The service was great but not perfect. There's not a lot of seating, but we were lucky to be seated just at the right time. We were even luckier to have the food come out generally timely but the main kick is the food is DELICIOUS!! I love the food and can't wait to be back. All the dishes were very very good, and we bought a bunch to split! read more

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Tried this new place in OC! The katsu was sooo big, we shared it amongst the 3 of us. We also ordered the ddukbokki and Mac and cheese corn. It comes with the Korean sides as well. Dishes were very big portions and perfect for sharing. Service was quick and nice. The restaurant wasn't crowded and we enjoyed our lunch here. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Katsu - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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Amazing portions and even more amazing food. Everything was perfect and the service was great.

Both times I have eaten here, we were the only guests dining when we sat down, but the small restaurant filled up quickly. I read some reviews prior to going because I had driven by it a few times and wondered what it was all about. I followed the recommendations and ordered the Tofu soup and Chicken with curry. The tofu soup is to die for and was the main reason we went back. On the second trip, we had two orders of soup because it is so delicious that we couldn't get enough. The chicken curry dish is enormous. I did not know that a chicken could be flattened out to this size. Enormous. The first time I went, there were only two of us and I felt that we had overordered and took home about half of it. The second time, I was prepared with a party of four. The chicken is pounded out and fried Korean style, and it is crisp and tasty. I am not big on curry, but I enjoyed that as well. It is served with scissors so that you can cut pieces off that fit your appetite. The meal also comes with 3-4 side dishes as well which was a really nice bonus. The restaurant only has 10-12 tables, so it feels quaint and intimate. At both times there was only one server, but he did a fantastic job and was patient, knowledgeable and friendly. Family friendly and easy, I will definitely be back. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Chicken Curry with plentiful side dishes - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

Fire!! Dawa is and has been my go to safe restaurant since I found it. There was a month where I dined literally once every week. I love the food. The Army Ramen, although basic, always hits the right spot I have no idea why. The Spicy Pork Rice is also top top. At this point I've tried almost everything on the menu and those two are the must tries. Service is always great! I always seat with this one server with the glasses to the point where he knows I'm coming and he knows exactly what I ask for! Super cool guy and amazing service. It's a shame his name slipped my mind but if you're reading this, I appreciate you bro! I always recommend this spot to all my friends. This is probably one of my favorite restaurants of all time! read more

Overall: 4.5/5 [dine in] We came on a Friday night around 7:30 PM and were seated pretty quickly given that were a party of 8. We had to wait until all the food was served before we could put the two tables together but having they separate was actually easier for people to go use the restroom. The two guys waiting the tables were professional & provided great service. Our server - Jong according to the receipt - pointed out the most popular items when we were reviewing the menu, cracked some witty jokes throughout the night, and called out the 18% gratuity has already been added to our bill (bless his soul). Needless to say, my family had a great dining experience here. Curry Chicken Katsu ($25): This is the famous giant katsu that's viral on Tiktok. The meat was the span of my laptop so cutting it took awhile. My brother said it's a hit or miss since the meat could get really dry. Unfortunately for us, the katsu was very dry. The curry helped a little bit, but it tasted better dipped in the ddukbokki sauce. This curry came with a lot of rice so we had a lot of leftovers. Original Braised Beef ($58): This came with 2 serving of rice. The meat wasn't as tender as I hoped and was almost overcooked. There were too many potatoes so the dish was a bit off-balance. The sauce was good, but not amazing - yet tasted great with rice. I think if we got the spicy braised beef with cheese, it would have tasted better but we went with the original to accommodate everyone's dietary restriction/preference. Ddukbbokki ($17) + Cheese ($4): I didn't have high expectations for this dish, but it turned out to be absolutely delicious! The sauce was the highlight--we dipped a lot of meat in it and drizzled it over our rice. The rice cake had the perfect texture and paired wonderfully with the cheese. Unfortunately I didn't get to try the fish cake so I can't speak to it. Garlic Su Yuk ($33): Everyone's favorite entree of the nice was this 10 hours sous vide pork belly in beef bone broth with house sauce on hot stone pot. This came with 1 serving of rice and a side of minced garlic, green onion, and I think ssamjang. The pork belly was thin and soaked up all the beef bone broth, giving it a delightful flavor that was - chef's kiss! For the banchans, I loved the kimchi & macaroni salad. The cucumbers were a close second, though I didn't care for the yellow pickled radish. My brother loved the macaroni salad too. read more

