Toe Dam Korean Fusion BBQ

Korean BBQ place in the Korean-centric Hanin Village plaza in Coquitlam. Went for dinner on a Saturday and luckily didn't have to wait. Probably went a little earlier than other folks, as the place the fill up while we were dining. Mid-small size interior. Each table has the fume hood and the round grill plate in the middle for cooking the meats, with pull down blinds as dividers.

We got a selection of beef to grill. Beef tongue, rib meat, and round. All were pretty good on the grill and the meat seems good quality. You get three dipping sauces and some veggie garnish to eat the meat with. In addition, we also got their beef tartare, which is seasoned beef chopped into small strips, with a raw egg on top, and seaweed, lettuce and pear pieces on the bottom. Mixed together it was actually pretty refreshing, and no gamey/bloody taste at all. Finally, also had their seafood pancake. Their pancake is a bit different than other Korean seafood pancakes I've tried. It's thicker with crispy strips on the outside, and a doughy seafood center. I liked it.

Overall the food was good. Ended up paying $75 per person before tips, so definitely not cheap.

It took 2 attempts to get into the door at Toe Dam. The first time didn't work out as it was quite popular showing why there's a time limit for customers. The 2nd time we got a table and a chance to chow.

We were a group of 6 for this meal. We went with the premium set to pretty much make sure we had a ton of food. It came with a ton of raw meats along with salad, 2 soups, 2 pancakes, japchae, and sides. We had to work pretty hard as a group to finish all the food. Presentation for a kbbq spot was solid as were all very excited when the next plate arrived despite the spacing issue we quickly found ourselves in. I don't think there was a standout but were haply with all the food.

Service was good. The staff were very accommodating of all long it took for us to clear off plates. We managed to get refills of sides fairly handily. We were celebrating a birthday and they were nice enough to let us borrow their refrigerator.

Overall, great experience at Toe Dam. We were very happy with the food and it lived up to our expectations.

First time trying, we ordered the family set with an order of crab on the side.

Taste 1/1*
Meat were fresh, marinated meat were tasty, and soup was great, though wife thought was slightly over salted.
Crab was amazing, highly recommend!

Value 0/1*
Slightly on the expensive side, each person came out to $60+ with no beverages

Service 1/1*
Quick and friendly, lots of space for stroller too

Cleanliness 1/1*
Spotless

Overall/Revisit 1/1*
Yes would revisit

Paying for ambience? MAYBE
Above and beyond? 0/+1* NO

On a side note, their pork belly are not served with a side of lettuce, also they don't have any draft beer, so if those are something you are craving, may be disappointed.

Finally got to try marinated crab and it was delicious! We also got the cold noodles and some form of soup, 10/10 would get it again. The stir fry was so so if I remember correctly.

Came in as a party of 5. The restaurant was clean and spacious, some of the tables were divided by blinds which I liked. Came in specifically for the raw crab and it did not disappoint. Service was a little slow but that was probably because we did order quite a bit. The cold noodle combo came with a pork rib side and to be honest was disappointed by the amount of meat... it was only like 4 pieces of meat in a plate of veggies. The crab and beef tofu soup was the star of the show! Loved both and will definitely come here again

Wanted to try a Korean BBQ restaurant I haven't tried before and this didn't disappoint! Got two portions of meat, seafood soon tofu, and a rice. The soup and rice were quite big portions. Would definitely recommend soon tofu soup here!

The space felt quite open, with the seating spaces quite separated from each other which was nice.

Made a reservation to this restaurant asking for a table of 10. They said they will separate us into two tables. I said ok.

Showed up the next day with my party, but they said they don't accept our large size group. I said I made reservation already for two tables.

The servers talked about the situation and admitted their mistake. I think they booked too many reservations that night so I told them, we will fit our party at one table. We turned out to be 8 people so we squished all into one table.

Unfortunately they gave us the table that had a massive pillar against the table. 5 minutes later, another table opened up and we asked to go there for more space, but their air head waiter said that table was reserved. Two people sat there to eat.

Other reviews say that this place has the lowest quality service, I would have to agree.

Before seating, the servers pressured us to order quickly and pushed us to order the Luxury Set, which is $300 and meant for 4 people (it came with only 4 rice which is how I knew). We have 8 people. The cost definitely was not good value.

I would rate this place 1 star, but at least the flavour was ok. Drove all the way from Richmond to try this place. Took one photo of the luxury set beef plate. Does that feed 8 people? $300 !!!

This was a gorgeous feast. Maybe we ordered too much but everything was flavourful and satisfying. Too much hassle to order BBQ but their sides are worth trying as well. From their ultra thick seafood pancake to their extremely chewy japchae, their clean but beefy short rib soup with succulent pieces of meat, to the pungent and grilled rich pork intestines, it was the perfect meal to satisfy those cravings.

I'm always craving for Korean marinated raw crab. So on my friend's recommendation, I came here to try out their marinated crab! They were super meaty and well-marinated. I also love the roe. Since the crabs are on the saltier side, it's best to pair it with rice. Aside from the crab, we also ordered the premium set. The set includes 4 types of meat cuts, marinated beef short ribs and chicken, seafood pancake, bean paste soup, as well as marinated raw crab. The meat quality is excellent, I also really enjoyed the bean paste soup. However I do think the seafood pancake is too thick and a little bit undercooked. This set is for 3-4 people but I do think the amount of food can actually feed 4-5!

We dined at this restaurant on a bustling Monday night, luckily securing a 7pm reservation. Upon being seated, a server promptly informed us of a two-hour dining window. It seemed unnecessary since it wasn't all-you-can-eat, especially considering no additional patrons arrived during our stay. We ordered the Monday night special combo, along with egg tofu, which we loved so much we ordered two! It's worthy of a star.

However, the seafood pancake is disappointed with its thick dough crust. The Japchae was decent, and the spicy tofu soup was passable but nothing remarkable. The banchan portions (kimchi, pickled radish with onions) were minimal, and when we requested more, the same server rolled her eyes. If they're unwilling to accommodate us, we have no qualms about seeking other Korean restaurants. Subpar service paired with mediocre food deducts four stars from our rating.