![Zomato]( "Recensione")
2019/04/14
On of our sons had been to Song Cook a while ago, and I suggested to SWMBO that we should go there and have some bulgogi for lunch. Well, they didn’t have bulgogi on the menu, but the did have a wide variety of other choices.
First of all, the restaurant was much bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. There is a traditional low table (no chairs) area that seats about 50, and there is a more contemporary dining area that also seats about 50.
After we ordered our food, a typical array of Korean condiments were served. We started nibbling on those while our meals were prepared. Since both meals came with soup, I thought they might have brought that out early, but the soup was served with the main course.
After searching the menu a couple of times for bulgogi without success, SWBMO decided on BiBimBap. From the fried egg to the ground beef to two kinds of mushrooms, other veggies and the rice, lots of different textures and flavours. SWMBO liked her dish.
I chose the DonKatsu, which was a huge portion of breaded pork cutlets stacked two high. The house sauce was similar to a plum sauce, but darker and richer. I was quite full when I finished.
Service was very polite. One very minor issue: SWMBO’s dish was brought out several minutes before mine. Overall a satisfying meal.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Luckily, service at Song Cook is speedy, so unless you want to stay for hours, food arrives quickly after placing your order. The menu lists dishes by category (noodles, saam, rice dishes, etc.), but pay attention to the prices as some are large platters best shared amongst groups of five or more.
Take the haemul pajun ($27.99), the seafood and green onion pancake could be mistaken for a medium pan pizza. Its sheer size allows for large chunks of octopus, shrimp, and green onion to be incorporated into the batter, which is really like an omelette with glutinous flour added for a bit of chewiness. By itself the pancake can be a bit bland, but a dip into the sweet soy sauce makes it delicious.
Another platter that feeds a crowd is the jap chae ($26.99), the warm chewy glass noodles tossed in a fragrant sesame oil soy sauce with beef and vegetables. It’s a decent version of the dish but surprisingly expensive for what you ultimately receive.
The last of huge shared plates we tried included:
Tang suk yuk ($24.99), a sweet and sour chicken whose sauce, although not the vibrant red variety found in Chinese restaurants, is still flavourful. However, there’s just way too
Came here with my family on a Sunday evening - with 4 of us in total. We ordered a set meal that came with steamed beef dumplings, army base soup (with ramen noodles) and rice for sharing. We also ordered a bimbimbap and black bean seafood noodles on the side. Everything was fresh, delicious, and very filling.
Our total bill was around $80 for 4, which was a great price because we also took a tonne of leftovers home.
All of the staff were extremely friendly, caring, and helpful - especially since we didn't know what to order.
Overall we had a very pleasant time. Would highly recommend!!
I was in the Yonge & Steele area to run a few errands. From some online researching, I came across a Korean restaurant that had a lot of positive reviews but seemed very hidden in the area. For this lunch adventure, I decided to visit Song Cook's Korean Restaurant.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Food 3.5/5 (50% of final grade)
Ordered:
YuSeul Jjajang (Seafood Black Bean Noodles) 2.5*/5
Stir Fried Octopus 2.5/5
Mul Neang Myun (Buckwheat Cold Noodles) 4/5
This dish was amazingly refreshing and light. After about half of it I got really parched though, so I guess the sodium content must have been higher than usual to compensate for the coldness and how low temperatures affect taste.
Cham Pong (Spicy Seafood Noodles) 2/5
This dish was very basic and really consisted mostly of salt and nothing else. I didn't even taste the spiciness over the saltiness! The texture of the noodles, however, was quite nice bouncy.
Big Bowl BimBimBap (Mixed Vegetables with pork and egg on rice) 3.5/5
A large silver bowl with an assortment of shiitake mushrooms, thinly cut carrots, soybean sprouts, seaweed, and lettuce seasoned with sesame oil and salt on plain white rice. Add the red pepper paste to taste. This entree was deceptively simple, yet simply delicious! The Big Bowl BimBimBap was large enough to feed three people, hands down.
Five Spices JokBal (Sliced Pork) 2/5
This was bland to my tastes.
Pork Bone Soup 2.5*/5
Snack Size TangSuYuk (Sweet and Sour Pork) and KhanPoungGi (Sweet and Spicy Pork) 2.5*/5
2.5*/5
Wrap Vegetables 2/5
This was literally just an assortment of really fresh raw lettuce, kale, and perilla leaves.
*2.5/5 is when a dish is simply at par with MY knowledge of the industry average, so it may or may not be accurate. I can vouch a little and say that my Korean food tasting is above average though, since I've cooked this sort of cuisine myself, and I've been to quite a few Korean food places after watching many korean dramas.
