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    Dae Bak

    3.6 (630 reviews)
    Closed 5:30 pm - 1:00 am (Next day)

    Dae Bak Photos

    Business Info

    DAE BAK ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Dae Bak

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    Reviews With Photos

    Spam Kimchi Fried Rice
    Rose L.

    For $120 on DoorDash with the presentation, absolutely not feeling it. The kimchi fried rice was decent, the soft tofu soup was an experience -- tofu tasted really gross for some reason, but the mushrooms were okay, very underseasoned though. The fries were good the first couple of bites until the sour cream and jalapeños overpower the dish. Overall probably wouldn't go back given the presentation and price point.

    Ethan A.

    Decided to try this place because they were open late and had a wide variety of food on the menu. Sadly to say, the best part of this place is that they were open late. The fries and the hot pot were good, no complaints there. The La kalbi had good flavor but the portion was so small for the price compared to other places, each bone was like 4 dollars each. The stir fried baby octopus was a little sweet and spicy but also a really small portion considering half of it was cabbage. The seafood pancake wasn't crispy, but rather kind of soggy. The boneless chicken was so disappointing, it felt like there weren't really any pieces of chicken and even then, there was fried rice cake included in it so the amount of actual chicken was maybe 3 ounces on the entire plate. Inside is nice with the lighting and decor, service was good, but food was pretty overpriced for what you get. Overall, the selling point of this place are the late hours. I don't anticipate coming back.

    Cheese corn

    Such great food and excellent service! We came to celebrate Mother's Day here with the family. We were seated quickly, the server took our order and informed us of the special drinks for Mother's Day. Food came out promptly and was delicious! My parents and family enjoyed all the different dishes we ordered. We had kids, teens, seniors, and adults with us, all with different tastes, but everyone enjoyed everything that came out. The servers were so sweet to offer my mom and dad a spin on the wheel where they won a dish, they chose short ribs which were delicious. This was my first time being here, it was recommended by my sister. We'll definitely be back again!! Thank you to the very nice and gracious employees here, you all made Mother's day for us even better!

    Soft Tofu Soup
    Ruhi S.

    One of the few places on El Camino Real with vegetarian tofu sundubu and side dishes. The sundubu was a bit expensive and didn't nail the head with the flavor, but was still enjoyable. The vegetarian banchan was limited and only one free refill is included. Its got a nice nighttime vibe and is open later than other Korean restaurants in the area.

    Spicy pork roll
    Eva L.

    One of the better spicy pork gimbap. Was really good from the pork to all the veggies. All the ingredients worked well with each other. The best of the banchan was the fish cake. It was pretty good, not too fishy. Went really well with the hotpot. Also had the miso hotpot with pork and ramen. It soup also had tofu, assorted veggies and small shrimp. Broth was tasty. The miso flavor was pretty mild. The staff were very nice. Food came out quickly. Reasonable price especially the spicy pork roll; good serving size.

    Andrew N.

    It was late night and came here. The place serves Korean street food tapas style as you should definitely eat everything here family style. Although we did not get soju this time, this is a great place to drink with your friends as they have various types of soju cocktails. Fries (4/5) Too many jalapeños for me, but the portion is big enough to share Army stew (5/5): Has various topping and is very comforting. Will probably go here again for a night out

    Seafood pancake, Al Kaebi, Ramen noodle with spicy rice cakes.
    Loc N.

    Good side-dishes, decent main dishes and service. There is limited parking in front of the store, at peak hours it would be a little difficult to find spot. You might need to park a bit further down the road and walk back. If you come in as a big group, they will apply service tip automatically on the bill for 20%. The decoration is decent and clean with a big TV displaying Kpop MV. Foods are really good, their seafood pancake is crispy and generous in seafoods portions. Their banchans were great, we couldn't stop eating all of them. However, Al Kaebi portion is quite small for the price, I would skip this next time though. Spicy rice cakes with ramen came out a bit too sweet to my taste.

    Seafood Pancake
    Alan L.

    We found this delicious Korean place off yelp on a whim and it was great! They had a large variety of traditional Korean dishes and the restaurant had a great ambiance. I really liked the seafood pancake as they were generous with the amount of seafood and the batter was very crispy. The cold noodles were surprisingly good too! The army stew was very hearty and was great to have on a chilly day. I did think the soondubu was a little lackluster though, and though the fried chicken was very crispy and juicy, the sauce was on the side and so not coated very well on the wings. I'd also avoid the watermelon soju, and we found that to be pretty watered down considering the price. All in all we had a great experience and would come back!

    Iris Z.

    What a great Korean restaurant with good vibes and great service! I made a reservation for 30+ people as we wanted to eat dinner before karaoke and this was close by. It's hard finding restaurants to reserve this many people but I am glad Daebak could accommodate us. They organized a long table for all of us to sit at towards the back so we didn't even have to split up! Some of my friends and I split the boneless chicken with green onions, army stew, pork belly kimchi fried rice, and corn cheese. Of course, we shared the watermelon soju as well! The food was definitely yummy and nothing disappointed. Everything was so flavorful and delicious. The dishes that stood out to me were definitely the army stew and the green onion chicken; huge portions and delicious! The watermelon soju was big enough to split amongst 5 people and we all got 2.5-3 shots each out of it. The service was definitely the highlight of the night! Our servers, Haeseong & Frank, were super accommodating to our requests and even allowed us to split our big party into 3 ways. Even though we all ordered lots of food, the food was brought out quick and they refilled our water many times. They were also fun to hang around with too haha! Definitely would recommend this place to people who want to eat good Korean food with a big group!

