This place has been here for the longest time. It's a pretty popular spot for middle-aged Korean men who want to smoke and drink after work. I came for the first time in years for some beer and food and it was ok. We were seated right away and ordered some udon (not sure why we ordered this of all things) lol. Udon was good, nothing special. We also ordered Kimchi pork fries with cheese on it which were probably my favorite thing here. Good amount of fries but kimchi/pork to fry ratio was off. By the end of it, we had a bunch of fries and wished there was more kimchi to go with it. They have a wide alcohol selection of soju, sake, beer, etc. The main thing I wasn't a fan of was the cleanliness of the place. The ledges were dusty and obviously haven't been wiped and the menus were pretty gross. Clearly no one wipes them. Also, our server didn't really check up on us. Any time we needed something, we used the doorbell button thing on the table which I tried to avoid doing cuz it can get annoying. But we weren't checked on or glanced at at all so it was necessary. They have good Korean/beer food but they just need to wipe shiz once in a while. read more

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Always enjoy these fried garlic wings . Sharing these 2 ordered to LACOFD #34, the fire fighters also enjoyed them read more

Cafe Gunul - 2 ordered to go garlic chicken wings - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

Great service, amazing food! Great atmosphere. Love the tofu kimchi and garlic chicken wings.

the food was so so good here! my mom and I came to eat here on a Saturday night and we heard great things about this place from our friends, so we decided to come check it out. We ordered the tofu + kimchi pork plate and it was SO DELICIOUS!!!!! it was also a big plate so we could both share and it was fulling too, so it was great! before our food came out, they also provided us with free popcorn and cucumbers so we could eat before our real meal came out. the employees were really nice and whenever we asked for more food/beer, they came and helped us right away! I love this place! more people should come and check this place out :) read more

Cafe Gunul - kimchi + spicy pork + tofu - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

The four of us came here to celebrate a friend's birthday. So we ordered the following: tongdahk + pitcher of Hite combo(http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cafe-gunul-buena-park?select=LkrprWfzzwZ7hatX8NHPjg#LkrprWfzzwZ7hatX8NHPjg) - tongdahk was good, but not the best. I loved the fact that it came with jalepenos and enough salad for all of us to share. kimchi bokkumbap (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cafe-gunul-buena-park?select=neOLxLoQBkiSdlIKQ5krCQ#neOLxLoQBkiSdlIKQ5krCQ) - fail. do not, i repeat, do NOT get this dish. ddukbokki (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cafe-gunul-buena-park?select=GwzMvVo0zScTKkRlH6XclA#GwzMvVo0zScTKkRlH6XclA) - had a smoky flavor and it wasn't really that bad, except we wished they gave us more yangyum tongdak (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cafe-gunul-buena-park?select=GwzMvVo0zScTKkRlH6XclA#y-XlWFkZg6FCNtIwtGjKtQ) - this was okay without the sauce (that comes on the side) OMG.. EXCELLENT SERVICE! Whenever we needed something, the service was prompt and perfect. We were given everything we needed and the workers were super friendly. As far as pricing, I think it's pretty fair and the prices are decent. I'm all for quality over quantity and this place does it right. Btw, you'll see more older Koreans hanging out here so this is not really your K-town style bar. I will definitely return! read more

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- Locale Destination - It's on Beach Blvd and Stage Rd in Buena Park. I really didn't know there was a Korean town around here. It's in a Korean shopping plaza. I didn't know this place before remodel, the decor is very simple, black, and modern with TVs for games. Service is slow. I guess most customers are the Korean, and my waitress spoke little English. It might be your handicap... This is more likely a BAR than restaurant. All the food prices are like $11 to $20 up. The portion seems huge though, I do think Korean is one of the cuisines that are little overpriced for what it is. You know how cheap their foods are if you go to the Korean supermarket????? Fresh product is ridiculously cheap, Korean BBQ meats are tasty and very inexpensive. Yeah, you'd pay $10 for very very tiny appetizer in LA for sure. But these are Korean sort of homey foods.. Even Japanese "Izakaya" foods are a lot cheaper than that. I'm just saying.. - Gluttony Expedition - Beer: They even got a half pitcher (around $8), which is kinda pricey. Shoju: It's very very cheap at supermarket but it becomes expensive at the Korean restaurants - FYI. Popcorn: It comes with meal or drink - I don't know. It's great with spicy foods. Toppogi: Wow. This sauce is wonderful. This dish is supposed to be just a snack, but it was pretty good dish. I prefer the rice noodle sticks a bit softer. It had fish cakes, carrots, mushrooms, and onions etc. I wish they put more of the rice noodle sticks... It doesn't look filling but it is. I like it :) - Conqueror's Deduction - My BFF told me this toppogi was the only reason to come here. Yeah, I haven't tried other dishes, but this toppogi by itself worth your driving ;) read more

