I'm currently on the hunt for a Korean restaurant that's decent and would want to go back in the SGV area but it's been a tough journey so far. I wanted to introduce my gf that lives in the area to tofu soup and this one was nearby and the only one in the area so we decided to give it a shot. It's odd for myself as a Korean American to go to a Korean tofu soup spot and there are no Korean speaking front of house members. I saw maybe one Korean ajumma in the back of house and that's it. Here's what we ordered: **Beef Tofu Sou (Medium Spicy): Easily one of the worst tofu soup (soondubu) I've ever had. First off, when I added the egg, the soup wasn't boiling so the egg didn't cook through. The soup base hardly had any spicy kick. The soup itself was very bland and had no authentic soondubu flavor. (1/5) **BBQ Short Ribs: The galbi was not that hot when it was served. It was very fatty and mostly bone. I do not recommend if you're looking for authentic galbi. (1/5) The banchan selection was very poor. The service was decent in the beginning but once I was ready for my check, it was really hard to flag anyone down. If you're looking for authentic Korean style tofu soup, I do not recommend. If you're catering towards a less flavorful Americanized tofu soup then this may be the spot for you. read more

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Came in to try the hot stone bibimbap combo with tofu soup(not shown on the menu, but you can order it.) The bibimbap was really good! I love that they add sesame seeds and their gojuchang was really yummy, which can be hit or miss for me. The kimchi beef soup was also good! I just think the stone bowls weren't hot enough, I left the bibimbap to crisp for a pretty long time and there was only a little bit of crispy rice at the very bottom, And I added the egg to the soup a minute or two after it was delivered and it didn't cook too thoroughly. I liked the bean sprouts, salad, fish, and cucumber banchan, the kimchi was a bit pungent for me. Overall, the food was pretty good, but kinda pricey compared to some other tofu houses in sgv. The combo was $40 after tax, $36 before tax. You probably won't have to wait here though! It's a good option for your tofu/korean food fix in the area! read more

Everything is pretty good. Not the highest quality but good enough to return. The ribs looks good too, maybe will spend the $ for it read more

Nice and cozy restaurant located in the Atlantic Plaza. We came here on a Friday around lunchtime and were the only people dining in at the time. I always order the beef and seafood tofu soup wherever I go, and this place did it just right. There was plenty of flavor, and everything tasted rich, fresh, and well-balanced. The soup had a generous amount of meat and also came with an egg that you crack into the soup yourself. There was only one person working at the front, but he serviced us very quickly and efficiently. Plenty of parking is available in the plaza. read more

Lee's Tofu - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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I got the vegan glass noodles (japjae). The dish itself was good. My only issue is how expensive it was for what I got. $20 for glass noodles with just mushrooms (also had onions and carrots like most stir fried dishes). You can also get it with beef or pork (forgot which one). The portion size is good but I was starving a couple hours after finishing 90% of it. Whenever I've paid this much at a non-high end place for a noodle dish, it usually has a lot of toppings and fills me up and leaves me with leftovers. I'd understand the price a little more if it at least had tofu or some more vegetables--mushrooms aren't that filling (it did come with a good amount though). Nothing bad to say about the place though. Good food and service but can't justify going back. read more

This is such an underrated place! I came on a Thursday night with my sister and my dad around 7pm and it was not packed at all. The service is superb and they were very generous with all the banchan that they brought out - which we are super grateful for! My favorite was the seaweed mixed with cabbage and the cucumber. For the entre, we ordered the ginseng chicken soup and the combo mushroom soup with bulgogi. Total bill came out to be $72 with an 18% tip included in there. Ginseng chicken tasted great and healthy. Tofu soup was good as well. The bulgogi was a bit sweet but that is expected. Overall, we all enjoyed this place and would definitely come back again. Plenty of parking as it shares a plaza with other shops (Daiso, sushi place, Jersey Mikes, bargain market, etc..). There are some strange people hanging outside so just be cautious about that going at night. read more

Came here Saturday night. The plaza and restaurant were pretty empty. Got seat pretty quickly. The sides were alright and good to pick at while we waited for our food. We ordered the B.B.Q. Short Ribs + Tofu soup + rice or B.B.Q. 肋排+豆腐煲+飯 for $34.99 and Bulgogi (Sliced beef) + Tofu soup + rice or 烤牛排+豆腐煲+飯 for $30.99. The B.B.Q. Short Ribs and Bulgogi were too sweet. We got the Seafood Tofu Soup and Oyster Tofu Soup. They were alright. This wouldn't be my first choice to eat. But they were one of the few seat down around the area that opened late. read more

