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Toyose

4 star rating
based on 313 reviews

Category: Korean  [Edit]

Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
3814 Noriega St
(between 45th Ave & 46th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 731-0232
Hours:

Mon-Sun. 6:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.

Good for Groups:
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Attire:
Casual
Price Range:
$$
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
No
Take-out:
Yes
Waiter Service:
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
No
Good for:
Dinner, Late Night
Alcohol:
Beer & Wine Only

313 reviews for Toyose

Review Highlights   

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"The soju is awesome here, and reasonably priced, the hite and OB." (in 184 reviews)
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"they're kimchi fried rice is hands down the best in the city bar none." (in 48 reviews)
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"I recommend the chicken wings and the seafood pancake." (in 49 reviews)
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Sort by: Yelp Sort | Date | Rating | Elites'
Photo of Tina T.

 

14

38

Tina T.

South San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
12/3/2009

-Pretty much a bar with some really good Korean snack type food
-BOMB ASS Kimchi Fried Rice-yums :)
-Don't order the Strawberry Soju cause it's really not that great -_-
-Cute interior (Outside sort of like a regular house)

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Photo of Teresa N.

Elite '09

105

625

Teresa N.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
11/30/2009

Toyose, what an interesting little find in tucked away in the Outer Sunset. If it weren't for the Toyose sign and some Christmas lights, I would've driven right past it. My BF and I came here last night after hearing positive things from a friend. We got there early only to see that the place didn't open until 6pm, so we decided to sit in the car and talk. Once 6pm rolled around, we went inside and the place was already filling up quickly.

The skinny on this place in a few bullet points:

Food - 3.5 stars
- Better than most Korean places in the city.
- Seafood pancake was good, but too salty. Quantity was enough to feed about four people.
- Corn cheese was good at first, but only the first couple of bites. Once the dish cooled down, it became big blobs of hard cheese clumps. It's a good dish to try on the first time with a bunch of people who can finish it off within minutes of being served, but we can do without during future visits. Dish would have been better with some tabasco or hot sauce on the side.
- Spicy fried chicken wasn't bad at all. The batter was crunchy and meat was moist. Contrary to some of the reviews I read about the fried chicken, quality was pretty good and it was a lot better than I expected.
- Kimchi and pork chiggae was the highlight of the evening. Instead of pork bits, Toyose used pork belly meat. The choice of meat made the dish more enjoyable as the fat soaked up the flavors of the soup. Excellent soup for a cold day.
- No pan chan included in the meal. Mind you, this is a Korean drinking place, not a typical sit down restaurant.

Ambiance and facilities - 4 stars
- I'm a fan of little Korean drinking holes. It's where my BF and I usually hang out at in So. Cal with friends, so it's nice to finally find one in the city.
- Decor reminds me of a lot of Korean restaurants in LA/OC. Feels homey and makes me happy.
- This place gets really packed, so if you end up sitting by the front entrance, people waiting to be seated will be standing right next to you while you eat and cheering for you to finish the meal quickly. Really awkward.
- Restroom was clean and big.

Price - 2.5 stars
- SOOOOO expensive for Korean food! Maybe it's because there aren't that many good Korean restaurants in the city, so Toyose has the ability to inflate their prices. Seriously though... $25 for a boodaechiggae? It looked like it would only serve 3-4 people too.

Overall good experience. Average rating 3.5 stars, but rounded up since I will most likely come back again.

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Photo of Mitch M.

 

18

141

Mitch M.

San Francisco, CA

2 star rating
11/30/2009

The atmosphere of this place is cool but besides that, this place is seriously overrated.

