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Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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I'm Korean, and I say this place is just alright.
We had dinner around 7:30-8:00 on a Wednesday night, and it was pretty empty. But we gathered our courage and ordered some food we'd been craving: kalbi tang (beef broth with big chunks of veggies; very mild) for me and dolsot bibimbap (rice, veggie and meat dish in a hot stone bowl) for him.
I was pretty impressed by the menu offerings. An entire page dedicated to different kinds of bibimbap? Awesome. If you're a newbie to Korean food, I highly recommend bibimbap because it's something authentic that Koreans love, but it has a wide appeal to all palates. Just add however much of the red spicy sauce you want, mix and enjoy! His bibimbap was pretty good - I mean really, who can possibly mess up this dish?
My kalbi tang was good, though it seemed a little darker and murkier than what I've seen. The broth seemed like it might've been overcooked or overseasoned. The chunks of kalbi were kinda tough and hard to break up.
Looking beyond what we ordered, Wu Chon seems to have a good weekday special: two orders of sam kyup sal (pork belly - delicious Korean bacon), pa jun (scallion pancakes) and dwen jang jiggae (uhh...stew) for two people for $33. Not a bad deal at all. And sam kyup sal, I must say, is always a treat.
The most impressive thing was the number of ban-chan (complimentary side dishes) they offered! 11! That's a pretty good way to start your meal.
The service wasn't horrible.
So for those of you who know Korean food, you won't be impressed here, but you'll be satisfied.
Tip: Be careful where you park. Don't park in the lots just next to the restaurant (Mike's Tires and Dunkin Donuts). Instead, park across the street from the Dunkin Donuts lot, which is where the sign on Wu Chon's door tells you to park.
I had relatives in from out of town, so my husband and I wanted to take them for some good, local korean food. We actually tried Koreana first, but they're usually packed and the wait would have been 40 minutes. We wish we would've waited, because we the service at Wu Chon House was horrendous!
When we arrived at Wu Chon, we were seated immediately; plenty of open tables. We should've known something was wrong when we saw some uncleared tables from previous customers that had already left; then the plumber walked in with the 'snake'. We saw him walk in, but not walk out - and we were there for a couple hours (and not by choice). We quickly ordered some standard dishes - kalbi beef, bibimbap, jop chai, and a hot pot dish. The waitress was rude and impatient. Several other tables filled up with customers - and then we noticed that they started getting their food before we did; including dishes that we ordered. We asked one of the guys to check on our order and he said 'I don't work here'; then why was he clearing tables and walking into the kitchen. We then saw him check in with the waitress who took our order; she looked at us and then waved her hand dismissively. We were ready to walk out. Fortunately, the other waitress came by to check on us and realized our order wasn't put in. A few minutes later, we were served. The food was ok, but the service made for a horrible dining experience.
OVER-RATED! *CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP!*
Went in for dinner on a Saturday and I was glad they didn't have the AC on because I like to eat my food while sweating.
Also, a number of tables had used plates, glasses, utensils, napikins, food, and other gross detrimus leftover from diners who had just left. These tables remain uncleaned throughout our entire meal. This is not a Korean tradition, that is just plain laziness.
The food was nothing to write home about, your standard oversweetened/seasoned dreck.
I didn't like it.
i had the jaeyukbokkum (spicy pork, i think it translates), and i've only been here once, with a group (about 6 people, i think)
Service: trying to remember, but i think it was alright (possibly b/c everyone in the group was korean)
Ambience/Decor: as far as i can remember, it was fine. i think i liked their bathroom....
Food: this was the deal breaker. the jaeyukbokkum was not very spicy, but extremely salty. i also tried a bit of my friends' dishes, and they were not that great. i'm not very discriminating when it comes to food, but they definitely could have done much better.
probs not coming back unless i trek up to somerville and find bukkyung II closed. BUT it is korean.
Just a side note:
Went in for dinner this time. The food was delicious again. The two waitresses were very nice and again helpful in explaining the menu for the menu challenged people like myself.
