I love this little gem. We finally had the chance to try it today on Mother's Day for dinner. I am overwhelmed with the hospitality. The server/hostess lady was such a sweet woman. She was very welcoming & friendly. I wish he had tried this restaurant a little sooner. The food was absolutely amazing! We had LA galbi, seafood pancake, kimchi soup, & galbitang. Hubby & little one definitely enjoyed the food as much as I did. I have no complaints. I definitely recommend this place. read more

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Kim is amazing, everything was made quick and tasted great. I got the shrimp and the bulgogi and was not disappointed. My friends got the La Garbi and that was great too! Best Korean BBQ in town. read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - 28. LA Garbi 31. Shrimp - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Always leave happy and with a full belly! The spicy pork was amazing and packed the flavor and some heat. And the Jjajangmyeon was great and perfect for a slightly cool day. read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Jjajangmyeon - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

The owner, Kim was really nice and friendly. We had a really good chat. Also the food tasted excellent, and the portion size were big. Me and my friend didn't expect the orders will come up a lot. We kind of ordered too much. Find Kim while you come to the store. read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - 32. Bulgogi 30. Samgyupsal - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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I LOVE THIS PLACE! Mrs Kim is the BEST! My family and I absolutely love meeting up and eating here. The japchae and bulgogi here are delicious. Always clean and has a lovely calm environment, I heavily recommend this place for dates! read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - 32. Bulgogi - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

It was first Korea BBQ in US with my friend, we feel so comfy like eat at home the owner very helpful and all meal is so good i love this place,, read more

I loved the food and the staff are super nice and great service! Also the kdramas that play make it all so much better!

Excellent food and staff. Kinda dumpy area but with reasonable parking. Price good. I will go again.

Best food with best service with Daniel and Mrs. Kim. Yugaejaeng is a must try soup. Everything so delicious here.

Visited Sam Won the other night to celebrate a birthday and it was such an amazing experience. If you're looking for amazing and authentic Korean food, this is the place to be. For appetizers, I recommend trying the tteokbokki (slightly spicy and sweet rice cakes) and kimbap. I also ordered the sundubu (seafood tofu soup), which was perfect for a rainy day! If you're craving kbbq, I recommend the samgeyopsal (pork belly) and the Bulgogi. The meals also come with side dishes called banchan and their kimchi is one of the best I've had. If you're looking to drink some soju, the mango and melon flavors are really good and refreshing. The owner and staff are so hospitable and accommodating as well, it almost makes you feel like you've known them for years. When we sang happy birthday, they even brought out a microphone and lit up the restaurant with some colorful lights. Made it feel extra special for the birthday guest! Definitely worth the visit and I would highly recommend. read more

Their menu has a lot of options, much of which are really good, but the food in general is so overpriced. I go back here because Jacksonville has a severe shortage of Korean food options, but can't go too often because the total comes out to $50+ for just 2 people. I see comments about the service and cleanliness, but I've never had a problem with either. Some wait staff will charge you for banchan refills, some won't ... usually these should be free. That might be my only gripe as far as service goes. The interior isn't super spruced up, but I don't have any issues with it. read more

This place use to be good now it's just a disappointment. We ordered the Bulgogi and it tasted and looked like corned beef or ground chuck. Super cheap ingredients and piss poor execution. I've had way better Bulgogi from a food court. They even messed up the rice. It tasted stale (old) and chewy. Don't order sashimi. It was frozen in the middle. The side dishes and rice came out 10-15 minutes after the entrees were served. My brother ordered the spicy squid and it only had 5 small chewy pieces of squid. My son order a noodle dish and after they served everyone at the table they told us they ran out of noodles, so they rushed an order of teriyaki chicken on top of cold raw onions and cabbage covered in a marinate out of a bottle. I'll never go to this place again. read more

Owner and staff very friendly and helpful. Food fresh and served fast. Very tasty Nice selection of food like seafood pancake I especially like spicy tofu stew! read more

