KOBA has been on my NYC food hit list for a while, and the newest location did not disappoint. Sometimes fast food isn't just fast... it's flat-out incredible. First up: the Korean Fried Chicken with extra spicy BBQ sauce. Crispy, juicy, and just the right amount of heat. I would've fought my own reflection for the last piece. Then came the Dosirak, and this lunch box was packed with winners. The beef bulgogi was tender, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. The purple multigrain rice? I could eat that stuff every day without getting bored. The pickled cucumbers were fresh, the yellow radish added the perfect crunch, the kimchi had just the right kick, and the warm soup was pure comfort. The BBQ dipping sauce tied everything together, and finishing it off with a Choco Heim wafer cookie was the perfect ending. KOBA proves you don't need white tablecloths to serve food that hits every note. Sometimes fast food is done right... and this is one of those times. My only complaint? I ran out of bulgogi before I ran out of appetite. read more

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waited quite while when food is ready. I see lots of deliveries. it used to be friendly services but we won't see the same clues anymore. after they said it's ready, it took extra 5min. After we've made a small complain they became nice. lol surprisingly, the restroom is for after ordering food. OMG. Beef quality is so so. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - counter table spring 2026 - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Passed by a few times and was tempted by the menu, though was concerned by a lack of seated customers. Thought it may be because it seems to be mainly a take-out place, so finally decided to try take-out too. The food was ready by the pickup time. The store is clean and lacking any other customers, so pickup was swift. Got the Korean fried chicken and the koba bowl with squid. The fried chicken was very hot and juicy, but the fried coating was thicker than expected and was drenched in the sauce. The Koba bowl was fine and the portion was generous, but it was not spectacular. Overall, this place is ok if you are craving Korean food and not picky. But it may be worth going elsewhere for superior Koran food. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - KOBA Bowl with squid - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Decent price and good portions. However, our bulgogi meat was dry and the food overall was bland. We would try it one more time to give them the benefit of the doubt, but honestly, we'd have to be pretty hungry to run over. Two meals were $50 and were felt we were better off going somewhere else. :/ read more

Stumbled upon this place needing an early dinner and I am in awe. The bowl was huge & delicious. Couldn't even finish it! I loved being able to customise with up to 20 veggies! BUT also incredible to note they give a discount to all first responders, including teachers like me! So glad I came here for dinner! Will be back. Yum! read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - KOBA Bowl - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

All I can say is wow! The lunchbox set here is probably the best value meal I've had in NYC. You order at a kiosk and can pick and choose what sides, proteins, etc you want. I got the bulgogi with purple rice, beef dumplings, and tofu (which comes with spicy sauce). Also came with 3 banchan sides, all together for $20. The portions were huge and flavors were scrumptious, reminded me of a home cooked Korean meal. Only issue was that the kiosk made me manually enter my credit card number because the card reader wasn't working. read more

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Went in to pick up take out and the staff were super friendly and welcoming. Ordered the spicy beef galbi lunch box , which cane with miso soup snd three sides. All items tasted fresh and flavorful. Priced at $23 it was a steal for the area. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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New favorite lunch option in the area! Super fresh, healthy, and tasty ingredients. I've gotten the customer Koba bowl twice now and the portions are super generous. I love the Cho Jang sauce, a lot more than the soy non-spicy one. The place can get pretty packed during lunch time so would recommend ordering ahead for pick up if you can! read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Custom Koba Bowl - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

amazing bang for your buck. I am a big fan of fast casual korean food, and this place definitely did not disappoint. for around $20, I was able to get rice, korean spicy chicken, bulgogi, and various side dishes (corn, tofu, corn, etc.), which was enough for two meals! I enjoyed the food, but the bulgogi had a slightly different taste than what I was used to. I was really happy with the service. you don't need to speak to anyone as you order straight from an extremely user-friendly kiosk. when my order was ready, the workers made sure to walk where I was sitting and offer me utensils if I needed them. read more

