My favourite chino-Korean food in Vancouver! The owner is super nice and super courteous, and staff are super helpful. Mainly the food is so close to what I used to have growing. I used to eat jjambong and tangsoyo when growing up. And they are the closest to authentic! Portion is generous and flavour is to the point! The place is spacious for big gatherings or for small celebrations. It's definitely my spot to go back. read more

Was looking forward to my experience here. I live somewhat close to the area, so pass by it fairly often. I finally decided I wanted to try it after reading all the 5 star reviews. Don't get me wrong, the food is good here. I ordered the gamjutang and seafood pancake. Having seen a recent post on Instagram and reading the reviews, I thought I finally found a match to my favorite gamjutang (from Damso), and didn't have to travel all the way downtown. Unfortunately, Damso is yet to be beat. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the gamjutang here, but it's lacking. The bones barely had any meat to them, and it just lacked spice/onions. The bowl of rice they gave you was on the smaller side as well. The seafood pancake seems to have skyrocketed in price too. From looking at Google reviews of the picture of the menu, it seems the price increased by $10; it's now closer to $30. Anyways, what really disappointed me wasn't the food. It was the service. I came in shortly after 6:40pm on a Thursday. The first room was booked up, so the gentleman took me to the side room. It was a bit odd, as I was the only one in that room the entire time I was there (2 hours). I wouldn't be so annoyed if it wasn't the fact that barely anyone checked up on me. Initially in the first hour, they were still attentive; then after the food arrived, they forgot about me. I kept thinking surely, someone would check up on me from time to time; perhaps to refill my water, but then 30 minutes passed, then an hour. Finally after so long my server showed up again; I have no idea where she disappeared to. I quickly asked for the bill and packed up what I couldn't finish and left. I'm still willing to give this place a second chance, but they need to be more attentive next time. Overall the food was good, though lacking in some areas. In the end, I'll still recommend this restaurant if your in the area and want some good Korean food. read more

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Been for many meals at Sumi Korean Restaurant. It's near Mei Yee Bakery. The inside has two separate seating areas. They take reservations on weekdays. Only one banchan refill is on the house ($1.50 after). - Banchan - kimchi, glazed potatoes, seaweed salad and pickled radish & onions. All solid - Gamjatang ($18.95) - good depth and flavour - Soontofu jjeegae ($17.95) - touch bland - Dolsot bibimbap ($18.95) - rice wasn't crispy at the bottom, but still satisfying - Teokbokki ($23.95) - okay but overpriced - Jjajangmyeon ($15.95) - unmemorable - LA galbi ($35.95) - short beef ribs were excellent - Ddookbaegi bulgogi ($20.95) - comforting broth - Dakbulgogi dupbap ($19.95) - Pork goonmandu ($13.95) - Spicy dak bulgogi ($28.95) - chicken beats pork - Bibim-nangmyun ($18.95) - seasonal - Haemul-pajeon ($28.95) - solid - Japchae ($27.95) - not worth the price - Spicy daeji bulgogi ($28.95) - pork was bland - Soy honey garlic ($31.95) - not a true KFC dish but liked the tteokboki. Also tried the sweet spicy - Kimchi bokeum-bab ($16.95) - good flavour - Bulgogi dupbop ($20.95) - more cabbage than beef - Jjimdak ($59.95) - chicken was tender, not enough tteokboki even after adding extra ($5.00) read more

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This OG Korean place slowly losing its appeal due to... hit and miss service...and food taste lack consistency. I drop my ratings because 4 stars in my books are reserved for places with memorable dishes, consistent food tastes, heartfelt service quality and for places with fun and special experiences. Sadly, their service level is at the "must ask or it won't be given" level and there weren't any memorable dishes here for me. Perhaps if you speak Korean, you will receive much better service by asking in their mother tongue. I find it tiring when customers have to constantly ask for everything from topping up teas to getting more side dishes yet there's high expectations on customers to tip 20% when servers are negligent in offering water refill or not familiar with own menu items... Thus, I prefer places with more personable dining experience or heart-warming service when servers offer more duties such as refills tea without asking and would offer to change your plates or ask if you want to refill side dishes after they can see that all side dishes are empty. The small gestures make the meal experience more enjoyable. Also their seafood pancakes here were "too thick" to my liking because it showed up as burnt on the outside. So I still think their beef bulgogi dishes and kimchi side dish are the best menu items to order here. In short, this is an authentic Koreans spot with decent Korean foods and Korean decor plus the bonus of a small parking lot in the back. read more

