Mhel

We celebrated a special occasion at the restaurant. This restaurant definitely has the Wow factor. We ordered almost everything on the menu and every dish was delicious. The way they cooked the dishes were different from the other Japanese restaurants. Prices are reasonable given the food quality. Highly recommended to all. The waiter was very anxious to get the table back by 7:45pm and had reminded us a few times. In fact, one hour and 45 mins were more than enough for our dinner. I suggest he should be relaxed a bit.

We ended up ordering almost the entire menu. Each dish was unique in flavour and texture combinations. Ingredients were fresh and left to speak for themselves . The atmosphere from the staff and interior design was natural warmth. Our waiter gave genuine recommendations and discussed the qualities of different sakes. The cooks were working hard and happily in view of the clients... I even saw the head chef help with the dishes at the end of service too - that gets big bonus points from me! I would highly recommend heading here with good company to enjoy a beautiful dinner.

Well executed cooking and high quality ingredients but the dishes are SMALL - even by Japanese and tapas/small dishes fine dining standards. We had already tried every dish on the menu + 2 of one (for a party of 4) and most of us were not that full. If you are larger than a group of 4 you’d definitely need double of many items. Most dishes are similar size - it would be nice if there were some larger plates, or if they were more generous with some portions like the veggie dishes. Otherwise the cooking quality was high for Toronto standards and we were impressed! Flavours and components of each dish were clearly very well thought out. The meats were also cooked just right. Very polite and attentive service as well.

Really enjoyed our meal here. However I was hard pressed in trying to identify the Korean inspired aspect to the food. It mainly came off as Japanese inspired. Regardless the service was great. Atmosphere was enjoyable. We left happy.

If you are a weary traveler, try every dish on the menu to soothe the fatigue of your long day. If you are sharing a lovely evening with your partner, try every dish on the menu to relive the thrill of falling in love. If you are celebrating a birthday with friends, try every dish on the menu to rediscover the youthful dreams you once had for the world. And above all, don’t forget: everyone gets their own bowl of rice.

A really cool, not crazy expensive, Japanese small bites restaurant with changing menus for what is available, tasty sake, and fantastic service in a nice small room. The highlights were the radish, tofu and kanpachi. Highly recommended

A little restaurant with limited seating - probably accommodates 20-25 people. They change the menu daily, offering a variety of small sharable dishes. The service is really good. It's attentive without being in your face. They are able to provide a good description of the dishes when ordering. Since they change the menu daily, reviewing each item seems pointless. That said, we ordered potato salad, peeled tomatoes, grilled squash, fish, wagyu beef, kimchi and custard/pudding. Most dishes were good and a couple were excellent. The good ones still had elements that stood out positively. I would recommend this to anyone and I would definitely come back.

You can taste the care and intention in each dish served here. The flavours are delicate, fresh, and unique. The portions are small and the prices are high, I would say this is a spot for a special occasion. For two people our server recommended choosing 6 dishes, but I think we could have gone for 7 or even 8.

We celebrated a special occasion at the restaurant. This restaurant definitely has the Wow factor. We ordered almost everything on the menu and every dish was delicious. The way they cooked the dishes were different from the other Japanese restaurants. Prices are reasonable given the food quality. Highly recommended to all. The waiter was very anxious to get the table back by 7:45pm and had reminded us a few times. In fact, one hour and 45 mins were more than enough for our dinner. I suggest he should be relaxed a bit.

We ended up ordering almost the entire menu. Each dish was unique in flavour and texture combinations. Ingredients were fresh and left to speak for themselves . The atmosphere from the staff and interior design was natural warmth. Our waiter gave genuine recommendations and discussed the qualities of different sakes. The cooks were working hard and happily in view of the clients... I even saw the head chef help with the dishes at the end of service too - that gets big bonus points from me! I would highly recommend heading here with good company to enjoy a beautiful dinner.

Well executed cooking and high quality ingredients but the dishes are SMALL - even by Japanese and tapas/small dishes fine dining standards. We had already tried every dish on the menu + 2 of one (for a party of 4) and most of us were not that full. If you are larger than a group of 4 you’d definitely need double of many items. Most dishes are similar size - it would be nice if there were some larger plates, or if they were more generous with some portions like the veggie dishes. Otherwise the cooking quality was high for Toronto standards and we were impressed! Flavours and components of each dish were clearly very well thought out. The meats were also cooked just right. Very polite and attentive service as well.

