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As others have suggested, the Bi Bim Bop is terrific comfort food. It's not, in my opinion, the tastiest. The simple burrito is one of my favorite things to get there. Add some chipotle sauce and go to town.
Save room for the ice cream, by the way. The Blue Cactus offers uncommon flavors that are really great. The red bean ice cream is one of my favorites because it isn't as sweet as most ice creams out there.
Is it worth the number one rating in Columbia? No.
It is definitely a dive and was pretty crowded when we went. Food took a while but the owner told us we could grab beers at the neighboring bar to hold us over. I'm not going to pretend like I am a Korean food aficionado, but the food was alright. We had the Bi-bim-bop since it is what everyone raves about. It was decent, but doesn't deserve the godly status people have put it at. I think that if you are a local to Columbia you should try Blue Cactus to judge for yourselves, but if you are visiting the area, there are way better restaurants.
This place was great! I got to meet the owners, a mom and pop, and their daughter (who serves as waitress)! It's such a quaint restaurant and the food was so yummy! Definitely a hidden gem in the 5 points area! If I'm in Columbia, SC again...I will have to eat here again!
By the way, if you're expecting gourmet Korean food, then you need to search elsewhere!! The Korean food here is prepared "home style", which means it's closer to how it would be served in someone's home! Nevertheless, it's freakin delicious!!
Bi Bim Bop - this is an awesome dish! Great food - inexpensive and yummy! When i went to school at Univ of SC I ate here probably 2 times a week. They also serve great ice cream!
This is a wonderful locally owned business. As others have stated, the from-scratch preparation of your food takes more time, but it is worth the wait. We try and get in around 1130-1145 to beat the lunch rush and get a little bit quicker service. My personal favorite is the chicken curry Thai style, but the black beans and rice are a close second.
Very good food and several vegan options (many of the menu items could also be made vegan upon request). The service was exceptional- while paying for our order they asked if our three year old could have dairy (very astute! they must have noticed we only ordered vegan food!) and when we said no they gave him free lemon sherbert (dairy free).
I'm so glad I wandered by this place.
Cheap, filling, and lots of options for vegetarians.
Kimchi and a burrito is a pretty awesome meal.
Really great fresh food- family owned and operated. They have great selections for vegetarian and vegan. I recommend getting their Korean food only because it is not something people generally eat everyday. I love the spicy bean paste they give with the vegetarian bee bim bob which I have had many times with tofu, the pickled and fresh veggies and the over easy egg on top. So, so good. I don';t care if the sauce may have msg and think, based on the owners, that this wouldn;t be the case. They have great homemade kim chee and pickled radishes. Very yum.
The Kim bob is also yum to start with. I think this whole dish is really great, for the price, the quantity of food, the quality of the food, and the taste. My boyfriend loves the spicy Korean shredded beef stew- we both have great leftovers for later.
Really, really worth a try.
I know a few people who I don't know what they would do for food if this place closed down. Quite a few really. They are actually depressed because they cannot eat there on the days they are closed (Sunday and Monday). Me, I don't have it that bad, but for the price, you can't beat this place in all of Columbia.
For appetizers, they have truly delicious enormous french fries, fried tofu sticks, kim chi, sushi, and dumplings all for less than $5.
For entrees, they have a unique menu which combines the traditional fare of Korea (be bim bop & various hearty stews) with quality hungry man Tex-mex fare ($4 burritos made to order).
Also, it's a little known fact but as far as i know they tolerate the BYOB set. Even cheaper!
The Bi-Bim-Bop is where it's at if you've never eaten here before. And trust me, when they say it's 'hot' you better believe them, because they can make some hot stuff!
I went to Blue Cactus a few months ago while I was in town visiting a friend. He took me hear after I read a small review about it in a local paper. He had a curry dish and LOVED it. Since then, he's been back a bunch of times for the curry, so I guess it's good. I, on the other hand, had the vegetarian bimbimbop and um, no. It was lukewarm and didn't taste like much of anything unless I smothered it in the sauce.
However, I'd go back. The menu is (ridiculously) long and the waitress was sweet. It also seems like a nice gathering place for the college kids who beat to their own drum.
This is a sleeper, and if you don't give it a chance, you won't know what you're missing.
You're walking around the Five Points area, hungry, wondering where you should eat. Other establishments call out to you, people sit outside all around you. The Blue Cactus is in a little area all it's own; almost off the beaten path. Look for it, it's worth it.