This time we ordered their dishes for 2 that on the menu says gets cooked at the table. The service was fast and all the tasty side dishes were brought out quickly followed by the pot with the beef and broth and vegies cooking in a huge pot over a portable gas burner. There was soo much food I didn't know where to start. I think next time i'm bringing a few more friends with me to help out with this dish.
Everything was delish!
I'm not an expert on Korean cuisine and maybe this was exactly what I was craving, but I found the… Read more »
While I've ordered a variety of dishes here, my husband and I keep going back to the stone bowl bi bim bap. It gets the rice super crispy and is such a great mix of flavors and textures that nothing can beat it! You get a wide variety of side dishes with the entrees that compliment the meal.
The rest of dishes I've had here range from okay to terrible. The sushi is unspeakably bad. The kalbi is okay; the bugolki can be dry. The chicken katsu is crispy but on the dry side.
I actually enjoy the rotation of local artwork. The service is usual for an Asian restaurant -- polite but distant. There's a parking lot across the street from Dunkin Donuts that has a few parking spots along with metered spots ont he street.
I've been to Koreana, Buk Kyung II, Apollo, Kaya, Han River Cafe, Apkujang, and Wu Chon House for Korean cuisine.
Wu Chon is my favorite.
I usually get the Kalbi, which comes out sweet, salty, and sizzling hot. The Bulgoki Gop Dol is also very good. Appetizer I highly recommend is the Kan Poong Sae Wu (fried shrimp with really spicy sweet garlic sauce -ask for the sauce on the side so it stays crunchy). For the kids, I order Miso soup with Udon noodles (not on the menu). Everyone is happy...
After living in Japan and spending a good majority of my time eating and drinking my face off in Shin-Okubo (Tokyo's Korean town) I have a pretty good idea what Korean food should be like. I've been looking for a authentic Korean place ever since I returned to the States. And this place was pretty good.
The atmosphere was quite and it felt really fancy. There are no grill tables, which is what I was actually looking for but at this point I wanted to eat Korean food so bad I settled. We got the kimchee pancake and rice sticks for an appetizer. This was probably the best part of the meal... especially the Kimchee pancake, omg it was so good. For entree I had the Bul go ki bi bim bab... it was pretty delicious and all the little sides were good too.
But I got really excited when I found out we could order Soju, So we got a bottle and it was the best thing that's ever happened to me ever. Unfortunately, at 15 dollars a bottle we couldn't get enough to get a buzz off it.
Although nothing will truly fill the void Shin-Okubo left... this place was enough to be satisfied.
By the time we left I had ate so much food I could hardly move. So check it out! It all taste pretty good!
I've honestly been DYING to try this place since reading about their "authentic" Korean food, and about how this place is packed with Koreans.
Korean food for Koreans, how can it go wrong?? Oh man. It was... okay. Frankly, I was pretty disappointed.
To start, my server was SCARY. She was NOT having a good day, and she totally looked like she could snap me in half.
I ordered the bibimbap with raw beef and raw egg. I know, it sounds weird, but I've been SO looking forward to trying the Korean steak tar tar. Especially after seeing Mario Batali do a similar dish during a Iron Chef episode like a year or two ago. I kind of expected it in a sizzling stone pot, but it came out in a regular white bowl. Whatever, it looked good. I threw my rice in and mixed it up with the awesome cochujang and went to town.
And umm... I know my beef was supposed to be raw, and it was delicious! But still very much frozen in the center. It soon turned my dish ICE cold. And I'm a total people watcher, and I watched a few tables send back dishes that they said weren't hot (temp) enough.
And it just... lost that yummy appeal. I didn't really want to eat my ice cold rice with my still frozen beef anymore. But if it was a different temperature or presented in that stone bowl I think I would've LOVED it.
I need to go back and do a round 2 before I do any serious yelping about it. I'll be back with a follow up review. :)
Wu Chon House has the best Korean food in Boston (Somerville), let me tell you why.
To enjoy this place, play a game called "Ignore the distractions". Here are the rules:
1) Ignore the sushi on the menu.
2) Ignore the authentic style of Korean table service (it can irritate folks not used to it)
3) Ignore the interesting local artwork on the walls.
