What’s on the menu at Takja BBQ House, a Korean barbecue restaurant unlike any other in Toronto

This is no DIY affair

By Liza Agrba| Photography by Ashley van der Laan

| May 3, 2024

What's on the menu at Takja BBQ House, a Korean barbecue restaurant unlike any other in Toronto

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Name: Takja BBQ House Contact: 962 College St., takja.ca, @takja_bbq
Neighbourhood: Little Italy
Owners: Jeff Kang, Edward Bang and Jason Ching Chefs: Jeff Kang (Canis) and Edward Bang (Omai) Accessibility: Not fully accessible

In the spring of 2022, Jeff Kang, Edward Bang and Jason Ching opened Oroshi Fish Co., a tiny sushi spot in a laneway off College that specializes in dry-aged seafood. Now, the trio is adding turf to their surf with their new fancy Korean barbecue restaurant. The idea has been in the works since before the pandemic—but good things take time, and here we are.

Jeff Kang and Edward Bang at Takja BBQ — Jeff Kang (left) and Edward Bang

Takja BBQ House is something of an outlier in Toronto’s Korean barbecue landscape. First, it’s not typical to see farm-raised, house-dry-aged meats on the menu. After all, trusting the average diner not to overcook top-tier proteins would be a major leap of faith. Fortunately, that’s not an issue here: like at any Korean barbecue spot, there are gas grills built into each table—but, for a change, diners aren’t the ones wielding the tongs. That’s because this isn’t your typical DIY Korean barbecue affair. Instead, a friendly server-slash-personal-griller will take over that weighty responsibility, leaving everyone else free to sit back, sip soju and enjoy all that perfectly cooked meat.

A person at Takja BBQ reaches into the dry-aging room to grab a cut of meat — A peek inside the dry-aging room

The food

There’s a selection of top-tier meat and seafood, including PEI prime striploin, Nova Scotia scallops and soy-garlic-marinated beef galbi (short rib). All of the above—plus Miyazaki A5 Wagyu, king oyster mushrooms and a seasonal vegetable (currently a hefty stalk of white asparagus)—are included with the hansang, or tasting menu ($125 per person). But everything is available à la carte as well.

Meat cooks on the grill at Takja BBQ, a Korean barbecue restaurant in Toronto

Hansang literally translates to “full table,” and that descriptor is right on the money. The meat and seafood are coursed out, but a feast of banchan (side dishes) and house-made condiments arrives simultaneously, giving guests the freedom to mix, match and lettuce-wrap to their hearts’ content. There’s a focus on fermentation here, with two varieties of kimchi, gochujang-spiked Korean miso (ssamjang) and salted squid jeotgal, among many other funky options. There are also decadent appetizers—like the seafood tower or savoury uni-topped pancake—and sweet potato shaved ice (bingsoo) for dessert.

A tray full of Korean banchan — Korean barbecue isn’t Korean barbecue without banchan. Clockwise from top left: spicy radish and radish stem kimchi, jalapeno muchim (a salty, spicy salad), dehydrated radish kimchi, salt, ssamjang (house-made Korean miso), squid jeotgal (salted fermented squid), fresh wasabi, soy-pickled mustard leaf, white napa cabbage kimchi and oyster napa cabbage kimchi

A seafood tower stocked with oysters, cocktail shrimp, scallops with mustard and seaweed vinaigrette, bluefin tuna with kimchi sauce, snow crab legs, seasonal crudités, and chojang — From the appetizer menu, this is the glorious seafood tower. Its tiers are stocked with oysters, cocktail shrimp, scallops with mustard and seaweed vinaigrette, bluefin tuna with kimchi sauce, snow crab legs, seasonal crudités, and chojang (like cocktail sauce but spiked with gochujang). $60

This crisp-tender seafood pancake is topped with lobes of BC uni and served with a soy vinaigrette — This crisp-tender seafood pancake, served with a soy vinaigrette (not pictured), is available topped with lobes of BC uni. $24 (plus $35 for the uni)

Buckwheat noodles with perilla, soy sauce and nori — These buckwheat noodles are made in-house and decked out with all manner of perilla, a leaf that tastes like a cross between basil, mint and licorice—there’s perilla seed, oil and the leaf itself. Soy sauce and nori ramp up the umami. This dish comes at the tail end of the hansang menu, when you may think you’re too full for noodles—but you’re wrong. $21

A person uses chopsticks to pick up buckwheat noodles — Here’s another look, just because.

A person ladles soon tofu into a bowl — One of two stews on the menu, this is the soon tofu, chock full of pork, soft tofu, zucchini, mushroom, scallion and spicy gochugaru sesame chili oil. $18

A cut of pork shoulder on the grill at at Korean BBQ restaurant — Here, pork coppa (a well-marbled shoulder cut) gets its time to shine on the grill. $32 for six ounces

Tender, buttery Wagyu striploin nestled on the grill with king oyster mushrooms and white asparagus — Tender, buttery Wagyu striploin shares the grill with king oyster mushrooms and white asparagus. $90 for four ounces

Steak cooks on the grill at a Korean barbecue restaurant — Try hard enough and you can smell this picture

A DIY Korean BBQ wrap using a perilla leaf and a leaf of lettuce — The idea is to take some of this, some of that and stuff it all in a lettuce leaf for a DIY wrap

A person holds an order of sweet potato bingsoo — Then the bingsoo course arrives. Thankfully, it’s just shaved ice—albeit topped with sweet potato and decadent caramel syrup and served with a neat little loaf of syrup-soaked pound cake on the side. $20

Two people use spoons to eat a bowl of bingsoo at Takja BBQ, a Korean restaurant in Toronto — Here’s a closer look.

The drinks

The wine list leans toward bottles with the minerality and acidity to complement the menu’s strong savoury flavours, with a focus on responsibly farmed natural wine. There’s also attention paid to relatively underrepresented wine regions, like Czechia and Slovenia. As for the soju, you won’t find these labels, imported by the proprietors, anywhere else in the city. Plus, there’s a locally brewed makgeolli (rice wine) made exclusively for the restaurant. Signature cocktails take cues from the kitchen, like a floral sour with perilla leaf–infused Tito’s vodka. And non-alcoholic options are refreshingly complex, like a not-too-sweet combination of barley tea and ginger beer.

This is the Spicy Omija made with omija juice, house-made hibiscus syrup, El Jimador tequila, Sombra mezcal and lime — This is the Spicy Omija, the restaurant’s take on a spicy margarita. It’s made with omija, or “five flavour” berry, a tiny red-purple berry said to possess all five major flavours (sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami). Takja makes omija juice, adds house-made hibiscus syrup, and mixes both with El Jimador tequila, Sombra mezcal and lime. $19

And here we have the Chosun Fashioned, which blends Four Roses bourbon with sujeonggwa syrup, a Korean ginger–spiked cinnamon punch sweetened with dates — Here we have the Chosun Fashioned, which blends Four Roses bourbon with sujeonggwa syrup, a Korean ginger–spiked cinnamon punch sweetened with dates. $18

A bartender makes a drink behind the bar at Takja BBQ in Toronto

The space

The room is warm and minimal, with white-oak finishes and teal banquettes that can accommodate up to six guests per brass-covered grill. The dry-aging fridge is visible from the dining area courtesy of a small window, and the small bar is accented by a gorgeous mother of pearl cabinet. The servers grilling, slicing and serving tableside do so with such grace that it’s like they’re in a collective state of flow. With all the activity, it could easily become chaotic, but Takja draws the line at lively.