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This place was delicious! Not only did the food taste great, but everything came out pretty quickly. Garlic suyuk was soft and melted in your mouth. The seasoning was great as it didn't feel fatty. The beef bowl was also really good, as someone mentioned, it's like a better and bigger version of pepper lunch. Big portions of everything, but for two hungry girls, we finished it all. Not just because we were hungry, but because it was too good not to finish. The restaurant was also really clean. Love that it's in a hidden plaza giving this place a bit more livelihood. The service was also attentive and quick. Will come back! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

Now that some of the original hype died down a bit, lines are quicker and the portion sizes are still massive for what they offer! The katsu was able to be split into two for myself and I'm always in search of good deals :) read more

Came on a Sunday afternoon with the family for late lunch and left satisfied. Interesting to find that all dishes were being served on hot stone pots... and the beef belly stone pot rice was everyone's favorite! read more

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Good experience with good taste and generous portions. I would go again when I'm in the area. read more

Dawa Kitchen - July 12th 2025 menu - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

I got referral of this place from Tik Tok highlighting their giant pork chop. So I decided to drive for one hour to give this giant pork cutlet a try. Upon arriving at parking lot, the establishment does not give good and safe ambiance to me. The menu is not much comparing to other Korean place but I know what I am gonna order Pork Curry and Army Ramen. The only weird thing I notice and didn't feel right is the banchan did not come first rather everything comes altogether. Being a person who dined in at numerous Korean Resto, Banchan always served first, way before the foods come out. And now, for the Pork Cutlet, it served on hot stone plate along with rice and curry. It is soooo delish, served on mouthwatering 'boiled' curry sauce, while the army ramen was alright, nothing different / fancy. The wait staff was so alright and good in taking care of us. It is recommended really to experience this giant cutlet as their signature menu... read more

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I really wanted to give this place a 4/5 star but I was utterly disappointed with the Spicy Curry Pork Katsu given that it is supposed to be their star player and what everyone comes to try. My pork katsu came dry and not crispy. You can see in the picture that there is only panko crusted around the edges and the rest of the pork was poorly breaded. The curry to rice to protein ratio is not right. I definitely want to complain about the "$1 extra spicy charge," I didn't notice the spice at all, that tasted like less than 3 shakes of cayenne pepper. Most importantly the pork was soooooo dry. I'm not asking for world class pork but I've never tasted pork katsu this dry. I've had a lot of katsu from many curry katsu spots and this is by far the worst. I can't tell if it's overcooked due to size (and fryer time) or just the quality of pork used. The Korean pancake and beef belly was actually really good. The Korean pancake was actually crispier than the taco and I love that it's not jampacked with green onions. The beef belly was amazing and tasted nutritious and satisfying. The side dishes were good The service was really good. They brought us out another katsu that was properly breaded after I had asked them about it and we tried it but the meat was still dry. read more

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beef belly rice was so delicious. it was a little fatty from the meat but it was to be expected, overall would recommend as a simple, but flavorful meat & rice dish. the chicken had the perfect crunch and just the right amount of sweetness. it paired really nicely with the sides and rice! read more

Dawa Kitchen - BEEF BELLY 우삼겹돌솥 & DAWA CHICKEN 닭강정 - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

This place is a little bit overhyped. We ordered the large pork and chicken katsu and both were a bit dry. The curry also tasted a little like packaged curry (except less salty). I would recommend trying this place if you have 3-4 people craving curry katsu. The service was pretty slow. Ambiance is chill and a lot of seats for family and friends. read more

Amazing. 5 stars on all fronts. The Pork Katzu was epic The atmosphere is warm and inviting The service was flawless. Great value for the amount of food. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Lovely mural - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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Of course I came after seeing all the hype online! Service is very good and attentive. Small parking lot. Space inside was clean and spacious. Friend and I ordered the curry pork katsu and the beef belly ramen. Honestly the katsu was very underwhelming. Because the pork is very thin when they fry it, it came out really hard and just way over cooked and super hard to chew. The curry also dries up really fast so you're left with hard dry katsu at the end. The beef belly ramen wad delicious and I highly recommend! It was spicy and the beef was so tender. I also enjoyed the macaroni salad banchan. read more