4) Ignore the fact that its difficult to get to in Union Square.
Their soups and bowl-based dishes are easily the best. Everything is extremely fresh and flavorful. Somehow the ingredients pack more taste than usual. The scallions were assaulting my senses.
Protips:
Don't bother wish the sushi (Who goes to a Korean place to order sushi?)
Try the Kim Chee Ji Gae, its a Kim Chee-based stew that is astounding.
came in here for dinner on a monday night. we had the wkday special which include: shrimp/squid pancake, skirt steak cook @ the table for 2 and beanpaste tofu soup, 2 rice, side dishes. It was a little disappointing to have only skirt steak/pork belly to be the only options to cook @ the table BBQ. nonetheless I enjoyed the yummy food and good deal. can't get complain for the amt + quality of food with 35 bucks for 2 ppl. keep up the good work! hopefully other meat can be cooked @ the table in the future!
I freaking LOVE this place. I checked it out on a whim one frigid winter day last year...one look at a sizzling stone bowl of bi bim bap and I was in love. Tons of banchan, delicious pa jun, what more could you want? A little off the beaten path, but so much yummier than Koreana. It's a cozy little spot and they feature local artists which makes for interesting and ever-changing decor.
This place is like dating a hot model with bad breath and dandruff. Service is good, traditional side dishes are surprisingly decent, and the bibimbap (rice with mixed veggies and meat) was among the top surprises here. We also ordered ddukbokgi, which are very spicy rice cakes, and the nakji bokum, which is the stir-fried octopus, both of which were yum-yum good. That was the hot model part.
The bad breath and dandruff? The kalbi (bbq ribs) came out on this nice sizzling dish, but was a very clever ploy that almost fooled us. This dish is usually delivered as marinated beef that is either cooked in the kitchen, or sent raw to your table for your own grilling. At Wu Chon, they send out this sizzling plate with basically pre-cooked (and I suspect old) ribs/beef, but doused in this bbq-ish sauce. While the sauce has some decent flavor, purists will recognize this as very unauthentic Korean bbq. For the non-purists? Well, it's not bad.... but only in the way where you can accept that Pam Anderson or Jessica Alba (or your fantasy babe's name inserted here) has 3 days of plaque on her teeth just before you're about to make out with her.
Sushi...... very basic. Nothing stellar. Order it only out of habit, but not out of palate fantasy.
If you're in the mood for authentic Korean bbq only, then avoid the place. But if you're in the mood for the other dishes, then it's decent. As far as this place is from my abode in the Backbay, I actually frequent this place once a month.
I give it a 3.5.
The best down-home Korean food in or near Boston. Don't come here for BBQ (Koreana is actually better for that), sushi, or teriyaki anything. Come for the jigae (stews), ban chan (side dishes) and anju (snacks for boozing). You know, daily fare. Like grandma used to make.
For those not familiar with the cuisine, try one of their variations on bibim bap or the excellent dduk mandu guk (rice cake and beef dumpling soup). If beer or soju is involved, definitely get an order of the tofu kimchi jae yuk bokkum (trust me, it's good) for the table.
For those that don't need translations, try the biji jigae, meun galbi tang, the bin dae duk, or anything with nakji. They're all great. If you have a rocket-fueled metabolism, try the samgyupsal; the staff take pride in their table-grilled pork bellies, and I've caught them chowing down on it at the end of the night. Do like they do: put the pork at the top of the slanted hot plate ... garlic slices in the middle ... and kimchee at the bottom to soak up all those amazing juices. Mmm.
It's true that the waitresses can come off as curt and aloof, especially when it's busy. But they are true sweethearts underneath all that. If they start getting surly with you, tell them "superman" sent you. (That's what they call me -- go figure.) If they don't understand right away, just smile and say, "cheom cheorum chu se yo!"
We went here last night, and I really enjoyed the food a lot. The service left a lot to be desired, and the elevator music, even if it was in a different language, was still elevator music. The decor is really nice, minus the carpet on the floors, which is really unattractive and unpractical for most restaurants. The wood walls made the place really warm, and the art displayed was actually pretty good. We ordered some beef dumplings to start, which were really tasty, and came with soy sauce to dip and a lemon to squeeze over. They were light tasting for beef and it was good.
