Korean in Burnaby
Korean Restaurants in Burnaby
Burnaby's Korean scene has two distinct parts. The west side of North Road (Burnaby's municipal territory) is functionally part of the Coquitlam-centered Koreatown corridor — the same strip of 40+ Korean restaurants, groceries, cafes, and community infrastructure as described in our Coquitlam guide, just with a Burnaby address on alternating blocks. The second Burnaby Korean scene is spread across the rest of the city — Metrotown, Brentwood, and North Burnaby along Hastings — as neighbourhood Korean restaurants serving residential populations rather than a concentrated cultural strip.
Metrotown has 8–12 Korean restaurants in and around the mall, serving shoppers, SFU students, and the Metrotown residential density. Format leans mid-price sit-down BBQ and jjigae; AYCE is available but less dominant than on North Road. Prices are comparable to Vancouver-proper Korean spots — about 5–15% below North Road's cluster because the Metrotown rents are higher than suburban Koreatown strip malls.
Brentwood Town Centre has a newer cluster of Korean restaurants that's grown with the Brentwood residential tower development. Format is casual-to-mid-price, often paired with Korean cafes and dessert spots. North Burnaby along Hastings has a handful of Korean restaurants serving the Capitol Hill and Willingdon Heights residential areas — quieter than either Koreatown or Metrotown, family-run leaning.
For most practical purposes, Burnaby Korean dining is either the North Road experience (reachable from anywhere in Burnaby in 15–25 minutes) or a Metrotown lunch/dinner. Specialty Korean categories — premium hanwoo, modern-Korean fine dining, niche tteokbokki specialists — concentrate on North Road rather than in the rest of Burnaby.
Where to look
West side of North Road (the Koreatown corridor, shared with Coquitlam). Metrotown mall and surrounding Kingsway corridor. Brentwood Town Centre area. North Burnaby along East Hastings and Willingdon. Less common in central Burnaby around Nelson and Edmonds.
The scene
We're still building out our Burnaby profiles.
The restaurant scene write-up above is our current editorial read. Individual restaurant profiles are being verified before they're published — we don't list specific spots until prices, hours, and halal status have been confirmed within the last 12 months. Have a favourite korean restaurant in Burnaby? Submit a tip.
Questions people ask
About korean food in Burnaby
Is Burnaby Korean food different from Coquitlam's?
The west side of North Road (Burnaby municipality) is functionally part of the same Koreatown cluster as Coquitlam's east-side North Road. Outside that shared corridor, Burnaby's Metrotown and Brentwood areas have their own Korean scenes — mid-price, mall-adjacent, convenient for shoppers and SFU students. Coquitlam's non-North-Road Korean scene (Austin Heights, Burquitlam) is thinner. In practice, both cities share the core Koreatown and each have secondary residential clusters.
Where's the best Korean BBQ near Metrotown?
Metrotown proper has several Korean BBQ restaurants within a 5-minute walk of the mall, at both AYCE and à la carte tiers. For the full Koreatown depth, however, Metrotown locals often drive the 10 minutes up Kingsway and Canada Way to North Road — the cluster is significantly denser and the specialty restaurants more numerous.
Does Burnaby have Korean grocery stores?
Yes — H-Mart and Hannam are the two Korean grocery anchors along North Road, both within Burnaby's municipal boundary even though they serve the combined Coquitlam-Burnaby community. These stores are worth visiting for banchan, kimchi, ready-to-eat meals, Korean pantry staples, and Korean cookware. Both have food courts with Korean hot food.
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