Mot Na Son Restaurant

The food here was not bad but the dining experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
We came as a group of 8 without reservations and were lucky to be seated right away. After spending some time looking through the menu, we ordered the following to share:
— Pork belly bbq: The best item we ordered. The pork belly was delicious and portion was generous.
— Thin sliced beef bbq: Got ripped off here for sure… this was expensive ($ 53.99 w/​soup combo) and I don’t think the cut of beef given to us was even close to being worth it.
— Fermented soybean soup (combo w/​bbq): I never had fermented soybean soup before and I really enjoyed it. The fermented taste was really interesting and the soup was very tasty. I don’t know if it’s because we ordered it in a combo, but the amount they gave us was miserly.
— Spicy kimchi soup (combo w/​bbq): Tasty but nothing special. Again, portion was tiny.
— Spicy rice cake: Spicy so watch out! This was good but not memorable.
— Black bean noodles: Lack of black bean taste, definitely had better elsewhere.
Overall, food was okay. Some items are more expensive than they should be (this is definitely the case for the beef, which was just a frozen pile of cheap beef slices). BBQ portions are for two and if you order the combo with the soup, it’s more than enough food for two.
On the other hand, service was frustrating (and that’s an understatement). In the beginning, we were catered to by a man who I think is the owner, and he is certainly special because i have NEVER had a dinner where I was micromanaged like this. He started off telling us what we should and shouldn’t order from the menu (how the hell do you know what we like and don’t like?), and when we pointed to certain items we wanted to order, he had the gall to say we wouldn’t like them because we won’t be used to the taste. Again, how the hell would you know what we like and don’t like? It was like he was belittling us, as if non-​Koreans can’t handle «authentic» Korean food. It got to a point where we were so fed up we just agreed to whatever he told us to order so he could shut up.
Of course, it didn’t end there. When the meats came for the BBQ, he just HAD to show us how to cook the meat. If he saw us doing something he doesn’t like, he literally took the tongs out of our hands and did it himself. Excuse me? Seriously? He basically hovered over our table for half the meal and he wouldn’t stop saying how we’re doing things wrong. He treated it as if it was our first time eating Korean food ever and his condescending attitude ruined everyone’s moods to eat.
He eventually disappeared towards the end of our meal and it went from over-​service to completely lack of service. We couldn’t even flag down a waitress to refill our tea, and when we managed to get someone’s attention, we were told they didn’t have enough tea for us… while she was carrying a pot of tea.
If you would like to be treated like an idiot who can’t cook for yourself or if you want a complete stranger to decide what you should eat and shouldn’t eat, by all means, come here.

Always up for trying different restaurants along K-​Town North!
This restaurant is located right beside Taftan Kebab, in between Finch and North York Centre Stations.
Restaurant size:
It can be cozy, and there are plenty of different aromas permeating throughout the place. Be prepared to smell like oil and food after your meal! There was plenty of seating available at around 5:45pm on a Tuesday night.
Portion size:
My friend and I ordered the 2 soups + 1 LA galbi rib, and it was quite sufficient. The soups are from #1−12 on the soups menu (#1 traditional fermented soy bean soup for me, #x beef tofu soup for her), and include a bowl of rice each. 1 rib provided 2 pieces of galbi to each person.
Food quality:
Good! I don’t think I’ve had traditional fermented soy-​bean soup before, and although the smell was off-​putting at first, it tasted great. The LA galbi was nicely cooked and had great flavour; not too sweet or sticky!
Service:
The lady who served us happily answered any questions we had and offered some suggestions. I had the opportunity to ask Chris-​the-​Owner what the difference between the traditional fermented soy-​bean soup and soondobu, and he enthusiastically explained — greatly appreciated.
Final thoughts:
I’d like to come back with a few others some time to try the table-​top cooking, which was seen all around us. I wonder if other places have «traditional fermented soy-​bean soup», and what they taste like?
Oh, and watch your head when going downstairs to use the washroom.
Us 6 footers have to hunch a little…

