Mr Bro Korean Bistro & Izakaya

Ventured out into the snowy weather to catch the lunch special at Mr Bro Korean Bistro & Izakaya.

It was a quiet lunchtime but the atmosphere was filled with chill music and music videos playing on the TV, as I relaxed in their booth seating.

I ordered the Cheese Kimchi Fried Rice ($13.75) which also came with a side of kimchi, seaweed soup and salad. The Seaweed Soup was full of soft, seaweed and the broth was subtle and not overpowered so it let the seaweed flavours play through. The Salad had fresh lettuce and a sweet, pureed dressing, which played with the apple and orange slices nicely.

When the Cheese Kimchi Fried Rice came, it was piping hot and had a beautifully fried sunnyside egg on top. I was interested to see where the cheese pull could happen, and as I ate I realized there was a generous layer of cheese throughout the fried rice. With every bite, you got a cheese pull going up and up! The kimchi fried rice was good, as expected but the gooey mozzarella cheese added such a new sensation and taste - it was so rich and delicious! I only finished half because the cheese made it quite heavy - that's how much cheese you can expect - they definitely did not skimp on that!

Service was really friendly and joyful. Overall, a great, trendy Korean spot, which I'll definitely come back to enjoy more Korean favourites like bibimbap, buckwheat noodles, korean soups, bbq meats and more. Cash and Debit Only. The restaurant is on the 2nd floor - same as the Deer Garden in this complex.

Super awesome service. We ordered the wrong ramen and they changed it for us and gave us extra yogurt drink dessert for the kids.

The shrimp was really good and the ramen and A+ beef was good!

I kept hearing about this spot and today I finally got to check it out. Upon walking in I noticed the ventilation is NOT good, especially since it's a pretty tight space. I left smelling like BBQ after not even getting any.

- cream corn with cheese: pretty small portions but can't complain, tasted amazing and it was exactly as expected
- deep fried spicy chicken with mozza: this was disappointing. The chicken was soggy and the flavors were just not it. Half of it was tteokbokki which is not mentioned at all in the menu. I took a few bites and did not want any more
- rose tteokbokki: flavors were good but honestly very minimal toppings and I didn't realize they were made with instant noodles
- beef bibimbap: can't ever go wrong with bibimbap, no complaints
- free sides bar: there's kimchi, pickled veggies, salad, macaroni salad, and cheerios. I do wish they included some more classic Korean side dishes such as the potato's, beans, tofu, etc. I'm kind of confused on why there is a bin of rainbow colored cheerios.

Overall the restaurant visit was pretty smooth, I went at around 8pm Thursday night. It was busy the entire time but seating would open up quite quickly. We ordered on the iPad and food came almost immediately, and they give you a Yakult drink at the end. It was $12 soju night which is a pretty good deal considering it's almost the same price if you buy soju from the liquor store.

The food however I found was subpar. Prices are quite reasonable for the portions but I wouldn't mind paying more for better quality. Also I couldn't tell if it's the food but it had me chugging water the whole time.

Looking for late night meals , found this hidden gem along Alexandria in Richmond . Good food , service was great and cute little place .

The restaurant is small located on the second floor at the east end of Alexandra St. Most tables are for 2-4 party sizes.

Not definitely certain if the food offerings here was what I was looking for. They are not the traditional menu for sure. It might be more of street food vibe like sausages and cheese

My friends and I came for lunch on a weekend. The place was cozy with Christmas theme. It's not too busy in the 1st hour. Fantastic environment for great conversation for small groups. Service was great. They offered a small can of fruit juice for each of us. At checkout, they offered a bottle of probiotics drink for each of us also.

We ordered:
- Fried dumplings (pork and cabbage)
- Bibimbab (Hot stone pot - chicken)
- Grilled black cod
- Sweet fried shrimp
- Beef tartare
- Honey garlic fried chicken and rice cake

The wrapper of the dumplings is crispy and thin, not greasy at all. The centre was very flavourful pork and cabbage. Dipping the soya, sesame and onion sauce takes the flavour to the next level.

Bimbimbab is an option in lunch special. You have the choice of chicken, beef or pork. It comes with seaweed soup and kimchi. The rice on the bottom of the stone bowl has the rice crispy effect. This is how the rice should be. The spicy and sweet bibimbab sauce in separate bottles will elevate the flavour of the chicken and vegetables on the rice.