First, they have blaring Korean pop-rock music that, after a while, becomes painfully repetitive. Second, the service was terrible. I had to wait 40 minutes for my dish (which was just a bowl of soup) and I was the second customer to enter the place at 6pm on a Sunday evening.  When I ordered the soup, I asked if it included Kim Chi and they said it did. But after 40 minutes, the soup was given to me with no Kim Chi. This is the first time I've EVER had Korean food with no Kim Chi served. I finally got 4 small bowls of Kim Chi. This is half what I get at any other Korean restaurant. And, anywhere else, the Kim Chi bowls are served right away, so they can be enjoyed while waiting for the meal to be prepared. The food itself was just OK. I had sea bass soup and the sea bass was clearly not fresh. Parts of it were so bad that I could not even eat them. And, there were also cheap prawns thrown into it that were clearly fresh from the freezer and a factory farm before that. Prices were very high, the whole meal (a bowl of soup and some cheap mass produced Lotte brand soju) was $40!

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Photo of Josh M.

 

2

30

Josh M.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
12/4/2009

Kim Chee Friend Rice? Check
Chicken Giblets? Check
Those Korean Pancakes? Check
Korean Casseroles? Check
Soju? Check
Small fun place to hang out and chill all night? Check

This place has it all. Great food, little doorbells to call the ladies over for more drinks, dry popcorn, good food, and good times. Best of all, its pretty hidden. It's disguised as a garage! There's also plenty of parking around here, and thats a huge plus. I've never had to look around for it.

Warning, this place does get a little packed at night on weekends, be prepared to wait as groups tend to stick around and talk.

Waaaay better than The Spot!

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Photo of Mel H.

 

7

14

Mel H.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
12/2/2009

This is definitely a place to come for drinks!... its reminiscent of small izakaya style eating, Its a glorified bar, but their main stable is their soju... Many of the dishes are reasonably priced, compared to some other restaurants in the city.  Their kimchi fried rice is really good! And beware, if you don't like spicy food.. this really isn't the place to go.  They do have seafood udon noodle soups, which are decent, but the majority of the menu is filled with spicy food!

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Photo of B L.

 

18

14

B L.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
11/7/2009

MmmMm...

for a lil place in a garage down by the beach... toyose, aka GARAGE, is surprisingly good. everything ive had here is delicious. from the french fries to the pork shank to the udon. they also have the BEST kimchi tofu pork ever... and their strawberry soju is yum yum yum!! i could drink it all day if it didnt make me so drunk... its a creeper...

theres always big groups here, but i like coming here with the fam or dinner dates.

and id like to end with.. CHEESE WITH CORN!? uhh huhh!

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Photo of Ben R.

 

1

17

Ben R.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
11/28/2009

Do you ever find yourself jonesing for a salad-dressing bottle full of soju mixed with Kern's nectar?  Well, this place might be for you.  It's... cute?  Reminiscent of a dingy sake bar with faux nautical decor, nutcrackers, stuffed mice, stains on the walls and ceiling "concealed" by ruffles and paper artwork.  One waitress covers the entire floor, but despite that, service is reasonably on point.  Aided to no small degree by a sophisticated paging system, which involves pushing an electronic bell that looks like a bar of soap.  Still, I like it.  It's open till 2 AM, serves munchies and smells divine.  Popcorn's not bad, either.

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Photo of Kevin K.

 

0

9

Kevin K.

Oakland, CA

2 star rating
11/28/2009

The food here is not that bad.  Tofu soup is standard.  The fried chicken is what me and the guys come for.  So good you can keep eating and eating and washing it down with strawberry soju.  The downside though it feels you don't get good service if you're Korean.  Excuse me that my friends and I are Chinese/Caucasian/Etc...

The food is good but not good enough for someone to treat you like a second class citizen.

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Photo of Carly P.

 

12

16

Carly P.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
10/19/2009

This place is definitely an experience.  After reading how popular it was, I expected a huge line out the door but it was not the case when we went last Friday night.  The restaurant exists in the outer sunset and you wouldn't really even know it was there if not for the small sign outside.  The door wasn't even open and no one going in or out so you wouldn't expect a restaurant.  But as we approached there were business hours posted and we opened the door... Wow - this place was packed and full of people drinking, eating and just being merry.  5-stars for fun and atmosphere for sure!