I ordered the sweet potato noodles with veggies and seafood, and Jesse ordered the chicken teriaki. Both came out quickly, and if you've never been here, they give you a MOUNTAIN of little side dishes......probably about ten of them, and I am not even kidding. There was some sort of potato salad, crunchy sardines, two different types of bean sprouts, kim chee, an egg with garlic, pickled cucumbers, and that's just the start. Both of our entrees were generous, but mine was gigantic and delicious. The main seafood in my noodles was octopus, and it was plentiful and it's what I intend on eating for lunch today, because had so many leftovers. Jesse's teriaki chicken came on a sizzling plate shaped like a cow, which was cool in theory, not so much in reality, because by the time it got there, it had to sit and cool for a while.
The service wasn't spectacular. There was one woman running the floor the whole time we were there, including bussing. She was holding it down, but we had to ask a few times for certain things she was missing, like filling water and stuff. I do hate that a lot.
I will go here again, and they do hot pot, which I would like to try here as well. It was really good Korean food, and for that, I can overlook the negligible service.
watch out: this is a review for the sushi at wu chon house
I am not sure who's idea it was to run to this cute Korean restaurant when cravings for Sushi overcame the desire to stay away from the cold... But, definitely no sushi here. Maki combination and the regular maki choices both failed miserably in terms of rice - thick and dry. Even the soy could not bring the dead back. Big no no!
When I rate restaurants, I rate the entire experience - so if the food isn't exceptional, the service sucks, or the decor/ambiance is off-putting, there's still a chance that the total package blows me away.
In many ways, that's what Wu Chon House does for me. I discovered this place on a tip from a Korean friend, back in 2002, and have never needed another place to go to since for what has truly become my comfort food (and that's not for lack of trying many other Korean restaurants both in the Boston area and elsewhere).
Consistency helps this place a lot - even through a renovation a couple years ago, the food here is always what I expect it to be, even after exploring the menu and coming back to my favorites. There is an overall "authenticity" to their menu that beckons to me, and makes me think that what I find at Wu Chon wouldn't be unlike what I might be served if invited to a Korean friend's home.
Wu Chon eschews fanciful presentation for a good helping of your favorite dish and as much banchan as you care to eat (the variety of banchan is hard to beat, too - whereas I've been to many a Korean restaurant that feels generous to give you three or four, Wu Chon goes all out and will typically bring you seven or eight for the table; and that's just from the assortment that's available that day).
The jap chae (sweet potato noodle dish) is among my favorites there, as is the dak bo kum, dubu jigae, not to mention the bi bim bap served in the stone pot (even if my predilection for it betrays me as a westerner).
Any restaurant that has easy nearby parking has an easier time scoring with me; but what's really nice about Wu Chon is that I also never feel rushed coming here - the atmosphere has always been relaxed, the service responsive and flexible (read: those who think waitstaff should be able to proactively read customers' minds will be disappointed, but personally I find that sort of attention obtrusive especially if I'm catching up with a good friend), and the bill affordable. I could probably write a review thrice the length and I still wouldn't do this place justice, so I'll conclude with this: Wu Chon is high on my list of "total experience" favorites, and I go out of my way to share this experience with any of my friends that have a taste for asian food.
I thought this place was great! The Su lung tang was awesome. I loved the pork and kimchi...and the mandoo were great. Highly recommended...better than Koreana or Shilla in my opinion.
MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR... I have been going here too many years to count with my family. If you like spicy Asian food, Korean is one of the best and this place does it right. The art on the walls is always changing, highlighting some local artist and are even available to purchase. (In the menu is info regarding the artist.) The waitstaff are very friendly. You won't need reservations, I have never had them and never waited either to be seated.
Now to the best part... the food! I'm not one for appetizers there b/c your entree alone is soo much food. The miso soup is steaming hot, and delicous though. Generally I just order myself an entree... I highly suggest the dak bo keum (pork or chicken) or the kal bi...all entrees come with 6-8 little side dishes such as kimchee, pickled cucumber, pickled radish, tofu, bean sprouts, seaweed, soya beans, etc...and a bowl of sticky rice. I have introduced this place to many of my spicy loving friends and even my meat and potatoes fiancee who all love it.
