Arisu Korean BBQ & Sushi

Went here for dinner with my father and step mother.

Paid $60 each ($180 total + drinks) for their table bbq special. Nothing is really specified in terms of quantity on what you are receiving other than "three orders" worth.

Despite this not being an "all you can eat" the portions were quite limited. Even on things like low cost sides (kimchi, potato, bean sprout) - did not seem to justify the cost or seem like three orders worth at all.

What prompted me to write this review is when my step mother asked for some more lettuce to wrap her bbq in she was told it would cost extra. Our bill well exceeded $200 and we are being nickled and dimes for lettuce? Would not come back or recommend.

We had a great time here! They have a lot of seating and we were able to snag a table for a group of 8 (walk in) on a Friday night so I'm guessing they are not that busy! Was a bit nervous to try but it turned out such a pleasant experience for us. They have a lots of options for kbbq and Japanese food so our vegetarian friends were happy. I highly recommend getting their kbbq set. A good amount of meat and sides! They are not unlimited though unlike most places. But still worth it.

The food was really good, However the service was awful our server was extremely rude when talking to us and was also rushing us when we were placing our orders and really confused us on how the grill worked and how to order for it. The cherry on top was she was bagering my friend on why she didnt tip more then she did which is extremly rude to ask someone would not go here again for that reason

Expensive but it is delicious, they do not serve a portion that completely satisfies and the waiters are not informed about what is in stock in terms of drinks, they did not want to allow us to share dishes.

It's a great place, food is good but I don't like to be rushed. This is a big problem, in my opinion, that breaks the culinary experience.

There’s alway a big wait list, however when u get a table the service is fast you get your food in no time. They have really good Korean bbq, seafood udon and seafood pancakes. It’s really overpriced tho since it’s in koreatown and you can find other Korean food as good as their food for a lower price.

Loved the steak sauces and varieties! Although the actual portions seemed a bit smaller than how it was presented on the menu.

The food is okay. Felt like it was lacking the side dishes other Korean bbq places had. Wish there were also more flavour options in the meat, but overall pretty standard. The chicken was probably the best and who says that for kbbq LOL

The service was amazing though! Friendly and attentive staff + good presentation.

We had the $40 per person BBQ set

Korean quality and perfectionism at it's finest! While the prices are on the mid-high side this place will not disappoint!
Large portions and no compromises on quality will immediately even the balance, and you'll be a regular.n no time!
Check out other reviews to see some of the table barbecue pictures. The Black cod, and the grilled mackerel are my favorites but for you carnivores, the meat selection is amazing! Get adventurous and you'll not regret it.

Probably one of the best kbbq places on Bloor. We ordered one of the BBQ combos and it was delicious. The meat was fresh and we'll marinated, the soups and side dishes were also very well done. We also ordered the grape soju which was paired nicely with the meal. The servers were great, especially for how busy the night was. They came and ensured our grill was clean and heat setting was optimal.

Always a great spot for the best Korean barbecue in Toronto. Excellent service, excellent food!

One of the best Korean cuisine in the town. They serve bbq, hotpots and various traditional Korean dishes made from scratch. Also you can have a meal on the patio. I recommend to book in advance to avoid the lineup/ queue. Next time I want to try a bbq. Highly recommend it.

Reservations recommended for this rightfully popular spot. So many delicious options on the menu work perfectly for sampling/sharing.

Food was very good and service was very prompt and respectful, the beef was very tender and of great quality especially. Food was slightly overpriced I found, but still a very good experience and I would come back again.

I took my boyfriend here on a whim - and he noted that it smells just like my (Korean) mother's kitchen:)
The food didn't disappoint - it looked stunning and tasted even better! 10/10, will come again

It's a decent restaurant with good Korean food. I support the owner's decision to protect their staff and customers.

This is the best Korean BBQ restaurant downtown Toronto. The reviews that say it is overpriced are wrong, you are paying for a better quality of food (Angus, grass-fed) so those that know, know. The staff is friendly and accommodating, the yogurt soju pairs amazingly with the BBQ cooked at the table - a must try meal spot!

Omg i just called to make reservations for tonight and they denied it because im not fully vaccinated…. Wow

Will not support any business that seeks to divide or discriminate against their patrons based on their medical status or disability. Also, any business seeking to have access to the private medical information of customers. Avoid for sure.

Recently went to Arisu Korean BBQ & Sushi a couple of days ago for my birthday. They were quite busy but we were able to be sat in 10 minutes. The staff did an amazing job ensuring we had an amazing dining experience. The food was amazing. Everything was so flavorful. As a Korean it reminded me of my mother's cooking all those years ago. When the lady was informed that it was my birthday she brought us a green tea cheesecake, on the house. Not only that but she also sang happy birthday, it was cute and adorable. We've been there a few times now and each time the experience is amazing. Would 100% recommend this restaurant to anything who loves Korean food

Some ppl simply dont understand the reason why now dine-in is allowed is because most ppl have been vaccinated. I will show the proof to the staff when I eat at Arisu.

