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Clinton (Blue)
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First of all, I am Korean, I have been to Korea around twelve times, and I grew up in Hawaii where there are tons of Korean restaurants. So, I would like to think that I know my Korean food. I have tried Seoulfood around 5 times, and I'll admit, some dishes are better than others. I don't think you can go wrong with their tang-soo-yeok (battered & deep-fried meat), jja-jang-myun (noodles in black bean sauce), dduk-beok-gi (spicy rice cake), and boo-dae-jji-gae (hot soup with hot dogs). Their suh-lung-tang leaves a bit to be desired, and I think their ban-chans (side dishes) have room for work. All that being said, this place is smack dab in the loop, so the convenience factor weighed heavily into my rating. Also, the owner is very nice and very eager to please (which is a far cry from places like Solga).
I agree with the other reviewers that their prices are inflated if you get it delivered. I think Seoulfood serves its purpose as a convenient Korean-food-joint in the loop.
This place made me realize that I don't particularly like korean food. I had the lunch buffet. Just didn't do it for me, but I can't say that someone who loves Korean food wouldn't like this place. But in my experience, it was over-priced and the food was lukewarm.
My Korean friends brought me here. I'm glad cuz they enjoyed it and so did I. Good food all around. The waitress was nice and so was the older guy whom I'm guessing is the owner. I'd come back here for sure
I was disappointed! Their kimchee jigae is just ok. I'm still really happy there's a Korean restaurant in the city. However, I realized that I could definitely make everything on their menu better at home.
My last delivery came with a few different banchans including a potato dish, sweet daikon, hobak moochim (sauteed zucchini), kong namul (sauteed bean sprouts) and kimchee. The kimchee was probably the worst I've ever had.
I'm making my own kimchee jigae at home now. Their prices are also very high. Basic Korean food should not be expensive.
It's not bad. I'm actually really excited there is a Korean restaurant in my neighborhood. It's not… Read more »
This place is exactly what it is, a convenient downtown Korean restaurant fix. It's not the most lavish Korean food you'll ever eat, but some items on here are solid (Budae Jjigae, Tang Sooyuk). If you're hardcore about your Korean food with over 10 ban chan (side dishes), then make the drive up north. But if you want something within 10 minutes then go to Seoul Food Cafe. Workers there are nice as well.
Man, I am so disappointed with this place now. They raised prices which I could not believe since the food was just okay for the price and now it's definitely not even worth it. The mool nangmyun may have been the worst nangmyun I've ever had and I love nangmyun. It was the instant kind that you could make yourself.
Plus, the man who served us seemed almost like he was annoyed at being bothered from his tv show and we had to ask for everything such as more water, spoons, etc.
I was initially so excited with this place since it's close by and late night but I would rather drive further for good Korean food.
I love this place because of its convenience. It's not only close to me but it's also open to 1:30… Read more »
They raised prices. The lunch buffet is now $10 (after tax), and lunch entrees are $8. The buffet is only worth it now if you carry tupperware in your purse for the mandoo (dumplings). You know what I mean!
For dinner, their individual entrees are $9-13, and their family style entrees are $18-25. One family style entree can serve 2 people if you get nothing else.
$8 lunch buffet!!!!! The bulgogi (beef) and mandoo (deep fried dumplings) alone are $8 each at… Read more »
My bar is set pretty high when it comes to Korean food even though i do not have any Korean descent. But trust me, I've had my fair share of Korean culinary as well as their culture. :)
I couldnt really give any good reviews about this place except the fact that this may be the only korean restaurant around the area. So kudos to the owners for establishing one. Food is average, service is ok, and seating is limited. Although, i do love the fact that lunch buffet is less than $10. You cant beat that.
If you want good food, take that extra 15 minute drive to San Soo Gab San.
We ordered 3 dinner entrees for delivery tonight:
Beef Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour beef) - 5 stars
Kimchi Ji Gae (kimchi soup) - 5 stars
Ja Jang Myun (noodles with black bean sauce) - 3 stars
The food is authentically Korean. We were worried that it wouldn't be after we read the previous reviews. However, the Ja Jang Myun needs help. The noodles were chewy like Thai Rice Spaghetti and the black bean sauce was way too salty. They added a bonus plate of fresh kimchi, spicy radish, and banchan, which was spicy and delicious.
