Toyose

Toyose offers a really great range of Korean dishes covering KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) to Kimchi Fried Rice and Seafood Pancake.
The aforementioned dishes are my go to whenever I visit this restaurant and is on par with your average Korean restaurant. Kimchi Fried Rice was a little bit on the oily and damp side. KFC was well fried and not overly seasoned. The restaurant is also generous with the seafood in their Seafood Pancake.
My order has been messed up before, due in part to miscommunication and staff being on a rush. Would recommend asking the staff to repeat the order.
Parking and seating can be tough depending on the time you visit. The few times I did go, I aimed for opening (6pm) or 9pm, and didn’t have too much trouble getting seats on a Thursday and Friday night. Would definitely come back, but probably not go out of my way for unless friends were interested in eating here.

We have been waiting for 2 hours and they called someone who was on the list after us.
The waitresses are really rude. There shouldn’t be a reason for them to be treating their customers the way they do. They should hire more competent people. Won’t be coming here anymore.

Popcorn, spam stew, bacon sausages, cheese corn, fried chicken wings and soju so cold it like a lychee slush… What is there not to like?!
If by any chance you are impatient there is a helpful «I need attention» button to annoy your server if you wish…
Service is great and so is the food… Give it a try and enjoy!

I have come here several times and I thought it’s due for a review.
Service it’s so-​so. They have a button on the wall for every table they have and you have to push the button when you are ready to order and checkout. You can also ring the button for necessities that you might need with your meal.
I order the following every time I come to toyose:
Chicken wings– I recommend asking them for a side of the sauce they put on the side salad and complement it to the wings. It adds more flavor to it. Their wings are not bad but sometimes they fried them too dry.
Rice Cake (tteokbokki): it is good but the sauce it’s a little too sweet for my personal taste. But it is spicy. Sometimes when I order Kimchi fried rice I pour the rice cake sauce on my rice to make it more spicier and more flavorful. I recommend anyone to do this once and tell me if they liked it or not.
Beef kimchi fried rice– regular kimchi fried rice. Like it when they chop the kimchi into bite pieces.
I haven’t had a chance to try their stew because I’m not a fan of packed ramen. But it is on my list to try next time.

Pics do not do justice. Fried chicken wings and seafood pancake are absolutely delicious. The buzzer makes it so easy to ask for additional sides and refills of drinks.

There’s a sign up black board at the end of the entrance hall by the bathroom. The service was quick and efficient — I don’t see why people complain. It’s a busy hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant with a constant line of people waiting outside for a table to free up. It reminded me of Korea and the food was definitely nostalgic of college town.

This place is literally a garage… but an awesome one filled with food and drinks! It’s a small restaurant so try to make reservations if you can since the wait can be pretty long. The service isn’t that great — I’ve been here a few times and they’re usually rude or ignore you unless you have someone who speaks Korean. (And I only say this because my Korean friend confirms that it’s true.) We were a party of 6 (4 guys, 2 ladies) and I was annoyed that they squeezed us into a table meant for 4 people. It was so hard to eat without bumping into one another.
Anyway…onto the food. We ordered a lot but I couldn’t take pictures because we were starving and dug right in.
–Kimchi fried rice: Always a good choice! Just the right amount of spice and the kimchi wasn’t overpowering at all. Delicious!
–Seafood pancake: This is one of the better seafood pancakes I’ve had compared to other restaurants. There is a good variety of seafood — shrimp, squid, oyster, etc — and the pieces are nicely chopped up. I would recommend ordering this for sure.
–Spam stew with ramen: This dish can be spicy so if you have a low tolerance, you should make sure you let your waiter know. There was plenty of meat — spam, hot dogs, beef galore. This is a good one to order for a group to share.
–Calamari tempura: Meh. Pass. The calamari was over breaded and there were vegetables we could not identify.
–Fried chicken: It’s fried chicken. Nothing special.
–Lychee soju was yummy! Especially if you get the last of the bottle with all of the lychee bits. Mmmm. We also ordered the kiwi soju but I didn’t think it was that great. It had a weird aftertaste to it.