Chris, the owner, is quite friendly. We were seated right by the door, and he tried to keep the door closer to the inside of the restaurant closed so that we wouldn’t get chilly. He was also helpful when it came to recommending dishes for us to try. They also have a notice in their menu that says that says that all their sauces are home-​made and are antiseptic free. I didn’t even realize that non-​home-​made sauces contained antiseptic. Given that an antiseptic is a disinfectant, I don’t know what their sauces being antiseptic free means…
Their tea (automatic drink) is very watery. It’s more colored water than tea. On the upside, when I asked for cold water, I received cold tea (also watery).
Banchan (side dishes) were fairly plentiful (I like how they give you a slightly larger starting portion than most other places), but not enough in terms of varieties to impress me (I’m a fan of 6 and up).
Banchan:
Kimchi — slightly sweet, not too spicy, not too sour. I’m guessing fairly new. I’m no kimchi expert though.
Kimchi radish — not very spicy. Refreshing.
Soy sauce braised potatoes — and a chunk of carrot. Not bad, but I wish they were the caramelized sweet potatoes instead. Wish more Korean restaurants served those as banchan.
Sprouts — the red pepper covered ones. Not very spicy either.
Seaweed salad — not the wakame kind (the Japanese one that’s a very bright green and looks kinda like jelly). Unroasted seaweed sheet kind. Slightly vinegary. Quite nice.
Mains:
Some combo with 2 kinds of soup and a row of beef short ribs — Comes with two bowls of rice. They threw in a third bowl cuz there were three of us. Had the gamjatang (pork bone soup) and it was good, but slightly unusual as well. The pork bones were super tender and fall off the bone (good), but the broth, while tasty, was almost like stew (quite thick) and had a lot more of a bean paste taste than I’m accustomed to for my pork bone soup. Soup #2 was a kimchi tofu soup of sorts, with pieces of pork in it. Tasty, spicy, and not quite so strong as the pork bone soup, but still good. The beef ribs had 3 ½ bones (½ because one of them was really small and had next to no meat) and it had more fat than I would have liked (and less meat), but it was marinated really well. It would have been nice if it was slightly more tender as well, because I had some difficulty chewing it.
Seafood pancake ($ 14.99) — biggest seafood pancake I’ve ever seen. Decent amount of seafood. Loved the addition of the shredded zucchini. Crispy. Addictive. Usually, seafood pancake comes with a soy sauce for dipping. Here, they served it with what looked like a mound of red pepper powder with some liquid. It’s actually vinegary and not really spicy at all. Slightly sweet. The sauce was fairly addictive and worked very well with the seafood pancake. Had I just had the seafood pancake, I would have probably given this place a 4 star rating.
If I come back, it’ll be for the pancake.

It surely has the best service for customers. The lady who served me seemed like the boss. She was so nice so thoughtful and helpful.

I’m sad to see such low reviews on here. This is a great homey spot with no frills, just great food and great people.
I’m a regular here and I absolutely love it! I’m gonna say though, not every dish is absolutely amazing. You kinda have to discover what your favourites are.
The owner is a very sweet man! He’s always looking out for his patrons and warning them about getting parking tickets!
Some of my favourite dishes:
1. Grilled mackerel combo that comes with pork bone soup… Only like $ 14! I was shocked when the fish was crispy and so fresh!
The pork bone soup is pretty good here… Not best I ever tasted but good!
2. Spicy cold noodle — I think it’s the corn noodle or potato noodle. It’s a delicious dish for the hot sauce lover!
3. My last recommendation is definitely a crowd pleaser — sizzling chicken (or beef) which comes in small and large. Delicious and tender! Great portion size.
They have great side dishes and really good kimchi here too!

I came here yesterday with my bf to eat samgyupsal (pork belly) for lunch after learning from a friend that their samgyupsal was the best. As soon as we walked into the restaurant, I didn’t have such a great feeling about the place because it looked really old but I gave it a chance. We ordered samgyupsal bbq for two people (~$ 35) which came with a jjigae (stew) of our choice — we got doenjang jjigae.
Now, here is the reason as to why I am giving this restaurant a 1 out of 5 stars. The lady brought out the plate of samgyupsal which looked to be a plate full of fat. Every piece was cut up into uneven chunks and we could barely see the meat because the amount of fat on each piece was literally an inch thick. My bf and I are both Korean and we’ve been to many different Korean restaurants around Toronto. Never have we been served samgyupsal that was 80% fat and skin. We were both disgusted and confused but we proceeded to grill it anyway since we’re not rude enough to walk out. The bits of meat we were able to eat were really tough and chewy. By the end of our meal, we had a plate full of fat that we had to cut apart from the meat.
We were extremely disappointed and felt like someone played a joke on us. For the record, my bf and I aren’t picky eaters and I don’t think anyone will appreciate being served chunks of fat for $ 35. I don’t recommend this restaurant for samgyupsal because you will seriously regret it and leave smelling like pork fat.

Very good, very authentic Korean food. The place is run by a husband and wife team who are friendly. Food was great, and they were happy to make suggestions for things to order and in what amount. It’s small and simple, with really good food. One of the best Korean meals I’ve had in Toronto.

