Anju

I think if I were a wealthy meat eater who didn’t like authentic Korean food Anju would appeal to me. I’ve come here a few times at the behest of friends and have tried getting my own dish as well as sharing (which they recommend) and I’ve always left feeling unsatisfied. There are very limited vegetarian options (probably only one or two main meal options). I got tofu bibimbap once and it was very bland and super expensive for bubimbap (close to $ 20) — and there weren’t even side dishes! When I’ve come here to share their small plates, my friends who did eat meat enjoyed the food but it was such a small amount for what you’re paying that you feel kinda ripped off. I’m not sure they should advertise that it’s meant to be shared. I mean if you only get like 3 tortellinis or 4 mushrooms in a small dish is eating ²⁄₃ of one piece of food really that fulfilling? Sorry but I’m not cultured or fancy enough to understand Anju’s whole fusion concept. I’m just a cheap fatty who doesn’t want to pay twice as much as I would pay for filling and tasty real Korean food that isn’t that far away. I don’t recommend visiting unless you’re really into fusion.

Excellent food and environment! The crispy tofu was something from the heaven. Good customer service too… Highly recommended

I enjoy coming to anju every once in awhile with my friends. The last visit I had made me rethink coming back. I do recommend getting the Brussel sprouts and the gochujang wings however. Usually the servers are quite friendly but the service we received last time was strange and awkward.
I would recommend that whoever comes up with new menu items, take a step back and go back to the basics. The simpler the better. And rather than throw gochujang in every dish, find some more flavour profiles. If ever single dessert has some sort of strange ingredient like soy sauce, it means you’re trying to hard.
I do not recommend their beef carpaccio or lingcod, or nori fries. Our group wasn’t very impressed by the ramen broth either.

Luckily, I got to try lots of tasty eats on my visit here. The fried tofu is incredible. The grilled asparagus is yummy, but not great value. KFC sliders were very KFC like. Lettuce Wraps made a good vegetarian option for my friend and come with really good garlic potato chips. My dinner was a chicken hot stone rice bowl (bibimbap). The portions were excellent and I even had leftovers for a full lunch the next day. Really like the takeout containers which are recyclable and low waste #itsthelittlethings.

Wow! First, we came here for a double date night and shared a few dishes before their menu changed recently. The highly recommended crispy tofu, brussels sprouts, and kimchi to share were on point! I’m sad to see the new menu doesn’t have the exact same brussels sprouts though. My picky partner that hated brussels sprouts nearly ate the entire dish to himself! The Soju with aloe was very nice to split between four of us. We had a great server who helped us with the menu and was very much available to us at all times even though the restaurant was very busy (Friday night).
My second experience at Anju topped the first! It was a set 5 course menu on New Years Eve and one of my favourite dinners of 2015.
We will be back again and again!

First time I went here was with a group of guys for dinner and pre-​gaming before a Flames game. The food was amazing! Everything we had was so incredible we were ordering doubles and triples. The soju with aloe was a tasty addition I would highly recommend as well. The service was exceptional; our food came out quickly and well spread out and our server was a beauty. I would definitely go back to anju again.

I can’t say I love Anju but I don’t hate it either. I think it’s a cool little spot on the corner of 17^th ave and 4^th. I like that they are opened late and even have a late night menu.
I know what traditional Korean food is and I know that most of the dishes at Anju are not authentic Korean food. The whole point of the restaurant is to be fusion Korean food. And maybe I’m too used to traditional Korean food to have a liking for the fusion stuff.
A few dishes that I did enjoy were the tuna tacos, the tofu and pork belly dish, the octopus (cooked soo tender!) and the beef tataki. Some dishes I didn’t enjoy, I’m not sure if it’s just due to my preference and/​or because the tastes of the Korean spices just don’t work together. All the dessert dishes sounded so asian and was kind of a turn off. We opted for the white chocolate dish with sesame brittles and I did not enjoy it at all. Couldn’t taste the white chocolate in the dish.
Anyway, all in all, I think the place is a hip cool place to hang out, maybe grab some small bites and/​or sharing plates, and get some drinks but please don’t go here if you are looking for authentic Korean food and/​or Korean bbq.