The delivery price was outrageous. They charged $11.99 for the Kimchi Ji Gae, $9.99 for the Ja Jang Myun, and $15.99 for the Beef Tangsuyuk. On the attached dinner menu, the prices were $6.99 for Kimchi Ji Gae and Ja Jang Myun and $9.99 for Beef Tangsuyuk. So we ended up paying $14 for delivery. The man who took the order said that the food would arrive in 40 minutes and it took longer than an hour.
I was excited to see this place open because I live near the loop and normally have to drive 20 min to get decent Korean food. After a few visits, I found the food acceptable, but not extraordinary. The bibimbap, bulgogi, seolungtang are good. Note: they pre-salt the seolungtang, so taste it beforehand. It's pricey compared to other Korean places, but it's downtown, so I accept that. The banchan is mediocre; kimchee not quite authentic. Still it hits the spot when I have a craving.
Everything was a bit sweet for my taste, but the kochujang seemed homemade which is always nice. The food was pretty tasty and the place seemed generally unassuming. There's a cool U-shaped bar which is kind of neat. The price is definitely right, too!
I'm not certain that they normally do, but I was with a large group when I went and I think it's fair to say they took a reservation for our party.
This was just ok.
I guess I expected something a little bit nicer, with the location in the loop and being brand new.
We came for a weeknight dinner, and we were the only people in here at 7PM. Towards the end of the meal, people started to trickle in though.
I asked for recommendations, and initially, I got the typical, everything is good answer. Then I finally got it out of her that the dukbokki is supposed to be good. So that's what I ordered. The BF got yook gae jang. The yook gae jang was actually pretty good - lots of spice, just the way I like it! My dukbokki was doused in pepper - that's all I could taste! I think the cook may have had a pepper accident in my dukbokki. Plus, I think my dish was a little over-priced.
They do give you banchan, but it comes with your food because I guess they don't want you to eat it all up before you entree arrives...? The rice tasted like it was leftover from lunch. All in all, it was decent, but I wouldn't go out of my way.
Nice to see some Korean options closer to the south side. We formerly were in walking distance from this spot and would head down for bi bim bop every few weeks when the urge hit. The bi bim bop is great and cheap, though the other entrees were sometimes hit-or-miss, and often overpriced. Overall, I'd recommend it for a lunch spot if you're working downtown, but can't really see going out of one's way for it.
I am all about supporting my people. However, I can NOT support this. I understand it's in the Loop and there are no other Korean places, but come on....how about some semblance of Korean food?
If you like Korean food then dont' go here. You'll be disappointed and then have to make a trip to San Soo Gap San to fill the void. So, save yourself the hassle.
I just got back from here this afternoon. It was delicious. I see this becoming a regular stop for me.
I went for lunch. They had an all-you-can-eat buffet for $7.99. It looked delicious. But, I thought I'd start with the most basic indicator and go with their Bulgogi plate. It was $6.99- heaping pile of bulgogi, plenty of fried rice, and a dumpling to boot. Just the right amount of food. You can get chicken, pork or shrimp bbq too.
The kitchen staff was out reloading the buffet while I was there- looks family owned- Koreans- I think Mom was in the kitchen, hence all the home made flavor.
My best friend growing up is Korean- his Mom makes the best fried rice I've ever had. This place makes it almost identical to hers, and for that reason, I plan on going back- frequently.
Waitress said they are open for buffet breakfast of pancakes and such as well. The menu says they are open 9am til 2am (everyday), with karaoke every night.
The rest of the menu looks standard. Kalbi (Gal bee), bi bim bop, banchan, etc. are all available. It is not BBQ on your own.
They have a full service bar too. Everything appeared clean and in order.
Delivery til 1a too!
Perfect winter meal... what's better than a bowl of spicy noodle soup?
* Casual neighborhood korean dishes (not bbq)
* delivery until 1 am
* open until 2 am
As much as we enjoyed our dinner, I'd rather go there for lunch next time, much better value (avg $3-4 less for the same dish). Since we can get bi bim bop/galbi/bulgogi even at the fast food korean joint, we ordered the spicy noodle soups, yook gye jang (shredded beef, vermicelli noodles in spicy beef broth) and boo dai ji gae (ham, sausages, bacon & assortedfresh beggies in seasoned spicy broth) were both pretty good. My complain is that the cut of the beef is not that great with quite a bit of tendon. Dinner came with banchan and rice and pa jeon (egg pancake with green onion and chopped octopus).
