Damso

Food was OK, doesn’t measure up to what we get in the USA. We got the miso stew with beef and bibimbap. Beef was very very fatty, actually mostly fat and meat here and there. Bibimbap was lacking the hot sauce. Even in such a small place it was quite hard to get the attention of the waiters.

Damso is Damn. So. Good.
Seriously — go here — especially if ur craving Korean Jap cuisine.
Came back for my second visit and it was just as good as the first– the Kalbee Osso
Bucco– was freakin awesome. The Pork neck soup was amazing and the chicken Miso ramen won my son over big time. Came early and discovered that they had all u can eat chicken wings and pork belly for happy hour! Definitely a must visit if you are in VanCity.

This place is wayyy too small but the management forced too many tables in to have more customers. I worry during the fire or if one of the server trips and burning hot soup lands on customers’ back. Movement is very limited. Touching/​elbowing other customers are unavoidable. Not a pleasant place to have a meal. And definitely not «intimate» either as the ambiance is more like an eatery with florescent lights. For a better experience, go to their other branch. (Robson & Bute)

Was here for an early dinner before 6, the place was already filled with people.
We had the soy bean paste soup and spicy tofu soup. Both were hot and flavourful, filling proportions.
The menu was small but had decent selections. No vegetarian options though– which was a downside. Also wished they gave out Korean small plate appies like a lot of other Korean restaurants do, there was only kimchi accompanying the meal.

Came in for a late dinner with my fiancé on a Saturday night. the restaurant is quite small so it can be really busy at peak hours. We were able to get a seat as it was already 9pm when we got there.
We had the tacos, spicy tofu stew and short ribs. Everything tasted great! The tacos had a nice kick to it. Tofu stew was delicious. Not too spicy and great flavour. Rubs were fall off the bone good. Had a great dining experience and will definitely be coming back!

Korean fried chicken are boneless!

Fantastic food. The first time I came here with my partner for lunch on a Saturday and it wasn’t busy.
I had the spicy pork bimbop which was delicious, made fresh and was hot in it’s stone bowl on arrival to my table. The spicy, savoury flavours of the sauce paired well with the sweetness of the pork. The vegetables in the bowl were also cooked to perfection; not too soft and held up well even as I mangled my lunch with my chopsticks. :P
The service was great. I don’t think I have had this great of service in a restaurant in a very long time. My water glass only ever got to a quarter full before it was refilled, the server offered to bring me more hot sauce when she noticed that I had used what they had given me, and I did not have to wait long to get my bill but didn’t feel rushed to get out either.
I had a great experience here and would come back. I would also add this place to my list of local eateries I would take my out of town friends and family to try something different.

This small place with only about 20 seats offers the most delicious Korean dishes. Some hadbeen cookinf for several hours. It it amazong how tender the meat gets. Try the Topokki and the Pork Back Ribs!

Stumbled upon this place while in Vancouver on holiday. Very reasonably priced for the atmosphere and quality of food. Sweet potato fries and bibimbop bowl were very tasty.

PROS
+ Soybean paste soup was pretty good
+ Friendly service
+ Decent price
CONS
— Friendly service yet slow
— Wish they used better quality meat
RATING
Food 3.0÷5.0
Ambience 2.0÷5.0
Service 3.0÷5.0
Price $, $$
My parents and I came here for Samgyupsal but we originally didn’t plan to have AYCE. I actually didn’t know they had a such thing but then the waitress asked us if we wanted AYCE which was $ 19.19 per person including AYCE Samgyupsal, soybean paste soup, rice, side dish and lettuce. It seemed not too bad as I could eat a lot although my parents barely eat.
Side dishes included kimchi, pickled radish and onion salad with vinegary sweet sauce. Lettuce and Ssamjang (the sauce for samgyupsal) came along too. Obviously not the best side dishes but bearable.
For the first round, they gave us 6 chunks of samgyupsal and for the second round we got 4. The samgyupsal didn’t taste very good as the meat part didn’t have any fat marbling, but only had chunks of pure fat attached to the meat. The meat was rather dry and tough, not juicy at all. My parents didn’t like it at all saying the meat quality is too low.
I guess they enjoyed the soup more than the samgyupsal. It had some sliced beef, tofu, zucchini and mushrooms. It was pretty good. Overall, it was satisfying meal in terms of quantity but not quality. If I come back I wouldn’t order AYCE samgyupsal as it seems like they have more creative modern Korean cuisine.

Amazing food. I have tried so many korean restaurant and this is the must. I would get 10 tacos and the ooso booco and the meat ball all at once only if my body can handle it. Their food is so good always want to have more and order more than I intend to yet I manage to finish all. Their service is good too. I like the one on denman better than the one on bute though.

Bit over priced and we did not even get our banchan (pickles before each meal). I asked the waiter if we could have some and he looked at me like he didn’t understand what banchan meant. 3 other tables got their food first. Seems like you get service quicker if your Korean otherwise forget it. Small portion of bibimbap and you can’t get more sauce without them glaring at you. Will not be returning.

