Kosoo Restaurant

West End is filled with Korean restaurants, and we, the Yelp Squad, decided to go to this Korean fusion restaurant, hoping to seek for unique and delicious dishes. Kosoo Restaurant specializes in using Korean and Japanese ingredients and adding a twist to authentic dishes with French cooking techniques. One of the signature dishes is the Cheese Chicken Galbi, where you dip the spicy Korean style chicken in stingy and gooey mozzarella cheese. We, a group of six, ordered six appetizers and one main dish. We were all stuffed and had fun. I recommended to come here in a bigger group, so you can enjoy varieties of dishes at once.

Cheese Chicken Galbi

For the past years, this type of hot plates became a trend in Vancouver, and many Korean restaurants started to offer similar dishes. This hot plate included sautéed spicy Korean style chicken, kimchi, and glass noodles, along with melted mozzarella cheese and yam puree with sweet corn. The chicken was quite spicy on itself, but you eat it with the cheese, the spicy flavor would be lessen. However, the cheese became chunky after a few minutes, because the fire underneath went off in no time. The squad all agreed that the cheese did not add much difference to the hot plate. Instead, it was more like an overpriced gimmick. Would we order this again? Maybe not.

Tartare Sampler

This appetizer was my favourite of all, and it was totally worth the price to order it again! The Tartare Sample comes with three types of tartare: beef, salmon, and tuna. I love the beef tartare the most, because the tako wasabi added a kick to the lightly flavored beef tenderloin. Salmon tartare had a hint of spiciness, and the use of kale made the dish lighter and felt healthier. Tuna tartare was not too special, but using a sesame mustard sauce and balsamic reduction added a twist and refreshing flavor to the dish.

Beef Tartare / beef tenderloin with Korean pear, sweet soy sauce, tako wasabi, and quail egg

Salmon Tartare / salmon with Kosoo spicy sauce, kale, crispy gyoza skin, and quail egg

Tuna Tartare / tuna, avocado, smoked tomato, crispy green onion with sesame mustard sauce and balsamic reduction 

Chicken Gizzard

This was my first time trying chicken gizzard, and it was surprisingly good! The house made sweet and sour chili sauce made it taste even better. The gizzard was crunchy, with a hint of sesame oil flavor. Although it looked simple, this appetizer was another delicious choice on the menu.

Calamari

Calamari is a popular appetizer in many restaurants, so we decided to try it out here too. The squid was crispy and lightly battered. The tartar sauce was house made, but I did not find it very special as an appetizer. I would prefer choosing other appetizers on the menu in this Korean fusion restaurant.

Overall Impression

Kosoo Restaurant offered a huge selection of food choices, from barbecue to hotpot, bibimbob to sushi. With a fusion twist to the dishes, some dishes turned out surprisingly good, while others were nothing too special. This place is spacious and perfect for large group of friends to hang out. I noticed that there is a lunch special with 10 courses for $15/person. I would like to return and give this a try. Overall, I still prefer to have authentic Korean food more, as the fusion did not fascinate me as much as I expected.

Taste: 3.5/5 • Service: 3.5/5 • Ambiance: 4/5 • Quality-Price: 3.5/5