It was my first time here, but I ended up getting the:
1) chicken wings:4/5 pretty good with the side salad and radish, would get again
2) octopus with spicy udon:5/5 the highlight of the meal, super tasty and spicy, but not crazy spicy
3) kimchi fried rice ³⁄₅: typical fried rice with egg on top
4) seafood pancake ⁴⁄₅: was really good and loaded with seafood and veggies
5) kimchi stew with veggies and pork: 3/​5, was too sour and as spicy as expected
Overall, it was good and I would come back for certain items only.

I absolutely love the concept of eating inside a garage turned restaurant.
I live just a few blocks away from Toyose, so it’s been a monthly spot for me since I moved to the Outer Sunset. Fun Fact: my parents lived in this exact building when they first immigrated to America so many years ago. It blew my mind when I found that out. I always feel like I should mention it to the Toyose staff for fun, but never do.
Since I’ve been coming here for about a year now (12+ times), I’ve always enjoyed my experiences. I’ve had my fair share of not so fantastic service, but this place is an absolute mad show after 7pm on most days, so I don’t blame them for not being able to keep up with 50+ people all night. The food is always consistent, and while it’s not anything revolutionary, it’s comfort food at its finest. You can always stop by after a bar run and grab some chicken or kimchi or you name it. The soju is tasty here as well, and a very reasonably priced for what seems like a good 10 shots per bottle. When it comes down to it, if you have never been here, it’s definitely an experience, as there aren’t many places with the type of ambiance Toyose has.
Final verdict: It’s a family run restaurant inside a garage. Right away, you either love the idea or hate the idea. If you are curious at all, I can tell you right now that it’s well worth a try. They serve up yummy Korean food in a unique location. Prices aren’t exactly cheap, and service is not always perfect, but they provide for a fun night out.

I’ll start off by saying my girlfriend and I were kicked out of Toyose on Valentines Day. (mentally)
I’ve been going here for 5 – 6 years, eating and drinking soju with friends, co-​workers, family etc. Up until last night I’ve always had a nice experience here, at a point got to know some of the waitresses/​waiters, Annie, June, and my favorite but doesn’t work there anymore, Jin. Shoutouts to Jin, thanks for your great customer service here when you did work at Toyose.
It was a very busy night on Valentines Day, we waited and caused no disturbance. Getting straight to the point, my girlfriend and I had plans for another restaurant but sadly it was closed so we both decided to go to Toyose. We ate and decided to drink after eating. Before drinking we decided to get some fresh air for 5 minutes outside so Will our waiter took my ID so I don’t run out not paying the bill.
After coming back I had to use the restroom just to wash up. I was in and out in literally less than 20 – 30 seconds. Coming back we were just about to order some soju until Will our waiter came up behind me and told us with a very bold confident tone «oh can you stop tagging our restroom?». Confused I looked at my girlfriend to see what she knows about this «tagging» we both looked confused at Will. With a confident tone he constantly nagged «yeah it’s okay we know so please stop tagging okay?». I was SHOCKED, I literally thought this was one of those YouTube prank videos DEAD SERIOUS.
I asked Will to show me the graffiti, he opened a cabinet inside the bathroom and pointed out some crayon like tagging inside the cabinet door. He smirked like he was confident that he caught me doing this. What was worse I looked at June who I remember being served by for over almost 5 years accuse me too, after coming out of the bathroom with the waiter Will she added «when you went into the restroom it wasn’t there and when you came out it was there so we know so please stop tagging» as I walked back.
I paid, left and it killed the entire night for my girlfriend and I on Valentines Day. I didn’t tip, why bother tipping a place that’s going to accuse me of doing something I didn’t even do. The worst part is that their «evidence» is based off what I wrote on the wait list which looks «similar» according to waitress and waiter to the tagging and it looks like it says «Eros» which is my name. Keep in mind when I wrote my name on the wait list it was written in regular print and looked nothing like cursive/​graffiti tagging.
TL;DR Went out to Toyose for Valentines Day dinner date, been going here for 5 – 6 years, was kicked out for being accused of tagging their bathroom. Killed our day and mood for the rest of the night.
Like they’re literally confident that I tagged their bathroom with no solid evidence at all. I can now see why everyone likes this place but if anything the customer service is terrible. So next time if you ever do decide to come back to Toyose think about if maybe they’ll just point the finger at you and blame you for tagging their bathroom or something crazy and silly.
Toyose and especially Will, you take the biggest fattest L.