In my opinion, the BEST thing to get here was the soju.  We had the strawberry and the mango.  A huge bottle is served for the price and the flavor is so fantastic (like fresh squeezed juice) that you can drink a lot of this stuff pretty easily.

That being said, I don't think the food is as good as other reviewers have thought.  We had the bulogi, kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancake, seafood pancake, eel, fries and chicken wings.  The food was so-so and the only thing I'd want again is the chicken wings, very yummy.  The boys said the eel was also good but I don't eat eel so can't really give an opinion there.

So I would want to go back, not for the food, but for the good drinks and good times!

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Photo of pete k.

 

6

18

pete k.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
10/15/2009

Pretty decent Korean restaurant in Outer Sunset.

Seafood Pancake is quite good here. It is made thin, and they don't add a lot of flour so it is not thick like a lot of the other seafood pancakes here.

Bulgogi Beef is not bad, but it was not as warm (both times that I ordered). The Bulgogi beef at the Korean restaurant on Taravel and 30th is better.

Open till late, and there is ample parking around.

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Photo of Sarah W.

Elite '09

27

100

Sarah W.

Berkeley, CA

3 star rating
9/30/2009

Get the strawberry soju. It's only $11 for what amounts to like..10 shots! So worth it.

We ordered a hearty meal of spam, tofu, cabbage, hot dogs, ramen, kimchee, and, well, broth. In that light the dish wasn't worth the money..I can make that too! It was good at the moment though. The chicken wings..MMM. So good. Definitely get them. They're sweet and savory, slightly sticky from the sugar in the marinade, and fried to perfection. Why a 3/5? Because they don't have japchae!! My fave. :( Also they don't give out appetizers beforehand. They really should.

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Photo of Ced C.

 

3

13

Ced C.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
10/29/2009

When I walked upto this place, I wasn't sure if it was open for business since the doors didn't say push nor pull. Just saw the sign for business hours. But alas, I figured you would need to pull open the door that could almost be camouflaged as a garage door. Once in, the atmosphere was quite welcoming.

Everything was great from the spicy chicken wings to the kimchi pancake to the kimchi fried rice. Definitely try out their yogurt soju also! Service couldn't have been any better. They even have a button on the side of each table to alert the waitresses of the patrons' needs. First time I've seen such a device in a restaurant! Most times, I would flag them down when they pass by.

Food = 5 stars
Service = 5 stars

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Photo of tee w.

 

21

56

tee w.

San Jose, CA

5 star rating
9/28/2009

Me loves Soju. Me loves fruity drinks. Me loves Toyose.

I love the soju here. My favorite is mango and aloe soju. Those two are a must order when I visit this place, which has been getting more and more often nowadays.

The place is unassuming, it's a converted garage with minimal ventilation and probably not the most structurally sound place for a restaurant. I mean it's supposed to be a place to store cars, not living and breathing people getting intoxicated with delicious soju and eating kimchee fried rice!

I love the kimchee fried rice here, especially the soft yolk that goes with it. I have had better seafood pancake somewhere else, but I won't take offense because my love for yummy soju is more than my love for seafood pancake. The soups are also good!

This is a great place to catch up with friends and to enjoy delicious soju. They also have those gigantic beer for those of you who might feel emasculated by drinking fruity colorful cute shots of soju.

Come early on the weekend. The server is very accommodating for large group if they have tables available. Order several varieties of soju (again, mango and aloe are recommended, but everything is good), seafood pancake to munch on, some soups, and of course, long live kimchee fried rice!

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Photo of Cade P.

Elite '09

121

458

Cade P.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
9/14/2009

YUM! This nice surprise was a great place to have dinner last night. I never would have found it except some friends of Mr Sexy Legs knew about it.