My friend and I ordered spicy tofu soup and korean miso stew. The service was nice and the dinning environment was cozy… however they did have a couple of fruit flies flying around (due to the open door) and there were a minimal number of side dishes. Overall, the quality of food was good despite the prices being slightly high for the given portion.

Me and my girl came here and twice and i gotta say, get their Gamjatang (pork bone soup), Spicy Tofu Soup, and their Pork Belly Lettice Wrap. It is FUCKIN AWESOME!!! Handsdown! This is absolutely the better location vs the one on Bute St.

First time at Damso. Interesting menu, found it had a bit of a twist from other korean restaurants. Good korean BBQ taco but not as tasty as others I’ve had. Chicken gizzards were tasty.
Our main dish was Gamjatang which had a strong bean paste taste. It didn’t taste as authentic as it should.
Overall, it was a nice experience. We recommend to at least try it once and then decide if you want to go back.

Awesome place! Food is delicious and the waitress is very nice! Even thought is was during busy hour, the waitress still tried to help each table in time. For appetizers, we had yam fries and garden salad. Their special dressing for salad was awesome, which mixed with kimchi and bacon. We ordered spicy tofu soup and bbq steak as main courses. They had big portion sizes and ingredients were fresh and tasty. Highly recommended!

Overpriced, impolite waitress, tiny table that you can’t even put all plates on it… so here comes my doubt: how come there are so many people giving it high stars? Maybe they are from
Nobody greet us when we comes in, however, if you are Korean, you get warm welcome with smile. Fine.
The table is too tiny to place even plates and bowls (see my photo) — do you seriously expect guests to eat with great caution? Come on, I come here to dine, not practice chopsticks-​skills Ina tiny table.
The food is absolutely overpriced — that bowl of bones (oh sorry, they name it something pork bowl) cost $ 14.99… Oh man, when I saw that dish, I have the impulsive to quit my software engineer job and launch some crappy restaurant selling bones (and make big money of course)…
AVOID THIS PLACE. PERIOD.
There are much better Japanese alternatives along the street.

The RUDEST service I have ever encountered in a restaurant. The food may be ok, but it is not acceptable to be treated like this.
The server started to show she was annoyed before we were even seated, when we asked about the part of the menu (the most interesting one: specials) that was not translated and only available in Korean. Then when seated we asked a few questions about the dishes as we are not familiar with Korean food and I think that is when we lost her. I mean, apart from us (3 peeps) there was only ONE table of two so, it’s not like she was overwhelmed or had time to answer our questions. She just did not want to talk. Fine with me. We can enjoy our food and ignore her.
We saw several Korean people coming in and she was all chatty and smiling and offering tea to them. WTF we were not even offered some tea or water although we had been seating there like 20 minutes? I asked — very politely — if tea was complimentary, but we perfectly knew she omitted to serve us tea on purpose. She left without saying a word, came back with three cups of tea that she threw on our table — and a deeply dark and hateful stare at us. Still no talking. No apologies. We were in shock.
We addressed the issue to the manager as we strongly believe that such service (and discrimination) is unacceptable and bad for business but he could not care less. Still no apologies.
We will never ever return to this restaurant. Kingyo next door is by far more welcoming and offers much tastier food.

Maybe their kitchen was as overworked as the floor staff on Friday night, but my experience was sadly mediocre.
Started the night with falling-​apart bulgogi burger with soggy bottom half of buns and boring DFC (Damso Fried Chicken).
Things did get better later on with one really decent taco with some nice burnt-​by-​the-​grill flavour. At $ 1.99, I should have ordered 5 of them instead of their $ 10.99 burger.
Yuja Snowman Sorbet was a fun and refreshing way to end the evening with a sharp palate cleanser. A bit icy-​firm as far as sorbets go, but flavour was adequately intense.
Only two waitresses and a slow kitchen added up to not-​very-​good timing of orders hitting our table of five persons. One person got theirs super-​early, one person got theirs super-​late, and they forgot my drink order. They were clearly very busy and with a constant stream of customers even after 8pm.
Small place, but it does take reservations.

I have been checking this place out for awhile, but because it is next to one of my favorite restaurants — Kingyo — I never quite made it in.
One chilly night over Christmas break last year, it was open until 2am when most other places were closed so we found ourselves in with about 15 other people. The place was cozy, great music, and the staff were attentive. I enjoyed the food, particularly the korean tacos for $ 1.99. The décor is minimalist and sparing, mainly black and white, but has a warmth to it. I would give the atmosphere ⁵⁄₅.
I’ve since been back many times. The food is inventive and interesting in a modern space, but it can be on the salty side, and I felt like I could taste the added sugar to every dish. I’ve had better at hole in the wall Korean restaurants — and if the food at those places are 5/​5, the food here would be ⁴⁄₅ — with extra stars for originality.
Also excellent price points for a trendy little restaurant that fills you up. The lunch specials are a really good deal. The service can be hit and miss — the first night I went, the service was attentive and helpful. Other times I’ve been there and for such a small restaurant, we could barely flag the server down to refill the water.
But it’s great place to try a different twist on Korean food, and next time I will order a glass of their red wine (they feature Canadian wines as well) to go with the awesome Korean food.