Excellent spicy pork with rice lunch box. Loved the spinach and mushrooms, dumplings, salad. It's a take out place. Some seating. Nice and clean. Friendly staff. I took the food back to my hotel room to enjoy. It was great. read more

Fast, affordable, and filling Korean food! I love getting the create your own KOBA bowl where you pick a base from rice, glass noodles, greens, etc and combine it with a bunch of mix ins of your choice along with a protein and different toppings and sauces. On top of all that, it includes a free sweets option from chocolate pie to Yakult. The bowl is super filling and comes with a lot of food. I usually do pick up and the service is always fast where my food would be ready pretty quick. They also have plenty of seats for those who want to eat the food right there and then. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

This is like an upgraded Korean chipotle! The portions are ginormous and it tastes amazing. You can pick whatever protein you want from spicy pork to beef to squid. Then add whatever toppings you want from a sunny side egg to vegetables to crispy toppings. The end result will be tasty no matter what. The staff are so welcoming - they bring the food to your table and offered us water when they saw we had nothing to drink. I also love how the meal always comes with a treat - choices from Choco pie to yakult to a cookie. There's plenty of tables for seating. read more

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I've been curious about this place for a while! I've only ordered delivery thus far from this place, and honestly I think I will continue to order delivery since everything seems to be curated to withstand said service, which is awesome. I got the pork belly ssam bap set with soybean paste stew, and I was more than pleased for everything I received with the price point. Mostly pros with some conditions: 1. Both red and green long peppers in the ssam veggie plate which is nice and traditional. 2. SSAMJJANG was pretty freaking good! Great mixture, and great consistency perfect for the food. 3. The roasted garlic bulb is a really nice touch, however I did slice up some raw garlic just because that's how I was raised to eat ssamjjang with. 4. Scallions were sliced to my preferences, on a bias rather than a cross cut. Great sign. If you like your scallion salad marinated I suggest ordering in so you can add extras to how you see fit. 5. No sesame oil/ salt, however along with point 6 there seems to be a sesame and perilla leaf shortage (not clear why) but I noticed fresh leaves are not readily available in stores- so I understand not wanting to give out said oil in case it just goes to the garbage. Also supplemented this side at home. Not a negative at all. 6. Normally there are perilla and or sesame leaves indicated in the ssam set, however again I understand these may not be readily available at previous price points now. 7. Pork belly was totally fine, and rice was actually pretty solid, not just an afterthought. 8. Daengjjang jjigae (soybean paste soup) also very solid. Aces. And for less than $4 for a nice amount, it beats anywhere else in the city. For 25 bucks, this beats any in person solo KBBQ meals or delivery in NYC, you'd probably get the same amount of food for three times the price ordering delivery elsewhere. And before anyone throws shade why would anyone ever order KBBQ for delivery, we've all been there. Walked by this place a few times from work, place looks pretty straightforward. Small, clean, and seemingly quiet. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Ssam Bap Set - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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Fast casual Korean is a concept whose time has come. I travel to NYC work work regularly, and when eating along I prefer something affordable, tasty, and quick. That often means Chipotle, but this past trip I decided to try several of the "like Chipotle, but ____ genre" options, including Koba. I ordered a Bibimbap bowl with tofu. It was good. They have a good app for ordering, and my meal was ready for pickup by the time I got off the subway and walked in. I'd definitely give it a shot again, and may be more adventurous to experiment with my own selection of ingredients. read more

