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Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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*This is an old review. Too bad this place is closed!*
We noticed Tofu Villa when it first opened in the Nijiya plaza. The shop looked modern, clean, and it has an nice outdoor seating area. We had a really late lunch that day, and didn't feel hungry until 9pm. Dr. P was craving for some Korean food, but we were too lazy to drive to K-Town. Lucky for us, Tofu Villa is right in West LA and they open late.
The restaurant was run by a Korean wife and husband team. They were really friendly and had a big smile on their face the whole time. We don't normally get that kind of service in K-Town restaurants. After we ordered, they brought the banchan to our table. The kimchi wasn't bad, but it wasn't the kind that I like. I love the spicy cucumber. As soon as I finished it, they quickly brought us another plate. Dr. P liked the bean sprout. Each of us got a small Korean pancake on top of cabbage salad. The pancake was a bit oily, but tasty. Each of us also got a plate of stir-fried glass noodle. I like this a whole lot!
We ordered a kalbi + soon tofu combination and an individual soon tofu to share. The combination is $14.99. The Korean BBQ Beef Rib was very tasty. Yum!
I got a medium spicy Kimchi Soon Tofu with pork. I like it that they don't use jalapeno in their soup. I can't stand places that use jalapeno in soon tofu. I like the kimchi soon tofu a lot. It tasted like a kimchi jjigae soon tofu.
Dr. P got the Combination Soon Tofu. It has beef, clam, shrimp, and oyster. He likes it a lot, especially the seafood flavor soup.
Not just normal white rice. We got purple rice! Love it!
After our meal, we also got a free dessert treat of frozen yogurt. This is the Pinkberry kind of frozen yogurt. You can also ordered frozen yogurt with fruit for $7.50. But I think I much prefer the free one.
We really like Tofu Villa. If you live in West LA, and feel like some Korean food, I highly recommend this restaurant. Food and service are both great. You don't have to drive to K-Town for soon tofu anymore!
When it was open, I could not understand it is still in business. So so korean BBQ and its tofu soups are light in flavor. No wonder it is closed now.
LET'S CALL THIS THE EPITOMY OF A RESTAURANT YOU SHOULD STILL TRY EVEN when the rating on yelp is not above 3 stars
so we just wanted korean tofu but who wants to haul their cookies all the way to Ktown during traffic when they have midterms the next day!.. so we just headed down to the local sawtelle and mistaked this place for tofu ya.. BOY AM I GLAD WE DID..
the korean tofu here is not bad.. they give you a lot of sides (i have to admit i've tasted better elsewhere though).. and option of brown rice w/ beans instead of white rice. ..FREE FRO YO at the end of your meal.. didn't charge my friend for the tea he got either!!
but what really got me was THE SERVICE.. okay so their english isn't that great.. BUT.. that didn't frustrate them w/ the communication barrier.. they gave the GREATEST SERVICE i've ever received from an asian.. that sweet lady was always smiling.. and usually asians are shady and charge you for everything possible.. but.. upgrading rice, ordering tea, gettin extra side dishes, dessert.. ALL FREE..
our water was always filled, they offered to split our bills for us.. i mean.. they WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY.. and there were only two workers..
honestly.. the food is not THAT great.. ive had better.. but. w/ the service.. and considering i'm saving a drive.. and the prices are like they are back home.. sacrifices must be made
free parking w/ validation in the lot for an hour.. but even though we went over by fifteen minutes he didn't make us pay!!
So I came here with a friend on a Monday around noon, and it was empty...Hmmm maybe they don't get a lot of customers in on Mondays? Anyways, the inside's nice...simply designed and clean. We sat down and SHOOT ! we missed happy hours by 15 minutes. And happy hours is like 5 bucks cheaper than the regular menu prices. OH WELL !
I ordered the beef "bulgoki"..(isnt it BULGOGI?)...with the seafood combination soup and white rice. It didn't take long for it to come out. The bulgogi was BOMB DOT COM ! It was sweet and tender and juicy and HOT ! The soup was just as good ! And here at TOFU VILLA, they give you bigger portions of bulgogi unlike BCD tofuhouse.
FREE FROZEN YOGURT AS DESSERT? Sweeeet. The yogurt (plain tart) was pretty good. It was sweet yet tangy. Overall, I would definitely recommend going to TOFU VILLA. It beats driving to K-TOWN and it's not far from UCLA either. Oh if you were wondering, the beef bulgoki costed $15. Had I made happy hours, it would've been $7.99. OH WELL !