We ordered and shared:
Kimchee Pancakes (MUST GET!!!!)
Mango Soju (if you like a little fruity alcohol, get a bottle and share it! Or 2!)
Kimchee & Beef Fried Rice (spicy and extremely tasty)
Calamari & Beef Bulgogi (after the pancakes, this was the best thing)

The place is clean but small. Take groups no larger than 4, and apparently it's so popular that you should make reservations on Saturday nights. Last night (Sunday) was busy, but we didn't have to wait.

I think they were a little understaffed, but we got our food quickly and the waitress, though obviously a little in the weeds, handled things fine.

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Photo of Andrew H.

 

34

38

Andrew H.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
10/10/2009

Serving food in unconventional ways has become all the rage--from food trucks to food carts, Food 2.0 is all about mobile. Toyose puts all that to shame--you are served food that is cooked by a man walking around with a microwave plugged into a random public socket. It's seriously, all about the food.

Okay, just kidding.

However, there is fun to be made at the fact that Toyose exists in a converted garage deep in the residential zone of the Outer Sunset. The ambience matches the mood of an anju/izakaya style restaurant. At 2am in the morning, you feel like an insider as you push through a minimally marked door and enter a rambunctious house of soju shots and fobby giggles. Outside on the facade of the building, there are no lights betraying the liveliness of the party inside.

Ambience aside, the food holds its own against some of the better late night Korean joints I've had.

Bad news first--the Korean Fried Chicken is an absolutely letdown. This pales in comparison to Bon Chan and even Kentucky(FC) at it's best. While the skin was crispy and light, the insides were clearly overcooked and the wings were small and dry. The seasoning was reasonable, though it could have had a more Korean bent with more heat and whatever else these star Korean chefs put into their awesome FC (fried chicken).

Good news--the Kimchee Fried Rice and the Kimchee Tofu Pork were excellent. Both showcased the kimchee well.

4 stars for the overall environment.
3 stars for the food.

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Photo of Ivy L.

 

4

40

Ivy L.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
10/5/2009

This place is so freakin cool! it's a korean restaurant in the garage of a house in the sunset! I've been here a dozen times to eat and drink b/c they don't close til really late. You wouldn't think that the ambiguous yellow duck on the outside is an invitation to eat, drink, and be merry. The  inside decor is really interesting...kinda boatish and they have these buttons on the wall at your table so you can call your waitress for something. The service here is always great and the food too. Dishes that I always get are:

FRIED CHICKEN: the wings are fried right when you order them and it's a light crispy batter with tender juicy meat on the inside ...not too thick and greasy.

SEAFOOD GREEN ONION PANCAKE: I just love this dish. it's huge and filling. It comes with a hodgepodge of seafood including shrimp and squid.

KIMCHI FRIED RICE: This dish is always a safe bet...it's just fried rice with kimchi and it's spicy juices w/ a fried egg on top.

DUK BOKKI: this is on of my favorites. Make sure you get this with ramen. the noodles just sop up the spicy sauce and it's just gooood. this dish has rice cakes, fish cakes, green onions, cabbage, carrots, and onions.

The soju here is excellent too. it's the perfect soju to fruit juice.. not too sweet and syrupy like at other korean places. My favorite is the peach soju. This place is small and gets crowded on friday and saturday nights, so call ahead and make a reservation...yes...the restaurant-in-the-garage takes reservations :)

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Photo of SF Y.

 

13

11

SF Y.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
11/11/2009

Finally, a place that takes me back.... I LOVE this place for its quirkiness and great food. This is a true find!

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Photo of Sun K.

 

6

35

Sun K.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
11/6/2009

Cozy cute intimate place. Good for small groups, young and hip people. The grilled mussels with special house sauce lived up to the hype. We, in fact, order another one we liked it so much. The fried chicken was whatever. Crispy but dry. Can't compete with chicken from KyoChon or CoCoBang. We also spicy soup w/ sea bass (meh woon tang). I've had better, but it was good. We had two bottles of mango soju and that went down easy. Overall, it was a good experience due to the space decor and servers. If you want authentic Korean food (that Koreans would flock to) this is not the place, but this places makes for a good time for young people.