The restaurant was a great place to get big portions, quickly, with high quality taste. I got the bulgogi bowl which was tasty. And I loved the customization options. Overall great experience- would definitely come back. Prices are in line with what is expected. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - KOBA Bowl - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Fast Korean food is such an amazing concept. I've eaten at Koba multiple multiple times in the city (they used to have a sick deal on Uber Eats, which is gone now unfortunately), and even had got to have the catered version which was also super delicious. I have really enjoyed their meats platter, which has grilled bulgogi that you can eat and wrap up with lettuce and other fresh veggies. Their japchae and kimchi fried rice is also super delicious. They usually provide a small Asian sweet treat (like a chocopie or chocolate wafer stick) with your order. I have no complaints about service, though I've usually had the food delivered (and can't speak in as much detail to the ambience). It's always been packaged nicely, and the servers seem friendly. My only complaint is that their spicy tofu soup can be almost excessively salty and was that way each time I've ventured to order it. They raised prices recently which is a bit too bad, and I don't think Koba compares well to other Korean restaurants, but it is good for a quick bite! read more

Food was pretty bad. Really wish their food matched their customer service. I will never return.

Starting to get obsessed with this place - its a Korean bowl building restaurant. Work in the area and it has joined the wave of fast causal dining. Lunchtime traffic is crazy but they do have an online ordering system. Lets get to the food. Base of white rice, multigrain rice, glass noodles, or salad. Then a protein. The toppings are unlimited which love - they have a large array to choose from. Kimchi, spicy radish, white radish, beansprout, carrots, eggplants, mushrooms, etc - you name it they have it! On top of that they have a sauce options on the side to add to your bowl. The portion is actually crazy - they provide a lot of food. I will say compared to most places in the area where you pay 11-14 for lunch it runs you 16 bucks. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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something wrong with Korean cashier. He's very mean. Not serving for the customers. this place used to be a lot better WITHOUT HIM. Won't come back anymore. read more

Updated review: after trying other midtown east fast casual lunch options such as at the hugh ... this place is still the best version of that I've been to. Like this food actually tastes like what it's supposed to haha. Authentic, delicious, and doesn't cut corners on quality just cause it's made convenient for the workers nearby. Stays true to Korean flavors and HUGE portions. Keep up the great work. 5 stars from me! You're doing a great service for the area. Also the free little dessert biscuit/snack ?? LOVE IT! read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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Tried this place out for weekday dinner and got their kimchi fried rice. There were 3 kiosks where you can self-order and pick everything that you want included or not included. Food was decent and of very large portions. It is enough to share amongst people or takeout for later, and pricing is reasonable. Ambiance is nice and clean. Most people seem to order online and takeout here. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Kimchi Fried Rice (Spicy) - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

In the kimbab, the rice ratio is too high (not enough of the other ingredients!) otherwise pretty tasty read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Kimbab has too much rice compared to other ingredients! Not the ratio you would want - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

I want to love KOBA so badly! For the price, the portion is well worth especially since you get to pick multiple bases and add as many toppings as you want (surcharges on avocado, and a few others but the egg is at no extra fee!). I picked the wild rice and the japchae the first time but the wild rice was weirdly soggy so the next time I got the greens and japchae, which was slightly better. I think it's better to get less watery things hahah - adding edamame and cucumber made it more soggy too. I love that they give a small chocolate treat as well! I was super surprised the first time but the treat was very tasty. Definitely worth a try! read more

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Would definitely recommend, a lot of food in one serving, great flavors, they made my egg perfectly. Will be going back.

Delicious, affordable, and huge portions. I read that KOBA's mission is to make tasty Korean food in a fast casual way to make it more accessible, especially in corporate Midtown East. I ordered the KOBA bowl and I was so happy and shocked they have so many different veggies (esp Korean root veggies that are $$ at hmart!!) to choose from. I also got the japchae which was delicious--packed full of the traditional veggies and LOTS of meat. Portions are HUGE, so come hungry or ready to pack leftovers for your next 2 meals!! Every order also comes with a Korean snack/sweet! This has become a staple for me, and I'm excited to go back to try the kbbq ssam plate!! read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

The portion is super large and you get to pick what you want in the bowl. I thought they gave too little sauce but it's ok since they gave me more when I asked for it free of charge. Everything tasted good and fresh and the place was clean and had a rest room. In the end they gave us complimentary drinks saying they never let people leave without a smile (I guess I looked stress loll) super sweet staff and yummy food read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - KOBA Bowl - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