It was much smaller than I expected, but I knew it had alot of personality. The first thing I noticed were all of the postcards tacked up on a wall. They were from patrons who'd sent them to the restaurant and wanted to send a memento of their travels.
I perused the menu and expected to see the variety in their menu. Since I'd had my first good meal of my Columbia trip on my last day there, I was hoping to follow dinner up with an equally good meal.
I decided to order the bibimbap with beef. When it arrived, it was in a large metal bowl. Not the way I'm used to having it served, but no worries. There was rice on the bottom, and a variety of things on top such as beef, mung bean sprouts, pickled cucumbers and various vegetables such as daikon. Overall, it was very good and I was happy that I scored another winning meal.
After paying my bill at the register, I peered into the ice cream case. I asked how much the ice cream was, and was told it was something like $2.25, along with, "We stop scooping when you tell us to." Oh snap, don't tell me that! I got the red bean ice cream. I only got one scoop, but it was a BIG scoop, so I only finished 1/2 of it before tossing it.
If you're in the area, I encourage you to find this joint. It's family run, which is exactly the type of business I love to support. It's a laid back place, the food is good, service is great and the ice cream choices are wonderful.
Just reserve a little extra patience for the parking. You'll need it.
Very cool spot, a gret find thanks to Yelp!
Excellent, varied menu: Korean stews, burritos, black beans, chicken curries, and a cool selection of soups.
Was cool to check out the postcards they had on the wall from the owners' travels, very cool to see the inspiration come out in the food.
Also: had the amazing dumplings, very meaty and crispy.
Great place to stop for lunch.
We were in the area for my little brother's graduation from Ft. Jackson. He hadn't eaten "real" food in 9 weeks and was jonesing for something "not fast food, not chain store." Thank goodness this cafe was on Yelp because we (being from San Francisco) were totally lost in Columbia. And being from SF, we pulled out our iPhones and tapped away, looking for something as far from Army food as we could get!
What we found was Blue Cactus Cafe. Other than the hidden location, we were impressed! We ordered Soon Tofu soup, Bi Bim Bap, Jap Chae and Spicy Pork. All of it was delicious. They offered Mexican food as well but we wanted Korean. The sprouts were crunchy, as were the cucumbers. The service was southern and friendly. The sweet tea was great (free refills!).
The prices were reasonable and even if we were in SF, where there are hordes of Korean restaurants serving these types of food, I would say this is some of the best I've ever had. And that is probably saying a lot since we were in South Carolina!
Bring coins for the parking meters.
By the way, "arrogantly slow" is right. But it was definitely worth it. We got in and out in approximately 1.5 hours, taking our time eating.
OF COURSE, the New York Times comes out w/ an awesome article on Asian hot curry soups the day after I discover Too Boo Chi Gae (Korean Tofu Soup)! I AM ON THE CUTTIN' EDGE PEOPLE, ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE GAME! I cannot even tell you how delicious this soup is; succulent beef broth, herbs, tofu, rice, shredded beef, spicy, and the PERFECT hangover food. You KNOW its delicious b/c I hardly EVER talk about the food I eat in my reviews. Like Beyonce said, "Me, myself and I is all [you get] in the end, that's what I found out." But now we have YOU Too Boo Chi Gae!
This is a great family-run resto and if I lived here, I'd be hittin it on the regular. The first… Read more »
The hidden dive that is Blue Cactus is one of the best places to dine in Columbia. The bee bim bop + fried egg is all killer. Same with the kim chee. The menu is very vegetarian friendly, but meat eaters will also be very satisfied (see the kim chee pork). All at very reasonable prices. Also be sure to look at the large selection of hot sauces, and then burn in them.
Cheap as dirt, uber-delicious, vegan friendly food make the Blue Cactus, by far, my favorite restaurant anywhere. I live in Boston now, and I constantly pine for Bee Bim Bop from Blue Cactus. I've had the same dish from countless Korean restaurants, including top-rated restaurants in Boston and New York. Nobody really nails it like the B.C. (Everything else on the menu is delicious as well - everything vegan, that is.)
The place practically oozes charm. If charm could somehow be transformed into electricity, Blue Cactus could probably power the entire state. As the other reviewers have said, the service is utterly unpretentious. Mary (the waitress/co-proprietor), while sometimes curt, is actually one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. She still remembers my order, despite the fact that I only get to come once or maybe twice a year.