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Photo of Pauline H.

 

4

25

Pauline H.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
9/24/2009

Kimchi Beef fried rice w/ egg- Yummy!
Spicy chicken wings (8 of 10 were chicken drums, not wings) were not spicy at all!

It is located in a home's garage, not a place anyone would expect to find a restaurant. I've lived in the neighborhood for 10 years but never realized there's such a restaurant on Noriega.

Too bad they don't make the flavored soju in a smaller size. Two of us could not finish the whole jar.

They have a service bell at each table, the server gets to your table within 5 seconds of you ringing the bell. Cool uh?

A little bit pricey: pancake, rice and wings, for two people = $40

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Photo of Gary K.

 

31

18

Gary K.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
9/8/2009

We call this place "The Garage" because it is literally the garage of a house transformed into a restaurant. Didn't even know the real name of this place until I looked it up on Yelp just now. If you're coming here with a big group, make reservations. Otherwise you will end up waiting anywhere from 30 mins to an hour...if not longer.

I always order the same thing when I come here. Chicken Wings, Kimchee fried rice, and Bulgogi. You will not be disappointed.

This place has the best flavored soju. Call me soft, but I just can't stand the green bottle. The yogurt and peach flavored soju are the best. Its actually pretty strong too but you can barely taste the soju.

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Photo of Ryan C.

 

9

12

Ryan C.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
8/23/2009

Only by luck and at the most random times would you find this place for the first time, but after you find it you'll wonder how you never saw it before.

Toyose is a Korean restaurant located along the edge of of the Outer Sunset on Noriega. I found out about this restaurant with my Korean food loving friends one late night. The funny thing is I've lived in the Sunset all my life and I NEVER heard about this restaurant till that night.

At first glance you wouldn't believe it's a restaurant, Toyose literally looks like your typical Sunset house but inside surprises you. Tables setup along the walls complete with a call button if you ever need to flag a waiter/waitress. In terms of food, their menu is slightly different however their kimchi dishes are excellent.

You'll only be able to get dinner here as the restaurant opens at 6PM. HOWEVER they are open late so they're PERFECT for those late night food cravings or when you don't want to call it a night after getting out of the clubs/bars. Only problem I've had was extremely limited seating and at times difficult to walk around due to the small dining areas. But if you can get around that, I would recommend you try out Toyose.

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Photo of Sophia F.

 

26

28

Sophia F.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
9/5/2009

If you ever get a craving for some spicy Korean snack foods or some Asian style fried chicken, and would like to bring your night owl friends who have no reason to get up early in the morning on a weekday, this is a great place to go!

Everything I had there was pretty tasty, and the spicy level wasn't watered down either, there was definitely some beading of sweat on my nose... :)

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Photo of Sir Paul L.

 

121

106

Sir Paul L.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
7/21/2009

Toyose is not a restaurant.  We didn't realize this.  Well, it is and it isn't.  See, they serve food, but so do most bars...and this place is basically a bar with snack food.

Instead, we ordered full meals and were disappointed.  The prices/quality were not in order.

What we did notice were all the other people ordering Soju, getting a bowl of popcorn with it and then ordering fried foods.  It's a small place but warmly decorated.  I will go back for the bar food experience, just eat dinner elsewhere!

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Photo of Irene L.

 

10

46

Irene L.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
9/8/2009

I definitely wouldn't give this place as many stars as others have... Well, thats cuz I am not a fan of SPICY food, so this place was not that good at all... Even my friend, who is a spicy food fan, said their food was too hot...

My boyfriend: "Too spicy and too little meat in their soups"

Out of all the things my friends and I ordered, I would say the kimchi fried rice w/ beef was the best.

Besides that, the decor was cute, it was clean, and the food came out fast.

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Photo of Pearl P.

 

24

57

Pearl P.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
8/10/2009

I always forget this place has a real name, besides the garage that is.

I come for the chicken wings. Great late night snack and I guzzle down some yogurt soju to get the night going. Yogurt soju is my favorite because it reminds me of my childhood. Minus the soju.