Went in to have a couple drinks and some snacks with a friend. Althought it was my first time visiting Anju, I spent quite a bit of time in South Korea in the 1980’s and during that time became truly infatuated with the savory, spicy, pungent cuisine of the country. I was looking forward to revisiting some of my favourite flavours from memories I spent in Korea, and what better place to do this than Anju!
We started off with a couple cocktails. I ordered an Old Fashioned, while my partner ordered an original Anju offering called Blueberry Smashed in Buffalo Drink. After placing our drink orders, the name of the drink my partner had ordered lingered in my thoughts as our server walked away. It took me a moment to realize why I was feeling uncomfortable about the name, but once it dawned on me, I realized how unsettling it was that a restaurant was appropriating Native Aboriginal culture to sell alcohol. This is still something I feel quite uncomfortable about.
However, once our cocktails arrived, the Old Fashioned was one of the finest I’ve had in town, and upon tasting my partners he-​who-​shall-​not-​be-​named drink, I was quite happy with the balance and complexity of the cocktail. After a few sips of each, my concerns from earlier faded slightly.
Browsing over the menu, I noticed some of my favourite dishes that I used to eat in Korea. We settled on just trying two for the night: the infamous gochujang chicken wings, and the brussel sprouts (we were informed they were to die for). With a couple more drinks in us, a light dinner fare would suffice.
First arrived the brussell sprouts. Perfectly fried with crispy bits of Chinese sausage, crunchy bits of toasted walnuts, and a refreshing lemongrass fish sauce dressing. The dish was empty within moments of hitting our table.
For our second dish, which I had been anticipating since the moment we stepped foot in the restaurant, was the gochojang chicken wings. Fried with a super crispy rice flour coating giving them the perfect texture to hold up to the sweet, spicy, sticky gochujang sauce, these wings have been in my line of sight since I started reading reviews for Anju months ago. The anticipation was mounting, and as they finally arrived on the table, I could not wait to bite in.
As soon as I took my first bite of a drummette coated with the ever addictive gochujang glaze, I realized this was not chicken, but my ALL time favourite dish to eat during my time spent in the far east: cat haunches. The chefs did a fantastic job at trimming them down to be able to cleverly disguise them as chicken wings, but I could still tell. They were absolutely perfectly cooked: succulent, fatty, with a bit of a kick from the gochujang to balance it out. Flawless dish.
It was a fantastic dining experience, aside from cultural appropriation being used to sell alcohol. Everything else, from the welcoming door staff, to the attentive and knowledgeable service staff, to the attendant in the bathroom who handed me a beautiful and luscious hand towel to dry my hands with after washing them in a wash basin, was impeccable.
Not to mention, and HOW could I forget?! They’ve got the best cat haunches in the entire city, hands down. Closest you will come to finding traditional cat haunches outside of Seoul!

Came by Anju on Sunday afternoon for a bite with one of the besties, there was no wait and we got seated right away.
Our server was laid back, super friendly and promptly got us our adult bevvies. (If it’s noon, it’s ok right?) I was a bit disappointed however that the menu was downsized to a brunch, but I think that’s to be expected on the weekends.
After perusing the menu I decided to go with the lettuce wraps with chicken.
The presentation was nice and the portion was generous. I asked for a hot sauce (because I love spice… GIVE IT TO ME HOT!) but they didn’t actually have anything spicier than what they already give you with your meal… which I found strange for a Korean place.
Anyways, the meal didn’t blow my mind but I wouldn’t mind going back to try their regular menu and see what that’s all about… Maybe they can make me a hotter dish.

Wow this place is a gem! Came here on a Friday evening w/​o a reservation, not a good idea. Just as we were politely told we could not be seated, as luck would have it two seats at the bar opened up — my preference anyways. Bartender, believe name was Matt, was awesome. Quick to recommend his favorite plates and makes a damn fine cocktail (Banana Clip was incredible!).
Food came out very fast and was ridiculously good. Got the salmon tacos (good portion for the price, fresh fish), brussel sprouts (great spice and flavor, ample bacon included), bone marrow (huge portion, loved the soft toast on the side), the oxtail tortellini (very tasty and they snuck in an impressive amount of meat for the size), the spicy fish stew (great dish, wasn’t crazy about the clams but the squid, mussels, sauce was unforgettable)…cannot remember the last dish we got but it was great, ranking my favorite was like picking a favorite child.