YUMMMMM.... Korean Tofu is always good after a long day. That's how Sue Z and I stumbled into Tofu Villa. I've seen it in passing but have never gone in. We needed something SPICY pronto, so we when to check out the menu. It's definitely not a huge menu, but it had some really enticing items. I love finding great mom and pop shops. This place is run by a really nice couple where the husband is the waiter and the wife works in the back most of the time.
We decided to order the Spicy Bulgolgi with Tofu and the Teriyaki Chicken with Tofu. To our surprise, our waiter ask what kind of tofu we wanted? What? You mean we get to choose from the whole tofu list? That's so awesome!!! We're used to going to Ktown and being given the standard spicy tofu. I ordered the mushroom tofu. He also asked whether we wanted brown (purple) or white rice. There's no extra charge. Wow... so many choices. Definitely plus one star.
We ordered green tea and he brings us a glass of hot water and some teabags. That was kinda weird, but the tea was great. Then he brought over all the little dishes that we love so much. The Cucumber Kimchi was fantastic. Sue Z. and I each got a bowl of seasoned clear noodle with veggies. I'm not sure what it was but it was delicious. I was a pretty happy camper at this point. Our waiter was so meticulous about where each plate was placed. He seemed to take great pride on the presentation of the table. Totally unlike other places where they practically toss the plates on the table. The wife comes by and ask if we would like egg in our tofu. We say yes and before we could reach the eggs on the table, she cracks is in our tofu bowls.
The food was great. There's no reason for us to go to Ktown for tofu anymore. Really. I'm totally staying on the Westside. Although Tofu Villa closes at 10pm. So the drive is necessary if you're craving it at 2 am.
Oh... did I mention that you get froyo with your order too. YES!!!! It just gets better and better. We got a small froyo and it was so good that we ordered a another one. The wife thought we wanted another free froyo and said it was sure, but we felt bad so we said we would order and pay for another. They charged us $2 for a huge bowl of froyo. We were so stuffed by this time. Again, I was definitely a happy camper.
If you live on the Westside and don't want to drive all the way to Ktown, you don't have to anymore. I highly recommend Tofu Villa.
Came here for the 1st time the other night with my BF who was craving tofu soup but we didnt feel like driving to our regular place in k-town.
Place is small- maybe seats about 30 people(?). we ordered the Bibimbop (sp?) combo with combo soon tofu $15.99 not bad for the amount of food they gave. We also had a choice of meat for the Bibimbop (spicy pork) and in my experience, you typically don't get too much meat but man did they pile it on! My BF was in heaven and he did say this place the best so far. Although the presentation is different from what we are use to, the flavor is amazing!
The side dishes are good--their kimchi however is different from what you get at k-town, not marinated enough...was too crunchy and had the cabbage taste. They do offer side salad with their pancake (sorry dont know the term, im not Korean) and it was pretty good! The flavor of the tofu is VERY good....you almost forget youre not in k-town.
The service wasnt too bad either, very attentive but I think the servers get overwhelmed with the traffic they get.
Best part, they give you a free small sample of their yogurt when they drop your check off--not sure if this will last long, I think they just opened and are trying to get people to come to their restaurant. Their yogurt is almost like pinkberry but not as tart.
All in all--great place to go and very happy with the price, flavor and especially walking distance from my apt. Will definitely come back soon!
BLEHHHHH~ Soondubu here is completely bland. Even their banchan is pretty bad...the cook needs to get his taste buds checked. The seasoned cucumber banchan was pretty nasty. The cukes tasted like they had been frozen and thawed. I can't explain it. Like rubbery, almost? And then the actual flavor masking the thawed cucumbers was even bad. Seriously??
Now if you want DECENT soondubu (for WLA standards) and awesome seasoned cucumbers, take those two little legs of yours and march them right over to TofuYa. The owner at TofuYa is sort of a prick, but the food is substantially better.
I will probably never go back to Tofu Villa, but I will say that 1) the staff there is MUCH nicer than the unfriendly little sourpuss over at TofuYa and 2) I like that they serve you the tart tasting pinkberry-esque frozen yogurt at the end of your meal - nice touch. But yea...um...that's about it.
