Varsity Grocery & Deli

I’ve been coming here for 3 years now and it’s still one of my favourite places to eat at while I’m on campus. Mostly because it’s literally the only place at UofT where you can get decent Asian food — food trucks just don’t cut it (for a campus full of Asians, this is pretty disappointing).
I’ve tried a lot of the items on their menu but my go-​to favourite was always the Dak Dori Tang (spicy chicken stew). The chicken thigh is juicy and tender and the stewed carrot, potato, and onion are delicious with the rice. The Oyakodon and Ebi Furai are also some of my faves; the only things that I would pass on are the teriyakis and the bibimbap — both are pretty average and you can get much better versions of these dishes if you’re willing to walk a bit farther down Bloor.

Run by a Korean family that is behind Robarts Library, Varsity is definitely most visited by U of T students. It is relatively clean and and I always order their bibimbap with extra spicy sauce. The portions are a bit small for its price, however, this is the place to go when students are sick of food trucks and want to have some authentic Asian food for the all-​nighters.

This normally should be a 1-​star restaurant, but given that it is the only slightly-​more-​edible restaurant on the U of T campus, I would say that it is an oasis with dirty water in a desert of gastronomic misery.
I find the quality of food to be quite poor. The meat is frequently overcooked, and the plates do not look very hygienic. When asked for water, the owner filled up tap water from a very dirty looking sink.
The service is also predictably abominable. The owner of the place has some serious attitude.
This place is only good if you are broke, starving or cramming so hard at Robarts Library that you do not have time to get off campus for food.

I wanted to give this 2 and half stars… but apparently you can’t give 2 and half stars on Unilocal so I gave it 3. The food is alright, the staff are «so-​so» but the price is right and it’s close to Robarts

If you are hungry and broke this is a great place to come to. O. k, the décor looks like it hasn’t been changed since the 70’s and the furnishings are pretty outdated as well. However the food is fresh here, the proportions are generous and the price is definitely right. My personal favourites here is the spicy meat stew, and there are several other great Korean and Japanese dishes here for under $ 7.00. If this place gets a makeover I will update my rating to 4 stars. Great stop for lunch!

Don’t be fooled by the name or the grungy looking atmosphere, this little korean shop offers some great lunch options, and it’s one of the better (not best) Oyakodan I’ve had. They just REALLY need to change their name, and clean up the interior with some nice renovating.

It’s cheap, convenient and edible. Also it’s right beside Robarts

This fun little place has wobbly tables and can be way too packed during the lunch rush. That said, if you want a tasty cheap meal in the area you can’t do much better than varsity. The service is polite and efficient but I don’t think they ever wipe the tables down. In conclusion cute lunch place but not a go to for a fancy meal.

The bulgogi and bibimbab are great, but I think I spell them wrong… This is not gonna be a good place for people who loves Korean food to enjoy, but definitely a good restaurants for university students to have their lunch and dinner. By the way, I would like to specifically mention the soy sauce and hot sauce in the restaurant because they are special! The hot sauce is hotter than other restaurants, and the soy sauce is quite different because the meals there are not complete without their soy sauce! Remember to add more!

I love this place and often eat here when I’m on campus all day and need lunch.
As other people have said, the food isn’t as good as the stuff you can find in K-​town, but the value is hard to beat, the family is nice, they always have specials on bibimbap where you get a complimentary miso soup with it, and so I’m sold.
I often get either the Bibimbap, the Bugolgi, or the spicy meat stews. None of the food is actually spicy, so I usually ask them to put the miso-​chili sauce on when I’m paying.
There’s a small fee (like forty cents or something) if you want to use debit. I forget whether they take credit, but I think they do for the same fee.

The family that runs it is lovely, the food is good and inexpensive if nothing special, and it sure is convenient for UofT students, especially when you’re studying at Robarts. They give you big portions an the food is very flavourful. It’s a nice alternative to the food trucks (the seating is quite comfortable).

The food is decent and cheap. Not good, not bad, just decent.

Lovingly and creatively nicknamed «VD», this place is a korean food gem stashed away in the UofT area.
The owners and ladies who prepare your food are very nice! They have a small menu. The food is delicious and it is what you pay for. I have had lots of things there from their Bibimbab to Katsudon to Don Katsu, Curry Chicken, Ebi Furai, Jap Chae (a personal fav).
As a student at U of T, this place was the bomb, especially given their variety, consistency in taste, the price (under $ 10 for a decently sized and flavourful meal with a drink) and proximity to my classes. Highly recommend.
An-​nyng-​hi ga-​se-​yo!

Quality is not bad Enjoyed their bibimbap quite a bit„ prices reasonable
Unfortunately they dont post their hours, and they are open random times, so dont expect them to be open for sure. About 50% of the times Ive visited, it was closed. I once asked them about their hours, and they shrugged. I told them they should post their hours.

If you go to UofT St. George, you KNOW what I mean when I say there are no decent placed to eat lunch (and food from trucks isn’t real food). Because of this, my friends and I go to varsity deli religiously (mainly my friends because I don’t always make it to class. lol), not really because the food is amazing (it’s decent), but because it’s cheap, fast, and convenient.
Here’s a breakdown
Chicken Teriyaki — lots of rice and bean sprouts with some chunks of chicken and one piece of broccoli.
Beef Teriyaki — same as above but obviously it’s beef instead, sometimes the beef can be dry but just drench it in teriyaki sauce, and no broccoli =(
Curry Chicken — not bad, an OK amount of meat, lots of potatoes and rice
Chicken Noodle udon in Soup — it’s exactly what it sounds like
Jap Chae with Bugulgi — half noodles half rice with a sprinkling of bugulgi
Service wise, it’s cafeteria style where you order, grab your food and then grab a seat. There are usually 3 ladies there and only one of them understands english well enough to communicate. The other ladies are nice though! I think if you go there enough (like my friends do) they begin to like you and stuff and give you free things like kim chi or extra meat. Just suck up to them haha!
So pretty much, it’s a place to get filled fast and it’s probably the best option on the west side of campus.

I dismissed this place 20x over because I don’t eat bread and a deli is not a friendly place for someone like me. Then a friend of mine tried to explain to my stubborn self that it was actually a Korean place. Bull#*#. However, this gem of knowledge proved true with a lunch affordable. Also the quick and a friendly staff has even come to accept that I’m the only person in the world ordering my Bulgogi without rice. The Spicy chicken special straight out of a crockpot homemade is a winner and student favorite.
For those of us in classes on St George there are the following top nearby options in order from gross to decent:
6. Chinese truck — no idea how they ruined food that’s good almost no matter what
5. Gross convenience store sandwiches
4. Stale pizza in Robart’s
3. Innis College — sometimes a bit iffy in the health department (check the inspection passes is all I’m saying)
2.Hot Dog stand ($ 1 cheaper in front of Robart’s instead of Bloor & St. George) — The Polish is too expensive, stick with a spicy Italian
1. Varsity Deli