I don't know, but I hated my experience. It wasn't so much the food, which was okay, just the menu and customer service were so confusing. Nothing was clearly explained using their digital menu. For non-Koreans like myself, I want to know about the meats, how spicy they are, portion sizes, and what they come with. Instead we had to guess most of the time. What I got was neither memorable or satisfying. I will not be back! read more

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Got back from a trip and wanted to thank my roommate for taking care of my dog Marci! And we really wanted KBBQ but it was too cold, so we opted for this place for delivery and are so glad we did! The food was absolutely delicious! Everything came well organized/wrapped which we really appreciated and felt allowed us to really curate how we wanted to eat this Korean style food. They gave some additives like some flavored crackers. And it was just lovely to eat. I would say some feedback would be the chop of some things like the carrots and peppers were extremely thick/kind of hard to eat or combine with other parts of what we ordered. Delivery was efficient which kept the food warm. Definitely would order again or even come to the establishment. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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Solid spot for a convenient meal; would recommend the build your own bowl over anything else. Price are quite reasonable and they have so many different options for toppings! Tried ssam bap set as well as the bowl; ssam bap set was interesting to try but I don't think I'll be getting that again, as it's kind of hard to eat and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with all the large chunks of vegetable. A lot of their protein/sauce options are quite salty, so I would recommend to go easy on those (a little goes a long way). Personally, I find that the protein is well seasoned enough to give the whole bowl flavor without additional sauce. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Ssam Bap Set - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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Korean themed things seem to be popping up everywhere these days including this delightful Korean fast food. I was skeptical about the newly opened K-restaurant, actually it has been opened almost three months ago, thinking it would be just another K-ish joint in the neighborhood. But I could not resist it today. I ordered the Bulgogi lunch set, Japchae, & a Ssambap set for two people . My mistake! The portion was HUGE & we had leftovers for another day. It was not quite authentic( I am a native Korean ) but it executed it perfectly in a quasi-Korean way. Fast, efficient, good price point, quantity, quality, & quite tasty! Great to have this new joint in the neighborhood. Try it! read more

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I ordered delivery from this place and it is the best food I have gotten delivered. I got the spicy pork Saam Bap Set ($18) with multigrain rice. I took one bite of the spicy pork and an instant ridiculous amount of flavor hit me. It pairs perfectly with all the sides. You get an assortment of things to wrap your meat with. The roasted garlic is a perfect touch to each bite and all the assortment of vegetables keep each bite unique and different. Beautifully packaged, will definitely order from here again. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Ssam Bap Set - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

- awesome service - large portion - great beef rib - good bulgogi - a lot of food for $15 - 'great' kimchi - soso pork - lots of space for lunch - kiosk ordering Might be faster if u pre order - u can make one protein and all vegetables if u want You don't have to carb it up with rice or noodles - the moon pies are surprisingly good too read more

Oops forgot to write this old review. Was here pretty soon after they opened back in July. This is a casual Korean concept restaurant with bowls, ssam (or lettuce wraps,) and dosirak (or lunch box sets) along with bibimbap, japchae, and kimchi fried rice. I ordered for pick up a koba bowl with multigrain rice and bulgogi topped with sweet potato glass noodles, shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, fernbrake roots, bellflower roots, white radish, spicy radish, kimchi, egg strips, sesame seeds, and seaweed strips. Along with this long list of ingredients, there was also a sunny side up egg and tangy chojang sauce; a hot and sweet pepper sauce. The bowl was massive chock full of all different ingredients and quite reasonable for the price. The beef was sweet as expected and I liked how they made the sweet potato noodles. The egg and veggies added good flavor and crunch while the chojang sauce added some much-needed spice. They also gave me a free choco pie which was nice. Flavors were good and reasonable for either a healthy sized lunch or a lighter dinner. Recommended. Wish there was one by my new place. read more

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Fri Jan 9 26 lunchtime, ordering pad offline. So granted it was bad day. 10+ min wait for 2 orders ahead for waiter to take manually. The order of hot bibim bap to eat-in was immediate but cold. It wasn't stone bowl as indicated in online menu option but in brass bowl. The waiterinsisted on bribging it on a tray to my table gesturing it was dangerously hot, but in fact only the bottom of bowl had any heat. So the runny fried egg and gochujang weren't really cooking when I mixed with the rice which was major points off otherwise would have been 4star plus. $2 off for cash payment, $18. read more

Good spot for quick Korean food - you can customize your bowls how you want it which is a great option! I like their sides too - the veggies for dipping are good and I like the roasted garlic on the side (but not great if you have a date later!). The soybean paste soup is pretty standard, mainly has a few pieces of tofu in it, but I wish they had more veggies in the soup. Overall great spot for food on the go. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - Ssam Bap Veggie Set ($6) - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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I have no visited this business in person, I've gotten take out. The food is always excellent! I have been craving Korean food lately, and KOBA does not disappoint! t is a great choice when you have friends over because you everyone can order their own custom bowl to get what they want. I am a vegetarian, and I love how many options there are. read more

What an amazing Korean spot! I was so impressed with our takeout from Koba. Everything was so delicious and the flavors so balanced. Really enjoyed the ssam we had! I was surprised to find a variety of lettuce, perilla leaf, cabbage, Korean peppers, carrots and cucumbers as the sides to the ssam. The roasted garlic, ssamjang, and scallions were delicious sides too! The bibimbap was delicious too! The gosari was a nice touch. Kudos to the packaging! It was so delightfully presented. The portions are big so it's great value too. They included Korean treats in the bag too -- it was such a nice surprise! Full belly and heart after takeout from Koba! Would definitely recommend and excited to try again. read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - ssam & bibimbap - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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Found this place while walking around midtown, and I'm definitely glad I did. The restaurant itself is relatively small but with a decent number of chairs and a couple kiosks for ordering. We went for an early-ish dinner and there were very few people eating in the restaurant, but as we ate we saw many people order it for takeout as well as delivery drivers picking up food. We both ordered the Koba bowl with various toppings, which is $15 as of July 2023. The food took a decent amount of time to come out, but they seemed relatively busy with the number of orders they had. My bowl (the one on top) had a majority of the free toppings and beef bulgogi over half rice half noodles with sauce on the side. The bowl comes with a little treat, and I picked a yakult. The bowl has the same flavor concept as any other bowl place, combining tasty ingredients to get a tasty meal, but the sheer number of toppings combined with the flavor of the meat and size of the bowl made this one of the best bowl-type restaurants I've ever been to. With a basic chicken bowl at Chipotle being $12 now, I'd gladly pay $3 more to get this bowl (I just wish it was closer to my office). The only negatives I had were the garlic chips were *too* flavorful, and I would've preferred cooked onions over raw. Both can be easily solved by just not getting the topping or specifying less of them in the special instructions. I'm definitely coming back again! read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - KOBA Bowl - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

I really like this place. I order lunch from them regularly at this point, and I'm never disappointed. You get A LOT of food for what you're paying--I'd be more than satisfied with this amount of food at this price in a suburb, let alone Manhattan. The food itself is tasty, fresh (often cooked to order), and high-quality. I've tried and enjoyed nearly everything on their menu at this point. I wish they offered the kimchi fried rice with more meat options than just pork, but that's a small complaint. I've never eaten in the restaurant itself, as it feels more like a takeout place to me. The interior is clean and nicely decorated, however. Sometimes there's a bit of a wait, but it's usually not crazy. I've been offered free drinks while waiting for my food, which is a really nice gesture (given how inexpensive it is to start with!) read more

KOBA Korean BBQ - KOBA Bowl - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Bibimbap was tasty but served tepid warm not hot. The tofu soup with pork was too hot and the pork was mostly hard grissle.