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    Hancook

    4.2 (948 reviews)
    ModerateKorean, Barbeque, Hot Pot
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Hancook Photos

    HANCOOK ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Trendy
    Casual
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Hancook

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    Reviews With Photos

    Mimi C.

    Hancook offers an affordable AYCE KBBQ and Shabu Shabu menu all day long! They even have an AYCE drink menu! The servers are super friendly and the portions are so generous. Everything tasted great so your whole party will be satisfied. My favorites were the boneless short ribs and Korean fried chicken. Those are a must try!

    Soft tofu on the left, korean miso on the right
    Ashley C.

    I have this really bad obsessive personality about food and discovered this spot and Friday and just had to go back on Sunday! The service is really good, even on a Friday night. The staff came and checked on us repeatedly and it was nearly empty when we came around 6pm, but quickly got busier. We still felt all the food came out very timely and did not feel rushed. You can grab veggies and sauces as you want in a self serve bar. I enjoy that there is a good variety of a la carte items like appetizers as well! We loved this experience and want to keep coming back! I am not aware of many other all you can eat hot pot in Oakland so they will keep getting our business! My only complaint or recommendation would maybe be to update the cleaning because there are some parts of the restaurant that don't smell great.

    Valerie C.

    I'm genuinely concerned why this place has such high reviews because I was left disappointed with my family. The bossam pieces were either cut too thick or they were too cooked that it felt like I was chewing on carnitas. They gave like 4 pieces of lettuce for the bossam so we had to ask more. The seafood pancake was so soggy that I wasn't expecting it. Usually you get a crunch. I think they also forgot the dipping sauce to go with it. The galbi jim meat wasn't tender enough like the fall off the bone tenderness. It was tough to chew. The corn cheese lacked mozzarella cheese and kewpie mayo to bring out the flavoring. The snow cheese chicken was the best but we thought it was gonna be a whole fried chicken and not just drums and flats. This is only best when it's hot and fresh so I recommend you finish this at the restaurant! When the bill came, we requested to spilt 3 cards but the server only charged 2 cards and said they don't accept discover. She should've came back and ask if there is another card we can use instead of charging it already. The service was a bit lacking and we came in on a Sunday at 12pm when they opened. Parking was also hard to find as they don't have a parking lot so it's all street parking.

    Garlic bossam
    Dominic V.

    This is in a busy part of Oakland so traffic and parking is a little hard, but there's always someone leaving so if you don't mind walking a bit, there are parking around. It's a nice walk with a lot to see. It was pretty empty on a Wednesday night so we were seated right away. There are 3 different QR codes to scan to look at the menu: lunch special, All you can eat, or a la cart. We opted for the a la cart menu this time around. Corncheese: I really enjoyed it. It's cheese. It's corn, you can't go wrong. I love the hint of sweetness you get. It was a small dish. Between 3 of us, we all had about 2 spoonfuls before it was done. Gyoza/potstickers/pan fried dumplings: these were ok. We've had better in other places, they were not as crispy as we had hoped. Texture was more steamed than pan fried. Garlic Bossam: I'm not sure what I was expecting from this dish but to me it was pretty good. It feeds 2-3 people. My friend didn't like it as much as a regular bossam. The garlic was a minced sauce that sat on top but it was sweet and not at all garlicky. We had to ask for cloves of garlic on the side that we thought it came with along with lettuce leaves to eat it with. Budae Stew: we all agreed on getting this and it's also a big dish that serves 2-3. Between the 3 of us, we still had leftovers to take home. It was a delicious soup with ramen noodles, spam, hotdogs and a bunch of tofu, different sorts of mushrooms, onions, and a slice of cheese on top. One of the better Budae's that I've had, it was a really comforting dish on a cold night. I recommend coming here if you like Korean food. They have a lot of options from all their menus and the dishes are good portion sizes. There are plenty to do around the area after or before dinner but be prepared to look for parking on side streets. It gets pretty busy.

