After our last post on food in Korea, here we introduce a surprising find in Tofino on Vancouver Island – Jeju, a Korean restaurant at a far-flung corner of North America. The name of the restaurant – Jeju 濟州, is the largest island of South Korea and an extremely popular destinations for South Koreans and Asian tourists.
Tofino is a small coastal village situated at the tip of a peninsula on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Literally, Tofino is at the western edge of Canada. This town is apparently well-known for two activities. First, it is a mecca in the summer for surfers given its wide and deep sandy beaches (see photo below). We will post some more photos of this beautiful location later here. Second, during winter, it is popular for storm-watching, given the heavy rainfall and its open exposure to the Pacific.
Jeju Tofino
Located on 4th street leading towards the harbor, Jeju is not easy to spot from Highway 4, the main drag. As many places close during the off-season, the oversized “OPEN” sign is a good idea.
After we were seated, a line (queue) of hungry visitors quickly developed outside. We did not think those people were waiting for their tattoo or piercing next door.
A young Korean husband-and-wife team opened the restaurant in Winter 2021. The entrepreneurial couple, both in the restaurant trade in Vancouver city, made an impulsive move to this coastal village. They even recruited the chef’s parents to move from Korea to run the restaurant with them. They have an About page on their website which tells a cute story of the restaurant’s origin.
With an open kitchen and bar, the restaurant is not big but it has some outdoor seating. The dining room is Scandinavian modern which will be cozy and welcoming during the cold and grey winter days.
The menu has many causal Korean standards and some West coast fusion dishes.
We enjoyed very much our dinner – japchae, fried chicken, their specialty ribs, and yukgaejang.
Look at its drinks menu ! … local brew and quite a few old world wines. Not only it is a restaurant, it is a place to socialize and relax.
And they even have Korean soju and makgeoli.
We were glad to have found Jeju, especially after having eaten a week of standard North American fare. The restaurant is a great addition to the dining scene in Tofino.
Highly recommended.