, takes about a year and a half to obtain from the waitresses. The call buttons on the table don’t work, neither does yelling «chogiyo» across the room, so you really just have to sit there and hope one of the waitresses sees you frantically waving your hand. Decent food, okay prices, but not-​so-​great service. I’ll probably consider other Korean restaurants before visiting Nak Won again next time I’m in the area.

I admit my visit here was a weekend and it was on one of my usual hangover recovery days BUT I was neither hungover or lacking sleep so this review is totally legit.
Walked past this place many times, you will always turn and look because they have most of their dishes on display in the window.
This time we decided to go in after a friend recommended.
So inside, its a standard layout but I did like that it was not too crammed and not too busy and obviously very clean.
The tables have these buzzers which I have not seen anywhere else but it did mean quick service as and when needed. Dont know how they would manage if it was super busy.
I ordered the Took Baeki Bulgoki (yes had to look it up in the website) — its a beef sirloin type stew. Massively flavoursome but just a tad bit too much salt in the broth. I did not even manage to finish it so super value for money.
My two buddies ordered a pork dish and a sizzling spicy chicken dish, they were more than happy so really could not fault this place much more than saying I wish they did cheap draught beer like Train does, then hangover Saturdays/​Sundays would be more varied.