Really enjoyed our meal here. However I was hard pressed in trying to identify the Korean inspired aspect to the food. It mainly came off as Japanese inspired. Regardless the service was great. Atmosphere was enjoyable. We left happy.

If you are a weary traveler, try every dish on the menu to soothe the fatigue of your long day. If you are sharing a lovely evening with your partner, try every dish on the menu to relive the thrill of falling in love. If you are celebrating a birthday with friends, try every dish on the menu to rediscover the youthful dreams you once had for the world. And above all, don’t forget: everyone gets their own bowl of rice.

A really cool, not crazy expensive, Japanese small bites restaurant with changing menus for what is available, tasty sake, and fantastic service in a nice small room. The highlights were the radish, tofu and kanpachi. Highly recommended

A little restaurant with limited seating - probably accommodates 20-25 people. They change the menu daily, offering a variety of small sharable dishes. The service is really good. It's attentive without being in your face. They are able to provide a good description of the dishes when ordering. Since they change the menu daily, reviewing each item seems pointless. That said, we ordered potato salad, peeled tomatoes, grilled squash, fish, wagyu beef, kimchi and custard/pudding. Most dishes were good and a couple were excellent. The good ones still had elements that stood out positively. I would recommend this to anyone and I would definitely come back.

You can taste the care and intention in each dish served here. The flavours are delicate, fresh, and unique. The portions are small and the prices are high, I would say this is a spot for a special occasion. For two people our server recommended choosing 6 dishes, but I think we could have gone for 7 or even 8.

Mhel, located in Dufferin Grove, is Toronto's newest sake bar serving a changing menu of Korean and Japanese small plates. They have an extensive list of sake (either by the glass or bottle) as well as few selections of beers, highballs, and non-alcoholic options. There is an emphasis on local and seasonal produce where fresh ingredients are highlighted. The dishes are small and meant to be shared while you drink your sake. The space is intimate and warm where if you sit at the bar, you can watch your food being prepared as it has an open kitchen concept. Reservations are recommended. We dined at Mhel on a Thurs evening where I made reservations 2 weeks ahead of time. My friend and I were promptly greeted and shown to our table. For our drinks, the server was kind enough to give us a description of the available sakes by glass, which was extremely helpful! For food, it was suggested that between two people, aim for 2-3 dishes per person. For sake, I ordered a glass of the Hiwata Kimoto Junmai (a drier sake), while my friend opted for the KID junmai ginjo (more fruiter in flavor). For food, we opted for the following options to share: - Anju (today's drinking snacks) - the drinking snacks today were cucumber and charred peppers. Great crunch and texture. - Chawanmushi (good eggs, ichiban dashi, corn cream, and marigold oil) - we both got our own chawanmushi as we knew it would be difficult to share this dish. Didn't realize the eggs were served cold but the eggs were incredibly creamy in texture. The corn was a nice touch and the you could definitely taste the ichiban dashi through the whole dish. I enjoyed it but my friend wasn't so keen on the "fishy-ness" of the dashi. - Yaki nasu (charred eggplant, miso, mizuna) - I enjoyed this dish. The char on the eggplant was present throughout and the broth didn't overpower the main star of the dish. - Tomato tomato (dashi tomato, yukari tomato) - the tomatoes were incredibly fresh! I loved how the skin of the tomatoes were peeled for you already. - Marguro zuke (Oroshi Bluefin tuna, tare, myoga, new onions) - another favourite dish, fresh tuna complemented by the myoga and onions. - Doyaji (Liton's 5oz coppa (pork shoulder), ssamjang, perilla leaf) - another favourite of the night. The pork was executed well and paired perfectly with the ssamjang and perilla leaf! Overall, the food is fresh, seasonal, delicate, and complemented the sake well! The lightness and freshness of the dishes did not overpower the fragrant nature and complexity of sake. Service wise, staff were friendly, knowledgeable and able to answer any questions we had regarding sake and food. What a great new sake bar with a beautifully crafted menu!

