Nabe Hana may just be the Ossington strip's most novel restaurant. A Toronto restaurant that rejects the daze of newness in favour of classic Korean cooking, it wows with honest, homestyle comforts.

With your face positioned above Nabe Hana's aromatic, steaming signature dish, you might feel a fleeting pang of loss for not having grown up in a Korean household. Specifically, in You Kyung's. The chef at Nabe Hana, and co-owner Grace Cho's mother, Kyung diligently builds layered, warming bowls of sustenance that feel as nourishing and rich as manna itself.

"The menu is really my favourite foods that my mom would make for me and my sister growing up," says Cho. "My mom was always this really amazing home cook. My grandma, as well."

Though she's not one to boast, Cho herself clearly inherited the cooking gene. For 10 years, she cooked alongside her mother as chef and owner of Tè.

"In April of this year will be our 10^th year in this space," she explains. "About two years ago, there was an electrical fire in the basement. We were shut down for about 15 months."

Despite reopening last July, Tè was never able to reclaim its status among Ossington's ever-changing restaurant landscape. "It just didn't feel the same," says Cho. "We had been off for too long. We had lost ground in terms of the presence of the restaurant on the street. We thought, maybe it's time for a change."

Out of Tè's literal ashes, Nabe Hana was born. Opened last November with a name that translates to "one pot," the restaurant offers traditional home dishes, done exceptionally well.

"It felt like the right time," explains Cho. "For me as well. I've matured into my self-identity. I feel more comfortable presenting full Korean cuisine at my age, who I am now. The growth of the restaurant, the change in the restaurant, mirrors my own personal growth."

Now open for lunch and dinner, Nabe Hana expands on Té's evening-only blueprint. Gone are fusion dishes, like gochujang pork-stuffed hot pockets, replaced by inherited recipes, like pogi kimchi, mandu and kimchi jjigae.

Necessary renovations have made the room brighter and more personal.

"When we were closed, it was a mentally and emotionally trying time for us. It was really devastating," explains Cho. To centre themselves and keep idle hands busy, mother and daughter each folded 1000 paper cranes. Now hanging as décor, they represent new beginnings and a realized wish, or two.

Divided between soup and rice entrées, Nabe Hana's menu is crisp and concise. "Traditional Korean restaurants, they have this desire to present everything," laughs Cho. "Sometimes, it's overwhelming. There's a lot."

Instead, Cho and her mother emphasize only the hits. "We really wanted to keep our menu focused. Give enough options so that everyone can find something but concentrate on things that my mom's recipes are top for. They taste really good. And the quality is really high."

Years of experience watering guests at Té are evident in Cho's proficiency at designing a beverage menu. Alongside beer, wine, soju, sake and makgeolli, cocktails at Nabe Hana highlight tea as a favoured ingredient, the difference being more caffeine-free options made with herbal varieties.

"There are also more zero—proof options," says Cho, explaining that she worked backwards, "starting with those, to make sure that they tasted really good without the alcohol."

Juicy and fresh, Aloès Vert ($16.50) is a bracing blend of white rum, green tea, Korean aloe and pineapple punched up with herbs and a Tajín rim.

Slinky and luxe, Matcha Gin Crème ($15.50) could easily double as dessert, thanks to its cream and oat milk base.

With only two appetizers on offer, taxing decisions are blessedly off the table. Simply order both, and you can mount an assault on Dark-Spiced Fried Chicken ($16) and plump Deep Fried Mandu ($10).

Redolent of five spice and soy, chef's chicken satisfies cravings for crunch, its gochujang glaze and sweet pickled cabbage garnish providing pops of heat and tang to balance the fatty richness of oil-kissed chicken skin.

Before going any further, you'll want an order of Homemade Kimchi ($4) for the table. Made from a recipe chef Kyung sought out when living in Korea, it's made in the famed pogi style.

"In a lot of restaurants, what you'll find is the type of kimchi where they pre-chop the cabbage, then brine it, season it and toss it, kind of like a salad," says Cho. "With ours, we do the really traditional full cabbage kimchi. It's quartered and we go layer by layer, seasoning it, and then it's cut. When you see it come out, it almost looks like layers of lasagna."

The restaurant's eponymous dish, Nabe Hana ($29) is built from savory kombu stock and a sundry number of add-ins. Begin investigating and you'll unearth seasoned chuck, lilliputian mushrooms, a monochromatic array of greens, two styles of fish cake and slippery, smooth Sanuki-style udon. A dish that partners subtle restraint with bright pops of flavour, it also arrives with sesame peanut and wasabi soy sauces, for those craving more punch.

The scent of Dweji Gomtang ($25) tumbles through the room before its vessel hits the table. Clean and refined, it's flavoured with slow-simmered pork shoulder, watercress, chives and green onions. Elegant as it is, each mouthful is sharpened by a dose of kimchi or accompanying dadaegi (Korean chili paste).

Another comforting one-dish meal, Gochujang Pork Rib Dupbap ($28) features fall-off-the-bone protein draped across a generous portion of purple rice, made by cooking Japonica with wild rice grains.

Meticulously plated to highlight each of its myriad components—from beef bulgogi and tender shiitake to sauteed spinach, zucchini, daikon and sprouts—Homestyle Bi Bim Bap ($22) immediately falls victim to its own directive.

Yes, mom always said not to play with your food. Here, it would be an outrage not to. Aggressively swirl every spicy, savoury, snappy morsel together and relish the strikingly flavourful hodgepodge that results.

Soulful and steeped in tradition, the food at Nabe Hana is an intimate homage to home. "I really always felt that this was my legacy," admits Cho. "I felt like there was this really beautiful traditional art that was getting lost. Like, 'Who am I passing it down to?' I really wanted to share that with people and the community."

Nabe Hana is located at 70 Ossington Avenue.