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The waiters are very nice and friendly! They didn't even cost us a fries order since they see we ordered too much Food was delicious and reasonable price. I'm definitely gonna come back next time! read more

It's been a while since the last time I was here. I had never met the server who works on mondays only. His name is JJ. Super upbeat and attentive server. What we ordered was delayed due to out of stock. He got back with us quickly and fixed the issue and gave us on the house sweet potato fries. Awesome server with a good sense of humor! read more

KIMCHI PORK "FRENCH FRIES" + WHOLE CHICKEN+ SOJU/BEER = GUNUL SHININ STYLE NAW MEAN?? (the kimchi pork french fries doesn't come with french fries tho, it comes with thinly sliced potato chips, but they're soooooooooo BOMB) .You should order those three and I'm sure you'll have a great time getn drunk nd crunk !! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA jk...just chill out and enjoy your chicken and beer here :) read more

Happy Hour 4-7pm everyday. Order 2 dishes and get pitcher or soju for 1/2 price. Do it I love their Soondae bokum. IT IS HUGE!!!! My parents also come here..it seems to attract a wide range of ages. Koreans love eating and drinking no matta what age! read more

The food, the rad, and the yummy. The food is generally Korean pub fare with their own fusion mixes that differentiates it from the rest of the crowd. The Kimchi Pork Belly Fries are particularly delicious as they add savory and meaty goodness to greasy fries. A perfect match with their Amber Bock on tap. Another favorite is their Fried Chicken Wings, ask for the sauce on the side and you will be pleasantly surprised. Chicken and beer go awesome together, so yeah. Get beer. The service is pretty rad. They are friendly and try to get your order out as soon as possible. They also provide popcorn for your beer munchies. Some may not speak the best of English, but they do try their best to accommodate their guests and are nice about it completely. If you are having difficulty getting anything across the menu is in English, so I would just point to what you would like! I've asked for recommendations previously and they have yet to fail me. The yummy. The place is known for their deep fried whole chicken which has really crispy skin. Dip it in a little salt and pepper and you're golden. If you're looking for something authentically Korean, I would suggest the Kimchi Tofu, which is kimchi and pork belly, stir-fried served with tofu. Put some kimchi and pork belly on top of a piece of tofu and devour the thing whole for taste bud nirvana. In all of this, the main take away is, don't forget the beer. Beer. read more

Cafe Gunul - Fried chicken wings with sauce on the side! - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

Kimchi fried rice and spicy stir-fried pork belly with lychee soda by the pitcher. Yes, yes, and yes!!

Their Uber eats machine is broken. Man I really hate restaurant owners that are not taking the necessary steps to make delivery available during a pandemic. But they do get enough business in person and to go so I guess they don't sense the urgency here. Just sucks because I actually like the food here. read more

This is definitely the place for some drinks and korean street food!! Came here with a friend and ended up ordering a pitcher, their spicy tteokbokki with ramen and fried chicken wings! I initially had though that the food was on the pricey set, but when it arrived I was shocked! There was enough treokbokki to feed an entire family!! Great value and very tasty food!! Chicken wings with their sauce was amazing too!! Crispy and really juicy wings! The best part about this place?!? They give you free popcorn!! What's not to love?!? read more

Cafe Gunul - Chicken wings - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