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HUGE portions for a Korean restaurant. A local mom and pop restaurant that offers your typical Korean flare. Lots of people lining up and takeout orders, so they're busy. A popular dish is the seafood pancake. This baby is THICK and loaded with octopus! The only downside is that because it's thick, the batter inside is a bit gummy. Other options to try: fried chicken (the honey garlic is yummy!), japchae, and their banchan options. I'd come back again! read more

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I got the seol-leong-tang (16.95). The soup was pretty big with a generous amount of beef. I could taste the richness of the ox bone in there, though I would have liked more stuff in the soup (it was just beef, glass noodle, and green onion) like vegetables to make it a heartier meal. Side dishes were also super delicious (I could not stop eating the potatoes) read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Seol-Leong-Tang-$16.95 - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Overall very good. Food portions are generous and tasty. We ordered: -Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup - 4/5 - very good. This is a really big bowl of noodles with lots of seafood and veg. Can be shared. For the price, this is cheap. -Seafood pancake - 3/5 - good - very thick. I think a little too thick and you can taste the batter. -Honey & Garlic Fried Chicken - 4/5 - very good. Crispy outside and juicy inside. -Banchan was very good and can be refilled. All portions are big, tasted good, and price is comparable to other Korean restaurant. I would definitely come back. It is actually my second time back here. Review Rating: 1 - Poor, 2 - OK, 3 - Good, 4 - Very Good, 5 - Excellent read more

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A usual spot for Korean food since we live nearby. We try to come for early dinner (5:30pm) to beat the rush. Otherwise we typically wait for 20 minutes or so during peak hours. Pros: - massive portions for the fried chicken plus there are deep fried rice cakes in the mix - homemade side dishes are delicious and can ask for refills - The restaurant is split into two sections and is deceptively spacious. - Service is quick and food comes out swiftly. - parking stalls in the back or plenty on Victoria drive or in the residential streets are free Notes: - can get a touch slippery with the flooring on rainy days - make sure your whole party is in attendance or they won't seat you yet - write your name and party quantity on the clipboard if you see a wait forming in the foyer - the tofu kimchi soup is fairly light and not as rich in flavor as I've had before, order the pork bone instead read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Pork belly, fried chicken (soy garlic) and seafood tofu soup. - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Update: you know it's good when you can't WAIT to go back to try the other menu items... So you go back the day after you visited :) This time I came with a bigger appetite and someone else with a bigger appetite. We tried the fried dumplings , pork bone soup and the Korean fried chicken ( garlic soy flavour ) Again, the side dishes were very tasty and I had to ask for another serving of the braised potatoes. The pork bone soup was rich in flavour and quite a bit of meat. Perfect for the colder weather. When we packed this to go, it's the first time I had a restaurant use a machine to put a plastic seal on it ! ( I originally thought they just forgot to give me a lid for my container hahah). The fried dumplings were presented nicely , but weren't anything special but still tasty and crispy. The garlic soy fried chicken was amazing ! I enjoyed the tteokbokki sprinkle into the mix. The sauce flavour was the perfect amount of sweetness to saltiness. Everything was evenly coated. And I enjoyed that the pieces of chicken were small pieces , this way the crispy batter covers a better ratio of chicken rather than those huge pieces you get and once you eat the crunchy skin it's just chicken. This time we came at peak meal time at 730pm on a Sunday night and had to wait about 30 min for a seat. All in all, would still come back in a heartbeat. read more

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Tasty Korean place on Victoria near 40th. Parking is available in front, as well on the side streets. The place is actually quite large. Looks like they expanded at some point, and now take up 2 storefronts. Staff were friendly and helpful. Spicy pork and vegetables on rice - served on sizzling platter. Just the right amoutn of kick (medium spicy). Everything was cooked well. Seafood tofu soup - lots of goodies inside. Green onions on top. Decent sized tofu chunks. Seafood pancake - this thing is probably twice the thickness of every other place in town. Buddy and I were surprised. Super good deal. Special mention. Yes, it was tasty too. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this place. Definitely have to come back with more friends. Recommended. read more

