JangTu Restaurant

I don't know exactly when but I developed a DEEP love and appreciation for soon dae at a young age, and it's one of the few things I have in common with both my mom and sister. Suffice it to say, we were super excited when we found out that JangTu specializes in it!

We usually just get the pre-packaged deal when we're at Korean supermarkets, but the few times we've been to JangTu, their soondae does not disappoint! LOVE LOVE LOVE their soondae!

This Korean restaurant offers an authentic experience! The restaurant is small and there isn't any outdoor seating so expect to wait if you choose to do dine-in!

I have been here twice and here's what I've ordered before:

- First time -
$28.99 Gul Bossam
$45.99 Gam Ja Tang

- Second time -
$15.99 Rabokki
$22.99 Jokbal
$45.99 Soondae Gopchang Bokeum

I thought their banchans were just alright BUT I LOVE their gul bossam! Their portions were very generous and it comes with oysters as well! For both the Gam Ja Tang and Soondae Gopchang Bokeum, you can request to add rice to the leftover soup and turn it into stir fried rice! The Rabokki was tasty but fairly basic in my opinion.

BEST GUL BOSSAM EVER! This place is one of my fave Korean restaurants in the Bay Area, has a mom and pop shop feel to it, and the prices here are reasonable especially with this dang inflation. In this economy?! Yes in this economy I recommend coming here.

We ordered several dishes:

1. Gul bossam. The star of the show! It's kimchi wrapped with oysters and steamed pork. The different flavors and textures when you take a bite is outta this world! The pork comes out in a heated pot, with the kimchi veggies and oysters. Let me tell you for about 30 dollars this is amazing. The oysters really make it all the more flavorful with the taste of the sea and these oysters taste pretty fresh. The pork is soft, the oysters melt in your mouth, and the kimchi adds such a nice crunch. 10/10

2. Soondae gopchang guk: This is a pork soup with sliced Korean sausage and intestines. The soup base itself is light but still flavorful and hearty. You can ask for some chili paste to elevate it and give it a bit of a spicy kick. The intestines were chewy and cut small enough for a whole bite. However, I thought the Korean sausages were alright.

3. Haemul pajeon: This is their seafood and veggie pancake. I thought this was one was alright because it felt like the batter for the pancake was too thick and was not as crispy. However, my boyfriend enjoyed that part so it's up to preference. This comes with a savory sauce that you dip it in. I liked how you can see the little baby octopus in there.

The side dishes here are all amazing and tasty and go great with all the dishes we ordered. The service here is great, everyone is so nice and sweet. They also give you tea to wash everything down. You might have to wait a bit but it's because this place is quite busy and not the biggest inside. I would come here again for the bossam! Love love love!

BOIIIIII LEMME TELL Y'ALL!!! This spot right here has the BEST YUK GAE JANG IN THE BAY AREA!

My boyfriend and I came here for dinner one good evening when it was super busy and all you could here was the roar of laughter coming from older Koreans, men and women alike just drinking and having a good time at multiple tables. This was a huge green flag for us, especially since the vibes were great! Even then, there were tables in this cute little hole in the wall that had families with their young children enjoying the meals - another green flag!

We were finally seated after about 15 minutes of waiting and ordered the yuk gae jang and katsu. Katsu was decent, but the yuk gae jang was unlike any other I've had before in the Bay. I've been to Korea several times and the quality of this delicious soup was literally just like what you find over there. I loved it! Staff were so sweet and service was wonderful too! Can't wait to come back!

Jangtu is a very authentic korean casual sit down restaurant. It is a very small restaurant making it have a line outside most of the time. Waitlist is written in person on a paper

It is pretty crowded for dinner and wait times may take up to 1 hour due to the nature of the way the dishes are served and eaten.

Food is very good with refillable side dishes. I highly recommend the 2 person shareable as they give you the choice of white rice or "kimchi fried rice" which they add the rice to your pan of food at the end. (Btw this will definitely fill two people)

We got the Dak Galbi which is chicken based and it was slightly spicy but very flavorful

Lots of parking outside as its in a big plaza.

I would recommend if you wanna get some korean comfort food not limited to tofu soup!

This little hole in the wall has a lot of great comfort food options! It's not the biggest or fanciest restaurant but I can promise you'll find some delicious food here! We recently came by because our friends were visiting from out of town and wanted some solid Korean food! My favorite is always the fried Pork Cutlet, Spicy and Sweet Chicken / Dak Galbi (they stir fry in rice afterwards for you!), and the Spicy Beef Soup / Yukgaejang!
.

Still can't get over how amazing JangTu is :)

One of my favorite dishes to get when it's cold is the Someori Guk! It's a beef soup served with rice. It has a nice milky beefy broth so you know you're getting all the good collagen! It comes with so much beef. You season it yourself just like the soondae guk and it's just a perfectly homey type of meal

Also tried, but not pictured:
+Yuk Gae Jang: It may look intimidating with all the redness, but it's not spicy at all! It's also served with rice and it goes really well with the rich broth. Also lots of meat and vegetables!

So good and worth the wait!!
Spicy chicken hotpot - 5/5 - this is really good if you enjoy spicy food. Very tasty chicken with rice cake and vegetables. Chicken tastes very tender, and the soup is so tasty it's good to mix with rice.
Squid hotpot - 4/5 - less impressive than the spicy chicken hotpot but still really good! Loved the texture of the squid.
The store is small but vibrant. Owners are Korean and most people eating there were Korean - maybe implies how authentic it is?
~$40 per person post tax and tip

If you're Korean I guess this is a go-to place for comfort food. I'm not and went with Korean friends who rate it highly. They specialize in offal (organ meat) and blood sausage dishes. Flavor wise in general these meats were rather plain tasting. They are supposed to be healthy for you though. The Haemul Pajeon (seafood scallion pancake) was good. The Dongaseu (pork cutlet) was terrible. It was tough and dry with not much flavor. The service was excellent. I would not go back; but, my Korean friends would not miss the opportunity to dine there again.

JangTu restaurant is quite tiny, and it stayed packed the entire time, with folks eagerly waiting for a table. The service was top-notch, even with the constant hustle. However, the food, though okay, veered towards the bland side, and the side dishes didn't quite hit the freshness mark. Overall, my experience was just alright.