Restaurant: Piggy’s Restaurant
Location: 5 Glen Cameron Road, Unit 27, Thornhill, ON L3T 5W2
Price Range: $$
[wp-review]
I have heard of Piggy’s restaurants for years now as it is known as one of the best and serve the most authentic Korean BBQ in the GTA, but to be honest I was quite hesitated to visit Piggy’s.. My first issue is that the restaurant is really far from where I live, and my second issue is that I don’t eat a lot. LOL. So for me Korean BBQ or AYCE are a waste of money, but then my friends can enjoy eating my potion instead so… oh well. Anyways, when T said he was willing to drive me to Piggy’s for dinner, I couldn’t pass on the offer since I rarely get a drive up North anymore.
The restaurant is quite spacious with several ventilation on top of the tables. With that said, there are no ventilation around the grills, and well, I don’t think you can ever leave KBBQ without smelling like grilled meats.
I didn’t snap any pictures but on the way to the washroom, the owners put up pictures of famous Korean celebrities who actually have eaten at Piggy’s! I only recognized G.NA and Brian Joo (Fly to Sky), the rest I wasn’t familiar with as I’m not up to date with the K-pop world anymore.
I rarely seen this type of Korean BBQ where they grill the meat over charcoal in the GTA! With the type of grill that Piggy’s used, you can’t taste the smokiness of the charcoal, so in my opinion it didn’t enhance the taste nor gave the crust that you can only get by grilling over charcoal (if that make sense). However that wasn’t a big deal, just an observation haha. The grills burn quite fast but the servers will continuously change the grill throughout the meal, so no worries!
Regarding the service, although they have a bell you can press for service at your tables, service isn’t that great at Piggy’s. If pressing the bell doesn’t work, just don’t be shy and wave for the servers!
We ordered the Dae Ji Mul Leok for $40 (serves 2 people and 1 additional serving is $18.95) so this place is definitely on the pricier side. Because of the said price, I was expecting for more banchans (side dishes), such as bean sprouts or seaweed for the lettuce wraps.
The marinate was pretty good, not too heavy on the garlic yet still flavorful. Was it worth the $40 price tag? I say yes if you are like me or your friend isn’t too hungry, I think if there were 2 hungry guys, this will probably not enough. The pork is cheaper on the menu, though if you order beef, the price range from $40-60… so really, your choice.
Once the meat comes, the servers will do all the cooking for you, including cutting the meats into bite sizes for the lettuce wraps. This is just my personal preference, but I prefer to grill the meats and eat at my own pace. Since the servers cut the meat, I felt pressured to finish them quickly as they will get dry and tough if you leave on the grill haha.
Although not as good, but it’s probably the most authentic Korean BBQ experience that you can get outside of Korea (I have been to Korea before!). I heard the noodles for their Naeng Myun (Cold noodle) is made in house and it is also one of Piggy’s speciality, but sadly I don’t like cold noodles in general :(. Though the price lean on the expensive side, it is definitely worth it to pay a visit to Piggy’s restaurant when you are craving for some authentic KBBQ.