    Kbbq - pass

    Located in such a cute area! The restaurant itself was surprisingly spacious. I liked how the menu allowed you to do Shabu and "kbbq," but the kbbq were grilled meats they brought out. In all honesty, it was overcooked and hard to chew. Stick with the Shabu! I got the spicy miso / tonkotsu. Perfect combo! The meat quality was GREAT and their goma sauce was yummy. Make sure you throw in garlic and sesame oil in there too! Service was good also and waiters were nice.

    3. Kimchi Pancake
    Laura Y.

    This place was a bit of a miss, kind of on the mediocre side. This place is one where we used up the veggies for sure but the corn cheese was a bit sweet like as if they topped it with sugar. The other food we kind of felt like we"d rather leave it than finish it. The banchan was ok enough that we got refills on a few of them too. The one item I really enjoyed that I can't get at many restaurants like this was their noodles that were wide and chewy like sweet potato noodles. Service wasn't really existent, went on a weeknight so maybe that was part of it. It was pretty empty except for 1 or 2 other tables so pretty quiet night, no need for a wait.

    Entrance
    Ashley C.

    We ended up here by accident after the place we had planned on going to was unexpectedly closed. This is a nice place though - they have AYCE shabu and even AYCE bbq for an extra $5. They also have a regular Korean ala carte menu available as well so we ordered from that. Everything sounded amazing but it was just two of us so we stuck to just 3 dishes. Turns out one dish would've probably been enough. We brought nearly everything home for leftovers! Braised beef short ribs - the dish looks gigantic so it seems like it would serve more than two for the $80 price point but it's actually not too big. It does have fish cake and thin rice noodles and rice cakes, as well as some carrots, so thats what makes it look like a lot, but there isn't a ton of actual meat. I thought it was delicious especially with cheese, but I'd actually rather just have AYCE KBBQ for that price. Rose spicy cream ttebokki - I'm so glad I asked about the rose part, I thought it meant it was rose flavored which I don't like. But she said it wasn't - the sauce is creamy and spicy and more like carbonara, yum!! I loved the flavor of the sauce a lot with the creaminess. We got the small size and it was still a LOT for $18. I wish they left the bacon out though and just leave it as an option for an add-on. If I came back I'd get this again and add ramen or udon and dumplings to make it a complete meal. Yukgehjang - this is my first time having this dish in general but flavors were familiar. It was a spicy hot noodle soup with glass noodles (like in japchae) and shredded beef (reminded me of carnitas). It was very yummy but I think I could skip on this next time. Overall great food but I would've just preferred to do the shabu and kbbq and spent way less! I'd get the rose ttekbokki again out of all 3 dishes, otherwise all three together really began to taste the same and we really needed the banchan for a pop of freshness. Service was good but took a while for us to get the check. Then I realized there's actually a call button on the table that they didn't tell us about until they told us it's there if we needed extra boxes haha. At the end of your meal you also get a Yakult drink and I liked that it was semi frozen so it was like a slush.

    Korean AYCE Hotpot
    Leilani V.

    We came here with the family for Mother's Day and we split the adults and kids into 2 separate tables. The food and sauce bar was really good. I removed 1 star due to service. It was quite slow and we didn't get everything we orders. Possibly because they were busy (considering the occasion- it was Sunday and it was in fact Mother's Day) also, parking was quite shady. I'd probably come back and try them again on a regular weekend to try their a la carte dishes. Overall though food was good. Soup/broth was on the salty side not sure if by design since you're supposed to cook meat and seafood in it but for me it was on the salty side. Other than that, side dishes were delicious!!! A must come back to try again type thing and then final verdict! Lol

    Jude D.

    This was such a unique and delicious experience. My friend and I did the hot pot for two with prime rib and noodles. Basically they bring out two pots of broth of your choice, and you can also go to the veggie and sauce bar to get everything from salmon balls, dumplings, cabbage, and other assorted veggies and fish items. You put the meats and veggies etc into the pot and ladle them out as they cook. It's a fun activity while eating and the food was delicious. And don't forget to ask for banchaun for some pickled veggies as well!

    Korean Fried Chicken (Soy Garlic)
    Marcus C.

