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    Dawa Kitchen

    4.6 (676 reviews)
    ModerateKorean, Asian Fusion
    Closed 12:00 pm - 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

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    DAWA KITCHEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Trendy
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Dawa Kitchen

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    spicy chicken katsu curry
    Elihu P.

    TLDR - food is good, portions are good, service is good, parking is a little tight if the mall is busy - would recommend. Came back and decided to try a couple other things. we tried the chicken katsu curry instead of the pork and we got the beef belly stone pot bowl. I would say the pork katsu is probably a better buy than the chicken. The breading on the chicken falls apart too easily and leads to an unpleasant eating experience. The beef belly stone pot rice is good but it really feels like I could make it at home. Overall a pleasant experience - the spicy curry actually has a decent kick to it so if you are a fan of spicy curry I would recommend.

    CURRY PORK KATSU 카레돈까스
    Leah Y.

    So yummy - how is this place not jam-packed every night??? Come here a few times - love the interior space because it's roomy and feels like I'm in Korea. Food is so good! I love the hotstone Bibimbap and the curry. I'll definitely try more menu options in the future but after trying them once I crave them and have a hard time giving other options the chance. Have brought friends and family here and they love it too. Will be back in the future!

    Janson L.

    Worth checking out. More like a 3.5/5 so I rounded up. We ordered: Dawa Chicken (fried chicken) - overly breaded in my opinion. Very good sauce taste. Maybe a bit over done. Garlic Su Yuk (sous vide pork belly) - very solid but felt rich. Need something to help with richness. Pork Katsu Curry - kind of dry and overcooked in my opinion. Very cool concept and super hot with the stone bowl so be careful. I still enjoyed it. Banchan was very good. Service great and attentive. It's a nice small restaurant with simple interior. It is clean and you don't smell like fried oil after eating there. I recommend checking it out but not expecting stellar food. It's good food and more homely.

    CURRY CHICKEN KATSU 카레치킨까스
    Bernadette S.

    Really enjoyed this place and portions are huge. Ordered the curry chicken katsu and the beef hotstone bowl. So delicious! The portions are huge and good to feed 3-4 people if you order a lot of dishes. The curry is delicious, not overly spiced. Everything was really tasty. We came right at opening and no one was there but after 15 minutes, lots of people coming in. They do take reservations. The staff are nice and always checked in. They also have sides of macaroni salad, radish, fish cake and bean sprouts. I really liked the macaroni salad! They refill that too. This is in a strip mall so theres free parking. Bathrooms are clean but no changing area for babies. About 8-9 tables inside.

    SPICY BRAISED BEEF 매운 소고기 찜
    Cyndi W.

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE dawa! This is definitely my go to korean food place in the area! Their portions are sharing size and typically 1 dish is good for 2 people. Rule of thumb is to order 1-2 less dishes than the amount of people you have. My most recommended food would be the bulgogi rice & mac and corn cheese. It's an amazing combo! if you were to try one thing that's what I would recommend. They are not shy with their cheese!! I will come back anytime. Friendly staff with a family style interior, it does get busy at night on weeekends so plan ahead and join the waitlist!

    Menu
    Lucy L.

    We decided to come here for dinner after seeing an IG post and saw how huge the katsu's are. For a Wednesday evening, we were seated right away. Service was friendly and we asked for a second batch of banchan and they were totally fine with it. The restaurant is clean and modern. Food: Curry Pork Katsu: definitely huge portion. Curry was good and it's nice and hot since it's served in a stone pot Garlic Su Yuk: i personally loved this dish. With the chopped garlic and chili paste on top, it's a perfect bite! Dawa Chicken: very flavorful but a little too breaded

    Online menu as of March 7th, 2026. It's 22mb which is why it sucks at loading lol
    Byron C.

    Meets the hype! I am always wary of hype but this is good. Garlic siu yuk is my favorite. I'm waiting on the wait list 2nd time here (join it early and it's running 20m late this time) and we're going to get the braised beef and I'm sad we're not getting this. (The braised beef is a must try though so we'll see) I love good meat with rice the garlic and spicy and the curry katsu was very crispy and solid. I don't want mediocre curry cartoon and this meets my expectations. It's not the absolute best, but it's also solid, especially the portion... The overall cost is actually very reasonable permeable when you spit out after calculating eating all the leftovers!

    Menu
    Sam C.

    This is an interesting take on Korean food. They seem to take classic Korean dishes with a little twist. The donkatsu was very good. The crust was very crispy while the pork was still tender. The gravy was nice as well. And the dish is huge. The braised beef is like the classic galbijjim (braised short ribs) but with other cuts of meat included. It was good, but I think the standard galbijjim would have been better ... I'm not sure the other cuts of meat were as good. Ttokboki was just ok. The sauce wasn't really like what we would have expected. The beef belly dish was a little on the bland side. The pork belly and bibimbap was also good. Overall, this place is a great value and some of the dishes were very good. But others were not as successful, and I think they would have been better off just going with a more standard approach.

    Mac & Corn Cheese
    Allison P.

