It's been a long, very cold winter so far but a visit to Owl of Minerva makes the frigid weather a lot more tolerable. Their delicious KamJaTang Jeongol, aka Korean Pork Bone Soup, and their BBQ Pork Chops, are perfect for warming you up. Dining with my aunt and uncle, we had the large version of the soup, served in a big pot on a burner at the table. It was loaded with lots of meat, potatoes, vegetables, and tons of flavour. As good as it was, it was more than we could finish so they topped up the soup and we took home the leftovers. The pork chops were served on a sizzling platter, nice and hot. It was delicious! We barely managed to finish this one. Both dishes were perfect for the cold weather, and included rice and traditional side dishes - kimchi, bean sprouts, pickled radishes, and pickled cucumbers. As usual, the service was excellent - friendly and efficient. They also offer a 10% discount for paying cash. Check them out at Kingston Rd and Liverpool, in Pickering. read more

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We stopped in for a late lunch during the week and I was surprised at the amount of people there. I guess it just shows how good this restaurant is. I came specifically for pork bone soup and my husband opted for the bibimbap. Both dishes were delicious, well prepared and presented beautifully with ample serving size. There is a fair amount of seating at this restaurant and I have no doubt it fills up quickly during the evening. The service was excellent and will definitely have to come back soon. read more

Owl Of Minerva - Pork Bone Soup - Korean Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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If you are ever in the Pickering and Durham area, you won't want to miss out on classic homestyle Korean cuisine with the famous Owl of Pickering! Since expanding their reach to the Durham region, OWL continues to hit on all the marks with the classic dishes such Gamjatang (Pork Bone Soup), Seafood Pancake, Jajangmyeon, LA Kalbi and table cooking stews! Whether it's a meal for yourself, or with friends and family, you will feel like home with the amazing service and hospitality at Owl Pickering! read more

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Just a note people... Not all OWL's are created equal. As any good service industry business, the life and soul of small business is the owner and the people committed to providing the best possible service. I've been to many Owl of Minerva's around town and I have to say that this one in Pickering is the best of the bunch! One of my consulting gigs takes me out to Ajax once a week and this place is like 7mins away from it! Total score! AND it's located across the street from the town centre so it's easy to find. Ms.Kimberly is a doll! If any of you watch K-Drama... and I know so many of you do, she is that kind hearted Ajimae in all the shows that insists that you sit and have a meal, and you can't get away without being put in a barrel and carted out! LOL! The food here is great! I know it's a chain but there are some deviations on seasoning. It's not your plastic food place where everything is portioned and must be McD-like. The owner and the cook makes the food the way they know how. And Ms.Kimberly knows how! The restaurant is brightly lit. The ambiance is home! You come in and you feel that you've come your best meal of the week! Top sellers, the Gamjatang, Gampongi, Tangsuyuk, DorSot BiBimBap... my standard go to! After that... go wild and try everything! This is my personal fav Korean place outside Toronto and though the picking is slim, at least there is something amazing to pick at Pickering! (See what I did there ... wink). CHEERS!!! read more

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Service was friendly and excellent. I love this location because it is so spacious. The soup with squid, beef and vegetables was perfect for winter. Not too spicy and have a variety of greens, beef and squid. Good for a sharing dish. The flavour for the fried chickens were tasty and didn't taste too greasy. Assorted different flavour for the sojus. Nothing beats hot soup with soju on a cold day with friends! read more

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It's time for a long overdue update on my review and I have to give credit where credit is due. This owl location has really stepped up its game since its opening and I am happy to say that I have a localish Korean restaurant to return to. Since my first pick up experience, I've picked up a few lunches and dined in several times. The food quality has improved drastically which is definitely more noticeable when you dine in. I still can't say I'm a fan of their kimchi but the rest of the fare I've tried so far including fried chicken, soondubu, stir fried squid, kimchi fried rice...etc have been well prepared. I would continue to dine in more here to see what other dishes they do well. read more

Owl Of Minerva - Pork soondubu extra spicy - Korean Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

Hmm this Owl location tasted only ok ! I didn't have high expectations because its owl and it's Durham area ..... so I guess it met it! This review is for takeout as we visited while on lockdown. The owner was super friendly and we had a bit of a chit chat. They gave a free heart shaped dalgona cookie which was a nice surprise . As for the food .. we ordered pork bone soup and spicy chicken . I can't handle spice and did not find either really spicy haha . Pork bone was lacking and portion was a bit small . They jacked up prices a lot which is understandable due to it being a chain . If the quality was top notch I'd still continue going there but unfortunately it was only mediocre. 2 stars for food and 1 star for the friendly owner . Likely would not come back unless desperate .. read more

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The most solid place for Korean in Pickering (I know the pickings are slim). Refillable side dishes, parking always available, usually empty apart from peak dinner time, friendly staff, and love that their hot tea is the rice tea. Even my picky parents complimented their pork bone soup for how soft the meat was. Japchae was 20% off Wed and they give 5% off if paying with cash. read more

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Been going here for ages - always comfort Korean food done right - fresh, tasty and huge portions! read more

Owl Of Minerva - Bibimbap - Korean Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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Tried their tasty Korean fried chicken. I got Yangnyeom fried chicken small size with 9 pieces. The pieces are huge and this would feed 3 people with average appetite for lunch. I can see why people keep coming back. The chicken was crispy, with the right amount of batter and sauce. The chicken was not too dry. read more

Owl Of Minerva - Korean Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

Love the food here. If you're looking for classic Korean food this spot is a gem! They have a great menu with lots of comforting dishes that hit the spot nicely every time. It's a casual family restaurant and gets extremely busy during lunch times and evenings. My favourite thing about this restaurant is that the North york location is open 24 hours! Mind-blowing for me...imagine you can have your Korean fix at ANY time of the night even at stupid o clock? I'm a happy camper for sure read more

Owl Of Minerva - Spicy chicken stir fry - Korean Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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Excited to see Korean food in Pickering!! If you've had Owl before, then you'll know what you're getting here. Same flavors as the ones in the GTA, which means I know exactly what I want. Kamjatang! Pork bone soup. It's just the best thing to have when you're feeling a little under the weather or when it's a bit cooler outside. Very comforting food. My soup came with four pieces of pork bone and a giant ball of potatoes. No lies, I order cause I want soup so my boyfriend usually eats the meat for me. But I do love to fill my spoon with some pork, soup and Kimchi. My perfect bite. We also ordered the jajeon meon. Not my favorite. It was a bit too saucy and sweet and the noodles were very mushy for my taste. I think we'll try something a bit different next time. The gyoza was pretty nice! I liked the flavor and they packed us some soy sauce to go with it. Personally I prefer a vinegar base sauce. The meal came with some banchans like Kimchi and this picked radish cubes. The radish was huge so it ended up being just really sour. But it's nice and refreshing to have with your hot meal. We had ordered take out and everything was very very well packed. No spillage and food was ready in fifteen minutes. I think I've found my place to order food whenever I'm stuck in town and don't have access to a kitchen. read more

Owl Of Minerva - Korean Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

I was super excited to see that an Owl was under construction in Pickering. I knew it was open when I saw a big line up of people in and around the restaurant while I was driving by! You can order from this location on UberEats. Just know that the prices are about $2 higher online than on their restaurant menu. I opted to call and put in my order instead. It was easy to get through to the restaurant even though it was for a busy 7pm weekend pickup time. They accept credit card however there's a 10% discount if you pay cash. We ordered a few different dishes to share. The take-out was packaged really well. A few of the dishes were sealed in plastic containers like you see at bubble tea shops. It was really cool since the containers but it had a tight seal on it. One thing that we noticed was that there wasn't a lot of banchans, just kimchi and potatoes. The favourite dish was by far the 17 Pork Chop BBQ. It was by far the most tender grilled pork chop I've ever had. It was also very flavourful with some real smoky taste from the grill. The 37 GungJung DdukBokGi was also a dish with lots of different textures. The other two dishes were just okay in my books. The 29 Bokeum Ramen definitely was spicy. The texture of the noodles wasn't great, they were almost fall apart The 20 Dolsot BiBimBap was okay. I felt like there could have been more toppings but still tasted alright. read more

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Finally a Korean place in Durham region! You can never go wrong with Owl, it's always so consistent. I ordered here for dinner last night and my cravings are well satisfied. I got the #62 Ojinguh DupBap (stir fried squid in spicy sauce with rice and veggies) and my mom got the #6 YukGaeJang (beef with veggies in spicy soup). We both really enjoyed our meals. They also included a generous portion of side dishes- kimchi and radish along with rice for each meal. My meal was really tasty, all the flavours mixed together nicely and it had a good amount of squid and veggies to fill me up. My mom had also said hers had a good amount of beef too. The food was packaged nicely and I like how they close their dishes with a tight seal ontop so it's still very hot and fresh by the time you get home. They're newly opened; very busy and doing the best they can. Definitely call ahead to order as wait times can take up to an hour. Unfortunately when I called, their phone wasn't set up properly so it gave me an automated message right away saying their voicemail isn't set up. Turns out the line was just busy but there was no indication of that. So I walked in to order and then had to wait in the parking lot for 40 minutes. That was the only annoying part but I won't hold that against them... just PSA if you call and get the same, keep trying because it just means their line is busy. read more

Pork Bone soup is amazing . All the kimchi is very flavorful and a nice addition. We also tried the Bibimbap which was flavorful and delicious. Staff is very friendly and professional. Definitely comfort food ( fresh , tasty and spicy ) with good portions. Highly recommend it if interested in Korean food :) read more

My recent visit to The Owl was an upgrade from my first visit. We ordered for takeout, and if you pay cash, you do get a discount. We ordered Kimchi Jeon, Pork Bone soup, BBQ pork chop, and spicy chicken. The kimchi pancake was very good (IS very good ... I'm still eating it). It has a strong spiciness which is as much fragrant as it is tastebud-hot. The BBQ pork chop, as mentioned in my previous review (and by others as well) is outstanding, with a good tug and chew and a wonderful smoky flavour. My son, who had the chili chicken, commented that other places serve it better, but the Owl's version was quite satisfying. The Pork Bone soup really is a standout: more like a stew, really, with substantial amounts of potato, and a rich, full flavour. It has a savoury, comfort-food quality that makes for a perfect dish for a chilly evening. It's somewhat rib-sticking flavour is on the lighter side, never heavy, sticky or ponderous. You feel like you are eating a sort of healthy, yet flavourful, comfort food! I think that I would say that this should be their signature dish, and it caused me to up my review to 5 stars. Also, an easily accessible location, prompt and pleasant service, and if you pay cash, the price point is not quite as outrageous. The Pickering Owl still is pricier than its Koreatown and Etobicoke competitors, but honestly, the amount that I'd spend in gas to drive there makes up for the cost of the Pickering location. I would say that if you live in or near Durham region, the Owl is a great choice for your fix of Korean food. I do wish that they would give a greater variety of banchan, but it wasn't worth taking off a star. read more

This is a fave! Great food, great service, happy tummy! Comfortable seating. Love all the little extras that come with the meal!! Dolsot BiBimBap is my go to. read more

I like this branch slightly lesser than the other branches. The bibimbap is really good. My other favourites are sizzling bulgogi beef, fried chicken, bulgogi and cucumber kimchi. The food quality recently has gone down and the bibimbap and kimchi were saltier, the fried chicken oilier. Staff is really sweet but the food quality has gotten worse over time read more

The food quality is decent - although you can find much better places at Yonge and Finch for cheaper. But for the durham region, this is one of the only options for authentic Korean food. My problem here is the pricing. $17 + hst bucks for kamja tang BEFORE taxes? Really? Your telling me the rent here in Pickering is as much as the rent at the corner of Yonge and Finch? No way that flies. Kamja tang at Lim Ga Nae is cheaper than this place at $15 + hst and that's with their prime YONGE STREET location - never mind a middle-of-nowhere location in Pickering of all places. $18 bucks + HST for bibimbap?!? Are you kidding me? Again, Lim Ga Nae at the corner of Yonge and Finch, on it's prime Yonge street location is charging $16 + HST. I couldn't help but feel ripped off and my view on the ownership here is that they are greedy. I don't care how decent their food is; I will never again eat at any Owl of Minerva and pay these outrageous prices. There is no way food costs and rent at this Pickering location are actually MORE than what a prime Yonge street location demands. Your money doesn't go very far here. And for what you get, at this price, the food quality is lacking. Think twice before you go. read more

Don't come to this location if you want an authentic experience. This isn't my first time ordering from here in Pickering so you can really tell that the quality of their food went down and they're really cheap on their portions. For nearly 20$ for a dish that could feed a toddler, it's not worth it. 3 small pieces of kimchi radish, and my dish was missing glass noodles. I feel like they try to "trick" people who don't know the actual experience in ordering Korean food so they stinge out and cheapen the quality. Never ordering from here again. If you want a good Korean place in Durham just go to Ajax. Mom's kitchen. read more

Yay! Finally a Korean restaurant in Pickering! Definitely needed when you're craving all the food you see binge watching kdramas! Definitely enjoyed the jajamyeon! So happy I don't have to drive to scarborough to satisfy my Korean food cravings! Definitely a place to check out :) read more

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Amazing food, and good service. Found this place with some friends and decided to check it out. read more

Owl Of Minerva - Bibimbap - Korean Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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It is so nice to finally having a Korean restaurant I. Durham! I walked in and picked up my food with no issues. 10% off for cash purchases. We ordered soondobu chigae, kamjatang, jjinmandu. All were delicious. We could have used sauce for the Mandu but that's okay!!! Welcome to Durham Owl!!! read more

Fantastic chicken! Pretty expensive and it takes a while to cook but they best sauced/fried chicken ever

Since they opened about a week ago my wife and I have ordered take out 2x already. The food is exceptional, fresh and very filling. I've been praying that Durham Region gets a Korean restaurant and it appears Korean Jesus answered my prayers. Driving from Courtice to Scarborough, North York or Markham was not fun every time we wanted Owl of Minerva. 5 stars all day! read more

Foods are average and price is reasonable. Server handed us the bill and the payment device without being asked which is pretty rude.