2.5 stars seems to be perfect to rate this place. However, since the service was okay, and they give free yogurt at the end of the meal, I'll round it up. I had the seafood soon tofu and my girlfriend had the curry soon tofu. The curry soon tofu was interesting and not bad at all although it did need to be a spicier as did mine. Some of the banchan (side dishes) tasted different than what regular Korean restaurants are. Maybe the cook didn't make it with love?
The place is small, and the menu isn't that extensive. The teriyaki chicken did not really taste that good. It tasted like I could've just made some white chicken and dip it in some regular teriyaki sauce, and one wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I did strangely like the texture of the soon tofu here even though it's not exactly the way other restaurants make it. I don't hate the place at all, but I don't see myself coming here too often.
I went here because Tofu-Ya was closed (tell me why random restaurants are closed on Thursdays on Sawtelle because I can't figure it out). I came here when it first opened and was not a fan. This second time around, I was very impressed with their attentiveness to their customers. Yeah, they're pretty Korean and don't speak much English but they're really nice and will refill your appetizers and frozen yogurt if you ask. Your meal even comes with a salad that includes a vegetable pancake beforehand.
The Spicy Pork and Beef Bulgogi is well-flavored and oily as good korean meat should be. The pieces weren't too fatty and had the right mix of green and yellow onions. The prices are appropriate.
Place is convenient since it has it's own parking lot--that means no countless driving until a meter opens up. It also is in a plaza where there's tons to do afterwards, whether it's for dessert (Yogurtland, Beard Papa) or karaoke.
Plus, you can't really be picky about these things on the westside. Getting pre-cooked kbbq on Sawtelle is as convenient and digestable as it gets. If you want some realllly good stuff, drive out east a little more and venture into a mom and pop ktown shop.
I've intended to write this review for a while now but I've been distracted with the other parts of my life that don't suck. Which the food here does.
Regardless, time matters not with this review because once you've shoveled crap into your mouth - you don't forget. At least, I don't.
I will never forgive Tofu-ya for being closed that fateful day. Walking down Sawtelle, my gf and I were taking in our choices and we noticed that Tofu Villa was finally open. Then came the moment I uttered those fateful words that seal the fate of 98% of all horror movie couples, "why not? let's try it!"
True, they give you a lot of banchan - but a pile of crap is still a pile of crap no matter how many bowls you put it in. A starving bunny from Ethiopia probably would have gagged at the sight of the salad alone. The word "Fresh" seems to be a foreign concept here.
The soontofu wasn't anything to write home about, and chewing my short ribs was like gnawing on rubber.
I can't believe I wasn't paid to partake in this episode of Fear Factor. Definitely not coming back here again. I wish the "Good for" section of this review had a checkbox for "NOTHING".
First off, me and a friend got iced teas while two other friends got canned sodas. The iced tea showed up as a glass of ice water with a slice of lemon at the bottom and...wait for it...a tea bag nestled within the ice cubes. The waitress was perhaps new?
Other than that I had the seafood combo tofu which came with exactly one oyster, one tiny clam, and two tiny shrimp. It tasted okay otherwise. Weak side dishes. A (free) mini cup of plain froyo for dessert, the kind you'd find at (Blank)berry.
Will I be back? No. The tofu place up the street a bit is infinitely better.
On our rare rainy dreary nights out here in LA, a friend and I headed out for some spicy warm Korean soonduboo. We normally go to Tofu Ya, but decided to give the relatively new Tofu Villa a try instead. The food was decent for Korean food on the Westside and warmed our bellies. Their side dishes (that make Korean meals so complete!) had a few well-liked uncommon items: the plain seaweed sheets, pickled radish, and little kimchi pancakes with our salad.
The negatives all have to do with it being a new restaurant still learning how to get things in sync.
Example: Our soonduboo didn't come out hot enough so when we broke our raw egg into it, it didn't cook the egg. (ewww)
OK Korean food for us Westside locals desperately craving some decent Asian food in our hood.
Oh and there's a pleasant tart surprise at the end of your meal: complimentary mini scoop of frozen yogurt! Perfect way to end a spicy meal and definitely one of the little touches that got this place on my "nom nom nom" list. =)
Unfortunately, they've closed down. I'll miss the free yogurt for dessert. R.I.P. Tofu Villa!
