Name: Gochu Libre Kantina
Contact: 815 Bloor St. W., @gochulibre Neighbourhood:Koreatown Previously: Overpressure Club
Owner: Alfred Siu
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
Earlier this year, Alfred Siu quietly opened Gochu Libre in the former home of Overpressure Club. The Koreatown bar (named for its pressurized draught taps that poured pre-made Japanese-inspired cocktails) just wasn’t fitting in. “We were ahead of our time with the largest draught cocktail program in Canada,” says Siu, “But it simply didn’t work with our patronage.”
With Gochu Libre, Siu is playing to the youthful demographic of the neighbourhood with a more affordable, playful menu that features Korean Mexican snacks and drinks to match. This translates to fries smothered in Kewpie mayo and $11 margaritas during happy hour. And all those taps? Except for a nitro cold brew cocktail and a lightly carbonated sangria, they’re back to pouring beer.
The Food
Korean and Mexican flavours are woven into a menu of punchy snacks, like tacos and “kimchi mole” (a blend of house-made kimchi pico de gallo and guacamole) with shrimp chips. The standout is the intentionally campy Ramyeon Birria, Shin Ramen instant noodles that have been rehydrated in slow-cooked beef birria; brightened with lime juice, cilantro, perilla leaf and scallion; then dumped back into the paper cup they came in.
Advertisement
The Ssireum Smash Fries are somewhere between nachos and poutine. Twice-fried crinkle-cut fries are coated in a gravy of red bean curry, house nacho cheese sauce, fresh morita chili, gochujang and serrano salsa. On top: bulgogi-marinated, wok-fried tofu “curds,” kimchi daikon slaw, pickled onions and scallion curls. $13.95
The Gamja-Jeon is a volcanic take on a classic crispy Korean potato pancake, exploding with Kewpie mayo, gochujang salsa, cotija cheese, crispy chorizo and scallions. $13.95
The Seoul-Nitas Taco starts with seasoned slow-cooked pork shoulder. It’s topped with a glug of crema as well as a combination of hoisin and hot sauce that Siu has termed Itaewan sauce. Crunchy pickled cucumbers and carrots are sprinkled with a flurry of cilantro leaves and house sesame brittle. $8.95
For the Dak Al-Pastor taco, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are marinated overnight in morita and guajillo chilies, vinegar, garlic and spices, then stir-fried with minced garlic, rice cake bits and more of that marinade. They’re piled onto a warm tortilla with perilla leaf, stir-fried pineapple, gochujang mayo and serrano salsa, then garnished with julienned daikon, kimchi, a sprinkling of arare (rice cracker) crumble and thinly sliced watermelon radish. $8.95
Here we have the Bulgogi Asada, thinly sliced eye-of-round marinated overnight in a sauce of soy, morita chili, onion powder and garlic. The beef is wok-fried to order, then piled on a tortilla with julienned daikon and onion. It’s all drizzled with a blend of soy and Maggi sauce and garnished with sesame dust and cilantro. $8.95
Advertisement
No bar menu is complete without the king of all beer snacks: the chicken wing. For the Los Rudos Wings, whole wings are brined overnight, fried to order and tossed in a sweet-and-spicy hot sauce of pineapple, vinegar, gochujang and morita chilies. They’re sprinkled with cotija cheese and served with a side of cotija ranch sauce. $17.95
Don’t let the packaging fool you: the Shin Ramyun instant noodles are the only thing instant about this Ramyeon Birria. Rehydrated in beef bone broth, the noodles are simmered with thin slices of beef before being cheekily put back into the paper cup they came in. It’s garnished with perilla leaf, sesame dust, lime and scallions. $13.95
The Black Belt 3 Leches is made from pillowy vanilla sponge cake soaked in black sesame milk and covered in sesame whipped cream, mandarin orange slices, sesame brittle and shiso leaves. $10.95
The Drinks
The cocktails, made with both Korean and Mexican ingredients, are balanced and complex—and according to Siu, they “actually taste how they sound.” For instance, notes of kimchi, gochu (Korean chili pepper) and sesame oil meet up with gin in the Mr. Kim, which hovers somewhere between a caesar, a martini and a bowl of gazpacho.
Meet Mr. Kim, a cross between a bloody mary and a martini. It’s a gin-based cocktail stirred with strained hothouse tomatoes, gochujang, house kimchi brine, vermouth and aromatized wine. The blend is milk-washed, clarified, and served chilled and neat in a coupe with a cherry tomato garnish. $18
For the Korean Zombie, Siu designed a sweet-and-sour cocktail made with grape soju, lemon Grey Goose, cachaça, a splash of Pernod and some passion fruit juice. The cocktail (which almost tastes like Nerds) is served on the rocks and finished with a hibiscus float, white chocolate passion fruit bark and fresh mint. $19
Advertisement
One of three margaritas on the menu, this one subs out tequila for mezcal and then plays it straight with a blend of dry curaçao, citrus juice and rocks. On the rim: black lava salt for drama. $16
From left: a classic margarita, that mezcal one, and a spicy marg made with jalapeño, habanero and a gochu salt rim. $16 each
The Space
While there are plans to hand-paint a Sistine Chapel–esque fresco on the ceiling—involving lucha libre and ssireum wrestlers—for now the space is pretty tame. But warmer weather will bring a whole new vibe. “Overpressure Club was more of an indoor concept,” says Siu. “This space can seat way more people on the patio than it can inside—so Gochu Libre is really designed around the patio.”
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for Table Talk, our free newsletter with essential food and drink stories.
Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
The April issue of Toronto Life features the anatomy of a Bay Street fiasco at RBC. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.