Owner have his right to protect his employees and customer's safety. If somebody can't accept their rules, then go to somewhere else.
I will definitely go there to eat if I have chance go downtown.

I am here to support you. You definetly make the right decision to ONLY accept customers who are fully Vaccniatied. It is your restaurant and you make your own rules. I will be there have dinner as a supporter becuase I feel very safe. Thank you again!

Never dine in the restaurant. My review is to solely support the owner for asking the proof of vaccination. If you’ve felt offensive, please go to another restaurant There are bunch of similar places nearby. Small business like restaurants are already struggling during the pandemic, have some heart

Great food, this is the second time we've been here. We got the KBBQ, small cheese Tteokbokki, and bulgogi with cheese and egg for five of us (two of them kids). We should have gotten a large Tteokbokki because we finished it in no time. The amount of meat doesn't look like a lot but it is filling and the meat is very tender. I'd like to see more banchan variety and availability but other wise very good.

Food is definitely overpriced. We had kbbq and portions were small. One of the servers was quite rude. I wouldn't go again.

Well worth the wait! Angus beef was tender and well marinated, desert was savory, and the service was outstanding!

Absolutely horrible experience here and got small portions for overpriced food. Was told it would be a 20 minute wait and after 30mins watched as they seated 2 tables that came well after us. They made up an excuse and said it would be 5 mins so no problem. We proceeded to wait another 40 minutes before being seated.

Amazing spot! Easy to get too as well, literally right outside Bathurst station. Just go eat there, you won’t be disappointed.

Please work on your communication between staff members and customers.

I came to ask for a table at the patio, it was busy so an employee told us to write our name on a list and that we can either wait there or leave to be seated. There was no communication about what we need to do so we assumed they would either call when a table is ready or we just come back (hence the list with our phone number + name).

We were told approx 1 hour - so we left and after 30 minutes we called to ask how much longer the wait was. The person on the phone said there was no line-up and the patio is ready for anyone to be seated. We come back, there is a line up! An employee said since we left - we have to wait even longer because apparently we have to literally stand beside the restaurant to keep our name + position on the list. Not sure why they could not tell us such a simple thing before-hand? So he continued to explain that now we are back to the bottom of the list regardless that we were there earlier and already written our name. Also, that the person on the phone (inside the restaurant) does not know anything about the patio. That makes no sense and all your staff should be aware of what happens within the restaurant. We found out the phone number + names were for covid purposes which is understandable but is it so hard to communicate that with customers?

Lastly, train your employees to have basic customer service skills to at least say sorry for the confusion if you want people to actually come back after a bad experience.

Excellent patio; excellent service. I went this evening with my son, a 10-year old sushi aficionado and he decided on the "5-stars".

The host/ owner James was gracious, the sushi excellent and the service was great. You can tell that these folks appreciate the return of customers after an awful year+ of shutdown after shutdown after shutdown.

Support this restaurant. It's very obvious that James and his team truly appreciate your patronage.

As we were guided to table, the owner came and said there was a 1.5-hour limit, so we said okay. And yet he comes back again soon after foods were served to the table and looked at us in a bad way. He stood by and glared at us as if he was giving food for free. I don't know if it's because we were looking young, but I've never seen a restaurant owner that treats customers like this even though we ordered a lot of food. I suggest you don't go to this restaurant if you don't want to be offended.
Once you read the reply of the owner below, you can see how inept and arrogant they are.

Two takeout orders. Soggy Tangsuyuk, way too sour sauce. I wonder a chef there understands the flavour.japchea is also disgusting. Not seasoned mushroom. Bland bland and bland. It needs something green! Not happy with the food presentations neither. I can not believe Arisu is one of the best korean restaurant on Christi st. Not a good job!: (

I visit this spot a lot since I work close by. I like how their service is always awesome and they keep the spot well organized at all times. Prices are affordable and they serve large portions.

An older lady with bleached hair, almost pink in colour, was very rude and refused to seat my friends and I until she seen another employee watching her. Later on, after we've been looking at our menus for quite a long time, we noticed an employee pointing in our direction telling her to serve us, and she shook her head. Another employee had to step up to serve us in her place. We weren't the only ones she was like this to. She ruined the entire dine in experience. Will not be coming back and quite a few of my other friends who frequent this establishment will not be coming back as well. It was quite obvious what her problem was. It's unfortunate as the rest of the staff were kind and respectful, but we refuse to support a business establishment with this kind of poor customer service. Especially in Canada.

I brought my girlfriend for a nice evening meal. I think I finally be falling in love with her, but I don't know if she knows.