This restaurant might be an excellent place to patronize if you were like
MacGuyver and you discovered that a nuclear warhead planted by terrorists in the Nijiya Supermarket was about to explode which for some highly unlikely, yet scientifically possible reason could only be defused by using sundubu, but you couldn't make it over to Ktown in time because it was rush hour.
What I'm saying is that the tofu is mediocre, the service is really poor, and the banchan is piss, piss poor.
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Another Yelper said that the kimchi was like cabbage smeared with chili pepper, or something to that effect. I wholeheartedly agree.
As for service, it took about 10 minutes before anyone came by with a menu, and that was only after I waved someone down. Then the waiter came by and mumbled, "Oh, you probably want a menu.". So he went in and came back with just one menu, even though there were two of us. Then he left and finally appeared with another one. Very efficient!
The banchan also took forever to arrive. They should have been served immediately, like at most Korean restaurants.
The worst: our food arrived before the table of 4 next to us, even though they ordered before us. They were actually seated before we even arrived. I felt bad for them.
The only nice thing about this place is the dollop of complimentary Pinkberry-like yogurt that they serve at the end of the meal.
Ate here on a cold Monday night...wasn't busy at all.
The banchan (side dishes) had no flavor and were blah. I ordered the galbi & soon-tofu combo.
I got the medium spicy soon-tofu...but it came to me SUPER spicy...burned my lips. O.o The galbi was pretty good.
After the meal, they bring you a small portion of tart frozen yogurt - this was by far the best part of the meal...tastes like Pinkberry.
All in all, not a good experience...especially since I consider the FREE after meal snack as the best thing about my dining experience.
it was nice knowin' you k-town.
i shall miss your non-existent service, your grumpy stares, and your inability to comprehend why i am pressing the damn button on the wall that you put there for your customers.
that's right...PEACE OUT motherchuckers, cuz my ass is staying on the westside now.
thanks to Tofu Villa.
on our way to some ramen loving tonight, and letitia w. and i really really NEEDED loving. (she had a bad day, i was a sick dog), we took a detour to scope out "tofu villa'. the cute little green sign called to me, and tofu is healthier then ramen... kind of.....
it was about 9 pm, and there were about two other couples there. place is relatively small, but they have outdoor seating.
we were seated right away, and the server was very attentive. this is clearly a family owned business- with the husband waiting and serving most of the tables, and the wife in the back doing the cooking.
let me tell you. i love family owned businesses. it really breaks me heart sometimes to see how hard they have to work, so i will find any reason to support an establishment like this....
but tonight. i NEEDED no reasons!
the food was excellent! i ordered the bbq pork with your choice (that's right). of tofu. (plus excellent side dishes...the kimchi cucumber..gahhh!) i got the combination tofu. though i must say by the time my food actually came out, i was already stuffed! they kept refilling the little side dishes without me having to holler or wave them down.
letitia w. got the chicken teriyaki and mushroom tofu, and seemed very very happy. (how do i know? we both have a happy dance when we're eating yummy food... : ) ) ...
plus. you get your choice of free dessert, though they gave us a discount on the dessert, though i unknowing turned down an offer for more free frozen yogurt... (blushes...sorry Letitia). we got a HUGE thing of yogurt (yummier then yogurtland or pinkberry in my opinion)...for 2.50.
best thing? they have my favorite purple rice! and there's no extra charge for it! and the green tea was also free for us.
the total bill was 35 dollars. i mean...c'mon people. come out and support. they were so so sweet, they won over my belly first, then my heart followed after.
see you soon tofu villa!!!
i'm not an expert on korean tofu by any means, but i thoroughly enjoyed my experience here. because tofu-ya across the street happened to be closed, we decided to come here instead for lunch. i admit, it was a risky move, but it turned out to be worth it.
they have indoor and outdoor seating. we opted to sit outside so we didnt go back to work smelling like food-hate that. anyway, i got one of their lunch specials. For $7.99 i got bulgogi, rice, a side salad, and a diet coke PLUS the traditional side dishes you get at korean restaurants. and one of those side dishes was JAP CHAE- my all time favorite korean dish!! it was really good here. the bulgogi was not bad...a bit on the sweet side but i was happy enough to finish everything.
my friends got the tofu which they said was really spicy, but they seemed to like it overall.
to top off the meal, they bring you complimentary tart frozen yogurt. score!