    We decided to try out Hancook for lunch, and the food here did not disappoint. My favorite was definitely the Beef Bibimbap; don't forget to add all of the chili sauce! The chili sauce added extra flavor and added a slight kick. It was delicious and what you expect from a hot stone pot: hot, crispy rice complimented by a variety of vegetables and flavorful beef. We also ordered their Kimchi Pancake and soy garlic Korean Fried Chicken. The Korean Fried Chicken was crispy and delicious. The Kimchi Pancake, unfortunately, was a miss for me. It was a little soggy and kept falling apart when we picked up a piece. Personally, I prefer mine to be a little crispy. The portion sizes were huge, and we had to take home a lot of leftovers. I also felt that it was hard to grab the waiter's attention when we needed help, despite the restaurant being quite empty. Overall, super solid food and would definitely come back to satisfy a bibimbap craving. They also gave out complimentary Yakult drinks with your bill!

    Kimchi pancake

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    Review is only for tofu soup. Soondubu was ok, but the soup lacked depth. Watched youtube and made my own.

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    Page 3 of 24

    Hancook Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Hancook

    Is there a "sauce bar"?

    Yes! Sauces, sides. Their kimchi that you can get at the bar is delicious

    Do you allow dogs in your outside area?

    Do you offer all you can eat?

    Yes they do!

    Do you guys have sauces?

    Hi Kristina what kind of sauces are you looking for?

    Are the dishes marked vegetarian actually so, including veggie broth for the soup? What about the kimchi?

    I did not see any but I am sure you can call and ask if they can make it specially for you? I am guessing the broth maybe already made in a big pot.

    View All 15 Questions

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    Moo Bong Ri Korean Restaurant - Spicy Beef Short Rib

    Moo Bong Ri Korean Restaurant

    4.5(1.5k reviews)
    0.1 miTemescal, North Oakland
    $$

    Absolute best/favorite for Korean short ribs. This is my partner & I's current favorite Korean…read morerestaurant and we always order the spicy braised short ribs. Very big serving size with all the best mixes of toppings on top of the delicious short ribs. The sauce is so good and makes the dish 15/10. Service is ok but that's biased because we order the biggest/longest to cook dish but it's still pretty good. Restaurant ambiance is just ok in my opinion, not too many distracting decorations and tables & booths feel nice. We've also tried the spicy rice noodles which were just a 6/10 for me. The kimchi fried rice was also good but not our favorite -- solid 6/10 as well. We literally just come here for the short ribs. So if you're ever in the mood for Korean food and feeling a little 'rich', this place is a must try.

    This happened yesterday and I need to let it out…read more... This place was my goto all time favorite Korean restaurant. Now....i just don't know.....Came here with a party of 12 for my sister's birthday at around 2:30pm (we actually picked this time because we thought they wouldn't be too busy to take our large group). Went to check in but wasn't able to check in with that large amount of people (limited 10 on the kiosk). Not sure if he is the manager or on duty supervisor (we are going to called his Mr. M) but he wasn't friendly. Informed him that we had a party of 12 since the kiosk said to let them know if the party was greater than 10. He told me he wasn't able to seat us all together, I'm like it's ok if you separate us. (But he kept insisting we don't take 12, making me feel like he really didn't want our business). I explained to Mr. M, We are ok if you separate us into 2 groups of 6, we don't have to sit with each other. He was like it'll be about 30 minutes or so. That was fine with us, we weren't all there yet. So after discussing with my family we decided to check in on the Yelp kiosks with two parties of 6s. When everyone arrived (we ended having 11 people total), we rechecked in the kiosk with all parties arrived. My bro in law got text later that their table was ready so their party got seat. While I and the rest of the family waited, we noticed a few booths opened in the front of the restaurant (btw there wasn't anyone else waiting, just us 5). We asked, since it's 4 adults and 1 baby if we could sit there with another server and he was more than happy to take care of us. He even asked if we needed a booster chair for the baby. Mr. M stepped in and told the server no he can't seat us and he came up to us and told us we can't sit there cause it's up to 4 people only and told us "I told you that you would have to wait a long time". We were really shocked with his attitude towards us. Since the baby was getting really hungry we told the rest of my family we are just going somewhere else. Apologized to my sister because we couldn't even eat on her birthday together. All I can say now is "wow, really!!!" I've been going here for so many years because I enjoyed the food and their service and now i'm not sure I want to come back". Btw this isn't the first time we came here with a large group. We have been seated multiple times and we have been in the other side of the building when they used it in the past. If my sister reads this: Happy now belated Birthday, jie!!! Hope you enjoy the day and had a nice birthday regardless!

