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Tue-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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Very pleasant Korean restaurant. I would not have imagined being able to find a Korean restaurant like this in Covington KY. It's very clean and has Korean looking decorations. The small dishes tasted Korean but it's not as spicy as traditional Korean.
I had the cold buckwheat noodle and the ox tail soup. Very enjoyable dishes for a cool summer day. Definitely recommended.
If you have eaten great Korean food in Chicago or San Francisco or New York, don't expect Riverside Restaurant to be up to your standards. The basic ingredients are there, and the ban chan were full of some interesting vegetable dishes, but somebody has gone through and carefully excised anything that might be too spicy, too sour, or too stinky. Even the kim-chi.
I ordered my dolsot bi bim bop "spicy," (the choices were "mild," "medium," and "spicy,") and even after I upended a quarter cup of cayenne pepper and an extra dish of hot sauce into it I would say it only made it to medium-spicy. At that point, it was pretty good.
This is probably the best Korean restaurant in Covington, and maybe even the greater Cincinnati area. Three stars for that achievement.
This was the first of three restaurants to be hit in one evening, and it was a gem of a find, thanks to Yelp.
We were early at 5:10pm, so there was no one but us. We decided to get steamed dumplings and an order of bulgogi. We were going to share the food since we knew we were in for a belly stuffing night.
Out came the banchan and my first thought was they sure don't give you very much. Bear in mind, I'm used to having Korean food in places were the portions of banchan were sizable. Here, if you run out of something, you get two refills before they start to charge you for any more. Ouch. We both liked the kimchi, so we got extras of that.
The dumplings were good, but how can you mess those up, right? Well, there was plenty of filling and not an excess of wrapper. The bulgogi was a great hit; we were all over it. Since my friend doesn't get to have Korean food as much as I do, I let him eat the majority of it. The meat was lean, marinated very well, and the portion was just right for two people to share.
Service was good and the menu had enough variety that if I were in town, I would come back again to try something different. In the time we were there, several other patrons showed up and it seemed the bi bim bap is a very popular dish to order. Hmm...next trip.
Check out my photos!
Street parking is available.
MMMMM... memories of dol sot bi bim bap at Riverside have been haunting me recently. This is really one of the most unique restaurants I have ever been to... and it's in northern ky... who knew? Lunch was always good here, but also made me want to take a nap afterwards... be warned! You're missing out if you don't get here...now.
Great little Korean place in Downtown Covington. You can sit on the floor if you like. I went for lunch and got a great vegetarian rice bowl. I like it warm so I paid for the dinner version which comes with lots of tasty sides.
Everything was tasty and well made.
Had the Bibim Bab when I went with coworkers one day. Had a floor table, which was fun. This place is wonderful, though I can't imagine waiting for dinner since the place is small and popular. I would love to go back soon.
I have to admit I've overlooked and underrated Covington. While most of it remains dominated by liquor stores and tobacco outlets, certain parts are delightful and just as worthy of a visit as anywhere in Ohio. Greenup Street is one of those places, but after you've hit Jean-Robert de Cavel's twin restaurants there, Riverside Korean should be your next meal.
You have to go shoeless to eat at the low table, reclining on silken cushions, so be sure to don fresh socks and non-running shoes before coming. With how tiny the place is, you won't offend many people, but you will offend all of them.
I don't know anything about Korean food, so I stuck with the recommendation I was given when I was told to come here: bulgogi beef, a classic (or so I hear). It came with a myriad of side dishes that I really ought to have asked about. I do know kim chi, and that was delicious. But mostly, things were just spicy and different. I can't say I really love this cuisine, but I did love the absolutely unique, rather warm, and intimate atmosphere. Definitely a fun experience so long as you aren't expecting something simple and easy.
The Kimchi Soup is an aphrodisiac, I swear. Beyond the great food, the service is wonderful, although they do tend to get overwhelmed when they're packed. Every single dish I've ordered has been delicious. I make it a rule to go at least once a week.
Thanks to my good friend, Daniel, who is from Korea for introducing me to the best food in the world.
First: I am moving to California in a week. I am tired, preoccupied, irritable.
Second: A friend takes us to Riverside and all I can think about since then is dolsot bibimbap, sizzling crispy rice with vegetables, rich marinated beef strips and a perfectly cooked egg mixed vigorously in to ensure an even coating of yolk. Banchan perfectly seasoned. Thick, intense stews.