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Photo of Kevin T.

 

19

10

Kevin T.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
8/3/2009

when u think about flavored soju, Toyose is the place! This hidden place is located in a real but resigned garage in sunset area. To me, this place is more like 3.5/5 because I think their portions could be bigger. However, the environment, music, and business hr are totally good for the young crowds.

For ppl who are looking a place to go late at night with friends, believe me, toyose is better than bar! you can order some spicy food with their flavored soju, i guarantee u will have  a good time!    

Recommendation:
spicy cold noodle (big dish, good for 3-4 ppl)
kimchi pancake
spicy rice cake
fried chicken    
Bulgogi KimChi Tofu (big dish, good for 3-4 ppl)
Yogurt soju
kimchi fried rice

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Photo of Jenny L.

Elite '09

326

568

Jenny L.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
Updated - 7/15/2009 8 photos

The only thing that would make me love Toyose more is if I was married to it and was sharing in the profits of this brilliant idea.

If I had the brains, I'd totally turn my garage into a popular local hangout.  After so and so bottles of soju, people get hungry, and you can gouge them on more food!

Service is always great, and if you make reservations, they definitely make you feel special.  So, I've never really experienced the waiting around while everyone sitting down is enjoying their food and drinks.

Kimchi fried rice.  Strawberry soju.  Chicken wings.  Yogurt soju.  Seafood pancake.  Pineapple soju.  Enticed yet?  Go!

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1 Previous Review: Show all »

  • 4 star rating
    1/29/2008

    I LOVE this place.  Their kimchi fried rice is to die for (and worthy of the wait).  Reminder that… Read more »

Photo of Angi C.

Elite '09

44

181

Angi C.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
7/16/2009

I generally try to reserve my 5-star ratings for places I think are unique enough that it would be hard to replicate the experience elsewhere in the city. Toyose definitely fits into this category. The best way I can describe this place is 'Korean izakaya' - go here to drink beer/soju and snack on food items that go awesomely with drinking.

Waaaay out in Outer Sunset (almost to the beach) and basically housed in a converted garage, this place is an odd find in the middle of a mostly-residential neighborhood. When we entered, both of us got this distinct feeling that we're no longer in SF. Not having been to Korea, I can only say that the place reminds much more of places in Hong Kong or Tokyo or even NYC. Also, I think we were possibly the oldest people in the place since it seems to be a hangout spot for local college kids.

The place itself is tiny with quirky decor and only one waitress, so we prepared ourselves for the long haul. Once we managed to get our order in though, the food came very quickly. We ordered spicy fried chicken wings, seafood pajun, and kimchee+beef fried rice - all delicious and of course, went perfectly with our little bottle of soju. We saw other tables order the 'cocktail sojus' with various flavors as well as large boiling cauldrons of delicious meats and vegetables with ramen noodles - we'll definitely try that next time.

The best part? They're open every single night until 2am! Where else in the Sunset can you find that??

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Photo of Rose J.

 

0

70

Rose J.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
9/13/2009

I've been here once before but I think I finally got the appeal about this place last night.  It is literally in a someone's garage and has a dark but incredibly homey feeling.  The walls are plastered with Lee Hyori Soju ads with Korean music thumbing in the background.  As it gets later into the night, more people fill this joint, making you feel like you are getting closer to the people in your party. The food is good and you are amongst good people.  What is there not to like.  

If you like spicy, this is the place for you.  Everything we ordered was literally RED and all of us had a glistening glow on our faces from sweating.  We ordered 5 dishes - I would highly recommend the chicken yummies...lol...I mean the chicken wings, kimchee fried rice, and the kimchee pancakes (#46).  The wings are crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside, the kimchee fried rice with bits of fried egg, beef, and veggies, and seaweed was moist, spicy, flavorful...JUST try it.  And make sure you grab the end pieces of the kimchee pancakes as those are the crispiest. :)  The fruit soju drinks are good...especially the peach.