Ambiance 3.5/5 (15% of final grade)
I specifically booked the traditional seating area, because that was a novelty to me. It was surprisingly comfortable! The tables and floors in the seating area were very clean. You have to take off your shoes to step onto the seating area though, which I thought was very quirky and novel. The atmosphere was surprisingly accommodating for both large groups and small groups, or even individual diners. The lighting was at a comfortable brightness where everyone still felt as if they were at a cozy joint, yet maintained a nice air of tradition.
Service 3.5/5 (15% of final grade)
I went with another 9 of my family members, with 4 children under the age of 10, so you could imagine how crazy it was with dropping water cups and running children. Our server was extremely friendly though, and came very quickly every time water was spilled. I couldn't decide what to get, so I decided to get the help of the server, who was VERY enthusiastic about explaining his experience of other customers' preferences (EXCELLENT product knowledge!). He basically put together our menu! I originally ordered a large TanSuYuk instead of the two snack sized porks, but then I pulled him back to tell him about how I wanted to try both, so he recommended the snack sizes. He came back after the dishes were served and asked us how we felt about the portion sizes, and I honestly told him that I was expecting something bigger for its price. Surprisingly, he agreed wholeheartedly and offered to supersize our next order of the porks for the night for free, if we wanted to order more. I politely declined this offer though, because we ordered quite a bit of food. It was a very nice gesture of his to comment on the portion sizes though. In general, this is a very family-friendly restaurant. The only reason I didn't give service a 4 was because they accidentally charged me for the large sized TangSuYuk (and I only realized when I got home). That's an extra $18.99 + tax + tip!! I quickly called them to explain my situation, and they were apologetic, but happy to arrange a time to my convenience to reverse this though, so there isn't much to complain about that except that it was a small slip-up. The server was probably slightly distraught over the loudness of the children anyway (my family consists of VERY outgoing children).
Cost 2.5/5 (10% of final grade)
Not much can be really said about the cost-- it's a pretty standard Korean place for dinner in terms of pricing. SOME portions did err on the smaller side though. SOME.
Other 3.5/5 (10% of final grade)
The general tolerance the staff had for the children in the family was very comforting, especially for large families like mine. It could be quite difficult to dine out when the servers are eyeing the children negatively, but it was great that this didn't happen here at all! One of the young lady servers was pushing a small cart of dishes when two of my little nieces rushed in front. She let out a nice smile and said Hi to the girls instead of kissing her teeth like most servers would. It wasn't only her though, as smiles were frequent from the staff!
Final Grade = 68/100 = 3.5 Stars!
TLDR: Neat little restaurant. The traditional Korean seating where you sit on the ground was very cute! Try the Cold Noodles!
Being nearby, I’ve decided to check out Song Cook’s as I have read amazing reviews about it. Entrance to SongCook’s. Depending where you park, Song Cook’s might be hard to find. It is in the same plaza as the Moores clothing store, but keep walking inside the plaza as it is behind the...
Went here for late lunch as it was closeby to where we were previously. This place is east to miss since it's located on the rear part of a plaza. You can sit on regular chairs or you can choose to sit on an elevated floor which is pretty unique. Lots of options on the menu and affordable. I ordered one of their popular items called jajangmyun (noodle with ground beef and black bean sauce). Friends ordered champong, donkasu, and beef teriyaki. Portions were good and actually big enough for more than one person. We left satisfied and full. Would return.
We ordered a few dishes. I'm not sure if we could have gotten anything that tasted better. Checking out online in reviews what others ordered really helped. We hit all home runs. There was nothing we didn't like.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Came here on a Thursday night for dinner. I love this place. Great food, great atmosphere, great service.
We had a special treat. We were helped by Dale the manager. His folks own the place. We learned so much from Dale. I feel like I need to call ahead to make sure he is working so I can have him explain everything I'm eating and drinking to me!!! He's also an actor and has a great voice. Could listen to him talk for hours
It's located driveway west of the Northwest corner of yonge and Steele's. I came from the north and turned into the driveway to the Korean grocery store. I felt triumphant in avoiding the intersection! Yay. I know the area, if you don't, use a GPS. For real.
There's lots of parking all over but - being the super parking queen that I am - I parked at the door. Score.
It's in a plaza with other businesses, situated at the back of the building. Forgot to take a photo of the entrance. It reminds me of the nightclubs that you could find in the area in the 90s. It might have been.
OK. No one told me we'd be sitting on the floor. Actually on raised platforms. Was fun, not so bad once I got used to it! They also have regular tables and chairs, my friends chose the floor.
The place is really nice. All hardwood. Clean lines, clean floors
Everyone was so nice. Everyone! We had Dale come to our table and explain everything. He answered every question we had, recommended wonderful dishes, and helped us figure out how to serve and eat. Hint: scissors!!
OMG. I need to here. Often. And bring everyone I know!