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I really enjoy coming back to this place. This was my 3rd visit to Sumi, and I'll keep coming back! Firstly, service was very kind and attentive. Everyone was smiling and helpful. I really like the barley tea served here - it's tasty and feels cleansing. My friend and I ended up ordering quite a lot for the 2 of us... we basically took home enough for another 2 meals each! Portions are amazing here. The bulgogi was flavourful, and not too sweet. Though I felt the meat was cooked slightly too tough, the softness of the vegetables helped to add to the dish. It came with 1 bowl of rice. The seafood pancake was sizzling when it arrived to the table! Perfectly crispy on the outside, and doughy delicuousness on the inside. It is a thick pancake - a full meal on its own! The jjam-ppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) was delightfully tasty and spicy! The amount of seafood was a little slim, and I wished the shrimps were a little bigger so that we could peel them easier (or that they were pre-peeled haha). The noodles were a little hard to find, as they were at the bottom of the dish. They slowly absorbed a lot of the broth by the end of our meal. Still delicious. The banchan was good as well, though they have fine print written that you can't refill more than once, or they will charge extra per dish. My favourite were the potatoes. Kimchi was okay, but not the best I've had. Can't wait to visit again! read more

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A great Korean restaurant on Victoria Street near 40th Avenue. We got the seafood pancake, beef bulgogi, Jjajangmyeon (noodle with black soybean sauce) and Gamjatang (pork bone soup). Forgot to take a photo of the pork soup. The seafood pancake was big and puffy. Alot higher/thicker than other places. It had a lot for seafood inside and the hotplate made the crust extra crispy. It was really good. The beef bulgogi was tender, good flavor and the amount of food was again, more than other places. The black soybean noodle was rich in flavor but not overwhelming and it went well with the noodle. I would recommend the noodle and seafood pancake. The service was great. The server came and refilled the side dishes when we didn't even ask as there was still some items left it in. read more

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I came here for dinner on a Saturday. Showed up around 730, waited about 10 mins. we ordered: Gamjatang - mediocre. lacked any depth of flavour, and the bowl was half bones so the portion was way smaller than it looks. A soontofu would probably have been better...I debated this. spicy chicken with rice - average. not remarkable but not bad. Seafood pancake - contained squid, octopus, and imitation crab. Overly dense, lots of batter. for $27 it is overpriced. Should be lighter and I expect better seafood than imitation crab. banchan - kimchi (average), seaweed salad (ok), pickled radish (overfermented), sweet potato - (average). Service was good, but the 2 ladies running the front were overworked. They are understaffed. Our waitress was super friendly and helpful, but I felt bad for her. Always running around like mad, sweating buckets because of the workload. Restaurant itself is average cleanliness for a casual spot. Street parking in the neighborhood. For food alone, 3-3.5/5. But their pricing is very reasonable (except for the seafood pancake) so overall, they deserve 4/5. read more

My brother and family is a regular here but it's my first time. My favorite pancake was THICK. Pretty good food and service overall. read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Pancake - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

One of the best tong place in town!! I wish their Seolleongtang can be saltless so we can taste the soup flavor itself. Side dishes are sooo delicious. I love your kimchi!!! And the seafood soondubu is very flavorful too!! This place is always busy with only few servers. Restaurant is pretty Korean authentic. Highly recommend and will return!!! read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I would say around a 3.5 for the food that we had tonight because there were some dishes that were standout and delicious while others had too much batter and not enough seafood. The bibimbap was DELICIOUS with plenty of ingredients and rice that were packed separately. When mixed together, it looked like more topping than rice which is always a pleasant surprise. In addition, the two soups (soft seafood tofu and bulgogi beef) were both well enjoyed by the family as they had a lot of ingredients and were very tasty. Bulgogi had lots of beef and vegetables and was not too salty or sweet and tofu soup was only mild spicy (as requested) and very flavourful. The 3.5 comes mostly from the sweet and sour chicken that was 90% batter. The pieces were also fatty and I did not enjoy this dish at all. The seafood pancake was HUGE but again, mainly batter and not too much actual seafood. Overall, this place is really close to our home which makes it convenient but there is better Korean food in the city. read more

Sumi Korean restaurant on Victoria drive - in the Vancouver area. This restaurant serves authentic Korean food and it is a cute spot for lunch or dinner, I love sitting in their booth and just catching up with the girls over some good Korean foods. The prices are quite affordable for the quality and amount of food which was perfect. We had plenty and more than enough, it was super filling. We ordered: Vegetable Goonmandu we honestly got this because it comes with 15 pieces such a good price and great for sharing! a bowl of Jjajangmyeon noodles (super filling by the way) 비빔밥 Bibimbap rice and beef/veggies in stone bowl pot My favourite soup the Gamjatang has pork backbone although it is a huge bone piece it was quite meaty and we had a bowl of rice on the side. I'd definitely recommend this place for good food and I think this place does get busy because it's such a good deal read more

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I would absolutely eat here every night if I could. Everything is good. We got take out but they were really quick with our order and kindly added more kimchi. Really cute inside too. read more

3.5 stars. Really enjoyed trying this Korean restaurant; however, I would be selective of what you order! Particularly loved the Korean fried chicken, galbitang, and jajangmyeon. Would not recommend the seafood tofu soup. The seafood quality is low here, evident by the soup. However, if you like a reasonably crispy seafood pancake, you could give that a try! Good amount of side dishes and quite spacious. read more

I went here with a friend last Friday. Lougheed area would be my usual spot for Korean food, but I didn't mind because the friend suggested this. We ordered spicy noodles ( Jjam Bbong $12.95) and Wang Donkatsu ( Pork Cutlet, big like the Korean name said $14.95) food were okay. Jjam Bbong had a generous amount of seafood and soup wasn't spicy. Soup was bit sweet. Wang Donkatsu was HUGE! My food came with salad, radish, rice and some soup (seasoned Galbi Tang which is beef rib soup). I was fooled by the gigantic pork cutlet while the meat was thin in thick batter. Nothing special about the meat texture. Just dry like cardboard. I wasn't able to finish my food and ended up taking half of the pork cutlet home. Besides it wasn't greasy and it still had crunchy texture as I wished the meat was thicker. I Side dishes were alright. Kimchi and radish pickle tasted bland. I think it needed more salt or seasoning. Staff was helpful. I actually wanted to order Intestine Soup (Nejangtang $14.95) before deciding Wang Donkatsu and the staff advised he can only change spiciness of Yuk Gae Jang. Nice clean restaurant. Service was fast. I hate to admit that food didn't stand out. read more

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Great sul tang tang and kalbi tang. Service was friendly and fast. No reservations, first come first service. Good value and great spot.

Decent small neighbourhood Korean restaurant offering authentic Korean popular dishes! The dining area is spotless, but during our visit we were the only table throughout the whole time, the owner told us the Covid situation is really hurting their business. Food was also decent but lacks any "wow" factor, especially their Soft Tofu Soup; it lacks "depth" that is essential to make this dish the quintessential "soul" food in Korean cooking. The beef rib soup scores higher, as the meat were cooked to the right consistency and still retains some bite. The broth for this dish tasted much richer and deeper. I do not feel thirsty afterwards which indicates that MSG was not used here! Wishing them all the best! read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Warm & homey Korean meal!! - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I've been going to Sumi since it opened. That is one of the few Korean comfort food restaurant that has been consistent since the beginning. Quality is great. Price is reasonable. Volume is a good size. The owner is always there overseeing the operation. And when it gets busy, he would come out and help out the servers . Our favorite dish is soon dubu jigae soft tofu soup with beef. Their kimchi is also very fresh and tasty. Not a lot of variety for banchan but that's why they're a solid comfort food restaurant. read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Ever comforting Korean beef bone soup for the soul, stone bowl bibimbop feast for the eyes and sweet and sour frie chicken for the tummy. Checking out a local family run spot on Victoria for some Korean comforts. The beef bone soup was delicious and comforting, perfect for a Friday evening after a week of stress. The stone bowl bibimbop was beautiful with all the colours of veggies and piping hot to get a nice crunchy rice crust. These dishes hit the mark. However the sweet and sour pork was soggy from the sauce and had way too much batter per piece. Some pieces had more batter than there was chicken. Probably not my favorite. We'd come back for the bowls though! read more

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Very delicious authentic Korean restaurant. We tried the spicy beef soup (Yukgaejang) and the spicy stir fried chicken (Dakbulgogi Dupbap) - both were very flavourful! Their kimchi was also one of my favs. We went quite early (around 5:45pm) on a Saturday. It started to fill up quickly around 6pm. read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

What a nice little addition to the Victoria Dr mix. Korean run and Korean served. Boss comes out once in a while to check on things. Really friendly crew. The best dish was the dolsot Bibimbap in hot stone bowl. It's actually hot enough to really cook the rice. The bottom was the best with the crispy rice. Yes, not hard and chewy but crispy. The sweet and sour chicken was not bad. Quite volumous but expected for the price. Soon dubu jeegae tofu soup with seafood was nice. I like the different types of seafood in it. Spicy pork was spicy for the folks but I liked it. It was nicely served over a gas stove so it stayed hot all the way through. The only part that cost them a star was the long wait for the food after ordering. We finally had to ask for some banchan to keep us going until the entrées came. I hope to return soon to try other dishes. read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Important Disclaimer: No review is intended to try to bring down any restaurant. So please no stupid and angry reply. This is purely a feedback and it is up to you how you want to take the feedback. One of the memorabke intake here is the service is amazing! I have eaten so many korean restaurant in lower mainland, ans Sumi has the best service so far. Great place great ambience clean place clean toilet no doubt for the service. Korean side dishes are served here too and it wss homemade i believe and they were super good. Love the side dishes here. Ordered the tang su yuk which was just okay in my opinion and the jjajangmyeon is okay too. Definitely the one i tried in ktown is better. Definitely need to get better in these two. So hopefully you can take these feedbacks! The haemul pajeon was thick af though and crunchy and it was the star of the show. The sauce is okay though but the haemul pajeon is damn damn damnn goood. One of the best ive tried so far. In conclusion, sumi is a great korean restaurant in town! Side dishes are good haemul pajeon was good but maybe i didnt order the right thing. Nonetheless, thank you for your lovely service it was definitely top notch!!! read more

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I really like this place because for the price of the food , taste and serving size - Sumi is on it. Plus the place has displays of what is part of the Korean culture. Kudos! read more

Noticed the "opening soon" sign in front of the restaurant's window a few months ago while walking on Victoria Street. Being a fan of Korean food and because there are just so few Korean restaurants in central Vancouver, I knew I had to return to try this place out. Sumi opened a month ago and the decor inside is bright, relaxing and streamlined with minimal decorations which I liked. Service was welcoming, quick and the cooked food came to the table piping hot. We ordered the fried chicken wings, short beef rib soup with glass noodles (which came with a bowl of rice and the usual banchan, small side dishes) and noodles with black soybean sauce . I was also surprised that we got 5 banchan as other places usually serve 3. They were refreshing and served cold instead of room temperature: sweet sea weed, pickled radish, kimchi, seasoned soy bean spouts and cooked potatoes with a light sweet sauce. We also asked for more sweet sea weed and bean spouts. As it was just the two of us, we couldn't order the hot pot or other large sharing plates but will be coming back with more friends so I can try others items that interested me. In observing other tables, the fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce was a popular order and looked amazingly delicious as the smiles on the customers' faces confirmed my prediction. I'm also a big fan of bibimbap. Somehow this simple rice dish can be so hard to find and made right in Vancouver. Well, I think I found the place that does it right. The stone bowl came to the table steaming hot and the server mixed everything in the pot. I could smell the burnt rice while the server was mixing the rice and vegetables in the stone bowl. I didn't order this dish but seeing how it was cooked in the right way, I knew I may have found my little ma and pa Korean restaurant in central Vancouver. read more

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Great hidden gem. The place is spacious and run by a family. The food was good and the service was great. I had gone to this place with a fellow yelper. The owner checked up on us a few times. She served and refilled a lot of side dishes. I had seolong tang. The flavors were good and the soup was comforting and delicious. I will most likely be back to this place just to try other items on the menu. read more

Sumi Korean Restaurant - Seolong tang - Korean Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