We also had the rice cake with ramen dish (#11) and the spam/hot dog/kimchee ramen casserole but I thought they were ok.  I'm not a big fan of rice cake and felt the flavors were a bit off.

Anyways, it is a great place for a group of friends to unwind after a 'freaken drive me crazy' work week.  We got there at 6:30 and grabbed a table for 6...right before it got PACKED.

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Photo of Jason N.

 

28

43

Jason N.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
8/28/2009

This restaurant offers a nice ambiance considering it's in a garage (As with most of the reviews is quite possibly what sets it apart from other Korean Restaurants). It's quite easy to find parking and the wait isn't too bad. My favorite dish is the kim chi fried rice and the spicy caserole. I don't want to make any generalizations about the food, so I'll just say that it definitely hits the spot whenever I'm craving for some Korean food.

I recommend this place.

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Photo of Brandon O.

 

17

14

Brandon O.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
7/28/2009

Recommended by a bunch of Koreans, this restaurant is AWESOME. Note this is NOT Korean BBQ, more like home cooking! And it really is in a garage.

Spam Kimchi Soup with Noodles! - I'm not sure exactly what it's called but it is DERRICIOUS!! They bring it out in a big metal bowl on top of a propane fire. It's got a mix of vegetables including mushrooms, onions, cabbage? Note: don't mix the ramen in until the end or it'll get soggy.

Fried Cheese and Corn - You might not want to get this unless you have a large party. It's plenty tasty and rich but if you leave it for too long it gets gross.

Ramen and Rice rolls? - Yummy but can be a bit starchy as the rice rolls are very dense. But the sauce is excellent and there are plenty of vegetables to go with it.

This is more of a home-cooking / drinking place open til 2am (longer if you're korean :P) Make reservations or you'll be hanging out at the bar across the street (also good).

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0

8

Erica L.

Daly City, CA

5 star rating
10/28/2009

SO YUMMY!

Must try:
Chicken wings
kimchi fried rice
#19
soju ($7 for a whole bottle! and they make it themselves!)

and a bunch of others. I have not found a dish I didn't like!

service is pretty good considering its only 1 or 2(on busy nights) waitresses for the whole place, and they have this button you can press to get their attention.

This place is always crowded, especially at night since they open till 2am!

I found this place very odd at first because it doesn't look like a restaurant from the outside, but the inside is very nicely decorated and everything.

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Elite '09

85

189

Marie B.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
9/22/2009

Toyose is deserving of 4.5 stars! Heard of this place for some time now, so I was very very excited to finally make the trip out there with a person whose been several times. A lot bigger than I imagined given it's a Sunset house garage. Cheesy decor, but you get past it when you see the screen that can come down for more privacy and the wait staff call button..and of course the food and soju!

My companion and I order the following:
- Green onion seafood pancakes - Not a fan of seafood usually, but the tentacles and the like embedded in the pancake were well masked with the actual pancake and sauce. I'm glad we ordered it as it appears to be one of their specialties.
- Kimchee fried rice - Love the raw egg atop it; makes it more like bi bim bap and I LOVE bi bim bap. Flavors were right on point and I helped myself to a hefty portion of the platter.
- Gyozas - Nothing to sing about, but definitely done right in terms of crispiness and arrived pipping hot. Generous portion too, if I recall.
- Marinated pork with tofu - Mmmmm...unlike any pork dish I've had at a Korean restaurant. Tangy and sweet and overall well seasoned pork with fresh tofu pieces. I'd order that again!
- Yogurt soju - Very good flavor. Though not the best I've had. Prefer it to have a thicker consistency.
- Other flavored soju (most likely peach as it's my and my companions second favorite usual flavor): The fact I can't truly recall makes me conclude it wasn't that memorable. But we did finish off both.

