Seoul’s Soy-Marinated Crab Specialist Opens in Downtown Toronto

Toronto already knows Korean barbecue and stew houses. What arrived on Gerrard Street East is a Seoul specialty that is harder to find here: raw crab aged in seasoned soy.

Gebang Sikdang, the Gangnam restaurant Michelin lists as a Bib Gourmand for its polished raw-crab menu, opened its first Canadian location on July 17 inside Katsuya’s downtown room at 66 Gerrard Street East. The collaboration follows a spring pop-up at Katsuya’s North York shop that introduced local diners to ganjang gejang, soy-marinated raw crab. Hours for the Gerrard room have been listed around noon to 9 p.m.; check before you plan a late dinner around it.

In Seoul, Gebang Sikdang sits on Seolleung-ro in Gangnam as a modern gejang house: fashion marketer Bang Geon-hyuk working with his parents, who come from the soy-marinated crab business. Michelin’s write-up points to the unusual pairing of stylish décor and a wide selection of raw crab, including plates of crab flesh and roe over hot rice for diners who do not want to pick shells at the table.

Ganjang gejang is blue crab cleaned and aged in a soy-based marinade with aromatics. Yangnyeom gejang takes a chili seasoning route. Both are eaten raw, often with rice, and count as one of Korea’s classic “rice thief” dishes. VisitKorea and local Seoul coverage also flag spicy blue crab stew and gejang bibimbap as companion plates. The Toronto menu is expected to lean on those signatures plus banchan, rather than a full Koreatown barbecue board.

Katsuya is a Japanese katsu group with multiple Canadian rooms. Hosting Gebang lets the Seoul brand borrow an existing kitchen and dining room while testing Toronto demand after the North York trial. Local coverage frames the Gerrard opening as a permanent Canadian foothold, not another short pop-up.

The brand is not new to North America. Los Angeles already has a Koreatown Gebang Sikdang on West Olympic Boulevard, which grew out of a 2025 pop-up with Kaizen Dining Group. Toronto is the first Canadian stop in that expansion. For diners who have eaten soy crab in Koreatown specialty rooms or on trips to Seoul, the news is access: a specialist crab room downtown, paired with a familiar Toronto host.

Bib Gourmand is Michelin’s value recognition, not a star. It signals strong cooking at a friendlier price in the Seoul guide. Do not treat the Toronto room as a starred tasting destination. Treat it as a chance to order whole soy crab, spicy crab, and rice plates that have been hard to find outside Korean specialty kitchens here.

If you already loved the North York pop-up, Gerrard is the easier downtown address. If gejang is new to you, start with ganjang gejang, rice, and whatever banchan arrives, then decide whether you want the chili version next. Either way, the useful story is the same: Seoul’s most visible marinated-crab brand now has a Canadian door, and it is sharing it with Katsuya.