Last Friday I was out for a night on the town with my friend Jo. We had started the night at No One Writes To The Colonel and enjoyed several cocktails but were looking for a new place to try. We wanted to continue drinking great cocktails but were also starting to get hungry when one of my favorite bartenders in Toronto, Robin Wynne (of Fynn’s of Temple Bar) suggested we check out Oddseoul on the Ossington strip. We had no idea what to expect, but he gave me a list of 4 different menu choices and said, “Thank me later”. Since I trust Robin’s opinion with the drinks I order, I figured he probably knew a thing or two about great food too, so on our way we went!

Oddseoul Toronto

At first we passed right by the restaurant, as the front is quite inconspicuous. Located at 90 Ossington Ave (tucked between Levack Block & Delux), Oddseoul is a combination bar with food that specializes in Korean-American cuisine. The restaurant was started by owners of the popular Korean restaurant Swish By Han. The menu consists mainly of extras which are basically snack type dishes that range from $5-$7 with some larger lettuce wrap type platters (ssam in Korean) meant for sharing that are $25.

FOOD: We opted for all of Robins suggestions which consisted of: The Loosey, Bulgogi Cheese Steak, Squash Poutine & Kimchee Rice. We also added on an order of the O.S. Wings since we both had some amazing Korean wings in New York and were looking for something similar here in Toronto.

They also have a small cocktail list ($11 each), beer selection ($5-$7) and wine list ($9/glass). Robin recommended the Liberace so I gave it a try.

The vibe of the restaurant, from what I could tell, is a mixture of hipsters and hip hop enthusiasts. The speakers play lots of old school hip hop classics while you are eating or enjoying drinks with your friends.

The dishes came out one after another as follows:

With every bite we were in flavor heaven! Each dish brought something unique and there wasn’t anything that we didn’t enjoy. It was difficult to pick out any stand out dishes, though the Loosey was pretty special, as was the Bulgogi Cheese Steak. The Loosey is kind of like a Korean take on a fast food chain burger.

The table beside us ordered a Mackarel dish which is finished with a blow torch table side and seemed to love it because they ordered another one a few minutes later. Personally I am not a big fan of Mackerel, but this might be worth a try if you are!

The drinks were also great too! After enjoying the Liberace, I opted to try the Bulleit Smashed (a bourbon based cocktail), which was also delicious!

PRICE: Our bill came to $7X.XX and we were definitely full from the experience. I think this is very good value considering the quality of the food and drinks.

CONCLUSION: If you are looking for a spot with a cool vibe and deliciously flavorful dishes, then I recommend giving Oddseoul a try. I would definitely consider this one of the best bars with cheap eats. It probably won’t appeal to an older demographic (due to louder music), but was quite popular for the 25-35 age group during our visit.

SCORE: 8.5/10

ODDSEOUL CONTACT INFO

Website: N/A
Twitter: @TO_Oddseouls
Address: 90 Ossington Ave., Toronto (Map)
Phone Number: N/A

Full Oddseoul Menu can be found on Urbanspoon below: