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.
I’ve been going to Sam Cha for a couple years now. My favourite dishes would be the seafood sondubu that comes with rice, the beef tartare & the dolsot bimbimbap. I’ve recently tried the mussel soup which, to me was mid, as well as their rosé cream udon that I found was too sweet for my liking. Besides that, the ambiance is cozy. There’s often a line up so plan ahead.
The kimchi fries were excellent, the drinks were good, & the staff we very nice so we still tipped but the rest unfortunately fell short especially short given the price, when ordering Dolsot Bibimbap generally it comes sizzling hot, but not only was the bowl not hot the rice wasn’t even really hot enough to cook the egg, & the tofu was fridge cold with no flavour & even after adding more kimchi from the fries & more sauce the dish was still disappointing enough that we couldn’t finish it, a problem I’ve never had before with any Bibimbap Dolsot or not, I’m hoping what happened to us was a 1 off but sadly given we spent over $100 between 2 people I can’t say it’s worth the risk to go back
Oct 15, 2023
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Mauvais expérience dû à leur système de réservation vraiiiiment douteux. Lorsque que tu arrives, tu t'enregistres sur une tablette. Pendant 20 minutes, plusieurs tables étaient vides (voir photo), des gens continuaient de s'inscrire, mais personne ne s'installait. Au bout de 45 minutes, nous avons décidé d'aller dans un autre restaurant coréen «cocoddak» (super expérience). J'ai finalement reçu le message nous invitant à nous installer 1h30 après mon inscription sur la tablette.
Un système sans réservation serait mieux, les gens attendraient & dès qu'une table serait vide, elle se remplirait.
Donc, je vous conseille d'éviter cette adresse les fins de semaine!
5 stars review for Sam Cha that wonderful Korean restaurant in Montreal. We ordered Takoyaki, Teokk bok Ki, Tofu Salad, Rose cream udon, Sea Food Ramyui, & Kimchi Fried Rice.
We had a wonderful experience at this Korean restaurant. The food was delicious, the service was excellent, & the prices were affordable. We would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a great Korean meal in Montreal.
- Bad service. We had to reach to our waiter for almost anything: water, a new grill, extra plates. We kept being told that we’d have to pay for pieces we didn’t eat. It was very annoying, & gives a cheap look.
- Extremely cramped. Chairs have no back support
- Dirty. Bathroom smelled bad & looked like it wasn’t cleaned for a while.
- Overall pricey for what you get. Kimchi & beef were great. Pork & chicken were mediocre.
I won’t go back. For 50-60$ CAD you can get better service & more gastronomic meals elsewhere.
I used to love this place! The food is really the best, to this day.
During my last visit, we took the all you can eat bbq & we didn’t get to eat as much as we would’ve liked because of the service. Waiter took 15-20 only to take our order. When we got the food, he barely came around to see us. Very disappointing:(
Sep 19, 2023
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Dined here for the first time with my family (4) on Monday, September 4th & picked the all-you-can-eat option.
The appetizers that are included tasted good (radish & salad), though the kimchi was a little too sour for my personal taste.
They offer a wide variety of meats that were all delicious, as they were lean (not too fatty) & nicely marinated.
We also ordered a cold noodle dish from the à la carte menu, which i found was on the simpler side in terms of ingredients- it could’ve been better had it contained a little more than just half an egg, two types of veg & noodles (i loved how they were the perfect “level” of chewy).
Moreover, I tried their drink called the “I.D.H” (an iced cocktail with pear juice & soju), & it tasted amazing. & if they offered the choice to add tapioca pearls, it would’ve been a one hell of game changer.
In terms of the service, we arrived at around 5:15pm & were thankfully seated immediately.
The workers were nice & brought out the BBQ equipment + dishes fairly quickly for the first round, however the pace naturally slowed down as the restaurant got busier.
One thing, however, that I did not quite appreciate about the experience is how the waiters/waitress did not check up on our table as frequently as they should- this lead to empty dishes pilling up (leaving us little to no table space, as the grill took up a great majority of it) & the water refills were lacking to say the least.
In order to be served (ex: order more dishes), we had to either get up from our tables & walk up to the front desk, or raise our hand for at least 5 minutes- to no avail 2 out of 3 times. Mind you, I was staring at the waiters as they just stood around the front desk (not serving anyone).
I understand that most customers opt for the à la carte option (which makes the servers’ job simpler), however it should be common knowledge that the all-you-can-eat option requires more check-ins; the reason being that there are likely multiple rounds of orders & hence, more dishes to be taken care of.
All in all, I would come back -for the food- & order from the à la carte as a change for a, hopefully, improved experience in regards to the service.
This restaurant is so good! Ambiance, decor & food are incredible. All the staff are super friendly. It really has a home-like atmosphere which makes this place so unique.They have coat hanger stand so you can hang your jackets/coats to make yourself comfortable. Talking about food, their pork soondubu & kimchi fries are to die for!! The broth itself is miraculous. Their sojus are cheaper than most of the other restaurant in town so I like to add a few bottles to enjoy with the meal. Trust me, this is the ultimate combination. Can't wait to come back & try the rest of the menu!
Absolutely the BEST korean restaurant in town. As soon as you walk into the restaurant you could feel the friendly environment, beautiful & cozy setting. The staff are doing their work properly, extremely good service, I got my food just in time. The food was 11/10 (more than delicious), I have tried so many korean restaurants but this one has its authenticity I can assure you. I took a pork soondubu, an okonomiyaki (vegetable crepe topped with bulgogi), takoyakis, kimchi fries (not on the menu) & a few bottles of soju to share. & I absolutely love it. It is this kind of restaurant that I would love to get a comfort meal with my family, a casual catching up time with a friend & even for a date. Love everything about this place. Go see for yourself, you won't regret.
I & my husband came here on Saturday, we understood it was busy on weekend, we accepted to wait for an hour, after an hour, there were 2 group of 2 & 4 came in. I saw there was an available table, but they took the group of 4 without asking us for ceding. What a horrible service! We never come back this place & would not recommend anyone who wants to take a satisfied service.
Nous y allons presque toujours pour la grillade à volonté, mais ça nous coûte toujours plus cher parce qu'il est très dur de résister aux autres plats comme accompagnement. Au prix que sont rendus le cinéma & le McDonald, ça revient juste un peu plus cher si vous restez sage & on passe une excellente soirée en discutant.
Le kalbi n'est jamais aussi mariné que dans d'autres endroits, mais il demeure bon & ce n'est qu'un des items dans le choix de viandes.
Oct 29, 2013
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Du coréen typique: un gros bol de riz avec de la viande, du kimchi, & un oeuf, ou encore des ramen le midi. Sinon, il y le BBQ coréen à volonté, autre classique. Cuisine très réconfortante & authentique. Parfait pour une journée froide ou pluvieuse. En plus, ils ont une salle privée qu'on peut réserver pour un karaoke de groupe, question de digérer le souper copieux.
L'ambiance est jeune, relax & sans prétention. Point négatif: la ventilation est peu efficace & on sort du resto avec l'odeur du porc grillé qui colle à la peau. À éviter si vous avez un rendez-vous juste après!