Randomly stopped by this place on our one night in Calgary.
Out of a 5 week trip throughout the Pacific Northwest including cities like Portland and Vancouver, this was one of our best meals. The place is cute and service is good also.
We had the salmon tacos — delicious, brussels sprouts — perfectly crispy and in a super tasty sauce; the fried tofu with pork belly — wonderfully cooked with just the right texture; and the oxtail pasta — delicate and fresh pasta bursting with flavor.
The chocolate dessert was really good but just not our thing with the wasabi cream.
If you get these you can’t go wrong. The portion sizes are decent for a small plates place too.

My first visit at Anju and I’m still here.
The oysters were delicious,
The oxtail tortellini was absolutely divine. So rich and flavourful.
I’m not one for dessert (I don’t have a sweet-​tooth) but I tried the chocolate cream pie and OH my god. The wasabi cream is genius. The chocolate is really delicious, and the nori notes are perfect for my preference for salty-​sweet.
I am so in love! Can’t wait to come back and try the bibimbap :)
I left some photos.

From Austin, TX
Me and my two close friends were here… a few times. We flew in on Tuesday, ate here for lunch. Loved it so much that when we got back from banff (3 days later), we ate here again for brunch and then ate here AGAIN for dinner. Literally had everything off the menu.
top picks:
1) KFC
2) crispy tofu
3) spicy salmon tacos
4) oxtail
5) caesar for brunch w/​ramen!
6) chocolate pie w/​nori
yup, we went here 3x in less than a week. Tim our server was awesome!

Anju started in a little old house and since it’s moved into a big space on 17^th it’s just gotten even better than ever.
They have some classic dishes like the oxtail dumplings and KFC.
It’s refined Korean food that appeals to everyone and satisfies any cravings you might have for something awesome and a little off the usual track.

Waiter was super nice and polite. The food was good. The beef tartar and spicy salmon tacos were the best.

one of my go-​to placed in town. I was exposed to Korean food while living in Vancouver and so when I heard that Anju had bibimbap, I had to try it… wow. worth the visit.
also notable:
1. craft cocktails — bartenders choice
2. cool music
3. have never had to wait for a table
4. late night options
5. sunworks chicken wings (szechuan!) are amazing
6. bibimbap… gotta do it
7. efficient service
8. good portion sizes for sharing
9. Salmon Tacos… I think I might go back for these right now

Finally got to visit the new Anju. I had been to their prior location before they closed.
With this new location I had tried a few times to get in & either had user errors with booking (lol) or didn’t hear back. All good.
Brought a friend in for lunch who had never been and our eyes were way bigger than our tummy’s but we still ordered four dishes (smaller plates) to share. It was a lot of food but we did our best to finish it all.
We had dolsot bibimbap, crispy tofu with pork belly, lemongrass brussels sprouts, and spicy salmon tacos. I loved it all but right now I am on a caramelized brussels sprouts kick so they were my favourite of this meal. I need to get back there soon to try some more good eats.
The décor is spacious and lovely. Our waitress helpful and friendly. I recommend Anju to any out of towners looking for a great Korean food experience.

This was one of the first time’s in a LOOOOONNNGG time that I had ventured out for Valentine’s day. But I was in good company so I was pretty excited to try out this new restaurant that everyone has been talking about.
Firstly, online reservations are amazing! I love the fact that I can just book online and receive notifications/​reminders of my reservation. Kudos to that, Anju!
Our reservation was at 6PM and our table was prepared and ready. The coat check was nicely appreciated! The restaurant has a nice feel and the décor is comfy. Loved the menus on the wooden planks. But funny enough, the table next to us set their menu on fire accidentally via the candle on the table. Was quite funny!
The beverage list was hearty and I chose to try the Seoul Sunset (or Sunrise :() and another at our table ordered a beer. The restaurant serves Q Water and charges $ 1 for unlimited still or sparkling. I like the system and glad when restaurants have it. Some may disagree. To each their own I guess.
The menu selection was quite substantial! Bear in mind folks, it’s a tapas restaurant. So be prepared to share dishes and that some dishes aren’t full sized portions. I was with 3 other friends so the portions were nice enough for us.
At first we were going to the chef’s tasting menu and decided to ask our server, Ty, what was on it. Glad he was able to explain the dishes and thus we decided to just select items from the menu.
Back to Ty — he was awesome! Very personable, friendly, attentive (but not over-​bearing) and made our experience great. It’s too bad that it was his last day that evening :(
We each decided on 2 items from the menu and ordered in rounds. Our first round was: Oxtail tortellini, Wagyu beef tartar, Mushrooms on Toast, and the Sunworks Chicken Wings. AMAZING! My definite fav was the mushrooms on toast. Something about a perfectly soft poached egg always gets me! The beef tartar was probably one of the best we’ve ever had!
Next round was: Salmon Poke Handrolls, Pork and Shrimp dumplings, Army Stew and Dungeness Crab & Kimchi salad. These were OK. Probably the only reason I rated a 4 vs a 5. Was a bit disappointed with the stew and the crab salad. Just wasn’t really what we expected. But still ok items.
We wanted a little bit more and then ordered the crispy tofu and pork belly and the sesame ginger chicken. The crispy tofu was awesome! Great flavours and cooked to perfection!
Overall and awesome experience. We will be back to try more and can’t wait to experience Anju again!

I liked this place. Its traditional Korean food with a twist. Yes, fusion.
We ordered tuna and salmon salad as starter to share and I got the kimchi fried rice as the main course.
The vinaigrette for the salad was absolutely stunning, perfect balance of soy sauce and vinegar and some other spices. The fish was also super fresh.
The main course, fried rice, it was smaller portion than what you get from most places but it was the right portion size for me. This dish was very moist and the poached egg added a extra creamy layer to the tasting palette. It was nicely seasoned with just a tiny bit of spiciness. The prawns in there were obviously top quality as well.
The only thing I guess they can improve on was more dishes. Wanted to have a seafood soup or the seafood pancake but couldn’t find them. If I were to come back next time I don’t know that to order.

I first ate at Anju when it occupied a house on 10 St. SW. I thought the food was good and probably would have given it a 4-​star based on what I had tasted but this time the food was spectacular.
The new Anju is located in the place that once was one of my favourite Italian restaurants (Il Giardiano) until owner Mike Ciccaglione decided it was time to move on. It’s right on the corner of 4^th and 17^th Ave SW. The place is noisy and just hums with energy.
Anju classifies itself as Korean Tapas but there are what they term Large Format items such as Whole Market Fish, Braised Short Ribs and Bo Ssam. These range from market price for the fish to $ 45-​$ 250. $ 250 you say??? Well that’s for the Bo Ssam which is slow roasted pork shoulder but it feeds up to 8 people and requires 48 hours’ notice.
The Bo Ssam is what I’m here for. We each order a tapas dish to tide us over till the main course. I ordered a side of Grilled Asian Eggplant. I loved the eggplant, subtly seasoned with soy, gochugaru and rice vinegar. The Honey Garlic Anchovies had what I call the «peanut chips allure» to them, you couldn’t stop at one taste, you had to keep eating till the bowl was empty.
The pork is pull-​apart tender and served with rice, lettuce and condiments. It’s finger food as you make up a wrap with the lettuce and stuff it with rice, pork and condiments. There is no elegant way to eat this; dig in and enjoy! The pork is flavourful and the different condiments makes it seem like you are having 3 – 4 dishes as you experiment with the different sauces and combinations.
The special dessert of the day was a pound cake served with persimmon slices and crème fraiche, the cake was lightly toasted but still moist on the inside, absolutely delicious!
Korean food can have very strong flavours but what I like about Anju is that the flavours are subtle and well matched. It’s not a cheap place to eat but worth the price. You can look at spending anywhere from $ 35 – 60 per person without drinks easily.
Service was efficient and friendly. In case you’re wondering how the bill works out for the Bo Ssam, the restaurant charges you for ¹⁄₈ and then tags on anything you ordered for yourself. Works out great for groups as no one has to figure who owes what.