I've had this place bookmarked for the longest time and finally went to the Brookline location. The server was friendly and brought out the banchan pretty quickly. My favorite thing about korean restaurants is when they bring out the banchan. My friend and I ordered the Cheese Tteokbokki, Seafood Soondubu Jjigae, and the Grilled Mackerel. The Tteokbokki came out first with the other dishes following it. I wanted to like the Tteokbokki and Mackerel so badly, but it was not for me. It was super fishy tasting and not in a good way. The Tteokbokki was even a lil off tasting after chewing it. However, my friend did like her Soondubu Jjigae. Maybe it was an off night for them, but I don't think I would come back. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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Last month, my friends and I had dinner at this Korean restaurant. We sat in their semi-covered outdoor patio. The chairs were not the most comfortable but we were able to deal with it. We ordered deep fried mandu, ganjang chicken, haemul pajeon, L.A. galbi, galbi tang, and jjajang myeon. The mandu dumplings had beef and pork in it and were very crispy. The haemul pajeon was a crispy pancake with assorted seafood and scallions and also very tasty. The ganjang chicken were wings glazed in a sweet soy sauce. They were also very crispy and delicious. The galbi portion was pretty generious and the galbi was very juicy. The meat was not chewy at all. The galbi tang was actually surprisingly good. It was steamed galbi in a clear broth. The broth was peppery and great to gulp down on a cold night. The Jjajang Myeon was a noodle dish stir-fried with black bean sauce, veggies and pork. The noodles were good but there was not a lot of pork inside the dish. Rather, it had too much zucchini which I'm not a fan of. Overall, the food was really good but some of the tea cups and dishes were a bit dirty when we got them. I think their cleaning might need to kick up a little notch. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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We came here as our first meal in Boston for the weekend. I ordered the Agu Maeuntang, or spicy monkfish and vegetables, while my friend had Tofu Bibimbap on a stone pot. The soup consisted of mostly onion slices as vegetables, and the broth itself was above average salty, but it still went well with rice. Service was a bit inconsistent; I waited for several minutes while my friend's food already arrived. But I liked the interior decor of the restaurant (paper koi fish on the walls). read more

BAB Korean Bistro - S4. Agu Jjim - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

A Tuesday lunch for five found us as a lucky sole customers. It's a bright place with a low soundtrack of modern sounds, with a sea of attractive paper fish swimming along its long wall. We had: a veg japchae bulgoki beef galbi grilled and a seaweed salad The meat is served hot, grilled in the kitchen. The beef was very good, until the short ribs arrived and knocked it out of the park. Get that. The detailed menus meat and tofu soups, rice bowls, and endless other proper options-- await an assured next visit. Kudos to our pleasant waitperson. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

I think this place needs to be a little bit more non-Korean friendly...I ordered the non-spicy cheese tteokboki through Uber eats. I expected a plate of tteokboki with red sauce and cheese; this is what the photo on Uber eats showed. Instead I got the tteokboki in a soup. I didn't know that I was going to get it in a soup. It was a completely different dish from what was shown in the picture on Uber eats, and it was also in bad packaging so it was spilling everywhere. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even take a photo, just sort of took a few bites and then dumped the whole thing in the trash...I tried to get it out of the trash to get a photo for a review and I posted it here. As you can see, there is no red sauce to be seen, just a yellow-white soup. Maybe to a Korean it would be obvious that non-spicy tteokboki would come in a soup, but to me it wasn't and I feel as though I was fooled by the pic on Uber Eats. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - As you can see, the non-spicy tteokboki does not come in a red sauce - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

Located in the Brookline/Allston/Brighton area is BAB Korean Bistro. They have indoor and outdoor dining with a good lighting and open dining room for the interior. Decent amount of authentic food selections to choose from. We ordered the cold noodles, which were very good and delicious, especially on a hot summer day. We had the rice cakes with cheese, which wasn't too spicy. Additionally, we ordered the Jia Jiang Mian and that was not good. We ordered with pork and it really onion had onions and the sauce was way too salty. The service was mediorce. read more

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Food (taste): 3/5 Food (presentation): 5/5 Service: 5/5 The taste was not suited for me but my bf enjoyed his dinner. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - KC1. C16. Kkanpung Gi / Jjajang Myeon Combo - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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If any restaurant knows how to package food well for delivery, it has to be BAB Korean Bistro. I ordered 2 noodle dishes (bokkeum jjajang and bibim naeng myeon) and steamed mandu, and everything was packed with care. The restaurant uses very sturdy containers, and on top of that they put the containers inside bags to prevent them from leaking. They gave me a few side dishes with my order and those were packed neatly into a small container, where each side dish was separated from the rest using cupcake holders. Sure, all the packaging might not be the most eco-friendly, but I was happy that I didn't have to clean up a messy spill in a delivery bag before eating, and honestly the bags/containers are such good quality I plan to reuse them anyway. The food itself was incredible and I would definitely order from here again: $9 steamed mandu: the mandu had a lot of filling and were cooked nicely so that the wrapper held its shape. They seasoned the filling well, and the dipping sauce they included was awesome too. I only wish the mandu were bigger or they included more in the order... I felt that $9 for 5 dumplings was a bit on the expensive side. $13 bokkeum jjajang: nice and chewy noodles with so many vegetables! The sauce was flavorful but not overpowering, and had a faint smokiness to it. There was definitely more vegetable than pork in the noodles. $14 bibim naeng myeon: my favorite out of the three. The noodles came with a lot of toppings: a pile of pickled cucumbers, even more pickled radish, a few slices of apple, two slices of beef, and half a boiled egg. They packed the broth and two sauces separately. I thought they also packed some vinegar, but after opening the container and not feeling my nose sting, I realized that the restaurant had packed ice cubes that melted during the delivery! The noodles were stuck together at first but after some time in the broth/sauces and some coaxing with chopsticks, they separated well. The noodles were super chewy and the dish was very flavorful while still feeling light and refreshing. read more

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many good things to say about bab korean bistro! first off, their delivery speed is unmatched. it only took maybe 20 minutes from sending my order in to arrive in my hands. very impressive! i'm also very happy about the numerous vegetarian options. so many of their dishes were customizable which makes it really easy to make sure you get something you'd love. the noodles were really good except i noticed that they were gummy at the sides and bottom like multiple melted gummy worms. i tried to separate them the best i could but to no avail. the dish did come with a little dish of sides to garnish your noodles and i was pleasantly surprised! it was packaged separately. speaking of packaging --. the takeaway container was HUGE! most places keep to the same plastic tray with lid, but not BAB korean bistro! read more

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Came here for lunch on a weekend and it was suitable for a family with kids (perhaps a different vibe at night?). Our cheese tteokboki, jjajangmyun and fried rice were pretty great, though the mul neng myun fell a tad short in flavor. Would definitely come again. read more

We arrived at around 2pm on Sunday and were struck by the beautiful traditional decor as we entered the restaurant. There are plenty of tables around to accommodate bigger parties, and a single-person restroom each for females and males in the back. We ordered the spicy pork bulgogi, which was not very spicy but very good. The portion was so large we had a lot leftover to bring home. Our favorite order was the bibim naengmyun, which was, again, not that spicy but still tasted authentic. It paired very well with the pork bulgogi. We were disappointed in some of the side dishes that seemed a bit bland and not seasoned enough (i.e. bean sprouts), and this may just be my personal preference as I regularly cook Korean food and grew up my entire life eating Korean food. For me, the budae jjigae was a bit of a disappointment-- we felt like there weren't enough sausages (2-3pieces?) inside and the whole soup overall seemed to lack depth. The kimchi used in the budae jjigae broth is the soul of the soup, and my guess is that it just wasn't the best tasting kimchi (my personal opinion since everyone has a different taste for how they like their kimchi). A very satisfying meal overall, and the total for the 3 orders came out to be around $59. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - Bibim Naeng Myun - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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Food used to be better here but i still like it because our 2 favorite go-to dishes are very consistent. Tangsu-Yuk is amazing every time- crispy and fresh and the sweet/sour sauce is perfect! Jjajangmyeon is always good too! I add a bit of salt. Plenty of noodles and sauce. Soondubu broth really lacked flavor and salt- i remember it being better in the past. The Spicy pork bulgogi used to be sooo good here but this time it seriously lacked flavor and the pork pieces were chopped up into super tiny little bits which is weird. It used to be a saucier dish, this time it was almost dry no sauce. Also doesn't come with rice which is fine so you have to order rice separately. Service is generally good, they are always kind, but last time the servers ditched all the customers after they served the food, and started socializing and eating their own dinner at the front table. We waited forever and they never came back. My friend had to go over and interrupt them and ask them for the bill and takeout boxes. We've come here since the end of 2018 and it was sooo good back then! I think some of the chefs may have changed since then which makes sense but hopefully they revive some of the dishes that have since gone downhill. read more

I think of this place when I just want to eat reliable average Korean food. The place is open later than other restaurants and I think that the food is dependable where it isn't amazing but it is worth the price. The dishes we had weren't truly authentic in the way it was made, but it was still good to eat! I really liked the scallion pancake because it was crispy and chewy. The service here is really efficient and the employees are hard workers, along with being friendly. The place itself has a good amount of tables for people to eat and usually doesn't have a line/waitlist. I wouldn't come here if I wanted true Korean food but it is definitely not bad at all if you never tried Korean food! read more

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Overall: The restaurant is nice and casual if you're just passing by, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here. Maybe I ordered the wrong things, but that should have to compromise the quality and experience for the customer. Food: Mul Naeng Myun with L.A Galbi combo - Please just skip on this. You can get better instant naeng myuns from H-mart that are half the price and so much tastier. The icy broth the mulnaengmyun came in was so watery and flavorless even when I asked for the traditional ingredients to season it with. It made my whole experience suck because I didn't enjoy what I ate at all (I did finish it though because we never waste here!). However, the LA galbi is good with no complaints. Tangsu Yuk - I would skip on this too. Although it was super crispy, after a few bites we realized that every single piece had absolutely little to no meat. Sorry, I don't think I just paid for fried batter. Jjambong - I tried both their creamy and regular jjambong and they're pretty good. Not "go out of my way" good but does the job and satisfies the cravings. read more

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Very good food and service. BAB Korean bistro is very close to our hotel and we decided to give it a go because my daughter who lives in the Boston area wanted to try it. We ordered the Japjae, with beef which was excellent (could have done with less onions though). The spicy squid was extremely flavorful and had a nice kick. The pork Bulgogi was also very good. All in all an excellent Korean restaurant -- worth a visit. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - Ojingo Bokkeum - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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I ordered the beef soondubu for takeout. The way they packed the meal was great. It was a very big portion with banchan (side dishes) and rice included with the meal. Pickup was easy as well. However, the soondubu itself was only okay. It was strangely sweet (it tastes as though bulgogi meat was stirred into the broth) despite soondubu being a very spicy and savory dish. There were plenty of pieces of meat and vegetables which was great, but I couldn't get past the fact that the soup didn't taste close to how it should. Sweet isn't a flavor I would expect from soondubu, so I was disappointed that it tasted so different from what I was looking for. Otherwise, the service, portions, and price for the meal was good. If you're going to order from here I would recommend getting something other than the soondubu. read more

Was in the area and wanted to get some Korean food, this was the only place that had outdoor dining and was pretty spread out. We got the Japchae: too salty Seoullung tang: the perfect bone broth! Jokbal: texture and flavor were amazing! Try the spicy soybean paste Jjajang myeon: great taste with good noodles Tangsu yuk: big pieces of meat with a great sauce, would've preferred the sauce in the side Overall food was great and love the outdoor spots! read more

BAB Korean Bistro - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

Decent Korean food. My boyfriend got the beef bibimbap and it's filling. I got the gopchang sundubu jigae, it was fine, I didn't know it came with white rice on the side already so I got extra and ended up not finishing the whole thing lol. Just wish the jigae had more pork intestines in it because that's I was so excited about trying but overall good pickup/ takeout experience read more

BAB Korean Bistro - KS18. Gopchang Soondubu - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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Great spot for nearby Korean food! They have one of the comfort entrees which is the chicken soup with rice! All the food is great quality and tasty! I recommend! read more

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My friends and I had dinner in their outdoor patio and we enjoyed it so much that we also recently got take out from here as well. Given the pandemic we are more comfortable eating outdoors. I appreciated having the option of dining on their cute outdoor "patio" where they decorated with little Korean (and American) flags and greenery. We've enjoyed their Korean pancake (pa jeon), dolsot beef bibimbap, Japchae & Beef Bulgogi, chicken buns, and mandu guk. All were consistently yummy dishes. Unlike at other restaurants where the dishes may be a bit too greasy, BAB produces delicious and light, but generously portioned, fare. We will be back again, especially because they provide pan chan (Korean side dishes) with take out orders also!! [insert Korean finger heart here]. read more

Food was average Service was ok Ambiance could improve Nothing special for this place not sure why it had so many good reviews read more

After moving from Allston (where Korean food was a plenty), I was so happy that Brookline got a decent - and all encompassing - Korean joint! BAB came rolling into Brookline with a menu full of noodles, meat, and an incredibly stew/soup-heavy menu. The last of all of them, they have soup and stew offerings I haven't seen at a lot of places. I've tried a variety of dishes and despite it not being a Seoul Soulongtang or Kaju Tofu, BAB holds its own and I'm glad to have them in Coolidge Corner. Meal as always starts with banchan. BAB's banchan is basic: broccoli/veggies, kimchi, daikon, & bean sprouts - but they refill it as much as you request it. A11 KKANPUNG MANU: Fried mandu doused in a sweet & spicy sauce. A MUST-TRY APP. The sauce is amazing and the dumplings are crispy - although they would be crispier if the sauce came on the side as a dip versus pre-sauced. A17 SPICY TTEOKBOKI: My first good tteokbokki! Sauce is perfect, rice cakes cooked to perfection and comes with a hardboiled egg. It's tasty! M13 LA GALBI WITH MUL NAENGMYUN: La Galbi good - smaller portion with the combo but Mul Naengmyun terrible. Overly sour ... not vinegar good sour ... like a little too sour and not right. KS8 GOPCHANG SOONDUBU: Tofu soup with pork intestine - really good, my first time having it and BAB did not skimp on the intestine! Savory, spicy, and full of tofu, veggies, & the beloved intestine! M4 SPICY PORK BULGOGI: All right, the meats in soups - great - this dish ... not so great. Not even close to what I would consider acceptable. Very dry, tough, and overcooked - not saucy enough. Weird that the Galbi was good but this was not great. read more

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We had the dinner for Friday's night friend gathering. This restaurant is nice & clean with the attentive services, but the waitress asked a couple of time to hurry us to order the entrees when we were still waiting for our friend showed up. The appetizers were yummy & the price is reasonable. But I ordered Wang Galbi Tang, it is described as "Jumbo Beef short rib & vegetable soup" & marked $24.00. When it was served, there were 3 "thin" medium length slices of short rib (it is regarded as "Jumbo"???), with some amount of chopped scallion (if it is regarded as vegetable???) & the fist sized of rice noodle, with a small container of salt at the side. After finishing this entree, I still felt hungry even I'm a normal size adult. I was really disappointed and felt like this entree is totally way over-priced. read more

I ordered the jjajang myeon combo with kkanpung gi while my friend ordered the cream jjampong with tangsu yuk. The jjajang myeon tasted alright, but I felt like the ratio between the sauce to noodles was not even, so I ended up with a lot of leftover sauce and toppings near the end. I tried a bit of my friend's cream jjampong and found it pretty yummy. There was subtle spiciness and creaminess to the broth, and it did not taste overwhelming. My friend's major complaint regarding the dish was the excessive number of onions present in the dish. The kkangpung gi was overly spicy, which deterred me from enjoying the dish. On the other hand, the sauce for the tangsu yuk was yummy. I was disappointed by the lack of meat present in the dish though. The breading, although nice and crispy, was overwhelmingly thick in comparison to the amount of meat present in this dish. Considering how much you had to pay for the combo to get the additional meat dishes, I felt like I was being cheated out of my money. The portions of each dish were nice, and we left the restaurant feeling pretty full, even having leftover meat to bring back. Overall, the food was alright, but I would only come back for the cream jjampong as that is not a dish I can find anywhere else in Boston. read more

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We drive 40 minutes from Central MA to get our Korean food fix here. The food is SO GOOD. We used to come here often in the pre-covid days and the staff was always friendly and the service quick. They've adapted to take out extremely well and the food is still hot 40 minutes later. Recently, I ordered the budae jjigae and cheese tteokbokki (pictured). The meal came with incredibly fresh and delicious sides. The budae jjigae transported well, the noodles weren't too soft and the soup didn't get totally absorbed as some may. The cheese tteokbokki was super cheesy and the rice cakes were perfect. We love their tteokbokki sauce the most. Would recommend this place over and over again. It's worth the drive for us! read more

BAB Korean Bistro - A17. Cheese Tteok Bokki - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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Ordered Galbi and Bibim naengmyun combo, gabi was delicious and naemyun needed little wasabi and vinegar but it was all good. Definitely a good spot for Korean food in Brookline. read more

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Wow! Gluten free options, YES! The japche was so flavorful, with a beautiful array of fresh vegetables...I only wish I wasn't so full! The kimchi fried rice was outstanding, but the Tofu soup was HEAVENLY! It's very spicy, and very flavorful! The service was excellent, very accommodating at lunch, and the restaurant is very clean! Even the other guests, the regulars, perhaps, were lovely! We can't wait to come back! read more

Went in on a quiet afternoon, great service, friendly wait staff, and fast, tasty food!

I really liked the array of dishes that I tried. Spicy Pork Dolsot Bibim Bab was great - like fried rice but with spicy sauce and in a sizzling stone that created some crispy rice around the edges. I also loved the taste and texture of the glass noodles in the Japchae. The PA Jeon was a thicker version of the scallion pancake I know and it was nice since it was a more robust appetizer. read more

We ordered from Uber eats. Delivery came well packed and still warm. We had chicken wings, beef japchae, galbi tang and the pork hocks. They were all delicious. Chicken wings were slightly soggy but hey that's delivery. Can't really complain. read more

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Another bad choice with 50 different menu items, who knows which few of them do they actually make and are not from a can. It was unfortunately even worse than usual at this place because the vegetables were very noticably and extremely old; I no longer have any expectations for quality for allegedly korean food around Boston but having health or sanitation concern is a different problem. read more

Ecstatic to stumble upon a Korean place with reasonable prices compared to those in Harv Ave, I thought it was too good to be true!! & unfortunately, I was right. At the expense of cheap prices, you trade in flavor/quality of food. I ordered Soondubu jjigae (a tofu stew) and the soup was bland --this was affirmed by my friends who agreed that their meals were also flavorless. When you see waiters frantically running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining area, that's when you know the service needs some refinement. Service is a slow, one of my friends got her soup way before the rest of the table and numerous times the servers mistakenly put down something on the table that wasn't ordered by my table. Their staff is very nice but really, they need to get their act together... especially since this is a 'hot new business'!! Another area of improvement: the menu. It takes a while to orient oneself to the font and colors and there are pictures of the food that are not labeled so it's difficult to figure out what pic corresponds with what menu item. My Korean friend even found it to be a guessing game so a redesign of the menu merits some consideration. I really hate to be critical but I only do it because I think this place has potential if it works on these things! read more

BAB Korean Bistro - soondubu jjigae (tofu stew)- sort of bland! - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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Don't even want to give them 1 star. How can they have a cockroach in the food?? Is the restaurant not sanitized? This situation is ridiculous and so traumatized to me. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - KS20. Bulgogi Jeongol - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

Spicy black bean noodles and spicy cold noodles with crispy scallion pancake Spicy Black Bean Noodles ( ): The noodles were chewy and well cooked and the Black Bean sauce was flavorful and refreshing. The only downside is it isn't spicy at all but if you aren't good with spice feel free to try this! Just don't expect it to be spicy. Spicy Cold Noodles ( ): The noodles were well cooked and also chewy. The soup was so good and pretty spicy! It tasted like a cold noodle should, it was tangy and great for the summer heat. Crispy Scallion Pancake (): This might have been my favorite part of the meal! It was crispy but also was doughy in the middle and the dipping sauce was great! Service was fast and they answered any questions we had! read more

BAB Korean Bistro - KC3. Maeun Jjajang , maeun naengmyun, A19. PA Jeon - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

The delicious food and the friendly service were great. I will definitely come back when I come to Brookline.

This restaurant is one of the best Korean restaurants in Boston. I've been here twice and both times the dishes were amazing. The price is decent for the size of the dishes as well. We were too greedy last time and ordered way too much. This time for a cold day, although we were seated indoors, we got Gopchang Jeongol hotpot which is described as being a meal for 2 people. The soup was savory and actually had flavors unlike some restaurants whose soups are pretty watery or tasteless. The broth was thick and there were plenty of gopchang, soondae and udon noodles. Besides the dishes that we got on both occasions, their menu still has a lot of other items. I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you're visiting Boston and/or are craving Korean food. read more

BAB Korean Bistro - KS21. Gopchang Jeongol - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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Had the most perfect New Year's Eve dinner here. Excellent service from the moment we walked in. Cute interior and friendly, attentive staff. The three of us decided to family style our orders, which were gopchang soondubu (intestine tofu stew), hot stone bibimbap with spicy pork, cold noodles, and galbi (short ribs)! No complaints here. Everything tasted perfect and we all had different favorites. My brother had been craving tofu stew since winter started so it easily became his. Mine was the popular dish - hot stone bibimbap. Make sure to scrape and eat the crunchy rice at the bottom! My sister in law loved the galbi as it was tender and the flavor was nothing short of addicting. There is still so much more to try from the menu, so we'll 100% come back (cheese topokki we're coming straight to you next!) read more

BAB Korean Bistro - M7. L.a. Galbi, D3. Spicy Pork Dotsot Bibim Bab, C6. Mul Naeng Myun with Beef Bulgogi, KS18. Gopchang Soondubu - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

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very nice staff and the food was great even when there is no WiFI and charging cable, I enjoyed the food in this restaurant.

Everything was great! Most especially their pork bulgogi! Like wow! I've never had such bulgogi that had a lot of flavor! Will definitely come back and suggest it to my friends! read more

BAB Korean Bistro - M4. Pork Bulgogi - Korean Near Me - Brookline, Massachusetts

I stumbled into BAB, parched from my morning of conquering pickle ball; within seconds, I had a glimmering glass of ice water directly in front of me. Following the swift delivery of life-giving liquid, we perused the menu in search of delicious sustenance. Our table ordered three bowls of dolsat bibim bab and one bowl of sundubu, as well as some appetizers, which, to our delight, arrived soon after ordering. The food was absolutely to die for! The scallion pancake was ROBUST and filled with thicc scallions. The tteok-bokki was exquisite. One member of our group is a registered wimp who cannot take any spice; BAB gleefully acquiesced to reducing the spice level. The service perhaps was even better than the food! One member of the group is a bit of a klutz and dropped her napkin, her sauce dish, and finally her ever so slippery chopsticks. Before we could even pick them up, the waitress was at our side new chopsticks in hand. Between the satisfactory company and the exemplary food and service, we left BAB today with stomachs full, thirsts quenched, ready to embark on our next adventure. read more