Mapo Korean BBQ has quietly become something of a Blue Jays institution. The original Bloor Street West location’s cabinet of team memorabilia — autographed balls, polaroids, and signed items from players past and present — is proof of a genuine, years-long connection between the restaurant and the ballclub, with names like Kazuma Okamoto and Kevin Gausman among its regulars. Now, riding the momentum of the team’s 2025 World Series run and the restaurant’s own longstanding popularity, Mapo has opened a second location.
Planted at Church and Wellesley as of June 4, the new spot is, in the restaurant’s own words, equal parts love letter to South Korea and to the Blue Jays. A replica GS25 convenience store wall inside the restaurant is papered with headshots of players who’ve visited the original location, while the rest of the space leans into an immersive Korean streetscape aesthetic — signage, tile, and brick pulled straight from a major Korean city centre.
The expansion comes at a moment when Mapo has already built serious credibility in the city’s crowded Korean BBQ scene: blogTO readers have voted the original location among the best Korean BBQ in Toronto, a distinction that’s more impressive given how saturated the category has become in recent years. The new Church Street location gives the brand a second foothold in a different pocket of the city, opening the door to a whole new set of regulars — Blue Jays fans or otherwise.
Craving Korean BBQ with a side of Blue Jays history? Mapo’s second location is open now at 499 Church St., alongside the original at 708 Bloor St. W.