Sweet fried shrimp was one of the must haves. These big shrimps were fried perfectly. The meat was tender with an al dente texture. It was deshelled with only the tail attached. Each bite had the tasty mayonnaise and special sauce. Very satisfying.

The grilled black cod has the rich fat from this deep sea fish. The sweet soya sauce blends very well with the fish. They didn't have grilled saba (mackerel) this time.

Beef tartare was one of the dishes I have high expectations on, and it didn't fail me! With a fresh yolk in the middle with sliced garlic surrounding it like a flower on top of this solid ball of beef strips, the presentation was very attractive. After deconstructing and blending the ingredients well, each bite was exquisite. The texture of the beef tells me how fresh it was. There was no chewy tendons. We ordered spicy but I couldn't taste the spiciness. The raw garlic slices were spicier.

The honey garlic fried chicken and rice cake was a nice dish for late night supper or anytime when you feel hungry. Very delicious and anyone can easily pop one after another in their mouth.

I would try other dishes for sure. The pros is that they have free parking within this strip mall. They're located on the 2nd level (right next to the elevator). The cons is that they only accept cash or debit.

ATTENTION!!!!!! Congrats to Mr. Bro Korean Bistro & Izakaya for taking the fattest L in 2022. Coming has was extremely disappointing because I barely give a 1 star rating, but this place deserves it all.

First of all, it took us 1.5 hour to queue for the table when there were 4 only same size party in front of us. I was checking why the queue doesn't move, so I went to the bathroom whilst checking what happened actually in the restaurant. There were some empty tables, but none of the staff had the urge to fill the empty tables, and that is why it took us almost 2 hours just to queue in this restaurant.

Secondly, hygiene in the restaurant is very questionable. We got an oily table and underneath of the table is filled with food leftovers. If these issues dont get resolved, VCH would definitely come soon just letting you know. Toilet is also questionable. Toilet literally doesnt meet the requirement with the BCBC guidelines as well as City of Richmond guidelines. Literally the bathroom is so small that they have to scraped over some parts of the door so that it can close properly from getting stopped by the sink.

Third, service is also very questionable. We got someone else's order on our table. There were a lot of miscommunications and dropped of appliances inside the restaurant. Honestly, there are just a lot of problems with the service.

Food is just very mid and to pay $33pp is really not worth it. Some mid tier for that amount of price i would rather go to much better korean places. Presentation of food is bad literally made like its for supermarket food literally i could make it like that at home.

Lastly, it really disappoints me how DISHONEST CANADIANS are. This really triggered me just for 1.5% of revenue literally you have to be dishonest? As much as i dislike the european and the british culture, but they are always honest. This is not the first time canadian restaurants have been dishonest with me. WHAT IS THIS TOXIC CULTURE? Check my last photo literally i could have used my neo cc to get 3% cashback and i confirmed with neo that the restaurant is still in partnership so i was able to use my neo cc in the restaurant, but they told me only debit or cash allowed. This is some $30pp restaurant and you told us that you dont accept cc? What bs is that?? Put the sign in front of the restaurant next time if only accept debit or cash. BUT honestly dont be dishonest if you dont accept cc payment. STOP BEING TOXIC.

For those who read this, dont bother coming to dishonest restaurant with no etiquette. If they ask you to pay with debit or cash, just tap your cc. Be immoral and we'll treat you the same. Go have some RESPECTS!!!

NOT RECOMMENDED

One of the Best Korean Restaurants in Richmond for sure! Lunch sets are the best value for what you can get! Go with family or friends and order different ones to get the great variety choices!

My friend recommended this place and the reviews are so high so not quite sure what happened here. Maybe I just ordered the wrong things but it didn't hit the Korean foodie spot.

The restaurant was not crowded so that may have been a warning sign to start. It's small, not necessarily the cleanest and the food was meh.

We got the lunch specials:
Bibimbap (very bland even with the sauce) + seaweed soup (tasty but all fatty pork)
Seafood Ramen (my little one loves ramen but said it's got a weird flavor and hardly touched it) + DIY rice ball (fun for the kids but very bland)
Jjajjang Noodles (noodles were very mush and almost sticky?? OK in flavor) + sweet + sour pork (meh)
Spicy buckwheat noodles (probably best dish of the day) + grilled spareribs

This place is located on the second level of the same plaza as Deer Garden noodle place. It's not very obvious, but it's definitely a hidden gem in Richmond.