This is a newer Korean restaurant in East Vancouver. The interior and ambience are quite nice. Customers can sit comfortably and it is nice and bright inside. The servers or the restaurant were quite efficient when we were here for dinner. Once we stepped into the restaurant, we got a table right away. The servers were very polite and provided a typical good customer service to customers including us. We ordered a dish of jajangmian, a typical dish of tofu soup with seafood, deep fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce. All of them tasted delicious especially the deep fried chicken that was very crispy and chewy. It was not too spicy even though it listed a red pepper next to the dish on the menu. Overall, we had a great experience here. The pricing was reasonable. and portion of the food was decent. Customer service was good. I would recommend others to come here if they would like to try a new Korean restaurant. The restaurant has several parking spots at the back, so it is good! You can also park on the street. If it is at night, Vancity next to the restaurant is closed. You can park there and walk to the restaurant. read more

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There was no wait when we came in for family dinner on a Saturday evening. I made reservations just in case anyway. The restaurant took over two units, clean & spacious. Most tables were occupied and we sat down next to a large group yet I didn't feel likeI have to shout to be heard. Our server gave us time to peruse the menu. It's a lengthy one. They offer a good selections of BBQ meats, soups, noodles, and combos. We went with: -pork bone soup hot pot (regular size) ~ good for 4 ppl, server didn't ask how spicy we want so we got no spice but it had nice flavors. -seafood pancake ~ one of our favorites, came on a sizzling hot plate -bibimbap ~ love the sauce on the side, good assortment of veggies and that egg yolk! -deep fried chicken with sweet and spicy sauce ~ great flavors but the batter was nothing like Korean style fried chicken should be. Slightly disappointed by this. -jajangmyeon ~ black bean sauce was a little bland. Noodles were nice & chewy. Overall, there were more highs than lows. The service was attentive enough even though we were not in the main dining area. The whole meal came to just under $100 for the 5 of us and we had leftovers too. I will definitely be back for this authentic Korean spot! read more

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We got combo B plus deep friend chicken in sweet and sour sauce for 4 ppl. Combo b comes with 2 bowls of rice. The portion is more than enough, bill came out to be 24/person with tax and tips. Salad: lettuce is fresh and dressing is good citrus level Deep fried dumpling: good for variety Japchae: good portion of noodle, meat and veggies but flavour is lacking a bit LA galbi: meat quality is good but flavour is on the bland side for me Deep fried chicken with sweet & sour sauce: chicken is tender, flavour is good. Don't order if you are looking for crispy deep fried Seafood tofu soup: flavourful Side dishes: all side dishes are good, kimchi has good level of spiciness and has not chemical taste like some other places. Food is not bad, service is good, price is reasonable. Nice neighbourhood Korean restaurant, likely wouldn't go out of my way to come here. read more

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Noticed this new restaurant a few weeks ago and decided to try it today with a friend. It wasn't busy at 6 pm but a few more patrons came in while we were eating. The service is really good. The server was attentive and kept coming back to our table to check on us. The portion sizes are good. We ordered the deep fried prawns and it was very crunchy and good. We also ordered the black bean noodle which was good. Lots of sauce and noodles. The tteobokki was pretty spicy even though we asked them to cut down the spice. It had glass noodles, an egg, and rice cakes. It was tasty though but wish it wasn't so spicy. The food was decent and prices standard for a korean restaurant. The decor is very cute and clean. I'll definitely be back to try some other dishes. read more

This place was fairly busy but we had made a reservation. When the reservation was made, the owner made it clear that the dining time was 90 mins, fair enough. During the meal he proceeded to remind us 4 times that we only had 90 mins. It got to the point it was very annoying and interrupting our meal. The service was absolutely mediocre at this place. If you're going to rush people out, at least provide good service. The food was not bad. I wouldn't say it was amazing but it was decent. There's probably plenty of other places in the Lower Mainland that are much better. I wouldn't go out of my way to go back to this place for mediocre service and average food. read more