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Such a cute little restaurant nestled in a plaza in Monterey Park!! This place is known for its tofu soup, bbq, and banchan!! My food came out so fast! I was told 15-20 minutes but realistically waited less than 10. I ordered the Box Lunch with beef (box lunch is served ALL DAY!) It was so much food! The salad was fresh, rice was perfect, beef had bits of mushroom, onion, and green onions and was very flavorful, and the cucumber and kimchi were delicious!!!! 10/10 would definitely recommend. read more

Lee's Tofu - Menu - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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We ordered takeout for two from Lee's Tofu and were really happy with our meal. We got the japchae, kimbap, and the beef short ribs combo, which came with tofu soup. Everything was flavorful and well-prepared. The tofu soup was so good. It had just the right amount of spice and packed with flavor. The beef short ribs were tender, nicely marinated, and paired nicely with the side of rice it came with. Japchae was also very good. It wasn't too oily and cooked just right. The kimbap was fresh and delicious, with perfectly cooked rice and a great mix of textures and flavors from the fillings. The food was ready quickly and packed extremely well. Nothing spilled or shifted during delivery. Prices were reasonable for the quality and portion sizes. Overall, a great experience. Solid food, fast service, and good value read more

Lee's Tofu - Kimbap - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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What a gem! So happy to stumble upon good little restaurants. The service was great, the parking was good, the price was great and the food was amazing. The banchan was tasty - fave was the kimchi and cucumber kimchi. I got the dumpling tofu soup and it cured me. I got the spicy but it wasn't overly spicy. The soup was a 10/10. The dumplings were plump with a savory filling that really came through despite the flavor bomb of a soup. I highly recommend! Next time I'll do the special with a grilled meat + soup. Yums all around! read more

Lee's Tofu - Dumpling tofu soup - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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Lee's Tofu is a decent spot for soondobu and banchan in Monterey Park. Service was friendly, if a little slow at times. I felt that the veggie soondobu we ordered was a little plain, but we did enjoy the japchae we got. Banchan was ok, but I did like how they give you a whole little fish in the banchan for the soondobu. This clean, casual spot is good for lunch. read more

Lee's Tofu - Banchan - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

The food was well done, delicious flavors, the service was fast, and the place looked clean. -Just ask for more napkins since theirs only one napkin per person. read more

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Delicious food Great service Love the Kimbap and combo special bulgogi Clean restaurant Calm environment Special menu has good foods for low cost read more

Lee's Tofu - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

We came mostly for the cold noodles [naengmyeon], but the rest of the meal ended up being more memorable. The galbi was delicious. Very flavorful with a nice char. It came out hot and well-seasoned. The japchae was also a standout. Slightly chewy and not too oily. The cold noodle was just okay. It did the job but didn't leave much of an impression. All of the side dishes [banchan] were fresh. Nothing felt stale or leftover. That set a good tone for the meal. It was a nice surprise to find such an authentic Korean restaurant in a small plaza like this. I hope they continue to do well. I'm already planning to come back to try their soondubu [tofu stew] next time, though it's also not a place i would go out of the way to get to. Definitely will return if I was in the area already read more

This spot has become my place to hang out. At least once a month I meet with a friend of mine to have lunch and chitchat. Yesterday I was there with my family for lunch and frankly it's always great to enjoy a nice meal here. Joe is awesome and the young lady there yesterday was very polite and attentive. The restaurant is always nice and clean. See you guys soon :) read more

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Second time coming here and the service is a little better. The restaurant is not fancy, is a little loud at times especially the music. Is bright too, the lighting is not good for the eyes. I was just going to get the tofu soup because I was going to get a massage later and I didn't want it o have a full stomach lol so I was thinking...hmmm...a good Korean meal or a massage that I know is probably not going to be good. So I ordered the galbi beef combo with beef tofu soup medium spicy. I was seated be a really nice good looking young man, wish I got his name but after he took me order, I didn't see him again, maybe is time for him to go and the second shift came in to finish my order. When the side dishes came out, I was a little disappointed, some of them I didn't like and the salad dressing seemed watery. I didn't even touch the beans sprouts, and I took 2 bites of the cabbage/seaweed salad, the dressing was also watery. You would think those salads or any of the sides would have a sesame flavor to it but it didn't, even the kimchi wasn't good. The tofu soup was bland, I asked for medium spicy and I didn't get a hint of spicy. Usually at other restaurants, I would have a little tingle feeling on my lips. But the galbi beef was good, it was perfectly cooked, and this time the waitress brought out the scissors for me to cut the beef, before they didn't and I gotta ask. Also the same young waitress came back twice to ask how I was doing which was nice of her buttttt...she didn't offer to get me more of the pickles or the kimchi, I just said is good and she walked away to the other table. The fry fish that they gave you as one of the sides wasn't fresh, at most places when you try to cut the fish in half with your spoon, it would have a crunch and you can split it open easily, not here, you have to use your chopsticks to tear it open. After I finished eating, I asked for my bill, it was $38 and some change, I gave her a $100 bill and she brought back my change but instead of braking the bills in smaller change so I can tip her, she gave me 2 $20, 2 $10 and some change. Now my meal was only $38, I'm not going to tip $10. The service wasn't that good and the food was ok, I had better so I just wanted to tip her $5 for coming over 2 times. I don't know if I'll come back, maybe to see the cute guy/waiter that seated me. For the owners, maybe you should let your workers know that if a customer gives you a large bill like $100 bills, break it into smaller changes so we can tip you better. Other than that, good luck, happy ending. I kept thinking...are they Korean or have some Korean treats in them ? What do you guys think ? Are they a from a different nationality? If I come back, and see the cute waiter again, I'll ask him. read more

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My party of 2 was seated instantly around lunch time! The waiter took our order and the food was out within 10 minutes. The side dishes were all super refreshing and the bulgogi was flavorful and tender! But, the tofu soup was too sweet and could definitely be spicier. Overall, a great combo that feeds two people for ~$30. read more

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This is a hidden gem in Monterey Park located in a plaza. I've lived near this spot for years and randomly decided to try it a few years back since I wanted to try tofu soup. I'm so glad I did because ever since then I have come back many time to eat. My usual is the kimchi beef soup with bulgogi. Both of these dishes are amazing snd never disappoint. You can customize the the spiciness as well which is great to do. I also tried the teokbokki which comes in a huge dish and tastes authentic! Bit spicy for me so I only get it here and then. Ambiance is very good for both small or big groups! Service is always so nice too ! Can't reccomend enough !! read more

Lee's Tofu - Spicy Rice Cake - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

Most recent time I've been here the food was a bummer--especially because this is a place I've frequented for lunch before. I was really looking forward to it. The quality of the banchan and soup seems to have gone downhill. I remember them having crispy smashed cucumber banchan, fresh kimchi, and the soup was awesome. Now the cucumber kimchi feels soggy, kimchi is meh, and the soup is passable. nothing like I remember. Sad bc this is the closest tofu soup to me. I'll be on the lookout for another spot now read more

Had the pork soon tofu soup (mild). Delicious. Bubbly. You crack a raw egg it it to cook. I load it with my rice which comes also in an iron cast bowl. Banchan is lovely tho I don't like fish, but am taking it all home to someone who loves kimchee and a deep fried fish. I liked the dressing on the salad. The portions were perfect for one person...or to share. But it's all mine. Prices reasonable for this cuisine. Even better on weekdays. It's was quiet on a gorgeous sunny 72 degree day, so easily seated in a pleasant comfortable space clean spacious. My first time here. I'll be back with friends and family in tow. Highly recommend. Free Parking. easy at noon, surprising I'm thus busy mini strip mall in Atlantuc Square. read more

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My husband and I stopped by Lee's Tofu for the first time in a while on Fri, 9/27/2024, at around 7:10 PM. My husband used to enjoy Lee's Tofu back when it was still opened across the street (which I've been to maybe once). We ordered the following (prices as of Sept 2024): ++ Seafood Tofu - $16.97 - My go-to order for Korean tofu houses. This tofu soup tasted very sea-y (not fresh seafood, but the soup had a very strong sea flavor...but not necessarily in a good way). I explained it to my husband, who didn't understand until he tried it. I don't notice other places with such a deep sea flavor, so I was a little concerned. Other than that, the tofu soup had a few clams, shrimp, small and 1-2 bigger sized ones. The flavor could have been stronger. ++ Seafood Pancake $22.88 -- Not bad, surprisingly this dish came out first. This was good, they had enough seafood pieces inside. The pancake was just a bit on the oily side. ++ Mandu (Dumpling) Tofu - $16.97 - My husband's order. He enjoyed it. I didn't get to try it but he liked it and that's all that matters haha. Banchan comes with bean sprouts, cucumber, salad, seaweed, and kimchi. They also provided a small fried fish, which was tasty. - Unfortunately, I didn't care for their banchan lol. I love free banchan, it's one of the perks of eating at a physical Korean restaurant. The bean sprouts were decent. Kimchi tasted very gingery, which I'm not a fan of. The seaweed salad had a good flavor but it was very soggy (like the seaweed has been sitting in the juices for a long time), and the cucumber was soggy. Cucumber banchan is my favorite, but not from here. Service: Hit or miss. I want to preface this with the fact that the staff members were all very kind, but they were pretty busy for a later Friday night dinner rush and were rushing around. They forgot our stone rice (that comes with the tofu soup) so we had to ask two separate staff members. Each staff member only brought one out haha. One rice was fine, but the other rice (mine, of course lol) was a little hard and undercooked. Overall, I was a little disappointed with the food, and the experience was not the greatest so my review leans more of a 3.5 star as opposed to 3 star. It was decent, but I just didn't quite enjoy my dinner. However, I am still willing to return to try again. read more

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I was going to the citadel but I don't like the food court or food in that city in general so I drove like 15 from the outlet and found this spot. I got the beef tofu soup it was good but I didn't get a lot of beef and the soup was filled with just tofu the taste was good I really liked the kimchi cucumber and the kimchi wasn't spicy overall good service, cozy little spot. read more

Lee's Tofu - Beef tofu soup mild spice - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

Nice small place, has a home kind of feeling. Food came out quick and was good. Sides were tasty and were my favorite! Tofu and chicken soup might need some more flavor but I'd like to taste others too! Service was fast too! Will be coming back! read more

Food is a 10out of 10, Service is a 10 out of 10, super friendly staff. This is our go to spot for Korean food. I love the Beef tofu soup and the Bulgogi is so good the fried dumplings are also a must. They give the best sides that are included with a meal. Just overall good place! Highly recommend! read more

I don't know what happened to this place. We used to come here for a decent local Korean food place, but quality is going down. First off my cucumber kimchi tasted old. I had one bite but I had some bloating all night and the day after. The lady taking my order didn't know Korean. Very disappointed. One of the reasons we go to Korean restaurants is so my kids can practice their Korean, because we don't have Korean relatives nearby. Third why are the menus on the wall in English and Chinese? Where is the Korean? I had to look at the wall for the photo, and my paper menu to see what what I was ordering. Like what is beef stew? There are a lot of stews with beef in Korean. The picture isn't clear, so if you only put English and Chinese how do I know what I am ordering? The food was just okay. I was immediately hit with clam she'll and sand on my soon tofu. I asked for medium, but it was mild. The mandu (dumpling) skin was tough, like it wasn't fresh. Overall food was only okay and banchan was bad. I hope they do better. It didn't used to be like this. read more

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The food is decent and affordable here but the service is never great even when they aren't busy. The owner seems like he is always too busy to help. read more

First time here and I asked for if I can have the spicy rice cakes, non spicy. The guy said yes and gave me cold noodles. Not even close to rice cakes. read more

Yummmyyyy I came for bulgogi and banchon! I love the little side dishes and the bulgogi was tasty. I also had cold noodle soup to try. Is the broth usually bland? This is the second place where the broth not very flavorful (it was better than the first place), is that how it's supposed to be?. I appreciate they have barley tea, I love that stuff. read more

Lee's Tofu - Bulgogi, cold noodle soup and banchon. - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

TO GO ORDER REVIEW This place gets 5 star for delicious food and generous portions. I was surprised at how much side dishes they gave. Also the chicken soup they put extra broth in a bowl since the chicken itself took a lot of space in the container. Tofu soup: standard medium spicy beef tofu. Bbq chicken was tasty flavored perfectly not too sweet not too bland. Grilled onions delish. Chicken soup w/ ginseng: this is a Korean specialty to stuff a young bird w/ rice and garlic and boil long (warning 20 mins) and pieces of ginseng and red dates (I don't eat these it's just to flavor). The broth is so so good and it's not overpowered by the herbs. The flavored salt on the side is wonderful too. You can put as much or little salt to your preference. Steamed dumplings were good pretty standard. But what for my attention was they gave you A LOT of dumplings. I'll definitely keep ordering from Lee's. read more

Lee's Tofu - Special salt mix for the ginseng chicken soup - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

looking for Korean comfort food? I don't know about you but I found mu place here at Lee's Tofu. this is my second time here last time i had the cold noodles (in a blazing hot sunny day) and it was so refreshing and delicious. this time was in a cooler November night. ordered the short rib combo with seafood tofu soup, and of course it was delicious. However, the star of this meal was the seafood pancake! It was thin and crispy, filled with all the toppings! just a heads up, it takes a while to make so order something else to munch on while u wait. great selection of drinks, both alcoholic or non alcoholic, as well as hot/iced tea. I had the grape juice with coconut jelly, will definitely get it again. service was great too! the entire place is so spacious and clean. the entire experience was so comfortable and my tummy was so happy. read more

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The food is really tasty! The service was good but there was only one other table when I went. I did return a second time and was the only one there but I did go early on a Friday. I really enjoy it and plan on returning :) read more

Omg how did I never order the spicy cold noodles for the amount of times I have been here. This is a regular spot for me and my boyfriend!! We always get the soup and lately we have been ordering the bibimbap which is sooo good dipped into the hot soup! So good! This time I decided to get the cold noodles bc of how freaking hot it's been and omg I'm so mad at not ordering it before! 10/10 recommend this to people who like the cold noodles very good the spice is not too spicy either for people who can't eat spicy. I definitely can tho so yes just had to come on here and share cause I'm gonna be ordering this way more for hot days. read more

Lee's Tofu - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

On a Sunday morning at 11am in May, we came here for lunch. It was nice atmosphere of listening to K-pop music while looking at the menu. I ordered the oysters tofu soup and ate some banchan items before eating the soup. One of the items is a plate of 2 small fried fishes which made my sister happy. While waiting, more people came to eat here and I watched the owner handle 5 tables by himself. Then our soups arrived and noticed there is more tofu ratio. The oysters are huge in size and waited to be cooled down. It still tastes good when we mixed it with our steaming rice. We ate most of the banchans. More staff people arrived in time. Plenty of parking, read more

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nice experience in this restaurant, not only the food but also the staff, recommend it! read more

Lee's Tofu - Kimbap, seafood tofu soup, dumpling tofu soup - Korean Near Me - Monterey Park, California

I honestly prefer this place over BCD. It's close to work, so our office goes at least once a month or so, but I will togo food from here often. They have really good spicy pork and their tofu soup is so flavorful! My girl always get the beef tofu soup and bulgogi combo and craves it at least once a week. There is plenty of parking out front and the staff is very friendly. Good food and good prices! read more

Excellent food, but a chaotic experience. After having an intense craving for Korean seafood pancakes, I looked on Yelp and found this restaurant. Being my first time here I ordered two dishes, the seafood pancake and the beef tofu stew. Both were delicious, and I was given an array of banchan. The seafood pancake was crispy and contained imitation crab, squid, green onions, onions,etc. and really hit the craving I had. The biggest thing I'd note about tonight's dinner was that they seemed severely understaffed with three servers and a constant flow of customers, as two of them were relatively slow moving and did not really clean, serve, or remember requests. The third server, I believe called Daniel, was single handedly holding together the entire restaurant--taking orders, helping a birthday party, helping an elderly customer with her take out orders, etc. Daniel did the work of three people tonight, and I really hope the other servers will get better and contribute more. So although the dining experience was slow and chaotic, my review still stays at four stars because the food was good and Daniel was obviously showing a lot of effort into making sure everyone was satisfied. read more

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Really disappointed at this restaurant. We love the food here and come often as we live near by. However, today, we called in to order a tofu galbi combo, and asked to make our order a large, stating we wanted more galbi. The person taking the order said sure it will cost more. So we said that's fine. When we got our order, the number of galbi pieces we got was 6. A normal order, comes with 5. So we paid extra for a large, only for them to give us 1 extra tiny piece. That was not what we were expecting at all. We called the restaurant to let them know our disappointment and they said sorry and that was it. Not even an attempt to help mitigate our issue. Their level of service really disappointed me and makes me not want to return. read more

This is hands down the best Korean restaurant that I have ever been to. I have been going to this restaurant ever since I was a baby. The dumplings and short ribs are my favorite items there, and are actually the only dumplings that I like compared to other restaurants. I HIGHLY recommend you go try this restaurant. You will not regret it whatsoever read more

I liked it. Solid spot for some tofu soup. I had a tofu soup craving and met up with a friend for dinner here. Inside is simple, no frills. Decent amount of seating. I got the oyster soup and bulgogi combo. It was good. My friend got the seafood soup and spicy pork. They liked it. The banchan is ok. Also threw in a yummy kimbap, that probably put over the top but we were being fatties. A combo is probably enough for most people. Service was good. Friendly staff. There's plenty of parking in the shopping center lot. read more

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I can't lie, ts is actually better than bcd tofu house. Lowkenuinely, the tofu soup is much more flavorful. Additionally, the servers are very kind but also mad efficient, love them! read more