The food as pretty good but we didn’t find it exceptional considering it costs a bit more than other places

I’m not Korean but this is a favourite of a Korean friend’s parents so I decided to check it out.
Found within a stretch of Yonge street between the North York City Centre and Finch where every third restaurant is a Korean restaurant, Mot Na Son is one which stands out.
Price wise, some of the staple dishes found at each of the restaurants within this stretch of Yonge might be a dollar or two more but it’s totally worth it. It’s like paying a little more for something nicer.
The feeling I get from some of the other restaurants is borderline fast food. Good, satisfying but really doesn’t stand out from the rest. Not the case here. I get the feeling of home cooking but from the best cook in the neighbourhood. Like when your office or school has a bake sale and there is always one baker who’s goods always sell first.
The place is small and cozy but able to accommodate larger groups when needed.
The service is friendly as the owner is the one who handles the wait duties.
Not naming favourites, I’ve tried many dishes and have never been disappointed.
Sadly, I’ve moved out of the neighbourhood but still crave going back from time to time. I guess it’s time to pay my mom (who lives nearby) a visit!

Great place. More of a traditional Korean restaurant, making it stand out a bit more in the flood of Korean restaurants in this area. They have excellent bibimbap and some special spicy squid dish. Owner is exceptionally nice and thoughtful — taking all the time: the world to explain every thing to you and following up to see if the food was satisfactory. Highly recommend.

The gangster look alike owner is very nice and friendly. I love their table cooking short ribs. The grill pork belly is the signature dish in house. The only thing I dislike is the strong weird smell u will notice when u get in. Once u breath the air long enough, u wont notice anymore… ha!
Oh… the kimchi is very good too!

A small cozy family run Korean restaurant among the many other Korean joints in the area. Came here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon and we were the only customers being served. I’m not too sure how this place survives when other restaurants were almost at full capacity.
Got my regular meal Pork bone soup. At $ 9.99 its a bit on the pricy side when comparing with others who have it for $ 6.99. The soup had a strong ginger taste and was not as salty as other pork bone soups I have had which is a good thing. Large portions of meat and comes with bowl of white rice.
Also tried a the seafood bean paste soup which was also $ 9.99. Nothing really to point out with this dish.
The side dishes were also pretty good (sweet and sour radish, bean sprouts, potatoes, kimchii, and kimchii flavoured radish.

Located right in between Finch and North York TTC station, Mot Na Son is convenient for many but the store front is not exactly noticeable.
The owner (?) is extremely friendly and personable (also speaks perfect English) — very eager to explain every item on the menu, which was a bit hard to read. There weren’t any pictures, and Korean dishes did not have translations beside them. The owner can save himself a lot of time if they just revamped the menu.
I ended up getting the spicy seafood noodle soup because I enjoy chewy noodle — the owner assured me that the type of noodle used would be the chewy type. Unfortunately, the boiling hot soup made it impossible for the noodles to remain chewy, so I ended up with soggy noodles. The pork bone soup is more expensive than other places ($ 9.99 before tax) — the soup base was good, but the portions were not as impressive as other reviews claim. Complimentary side dishes are standard — kimchi, pickled radish, bean sprouts… etc.
The restaurant is very cozy and can fit probably no more than 20 people. They serve beer from Amsterdam Brewery and pair it up with many combos in their menu.
I’d come back because the service is wonderful — maybe I’ll give the table top cooking items a shot next time!

Good food, but even better service. I know hard to believe, good service in Canada?!
I was with a bunch of Korean BBQ novices (myself mostly included) so the owner took his time to explain the menu, the food, the culture, and more. We went with pork belly & beef, cooked on the table. The banchan were good (6 total) and included two different kimchis, potatoes, some various pickles, and fermented sprouts.
Lots of unique items on the menu; we’ll definitely be back to try a lot more. It’s pretty cozy in there so don’t come with a group bigger than 6 without reservations. Lastly, they’re open late, until 1am!

Great service and tasty food!
My friend and I came here for dinner and he started asking for something that he had only ever had at this restaurant and in Korea, but he didn’t remember the name. The server (owner?) was super helpful and they eventually worked it out, but apparently it’s a summer dish. He recommended something similar and my buddy was super happy with it.
I ordered a seafood pancake for us to share and the pork bone soup. I was sort of craving a soon tofu chigae, which I’ve had at a couple other places, but the menu didn’t have the anglicized names of dishes and I was too hungry to bother asking. The pork bone soup was thicker (potatoey-​er?) than other incarnations, not spicy at all, but still good. The seafood pancake was crisp and delightfully greasy and full of seafood and flavour. I ate the ever living crap out of this one!
The pork bone soup was enough for two meals (I’m REALLY looking forward to lunch today!)
I think I’ll be back again and next time, I’ll ask about the soon tofu chigae.
Oh, and sidenote, they had a Korean TV show on the screen that was and old timey drama featuring a surgeon. Not. the best imagery to eat to. They probably would have changed it had I asked, but I was feeling particularly wussy yesterday.

This is a very traditional korean restaurant. I’m not Korean, but i can defintely enjoy the authenticity of the food.
The service was good.