    A great late-night joint for a meal with friends! My friends were successfully influenced by their incredible cheese pulls popping up all over social media. We popped in one night for some casual bites and were not disappointed! The spread included their famed Mac & Corn Cheese, Dawa Chicken, and Korean Pancake (Shrimp). Everything was super solid! The Mac & Corn Cheese is just what it sounds like: corn cheese meets mac & cheese. Super indulgent and a really fun dish to share. The Dawa Chicken is their version of KFC (Korean Fried Chicken). It's boneless bites tossed in a K-style sauce. Korean pancakes are a classic and you really can't go wrong with these. You can choose from either shrimp or bulgogi. Super crispy and savory!

    CURRY CHICKEN KATSU, JAPCHAE, KOREAN PANCAKE (BEEF)
    Candyce P.

    Came here for dinner on a Friday night and the wait was around 20 mins for a party of 4. The restaurant is relatively small, but did not feel crowded and the service here was quick. We ordered 3 dishes and the portion sizes were huge (we even had leftovers). All of the side dishes were great as well -- the acidity of the cucumber, kimchi, and radish definitely helped to balance out the heaviness of the other dishes. Chicken Katsu Curry - 3/5 This was our least favorite dish out of what we ordered. We were looking forward to it because that is what initially drew us to the restaurant, but we found the chicken to be a bit tough and it lacked flavor. The curry itself also needed more flavor, so the dish overall was a bit of a let down. Would recommend Hako in Irvine if you're looking for good katsu tho! Japchae - 4/5 We were confused when it came out and looked like a soup but we were pleasently surprised. The japchae had good flavor and I appreciated the amount of veggies in it. However, it was nothing extraordinary Korean Pancake with Bulgogi - 4/5 The pancake was super crispy and thin (and not too greasy), and the sauce paired nicely with it! It was topped with bulgogi, which I found to be a bit to sweet for my liking. I also wish the bulgogi or the protein was in the pancake itself rather than just on top.

    BEEF BELLY 우삼겹돌솥 Pork Katsu
    Emily W.

    Wow. Super impressed by the portions at Dawa Kitchen. Stopped by for dinner and found the ambiance to be a bit divey and dark. However, the portions blew us away. While the food isn't super outstanding, it slaps for the hungry soul. The beef belly was an umami mix with the fried garlic carrying the dish (a bit too oily tho). The pork katsu was somewhat over seasoned with both salt and pepper. Side note: We were super hungry, but the banchan came out with the food. All of them were pretty good but we found the macaroni salad to be a bit sweet.

    beef belly stone pot
    Samantha S.

    Stopped by with a coworker after she mentioned this spot is family-owned by the same people behind Jin Cook. The menu feels very similar, though each location has a few unique items of its own. I ended up trying the beef belly rice and enjoyed it--but very oily! The suyuk seemed a little tough. Staff was friendly and didn't wait long to be seated or getting our food. Looking forward to checking out their Los Alamitos location next.

    Kathleen T.

    Do I need to explain these pictures!!! I've been here a couple times and the servers are so nice and funny! I love how big the portions are to share and everything was amazing! I'm a corn cheese lover but the corn cheese here is definitely too creamy for me (mostly because it's with mac and cheese as well). Everything else was great!

    CURRY PORK KATSU 카레돈까스

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    Page 1 of 17

    Dawa Kitchen Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Dawa Kitchen

    Are there any gluten free options?

    Hi, Beef soup Garlic suyuk… Read more

    Do you guys take cash or card only?

    We do accept cash and cards

    Are there any restrictions on what can be ordered for takeout?

    Hi, we can take togo order . But korean pancake and garlic suyuk is only for dine in . Thank you

    Is chicken Katsu back on the menu?

    Yes

    Is the chicken katsu no longer on the menu?

    Yes, we are working on new menu.

    What are the hours? On Yelp it says it's only open on Mondays?

    11:30am to 9pm daily

    Where the waitlist?

    Join Yelp waitlist in restaurant only

    Can I order take out?

    We offer dine-in only. Thank you!

    We've been looking for spicy curry Katsu since the closure of Curry House. Is your curry spicy (hot spicy)? If not, can it be modified for a spicy flavor?

    Sky idk toliet

    Do they take reservations?

    Unfortunately, we don’t take any reservations. You can join the yelp waiting list by visiting our restaurant. The seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Do you serve beer and soju?

    We do not carry any alcoholic beverages yet, but the good news is we are currently working on it, so will have them soon! Yay😉

    Do they have enough parking space available during the weekend?

    There is some extra parking in the back but now that it's getting more popular parking can be difficult.

    What are the vegetarian and vegan options?

    View All 17 Questions

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    Nep Cafe - Crispy Pork Belly Wraps

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    Saturday brunch at Nep absolutely lived up to the hype. We showed up around noon expecting a long…read morewait, but got seated inside in just 10 minutes... already a win. Ordered the Banh Mi Chao and the Pandan Old Fashioned, and both delivered. The filet mignon was insanely tender, the baguette had that perfect crispy-outside, fluffy-inside texture, and every bite was super flavorful. The Pandan Old Fashioned is great if you prefer something on the stronger side. Then came dessert... and wow. The banana bread pudding and mango sticky rice were straight-up bangers. No notes. Big shoutout to Thomas as well. Despite the packed brunch rush, he stayed incredibly attentive and made sure our table was taken care of the entire time. Service like that makes the experience great. Nep knows exactly what they're doing. Already thinking about my next visit.

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