What’s on the menu at Mhel, Bloorcourt’s new spot for Japanese-Korean small plates and sake
Mhel means anchovy
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Name: Mhel
Contact: 276 Havelock St., @mhelisanchovy
Neighbourhood: Bloorcourt
Owners: Min Yi and Hoon Ji
Executive chef: Hoon Ji (Pompette, Grey Gardens)
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
Before husband-and-wife team Hoon Ji and Min Yi opened Mhel, they spent six months in Korea, immersing themselves in the dining scene. Ji staged at a seafood-heavy izakaya in Seoul called Ichie. Meanwhile, Yi, who used to manage the now-closed Early Bird Coffee, worked the front of house at the two-Michelin-starred Joo-Ok, inside Seoul’s Plaza Hotel.
It was all leading up to their main culinary mission. “We always knew we wanted to open a space that served what we like to eat and drink at home—Korean and Japanese food and a lot of sake,” says Yi. When they moved back, it took a while to find the right space: an intimate, one-room restaurant where they could rotate the menu as often as possible and build relationships with their regulars.
After a long search, they finally signed a lease this past May and called their restaurant Mhel. This means anchovy in the Jeju dialect, spoken in the Korean city of Dangjin, where Yi’s mother was born and raised. “Many older Koreans from the countryside have memories of sitting down to clean anchovies with their families,” she says. “We wanted to call back to that history. Plus, it’s easy enough for English-speakers to pronounce.”
The food
A regularly rotating selection of meticulously executed Korean and Japanese small plates, with a strong focus on local producers. In fact, if anyone were to approach Ji and ask what’s on the menu next week, he wouldn’t be able to tell them: the daily selection is structured around what Mhel’s suppliers (Tamarack, Aldergrove and Kuramoto Farms, Affinity and Oroshi Fish, and Linton Pasture Pork) happen to drop off on a given week. Local ingredients are supplemented with high-quality imports, like wild sesame from Korea and koshihikari rice from Japan’s Shimane prefecture.
The selection changes nearly every day, though there are some staple items: there’s always rice, saikyoyaki (miso-marinated fish), napa cabbage kimchi made by Ji’s mother, and something simmered in gorgeous house-made dashi (most recently daikon and tofu). “Most of our dishes are not original endeavours,” says Yi. “We try to stay true to the spirit of what’s typical of bars in Korea and Japan. That’s how we can adapt so quickly to available produce.”
The drinks
These dishes go beautifully with sake, which makes up the bulk of the drink list and is available in a wide array of styles and varieties. Mhel’s selection includes dozens of bottles, and Yi and Ji will happily suggest pairings. There’s also Asahi, a couple of highballs and, for a non-alcoholic option, refreshing sparkling teas from Nippon Sake.
The space
The room is warm, minimal and intimate, with 12 bar seats in front of the open kitchen and a handful of adjoining four-tops. It’s an earthy palette with gorgeous wood finishes, a cucumber-green statement wall and touches of greenery throughout. Intricate ceramic dishware from Korea and Japan lends a distinctive touch to each meal.
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