156 OneFiveSix: Toronto’s Only Michelin-Recognized Korean Restaurant

There’s a particular kind of restaurant where every table feels like a chef’s counter, where the lighting is calibrated for slow conversations, and where the kitchen is doing something nobody else in the city is quite doing. 156 OneFiveSix is ​​that restaurant. Three and a half years in Yorkville, eight and a half months closed for relocation, and a fresh start on Queen West. Through all of it, the kitchen has stayed exactly what it always was: Toronto’s only Korean restaurant on the Michelin Guide, and one of the most thoughtful tasting experiences in the city.

A Restaurant Built on a Korean-Canadian Dream

156 OneFiveSix opened almost five years ago in Yorkville. Chef MJ (Myeongseok Jeong) came to Canada from Korea with a clear goal: to open a contemporary Korean restaurant. He launched 156 with his wife Jennifer, the two of them building the original team and concept. The partner group has grown since. Sharon, the general manager, joined a few months in and is now a partner alongside sous chef Dave. Today, the four of them, MJ, Jennifer, Sharon, and Dave, ran the restaurant together.

The concept has always been simple to describe and harder to execute. Korean ingredients, prepared with the European cooking techniques the chefs trained in. Many of the dishes look like they could be sitting on a tasting menu at a French or Spanish restaurant, then you taste them and they’re unmistakably Korean. That balance is what earned 156 a spot on the inaugural Toronto Michelin Guide in 2022, and a return in 2023 and 2024. They missed the 2025 list, but only because they were closed during the move. They’re already the first and only Korean restaurant in Toronto to be Michelin-recognized.

In late 2024, the team learned the Yorkville landlord wanted the space back. They closed, took eight and a half months, and reopened in September 2025 on Queen West. The new neighborhood has been a lower-key, restaurant-friendly part of the city for a while now, and it suits them.

A Room Designed to Feel Like a Chef’s Counter

The space was designed with the Toronto -based Make Nice Project. Sharon and the team gave them a vibe and let them run with every detail, from the tables to the chairs.

The result is intimate and moody. The lighting runs dim, the materials are warm, and the open kitchen sits at the center of the dining room. The team didn’t build a formal chef’s counter, and they didn’t have to. Most tables in the room have a direct view of the line, which means the entire restaurant feels like a chef’s counter. It’s the kind of space designed for couples on date nights, for anniversaries and birthdays, and for guests who want to actually watch their food being made.

Plates That Carry Two Cuisines

The menu is small, considered, and packed with dishes that have earned their permanent spots. Sharon has clear recommendations for first-timers, and she’s right about every one of them.

The beef tartar tarts are the room’s calling card. They’ve been on the menu in some form since the early days, and the version that emerged after the move added more texture and a controlled kick. The base is house-made beef tartare, served in a crisp tart shell rather than the classic bread-and-egg-yolk format. It’s the dish that tells you what kind of kitchen you’re in.

The truffle chicken wings have been on the menu almost from the beginning. The wings are deboned, stuffed with sticky green rice, finished with a black garlic glaze, and crowned with freshly shaved truffle. There’s no bone, just one continuous bite. It looks indulgent, eats indulgent, and stays on the menu for good reason.

The sujebi is the dish that best showcases the chefs’ instinct for translation. Sujebi is a traditional Korean hand-pulled dough, usually served in a stew or soup. Here it’s reimagined as a pasta dish, with the noodle made in-house from hot potato flour for a chewy texture that lands somewhere between a flat rice cake and an enoki noodle. The sauce changes with the seasons. There has been a duck confit version, an Argentinian shrimp version with lobster shrimp stock, and the current iteration with scallops in a Kerala butter sauce.

The steak section is where 156 borrows its format directly from Korean barbecue. Steaks come sliced, served with banchan and lettuce, meant to be wrapped and eaten by hand. The dish 156 is most famous for is the 48-hour slow-cooked beef short rib , marinated for two full days in galbi marinade, then finished on the charcoal grill while being basted in more of the same. Tender, deeply flavored, with the char that only charcoal delivers. Every table orders one.

Cocktails Built for the Food

Sharon built the cocktail program with one rule: the drinks have to work with the food. OneFiveSix isn’t a cocktail bar, and the menu reflects that. Many of the drinks have light Korean influences, but the focus is on pairing rather than showcase.

The Asian pear spritz has been on the menu for years. It uses a pear spirit made in Niagara, lands fresh and refreshing, and goes with anything on the menu. The dirty basil martini is the one to order if you’re in a stronger-drink mood. Sharon makes a house basil gin specifically for it, which adds a freshness that classic dirty martinis usually skip. The result is tasty but not overwhelming.

The wine list is intentionally small. Sharon leans toward old world wines because guests tend to prefer them with this food, and because the list is built around the steaks, the spice, and the layered flavors of the menu rather than around personal favorites. Everything has a job to do.

What They’re Most Proud Of

Sharon’s answer is honest and grounded. She’s proud of how far the restaurant has come. The early Yorkville days were slow, financially scary, and uncertain. They worked, the Michelin recognition arrived, and the room started filling up. Now, weeks ahead, weekends are booked solid. After the move, the team has grown, and Sharon’s pride extends to the entire group.

The Verdict

156 OneFiveSix is ​​one of those restaurants where the cooking, the room, and the team all meet at the same level. The food is precise and unmistakably theirs. The cocktails do their job quietly. The room makes you forget how late it is. If you’ve never been, the move to Queen West is the right time to go. Book early. Order the short rib.

Written by Daniel Neuhaus
Photography by Daniel Neuhaus

Updated on August 18, 2026

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