Overall, the portions were generous, and we brought leftovers in the fried rice, pork/tofu and pancake. The wait staff weren't super attentive, but did respond quickly to the "call button". Go early on a weekday for quick seating. I'll likely go again as the food seemed very authentic and I agree with the many that have said, "...it's like eating at a Korean mama's kitchen."

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54

151

HY C.

SOMA, San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
9/24/2009

I've been hearing about this place for years.  I'm sad to get there so late, thrilled I finally got there.  Toyose met & exceeded my wildest expectations.  And they have the best fried spicy chicken wings in San Francisco.

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19

73

Angeline P.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
8/4/2009

For a time, I was calling this place up and making reservations every two weeks. My enthusiasm has since subsided, if only because looking back on pictures taken over the course of the last few months, every other set of pictures seemed to be taken here. That's kind of ridiculous, so I stopped for a while. I am eagerly awaiting the next time my conscience decides it will be okay to come back without being deemed hedonistic.

The beer here comes in plastic bottles (called "pichas" here, which is hilarious to me), and the soju comes in many flavors. My favorites are yogurt, peach and strawberry. I only wish they had grape soju here, because that would merit bumping this review up to 5 stars. They have Hite and OB, and I usually end up ordering Hite, because I was told once that girls prefer to drink Hite. I'm sure most girls don't choose to go the route of the self-fulfilling prophecy, but Hite is pretty good, and I like it a bit better than Cass (which I don't remember if they serve here).

The food is great. Jokbal is a favorite, and great to share with a big group of people. The fried chicken is also delicious. Damn, Koreans sure know how to make fried chicken right. Kimchi jjigae is also great here, as well as the boodehchigae. We've had the ojingo bokkeum, and we always get ramyun ddukbokgi. I would list everything I've ever tried here, but I don't have their menu at my disposal. Suffice it to say, almost everything I've tried here has been delicious.

The restaurant is in a garage, which is great, because you'd never know it was there if you didn't know to look much closer. It's not a huge place, (we tried to make a reservation for 12 once, and we had to get split into two tables), so make reservations on weekends. Or don't, and be told to wait an hour and spend it at Flanahan's across the street while you wait for them to call you and tell you that your table is ready (which is also a great idea, by the way).

You know, I've put off writing this review because I was sure that it would make me want to end my self-imposed exile from this place, and sure enough, I was right. Maybe I'll give them a call and make a reservation for this weekend...

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11

186

JaM W.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
8/25/2009

I guess I don't eat at Korean restaurants too often, this wasn't what I expect at a typical Korean place. Everything comes out pre-cooked and I didn't see any BiBimBap.
I liked the KimChee pancakes, that was something I hadn't tried before - I already admit that I don't eat Korean food often, right?
My mom thought the atmosphere was cute but as others have described, I think gritty is the perfect word. The waitresses, although nice were not very attentive. But the food was decent and it's in my new 'hood.

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1

42

Coco L.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
8/25/2009

I sooo love their BIG dish with noodles, carrots and other stuff. Omgg it's to die for, and I never knew what it was since my cousins are the ones that order it. It's a great place if you want to eat and chill and drink soju, mmmm.

Usually they are packed here at night on weekends, which is a bummer. The place is really small so be prepared to wait if you need to!

They only have 1 bathroom, so please don't get too drunk =X

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2

28

Stephen Y.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
10/21/2009

Great chill environment. Awesome soju. Food is decent.

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Photo of Katie K.

Elite '09

116

312

Katie K.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
7/17/2009

Food is ok but they get the extra star for being opened till 2 in the morning daily!

Expect bar food and nothing fancy. It is a hangout joint for young'ins and those late night pigs, like me. I usually order chicken wings, stir fried octopus and chicken gizzards.

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24

722

joce l.

San Francisco, CA

2 star rating
8/15/2009

To be fair, we only have the spicy chicken wings + yogurt soju...but the chicken was too dry and not super tasty. the yogurt soju was ok.
but yes, it was quite pricey for ok chicken.
but great, gritty late-nite bar ambience
i would go back to try other dishes since it seems fairly popular...

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