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Good Service excellent food classic ambiance! This is one of my favorite place to eat now. read more

Dawa Kitchen - CURRY CHICKEN KATSU 카레치킨까스 - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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Was first on the waitlist for thirty minutes saw two tables get seated before us when they joined after and waited for 15 mins inside and there's just a dirty table they aren't cleaning never coming back! And the last time we went here the service sucked read more

The food and flavor was nothing not bad, but nothing special that I would go back for. There are much better Korean spots in OC. The portions are very large though. We got the garlic su yuk and pork katsu shared among 4 people, and we still had plenty left over. Our server was very nice. But, we were rushed out as the server handed us our check without asking if we were ready and kept on circling and eyeing my party. We were there for ~2 hours, but it was a slow Monday night, no line, plenty of other available tables, and still an hour before closing, so I'm not sure why we were rushed out. Not sure if there's some other etiquette that I'm missing, but it didn't leave me with the best feeling as we left. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Garlic su yuk and pork katsu - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

There wasn't a wait surprisingly at 5PM on a Saturday although we just got in before it was busy. The interior had black walls with dim lighting although it was decorated with nice paintings and it seemed like a great place for friends to hangout to enjoy dinner. We ordered the tteokbokki and curry pork katsu and we definitely came for the giant katsu! The dishes also came with side dishes including cucumber, kimchi, pickled radish, and mac salad. I really enjoyed the sauce in the tteokbokki as it had a nice kick but was really flavorful. The rice cakes were also super soft to eat. The pork katsu was a bit plain but they had seasonings for you. I did wish they provided more curry! Would definitely come again (I still think about the food). read more

Dawa Kitchen - Top: Tteokbokki Bottom: Curry Pork Katsu - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

So good! Checked in with Yelp to join the waitlist. Was a little hesitant to order some dishes after reading mixed reviews, but we enjoyed everything! The pork garlic su yuk was tender and flavorful and surprisingly, the kids' favorite too. Side dishes were solid, and I especially loved the fresh kimchee with the garlic su yuk. The curry pork tonkatsu was a hit as well. I asked for the katsu sauce on the side to enjoy both the curry and katsu sauces--highly recommend! Forgot to add cheese to the tteokbokki, but it was still tasty. The dumplings weren't my favorite, but kids enjoyed them. Also loved that everything came in a hot stone pot, which kept our meal nice and hot the whole time. Friendly service, subtle unique decor, and impressive branding + marketing. Can't wait to go back and try the beef belly and braised beef next time! read more

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Came here for a birthday dinner for my son who wanted both katsu and ramen -- Dawa had both and absolutely delivered. The katsu was huge and super crispy, the garlic su yuk pork belly literally melted in our mouths, and the braised beef was perfectly tender. The Korean pancake was one of the best I've had -- extra crispy and full of flavor. Big hit with all 10 of us, and we'll definitely be back! read more

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Large portions and food to tasty. We went as a party of 6 adults and 3 babies. We ordered the brasied beef, garlic yu suk, curry pork katsu, and japchae (this was soupy, but a pleasant surprise). We got there around opening time on a Saturday and it wasn't too crowded, good time to go and enjoy food without a line or crowd. read more

Dawa Kitchen is the place to go to with a large group, the portion sizes are HUGE! They also take reservations now which is a plus. Our group split the beef belly (basically giant pepper lunch), curry katsu, and pork belly simmered in pork broth (like jinsolqgukbap style). This was more than enough for our group of 6 to share, and we even had leftovers from the curry katsu. Service was attentive, and polite. read more