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Came here on a Friday night before me and my friend went clubbing to grab a bite! we've been to cafe gunul 2 in Rowland (on Nogales) many times before and was expecting this location to be a copy of that one. Interestingly it wasn't ! This gunul location still has a lot of the staple menu items you would expect (chicken wings, tteokbokki, etc) but they definitely have a menu more geared towards traditional Korean dishes compared to the Rowland location. The staff was so sweet. We had brought in a bottle of soju we had just bought from h-mart to make some somek with the beer we ordered. Seeing us bring in the soju we expected that they might tell us no outside alcohol or drinks ( which is pretty common at most restaurants and food places and would have been fine). Our server instead asked us if we wanted to exchange the soju for a cold one and even brought us shot glasses :) definitely made our night. The garlic wings are a must get if you come here and are unsure of what to order! read more

This review is for their "soondae-bokgeum" which is simply AMAZING!!! It comes in a huge plate with lots of fat soondae, veggies and ricecake!!! It is just...one of the best! I don't even know how to describe it but do check the picture I posted to get a good idea. I do warn that this is a really big dish and you will need at least 3 people to finish it! I would definitely give them 4 stars, but the reason why 1 star went down is because we can't seem to order anything else if we want to eat the soondae-bokgeum because of their huge portions!!! :( I've only tried two other dishes from here: their fried chicken with dipping sauce on the side, which was yummy but not too special & udon which was really plain and small. Although I can't say too much about other food, but definitely do come here for their soondaebokgeum!!! Oh, and they seem to have good happy hour deal here & also have TV screens, which would be good for anyone who wants to watch sports while eating! read more

Cafe Gunul - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

I've been coming here for years. Always great service with fresh food. I guess having a spot next to the largest Korean Supermarket chain helps. Cold beer and some of the best Korean style "yang-yum" fried chicken (w/ the sauce on the side) for miles. So crunchy and crispy with nice sized pieces. Great sweet "moo", pickled radishes (gotta have the moo) and lots of slaw salad to share. Really, it's worth coming here for a cold beer and marinated fried chicken or just ask for the " yang-yum, tong-dak" special. read more

Cafe Gunul - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

I really like the place. I went there for my birthday. One of my friends recommended me that they have really seafood pancakes and bosssam. We had seafood pancakes, bossam, garlic chicken and nachos. I would recommend this place to other who wants try a really good Korean pub. read more

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Food is good. Staff is even better. Everything is good. But not cool enough. A/C is not cool enough. Avoid if weather is too hot. read more

Came here with a friend a few days ago. Cool little spot nestled in a plaza with Zion Market. We ordered the chicken gizzards, garlic wings and odeng tang (fishcake soup). Everything was delicious. Just a heads up the garlic wings make you smell like garlic until the next day, lol. The table was a little wobbly, which got sort of annoying. There's also seating outside too. The customers outside tend to eat and drink and smoke cigarettes so try not to sit near the door if that bothers you. read more

The girls and I needed some food in our bellies after drinking so we came to check this place out. We saw some really great food pics on yelp (mainly saw their pork kimchi french fries w/ cheese and had to have it!). Got here around 10pm and the place was packed but we were seated within 5 mins. They have a service button on the tables which I always love so service is also pretty quick. Food tasted so good! (see pics) I believe they also have happy hour. Private parking lot. Keeping this one short and sweet. Don't have anything negative to say about it at all! Notes: *Noticed an older crowd here *Bomb food *Closes at 12:30am *Kitchen closes at 11pm read more

Cafe Gunul - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

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Legit Old School Korean Comfort Foods. My family likes to treat ourselves out on it. Healthy, but yummy food to pair with beer and soju. Feels like eating out in Korea again. The spicy Clam noodles were so on point. And the chef cooking is very healthy and clean flavors. This comes from a picky eater like me! read more

Not bad. Not too good. Fried chicken is good but little oily but sauce was ok Not a best place but ok to drink read more

