Sumi Korean Restaurant

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!

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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.