The Bottom Line
Situated in the heart of Korea Town, Thumbs Up is a great place to enjoy some authentic Korean cuisine if you're not looking for fancy surroundings. Portions are huge, prices are low and the staff is friendly. Two can easily dine for under $15 Cdn.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Delicious
- Friendly service
Cons
- Sparse decor
- Not the best place to linger over your meal
- No liquor license
- Cash only
Description
- Two Thumbs Up is at 615 Bloor Street West (west of Bathurst)
- Phone (416) 536-4106)
- Open 11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Guide Review - Thumbs Up Korean Food Restaurant, Korea Town, Toronto
Thumbs Up Korean Fast Food is a busy place, and with prices like these, students and young families make up a good chunk of the clientele.
The place seats about 25 - 30 people. The kitchen takes up a corner of the restaurant, behind a counter but in plain view of customers. The interior is bright and clean, but sparse. Grab a window table and enjoy the outdoor scenery: Bloor Street is great for people watching.
The menu is a list of 30 dishes with little description, like "Stir Fried Squids with Rice, Hot," "Mixed Vegetable and Beef on Rice" or "Yummy Pork Bone."
Despite vowing to try something new every time I go, I tend to order "Fried Rice with Kimchi Beef, Hot." Easily twice as much as I can eat, the dish is full of tangy, spicy kimchi and small chunks of tender beef.
Dishes are $5 - $7 Cdn, including taxes, and a side of kimchi and pickled daikon and all the consommé you can drink.
For dessert, pop across Bloor street to Hodo Kwaja (just west of Thumbs up), a small shop that churns out nothing but tiny donut balls that are filled with red bean paste or mashed potato and almond or walnut. The baking is done at the front of the shop, so part of the fun is watching the staff produce hundreds of the Korean "timbits." Production is constant so the donuts are served warm. Six for a loonie, which means you've had a full meal for under 10 bucks.
The place seats about 25 - 30 people. The kitchen takes up a corner of the restaurant, behind a counter but in plain view of customers. The interior is bright and clean, but sparse. Grab a window table and enjoy the outdoor scenery: Bloor Street is great for people watching.
The menu is a list of 30 dishes with little description, like "Stir Fried Squids with Rice, Hot," "Mixed Vegetable and Beef on Rice" or "Yummy Pork Bone."
Despite vowing to try something new every time I go, I tend to order "Fried Rice with Kimchi Beef, Hot." Easily twice as much as I can eat, the dish is full of tangy, spicy kimchi and small chunks of tender beef.
Dishes are $5 - $7 Cdn, including taxes, and a side of kimchi and pickled daikon and all the consommé you can drink.
For dessert, pop across Bloor street to Hodo Kwaja (just west of Thumbs up), a small shop that churns out nothing but tiny donut balls that are filled with red bean paste or mashed potato and almond or walnut. The baking is done at the front of the shop, so part of the fun is watching the staff produce hundreds of the Korean "timbits." Production is constant so the donuts are served warm. Six for a loonie, which means you've had a full meal for under 10 bucks.
