The concept: Korean food as tapas - served in a kitschy bar atmosphere. Think Guu, but with Korean food. As most of you know, most Korean joints sell family-style portions. While traditional with most Asian cuisine / home-style cooking -- this is really not the trend now with everybody's unique dietary restrictions and glutton like me that want to try a bit of everything.
We had a pretty wide selection of their offerings and most items were solid. The tacos were surprisingly good. I say 'surprising' because everybody and their uncle is doing 'tacos' now to fit the trend. It's easy to slap anything into a tortilla and call it a 'taco'. But they use a spinach tortilla here which had a nice chew to it.
We also tried the baby octopus spicy mac & cheese, which was reportedly the 'spiciest' thing they had. While some at the table were sweating and tearing up, I found the spice pretty easy to handle. In fact, it was probably the least liked dish of the night for me. The spice really didn't add anything to the mac & cheese and I found the texture really mushy.
So, you're probably thinking: "How is tacos and mac & cheese 'Korean'?". It's a controversial word, but I guess part of the menu is Korean 'fusion' bar food. 'Fusion' - so controversial, I didn't dare start this review with that word as not to scare everyone away. Regardless of your feelings on 'fusion', I think it appropriately serves the crowd, they have drink specials on most nights here and we were here during a Raptors playoff game and the place definitely had a college sports bar vibe (fries on every other table) to it despite the hipster-influenced decor and the craft cocktail available; there is a very familiar feel to this place.
So what about 'real' Korean food?
The pork belly (bossam) came with a flambe salt crust which was a really unique presentation. I was told the pork belly is sous vide which explains why the pork belly was very moist. I liked the kalbi jjim - a tad sweeter than I'm used to, but still a solid representation.
However, I will say that these dishes were $20+ so it does stray a bit into the 'family style portion' thing they were trying to avoid. That said, it's a pretty good price point/portion size and it definitely amenable for sharing. And definitely cheaper (and smaller) than the same dishes at a traditional Korean restaurant.
The service was excellent and the proprietor came by a few times to check in on us and was very passionate about her menu.
Typically, I dislike places like Han Ba Tang - places that try to be all-things to all people and a jack of all trades. It's simultaneously a trendy bar/lounge (with the craft cocktails and infused soju flights), a sports bar (with the flank of TVs, drink specials and most patrons ordering fries/tacos/mac & cheese -- just missing nachos here), and a Korean tapas joint.
However, at the end of day, I like this place. The owner clearly cares about her food and business, all the food has a very experimental edge to it and it's overall a fun atmosphere. I still can't really pinpoint how to categorize Han Ba Tang - but I have a feeling I'll be back and try.