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| - I'm in love with Anju! I've been a fan since before they moved to their current 17th Ave space, and very consistently, I've had many great meals here!
I've gone to Anju several times before: for dinner, late night, and weekend brunch. They stick fairly close to their namesake, serving mainly smaller plates for enjoying with alcohol. In other words tapas or izakaya style. Anju does offer larger mains on their dinner menu but I very much enjoy the smaller plates and sharing style of eating. You get to try so much more food that way. ;)
Everything at Anju does of course pair great with drinks. Be it soju or cocktails or beer or wine, whatever you please, with or without alcohol. Their friendly staff is always happy to answer pairing questions or any other menu questions. Service at Anju has always been top notch.
Now, I haven't been blown away by everything I've eaten at Anju, but I have had some formative food moments there! That's always a rare and magical thing and it takes a lot for any restaurant to be SO good that you feel like you hadn't tasted real food before that point!
But hyperbole aside, one mind blowing moment for me was when I had Anju's KFC for the first time. ;) That's Korean Fried Chicken w/ gochujang sauce. They're quite possibly the best hot wings in the city! I never realized that the standard pub hot wing could be elevated in such an awesome way without becoming stuffy "fine dining!" That might sound odd or obvious, but this was a new concept for me at the time!
Anju occasionally changes how they manifest this chicken dish. Whether it's in slider form or as wings, this is a must try! No joke, I love them!
My next favourite would be pretty much anything on their late night menu! They don't offer the menu all the time, but if you have a chance to try it out, I highly recommend you take it! (Usually starting at 11pm.) It's all that good craving inducing, bad for your body, good for your soul type food! Eg: Korean cheesesteak or spicy rice cake with ramen noodles. You get what I mean! ;p
Another dish I recommend is their hanger steak tartare. It's Anju's take/nod to/shoutout to the Korean raw beef dish: Yuk Hwae. Anju's version includes Korean pear, a quail egg, smoked bone marrow, pine nuts, soy and sesame. Yum!
Along with the KFC, another cult favourite is their oxtail tortellini, aka beef dumplings, aka sogori mandu. Hop onto Instagram if you want many, many shots of this dish from many, many people! It is very tasty, but wait... I'm going to say something controversial now: as much as I love the tortellini at Anju, I personally feel that Shokunin makes a better dumpling! *shock*
Now, that's just my very subjective tastes! You'll have to try them both out yourself to see if you agree! ;p
In general, it is hard to go wrong at Anju! You will probably need a reservation if you're going on a busy night (Friday or Saturday especially.) But this place is a local favourite for a reason. Chef Roy creates some truly soul warming food. I mean who doesn't feel cared for after a delicious hot stone bowl meal, or some good crispy double smoked bacon! Please try this place, enjoy the deliciousness, add to the Instagram tortellini stack if the mood strikes you, and have a great time! Cheers!
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