Great patio, great service and great food! Best way to celebrate the 1st day of spring. Korean BBQ is the best way to go. You pay about $50 pp for it, but worth it. The portions and experience is great fun.

The menu and service were above our expectations. We surely enjoyed the ambience of this spot. Extraordinary place to take the family out for dinner.

This place is wonderful and broad, the meals was enchanting and the rates were very fair.rapidly, effective service and very affable waiters. Recommended.

We were there last night and got the Taste of Seoul menu, it was great! We especially loved the seafood pancake, japchae noodles and the bbq! The mochi dessert was really tasty and a nice way to end this massive meal!

I was really excited about this place after passing it so many times, but my bento box was overcooked and overpriced for what it was. The short ribs were tender, but the salmon and chicken were both really tough. The portions were decent and the service was reliable.

Ok flavors. More than anything service was so.bad. I was there as a party of seven and we were abandoned. Once seated and ready to order we had to coax the staff to take our order. Like.we could'veordered bear traps on Amazon, had them delivered, set them up to catch a waiter and still no waiter would've come by. Kalbi was good quality. Baby octopus was nice. Small soon tofu that came as part of another meal set wasn't great. They have sushi so there is something for everyone. Go to Tofu village instead.

It's was good at first. Until we found a long strand of hair in our Red Dragon roll. Couldn't eat after that.

Good Korean BBQ place, seems a bit understaffed though. The combos were a good deal, the quality was as you could expect for a proper korean BBQ place. Didn't get the sushi, kinda my general rule when at kbbq places to not get sushi ;).

Overall, good time, would come back.

Excellent sushi.highly recommend the lunch meals.
They have a Korean BBQ but I'm not sure if it's buffet/AYCE.

We tried to order some different food.but waitress told us minimum two orders for Table BBQ combo, so we ordered two black angusBBQ n sushi combo.when the orders came to the table, compared to the menu picture, it is most the same as one order, asked waitress, said it is two orders.
Very uncomfortable, look like play some game with customers.

I love Korean BBQ of this place. I’ve visited few times, Usually I ordered BBQ combo and every time was great. Especially, Marinated Galbi was awesome. Also, staff was very nice. I visited last Monday, a guy is very nice and kind who served us.

Awesome food. Top quality ingredients. Staff were very helpful and happy. Never felt neglected and left with a smile.

Lovely spot. The food was very fresh and great portion sizes. I will definitely recommend this place.

The restaurant was very cozy and we were able to grab a booth no problem. Clean and we ordered quickly. The food arrived and we got to grilling. Absolutely delicious and the service was fantastic. The grilling plate was replaced for us to prevent burn build up, which was definitely helpful. Recommend the classic set and something to wash it down with. Will definitely go again.

Went with a friend for Winterlicious, the presentation, portions and taste exceeded our expectations. For $23 we each got an appetizer (tempura veg for me, a Japanese savoury egg custard for friend, both cam with miso soup), main course (pork chops with sauce, rice balls and lettuce wrap; grilled beef and bibimbap) and dessert (we both got bingsoo- Korean red bean shaved ice dessert). Imported liquor is a bit expensive (plum wine for $20) but the experience was totally worth it!

I wasn't 100% sure if this place was authentic so I called them up to clarify some things on their menu and asked if banchan and ssam were refillable without charge. The guy who answered the phone talked to me as if I was dumb. He kept emphasizing that the food here was of high quality, even though I didn't ask about that. He asked where I was calling from, and why I was asking basic questions about Korean cuisine if I was Korean myself. Basically implying that I should know the answers to my questions simply due to my race. It's just awful work ethic and service that you drive away a potential customer over the phone, long before they step into your restaurant. Just knowing someone who works here can treat customers like this turns me off to the idea of ever visiting, which is unfortunate because I wanted to at least try this place.

Product/Service: 4/5
Went here for summerlicious/winterlicious before. The purple rice and meat was really good and service was great. The server was helpful in showing us how to eat the food in a traditional manner.

Location: 5/5
Just a few steps outside Bathurst station.

Price: 4/5
Not cheap but reasonably priced.

Atmosphere: 4/5
Nice, clean, and cozy atmosphere.

The food was amazing and worth it for the winterlicious price. Servers were attentive and the owner was very friendly.

Nice atmosphere, lots of young and hip clientele, good service, tasty sauces and kimchi condiments all on a table with a built-in barbacue. It was a very crowded tabletop. Guess that wasn't thought all the way through. However, it was fun.
A little expensive bcz I've had just as good, for about one third the price a few years back. Perhaps inflation, wine service an upscale atmosphere, and the Kobe offered in the menu had made up the higher price?

This is the place to have Korean BBQ in Toronto. Their galbi sauce is very good. The service is very good. I would definitely come back.