Sam Cha draws praise for bold Korean flavors with standout dishes like spicy pork udon, beef galbi and spicy jokbal, along with favorites such as bibimbap, tteokbokki and fried chicken, all offered at affordable prices. The reviews note a lively atmosphere and friendly service, though the place is small and often crowded, with limited ventilation and occasional variability in service. Some bites such as seafood pancake or certain curries can be less consistent, but overall Sam Cha is a reliable option for a flavorful Korean meal and good value, even on off days.
The cheesy chicken was great, meanwhile the Bibimbap was okay, no seasoning in the food but the sauce was helping with the lack of flavour. Kinda difficult to talk there, space is tight. Reservations required/recommended.
May 13, 2026
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Serving was quick. Tteokbokki regular spice has a real nice kick. I really enjoyed it. Soy garlic fried chicken could be crispier but nice flavor profile. Love the warm ambiance.
Un de mes restaurants préférés à Montréal ! Je recommande les frites au kimchi, le tofu kimchi & le gimbap. On y mange toujours bien, & la facture n'est pas trop salée à la fin.
this restaurant has a front section & a back section. been here a few times. they usually sit you in the front section unless it's full in the front or unless you ask to sit in the back. the food portions are decent to good size. i sat in the back section last time i came & this time i sat in the front section. front section is where the open air kitchen is also. Poor ventilation. lots of smoke. I give this place one star despite i have been here at least 10 times because when you have a bunch of people coming for dinner & sit on the same table together, they force your table to all be in 1 bill. Why 1 bill you ask? So that they can force charge you 18% tips on your bills, not 15% if you take the time to calculate, which I find is complete bullshit (This is illegal too btw, I found out later). Nobody in my table wants to pay for the whole table & get paid back later by each person after. so since I don't want to sit here all night. I paid. I find it completely bullshit & unfair. usually i come with my girlfriend or a buddy so i didn't know this. the place is also very loud. they have a lot of alcohol section but the front of the restaurant outside is also extremely dirty.
inside is not super clean but it's passable. Customers beware of their sneaky practice of forcing everyone to be on bill so they can forcefully charge you more tips!!
Completely sneaky for close to no service anyway. highly Not recommended!
if you don't believe me, you can try to go in a group & you can then see how they proceed when you pay. they forcefully charge you not even 15% but 18%. Do the math compared to your subtotal. ALL FACTS.
Apr 14, 2026
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Hands down the best galbi & udon I've had in the city. It is a go to for me when I am craving Korean. The spicy pork udon is perfect. It is chewy, spicy, saucy, & filled with flavour. The beef galbi might be the best I've ever had as well. Would recommend this place on a heartbeat. We also tried the seafood pancake & the fried chicken. They were good but not on the level of the other two dishes. The main downside is that the place is tiny. It is hard to get a table without a reservation. & after eating there expect to smell like Korean food, it is so small & there is no ventilation. It is a minor inconvenience but totally worth it.
If you are looking for something simple, affordable, cozy, crunchy or even spicy food. I would definitely recommend this place! I love the songs they play it was such a vibe, can't help but sing along en plus with the view & weather outside? it was fun watching people pass by with their cute fall outfits 💋
The food? its amazing! I don't even like noodles but I even asked for my friend's food if i could finish it🤣
The Monsieur that served us he's pretty chill & he also cleaned the table or the place we wanted to seat on. I even charged my phone hehe.
This place is also close to school's area like Dawson, La Salle College, etc. & they close @9pm or so
The spicy jokbal is definitely the best in Montreal. Tender meat with soft & meting fat in the sticky sweet spicy sauce. It's quite spicy but the sweetness & lettuce balanced it well. The portion is good for two people too. Overall highly recommend.
Edit: ordered again 2 days later & it's extremely salty, even the flavour is different…..
Excellente soirée au Sam Cha samedi passé! Ce restaurant nous a été recommandé pour ses saveurs, & nous n'avons pas été déçus. Chaque plat que nous avons commandé était vraiment excellent. Le service était aussi très bien.
Si vous cherchez des plats savoureux coréens , nous recommandons sans hésiter !!
Mar 19, 2026
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Le personnel est à l'écoute & serviable malgré le rush qui peut subvenir. L'anglais est obligatoire.
La nourriture est vraiment bonne, les portions sont bien généreuses & copieuses ( venir le ventre vide ). Les plats sont épicés comme à la coréenne, faire bien attention aux notifications sur menus.
Cadre charmant, personnel qualifié & nourriture excellente, une vraie pépite.
The quality of food has dropped a lot. We ordered pork bone soup, the meat was even cold (it was fully cooked but not heated) though the soup was hot, & the meat was really really really hard to chew. The yaki udon was very salty. Sam Galbi & Okonomiyaki were okay but not amazing.
They have really yummy chicken katsu curry with rice.. & a really good bibimbap. Service wasn't the fastest, but overall it's a good option for a quick meal.
A great Korean restaurant located on Sainte-Catherine Street near the Forum. The food is excellent, although I haven't had the chance to try their kimbap yet. I've been there about five times over the past ten years, & it has consistently been good. The prices are very reasonable considering the location, especially compared to other nearby restaurants. The only downside, in my opinion, is that it's often packed with long lineups. When the restaurant is full, the tables are quite close to each other, so you can hear nearby conversations & the atmosphere can get pretty loud. That said, it felt amazing the one time I went early on a random quiet weekday during the summer, when most students were on vacation. The experience was much more relaxed & enjoyable.