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Came here for dinner with some friends and was SO impressed! Service was excellent, food was tasty , and portions were SO generous. We got 4 dishes for the 5 of us ... and we had TONS of leftovers! I definitely recommend sharing the dishes. 1 dish per 2 people might even be enough. We got the braised beef with cheese, sesame noodles, pork katsu and the dduk bok ki. They scorched the cheese in front of us on the table which was pretty cool. The braised beef had the option between spicy or original, and we got the spicy. It definitely had a kick to it but it was delicious! There were also potatoes, pumpkin and rice cakes inside the dish which were tasty. My favorite had to be the dduk bok ki. The rice cakes were sooo warm, and the perfect chewy texture! Definitely can't wait to come back. read more

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The food was amazing!!! The army stew was was so good! You can't go wrong with the bulgogi. The service was fast and great. Can't wait to come back. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Army stew - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

The food was amazing! I ordered the pork cutlet without curry and the bibimbap. The cutlet came out so big! It was bigger than my face. This was served over rice and came with a katsu sauce. It was crispy and juicy! I would totally get this again. The bibimbap was also really good. Gochujang sauce was served on the side too for extra spice. Overall, the waiters were friendly and very attentive. The area is a bit small and could be overcrowded during rush hours. I recommend going when it opens or during lunch to avoid any waiting times. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Pork cutlet and bibimbap - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

WORTH THE HYPE! I highly recommend getting on the yelp wait list early as the wait is typically longer than what is estimated. We came in on a Saturday night and it was busy! The servers were helpful and fun to talk to, while giving us some recommendations because of the sheer size of their dishes. We got the curry tonkatsu, bibimbap pancake and tteokbokki with cheese and ramyeon. I was skeptical about the tonkatsu being dry but I was proven wrong! It was perfectly crisp and still tender inside. I absolutely love curry and it made the perfect bite to have the curry, rice and tonkatsu together. Something I didn't expect to love so much was the tteokbokki! I'm usually just okay with it, but the sauce was so flavorful without being too spicy. The rice cakes were soft and chewy and when you mix in the cheese and ramyeon, YUM! Lastly, we also had the pancake. I found it just okay and a little too salty for my palette, but I still ate it up. We were a party of three and had soooo much food leftover. I'm sure just the tonkatsu and one other dish would have been enough for us! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Pancake - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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Finally got to try this place out and they did not disappoint (mostly). We had to try the giant pork katsu curry rice but this was the one thing that did not live up to the hype. The katsu was very very big, but the katsu itself was very dry and kinda hard. Maybe the chicken katsu would be better but we didn't see the new menu items on the side until after we ordered. The curry sauce was pretty standard and there really isn't enough sauce for the amount of katsu you get. I would skip this next time. The garlic suyuk was very good. It was very tender and the came in beef bone soup that was very flavorful and rich. The portion size was really big too and we had a lot of leftovers. The beef belly rice was the favorite of the night. It came with a lot of beef belly and the flavors were great. I would definitely get the beef belly rice next time and the suyuk as well. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Garlic suyuk - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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My sister recommended this place to me, and I also saw it on TikTok. Upon walking in, we got seated immediately. we came in around 3:30pm on a weekday, and it was not too busy! but as we were leaving, we noticed groups of people walking in. We were fully aware of how big their portions were, but when our katsu came out - our server said that our katsu came out smaller than usual so they added an extra katsu to make up for the size. All of the dishes we got was amazing!! the katsu was perfectly crispy, and so filling! We had to ask for a to go box. And their side of kimchi is also great! Service is fairly quick, and very friendly! I would definitely recommend coming hungry and with a group of people, the location isn't too big, so it will definitely fill up quickly!  * Beef belly ramen * Curry pork katsu read more

Dawa Kitchen - curry pork tonkatsu & beef belly ramen - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

I thought this place was going to be overrated because I saw it all over instagram but I can confirm it slaps. The cutlet is obviously going to be slightly more dry because it's extremely thin but I love how crispy it is. The sides taste amazing and my girlfriend destroyed that mac salad 5 times. I would recommend this place. We only ordered the curry cutlet and shared it. We still had leftovers... the menu is small but I think they definitely nailed everything on the menu. Service was great and ambience was interesting. The place is definitely dark on the inside with limited seating but check it out if you're in the area! Crappy parking lot though... read more

Dawa Kitchen - Pork cutlet - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