    Seafood Pancake
    Rachelle C.

    We had so much fun at Dae Bak! We've been coming here for years, and the line is always out the door on a late weekend night! Dae Bak is known for their watermelon soju! A perfect choice for a party of 4 you can't taste the soju at all, fun and dangerous! lol The service staff is super friendly and fun! They celebrated my birthday and they even gave us soju on the house! Did you know that the restaurant owner used to play professional baseball in Korea!? Enjoyed the vibes and company! Food is always seasoned and spiced on point, served in generous portions, and paid homage to traditional Korean dishes! There are SOO many options on their menu! I was pleasantly surprised by the Garlic Jalapeno Pork Belly! A good level of heat from the jalapeno and the pork belly was not oily or heavy! Favorite go-to orders: Spam Kimchi Fried rice, Seafood Pancake and Corn cheese! Cheers!

    Fish cake stew
    Lucy K.

    wow! it's seriously on another level! I heard there's a new owner, and you can totally feel the difference. The food is trendy, super flavorful, and really unique compared to other places. The atmosphere is great, and the staff are so attentive and friendly!! you can tell they really care about the customers. The portions are generous, and the prices are totally reasonable for the quality you get. Definitely became one of my new favorite spots

    Pork Belly Garlic Jalapeno Stir-Fry
    Sylvia L.

    Long overdue and review is for current vs past years. Came here late night on a weekday. Wasn't too full, the place can hold big groups with 4 booths and 10 tables. Ordered the watermelon soju of course, could not taste any soju for some reason. The garlic pork belly was not crispy (2/5). Stir fry chicken gizzards were a bit too gamey for me and not as flavorful (2/5). The cold noodles imo was the best dish (5/5), good vinegar ratio and radish and slivers of cucumber. Service was decent, answered our questions but did not come to check on our water/ ban chan. I remember their army noodle was good and big portioned. There are other places that specialize in the cold noodle as well, so sad but will not be returning.

    Spencer L.

    Delicious food! This is one of my go to pocha places to go to late at night when i'm with my friends. We shared the Tteokbokki, Spicy Bulgogi, and Kimchi Fried Rice. The food is always great and never disappoints! We got seated immediately and the workers treated us with care! They were very nice and felt like family. The restaurant also had a very homey feeling to it and I will definitely be coming back to this place!

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    Portions were smaller than I'd hoped. We ended up ordering more after our first 2 plates arrived. Fried chicken isn't crispy but soggy :(

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    Ask the Community - Dae Bak

    Do you guys do any birthday special or free things on bday?

    Maybe if you're cool with the server, but not really.

    Are they allowed indoor eating yet?

    Yes I ate here indoors last month. (March 2021)

    Is their kimchi vegan? in other words, does their kimchi contain fish or any meat sauce?

    Shrimp & Anchovies sauce

    Is the yupdduck extra spicy rice cake like yupdduck a regular spice or is it yupdducks extra spicy?

    Can do either way by requesting.

    Do they serve AYCE BBQ even if it’s brought in from the kitchen already cooked?

    No, they don't have AYCE.

    Is 18% gratuity automatic for a party of 6?

    yes it is

    View All 9 Questions

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    Petiscos - Francesinha

    Petiscos

    3.8(654 reviews)
    5.7 miDowntown
    $$$

    A Michelin restaurant in Downtown SJ? Ample parking in the…read morearea, the interior has quite a bit of seating (no outdoor seating). The staff was helpful and answered all of our questions. Food was served fresh and hot. If you come around 7pm or 8pm, you'll probably need reservations. Recommendations: 'Pao de quejio' cheese bread Francesinha sandwich

    First time trying Portuguese food! Never had Portuguese food before much less petiscos which is…read morebasically tapas. The food is very similar to Spanish tapas. The flavor profile is slightly different but I could barely notice since I'm not so familiar with the cuisine. Food: Lingicua- dope presentation. It arrives on fire to your table. Pretty cool and the taste is good but ultimately it's just a sausage. Class streamed in white wine/garlic- really tasty. I really enjoyed this dish. It has a very similar profile to other clam/mussels in white wine dishes so I dunno if you necessarily hafta try it here but it was good. Octopus- was also really good but I wouldn't say any better or worse at other places over had octopus Duck rice- this was just ok. Duck was a lil dry. At $45 I wouldn't recommend. The portion is also tiny. I thought it was gonna be like a big paella or something. Overall everything was solid/tasty. Cocktails were surprisingly good. I'll say the only thing is the value/price. Portions are tiny and some things like the rice are really pricey for the portion that you get so I'd def be aware of that.

    Photos
    Petiscos - Dining area from the front

    Dining area from the front

    Petiscos - Seafood rice

    Seafood rice

    Petiscos - Bar seating

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    Bar seating

    Dae Bak - korean - Updated May 2026

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