Victoria Drive has no shortage of restaurants to choose from....though it seemed that in the blink of an eye, what used to be Benss Cafe had become a new Korean restaurant! Obviously, my curiousity was piqued and I had to give the place a go for lunch lol. Shortly after being seated, the waitress excitedly informed us that we were one of the first customers...which was pretty cool I guess. Just as an fyi, their menu mentions a lunch combo, though said combo is only available on weekdays...though the menu doesn't say that for some reason...ANYWAYS! To start, we have a Soft tofu soup with seafood (12.95). This soup didn't exactly have much spiciness to it, so ask for more spicy sauce if that's your thing. In terms of flavouring, it did have a bit of tofu and some squid, though the flavouring from the tofu soup stood out the most. The Marinated Beef Soup (14.95) was a bit of a step up in terms of diversity of flavour compared to the tofu soup. It was incredibly beefy flavoured with a slight sweetness to it. There was a surprising amount of beef in it with glass noodles. The Bibimbap (13.95) comes in a stone bowl. It's a decent sized portion and all of the veggies were fresh as was the meat. Comes with fried egg on top. There's something so satisfying about letting the bottom bits get a bit crispy then using the side of miso (that they provide) to scoop up the rest at the end. Each of the meals comes with a shared set of sides including potato, kimchi, seaweed, sesame bean sprouts, and onions with jalapeno. Apparently the first set of sides is free but there's a fee for refills. The last dish that we tried were the Chicken Wings (8.95). Surprisingly, these reminded me a lot of the dessert ginger wings that you can get from Deer Garden more than Korean style fried chicken. They were very crispy and juicy, though the ginger flavouring was the predominant flavouring. Overall, food was decent, though a bit pricey, and servers were good. Hope they get around to fixing that lunch special part of the menu though! read more

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Recently, I noticed a relatively new Korean restaurant open up on Victoria Drive called Sumi Korean Restaurant. The interior is a bit confusing because they appear to have two sides to the restaurant separated by a wall (assuming they took over an adjoining unit but never bothered to fully take down the wall). The first thing that I noticed here was when they handed us the menus... these menus are uncomfortably heavy. I know it really doesn't affect the enjoyment of dining here... just making an observation. We decided to order the Combo A ($52) as it came with an assortment of dishes: House Salad, Goonmandu, Haemul Pajeon, Soontofudubu, Spicy Daeji Bulgogi, and the regular assortment of banchan. First up was the house salad which was topped with some crispy sticks. The goonmandu, or fried golden dumplings, were nice and crispy on the exterior but with a moist filling. The haemul pajeon, or seafood pancake, needed a bit more crispness to the middle as I found it to be a bit soggy. However, it did have a nice amount of shrimp and octopus and we were able to crisp up the leftovers that we brought home. We picked the spicy tofu soup as our soup option and this had a nice amount of tender tofu in a medium-spiced broth. When I say "medium-spiced" I mean "medium" for Korean standards as this was fairly spicy. The banchan included seaweed, sprouts, pickled radish, kimchi and stewed potato chunks. Last up was the daeji bulgogi which is made up of thinly sliced pork bulgogi. I found the pork wasn't as tender as the chicken version that we normally order. I'll have to remember to stick with chicken next time. Overall, the food is pretty good. As expected with a Korean restaurant, the prices tend to be a bit high as the dishes are meant to be shared family-style. read more

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Went again and it was still good in every way. Ordered: Combo A Black bean noodle Sweet and sour chicken read more

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Came here on a Monday night at 6:30pm for 4 people and no reservation needed as less than half the restaurant was full. We decided to order the Combo C and asked to substitute the deep fried pork dumplings for veggie ones. They were VERY accommodating and though the veggie dumplings were tiny, they gave us extra ones complimentary "on the house". We got around 10 dumplings so not sure what the usual amount would have been. Dumplings were tasty though! Overall, great food and service! It's a Mom and Pop restaurant where they actually care and check up on you throughout the meal. Free side refills come with a smile and promptly. The quantity of portion sizes are on the smaller side but I personally feel the quality of food and service makes up for it. Combo C was just enough to feed 4 people for $88 (or $92 including tax) but for big eaters an additional dish or two would probably be needed. There is free parking at the back of the restaurant but be aware that customers can only enter through the front door located on Victoria Drive. Will definitely be coming back and telling friends & family about this restaurant as love supporting local Mom & Pop restaurants. I hope Sumi is here to stay as a (good) Korean restaurant is much needed in the neighborhood! read more

This is a lovely establishment! The food was good but the service was better. I've been to many Korean restaurants and the staff have always accommodated but this place is a gem. I believe it is family owned but don't quote me on that. The older gentleman who sat my significant other and I was very welcoming and he had such a warm smile. Our server was great too!! Recommended many items and had a good sense of humour. I don't have any photos bc we were so hungry and ate quickly but mom and pop places like this truly are hidden gems. We ate everything!! I enjoy tipping highly at little restaurants like this because being a server myself I want to keep places like this around. read more