You know when the only other people in here are Koreans, the food has to be good!
I feel like this place may be underrated though, given that it was pretty empty on a weeknight compared to, say, Koreana, but I think the food here overall is much better. We ordered a lot of different dishes and were not disappointed with any of them. The portions are huge, well-priced and simply delicious!
+1, was contacted by owner, I like people who care.
Went in for dinner, it was just ok, typical korean restaurant.
+0 Star: Food came with multiple side…
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First things first: When we were leaving, the hostess called us back and mentioned there was something wrong with the bill. My friend had tipped her 71 cents less than 15%. So where I would otherwise give 3 stars, I give 2 because, y'know what? That's just wrong. The hostess, not my friend.
Wu Chon is OK. Which for Boston Korean food, means that it's one of the better Korean restaurants in the area. The menu is pretty extensive. It's newly renovated, so the inside's real nice. The banchan was decent. I ordered the bi bim bap, and the portion was small. The other dishes were generally pretty good. But nothing spectacular.
This is some of the best Korean food I've ever had. I have been trawling all these places in San Francisco and none have compared to my meal here yesterday.
We got tons of banchan, the side dishes that accompany the meal. They even brought us out some extras that I have never tried before and were really excited to see if we enjoyed them all.
I had the kalbi, which was a bit expensive, but was incredibly flavorful. It was almost glazed, as opposed to dried out and flavorless at many places. There were big chunks of garlic and fresh green onions all over it. The portion was a little small, but I was full, anyway.
Awesome!
Ordered through Dining In. Tentatively giving just four stars, because I wasn't quite thrilled, but I could see this being five stars.
Things that weren't great. The rice, first of all. I'm very picky about rice, and their rice was gummy, liquidy, and unflavorful. Second, I was disapointed that the kim chee lacked that bite I brace for. It was too mild for my tastes, though it did have lots of red pepper.
The oyster pancake appetizer was huge, and quite tasty. What a great way to eat oysters. I thought it was a little wet and greasy, but this is not a dish I'm familiar with, so I can't criticize too much.
I really enjoyed my main course, which was bean curd and seafood soup in a bean paste broth. Just spicy enough to balance the earthy miso flavors and the rich, multi-flavored seafood broth. Slightly skimpy on the actual seafood, aside from octopus, but it did include two crawfish. This hit the spot with my cold.
Some more pluses: they were kind enough to include chopsticks, napkins, and assorted salads (like the kim chee), the packaging was good, and the delivery was fast (though Dining In had something to do with it). I'll rereview if I live in Cambridge next year.
BTW, the food here got a 23 in Zagat's, for what that's worth.
update (9/13/06): no fifth star for Wu Chon House. In fact I'll take one away. The sashimi appetizer I ordered was very low quality, and the bibimbap was average or worse.
update (2/26/07): yeah, i stick to 3 stars. decent but overpriced. kimchi is too sweet. i don't want this american potato salad stuff either.
Their Barbeque style meats are good. I tried Dwenjang stew but I tasted fulld of MSG. I liked everything else though. I recommend BBQ Pork belly or their special meat..( I don't know the korean name...)
Wu Chon serves the best Korean food in New England. The bi bim bab is amazingly good (just don't touch the bowl!), and they offer a very authentic variety of possible ingredients. The kim chi is also some of the best I've had, and changes often; one visit might include dried fish, and another might include fish cakes in a hot sauce. Every trip to Boston includes a trip to Wu Chon for me. If you're a fan of Korean, don't miss this place!
This is a very good Korean restaurant. My favorite dish on their menu is the Bi Bim Bab in a hot stone pot. Perfect for a cold wintery day when you want something hearty that will stick to your ribs.