so, overall 4 stars because it's cheap, good, and offers free frozen yogurt!
it was a dark and stormy night in LA... and Mrs. Bear had just dropped a fellow bear off at LAX and wanted to forage for tofu in the Sawtelle area... we had been to tofu-ya many times, and were recently disenchanted by the flat, watery taste of their tofu soup... and so Mrs. Bear suggested the Villa... it was cold out as well, and we wanted somethin' hot...
we both ordered combos; she had the tofu soup with spicy pork on the side, and I picked out the mushroom tofu with galbee on the side... and we were pleasantly surprised -- we are aware that there are much better places in k-town, none of which i've had the time to review yet, but the Villa delivered spicy soup with decent flavoring, and both pork/galbee dishes were good -- oily -- but good. The side dishes were neither outstanding or memorable; however, i would definitely pass on the broccoli/brown sauce dish if confronted with it a second time. Also, it's a nice touch that they serve a small sample of yogurt for dessert (and for FREE - yum).
If we're in the neighborhood we'll definitely swing by again.
I am a huge fan of anything and everything tofu, and Tofu Villa deserves the rating! I was initially an adamant fan of Tofuya across the street, but after two times at Tofu Villa, I realized what an amazing deal it is ($7.99 for more food than you can possibly imagine, plus dessert), how great the service is and how you never have to wait longer than 5 minutes for your food to come out.
I like the ever-changing variety in the side dishes provided, and they never disappoint, although the quality of the kimchi changes each time I go. The tofu is really good, my favorites are the Combination Tofu and Mushroom Tofu. My favorite part of the meal (and what especially distinguishes it from Tofuya) is the amazing frozen yogurt they give at the end of the meal. I am an AVID, crazy fan of froyo (believe me, I've had it all- pinkberry, red mango, yogurtland, twist, etc) and this is HANDS DOWN the best froyo I've ever had..
I wholeheartedly recommend Tofu Villa for a great, satisfying meal, especially if you want Asian food for cheap. It's the best bang for your buck and you will NOT be disappointed!
I'll be honest...I've only been here twice. And I may not go anymore. The service was good. Friendly bilingual staff who were polite. They give you more side dishes than Tofu-ya up the street. However, it's just not very good. Now, I know they're making things more bland for the non-Korean audience, but in a way, I feel like it's just disrespectful for those who are trying to learn about Korean cuisine to "dumb it down." We should appreciate other ethnic foods for their authenticity, however spicy or flavorful that might be....
Anyway, back to the food itself. The tofu stew was not very deep in flavor. It tasted like there was a big batch of conglomerate tofu stew, and depending on a customer's order they just throw in the specific meat or other differentiating ingredient. Now, that may totally not be the case, but that's just how it tasted. What it should taste like is that the specific meat ingredient and the stew were melded together in a separate small pot and have a well-mixed, deeper taste.
Once again, if you're the type that can't handle spicy stuff or really flavorful food, then Tofu Villa or Tofu-ya is probably best for you. But just not my cup of tea.
I thought this place was okay.
Yes, the tofu was not bad. They also give you TONS on banchan (I got full just from the banchan alone).
But the soontofu itself was just ok - I guess it's a lot closer than SKD/BST ...
I also tried their tofu/mango salad. The mangoes were very not ripe. It's enjoyable enough, but nothing special.
I really wanted this place to succeed. I was excited to see another Korean place open on the westside of the 405. Unfortunately, with each visit, the experience began to worsen.
The tofu pancakes are really good, though they are not listed on the menu anymore. I was still able to ask for them though. But then thats when things began to fall apart...
On two separate occasions, they forgot to bring them out. Just brought us our check at the end with no pancakes. Another time, they had only had one guy working. I felt bad for him, because I'm sure it was hard for him to keep the whole place running. Service was slow, and empty plates piled up on all the tables in the restaurant cause he couldn't keep up.
The soon tofu is ok, but Tofu Ya is right down the street and is much better in comparison.
if you are craving something filling, asian, super spicy & you want it fast, this is the place for you. it was rated B when we entered the store, but i decided to not let it stop me from trying.
our dinner was $7.99 each, and it came with a salad, noodles, 2 types of kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, white rice, a forever hot clay soup with lots of super soft tofu (and oysters, clams, & shrimp for me, pork & kimchi for my husband), and that was 2 thumbs up satisfaction.
what really surprised me was that we got a refreshing frozen yogurt in the end for free! how sweet is that!?
