The best tables at Kōjin, in my opinion, are the ones by the window. Overlooking University Avenue, there’s a unique beauty as you see the cars and people whizzing by amongst the serene Kōjin environment. It’s the epitome of taking a break from the hustle and bustle, without leaving the city.
To ease
us into dinner, two complimentary eats are presented: a bowl of lightly pickled
peaches, Asian pear, corn, and tomatillos that were a refreshing nibble during
our hot summer visit; and a bowl of chicken consommé, which really didn’t smell
or taste like much and was a rather strange pairing with the pickles.
A lot
has been written about their corn flatbread, a concoction that combines Chef
Paula Navarrete’s Colombian roots with inspiration from Chef Chang’s bing flatbread. Even plain it’s good – I
inhaled the toasted corn aroma before biting into the bread that’s lightly
salted and has a bit of oiliness with crispy edges. Frankly, I'd like the
option of just ordering them without anything else (the most minimal order is
with butter and honey); your closest option would be the flatbread with ham and
to eat them separately.
Since we
were already having meat as our main, we paired the flatbread with spinach dip
($13) instead. The hot, creamy, and cheesy mixture is fluid from Steamwhistle
beer being added to the dip, which gives it a light bitter aftertaste. While
the concoction is tasty, I found it too rich, masking all the delicious K2
mills cornmeal and hominy flavours of the flatbread.
Even
though the restaurant serves Colombian dishes with a Momofuku twist, they still
strive to use Canadian ingredients. Our waiter explains that aside from the
seafood, other ingredients are sourced 100km from the city - the meat, their
biggest draw, is sourced from Magee Farms just outside Toronto. The oysters
($24) were two P.E.I. varieties. Both small, delicate, and light. Arriving with
a green pepper hot sauce (more for the pepper’s flavour than heat) and pressed
cucumber, both condiments are so neutral that I really missed the acidity of
vinegar or lemon that pairs so well with the shellfish.
Being a
steakhouse, Kōjin’s menu is very different from their predecessors (although
there are choices for those who don't eat red meat). Oh, how heads turn when
the wooden platter of steak is presented at a table. Our 14oz boneless ribeye
($78) arrives with a fire roasted tomato sauce (nice and zesty but would be
better with fish), steak sauce (oddly tastes exactly like Diana barbeque sauce),
and brown butter marrow with porcini dust (the best of the three with steak). Then
on the side is what looks like a large shishto pepper but is much spicier …
good luck finishing that thing.
In
reality, the steak was great on its own. Perfectly seasoned with a restrained
amount of salt and pepper, the beef was richly flavoured thanks to the 32 days
of dry aging and fattiness (bordering on prime rib amounts). While the butcher
block looks great, the wood absorbs a lot of heat, so the steak arrives cool.
Moreover, if chefs are used to pulling off the steak earlier (as it continues
to cook on the plate), the butcher block seems to stop the cooking process as
our medium rare steak arrived rare.
Regardless
of what you order, a side of Tita’s mash ($15) would be a delicious addition. Based
on Paula’s grandma’s recipe, this is one for dairy lovers as the dish
incorporates cheese curds and more melted cheese on top. Every spoonful is like
eating cheese with potatoes, the hot skillet keeping everything gooey until the
last sinful bite.
Meanwhile,
the BBQ zucchini ($15) with anchovy and chives is an odd combination that must
be described on the menu … had I known there’d be fish added to the vegetable,
I would have gotten something else. While the anchovy gives the side an
interesting depth of flavour, it also adds a fishiness that we found off-putting
with the zucchini.
On the
other hand, the dulce de leche ($15) dessert is exactly as described: a sweet
bread with dulce de leche and ice cream. The egg bread is fluffy and resembles
a baked doughnut, it’s then topped with a light ice cream and thinned dulce de
leche, both adding sweetness without giving a sugar high. What a satisfying
ending of having that bite (or in this case numerous bites) of something sweet
but isn’t too heavy.
Kōjin means
fire with the restaurant named after the element since food is cooked or
finished off on the wood-fired grill. For me, Kōjin’s appeal is less about fire
and more about the menu’s variety (tons of Colombian dishes with Momofuku
standards thrown in for good measure) and use of Canadian ingredients that
brings out the patriot in me. It’s also the feeling of rising above the busyness
of life. For a moment, for one meal, it’s all kept at bay.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 190 University Avenue (3rd floor)
Address: 190 University Avenue (3rd floor)
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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
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