It has a lot of dishes that are perfect for sharing. The rolled omelet with cheese is nicely fried and rolled. The cheese in the egg made a great addition to the omelet. The sweet and sour deep fried pork was fried with fresh oil, you can tell by the color of the batter, adding the sweet and sour soup on the top, made it very delicious. The traditional fried glass noodle was nicely done with lots of veggies. I really enjoyed the beef tare tare. The beef was cut into thin slices, fresh and not chewy. You can also choose the sauce to make it either spicy or regular. The fish tofu pot had lots of fish tofu and regular tofu. They also give you a small stove to cook and keep the soup warm. Rice cake and sausage skewer was like a snack, brushed with some sweet sauce.

When we first sat down closer to the entrance, I was feeling cold without my jacket. After sitting at a different table, it got better but still chilly. I realized that they might have kept the place cool for some reason. Other than that, the service was pretty fast, and staff are friendly. If you and your friends are into homemade family style Korean dishes, this would be a good place to go.

Recently enjoyed a feast of Korean food here & everything was DELICIOUS. We enjoyed everything so much ordered things twice! My top 3 favourites were the Napa wraps with pork belly, 51cm beef tartare sushi, and the shrimp.
 
KIMCHI FRIED RICE WITH CHEESE x 2 ($16.25 CAD each)
If you enjoy spicy food, this is a great staple dish! If you can't handle the heat, we recommend the one with cheese to help reduce the spiciness. Personally for me, I don't eat spicy food very often so this was a struggle for me to eat but the cheese did help cut the spiciness.
 
NAPA WRAPS WITH PORK BELLY (Full $27.55 CAD / Half $22.55 CAD)
Their pork belly was so good that we ordered this dish twice! Flavourful and tender. Personally, I enjoy when there is lettuce with grilled pork belly as it gives a nice refreshing contrast to the fat from the pork belly.

51CM BEEF TARTARE SUSHI x2 ($25.35 CAD each)
Great flavours and I liked that they used the perfect amount of sesame oil for this dish. It's the first thing you taste, and progressively as you chew, you can taste the other flavours. I normally don't eat raw meat as well, but really enjoyed this dish and was advocating for another order, haha.
 
SPICY FRIED CHICKEN WITH CHEESE (Full $33.45 CAD / Half $24.55 CAD)
KFC topped with cheese. What could be better than that?! Another dish I would recommend and would probably order again if I wasn't full, haha! Again, the spiciness might be a bit much for someone who does not eat spicy food, but the cheese is a lifesaver.
 
SPICY RICE CAKE AND RAMEN NOODLE WITH CHEESE (Full $21.25 CAD / Half $16.25 CAD)
THE CHEESE PULLLLL! Our family loves tteokbokki and it was great to have something similar to what we make at home, available to enjoy here. If you have to pick, I would 100000% recommend the one with the ramen noodles over the one without.
 
DEEP-FRIED SHIMP IN CREAM SAUCE (Full $22.75 CAD / Half $18.25 CAD)
Crowd favourite! We were going to order another seafood pancake but decided to try something else on the menu and I am are SO GLAD we ordered these shrimps because it was a perfect balance between sweet and salty. There also was not too much mayo which was great. Sometimes when there's too much mayo, it takes away from it being enjoyable.
 
SEAFOOD PANCAKE ($13.75 CAD)
They seem to have coated their pancake with panko and I wasn't mad at it! It was my first time trying a pancake coated in panko and I really enjoyed the flavour and extra crunch. I'm more of a salty over sweets person for treats, so this catered to my love for salty and crunchy.
 
GRILLED SPARERIBS (Full $33.05 CAD / Half $24.05 CAD)
Nicely grilled. Again, I think that we would have probably ordered this again if we weren't so full! Nice and light marinade and a good dish if you want to cut through all the oil and cheese dishes.
 
Overall, I loved my meal here and can't wait to come again with my friends! Be sure to make a reso beforehand because there was a lineup out the door!

PS: they also gave us a free mini yogurt drink at the end of our meal before we left! Nice treat to drink as you leave feeling satisfied.