On a random rainy day, early in the morning, my dad had sent me this foodie’s guide to Asian foods in Ottawa. I have heard about the Dolsot Cafe, and seen much about it online, but never had the opportunity to try it. Now, since it appeared on that list for Korean food, I figured it was god’s sign telling me to go test it out. ?
This unassuming restaurant is located in the same building as the Arum Korean Market. You use the same entrance and turn left when you enter.
It was very clean. The server was very polite. Their red temple gate decor added a nice Japanese touch for the sushi and bento boxes they offer, which was on the back of the menu that I didn’t take a picture of. Groups started to come in one after another after we sat down. What can I say, we just tend to bring in the crowd?.
I really appreciated how they had a picture for each dish, very easy to order for those who aren’t familiar with Korean cuisines and appealing to visual people like me. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Started with tteokbokki as an appetizer as always. The first thing I notice was the small portion size compared to other Korean restaurants I have visited. The rice cake was quite soft, not as chewy as I would like it to be. The spicy sweet sauce was on point. And there were two dumplings in there as well, which was new to me.
The pork bulgogi was really savoury and juicy, the cut had a nice mix of lean and fat. I liked how the spiciness crept up on me.
The kimchi jjigae was intensely flavourful. The firm tofu slices soaked up the perfect combination of savoury and sourness from the stew. I just couldn’t stop eating the stew. Although, I have to say that it was on the saltier side for me. However, that made it go very well with the rice. Their rice was a bit over cooked and mushy for me, but I still had more rice than I normally would because the stew was amazing. There were some round slices of rice cake inside the stew.
Despite being let down a bit by the less than usual serving for all 3 dishes, we were still happily satisfied in the end. I guess the smaller portions ensured minimal food waste. I have decided to add Dolsot as a half choice to my list because their taste made up for their slight priceyness as the dishes were real authentic, homey and comforting. Well, my Ottawa list only had one, which was Alirang. Now there will be 1.5✌.
Dolsot Cafe
512 Bank St
Ottawa