----
edit: WHAT!?!? it closed!? :'(
This place was disappointing on so many levels. It was expensive for the quantity of meat/food and quality of food. The worst part was the service. I went here twice, and yes, I gave it a second chance after the first bad experience, and they messed up on my friend's orders on both occasions. They went into the kitchen and brought back the wrong thing AGAIN. The waiter laughed and did not apologize for the mistake. We had to get out of our seat to seek for a water refill because we asked for a refill so many times and waited for so long that we got too thirsty. Also, there's no quality control. The side dishes were different than the first time I went cause they ran out of a whole bunch of stuff. They literally only gave us 2 different kinds of side dishes- kim chee and seaweed.
Until another place opens up, guess I'll still have to travel over to K-town for good Korean food.
korean owned. they do not understand anything but your order so dont get fancy on them by trying to start a dialogue in english or anything.
look - youre on the west side not ktown so dont expect bcd quality tofu cus u wont get it. but they have everything on what somewhat mimicks a ktown tofu joint. the banchan variety is pretty good. jap chae, seaweed, mook... its a good place for a non korean to go and check out to see how korean food is presented.
they offer you a side of salad (dunno what thats about) before the meal, and offer you a small thing of frozen yogurt which makes this place a bump above just your typical 2 star rating. i wish all ktown restaurants did that!
Yuck! I haven't had a ton of Korean BBQ in my day, so I am not sure if all Korean BBQ is like this or maybe just this place. Everything was just so oily! Even the scallion pancake and kimchi cucumbers. The short ribs, which I could hardly eat because they were pretty much all fat and bone, were just sitting in a plate of oil. I feel like I need to go to the doctor or something to get my cholesterol checked now.
Basically? Some very tasty food for a very decent price. I'm a little surprised by the negative reviews!
The atmosphere was fairly trendy; definitely a step up from Tofu-Ya down the street. Lots of glass and good lighting, and there's some outside seating (though why anyone would want to eat in a parking lot in a strip mall)?
First came a cabbage salad with sesame dressing, with a little fried pancake on the side; deep fried and delicious. The banchan came quickly after that: cucumbers, jap chae, tofu, bean sprouts, eggs, kimchi, and broccoli. The kimchi, as a side dish, was a little bland and not very salty or spicy, but the other dishes made up for it.
I ordered the soon tofu with pork. It came out bubbling with a HUGE raw egg. The soup was quite thick with lots of lumps of tofu and plenty of kimchi (that was actually spicy, unlike the banchan). All in all it was very satisfying and filling. I had to take half of it home.
Other pros:
-rice is free, even if it's brown rice!
-good service. My friend and I hadn't even finished our first round of side dishes when they offered to refill them. Really nice people; when I was there, an old man with a walker came in and just asked for a cup of hot water. They gave him the water, salad and pancake for free, and refused to let him pay when he offered to do so.
-many more side dishes than Tofu-ya.
-cheap; my entire meal cost $7.99 (without tax and tip).
-delicious complimentary froyo!
Cons
-parking on that entire street is a pain
Tofu Villa was our third choice, after seeing that Tofu Ya and Asahi Ramen down the street were both closed (Thursday night). We saw the grand opening sign when we were walking down Sawtelle and were intrigued.
Unfortunately, we soon realized that Tofu Villa shouldn't have been a choice at all.
We waited for about ten minutes for a table, and we ordered the mushroom soon tofu and the pork soon tofu (both medium). We first got an appetizer of a cold tofu "salad," which consisted of a chilled slab of semi-soft tofu, these little green sprouts on top, and a watered down soy sauce. Yeah. Not so tasty. (The boyfriend begs to differ: he says it was decent.)
Our next warning sign was the arrival of the rice, which was in these pretty porcelain bowls, but NOT the hot stone pots that most soon tofu places use. The rice was a bit too hard. The ban chan was pretty decent, but when we asked for more bean sprouts, we were DENIED. Sad.
The worst was when the boyfriend realized that the pork in his soup was GROUND PORK. I have never seen that before. There also just wasn't very much pork in his soup at all. Too sheisty with the meat, yo! The soup for both our orders was relatively bland, and we probably should have ordered spicy instead of medium.