A+++++ Cafe Gunul (aka Shade) is fantastic! We came for a birthday party for 7 people and we stuffed ourselves to the max without hurting our wallet at all. The manager was so accommodating and so generous with our questions, giving us his recommendations. We ordered the Buldak Duk Bbo Kki with cheese, which wasn't that spicy so don't worry about it burning your tongue, the kimchi dubu, their famous Cafe Gunul garlic fried chicken, clam soup, and the kimchi seafood pancake (you can pass on this one). When we told the manager we were celebrating a birthday, they gave us a hamburger steak with egg on top and a birthday candle as service! They also gave us shoestring Korean sweet potato fries with a delicious spicy mayo chipotle sauce. The food is FRESH. It may take a while to get the food after ordering but it just shows that they cook to order. They say it's a sul jib but we came for a normal dinner and it was superb. I will definitely be coming back with big parties since they can accommodate them. read more

This restaurant serves good modern Korean food. Service is excellent. The place is clean. We have been going here for quite a while and we always enjoy their foo read more

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This is my favorite ramen spot in town overall excellent. You guys better go and taste, you will go again not knowing why... it is definitely great. Surprisingly this place is better place for hanging out night life. read more

Been coming here for while now after discovering their amazing food menu. If you haven't been here yet, get in your car and go. Now. The restaurant is in the middle of the plaza so it's a bit hard to see from any main street, but once you find this gem and try their food, you'll be glad you read this review. Let me give you a breakdown of some of my favorite food. The ttongdak (whole fried chicken). Probably the most popular thing here and what they are mostly known for. By far the best ttongdak in the OC. They slow cook the chicken for 3 hours and is one of the juiciest chickens you'll try. The skin is super crispy and the meat is soft and tender. You dip it into salt and pepper, eat it with jalapeño and a side salad. A traditional dish you can find anywhere, but cafe gunul does it the best. Gunul kimchi pork fries. Omg. My favorite thing at gunul. It's the Holy grail of fries for foodies. It comes with a mountain of fries as a base. It's topped with their mixture of kimchi and pork, cooked to perfection. You would think that something like fermented cabbage with fries would be weird but it works so well on so many different levels. On top of that is a lava of cheese. And I mean like an erupting volcano lava. The cheese just oozes and coats over the fries and is a must try. I'm salivating just writing this review about it. I might just go after and get some lol. Dukpokki (spicy rice cake). Spicy. Spicy. Their dukpokki is one of my favorites around the Buena park area because they put in so much ramen noodles! Their dukpokki is not as sweet as traditional ones, but is spicier then most. They top it with cheese to mellow out the spiciness and it's so addicting. You'll have burning lips and a whole bunch of used napkins you've used to wipe the sweat of your face but you will not be able to stop yourself from eating. Mexican salad. A great side dish to order when you need a bit of refreshing crunch after all those spicy and cheesy things you just ordered off my list. A mixture of cabbage, ham, raisins, apples, egg and peanuts in a mayonnaise based dressing. Kimchi tofu, udon soup, fried chicken wings, army soup, hamburger steak, nachos, the list goes on and on. By this time most of you thought it was TL & DR so I'll leave the reviews of the rest of the food for you ;) They always have up to date music, 4 TV's with 4 different sports channels on at all times. They have very reasonable prices for beer and soju. Right now they have these flavored sojus (good day soju) that are great to try for people who aren't too big of a fan of the strong soju taste. Ask the manager or servers for recommendations and they'll be happy to explain the different types for you. The one bad takeaway from this would be that the establishment is a bit small. It's roomy inside and you'll sit comfortably without feeling suffocated, but when I mean small, I mean they don't have enough seats to accommodate all of the people that come! On weekends it's pretty busy and can have a wait for tables. When it gets busy, the servers are running around so busy working that it's sometimes hard to get their attention but they'll get to you eventually. Gunul has become of one my favorite restaurants and is one of my regular places to go eat on any given day. Workers are always greeting me with a smile and the food is delicious every damn time! If you've still reading this all the way down here...what are you doing?! Go to gunul right now and try their abundance of food!! read more

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Great drinking place with drinking type food. Dont come here if you arent gonna drink though. Budha jiggae is awesome as well as their bosam fatty pork belly with cabbage leaves. Like the booth style tables here to give your party a bit more privacy. read more

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Their food is great! I took awhile to get the food, but we weren't that hungry so it worked our perfectly.

Great environment amd quick service Food tastes delicious and large portions. The only hesitation is the prices of the food. Expect to pay $12+ for food. + the best dduk bbok gee w/ramen around this area imo. $14.99 +amazing korean bbq bulgogi with rice. $13.99 *cheese fries is average. Yea worth coming again if got the money read more

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My friends and I love this place! We've been coming for years!!! My favorite is the military soup and Korean fried chicken. You will cannot get a better military soup than this place though. Their wait team is always on point and extremely kind and friendly, especially Sean. read more

The food taste was great! Customer service was even greater than the taste of food! Very authentic and nice restaurant for Korean cuisine. Especially Manila clam soup was so delicious! read more

Waitress was the biggest bitch I've ever met. But the food is fairly good. THREE STARS FOR YOU GUNUL! I came here with my parents as a spur of the moment food adventure. The menu was fairly standard for a Korea Bar - dohg buhk gee, chicken, tonkatsu, etc. But there was a nice surprise that wasn't THAT common: harmurl bohk gum (spicy stir fried seafood). Oh dear! It was HEAVENLY! I'm sure it's chock full of MSG and other nasties...but I don't care. It was amazing. But the service here is fucking terrible. The lady was such a bitch to my parents (which is hard to do...my mom is 5' 0" and she's ALWAYS smiling). She didn't crack a smile or even check on us. Everytime we called her with the bell she looked at us as if we're disgusting old Korean men trying to pinch her ass. Calm down, lady. I don't want to harass you, I just wanted to order my food. The food does make it worth at least one visit. I don't know about repeat visits though. read more

TERRIBLE SERVICE!!!!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY & SUPPORT THIS PLACE!!! The older female waitress is SUPER RUDE & she has the biggest attitude problem. From the moment you walk in you won't feel welcomed. This 1 star is not deserved but i can't post this unless i rate it. Ugh~ :(!! read more

their spicy stir-fried seafood is good, if you like spicy food. they had plenty of jalapeno slices on top, which i love! "boodae jigae" was also pretty good...lots of sausages and tofu and etc. It'd get a little loud from people around you when they drink alcohol, but then again you can be louder, and over-power them. lol read more

Cafe Gunul - Deep fried whole chicken :-) - Korean Near Me - Buena Park, California

Love the new look! I can come here and watch laker games and drink a beer...:) Friendly staff and good food..def. more cleaner atmosphere..my new fav. Hangout read more

This place has awesome chicken wings, nachos, and kimchi pork fries. Service is also on point, 5 stars. read more

Not bad. Definitely not someplace my friends and I would frequent but wasn't bad. Food seemed to be pretty decent. But I ordered chicken to-go last time and it was kind of dry. But I had the sliced pork belly before that and that was good. Parking is aplenty and they had several games on the TV. Definitely more of an older crowd here. Did see a few people my age but mostly older. I didn't catch their hours but they did seem to be open pretty late. Pretty good food and quiet considering what type of restaurant it is. I could definitely carry a conversation with my table without having to raise my voice. read more

Sometimes all you need is tongdak and some beer.. The chicken is nicely fried here, the skin is crisp and paper thin. We were practically fighting for it! It came with standard cole slaw with 1000 island dressing and sliced jalapenos Problem started when we started ordering more.. Now we wanted spicy! Gol baengee moochim (spicy snail marinade).. Eww, me thinks not! It was more a salad and had a few itty bitty pieces of snail but then they also threw in a TON of rehydrated dried fish.. Too much fish, Too much lettuce, Not enough golbaengee! Tofu Kimchee was standard. The portion was huge enough to justify the price tag of $16.. All in all, I'd definitely come back. The place was jam packed on a Friday night and from the looks of it, this is a place where the customers will sit and hang out for HOURS.. It's pricier than most ktwon joints in LA, but it's cleaner. What do you expect, it's Fullerton! read more

Had only ever gone to Cafe Gunul 2 in Rowland Heights, but I'm glad I finally got around to coming to this location!! It's got more of a traditional vibe, and a bit more bumpin. The food was just as delicious here, and the service was great! Staff was friendly and attentive! The kimchi pork we got was sooo yummy! We also ordered a small fried whole chicken and the skin was perfectly crispy, and chicken was so tasty too. Will definitely be coming back more often read more