Massive portions .. love the beef soup with clear noodles, my version of chicken noodle soup and the soup has a lot of bone collagen I can appreciate. Will be back, service is very nice and friendly read more

TL;DR Great portions and watch them torch cheese! The chicken katsu curry was massive! Seating is best for groups of 2-6 and some areas have an outlet if you need to charge your phone or laptop. My favorite dish was the corn mac and cheese. We definitely ordered too much, but we're satisfied with the price value and portions as well as variety of options on the menu. First time visit on 8/22/25 read more

We got the curry pork katsu and the katsu was so big. My bf and I shared and we couldn't finish. I do wish they gave more curry tho. The curry was very flavorful. Our waiter was nice and took our order efficiently. read more

Dawa Kitchen - curry pork katsu - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

Saw Dawa Kitchen on Instagram and decided to give it a shot. Ordered the su yuk (~$33) and the pork katsu curry (~$25). The pork katsu was huge, but it was pretty dry. They didn't provide enough curry for the rice, throwing off the ratio. Prices are on the higher side, but the quality didn't quite match up. I can see why people are drawn to the trendy giant pork katsu, but unless you're going for the pictures, it's not really worth it imo. Wish it had been better! read more

Dawa Kitchen - su yuk ~$33 - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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The price and the amount and the quality is excellent. Not a drop of curry left and not a grain of rice left.... It was that good. Looks like a hole on the wall spot but the place is clean and the restroom was fairly decent. Our server was sweet and she took care of us really well. read more

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I saw this restaurant on IG so I wasn't sure if it would be overhyped but both my friend and I said it exceeded our expectations, and it's been a long time since that has happened! It's a small yet clean and modern place in a strip mall with tight parking. Luckily we were seated right away but there was a wait when we left. They utilize Yelp wait list. Portions are huge and the price is very fair for the portion size. There was a lot that we wanted to try but after seeing food come out to the tables around us we decided to split two dishes between the two of us and even then we took home some leftovers. The Pork Katsu is a must. It's so crispy and the katsu sauce has great flavor. We also loved the beef belly. It's salty and oily in all the best ways. It didn't suggest it as an add-on but next time I wonder if we could order it topped with cheese which they melt right at your table. We'll be back! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Pork Katsu and Beef Belly - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

I came in around noon (opening time) on a Saturday and there was no wait, service is fast and efficient as well. This time, I got the beef soup with ramen and I would recommend this dish if you desire something with mild flavor- great meal if you feel under the weather or just desire a non spicy soup dish. If I were to get it again, I think I'd pair the beef soup with rice instead as the ramen noodles felt a bit overcooked. This dish comes with some banchan -kimchi, mac salad, spicy cucumber, pickled daikon. read more

HUGEEE chicken Katsu. Definitely worth the price while the Katsu itself is standard. It's the mere fact that they give so much. The workers also give you scissors and tongs to help with the Katsu. The inside is very simple and can fit bigger or smaller parties. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Chicken Curry Katsu - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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Korean restaurant with low wait times during lunch and also huge portions meant for sharing! Service was quick and nice, food was brought out fast after ordering. It was relatively empty when we came in at 5 but the place started to fill up as we ate. Beef Belly (4.5/5): Was brought out in a huge hot sizzling stone bowl, the flavors were absolutely delicious. Savory, garlicky, fragrant, and the rice had a nice crisp from the hot stone. Beef had a nice texture and it tasted like an upgraded version of Pepper Lunch. We didn't even need to add any sauces or additional seasoning, that's how good it was. Definitely get this plate! Only complaint was that toward the end of the bowl, there was a lot of grease and oil to where the remains of the rice was swimming in it. Mandu (5/5): Delicious, well seasoned, perfect crisp, and the sweet gochujang tasting sauce paired with it was quite yummy. We also enjoyed the cabbage and sauce they had on it side to go along with it. Korean Army Stew (3/5): Not pictured here but it came with a lot of different luncheon meats and sausages. Also had american cheese on top. Soup was pretty sour but also lacking in flavor, I wanted more out of the broth and didn't eat much of the noodles. I would definitely come back here with friends to try their other dishes. Definitely share as their portions are huge! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Mandu - Korean Near Me - Garden Grove, California

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