Korean «comfort» food in a garage that has soup, soju, and other specialties. It’s similar to the «porn» bar in Oakland except in the residential area of SF.
I had some of the everything soup, and mango soju. The soup we had included ramen, sausage, spam and had good flavor, just a little expensive for the portion and the «cheap» ingredients. The soju wasn’t that strong, but was at least refreshing. This place was an interested experience but in the end wasn’t super authentic and skimped out– thus lacking somewhat in quality and quantity.

Food (⁴⁄₅): My friend and I shared the spicy fried chicken, kimchi fried rice, and spam stew. Everything was really good! Definitely recommend the chicken and fried rice. The spam stew was pretty spicy for me, but I have low spice tolerance haha. It was packed with kimchi, hot dogs, spam, ramen noodles, rice cakes, and beef. So much food: o Portions are huge, so be prepared to share!
Service (⁴⁄₅): A lot of the reviews complain about bad service, but I actually thought it was really good! We were seated pretty promptly, food came out quickly, and the servers were really nice and helpful.
Value (⁵⁄₅): The bill came out to a little over $ 60 including tax and tip, which seems like a lot for two people, but we only ate like 20% of the food and took the rest home as leftovers. Half of the leftovers lasted me three more meals, so it was super worth.

This restaurant is inside a garage, the front entrance is a bit odd but the inside is really cozy and cute. I love how this spot is open late and has a nice variety of sojus. We ordered the Kimchi Fried Rice, french fries with garlic & cheese and the Spicy Rice Cake Soup with udon. I am a fan of their rice cake soup, the broth has lots of flavor nor is it spicy at all.
For drinks we ordered the watermelon soju, which I wouldn’t recommend. I don’t think these two mix well together — the soju had a strong aftertaste. I want to come back and try their Kiwi Soju.
I’ve found it hard to find a nice Korean restaurant in SF, but Toyose overall exceeded my expectations. They have good food/​drinks and ambiance, I would recommend this over Tonight Soju Bar. The only downside is this spot is really small, so the wait does get pretty long so I recommend calling ahead of time and trying to make a reservation.

After like IDK how many centuries, I finally was able to try Toyose! Came around 10pm on a Thursday and there wasn’t a wait but there was still a lot of people. Waitress was nice but seemed a bit rushy.
Got the Chicken Wings, Kimchi & Seafood Pancake, Kiwi Soju, and a Jap Chae. They say their soju is made with real fruit. We tried the Kiwi soju and it was tasty! There wasn’t a heavy taste of alcohol but there were a LOT of kiwi seeds. The chicken wings were good too. They were big, crispy and tasty. The Jap Chae was a big portion. It was satisfying but it could use a bit more flavor. It was hard to pick up because it was a big portion and stuck together. The pancake came last surprisingly. It was delicious but too spicy for me.
All in all, I’m glad I finally got to try Toyose. Pleasant experience. Portions are somewhat big to match the price paid. Will definitely be back!

A unique Korean restaurant that’s in a garage? You don’t see that everyday. It’s tuck in a neighborhood so if your not paying attention, you might think your going into someone’s house.
I liked the setting inside. It’s nice, if you were inside and I told you that this is a garage, you wouldn’t believe me.
As for the food I tried
*Spicy Edamame — needs soy sauce.
*Calamari and Beef — ‘Twas actually good, but the portion size isn’t the business. While I did get a good amount of calamari, the beef was no where to be found. The plate was swarming with veggies :(
Although I liked the décor inside, from what I seen in previous reviews and from my experience. It’s always loud in here, sometimes the people are too obnoxious. And when your sober this might not be the place to eat. But if your coming with a group of friends then I can see why it can get poppin in here. The food here is alright though, more options on the menu than Soju tonight, but still looking for the meat.