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    Moo Bong Ri Korean Restaurant - Medium Pork Back Bone Casserole + Sujebi ($52.98) - pork rib w/ cabbage, potato, sesame leaf in soybean pork broth. Broth is delicious.

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    Hanshin Pocha - Kimchi Fried Rice...

    Hanshin Pocha

    4.1(196 reviews)
    0.2 miTemescal, North Oakland
    $$

    Perfect spot if you're looking for an authentic Korean pocha vibe in the Bay Area. The food was…read morecomforting, flavorful, and exactly what I was craving for a fun night out. The Korean fried chicken was definitely a favorite. We got the yangnyeom flavor, and the chicken was juicy and tender with a perfectly balanced, flavorful sauce. The fried chicken gizzards were another standout--crispy, savory, and so good with drinks. The rose jjimdak was like a delicious mix of creamy tteokbokki and tender chicken, and it paired especially well with the tuna DIY rice balls. Making the rice balls ourselves was such a fun touch, and they were surprisingly delicious! We also tried the spam kimchi pancake and corn cheese, which were the perfect combination with the makgeolli we ordered. We had such a great time here. Come earlier for a casual dinner, or later at night to really enjoy the lively Korean nightlife and street-food atmosphere. Definitely a spot I'd come back to when I'm craving Korean pocha food and drinks.

    This definitely was giving pocha vibes, with a few bright lights and neons signs for an outfit pic…read more The servers were attentive and very speedy, we came on a slower night Unfortunately I cannot give the accolades to the food as other reviewers have done. Even though it is a pocha, the food all felt very akin to Chinese food, with strong but singular flavours for each dish The fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce tasted like orange chicken. It came with slightly crisp tteok which was nice to break up the overwhelming flavour with that texture difference The squid dish offered a similar experience, with the texture of the crispy noodles distracting from the squid sauce for a limited time The crab and egg soup was a bit disappointing, the crab was the shredded fake crab stick kind, the soup was thick but mix of flavours (heavy on the green and red bell peppers) left a lot to be desired. There's a lot of good Korean food in Oakland, so you won't be stuck for choice around the area

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    Seoul Gomtang - Spicy chicken stew with kimchi and rice.

    Seoul Gomtang

    3.9(667 reviews)
    0.4 miNorth Oakland
    $$

    Even though this standalone Korean spot looks like it was once a fast food outpost, I found out it…read morewas actually an auto parts store in its former life. Jamie W and I came here because we like to see what delectable options there might be on Oakland's Kimchi Row. Hey, I didn't make that nickname up. We came here because I heard they make an awesome Korean beef soup. Time to get our Korean on. Now I have to admit it took us a while to figure out how to enter because there were no transparent windows or doors on the street-facing sides of the building. We almost did a full rotation of the restaurant before we could get in. It's rather spartan inside, more like an old-school Shoney's. The menu consists mostly of soups and hot pots but also includes traditional Korean favorites customers expect. Jamie went with his favorite, the $20.99 Dolsot Bibimbap, steamed rice mixed with vegetables and beef sizzling in a stone pot (Photo 7). That was executed just fine with plenty of variety and heat retention. I wanted to try one of their soups and ordered the $30.95 Kkorigomtang, a bubbling cauldron of thick beef broth with submerged chunks of oxtail (Video). It required some patience to sip. Once it was temperate enough to taste, the broth was hearty but started to get blandly redundant once the tails were scooped out. This is where the Banchan came to my rescue as I dipped mouthfuls from each dish to spice up the broth (Photo 6). A bowl of rice and Jamie's leftovers helped, too. Authentic tasting food and very much a mom-&-pop shop where mom was tirelessly serving and cleaning. FOOD - 4 stars...solid Korean fare, soup requires creativity with condiments AMBIANCE - 3 stars...no-frills kind of place SERVICE - 4 stars...mom works hard for the money TOTAL - 4 stars...a true soup kitchen RELATED - Exploring Oakland? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/DWArNHxl1p

    brought my korean mom here. she thought it was ok. she loved the spinach denjang gige. i thought…read moreit ok, but not as good as my moms cooking. i would come again.