Third: The agony of a cross-country move now made worse knowing that I lived 18 months in Cincinnati and didn't discover Riverside until the last 7 days.
Several of my high school friends and I had a long-standing tradition of eating here every holiday when we were all in town. We each had our favorite dish and usually ordered the same thing every time. Mine was the Jo Gi Gui, panfried fish which was delightfully crispy on the outside, moist and tender inside. Unfortunately, most of us have moved away, so I don't know when I'll get to eat here again since I really have no reason to go back to Ohio. There are plenty of good Korean restaurants in New York, but this one has so many memories attached.
The place is small, but the wait is not usually too bad, although you might have to wait a bit longer if you want to sit on the floor, traditional-style. Bringing a Korean friend helps get you seated quickly, too. The service was always very friendly, although deciphering the bill is a bit tricky, since it's usually all in Korean.
I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone in the area. Order the savory pancakes as an appetizer.
Bonus: Like any good Korean place, this one brings out tons of little (free!) amuse-bouches that are all delicious, especially the kimchi, the seaweed and the potatoes cooked in sesame oil, which will you will probably fight over like we do.
I was working on location in Cincinnati, OH and Covington is just across the river. We stopped at this Korean restaurant for BBQ and it was great! They even stayed open late for us during lunch time. This is a small town with not a whole lot going on during the day (or night for that matter) so I was surprised to find such a great restaurant on a sleepy little street.
The bulgogi and pork BBQ was great! We also had chop chae (noodles) and it was delicious too. The panchan (sp? - side dishes) we all tasty as well - I can't think of a bad thing to say about the food. The service was friendly and fast and we had a great time chatting with our waitress.
This is a small, intimate restaurant and you can choose a traditional style table where you sit on the floor or a "regular" table with chairs. My split of the bill cost me around $25 with tip and I ate enough food for about 4 people - I'm NOT exagerrating at all. I highly suggest this restaurant and if I'm ever in the Cincinnati/Convington area again, I'm there!
great korean food. you can sit on the floor or at a table. i recommend the bibim bab and the bulgogi.
Riverside Korean is my favorite restaurant in Cincinnati. My sister took me there the first time I went, and then we both took the rest of our family. It's fun to sit on the floor Korean-style, although my dad had a hard time with that and had to scoot around the table so that his back was against the wall.
You start out with a smorgasbord of Korean appetizers, the number of varities of which varies depending upon how many people are at your table. They're all delicious, including the spicy seaweed, the kimchi, and the caramelized potatoes.
Both times I've gone I've gotten the dolsot bibimbap. It's a rice dish, topped with vegetables, beef, and chili paste. It's served in a stone bowl that they heat in an oven beforehand, so that when they serve it to you the rice gets crispy as it sits on the bowl. They also crack an egg on top when they serve it, and it cooks as you stir the dish. It is awesome.
Both times I went, the servers were very friendly and nice, although one of them had limited knowledge of English. Another server stopped and helped out when we were having trouble, though, so it turned out fine.
I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone, even if they're a little afraid of Korean food. Just go with something less exotic (read: not containing beef intestines).
This place is great, pretty much what everyone else has said.
I had the Bul Go Gi and it had amazing flavor and it wasn't too fatty.
The small apps were all great, and the service was solid.
The atmosphere is good too.
It's a bit hard to find non-chain restaurants in Cincinnati that are any good, this is one of those places
Ban chan is awesome here (the appetizers, you can ask for seconds on your two faves!). Boyfriend likes the bi bim bop. Cozy little place with floor seating.
The Korean place downtown is good too, but this one is our favorite. Atmosphere is more down to earth at Riverside.
Excellent food, good service, attractive but relaxed, low key atmosphere.
Decent quality, friendly staff, great atmosphere. I will bring people here
Having lived in the Korean part of Chicago for a number of years, I am used to having a choice of many excellent Korean restaurants (many of which were open 24 hours) and I have to say that Riverside is definitely on par with my faves in the Second City. Great for lunch or dinner.
love,love, love.... i have been here about 3 times and will continue to go back. the dolsot bi bam is excellent. love the appetizers that come before the meal, especially the kim chi and the spinach thing. yummy. the restaurant is really small and can get unbearably hot in the summer.
Cincinnati, OH
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Korean
Newport, KY
Category: Seafood
Covington, KY
Category: Southern
Covington, KY
Category: Cajun/Creole
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