The frozen yogurt dessert tasted fine, but when we went to Pinkberry afterwards, we realized Tofu Villa's yogurt was actually not that great either.
Finally, service was subpar; they were very busy. They were lucky that we ended up there because two other restaurants were closed. But hmm . . . after this review, maybe they weren't so lucky after all!
PS: I joined Yelp just to write this review!!
Reasonably crowded on a Saturday night. Service was actually very good, although delivery of the banchan was a little slow-- arrived after our soon tofus and bulgogi had arrived.
The soon tofu wasn't bad. I'm not Korean, though, and honestly while I can appreciate better quality soon tofu from Beverly Tofu House or So Kong Dong , the soon tofu here is decent enough for my tastebuds. The frozen yogurt at the end was a nice surprise.
The disappointments were the banchan-- it was mostly okay but the kimchi was pretty tasteless (I've had several styles; "tasteless" is not a style!) and the cold noodles were underwhelming-- and the bulgogi, which was a mass of little pieces of meat with precious little relation to real bulgogi, either what I've had at better places here in the USA or in South Korea...
But hell it was a crazy traffic type of Saturday evening (UCLA game, USC game, Kings game, plus all the No On Prop 8 protests) and we didn't feel like braving even more traffic for dinner, so this was acceptable enough!
I must admit, I have never eaten at a Korean place like this. I've only been to Korean BBQ where you cook your own food.
My friend and I decided to check this place out after she saw it was newly opened. I ordered the soondubu with Shrimp, Clams, and Oysters. It came with about a million different side dishes. Since I had never been to an establishment like this, I honestly had no clue what I was doing. I didn't know that the egg was raw so I started cracking it like a hard boiled egg. Bad idea, seeing as how it was a raw egg that you were supposed to crack into your boiling soup. Oops!
The servers were really cool and attentive. They brought me a new egg after I ruined the first one.
And they gave us samples of the yogurt! Yum! We'll be back for sure.
I just wish I had an instruction manual with me. ;-)
It's a good lunch option. I wouldn't drag a friend across town to eat here.
We usually go to Tofuya (up the block from Tofu Villa). Tofuya is always crowded so Tofu Villa is a good alternate if you're not willing to wait or are pressed for time. It's located in a shopping plaza almost adjacent to Beard Papa's on the east side of Sawtelle, just north of Olympic.
The price is right - about $10/person.
Soon tofu, rice, sides and a dessert (pinkberry type yogurt).
The soon tofu portion is smaller than the portions at Tofuya or BCD. I have ordered the seafood combo soon tofu and the kimchi soon tofu. The kimchi soon tofu is much more flavorful than the seafood combo soon tofu. I think I like the seafood combo soon tofu at Tofuya much better. I'll stick with the kimchi soon tofu.
They also do not have the combo soon tofu/bbq or soon tofu/bulgogi that the other two have. The bbq and bulgogi are separate entrees on their menu.
The side options are more plentiful and varied than that offered by Tofuya. My favorite is the potato salad and the seaweed.
The Good: I cheated and read the other reviews and have to agree with what the others say. But here is my take on the place. The food portions were pretty good size. I got mine to go and when I got home I was like wth? You know when you get kbbq you get a zillion sides, well they packed each one up for me. I feel bad I chucked most of them but the spicy pickles were good. Prices are fair and the lunch specials are better. Friendly service and very clean.
The Bad: There menu is pretty small. like 4-5 items small. I hope to see a better selection down the road. The place is setup like a high end bar with tables. I like the more down to earth hole in the wall places myself.
The Ben: Damn I thought I was gonna me the first to review this place, they have only been open since like last Thursday :(
Tofu Villa is located in the same mall as the Nijiya market. Parking can be tough around this area. You can still see the grand opening sign, but apparently this place has been open for a while from all the reviews. Tables available inside or outside.
Tried the bibimbap with bbq ribs. Disappointed that it didn't come in the more traditional stone pot. Banchan was plentiful but nothing special. Kimchi, seaweed, bean sprouts, cucumbers, broccoli, potato salad, tofu, etc. Just didn't seem to be anything that made this stand out. At the end, you get a little cup of plain tart fro-yo.
On a side note, the service was excellent. They kept coming by frequently asking how it was and if I needed any more banchan. It's too bad the food couldn't equal the service.