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    Jungdon Katsu - Tofu katsu vegetarian vegan

    Jungdon Katsu

    4.6(146 reviews)
    1.8 mi

    Randomly decided to stop by, and I'm so glad I did! The chicken katsu was delicious, especially…read morewith their sauce, and the potato salad was so good. Everything had the perfect amount of flavor without being too heavy or overpowering. The service was wonderful too. Everyone was so friendly and made the whole place feel warm and welcoming. I only wish I had checked this place out sooner! Definitely coming back.

    i was pleasantly surprised by this place. my first impression was not the greatest because the…read moreprices were pretty high like 24 per set. also you only had a choice of miso soup or rice and not both. adding a miso soup would be 4 dollars extra which was pretty absurd to me. my reasoning for this is because hako was my standard where they include both for the much lower price point. while i still think hako has infinitely better value, its also like 400 miles from this place so you cant really compare them for that. the katsu itself was great, the breading was very light and crisp and not too oily which was good. i wasnt the biggest fan of the katsu sauce tho, it was more sour and acidic and liquidy whereas im used to a sweeter thicker sauce that actually clings to the katsu when i dip it. the ika geso karaage was really good i am a sucker for squid and they season the batter well so it had some good flavor. i also think the size of the food is a little bigger than hako so maybe thats part of the reason for the higher price but not really by much. i shared two katsu sets with 4 people including myself but my sisters dont really eat that much so more like 3 people. one thing i will say that really stood out to me was the worker just had such a bubbly personality and it looked like they look forward to coming into work everyday. that was nice to see.

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    Daol Tofu - Soft Tofu Soup

    Daol Tofu

    4.4(309 reviews)
    0.0 miTemescal, North Oakland
    $$

    We come here on weekends for lunch and the options are very filling. We adore the banchan on how…read morefresh it tastes and how much better our stomachs feel from the fermented ones. I always get a soup option and I've been liking all the ones I've tried so far. My favorite tends to bring me back to the ones in the lunch special menu. The workers are very welcoming and attentive. It's more of an old school cozy inside, not updated or super fancy, it's very you come in for the food. I noticed the customers tend to be older and they compliment the food. Parking is a little weird. They have parking in back but if you park in the front 3 spaces, you risk being blocked in by another customer but it's easy to just ask out loud whose care that needs to be moved. I noticed how quickly customers get up to move cars. When I asked, they said it was normal where they're from (LA) so it wasn't a big deal. No one seems to mind so it's okay. Bathrooms are super stuffy feeling. Like humid moist and dark but still clean.

    Getting together with one of my besties, we ended up choosing Korean food for dinner. She suggested…read moreDaol Tofu because she enjoyed her previous experience there. The restaurant is super casual with minimal decor. Definitely gives it a family-run feel. There's a good amount of seating, and it's pretty spacious. The service by the staff was just average. We weren't really checked on, they had some hiccups, and they gave a weird response. Our food also took a while to come out. My bestie and I shared the Seafood Pancake, and I got the Dolsot Bibimbap with Chicken. The pancake was nothing special, and the seafood was a bit rubbery; it wasn't all that crispy. My bibimbap was good; it was loaded with lots of veggies and meat, and I loved the crispy rice. My friend seemed to enjoy her dish as well. Overall, I felt the food was average here and a bit pricey individually, but good for family style. With so many Korean restaurants in Oakland, I feel like Daol Tofu is pretty mid. Find them off Telegraph Ave. with street parking around.

    Photos
    Daol Tofu - The inside

    The inside

    Daol Tofu - Dolsot Bibimbap (Chicken)

    Dolsot Bibimbap (Chicken)

    Daol Tofu - Spicy Chicken Dolsot

    See all

    Spicy Chicken Dolsot

    Hancook - korean - Updated September 2026

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