Sam Cha draws praise for flavorful Korean dishes and good value, with standouts like bibimbap, tteokbokki, jokbal, pajeon, kimchi fried rice, and spicy soups, served by friendly staff in a cozy setting. Reviewers note that the place can get very busy, especially on weekends, with long lines and tables that are close together, making the atmosphere loud, though weekday visits can feel more relaxed. Reservations are often recommended or required on busy nights to secure a table. Several comments mention inconsistent service or occasional delays, and a few dishes are described as overly salty, bland, or smaller than expected, with some noting a dip in quality after menu changes. Overall, it remains a solid, affordable option for Korean classics that many diners plan to return to for more.
A cozy family-style Korean restaurant. The bibimbap here is very authentic & tasty, according to both me & my friend who has lived in Korea for 2 years. & the price is reasonable.
if you're planning to come around 5:30pm-7pm on the weekends, make sure to have a reservation or you can join the online queue & they will text you when your table is ready, it gets really busy-for good reason!
Assiette de pépites de poulet croustillants & tendres à la fois. Un vrai délice, accompagnées de soju fraise & galettes de riz. Les soju aromatisés ne goûtent aucunement l'alcool - belle découverte! Il faut réserver si vous souhaitez avoir une table entre 17h & 19h car l'endroit est petit. Service attentionné.
Mar 29, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Certainly! Here's a 3-star review for a Korean restaurant:
---
**Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)**
We recently visited twice Sam Chaand had an overall just ok experience. First time we came on Friday around 7:15 pm & was seated at 8:30 pm. We did not have a reservation. So, number One: make sure you book it. Second: the waiter forgot to bring a dish to us, but they charged us. So: always make sure you paid for what you got.
Next visit we planned & made a reservation at 5 pm (they open at 5 pm). So, it was empty. The waiters were obviously bored as well as the kitchen stuff.
The atmosphere was awful: too loud that we were not able to hear each other. So, be prepared to eat with no communication.
The staff were overwhelmed (on Friday). The menu had a good variety of traditional Korean dishes, & the portions were ok is size.
However, while the flavors were not bad, I felt the food lacked that authentic depth I was hoping for: the bulgogi were chewy, the sea food pancake was overcooked around & undercooked.
Prices were reasonable, but not quite a standout for the quality of food.
Overall, it was an okay experience - not bad, but not amazing either. If I'd consider coming back that would sweet & spicy chicken &, maybe, bulgogi.
Super nice place! The food was good in general, especially for the price. The tteokbokki only tasted like black pepper though, but that was really the only down side!
I had the seafood pancake & the bulgogi bibimbap, personally, the food was more on the bland size. Portion was generous though👍🏻 There won't be a next time but it was not that negative for an experience.🙂
Mar 10, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Delicioua & affordable korean restaurants. Even after so many years, they continue to provide one of the best & most flavorful soon dubu jigae in town.
The only downside is that you smell like food after since the kitchen is right next to the dining space & there's korean BBQ on tables without a proper vent on top.
Are you kidding me Samcha took such a dip in quality after revamping their menu. Their menu is now a basic korean menu just like every other korean restaurant in montreal. You would think it's at least good even if they revamped it but no the quality has gone down as well. I asked for extra kimchi & that was some of the worst kimchi I ate. It was bland & tasted frozen. Bring back the bbq!!
The food is simply amazing! I had the curry fried chicken plate, & let me tell you the flavours just blend together so well. The dumplings are also tasty appetizers
Friendly staff & the food came surprisingly fast (20 min) for a saturday night in my experience
Legitimately the best spot in mtl. Great staff, great vibes, great soju. Get the lychee soju & pig feet (spicy ) & seafood pancake. Thank me later. Cya
Mar 1, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Absolutely loved it! We waited about 45 minutes as it was Saturday night dinner time. Once seated we were quickly greated & served our drinks. We ordered; sweet chickie, bulgogi, spare ribs, homemade kimchi, curry udon, tteakbokki rosé & seafood pancake. All super delicious & perfectly portioned for 4 people. Service was quick, friendly & efficient. Will definitely come back to taste more from the menu! Only negative is you come out of restaurant very very very stinky 😝
A bit of a disappointment since there was no free side dish. We ordered some tteok bok ki fried skewers & it was good, with some sauce to dip in. We ordered some fried dumplings & they were bland, a bit too fried, too oily. The rating went downhill because of the porc bone soup, the soup was very very salty & when you remove the 3 big bones, there is barely any soup left... Anyways, not recommended. The beef bibimbap was ok, could of been better in taste.
The service was ok, it wasn't busy at lunch time, & had to ask the waitress twice for napkins.
The place didn't look too tidy, mediocre, the seats were a bit too close between clients.
Food was good, but that's about it. The service was ok, not great they never came to check ups after serving, also it took 40 minutes to receive our food, which wasn't so bad as we got our appetizer at least. My biggest problem is that we got placed in a separate room from everyone, it was past the kitchen; it look disheveled, left behind & also cold since there wasn't a lot of people/ambiance… Honestly would have expected better from a reservation! Overall ok since the food was good (at least), but i would not go back there.
Perhaps my expectations were too high, but the meal didn't quite live up to what I had hoped for.
We started with the Beef Tartare as an appetizer. The beef itself was quite sweet, but the flavors felt unbalanced. To make matters worse, it was served cold, almost frozen, with ice crystals in it😂😂
The Tofu Soup, however, was a highlight. It had a great flavor & was definitely the best dish of the meal. We also tried the Spicy Jokbal, but it was far too sweet! Despite being labeled as spicy, I could barely taste any heat.
The waiter was attentive tho, so one star for him. But overall, I left feeling disappointed
Cette semaine j'avais appeler pour reserver pour ma fete a moi & mon amie samedi du a un probleme de cuisine il ne prenais que de petite reservation ce qui est comprenable mais il ont quand meme acceptee de prendre ma reservation pour samedi jen suis vraiment reconnaissante le samcha est devenu mon resto preferee cest tellement bon les prix son abordable & le service 1000/10 nous avons eu du plaisir & vraiment apprecier notre moment desoler pour le bruit samedi 😂😂😂 desolee aussi d'avoir surement tres mal prononcer makgeolli mais cetais vrm bon cest la deuxieme fois que jy allait en groupe & on a tellement aimee quon voulais revenir je conseille vraiment ce restaurant un gros merci au staff de nous avoir endurer dans notre fun 😂😂😂
