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Mon-Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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Another nice dinner.
Great food, great exhaust fans, good service.
Kids are welcome and not an anomaly.
I notice I am a creature of habit and thus many updates to previous foodie (self proclaimed) reviews.
Great Place for Korean BBQ.
Been to Seoul Garden a few times, excellent experience each time.
No…
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I've been craving this place for the longest. So some of my coworkers and I came the other night to check it out. I was not disappointed at all. Appetizer that I had was Ohjinguh Twigim ( deep fried calamari )
which is making my mouth watery as I type right now. For dinner I played it safe and ordered something that was awesome, Jumuluck Roast which is sliced boneless beef rib eye.
Had a few beers with the gang and the average of $ per person came to at least $30.00 each. There were 6 of us but we had fun as hell.
I've had full course Korean BBQ before, but this was my first time at Seoul Garden.
It had been a while since I've had Korean food, so I was craving some kimchee and all of the little side plates.
I had dinner there with 2 others (3 of us total), and each of us ordered the Full Course B. Wow! It was a lot of food. Prepare for food coma, but sooo good!
Everything was delicious. Servers were attentive and helpful during the 'cook-it-yourself' meats and shrimp.
Nothing to complain about when it comes to the food, but I will say, it was on the pricey side. I'm sure there are other places around with the same great food. As for me, I wouldn't mind going to a less decorated restaurant, as long as the food is superbe. That's why I only give it 4 stars. Otherwise, give it a try!
After making the rounds of all the Korean restaurants in Oakland, it's hard to cross the Bay and pay 2-3 times the money for the same food. However Seoul Garden attempts to compensate for the sky high prices with extremely attentive, friendly service and beautiful relaxing surroundings. I would still prefer the cheapo East Bay prices any day, but if you're stuck in SF with the family, as I was, and hungry for Korean, this is a great choice. The ban chan was plentiful and fairly fresh-tasting. For a party of five, we were given 16 small plates, more than enough. The beef is tasty, not above average, but very good. Soft tofu with meat and oyster was excellent, but a smaller portion than anywhere else I've eaten. Overall, a solid four stars. Would be five if prices were lower.
Great food! Even greater service!
I am a huge fan of the servers here-- Stella and Connie are so nice, they really top off the great dining experience.
Great Korean pancakes, kalbi and bulgoki.
All of the appetizer dishes were great too.
It may be a bit pricey, but a lot of cook-it-yourself Korean BBQ places are in the same price range. Plus, this place comes with rice, miso soup, rice dessert drink, AND red bean ice cream. (the appetizers as well, of course). I know some places that make you order rice/soup separately.
We didn't get that much food and we were stuffed!
It's also really nice/clean feeling, which I liked.
This place rocks. the owners treat you like family if you go there often enough. I don't know why people like brothers soooo much. it's not any better. i know most of the gringos will come here for the meat. but take a break and try the flounder. it's realllly good! i was surprised. and it will cost you less!
Friendly service, good mung bean pancakes and soondooboo jigae, sub-par bulgogi and sides. Should've gone to Kukje. No more naeng-myun refresher appetizer. Gave me wooden chopsticks in a gift box to make up for it. Quality fails to match expense.
The naeng-myun palate refresher - vermicelli in a tangy, chilled kimchee soup - is a great way to… Read more »
We celebrated Father's Day this past Saturday, and I decided on Seoul Garden. I'm very happy I chose to come here...the ambiance was very nice, set in a old style Korean Village house and service was extremely friendly. Great choice for Father's Day.
This place is very spacious. Upon walking in, you pass by the regular tables without the BBQ Grill on the left, and to the right are the private rooms available with BBQ and without. Seats about 20+ people. Walking further into the restaurant, are the private booths for BBQ. I loved this dining room very much. There are 8 tables all arranged on the outside perimeter of the dining room, so the middle was pretty much just an open space. Definitely loved the spaciousness of the dining room.
Our waitress was Stella, she was very friendly, as were all of the other gals working that night. Korean restaurants for me are sometimes a hit and miss; most that I have experienced in the past are pretty decent with a somewhat "snootie" attitude. But luckily, our staff for the night was sooo attentive to our needs, double checking our hot barley tea and banchan frequently, and always had a big huge smile everytime we requested something else. Could've have asked for a more welcoming staff at a Korean restaurant.
Dinner was g r e a t .
For appetizer, we started off with the Mung Bean Pancake with sweet sauce, great dish, and cooked perfectly, not overly fried. However, thank good for the sauce, for it would've been a bit too bland without it. Overall, good appetizer.
We ordered the Bulgogi, Kal Bi and Dak Gui. Flavor was perfect--nice and juicy, and the meat was very tender. Stella cut our meat perfectly for us into easy-to-eat sized pieces. Very easy to cook. We killed all of the meat extremely fast.
We also ordered the Jap Chae--noodles had great flavor, but we didn't have the option of adding any meat, a bit too much veggies, not enough noodles. I was hoping a little bit more texture. Otherwise, very good dish.
In the end, Dad definitely enjoyed the very upscale environment for a Korean BBQ restaurant--wasn't expect the place to be so clean, and without the BBQ smell.
Yes, prices are a bit high. But for the environment, service, and great food, the price was well worth it for me. Very well-rounded experience. Overall, we paid $145 bucks which includes tip. Great experience for Father's Day!
Hope to come back again soon for another special occasion.
We were hanging out at the Japan Town Center and were deciding on what we should have for lunch. Since I was hungry for real food, I didn't want to eat sushi so we found this Korean BBQ place there and had lunch. The restaurant was nice as well. It was one of Zagat's rated restaurant. The interior was nice. Service was excellent. Food was pretty good. Dessert was included as well. We had kalbi, bugolgi, bbq prawns, jabchae, and red bean ice cream. Its considered one of the best Korean BBQ places in SF! For the amount of food we got, the price was very good.
Date & Time: Friday May 1, 2009 @ 8:30pm
Location: Japan Center
Company: Michael
Crowd: Groups of Attractive Drunk 20-Something Guys & Girls Celebrating Birthdays in Party Attire: Guys in Striped Shirts w/ Seven Jeans & Girls in Bright Little Silky Tops w/ Rock n' Republic Jeans
Vibe: Rowdy
Decor: Traditional. Sections of Wooden Partitioned Booths for Quatre & Tightly-Packed Cushioned Benches & Tables
Service: Friendly & Efficient. The Female Server Repeatedly Said "Tank You Velly Much" after Serving Each Dish or Asking a Question
Imbibe: Hite Beer & Lemonade
Devour: C Course $38.95 Per Person: 1. Dumpling Soup 2. Prawns 3. Mini-Korean Pan Cakes 4. Kalbi 5. Soup 6. Sea Bass 7. Fruit(Orange) & Dessert Soup 8. Vanilla & Green Tea Ice Cream
Total: $92.86
Note: After Our Meal We were Presented a Pair of Wooden Chopsticks w/ its own Box
This place has been open for so many years I expected to understand the reason for its longevity. What a disappointment. Not only did the food taste suspiciously old/stale, I got sick from the dol sok bibimbap (my sole meal of the day).
I should have ordered something that required us to cook ourselves, ie kalbi. The table next to us seemed to enjoy it. But since I have zero intentions of ever dining here again, it's not going to happen.
On a positive note, the next Korean restaurant I go to couldn't possibly be worse. And generally, me likes Korean food lots. It was overpriced too.
I used to go to Seoul Garden relatively often when I lived in the City, when I was single and when I had a young family (like ten years ago). Food was good, staff was very friendly (unlike many other Korean restaurants), and while the price was a little high, it was not bad.
We went back a couple months ago, and the prices were just ridiculously high now, like $25-30 for an entree, for one person. If you get an appetizer, side dish, or drink, then you're looking at $35. And the food is just okay, nothing special. Good panjun though....
The best thing about the place is the staff and service. They are very friendly and kind. Many Korean restaurants just don't have very good staff (I am Korean) for "American" standards, but Seoul Garden is a welcome exception. But the prices are just too high now, even for a special dinner or celebration. The portions are not that large. Maybe their rents went up so they increased their food prices.
4 stars for the experience (because of the service and i had a good time), 3 stars for the food (solid, but not knock your socks off).
Pros:
-all the banchan you could want (and good banchan too)
-super friendly and helpful service
-grill it yourself or have them do it for you
-complimentary soup and dessert (i love ice cream)
Cons:
-i've had better jap chae (these noodles got clumpy)
-i've had better kal bi (tasty and tender, but could've been better marinated and more tender
i would say won mi had better kal bi, and brother's is just better all around - but seoul garden is a convenient spot to drop in on when you don't feel like smelling like smoke and beef for the next 24 hours after you eat.
highly overpriced, poor quality food, if I could rate it a "0", I would.
the food is tasteless, the Bibimbop was full of rice with very little veggie, the beef (Kalbi and Bulgogi) are so dry and hard that they are un-chewable, and are tasteless as well.
I've had much better Korean food elsewhere and at half the price of what they charge at this place.
I went on a sunday with a friend and we were practically the only ones in the whole restaurant. It didn't matter tho...the service was great and the place was clean.
The food was expensive (ie $20-25 for an entree) but worth it. So incredibly good that I've been craving it for the rest of this week.
In the end, they were pretty nice to us. I talked with Stella, our server, about Seoul for a while (having recently visited) and she gave us free dessert, if we promised to come back with friends.
Overally, nice atmosphere--reminiscent of Tokyo!--good food and attentive service. One of J-Town's most hidden and underrated spots.
My family was a fan of this place.
Its a great korean place, don't get me wrong, but the prices are just really, really high. its about $25 for the ribeye dish. Come on. Plus, their portions are not that big either.
Tim, the owner, is really nice though. He greets you upon entry and he tries to say bye when you leave.
When we used to visit this place, the meals were at around $20, still somewhat high, but manageable. However, about a year ago, their prices went up.
I like this place because it has a very elegant vibe to it. However, the price just turns our family away and towards the next korean barbeque place. They used to serve a scoop of red bean and green tea ice cream each, serve fresh fruit, and even the rice juice, but now they don't. They only give you a scoop of ice cream, and some rice juice... which i don't understand because they raised their price significantly.
Try this place though, its a great place to celebrate an occasion!
Not as good as Brothers!!
But better service.
But doesn't use charcoal like Brothers! They use gas. So.... your clothes don't smell as much as when you eat at Brothers but your food also doesn't taste as good.
Just wear janky clothes and go to Brothers.
Being a vegetarian in a Korean restaurant is hard, really hard. But this place has some decent options. Moreover, once you tell them that you are vegetarian they are careful enough to point out what items they bring in have any meat/fish. So, definitely love the service. This time around I tried the glass noodle, with veggies - and it was great.
The ice-cream at the end - seemingly comes with every dish - is a delightful surprise.
The people who serve here seem to be Japanese btw. I see a few others mentioning that they are Koreans.
This resto has a special place in my heart for various reasons, so one of those 4 stars may be me getting carried away.
I asked them for rice paper.
They. didn't. know. what. it. was. And she was Korean. That was a major disappointment but I couldn't blame them. Wait, yes I can. She's Korean!
The kalbi was very good, but the bulgogi, not so much. I liked the complimentary seaweed soup. We also had to dok bok ki, which was good too. Service was not very quick -- it took forever to get our check back. The drink at the end that came with the free green tea ice cream was so good and it was the first time I've ever had it.
I really like my Korean bbq with rice paper, so I'm not coming back unless I know they have it!
Since I was 15, I've made it a point to go to lunch at Seoul Garden whenever I'm in San Francisco because 1) They used to be my favorite Korean joint and 2) lunch at Seoul Garden followed by shopping in Miyako is my idea of a good afternoon. Damn the man that Yelp doesn't have half stars, if I could I'd rate them 3 1/2 stars because the last time I went to Seoul Garden the food wasn't as good as it had been before and Eugene B.'s review sheds light on why that may be. For nostalgia's sake I'll drop them a 4 star with the hopes that they'll soon live up to their former glory.
Still, Seoul Garden is a decent Korean restaurant. I like the Korean country inn decor, its by far one of the nicest looking Korean restaurants I've been in and I do like how they separate the bbq tables from the non-bbq tables so you're not perma-infused with the smell of grilled meat.
Seaweed soup is meh not bad, panchan is standard fare, and my picks are always the spicy meats (hint: don't be shy about asking for a pitcher of water at your table if you're weak sauce like me). The killer here is the service, its personable and, for an Asian restaurant, actually good.
When I went to the Bay Area this past New Year's I was *this* close to having this as one of our dining destinations but based on my last experience there I couldn't quite get myself to do it. Seoul Garden, next time I'm in your hood please come correct like you used to, I miss your old style.
Wow... I've been missing out all these years! I'm hardly even in the Miyako Mall, unless I'm there to gawk at all the gorgeous stuff in Genki. My ex and I were planning to go to Kabuki, since he's been training for a marathon and I've been injured yet again. We were starving and just happened to be in Miyako, since we had parked in the garage on this end.
As we went upstairs we spotted Seoul Garden and thought Korean BBQ sounded tasty. Inside the place is immaculate! I kid you not... SUPER clean, so I know right away that I am at least going to feel comfortable eating here. They had bbq and non bbq sections, which I enjoyed because I don't always want to smell of food. We decided on a non bbq table and were seated fairly quickly.
I have to admit that I made a couple of blunders by not reading the fine print properly on the menu. I ordered something that required a 2 order min. and something else that required a reservation to order... naku... I'm so in a hurry because I was hungry and didn't notice it. Luckily our waitress was very sweet and didn't make me feel bad.
In the end we ordered:
Yukhwe - raw beef with raw egg... I thought it was over daikon, but it was so sweet that it tasted like yucca. I have loved this dish, since I was first introduced to it. They don't serve it over ice, like some restaurants, but it was ice cold and slightly crisp when it arrived. PERFECT! This was the best dish of the day.
Bulgogi - gotta love the thin sliced rib eye... decent flavor and more than enough. Between eating half the yukhwe and the bulgogi, I was in a food coma. It's probably not my favorite bulgogi, but it did hit the spot.
Kalbi - my ex ordered this. He asked if they could please make it spicy and the waitress was sweet enough to explain that it doesn't come that way, but she would ask. When it arrived, it was spicy and tasty.
As for the banchan... there were a few that I've never had before, but also a few that I was hoping for and didn't see. Overall, there were plenty of tasty items. The rice here was perfectly sticky... so that even I didn't have trouble eating it with chopsticks. Sometimes I have a hard time, since I suck at using chopsticks...especially if the rice isn't sticky enough. Red bean ice cream at the end was so tasty. I love red bean ice cream and was happy to see a change of pace from the usual green tea.
It was a bit more expensive that some Korean bbq joints I've been to, but the service was spectacular and our waitress was so adorably cute in her uniform. I felt like we had a really peaceful meal and the noise level was so minimal. I would return the next time I'm craving for yukhwe.
OMG, I am so painfully full. It isn't cheap, but it is not crowded like other Korean bbq joints. I like the staff, they were very, very friendly and the service was impeccable. I love Korean BBQ, but yes, you end up spending a lot of time washing clothes.
For 3 people, 1 bottle of alcohol, 3 orders of meat, all of the pickles and bulgolgi = 138.00 (tax, but not including tip). It was sooooooooo... worth it.
I highly recommend Seoul Garden.
Came here over the weekend with a big party. We had a nice secluded area and great service from the waitress.
We ordered beef and chicken to bbq, seafood pancake, veggie tempura, tofu soup and chap chae. The seafood pancake was very good, perfect consistency, crunchy on the outside and lots seafood inside. The veggie tempura was good too. The other items were ok, the meat was fresh and the tofu soup was tasty, nothing memorable though. Side dishes were tasty, I have to mention that it had one of the best kimchis I've tasted.
I thought their cucumber soju was refreshing and pretty interesting. It wasn't as good as the lemon soju though.
Since we were with a big group, I didn't have a chance to try more dishes so I will definitely be back.
Minuh Chim. It's sea bass marinated in spicy sauce with daikon. I think it's their specialty as it's in all of their combination dinner specials. OMG, I fell in love. I don't think I wanted to eat anything after that, even though we got haemul pajun. And that was alright, kind of on the thicker side. Service was above average and we got the welcome in Korean. Which means a) they greet everyone in Korean or b) we look Korean. The waitress kept talking to me in Korean and looking very intently at me, as if she was incredulous that I understood. I heard that Korean businessmen from Korea come here, which means it's pretty decent. Korean people come from Korea and still want Korean food. That's just how good it is. Or they're just afraid of change. And you also have to love the decor. Their main focus is obviously the food and service.
3.5 FOR FAMILY STYLE
We happen to find ourselves here when our favorite Korean restaurant across town was closed. We were craving Korean. I do remember my friends around the city talking about this place and how its delicious. I come to Japan town at least once a week and never make a stop in, well finally i did... in 2009.
We ordered Bulgoi, family style.
1. Plenty of side dishes, delicious
2. seaweed soup, took two sips and pushed it aside
3. Bulgoi was pretty good, better then good but have had better
4. Price, manageable
5. Services was almost on point, why they do they have to be cheap on the napkins?
When you see a customer spill crap all over herself, dont hand her a napkin, hand her napkinS. One will not cut it for a family style meal and hungry people who cannot keep it clean =P
It's definately a place to go and eat some good Korean food. Trust me, it beats all the other Korean restaurants in Japantown!
We went here last Friday during the 1pm lunch hour. No crowds, good parking, and I was famished.
For the grill there is a two order minimum:
We ordered the
Kalbi
#19 Ribeye, marinated and boneless
Shrimp. deveined, cut open with shell on
For the cooked item:
Grilled mackeral
The banchan "sides" arrived immediately on par with the drinks
Iced water
Sprite
Kim Chee Radish - crispy and fresh
Kim Chee Cabbage - tart and spicy
Fish cakes - Love these and ate three refilled mini plates
Diakon Salad - sweet crisp thinly sliced diakons in a sweet marinate
Cucumbers - crunchy, fresh and sweet
Bean Sprouts - with a slight taste of sesame oil
Romaine Green Leaf Lettuce (crispy and abundant)
Egg - like a steamed scrambled egg
Some crispy sweet root vegetable that had holes in it. But like a crispy thin cut sweet potato (deelish)
I had to take off one star. The soup they serve prior to the meal has clear broth, a 1/4 teaspoon ground meat and diakon. I believe its better if they served a soup. The problem was it didn't have any flavor. I took a sip and set it aside. Didn't bother with it anymore
The raw marinated meats and shrimp arrived and were quickly cut and placed on the grill. By the way their grill is smokeless and clean and didn't leave a stench on my clothes. I mean I didn't smell like I was on fire.
Unlimited refills of banchan and rice were brought quickly and without exasperation. Good thing. I hate attitude during my meals.
The mackeral was the highlight of the meal. It was tender, boneless, melt in your mouth kind of texture with a wonderful light grill flavor. The sauce acompaniment was wonderful. I didn't eat any rice, but I devoured all the lettuce.
At the conclusion of the meal, they give you a small 1/2 cup of a sweet rice drink and some green tea ice cream.
All in all it's a good experience for families and for pre karaoke get togethers.
Seoul Garden is probably the best Korean restaurant in Japan Town. If you are in Japan Town and looking to grill your own meats or seafood, I would recommend going here over Juban.
Nice decor, private booths, friendly service, and of course good food. All of the meats we ordered were very good, even the ones I didn't expect I'd like (beef tongue). They also refill those great little side dishes and serve barley tea which is one of my favorites.
This place is great for those times when you feel like doing some grilling but are too lazy to go grocery shopping and do all the preparation.
My parents owned and ran Seoul Garden for nearly 20 years before we had to sell the restaurant during tough times in the late 1990's.
When you're a Korean kid growing up with a Korean restaurant, you get sick and tired of eating Korean food all the time. However, when you get older, you become more appreciative and thankful of what you had. You appreciate how hard and long your parents worked from the first customers that walked in, to the very last customer that finishes their meal past midnight.
Ever since we sold the restaurant, I've had many people back home in SF tell me it doesn't taste or run the same since we owned it, but I'm just glad it still exists in Japantown, period. I don't know how many owners have owned Seoul Garden since or even how the food tastes now, but I am just truly grateful for the memories my family and friends have shared there.
I've yet to walk or eat inside Seoul Garden since 1999. Maybe because I like to leave that chapter behind me and move forward or maybe because it would be kinda sad and awkward to walk back inside, let alone eat there.
I'll tell you one thing though, if it wasn't for the blue colored roof tiles above the restaurant entrance, I wouldn't have been able to jump as high as I once did. I had nothing better to do as a kid while my parents worked, but jump around and try to touch as many blue roof tiles as I could. I wouldn't have been able to grab a 10ft. basketball rim at age 15 if it wasn't for those different levels of roof tiles along the restaurant.
Thank you Blue Roof Tiles.
http://static.px.yelp....
I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to Korean food. This place was aiight. Their Sulung Tang was a HUGE let down. Do NOT order their sulung tang here. I ended up making my own broth by adding more ingredients to it because it was so bland. The beef in the soup was also not good. More fat than substance.
Their Dolsot Bibimbap was okay. Nothing spectacular. They added damujee (yellow radish) which was kind of a shocker. I never really had dolsot bibimbap with damujee before. Come to think of it, they were a bit stingy with their vegetables.
But the service was great. Super nice and accommodating. I loved the shik-hae (rice drink) they give after the meal. Made it just right :)
I'm a Seoul Garden! Doo doo doo da doo doo doo!
(You know... like the song)
We went here last weekend for a friend's birthday. She's Korean and called ahead of time to set up the menu. She told me that while Seoul Garden isn't her favorite Bay Area Korean restaurant it has nice decor and works well for a big group. The rooms are nice - there's a lot of wood framing and paper screens.
Our menu included the following (note: this is my best guess looking at the pictures/description on their website):
Mondeumjeon - This appetizer consisted of a platter of Korean style pancakes with various add-ins (like Cold Stone!). There were zucchini ones, sausage ones, crab, tofu, and fish.
Haemul Pajeon - This is a Korean-style green onion cake. Except that instead of just green onions, there was also calamari and shrimp (and maybe crab?). This was my favorite dish.
Dok Mandu Gook - I think this is the one we had. The soup included beef-filled dumplings, green onion, egg, and rice cake (sort of a chewy rice-flavored chip). This was one of my least favorite dishes.
Jabchae Bokum - Glass noodles (one of my favorite Korean dishes) with beef and vegetables.
Kalbi - These broiled short ribs were my favorites of all the beef dishes.
Bulgogi - Platter of broiled thin sliced beef. This was only mediocre.
Red Bean Ice Cream - Red bean is always better than it sounds.
My husband's favorite dish was a veggie stick (not sure what that is) at the vegetarians' table, so I wish I'd had a chance to try it.
The bathroom for the restaurant is the public one for the Miyako Mall.
We spent $40 per person for this feast (and it was a feast since we had several plates of food left over). However, I'd much rather have the $25 sea bass at The House or a good $10 pizza.
Ahhh Korean bbq, grilling/bbq'ing the food at your table. As always these types of places make all your clothes smell like BBQ (and your hair and skin). On a Tuesday night, there's not much activity going on. We had a large group that night and luckily the servers were quite helpful and nice.
As per my usual, I had the chicken (dak gui) and it was delicious. Flavorful but of course takes longer to cook unlike the bulgogi or kalbi. Here I tried the Korean pancakes also, with calamari and shrimp. It was good, but I don't know if I'd order again.
Eating here is great for groups, sharing conversations, enjoying the small dishes with your bbq meal, and of course, enjoying soju, which I did not have although many people enjoyed the lemon soju. 3.5 stars from me.
I'm downgrading my prior review to three stars based on my most recent meal at Seoul Garden.
I love the ambiance, venue, and spunky energy of the waitstaff but unfortunately the food seems to have taken a tailspin here.
I ordered the broiled salmon and it arrived dry and unseasoned. The interior was raw. The banchans we were served were also disappointing, with their kimchi having gone so sour that it really should not have been served. Other banchan dishes were lackluster, such as the pickled radish pieces which were mushy.
I normally adore this place but this last experience left much to be desired. I think I will stick with my old standards: Korea House and New Korea House, right across the street.
I'm in agreement with other reviewers here. This is where I go when I want to have Korean food in… Read more »
We went here for the bf's buddy's bday for dinner, so we ate and drank till we drop.
For the short time that I was still conscious, I still remembered....
OMG, the fish stew was mighty delicious! Oh the meat, the meat! I love love loveee the grill taste. But seriously... the fish stew... mmmm
The grilled fish was one of my favorite dish too... And then... that was all that I can remember... I didn't remember a thing after.... Good thing I took some pictures though.
Agree with Erich D that this is the best Kfood place in Japantown. Which is saying, well, not a lot.
Erich should agree that we need to bring some Koreatown into Japantown.. Kind of like a reverse occupation poetic justice thing.
You know, like we did in L.A.
* So now that I'm done trying to appear witty, here some useful advice: if you are into fish, order the broiled mackeral (pronounced "godong-ee") for you outsiders - most Korean places fry the mackerel (a slightly saltier medium sized fish) but Seoul Garden fillets it and then broils it, so it's not just healthier but actually tastes better.
** why the shot-glasses for water? Please mention something about this next time to the owner (skinny Korean guy who smiles a lot).
First, thanks to our amazing waitress, Stella.
We could have ordered 2/3 less food and still be contently full but man... I think this is a great place to have your company team dinners (as I did) or other large group settings. The large dining hall in the back has a waitress call button; how snooty, hilarious and slightly cool is that?
It's not exemplary Korean but I'd say it's above average; kalbi good, banchan was... eh okay not bad, seafood pancake was really good, bibimbap looked meh, tofu kimchi stir fry was excellent. Rice punch, always my favorite part, awesome, not too sweet. I think the best thing about Seoul Garden, or at least Stella, was that one of my co-workers is a strict vegetarian and they did their very delicious best to accommodate him, which I thought was really sweet and 5 star.
All in all, don't love Seoul Garden but would have no objections coming back.
We had dinner at Seoul Garden on a weeknight. This is easily the most expensive Korean restaurant I've eaten at outside of one extremely upscale restaurant in Seoul itself.
We were seated promptly and ordered the Kimchi Dok Mandu Jonggol, a variation of dumpling soup we'd not tried anywhere before. We were served nine different panchan, including all the usual things like fish cake, kimchi, and mung bean sprouts. One of the panchan was lightly marinated broccoli, which strikes me as highly inauthentic. The kimchi was slightly different from what I'm used to - more salty and sour than I was expecting. Another was acorn jelly, which might be more authentic, but was completely flavorless and IMO pointless to serve.
The dumpling soup was served on a propane burner table-side, and our waitress came by frequently to check on it while it was finishing cooking. While there was way more than enough broth, vegetables, rice cakes, and udon-style noodles for two people, the dish only included four small dumplings, which by themselves were not especially impressive.
Afterwards, we were served red bean ice cream, even though we didn't order it and it wasn't listed as included with the soup. It was fine, but also nothing special.
The interior decor of the restaurant was very nice, and the waitstaff attentive if not especially friendly. I could have done without the easy listening muzak, though. It's a Korean restaurant - why bombard diners with the worst kind of American music? Also, the restaurant has no restrooms of its own - you are expected to use the slightly dodgy mall restrooms instead. For a restaurant that probably averages $30/patron at dinner, this is very bizarre.
This restaurant would be a solid three-star dining experience except for the outrageous prices. $18 for dolsot bibimbap? $40 for dumpling soup for two? $23/person for bulgogi? This restaurant is a very poor value. On top of that, they refuse to accept Discover Card as payment.
This place is fine - certainly not the best Korean food around but also not the worst. Many years ago my partner at the time ordered the salmon and it came frozen in the middle. We sent it back and 30 minutes later it came still cold and uncooked in the middle and burned on the outside...
We (my ex and I) met there for lunch and were given the dinner menus which are substantially more expensive. Since we hadn't been there for lunch before we didn't know if they had a different menu but when we asked they brought it to us.
The food was good - pan chan were good but not as extensive as at other places. The pa jun is very good. the bim bim bap was OK as was the bulgogi.
The service was indifferent possibly because we asked for the lunch menu...
Not running back.
Best Korean food that I've had in the bay area (comparable to those in K-town in LA). I had their dolsot bimbimbop, and my boyfriend liked the bbq. Service was good and they refilled our side dishes frequently. I would go back!
Yeah. Meh. I've experienced better.
I only went there once before. And never thought to go again.
I'm from Michigan, and their food won't last even there. Definitely overpriced for the taste, and portion also.
Ok, my experience comes from just eating the soft tofu spicy soup and vegetable pancake, but still. Any decent Korean restaurant should know how to make these relatively well.
Their soup really didn't taste like what soon doo bu jji gae should taste like. It had flavor, but it was the wrong flavor.
Their vegetable pancake, or bin dae dduk was pretty dry. My mom makes it better than what they serve. Oh and the portion..I think there were three pancakes in total and each was the same size as a mug's bottom. and that was like...over 10 dollars? Definitely not impressed.
Besides that, decor definitely nice, and service friendly...but maybe that's because i went there for an early dinner and there were no customers.
But I prefer taste over ambiance anyways, so...still mediocre.
Seoul Garden is a nice little oasis from the the sometimes-busy Jtown crowd in SF. Yeah, a Korean restaurant in JTown. Go fig, but that's how we do.
Their menu full of Korean fare is overwhelming, but it just makes me want to come back and try other dishes.
The servers were really warm and helpful. I took their suggestions (bulgogi, bibimbab), but those are the standbys you can get anywhere, so I was not impressed. I can not remember the name of the stew we had, but it was okay. Overall, the meal was good, but just not interesting enough. Next time, it's gonna be the hyo gui (beef tongue). They tell me that it only tastes good when done at the table, not in the kitchen, but I'll have to try it for myself and decide.
It was a nice meal and I will definitely go back.
KFC and 1/2 priced beer!
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
Birthday Free
Neighborhood: Western…
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Korean
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