Run away! Run as far away from this place as you can. Go down the street to Tofu Ya! This place produced the most tasteless dish ever. The portions were small and getting served took forever. Given that my gf and I were the only two customers in this place, that was simply unacceptable.
Believe me, if you want great food, this is not the place to be. If you want good service, just go down the street. If you want to get the most bang out of your buck, run like hell in the other direction and never look back. This place is a rob.
There should be an option on yelp to take away stars or give negative stars. If there was such an option, I give this place negative five star and even then, it would still be a compliment for this sorry, pathetic excuse for a restaurant.
I'm surprised by all the mediocre/bad reviews. I actually really liked this place. I don't eat kimchee but my bf does and he said it was quite good. They replenished the panchan without having to be asked and the service overall was impressive. I loved the frozen yogurt that is complimentary at the end of the meal!
I ate the mushroom soon tofu and it was yummy. I do think BCD tofu is a tad more flavorful, but at least this place didn't serve me rotten onions and then balk when I asked for a fresh dish. Since I leave nearby to Sawtelle I'll definitely be coming here rather than driving to K-town.
Toni L and I ate at this place on opening day, which is today. Toni L will add pictures later. For their grand opening special, Tofu Villa gives out FREE bibimbop and yogurt! Pretty cool right? The staff is very polite and attentive. I suppose it's because we don't look Korean, the waiters assumed we never had Korean food before. He wanted to explain the dishes to us and warned us several times that the BBB was going to be spicy. I don't know if there was an hidden message, but they gave us fork instead of chopsticks while giving some lady at the table next to us chopsticks. In spite of that, the service exceeded my expectation.
As for the food, the banchan was slightly above average. It was different of them to offer those dry seaweed things. The dishes used to serve the bancan were very nice. As for the bibimbop, they gave us the full size portion, although I thought it was too small to be paying about 10.99. The meat was a little too rare for my taste, and the vegetables were lacking. The red paste wasn't spicy enough.
In summary, the service is really good, but their food is so-so. Their menu is too small. For a tofu place, it doesn't really serve tofu. There's no tofu soup! I don't know if this place will last. We'll see.
The service is extremely slow!! The servers seem to be inexperienced. Good thing I went on a lazy Sunday afternoon with a group of friends so I didn't really mind the slowness but if i was any other situation I would have been irritated.
The food was good! Great variety of panchan (side dishes) and the soondubu (tofu) was also excellent in flavor. The only downside is that the portion is significantly smaller than other tofu houses. I was able to finish the whole pot! Normally I only finish half. Also the brown rice is actually rice with red beans...it's not your typical brown rice.
But overall it's a good alternative to Tofu Ya. But I think they need some time to work the kinks out.
Was craving some Korean Soontofu, so I headed over to Tofu Villa the other day only to find the place closed! Deeply disappointed (and hungry) I asked around to see what happened - and actually ran into the owner of the place. Apparently Tofu Villa was not immune to the economic downturn. He said they're looking for another place near Sawtelle to restart their business but it might take some time. Hopefully we'll get to enjoy their food and services again very soon.
Goodbye Tofu Villa!
This place is just okay. Tofu-ya is slightly better but BCD in Koreatown is the best. Their soon tofu is a little bland and the medium spicy is pretty mild. I've ordered the Bimbimba with Korean BBQ beef. The Bimbimba was good but the BBQ beef wasn't as flavorful as other Korean restaurants. I love the little side dishes. They usually mix it up but it generally comes with kimchi, cucumbers, potato salad, bean sprouts, and cold noodles. And after the meal, they give you a little cup of frozen yogurt.
Even though the resturant is just okay, I always come back because there isn't a wait like tofu-ya and there's parking in the structure.
Came here for dinner with a friend last night. Place is small but we got lucky and was seated relatively quickly. We ordered a Bulgogi and BBQ Pork which turned out to be a lot for two girls, especially with all the endless little side dishes they provided. The Bulgogi was my favorite although the BBQ Pork was not bad - I've just had better. After the meal, they served us little frozen yogurt which was really refreshing. And when my friend finished hers, the Korean elderly man who gave us our bill noticed she wanted more so he brought us more yogurt! What a sweet man! Although the food was rather pricey, it was worth it. It's located in a plaza with other desert shops and you get 90 minutes of free parking!
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Korean
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Koreatown
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Palms
Category: Korean
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