the constantly changing menu causes the kitchen to have limited ability to "perfect" a dish. For example, the yuan yaki ($35) sounded good on paper but didn't have the taste to match. The thick slice of kanpachi needed more seasoning and something stronger than just a yuzu marinade. Its uneven thickness meant the edges were cooked through while the centre to be raw. Ultimately, I had to leave a piece uneaten given it was gross and gummy. After all, the dish wasn't meant to be eaten raw like the ishidai sashimi ($33), a fish flown in from Nagasaki. In lieu of soy sauce, Mhel created a flavourful seaweed salad providing flavour and a chewy garnish that could be wrapped in the fish to create a delicious bite. In fairness, there's many dishes that Mhel gets right. The sogogi ($46) was fantastic, a sizeable slice of Australian wagyu cooked to perfection so that it's juicy and hot. Brushed with galbi sauce, the beef's Korean flavours reminded me why it could be eaten with chopsticks. Although, I would have loved for a small slice to be put on top of the sushi rice nugget. It's what Mhel describes as a perilla ssam, so a piece of meat would make the bite complete. Mhel's portion sizes are small. Hence, we followed their advice and opted for the heartiest dish for the evening, the dak gaseumsal ($30) with a bowl of steamed Japanese rice ($5), and side of kimchi ($8). The dak gaseumsal's buttery miso sauce was great for pouring over the sticky rice and I loved the accompanying sauteed seasonal greens (garlic scape, Swiss chard, and collard greens). Yet, the chicken breast, while juicy, wasn't overly exciting... perhaps because it was sous vide versus grilled. At least they were true to their word, this dish was much larger than the rest. Still, you may want to get a side of the potesala ($15), their version of a potato salad. The shallots added a slight bite to the potatoes and the pickled ramps and peas gave the dish a freshness that helped balance off the otherwise rich dish. Yet, it's the onsen egg that really made the dish, I wished there was more than a half. If anything, Mhel ensures you have room for dessert. The purin ($10) was a fantastic crème caramel, one of the best I've had in a while. The thickened Sheldon Creek cream was rich but perfectly balanced by a maple syrup glaze that had a toasty taste, much better than your regular caramelized sugar. My husband and I immediately regretted getting one to share.

Mhel was named one of Toronto's best new restaurants for 2024 so needless to say I was excited to try it - and it did live up to the hype. The menu rotates daily, which has its pros and cons since you're always getting fresh food and creatively made dishes, but you never know what you're going to get. I found that all the dishes we tried were good and well made, but there wasn't necessarily a signature dish that blew me away. Our favourite was the dessert - the caramel cake in a maple sauce which we loved! As for the rest of the meal, the potato salad / cucumber salad / sashimi were decent, but the cooked dishes (fish, wagyu, onigiri in broth) were excellent. The sauces / dashi broth for the cooked dishes really stood out to me, and of course everything was cooked perfectly. Overall, this was a wonderful experience, and I would love to come back once the restaurant has matured a bit more. My only qualm was that it wasn't necessarily good value, and I found the portions small for the price relative to comparable Japanese / Korean restaurants I've been to. It would be great if they had a tasting menu as well. Nonetheless, it's at least worth trying!

Part of a longer review... Despite the overall excellence of Mhel, there were moments during our visit when we felt a sense of urgency from the staff, as if we were being rushed through our meal. While this may have been due to the restaurant's popularity and the desire to accommodate all guests, it slightly detracted from the otherwise relaxed and intimate dining experience. This is a minor detail in an otherwise outstanding establishment, but it's worth noting for those who seek a leisurely and unhurried pace. At the heart of Mhel is the power of culinary innovation and the deep respect for tradition. Hoon Ji and Min Yi have created a space that is not just a restaurant, but a celebration of their heritage and a love letter to the flavours of Korea and Japan. Mhel's commitment to quality, authenticity, and innovation makes it a must-visit destination for anyone seeking an unforgettable dining experience. Bravo!

Great concept but terrible execution. Dishes were either bland or completely ruined by an overly salty sauce with not much flavour besides that. Terrible wagyu and extremely fishy fish dish. Not to mention it's not cheap either. It's pretty pathetic that this place got best new restaurant award.

This place has a great vibe and I'm always happy to support local restaurants, especially when they're also trying to support local. They use great vendors such as Affinity Fish, Sheldon Creek, and Linton and constantly iterate on their menu with locality and seasonality in mind. The food portions are on the smaller side, but meant to be that way. You order a bunch of things, grab a sake off their extensive sake menu, and chill with your friends while enjoying a tasty variety of bites. My favourites of the evening were: (1) the menchikatsu, which was a blend of high quality pork and beef patty deep-fried to perfection; (2) the gyutan, which was tender, well-seasoned, and perfect with sake; and (3) honestly one of the creamiest, best balanced puddings I've had with a hint of burnt maple syrup flavour. Honestly if you're going to the supermarkets and buying the Japanese puddings for like $5-10 just go here instead. Service was pleasant and attentive throughout.