I finally got to try Toyose! The Korean restaurant in a garage. Sounds like a novelty, but the nightly packed resto shows that people love coming here!
Luckily I came with some friends that made a reservation beforehand. One thing to note though is that their tables are really packed tightly. I wouldn’t recommend coming here with more than a party of 4 otherwise seating will be kind of a tight squeeze.
On to the food. The menu pretty much consisted of the usual Korean restaurant staples. We definitely ordered their Kimchee Fried Rice since the Unilocal gallery is flooded with pics of it.
Kimchee Fried Rice —
Kimchee & Seafood Pancake —
Japchae —
Calamari & Bulgogi —
Fried Chicken Wings —
The food was good for the most part. The Kimchee Fried Rice and Chicken Wings were my favorites as they really should be when you’re eating at a Korean restaurant. A little disappointed with the pancake though. It was good and had a nice amount of seafood in it, but it was just average. Everything on the menu was reasonably priced, affordable, and great for sharing when dining with a group. Though what I do remember most was that we definitely ordered a lot of soju. Toyose is definitely a great spot for soju drinking, which I believe is their bread and butter.
Overall, although it’s a little bit out of my way for some Korean food, I wouldn’t mind coming back to Toyose again and try different things off their menu. It’s a very interesting spot to dine with a nice group of folks.

Highly recommend the yogurt soju and then mix it with any other of the flavored sojus. Guaranteed good night!
The food was all solid but nothing stood out either.
The restaurants in a dank little garage and there’s usually a decent line/​wait during normal dinner hours

Let’s eat in somebody’s garage? Okay!
Toyose is a very close-​knit and authentic feeling Korean establishment. Despite the visible tightness of the restaurant, the tables are actually spacious and feels as if you have a secluded section to yourself due to the décor.
I visited for dinner with some friends on a weekday for dinner. We waited about an hour despite the place just opening. There is limited space for waiting inside, so hopefully you won’t mind being outside in the cold. Parking is usually easy this deep in the Sunset/​Noriega and free if you park off the main street. My friends ordered the Jap Chae, spicy fried chicken wings, seafood pancake, and kimchee fried rice and topped it off with a bottle of lychee soju.
Jap Chae: It was nice to get a break from the usual cold Jap Chae and having it warm instead.
Fried Chicken: Crispy and not spicy, but still flavorful.
Seafood Pancake: What’s not to love about these types of pancakes. It had a variety of seafood including squid and shrimp. The dipping sauce brought it all together.
Kimchee Fried Rice: That runny egg doe.
Lychee Soju: The lychee really thickens the soju, almost like a shot of yogurt. It had the perfect taste combination of fruitiness and alcohol.
It’s nice to take a break from AYCE, and this is definitely a good place to do so.

Came here twice with my girlfriend to see what the hype was all about. The first time I completely forgot what happened so I figured it is only right that I truthfully taste the food again to give it a fair review.
We ordered the kimchi fried rice, chicken wings, seafood pancake, bulgogi with calamari, kimchi tofu soup. The kimchi fried rice was the highlight of the meal, only dish worth coming back.
After a more clear tasting of everything else, the bulgogi with calamari was subpar. Something thrown together in a hurry. The seafood pancake lacked ingredients and the batter was too soft (Fell apart). Wings were fried good but nothing special. I liked the kimchi tofu soup as it wasn’t just spicy, but had a good sour flavor to it. But, I think it’s overpriced as you only get a couple pieces of tofu and soup.
I can swear I thought the food tasted better the first time! Sadly, this place is more hype than anything. With the long waits per night, I don’t think I am going to return anytime soon unless I am craving for some kimchi fried rice.

I wish I came up with the great idea of converting my garage into a Korean restaurant (uh, wish I had a garage in the first place!) especially one that stays open into the wee hours of the night.
Then I’d have a constant crowd of people (mostly Asians really!) who’d patiently wait for hot off the fryer KFC. Or a plate of kimchi fried rice. Or an expertly prepared seafood pancake. Add a tasty bowl of japchae or sautéed beef and calamari. I’m telling you, endless plates of NOM!
I’d definitely trek to the far ends of the earth (aka: outer sunset) for Toyose’s food and their bomb ass kiwi soju. So fresh, it’s plucked straight out of the tree.