God, I miss it. This review doesn't really do it justice, but I can't imagine many people would be as completely wild about it as I am. I have very singular tastes. Just give it a try.
My favorite! Tired of pretentious scenes and obsequious servers? The Blue Cactus's complete lack of ambiance and curt service is the cure.
Affordable Korean (and some Cuban), with vegetarian and vegan options galore. The Bi Bim Bop is perfect for first timers, but the stews are also great. Go with mild, if asked for your preferred level of spiciness. Take my word for it, "its an exaggerated scale." They have shelves of hot sauce, if I'm wrong.
"Good food takes time, and our food is really good." Take the hint and and don't complain when the cook takes his time in a cramped kitchen. I've had some of my best, and longest, conversations at the Cactus.
Do not order any of the few "American" options from the menu, you will be mocked. It is, however, acceptable to order the in-house ice cream. Most unique flavors: green tea, red azuki bean.
Korean, Cuban, Tex-Mex and 20 something flavors of exotic ice cream under one room??? Seriously, this place has something for everyone.
Mom and Pop owned an operated since it opened. Food and service is slow, but they gladly tell you that with a sign on the door. 2 hour lunches are VERY common with me and my co-workers. Best Bi Bim Bop in town. Try it with double egg. Then finish it off with Red Bean ice cream or perhaps the Ginger Ice Cream. Great place for a slow informal date.
The Blue Cactus tapped a good vein of surly directly under the restaurant years ago. Since then, they've been perfecting the extraction, refinement and delivery of this surly to the general public. Their current state of the art exposes the casual annoyed indifference practiced by your average drive-thru operator for the joke that it is. It manages to convey a complete disinterest in the recipient while still informing them that asking for a set of silverware while a sanitarily wrapped set sits on the next table is one of the saddest, most pathetic things they will ever do. Must be experienced.
Also, Korean and southwestern in the same place. Ridiculous.
This resturant is cheap and very good. It is quaint and has lot's of charm with international flair from all over the place.
Ate here several times when I lived down there (thanks to Michael Graham for introducing me to it.) The Tex Mex is good.... and the Be Bim Bop is good too. A friend of mine liked the kimchee stew. From what I've heard, the Tex Mex (and a little Cajun food) comes from the husband of the two owners and his wife is from Korea.
I read lots of really positive reviews of this place and I absolutely love korean food... However, there wasnt very much spice to it and the Bi bim bop was average.. Not really exciting. The atmosphere was a dive, but it seemed to have a loyal following with lots of regulars ordering their regular dishes. There are better places in Columbia for Korean, but its not that bad there... Maybe those who only eat the greens would like it more, since its really friendly to non carnivores
Blue Cactus is one of my favorite restaurants in Columbia. It's tucked in a little out of the way space in Five Points that seems perfectly apropos considering its menu and atmosphere. It's a strange cross between a mom and pop family restaurant and a hole in the wall diner, and serves the strangest combination of food I've ever seen on the same menu (Korean and what the proprieters term "Southwestern"). Where else can you order kim chee, tofu stew, chicken fingers, or quesadillas in the same place? The food is pretty cheap (everything on the menu is under nine dollars), especially considering the variety of food on the menu and that everything is cooked to order.
The owners are a middle-aged married couple and extremely laid back and friendly. The wife is the restaurant's server, and very casual and often blunt, which can disconcerting until you get used to it, and then it just adds character and charm to the experience. The menu is also very vegetarian and vegan friendly, and each dish can be customized on a scale of absolute wimp to so spicy you might have to sign a waiver.
I HIGHLY recommend this local gem.
One of my handful of favorite places to eat in Columbia. Family run and determinedly individual, they continue to serve great Korean and Tex-Mex meals while making their patrons family members mostly for the good. Try the be bim bop with a selection of protein. If you can tolerate high heat, try it with the spicy pork. The spicy pork also is served unadorned. It's the type of dish that makes you regret each bite, but unable to resist the next one until you can't believe you ate it all. For a fun and delicious appetizer, order the kim bob. I've loved this place and it's people for almost a decade.
Columbia, SC
Category: Bars
Irmo, SC
Category: Seafood
Columbia, SC
Category: Seafood
Columbia, SC
Category: Barbeque
Columbia, SC
Category: Restaurants
Places I have found by wandering. Places I don't…
