Came here for summerlicious with 5 co workers.
Ambience: 3/5
It was fine. Explosively busy for a Tuesday lunch time. I attribute that to summerlicious. Very cool and trendy. We sat at a long bench-table on the main floor. It was nice to see the action going on in the kitchen, but it was also very crowded and noisy.
Service: 3/5
Also fine! The server was friendly, though slow (again, attributing that to the summerlicious). It took a long time to get our bills... but that seems to be a problem everywhere.
Food: 4.5/5
Got the: Salmon crudo- It was like a tiny piece of smoked salmon. Fresh, tasty, would have been better with a little kick.
Tasted (from other member(s) of our party): Inari - not special, but good. Very standard inari.
Got the: Southern fried chicken with ssam- two pieces of drumsticks, served with bib lettuce leaves, some kimchi (ssam?) and a mayo-dip thing. Was really good, despite my not liking drumsticks (I'm a breast-girl, I guess). Skin was crispy, but not greasy. Meat was juicy, sweet, and well seasoned. The mayo-dip thing paired well with the kim chi. Lettuce added a nice refreshing crunch to each bite. Great mix of textures and flavours. Also, everything came in great proportions (oddly important at times).
Tasted: Jjajang Noodle. Pretty good ramen, nice flavour. But I never understood this Toronto Ramen craze! It ingredients seemed fresh, and well proportioned. Noodles were a good texture, but it's all nothing my mom can't make! (Maybe my momma's just an amazing asian cook?). Anyway, I wasn't wow'ed by it by any means.
Got the: Birthday cake truffle. Perfect end to a meal. A little, high quality sweet to finish off the meal. Crumbled away perfectly with each bite.
Tried: German chocolate truffle. Not a fan of the coconut covering, but pretty tasty! Rich and smooth, great texture.
Overall, awesome pick for summerlicious (16.95 after tax, before tip). Perfect amount of food; high quality. Personally, I wouldn't pay full price, due to my being horribly spoiled by my mom's cooking. Co-workers really enjoyed it, and I think if my dining companions called for it, I would go back.
All in all, I'll go for the 4 star, because if you like the style it's actually really good; and most restaurants tend to be better than their summerlicious experiences.