I love this restaurant. I gotta have my Korean food fix every week, and this is the place to satisfy it. The spicy pork and bulgogi are to die for... read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Empty plates - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

This was a struggle to rate. On one hand, I am super happy there is a Korean BBQ place in town. But like others have mentioned, it's hard not to compare it to the "other" place in town... So speaking of which, we had fasted all day to enjoy an unabashed meat fest. We strolled up to our destination and our hearts fell. They were unexpectedly closed for a few days for the holidays. Any other type of restaurant just wasn't going to cut it (our hearts and stomachs were set on all the meats) and I did recall another Yelper had mentioned Sam Won to me quite a few months ago... And we headed there with a quickness. It's a little hard to find, and smack dab in the middle of the big strip mall on University. Sam Won is a bit of an older restaurant, with some little quirks here and there (and the funky old restaurant smell) but it didn't really bother us. We were seated quickly, perused the menu, and made our selections. The grill was prepped and we were informed they needed to cook the pork belly on a different grill, on a table close to ours. Cool. We did start out with a seafood pancake, that was pretty good! A little on the lighter side, texture-wise, but it had good flavor and only a few bites where the seafood tasted just a tad fishy. The usual sides were a little bit lacking, but they were generous when we asked for a little bit more kimchi. :) We had about 4 different types of meat, and they were all pretty good, but were missing a bit of flavor and spice that we have experienced elsewhere. Pros: Large space, grills at the booths, good food. Cons: Just missing the mark on some spices, for our taste. All in all, I'd head to the other place in town for our next Korean BBQ outing, unless we had a really large party, then this would probably be the best option. And would not mind headed back here! read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Wow wow wow THE WORST ATTITUDE IVE EVER SEEN FROM A SERVER IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I've been in restaurant industry for long time and this short girl server slammed the plate because we asked for another ban Chan (side dishes) she also made (sigh...) Like really?!?!?!?! I am Korean and I know the culture and dishes pretty well. My husband and I ordered each of LA Galbi and seafood tofu soup combo. Tofu soup ALWAYS comes with raw egg on the side. When they brought soups I did not see any eggs so I asked "aren't these comes with eggs?" And she said "eggs are in the soup" so I looked inside NOTHING not even my husband's one. Number 1 rule "never guess" You should always make sure with kitchen if you aren't sure about it. So we had to wait for 5mins and asked male server "we didn't get eggs for our soup" and he apologized and brought us eggs. (He was very nice) By the time soup got cold and egg didn't cook at all. Nobody came to check on us so we were thirsty whole time. No refills on water or ban Chan so I had to ask. And that's when she gave me THE WORST attitude I've ever seen. If she doesn't appreciate for customers and hate her job she needs to quit. Also if you are the one decided to work at this type of restaurant you must understand the culture and learn the basic customer service. She got nicer at the end when we were gonna pay and she could tell we were pissed but..... nope too late. Also told us have a good night when we were leaving but she is the one ruined our Friday night. read more

Hubby had just gotten back from 2 weeks in Korea. We were actually going to eat Taco's but the place was closed. So as we are driving, we see a huge neon KOREAN BBQ sign so we decided to pull in. We sat at one of the 4 or 5 grill tables. It wasn't crowded, and one was available, and I would definitely recommend YOU sit at a grill table too. What good is a Korean BBQ without the grill? It's part of the fun! Our waiter was super nice and recommended the beef rib plates for our BBQ. He brought us a bunch of side dishes with different types of veggies: kimchi, green onion, soy paste, mung bean sprouts, kelp relish, daikon radish and carrots, sliced garlic and jalapenos. And a large plate of fresh romain lettuce and 2 bowls of rice in its own covered bowl. About the rice: Sticky rice just like I make. That sure did have my approval! We ordered a short rib-like meat, has the bone like a short rib that is about 3 inches wide and flat, which has a long piece of beef stuck to it because the meat is wrapped around the bone a few times. 4 on a plate. We think when we ordered 2, it was 2 whole orders enough to feed 4-6 people. Oops! Our guy cuts off the meat from the bone with FISKARS! Places it on the grill and just like that, you're cooking it! And you flip the steak, which is fairly thin. And then once it's near done, you pick it up with tongs and start cutting pieces off with the fiskars. Yep, another use for fiskars! Luckily hubby just came back from Korea, so he was quite the expert with the meat cutting. Hubby also adds the garlic slices and the jalapenos to the grill to char them. And once the meat is cooked to your liking, you scoot it off to the side of the grill so you don't burn it to a crisp. But don't forget the char! Then hubby expertly picks up a piece of romaine lettuce, break it in about a 2 inch piece. In the well of the lettuce, he adds bean paste, rice, meat and the other stuff. Kinda like a lettuce taco, but with the Korean sides. Then you pop it in your mouth as hubby said that's what the Korean businessmen did when he tagged along. That's why you do small pieces of lettuce and cut the beef into smaller bite sized pieces. I was definitely happy that I was dining with an expert! Then, the guy comes back and brings this very spicy boiling pot, in its own pot holder, of a Korean styled miso soup with tofu and jalapenos. When the guy said it was HOT, it really was....soup was still boiling in its own cast iron pot. Jalapenos added a nice bit of heat also. Our guy returns and asks us if we want our bones cooked? Sure, we say. So he takes them to the kitchen and returns with them a few mins later. They are delish! The meat had shrunk around the short rib and it has got a marinade on it with a slight char. We took them home with the leftover pieces of beef. One of the most enjoyable meals I've eaten in Jacksonville! What a treat! Keep in mind that this is not a fancy to-do type of place. The walls in the semi-private grill rooms needed a little makeover. It could have been brighter, but the bulb was out in our booth. Other diners in the other grill rooms were happily cooking and eating, just like us. On a side note: Being part Asian myself, I always see how many other natives frequent their own restaurants. That is always a good sign and there are a few asian restaurants that we frequent that have alot of their own eating in their restaurants. This Korean restaurant was no different. This establishment had a large group of Korean men in the back room whooping it up! According to hubby tho, that is how they talk normally! Loud and excited. Almost sounded like they were yelling at each other. But hubby assured me that they were speaking normal. Our waiter returned with the check and confirmed our initial assumption: we DID order two whole BBQ's for 2 each! So next time, we'll just have to make sure it's just one order for 2. But leftovers sure will be eaten! Will recommend this restaurant to my friends! read more

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Very authentic Korean food! We had the soondobu combo and doenjang jigae. Both were delicious. The service was excellent and they replenished the side dishes that we finished. There is plenty of parking and lots of seating. Highly recommend! read more

Service was slow but worth the wait.And really I didn't mind the wait because I enjoyed the people watching. The restaurant was packed with Asian customers all enjoying their meals with friend and family, some happily chatting away in Korean. You know the food is awesome when the natives show up! The food was really delish and although only one dish was listed as vegetarian, the waitress was so delightful when I picked out a different item on the menu and requested that meat and egg be removed. My boyfriend ordered the La LA Galbi, which basically a BBQ short rib. He said it was absolutely amazing tasting. However it was bit on the pricey side (20 bucks) and I ordered a vegetarian Dolsot Bibim Bap. I really enjoyed the freshness of the veggies ( some of which tasted pickled) and how the hot stone bowl made the rice crispy. Overall I really enjoyed Sam Won Garden and will be back again. read more

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Everything is always great. I tend to always ask for a recommendation and never have been disappointed. HIGHLY recommend read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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With only a couple places in Jacksonville that specialize in Korean BBQ it's hard not to compare them. Honestly, our group had set out to have dinner at Hon Korean, but when we failed to confirm if they would be open the week of Christmas we had to do some quick thinking on our feet and come up with something else. Sam Won popped up and it wasn't too far away. Score! I appreciated the semi-private cooktops. And I actually liked that they did a majority of the cooking for you. However, we learned the crispy pork belly is not worth the order since you have to order two portions of it. The seafood pancake was delicious and I could have easily had that as my meal. But we were all looking forward to eating all the meats that we had saved room in our belly to do so. Our table shared shared the samkyupsal (pork belly), bulgogi (beef) and kalbi (shortribs). It was all so good and we could have eaten all the meats for days. Depending on what you choose to compare, Hon vs. Sam is going to be a pretty even fight. Definitely will have to give them both a few more tries before I pick a winner. read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Seafood Pancake - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

So, I went to Sam Won last Friday for lunch and thought it was darn good. Just to make sure I thought I should go again today. It's official....THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! As soon as you walk in the restaraunt, you know there's some authentic cooking going on here. We were quickly greeted and seated upon arrival and the place was pretty darn packed. The staff was quick to take our drink and food orders. These ladies don't give off the warm and fuzzy vibe, but hey they are there to get a job done and that's just what they do. On Friday, I ordered the bulgogi beef lunch box. This included sliced pieces of marinated rib eye, fried or steamed rice, salad, noodles, dumplings and a piece of fruit. I swear the box reminds me of one of those school lunch trays we had waaaayyy back in the day when I was in school. The marinated rib eye was extremely flavorful and tender. I was very pleased and would definitely order this lunch box again. Today I decided on the BBQ Galbi. I saw this dish come out last Friday and thought, I gotta have it. This was a hit! The ribs were thinly sliced, marinated with their special sauce and grilled to perfection. In addition to the fried rice, salad, dumplings, noodles and fruit I left extremely full. I can't say enough about this place. It really is a treat and well worth the price. I will definitely return again and again with or without friends. I'm even thinking of coordinating a UYE with the Yelp Fam in the near future at this establishment. Lord knows they have the room for it. read more

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After visiting another local KBBQ joint, I decided to change my rating for Sam Won and bump it back up to a four star. (I know, I can't seem to make up my mind on what rating I'm going to give this place. Hopefully they can earn back my five star, but I don't have any high hopes...) If you want consistent KBBQ, come to Sam Won. The staff is hit or miss. Sometimes they're awesome & sometimes I feel like a burden, which is why I downgraded them from a five star to a three star. But I always love their banchan and kalbi. I tried another place and it honestly didn't even compare to Sam Won, so until a new KBBQ place opens up -- this will be my go to for KBBQ cravings. read more

To be fair, Korean barbecue doesn't seem to be my thing. I'm not a fan of beef, or seafood served over carbs. Thusly, I ordered BBQ Chicken. The dish was served in a fajita style hot plate on a wood plank. It came with various sides and spicy sauce as well as a bowl of steamed rice. Nothing tasted bad per se. But to be honest, I don't see the appeal. my friends ordered a steaming bowl of sorts with a fried egg on top. That looked better than what I ordered. Unfortunately, it was served with beef. The price was moderate, the service was average. If you like Korean BBQ I guess you should give it a try. As for me, I'll pass. read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - BBQ Chicken - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

My husband and I are big Korean food fans. When we go out of town that is the first thing we research. We have had several friends that are Korean so we know good authentic food! This is the only place we have found in Jacksonville that delivers. There is one server (I wish I knew her name) that knows her stuff...she is awesome! I always get kimchi sun du bu and well not everywhere wants to make it for me...she hooked it up!!!! She had the kitchen make it exactly how I wanted! My husband loves bulgogi and there's is pretty good! A few things I wish were different: They require a minimum amount (I think 2 meals) to sit at the grill tables. My hubs wants bulgogi on the grill and I always eat soup so we never sit at the grill pans here :( Also, they don't have a huge selection of banchan. I love trying different things and this last visit I think we only had 4 things and one was jello...eewww! And last...no red bean ice cream or boba!!!!! What the what!!!!!!????!! Not good! Even with all that said I gave them a 4! I'm just happy we have a Korean place in town so we can get a fix when we need it! read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Table view of bulgogi and sundubu - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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First time having more than a small bento style box of Korean food, and we have a winner! Been wanting to try real Korean forever, but each time I tried,the place was closed. Luckily on Labor Day this place was open. We were easily and quickly seated, given drinks and able to order an appetizer (mandu pan fried)within ten or less minutes. Server was super kind and friendly, as first timers suggested the #23 or #22(?) where you can choose 4 meats, have rice, veg and kimchi. We chose the LA Galbi beef short ribs,the shrimp, the BBQ chicken and spicy pork. This easily over fed two ppl, so it'd be perfect for 2-4 people EASILY. The price of all this with an app and two drinks was $58 with tax. Which felt a bit expensive but there was a ton of food so it's priced about right. My faves were the Galbi and spicy pork, mike says his top two meats were the chicken and shrimp. I walked out with a pleasantly full belly and can foresee frequenting this place in the future. Way to go, Sam Won! There were all kinds of drink specials and many other things on their menu I look fwd to trying and sharing with friends. read more

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Don't waste ur freak time to this place. Not worth while you can't cook your own BULGOGI! They stopped doing that for customers who want to eat their way of cooking the Bulgogi. So don't go! read more

I had lunch here not more than $10 good for price. Steamed rice was little bit dry but close to what I used to eat in Japan. Also satisfied with Galbi adequate pieces well done. Some parts are burnt and hard. Salads wis dressed mayo which reminds me of McDonalds. Purukogi with too much pepper. Overall not bad. wanna try other menu. but in dinner it should be $20-30. Waiter is friendly good manner. read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - lunch Galbi - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Good food and good service. The owner is really nice. They also give you ice cream as complimentary dessert. read more

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First time eating Korean and It was great. Had no idea what anything was but it tasted amazing. Took my son with me and he ate almost my whole plate. read more

Bottom line: Understaffed and overpriced food- will only come back to order lunch specials. Understaffed means little to no quality service. Overpriced means paying $12+ for small bowl of korean instant noodle-ish soup with slabs of tofu. 1 star for the seafood pancake that's delicious, brimming with assorted seafood and have a great crispy texture on the outside but slight chewy consistency inside. 1 star for the lunch specials (last page of the menu) that's a great value, comes with a big salad, glass noodle, choice of meat, fried rice, and a piece of fruit for under $9. Lunch price for 3 of us came out to be $80 before tax and we just feel ripped off with the exception of one of us was smart enough to order the lunch special. read more

This restaurant serves authentic Korean food including the Korean intensity for spices that can scald your mouth but you enjoy anyway. You get to be entertained by Korean music videos showcasing breakups and sadness it gets boring. The food is great. The place clean...cozy and private at the BBQ booths. We got pork BBQ and Seafood noodle soup. It would have been nice to have more pieces of octopus in the soup. I have before and after pics of my soup. Still a great place to come when craving for Korean food. read more

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This was my first time trying this place & I loved it! The food came out very fast & was very delicious. Our server was amazing. I will definitely be going back!! read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

This is my favorite Korean spot since coming from another state 4 years ago. I mostly get take out and am always please! The food is amazing and delicious. We have only had sit down dinner there and lunch a few times but it's always fantastic. Hopefully having dinner there tonight! read more

I guess Sam Won has new owners and chefs. I've ordered take out a few times now within the last couple of months and the food is much better compared to a year ago. I think I like Sam Won better than Gangnam now. I think Gangnam has new owners too and the quality of the food at Gangnam isn't as good as before. read more

My family and I were able to get seated without having to wait too long. We got the bbq table. I guess I'm used to the Korean bbq's in Atlanta where servers do most of the cooking and check on your food on the grill. They don't really do this here. It was a little odd but no big deal. I hated the lighting. It was super dim. They had the cute lantern that apparently has a short because anytime you hit the table or move the wrong way, the light went out. The other lights were in the ceiling behind the vent hood. The food was ok. They never brought out the shrimp but that was fine because we were full when we noticed. read more

It doesn't look like much from the outside, considering it is in a strip mall, the windows are covered, and they still have bars on the doors. But, when you walk inside, it is a whole 'nother place, with beautiful wood, curtained tables, and lacquered sushi bar. The service was friendly but not over the top, and they made sure your food came out quickly and your drink was always full. Skip to the back of the menu during lunch and choose one of the bento style boxes. I tried the Korean short rib, which does come with rib in some of the pieces, but the meat is tender and falls off the bone. The bento box includes a slice of orange, your choice of meat, noodles, French fries, a fried wonton, choice of steamed or fried rice, and ginger salad. All the lunch options are under $10, and it comes on a cafeteria style tray. I was impressed with the flavoring of the food and the simple way that everything was presented. I noticed that there was a large Asian population eating here, so you know if they are eating here, then it must be good! read more

Sam Won Garden Restaurant - Korean short rib box lunch - Korean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

I think I found my dish here . It's the dangu tang soup ! Spicy and hot ! The cod is nice soft. Always give a restaurant a second chance right ? The seafood pancake is nice and fluffy . read more

I'm a fan of Korean BBQ and wanted to try a new place so we gave Sam Won Garden a shot. There wasn't a sign with the restaurant name (at least in English), but there was a place with a sign that said Korean BBQ and Sushi Bar so we figured that must be it. Once we got it, we were able to confirm it was actually the right place. The sushi bar appears to have not been active in a while, so I'm surprised they still have it lit up in neon. But we were there for the BBQ part anyway so that didn't matter. I love cooking my own food on the grill at Hon's and was a little disappointed that most of the food was cooked in the kitchen and it appeared if it was at the the table, they still cooked it for you. Also the prices were nearly double what I was used to paying, though from the food at other tables it appears that the serving size was quite large. We decided to start with a drink and I asked for something that was like cold sake and unflavored. We got a small bottle of an apple wine for $12 that I wasn't much of a fan of. We only managed to drink half the bottle. For dinner we chose a sampler type meal for $46 that included your choice of 4 dishes. We chose galbi, bulgogi, spicey pork and seasoned shrimp. Everything was pretty tasty except the spicey pork was a little bland and not spicey at all. The bulgogi was delicious, the galbi tasted just like when I make it at home (that's good!) and the seasoned shrimp were good but not very seasoned. Our sides included spicey radishes, celery, broccoli with sauce, kimchi, noodles and white rice. Loved the noodles and kimchi but am not a fan of celery, radishes or the sauce that was on the broccoli. Overall the food was tasty and the portions were quite large. And from the blacklights, disco ball and massive sound system with one giant TV stacked on top of like 10 smaller ones, I'm going to guess there some kind of afterparty action once the restaurant closes! read more

The last time I was here, the food was good. I'm back again and a new owner has taken over about 6mths ago and the food went from good to excellent! Kim was so very friendly and made sure we were taken care of. We ordered the Kimbap that was absolutely fantastic! So flavorful with that slight bit of crunch from the pickled daikon, carrots and lettuce. The Spicy Pork Bulgogi was deliciously seasoned with just the right amount of heat and what I loved was that it was not only presented over onions and scallions, but also sliced cabbage. That crunch and texture makes all the difference! The star of the show was the Japchae. In chinese we have a word for the fire taste in a dish which is done where the the wok is super hot under high fire and once those noodles touch the surface, that charred, stir fried taste absorbs into the noodles that we call 'Wok Hei". Our Japchae had that incredible wok hei flavor that made us go, " WOW!" If you're looking for authentic, homemade Korean food, stop by Sam Won Garden today!! read more