The menu has a lot of pictures. Only thing, you have to try and guess what the corresponding item is. Ask lots of questions if you are not familiar with Korean food. Like I wrote earlier, everyone is so nice!
We ordered a few dishes. I'm not sure if we could have gotten anything that tasted better. Checking out what others ordered on our apps really helped! We hit all home runs. There was nothing I didn't like.
What we ordered:
KamjaTang Jungol - pork bone soup. We got a large bowl for the table to share. They bring out a big burner for it to sit on and stay warm. It was enough for the five of us at the table with a bit left over for take home. It was spicy and warm with vegetables and pork ,(obviously). I would come back just for this.
KhanPongeGi - sweet and sour chicken. For sure am getting this again. Like sweet and sour you get at a Chinese restaurant but better. The batter was crispy. Dale explained that they cool it before the fry it which helps it stay crispy.
This is a must get dish, one everyone will love.
SamKiupSal and vegetables: 6 large pieces of thick cut pork belly cooked on a table griddle with onions and enochi mushrooms. You wrap in green leaves and eat. Loved this.
This was our table favourite. Heck yeah bacon. Who doesn't like bacon. Yum.
Kaibi - beef short rib. This was really tasty. Nice marinade. Delicious dish. It was another table favourite.
JaJangMyum - noodles in a black bean sauce with beef. Was very tasty. Really long noodles, made fresh every day. You can tell. Of all the dishes this was my least favourite. It might just be because of how it looked.
And rice. White and purple rice.
Thumbs up. I'm coming back.
They have an app with a customer loyalty programme. Download it!
Waiting is a must. There are more choices on the menu. The side dishes are big. The manager gives you fried dumplings to thank you for waiting. The taste of the rest of the food is ok.
The braised short ribs are good, flavours and textures are both great!
Price is reasonable and service is attentive.
However the side dishes are limited and not interesting.
Lots of parking space.
Excellent covid protocol for dine in. Lots of spaces between tables. Sad to see it not nearly as busy as before. Food still very good. Had the sweet and sour pork (tong su yuk), seafood noodle soup (jampong) and cold noodle. All good! And they did away with paper menu...All digital so would need to scan code to read the menu on your phone. Also no more set dinner:(. We used to always order those as better value but needed 6+ people to finish…
Decent Korean restaurant.
The server, who seemed to be the manager, was very friendly and nice.
The side dishes are nice.
The soups were good, but the proteins were overcooked and dry.
Their brown rice is very delicious.
*** MUST EAT - TORONTO'S BEST JAJANGMYEON ***
I came here specifically for jajangmyeon and this was the only place from friends and foodies that said had the best jajangmyeon, to my surprise, they were right!
their jajangmyeon prepares in house noodles and the sauces used are so deep in flavor, I ate the jajangmyeon in one sitting, I didn't stop because it was that good!
PROS
• this place is kind of hidden in the back corner of a business building, but there's lots of parking
• delicious Korean food!
• interior design inside is hella authentic, I'm from out of town so it would of been cool to eat in person here! Next time!
• friendly customer service, the lady there was very talkative!
CONS
• no dine in or patio seating
I haven't tried the rest of the dishes, so I will be back when this place is fully open for dine in!
Everything was very flavourful Kamjatang was delicious lots of pork bone and meat but very spicy. Amazing attention to detail in packaging.
Amazing Korean food and my usual go-to. I have been here a number of times, but a first since the reopening. They did seem to be short staff with only one waitress on board, but hopefully that will change soon. Service was still quick and nice!
![4]( "Recensione")
I've been to Song Cooks over a dozen times since they have opened and they have had consistently tasty, well prepared and presented food over those visits. The most recent visit was even better than usual, perhaps due to less stress from a more manageable amount of customers.
The black bean noodle and fried chicken was generous in portion and delicious. The side dishes were refilled without a problem. The price is a little higher than some other places, but you get what you pay for here.
It's roomy inside with regular seating and also Korean style seating where you sit on a heated platform pretty much cross legged and the food is on a low table. I have to say that as I get older and less limber, a chair becomes more appealing.
Service has been fairly good but they do not really customize your order. I don't find this to be an issue.
It's set back in the plaza so isn't highly visible from the street but just drive in and go to the back where there is plenty of free parking.
The opening buzz (with its crazy crowds) has faded and I think Song Cooks is settling in to some solid middle years where really good food will go hand in hand with good times. See you there!
we came here always for a birthday. we love korean food also we love sitting on the ground
there are 2 types of seatings, one is on the chair the other one is on the mat. we dont know much about korean food, so we look at the pictures on the menu. sometimes we look around and also ask the servers. The servers are very polite. They have good service. also love their continuous supply of side dishes
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in Thornhill
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes