Sorabol Korean Restaurant
101 Spear St
(between Howard St & Mission St)
San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 896-5959
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
47 reviews
Neighborhood: North Oakland
"I love this place! The outside of the restaurant is not too impressive (considering the crummy neighborhood), but the establishment is…" read more »
46 Reviews for Sorabol Korean Restaurant
A good standby for lunch if you're meeting a friend and want a really large selection of Korean food to choose from. However, the food is all half-hearted done.
I ordered the dumpling noodle soup. It was okay. But the dumplings were not home-made and the noodles and broth was nothing special. The dumplings were all pork too, no shrimp. I really miss Good Earth Cafe!
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Hm, reading the other reviews, let me explain the 4 star rating.
This place supplies my chop jae fix.
Hell, they supply my overall noodle fix whenever I'm hungry at work and brought rice instead.
Now, I know it's plain compared to authentic chop jae. But damnit, it's tasty and I don't care. I haven't had a lot of chop jae in my life so maybe I haven't been enlightened yet, but my tummy just thinks "noodles... tasty noodles!! nomnomnom!!" Sometimes I get it a la carte with a piece of eel and have them put the sauce over it, and that's lunch.
The chow mein is good too. I usually get it with chicken and the portion is huge. It may be 7 dollars but it's two meals. The one item bowl can be two meals, too, and it comes with rice AND chop jae. :D More steamed veggies in the bowl would be nice, though.
There is also free kimchee. Of course I've had better kimchee elsewhere (who hasn't), but c'mon, it's Korean takeout food and I feel better for eating more veggies.
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Get the noodle salad from the noodle bar.
p.s. UNLIMITED kimchee. Need I say more?
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Ordered the meat noodle soup. The veggies and the pork were good. The beef and chicken were bland, and there weren't enough noodles for my tastes. Overall, just a bland dish. I'll try something different next time.
Korean fast food. Tastes alright and the servings are large. It's better than Hahn's Hibachi (I don't set the bar high when I'm in a food court).
Tip: Avoid the kimchee. It tastes like it was made that morning (i.e. in serious need of additional fermentation).
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I'm giving this three stars for the number of times I went before I found a dish that I really really really liked! One of the top contenders for my desert island food is noodle soup (of pretty much any kind) so when I tried their wonton noodle soup I was hoping it'd be awesome, but not optimistic. Guess what, dudes -- it was awesome. The other couple of things I've had there - eh.
It was like $6 and they do take credit cards.
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Pretty filling lunch, I had beef short ribs and BBQ chicken on rice with a handful of veggies. All were delicious. Sooo filling that I needed coffee to keep me awake in the afternoon at work!
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Great for lunch! I had the Bulgogi combo plate, and I paid only $7.00. Plus, they offer free Kim Chi. Quick and inexpensive!
I was craving Korean food recently and the only place I could find was Sorabol. Don't get me wrong about Sorabol though. It's basically a Korean fast food joint.
While Sorabol didn't exactly give me the fix that I wanted, I was still happy with the food and the portions. The portions are huge! I usually get the plate lunch because it comes with Jap Chae. I also always get the spicy pork even though it's drenched in oil.
If you need some Korean food downtown, this is probably your best bet.
Gotta try the Chicken stir-fry noodle. This was the best bbq chicken chow mein, i ever had. They also served noodle soup here. I took a star off because I disliked part of pieces of bbq chicken being burned. This had become my favorite spot to eat chow mein.
I used to order the chicken bowl all the time, but then I realized it was getting pretty expensive. It's still not bad for the rice, noodles, chicken and some veggies. Then I moved on to the noodle/soup bar. It's at least a few dollars cheaper to order noodle soups here. They don't have much taste in them, but to me it tasted healthy with noodles, chicken (white meat) and veggies. I tried the won ton which tasted decent at the time, but after lunch I felt like throwing up.
I think this place is also cheaper than the newer one at Westfield, but I'm not sure.
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I go there every week to get japchae and kalbi. It is by no means great Korean food. But for a quick fix in the neighborhood, it is ok. The portion of kalbi was skimpy though... :(
Good korean fast food. The chicken bowl, spicy calamari, beef chow mein....rrhhrhrhr....Good noodle soup too...
Terrible. Just terrible.
I went once and ordered the beef short ribs (kalbi). Food was overcooked and low quality and quantity. Not even worth calling this "Korean."
I don't understand why FiDi can't get any half-way decent Koeran restaurants.
It's just one of many places to eat at the Rincon Center. I'm not a huge fan of Korean food so I can't be a fair judge. It's fine for the price.
I normally despised going to Rincon Center for Lunch, but Sorabol was a DEFINATE exception to the rule! Their Korean Combo's are YUMMY...I'd either get the Kalbee or the Bulgogi and Chicken lunch combo. They know I'm no small fry, so I get good portions from them. It's not the BEST Korean food I've had, but in the FiDi what choices do you really have?
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Wow, I finally found a place that serves saimin in FiDi...and it's not even a Hawaiian BBQ place. How cool is that? The Rincon Center has many lunchtime choices surrounding that oh-so-cool ceiling-high fountain. Because Sorabol has been around for quite a while in Oakland, I naturally gravitate toward this place for lunch.
Of course, you can get the marinated short ribs or chicken dishes or some combo with a heaping scoop of rice. But I suggest walking a bit further into the place and ordering the more economically priced noodle bowls. I was able to get a large bowl of saimin noodles with barbecue pork for just $5.25. I may not have to panhandle again.
Get there at 11:30 if you can to secure a table. Despite how expansive that lobby is, it fills up quickly. And through the noise, listen for the guy at the baby grand piano playing a fine medley of Burt Bacharach tunes. "The look...of love...is in...your eyes...the look...you can't...disguise."
FOOD - 4 stars...solid Korean fast food with noodle bowls to boot
AMBIANCE - 3 stars...despite the fountain and baby grand, hardly a transport to paradise...you have to get back to work, y'know
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...fast and LOUD
TOTAL - 4 stars...for a bowl of saimin noodles...please sir, I want some more
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Great Korean fast food. Though I've only had the beef bowl, it was pretty scrumptious.
It comes in layers, like an onion. First you have your rice, then they layer on some noodles, then the pile on the beef (or whatever meat you choose), and then they add some vegetables on the side (to compensate for the slabs of meat). And then they ask if you want some "dressing" on top of it all.
Not the healthiest, but pretty yummy. And don't let them forget the noodles - they almost cheated me out of them once.
Oh, and the kimchi, while free, is quite disappointing. Feel free to pass on it.
So why four stars instead of three? Because it's the only reason I crave the Rincon Center.
I friggin LOVE this place. I always get the BBQ Pork dish, and it has always been quality. When I haven't been in the city for a while I start to crave the BBQ Pork badly.
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today i went to sorabol for lunch and ordered the two item combo. apparently sorabol is korean for cheap ass bastards, cause i got like two tons of chicken but only one piece of rib eye. ONE PIECE. that's a travesty, my friend.
especially since two months ago i ordered the same combo and got two pieces. i guess times are hard or something
boss: we're losing money. from now on, only give each customer one rib
employee: one rib? but boss, wouldn't they complain?
boss: no, cause we'll compensate by giving them two tons of chicken pieces. so much so, their wrists will snap right off.
well mr.boss, your plan failed. my wrists are strong and supportive, cause i've been eating red meat since i left my mother's womb. so in your face! and you bastards owe me a rib!
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This place actually has pretty good food but they are sooooooo f#$%ing stingy! I ordered the veggie bowl with tofu ($7) and the lady very carefully selected 3 pieces of tofu (didn't know tofu was so expensive) I asked for one more piece which she gave me then told the cashier that it was an extra dollar for the tofu. I was ready to say the hell with the entire order but the cashier was smart enough to tell I was pissed and floated the extra charge. They probably deserve 3 stars but I'm irritated.
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It's by far the best (save Yank Sing) that I've found at Rincon. Now since I lived in Berkeley for all those college years, I'm used to Steve's Korean BBQ on Durant (a Cal staple), which I didn't like. Hence I had to get dragged to Sorabol against my will. But, alas, it was good. Really good. Reasonably priced, chicken was fresh and tender, won ton soup was filling and served in an enormous bowl! Tasty spicey chicken too! Yippy!
It's a Korean fast food joint. If you're looking for excellent traditional Korean food, and solid Kimchee...you really shouldn't expect to find it here.
It is what it is, and doesn't pretend to be anything beyond that. The food is reasonably priced, and comes out quick. It's great if you only have so much time for your lunch hour.
I usually get the combo bowl which comes with rice, noodles and my choice of two entrees. The chicken is consistently good, and the fried fish is a decent second.
Try to get here before the lunch rush, or at least have your choices picked out ahead of time. If you're not used to their system of rushing you through the line, it can get a little overwhelming. Especially when you're trying to make a decision and the lady scooping the food behind the counter looks like she's going to beat you with her rice ladle for slowing down the line.
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Wow -Sorabol hits it out of the park, for sure.
If you are a noodle whore, and I'm pretty sure you are, you will have to go right to the back of their excellent buffet and order from their smaller noodle house. No grease, no skimp, no msg, and no wait.
Very worth a trip here. In the least, prove me wrong.
I like the Sorabol chain. It's fast, it's edible. The kimchi is bleh, but it's free, so you have a choice. You don't HAVE to take it!
I usually get the spicy pork bowl. The spicy pork is okay, edible... It's not the best. I'm all about the japchae (vermicelli) though.
I find it funny that when they ask me if I want stir-fried veggies, I always just end up with broccoli that isn't really cooked... Somehow the other veggies in that bin never make it to my bowl.
There is separate seating, so you don't have to risk standing around for 20 minutes in the rest of the Rincon courtyard.
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Had the 2 item combo of pork and beef with rice and a some vegetables consisting of carrots and some broccoli. It was ok. They give a lot of meat, but the quality is not the highest and the taste is just ok. It sort of reminded me of that place Yoshinoya's Beef Bowl, except this was better. $7.50 with tax was fair for this meal. The chicken actually looked like a better meat option if you go there; I just wasn't in the mood this day.
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I'm so happy that there's a Sorabol at the Rincon center. Although I feel the prices are a bit steep, it is consistent for the financial district. My go to dish here is the hot pork bowl, no rice, extra noodles, and no sauce. There's enough salt in all the food we eat that another scoop of diluted soy sauce would just be obscene. Anyways, the fact that there's a Korean option with decent food at an average price is enough reason for a higher than average rating, as I am completely sick of all the sandwich/soup/salad places that are as frequent in the financial district as there are Starbucks. Thank you Sorabol for giving me a choice!!!
First off, whatever it is that they pass off as "kimchee" is decidedly not. It's awful and should be avoided at all costs.
Secondly, the other food is nearly as bad as the imposter "kimchee"
I ended up here when we couldn't get into Yank Sing. And what a sad consolation prize this place turned out to be.
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I was exposed to too much good Korean food growing up and while I can't name the vast majority of it (I was told to eat so I ate!), I know enough not to eat here.
The kimchi is just wrong. WRONG. WRONG WRONG WRONG FLAVORLESS LIMP WATERY WRONG. I hope I've made myself clear.
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i got a veggie bowl. with chicken.
...........
and no, it's not a veggie bowl with the option of adding chicken. it COMES with meat. i ordered it and the chick asks what kind of meat i'd like. LOL!
the sign said "veggie bowl. $6.95 w/ meat"
5 stars for making me laugh and making my day!!!!
and the food is good for lunch food... nothing spectacular but it'll fill you up.
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I used to work across the street from the Rincon Center and Sorabol's Stir Fried Noodles with meat was always a safe bet. I'd have some for lunch and the rest for dinner...it was huge...and not that expensive.
I've also had their noodle soups which are pretty good too.
Food comes out pretty fast, hot and fresh!
I know it's not real Korean food. I still like getting the veggie bowl for the variety of veggies and it's very filling. I keep it on my list of lunch options and swing by here and there.
Okay, where to start? I didn't know how many stars to give this place, but after reading the other reviews, I knew that one star was the way to go. When you Yelp a place, you kind of scan a place to read the bad reviews to see if they are legitimate or if the person is just a mean old crank or whatever. But Sorabol had way too many good reviews, so I thought I had to leaven the enthusiasm a little. One thing I noticed is that people who know anything about Korean food almost uniformly tanked this place, while non-Korean food junkies seem to like it. Well, I have my Korean food cred - I've lived there for quite a bit and not in Seoul (where you can actually have access to Western food if you want) but waaaay the heck out in the hinterland. So take if from someone (big secret - a totally non-Korean white person) who has actually navigated many, many open markets and bought lots of ohjingo, sanghop and namul from hiemonies, that this place totally sucks as a Korean restaurant. But I'm not sure that's the point. If you are looking for a Korean place, as others have astutely pointed out, please look elsewhere. But if you are looking for some good fast food noodles in the Rincon Center, well, maybe this place is pretty good. I will say it is clean and efficient. And crowded - probably the most crowded "Korean" restaurant that I have ever seen. As one of my colleagues sagely pointed out, if the place actually served good Korean food, it probably wouldn't do nearly the business.
I did want the place to be good - I don't usually go south of Market, but an excursion took me down there the other day (and I ate at Yank Sing - you can't go wrong there) and I was dying to get back and try Sorabol, which I did today. I was hoping that there would be a good Korean place in the FD, which inexplicably there really isn't (unless you count John's Deli, which is good, but the size of a closet and really only has bibimbap and kimbap ((but it's good!))). But I guess my dream of a decent Korean restaurant has been dashed again.
Anyway, I knew that things were amiss when none of the workers seemed to have Korean language comprehension whatsoever. I mean, if you go to an Italian restaurant, you don't ask for "long, skinny noodles covered with tomato sauce," you ask for spaghetti. Everybody knows that. So I really chafed at having to order ohjingho bokkum as "spicy calamari plate." I can understand the explanation, but the order taker should still know what bokkum is. I mean, c'mon. And, dude, it totally wasn't even spicy! I can't speak for other food, but I can only imagine. My measuring bar for Korean places is always ohjingho bokkum, at least for starters. Oh, and you don't get any side dishes here. I think that the dude might have even charged me extra for the little plastic cup of "kimchi." Which, I have to agree with MiRIAM, should be avoided at all costs.
So, bottom line, if you like it here, please be advised that, cute stylized dragon head logo aside, this place has no semblance to a real Korean restaurant and the food has no correlation to actual real Korean food. But by judging from the size of the line snaking out the door, people may not care.
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Damn, I'm not sure why I went back to this place. I was disappointed with the food the first time I went, and this last trip did nothing to change my opinion of the place. The food is mediocre. The prices are average. The Kim Chee is actually terrible. However, the quantities are generous... so if you are in the mood for a significant pile of mediocre food at about normal prices this is the place for you.
Actually, I really wanted to give a zero-star rating but the system would not let me. I've been to this fast food take-out restaurant in the Rincon Center food court once or twice and the food was OK. However, my experience today was absolutely appalling. I ordered a 2-item plate with rice. I picked my 1st item - short-ribs. While the woman behind the counter was scooping and cutting up the ribs for me, she asked me what my 2nd item would be and I said egg rolls. While she was finishing with cutting up my ribs, I changed my mind on the 2nd item and asked for chicken. The woman had the nerves to tell me that since the 2nd item was another meat item, she would need to take back one piece of short rib from my plate.
I considered asking for the manager to inquire about the food serving policy which is not posted anywhere on the menu but I decided not to cause a scene and make other customers wait. However, I would have no remorse of causing the woman who served me lose her job!
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I don't know what you guys be talkin' 'bout.
The takeout service here is always incredibly fast. (To see the opposite extreme, go to the sandwich place next door to here.)
Try the spicy tofu veggie rice bowl. I love pickled things and spicy things and I get it all in one bowl.
These gals get really shiesty behind the lunch counter! Especially the rice lady--I asked for half the usual MOUNTAIN of rice, and she yelled at me for wanting more veggies instead. Dude, they're just carrots and broccoli, chill the hell out! Despite the kind of stingy entree portions (employees will ACTUALLY pick meat out with their tongs, piece by piece, if they feel that they're giving you more than you desrve...seriously, watch them stand there for a second and contemplate quantity per dollar), I gotta say that for Korean fast food, they're not bad, and you actually do get a lot for your money (spicy tofu plate & bibimbap w/ meat, $6.50 and $6.95 respectively). My boyfriend got some kind of marinated pork dish, and it was good. And for being in Rincon Center, convenience is key for lunchtime stops.
I enjoy going here and getting the stir-fried noodles with tofu and veggies (go to the back counter to order these, not the steam table). Please note that you may find the occasional meat bit in your veggie noodles because they fry them up in the same pan they do everyone else's noodes. The portions are huge -- I will often save half for a later meal. Ditto on the kim chee... there's something not so yummy about it.
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I tried the bul go gee and the glass noodles here. Both didn't taste all that great and I ended up picking at them. The beef quality could have been much better.
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sorabol is horrible.... haha that rhymes! expensive crappy food w/ small portions and bad kimchi...
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