The owner of what appears to be family run restaurant is friendly. He offered the chicken with ginseng soup as special early order to my hubby (supposed to be good for men's health ;-) He also mentioned that sushi bar will be in place in March.
it's a comfortable, no thrill, neighborhood korean joint. Very homey, and you gotta love the late night availability.
Ok, I admit, the food is not so great here. It is average to say at best. They do not even have a bbq option. And it is a quasi bar. However, it is at LEAST Korean food located w/in the downtown area which is very convenient to those who live below Chicago Ave. I go here often for lunch b/c I do get sick of sandwiches from Pot Belly. Come on, how many types of sandwiches can someone eat? Overall, this place will satisfy your Korean food urge if you live near the area but no need to drive here from up North.
Just recently tried this place with a friend that works a block from here. Completely not what I expected. The Buffet is small but one thing to point out is that there's not much of each item (about 7)... this means that they run out fast but also means they make a fresh batch often so there's pros and cons to this.
I opted for the $7.99 buffet and it was ok. If i worked/lived around here and I had to satisfy my korean fix, I'd probably come here more often. As for their other dishes, it didn't look that great nor did my friends like it. The Soon Tofu looked bland (and it was) but their yook gae jang looked normal. The wait staff (just one woman) was nice but a little on the ghetto side.
I can't see this place being busy during dinner.
Authentic average to below average Korean food here. I give it the same amount of stars as the other Korean restaurants solely because it's the only one brave enough to be downtown.
Went there for lunch. Got the bi bim pop. It was pretty damn good and hit the spot. My friend got the bul ko gi and that hit the spot for him too. All in all pretty good. Busy as hell during lunch, though!!
Went to the lunch buffet with co workers after reading reviews from Yelp. I guess the best way to describe this place is underwhelming. The interior is modest but clean. The lunch buffet is now 8.99, everything on the lunch menu was raised by $1. The buffet is very small. Actually 75% of the items on it are the free side dishes you get at a korean restaurant when you order an entree. On the plus side, the bulgogi and the fried dumplings were delicious!
Lost in translation=perfect.
i give more stars for location. it is wonderful to see a real korean restaurant in a "gentrified" neighborhood (of the west loop). logically, it is a great idea because this place will cater to the asians (especially koreans) at UIC (and the various universities in the loop); which it does. so far, on a monday night, i only saw korean customers (one african american because she was with her korean friend).
hopefully, with their "lunch time special", they can educate white/non-koreans to enjoy good tasting korean food!
nonetheless, i definately will spread the word, i.e. to MEETin folks and such.
Good Korean place near Downtown Chicago.
The bibimbap was GREAT and the bulgogui was good, but not very traditional.
What we really missed was the baechul kimchi and the watermelon after the dinner.
I've been going here two to three times a week for past few months and this place is great! Yes, I am Korean. And yes, I love Korean food. Go there for the food. Not decoration. This is probably one of the better/authentic Korean food restaurants in Chicago.
I personally would not recommend the buffet however. They were a bit dry when I tried it. But their soups are as authentic as they get.
I have eaten here a few times when I have been in the mood for Korean but not in the mood to drive way north. The food isn't bad but they don't have much on the menu and it is all very overpriced. Last time I was in, the waiter wouldn't let me order one of the pork dishes because he said americans don't like it. The bulgogi was on point as was the mondu. Difficult to get server to refill kimchi or water. Maybe not the best place to try korean for the first time but if youre in the area and have korean food on your mind its not terrible.
this place is really good!! and this is someone who lived in korea for 5 months and had plenty of authentic food. skip the buffet -- not much here. but instead choose something from the menu. their gal bi tang (beef broth with beef and noodles) is so good. if you're feeling adventurous & like spicy food.. check out their bu deh jjigae... (its really spicy with spam, sausage, noodles, etc). haven't had their BBQ but their soups are really good.
only $6.99/dish too!
Neighborhood: The Loop
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: The Loop
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: North Center
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: University Village
Category: Japanese
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