The must-have is the kalbi (beef short ribs). So tasty you want to suck on the bone after the meat is gone. Yummmmmmm. The beef bulgogi is not bad too, but I would go for the kalbi anytime. The glass noodles (chap chae) is recommended.
having spent 10 years in la (and appreciating K-town in LA and the fabulous korean food there) and now in Oakland with its great korean i was a bit skeptical going in as to how this would be...
thankfully, it was well worth the investigation.
excellent Dol sot bi bim bap, wonderful soon du bu (spicy soft tofu soup), kalbi (beef ribs) was also great and the pajun (seafood pancake) was cooked to perfection.
Plus the kim chees (the sides) that come with the meal were all fantastic!!
only lost a star as the service was a bit slow. Also would have liked the cold rice with sweet ginger broth to finish or watermelon gum that you get at other places...
can't wait to try more items next time.
The food is passable, but the service is just terrible. Be ready to be given a dirty look if you don't pronounce correctly when ordering, to have your appetizers come out 30 seconds before your entrees, and to practically beg if you want some water.
Like someone else said, the waitresses will call you back into the resteraunt if they don't like your tip. The food's not anywhere near good enough to put up with an attitude like that.
Excellent service. Superb sushi (maybe they improved since some of these reviews have been written). Appetizers galore. Bi Bim Bap is so yummy. Also good variety of imported saki. It's starting to fill up more on weekdays, though there is still no wait.
Such awesome food! I was really impressed with it. The panchan (kinda like tapas that come with each meal) were really good too. We had the seafood pancake, chapchae, nakji bokum (octopus), kimchi jigae, galbi, and soon dobu jigae. Yeah, we were hungry and it was all so good!
One of my favorite Korean Restaurant in Somerville. Little pricey for some food but worth the money! I usually don't order Sushi from this restaurant, so no comments on Sushi.The Korean food deserves a big "WOW"!
WuChonHouse is yummy. It's a no-nonsense, no-trendy BS Korean restaurant. The food quality is good but certainly not gourmet. A korean friend told me that its the equivalent to cafeteria eating - more of a 'comfort' food destination rather than a refined dining experience. The bibim bap, dak bo keum and bul go ki are all so so delicious. I go out of my way to eat here. Also, at any given time, 50% of the people dining are Korean and that must count for something!
We've gone here a bunch of times over the years and have always enjoyed the food. They also bring out a bunch of side dishes, more than I've seen at other Korean restaurants. The waitstaff has always been friendly when we've been there.
I hate doing this; the old Mike likes to keep secrets and enjoy things only with friends and family, but the new Mike is all about opening up and letting people in on the secret. Sharing is caring, I suppose. Wu Chon House in Somerville is the Oishii of Korean food people. There, if you were looking for an official declaration and invite, that was it. This hole in the wall is highly regarded by the Boston Globe and is Zagat rated, but where's the love? They went through some major renovations and the place looks great. I use to go there in college when they had old carpeting and blah walls, now, the food and ambiance go together. Did I mention they have over a hundred items on their menu and great service? This was a tough decision; I hate what has become of Oishii...it's like a tourist trap now, and I can only imagine what will become of Wu Chon House when ppl truly discover it, but they deserve the attention and def. the love. The Pa Juns are killer, the raw beef bi bim bab is sweet and delish, and their kim chee ji gae is like mom's, although my mom is Cambodian and not Korean...you get the picture. This place is packed with local Koreans and their family and Korean students from abroad and from the US, so you know it's Grrreat.
Best Korean restaurant in the area. The menu is extensive, the service is excellent, and it's a good deal for what you get (ban chan selection is great!!). They remodelled recently, and I kind of liked the old decor better (more authentic somehow), but they've added some interesting artwork and most importantly, the food is still fantastic.
Pretty tasty Korean food. I usually order the soon du bu - great flavor and the perfect amount of spiciness. The bi bim bap in the stone bowl is excellent. The side dishes are just ok. For some reason, I just don't like the kim chi here - it has a weird after taste. We tried the Kal bi for the first time last week and it was really disappointing. If you want bbq definitely go to Koreana - the quality and taste is so much better. But for overall good Korean food, I'd recommend this place.
Medford, MA
Category: Korean
Somerville, MA
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Jamaica Plain
Category: Japanese
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