Mot Na Son Restaurant is one of the numerous Korean Restaurants in the area that I am yet to try. So after recruiting some Unilocalers as a pre UYE event, we decided to give it a try.
Grilled Sliced Beef dinner set with a choice of soup (we picked Pork Bone) ($ 45) is A-​OK. Sharing meals with friends family style is always fun.
Bulgogi marinated style beef cooked table side but I don’t know why that sliced beef is kind of in a chunk. Cooking is not really an issue as there is no skills involved, just pan fried and it is ready to eat! Wrap that in lettuce, put some condiments, a Korean taco!
Pork bone soup is quite savory, not spicy, but at least this is quite a good serving portion.
Owner/​Waiter/​Cook/​Cashier is quite nice and friendly, thanks for cooking the meat for us.
If you are into some cozy family vibe restaurants, Mot Na Son is quite a good choice. But nothing too amazing.

We have driven by this restaurant numerous times and quite honestly, would never have stopped in had it not been suggested as a meet-​up place prior to a UYE being held across the street.
Being new to Korean food, I left it to our dinner companions (who were clearly well versed in the menu items) to make our selections for the evening.
To start, an assortment of small dishes arrived containing Bean Sprouts, Pickled Cucumber, Pickled Radish, Kimchi and Potatoes in Soya Sauce (which was fantastic!) and a decanter of cold Barley tea.
For our main we had the Grilled Sliced Beef with Pork Bone Soup and ate family style. Now I suspect that it was intended for us to cook our OWN meal however, I do believe one of our dinner companions (you know who you are!) actually guilted the owner into cooking it for us! ;)
The beef was seasoned nicely and cooked perfectly with onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms. I chose to have mine over rice but lettuce was also provided if you wished to prepare a wrap, of sorts.
The Pork Bone Soup was brilliant. There’s a little work involved in getting the meat off the bone but sometimes playing with your food just adds to the experience. The broth was incredible… rich with flavour. I think this one could become a favourite!
Overall, we had a lovely time. The restaurant is quite small seating only about 30 or so but it’s quite ‘homey’ and just a pleasant place to be.

I was a little intimidated when I received the menu at Mot Na Son, because of the sheer size and the number of unfamiliar dishes. Just from looking at the menu, you can tell this place is authentic, and about half of it is BBQ combos, drink combos, etc. Good thing the man who helped us (the owner?) was really nice and patient about explaining everything to us, and he made us feel totally comfortable and welcome. He even showed us the proper cooking technique for table BBQ, and I’m sure it helped our food taste better. Everything was absolutely delicious, including the seafood pancake we ordered. Huge and cooked to perfection, no soggy parts whatsoever. If you get the BBQ, try soup #11 with it, I’ve never had it anywhere else and it was so yummy. It’s a thicker soup that’s made out of crushed beans so it has a different taste than the broth type soup.
It is a bit pricey, but I find Korean BBQ in the area to be about the same price anyway. The other dishes are so yummy I think it’s worth the splurge when you’re sick of the same old mass-​produced Korean dishes.

A small, cozy family run Authentic korean restaurant. Chris Lee — the owner is very friendly and courteous. The price is generally about 25% more than other restaurants in the area.
Ordered a whole bunch of food to share including:
1) Pork Bone Soup — $ 9.99
2) Samgyeopsal — BBQ Bacon and soup (for 2 ppl) — $ 32.99
3) & 4) Bibimbap — $??
5) Side dishes — Free
1) Pork bone soup is really good, the consistency of the soup is slightly thicker than what you would get from any other place. This is because of the potatoes in the soup and is really delicious. It used to come with the Korean multigrain /​five grain rice (Ogokbap), but this time they served it with white rice. When asked, Chris said that due to the raising cost, they are now serving with white rice — Generally not a good sign when they start to cut corners.
2) I personally don’t find anything special about this dish and find it a bit over priced. They bring a grill to your table and a whole plate of fatty pork (uncured bacon). You grill the meat, wrap it in lettuce, put some bean paste… A-​OK, nothing really wowed me. The combo also comes with a soup.
3) & 4) Got two different Bibimbap, one was plain rice with beef, some veggies. They give you hot sauce and sesame oil to add. The second one was kim — Chee Bibimbap. Both of them comes with fried egg and served in traditional stone bowl. I am not 100% sure, but I believe they were about $ 12.99 for each. Once again, a bit over priced, however it was good.
5) Side dishes are really good and I think they make these themselves. I particularly love their Kim Chi. The only other place where I have seen/​tasted this kind of kim chi is in Korea. It’s hard to explain, but this is as authentic as it’s going to get.
All in all the food is pretty good, I would give it 3.5*. The owner is really friendly and always checking if everything is ok. The only complain is the price point seems to be a bit off, If it was 25% cheaper, This would be one of my regular spot.