good service at Penn quarters location. the ladies were very pleasant. I recommend this place.

Ordered take-out via UberEats so I didn't get a chance to see this place in person. I got a bowl with noodles, pork, and the works (corn, cilantro, garlic, etc.) and it was so delicious. I was apprehensive at first because I'm not the biggest fan of Bibimbop and I know this is similar, but this was flavorful and delicious, and didn't leave me feeling guilty because it was pretty healthy! Would try again. read more

SeoulSpice - a bowl of food with meat and vegetables - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

The chicken entree uses dark meat chicken, which is very greasy and heavy tasting. White meat chicken would be so much more appetizing

awesome energy of the staff and cleanliness as well as portion sizes and fresh ingredients vegan friendly af!! read more

SeoulSpice - gotta love that kale lemonade - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I went here and tried the Seoul Train bowl with noodles. It was amazing. Very filling, but didn't leave me bloated or overly stuffed. Loved everything about it and the customer service was quick and attentive. read more

SeoulSpice - Seoul Train Bowl with noodles - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Great spot! I recommend this place. Food is good, spot is clean, people are nice.The workers were very thorough and helpful as well. Penn Quarters location is def the place to go read more

The service was fabulous. The food was excellent. The ambiance was friendly and the place was very clean.

If I could leave zero I would. Order with Uber Eats which already sucks and should have been a red flag. My order had both of the sauces which I requested on the side poured all over it. Called and was handed around to 3 people who kept saying their receipt didn't say that when I ordered it direct from Uber Eats. They were rude and offered absolutely no help and consistently blamed it on me. No thanks. read more

SeoulSpice - This is apparently without any spice. Hint; there's ton even if you don't ask for it. - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Received beef pieces that look like they have cancer cells. What the h*** is wrong with this meat. Those aren't fish eggs. They're part of the meat. Check out the picture. DisGusTing. Never eating here again, and you shouldn't either. Glad I caught it before eating it. read more

SeoulSpice - What the h*** is wrong with this beef? No those aren't fish eggs. It's part of the beef. I think I might throw up. DisGusTing - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Food was good. Staff was friendly. But I had to ask them to put on gloves when preparing my food. And although the women working had their hair pulled into pony tails, I didn't like that no one had on hairnets. Seemed kind of unsanitary, not a good look. read more

I wanted to really like SeoulSpice but it's just the Korean version of Chipotle and nothing much more than than. I like going here when I am or my friends are in the mood for something Asian and quick. It's not super special or anything but familiar flavors for those of us who enjoy Asian foods. The korrito is a cool option but it's not that much food. The bowl is more bang for your buck and go for as many toppings as you want. Some things require extra pay like an egg or avocado slices. But even then, I feel like the servers don't fill up the bowl much... "/ If you're in the mood for rice and Asian fusion, this is definitely to be on your candidate list. It has a lot of better competitors for Asian fusion but one thing SeoulSpice has on others is that they are open on Sundays whereas other Asian or Asian fusion restaurants aren't. They are also kind of hidden so it's not hard to find parking after work hours or on Sundays. And lastly, they are right off the NoMa station on the red line so it's convenient to metro to too. Cheers! read more

A friend brought me here for lunch one day and it has become one of my favorite places to eat. We'd occasionally walk here form my old job, which was about :20-:30, but now I have another job,so its about a :5 walk if that. The ingredients are always fresh and the staff always greets with a kind smile and a 'How can I be of service attitude ?' When I went in yesterday to order my usual...kale salad bowl with chicken, carrots, cukes,bean sprouts and extra ginger dressing and a Kale apple juice I had forgotten my wallet. When I tell you I was so incredibly thankful they had apple-pay I was ecstatic ! It was cold in my office and I was super hungry and just walked out of the office rushing to get into the sun and forgot my wallet...you talk about relieved ! As always, the staff was kind, accommodated my apple pay request and I later enjoyed my meal. Per usual, I'll be back ! read more

It's Korean rice bowl simply put. Fast food version of Chipotle expect it's Korean cuisine. 3 choices of 3 rices. The purple rice was tasty but not sure how it got its color. You have a choice of 4 to 5 protein of different flavored pork,chicken,and beef. Then you have a choice to add corn, bean Sprouts, green onions, cilantro as a heavy garnish Then they offer 4 different sauces to coat your rice bowl. If you enjoy Korean food or rice bowls,this may be for you. The entire staff is friendly. read more

SeoulSpice - Purple Rice Bowl (Bibimbap) - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Delicious. I didn't know what to expect when I ordered tacos, but man...I was blown away. When I asked for tofu in my tacos I looked down into the pan and saw what appeared to be sad, crumbly, unseasoned tofu, but looks can be deceiving! The tofu had a good flavor and the way it was prepared made it have the look and feel of meat. The carrot ginger sauce was the most memorable part of my meal - WOW that stuff totally blew me away. It must be their take on the orange carrot dressing you get on salads at Japanese restaurants. The drinks were great too, NOT TOO SWEET! That's a huge issue I have with most fast casual homemade drinks...just way too much sugar. Theirs have great flavor and a perfect amount of sweetness. Next time I'm in the area I will definitely be back. read more

SeoulSpice - Tacos with tofu, veggies, and the FABULOUS carrot ginger sauce. 5/5! - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Great concept and good "fast" food. I'm a big fan of making my own food bowls. The portions here are very large but be aware they fill it the bowl with a lot of rice. I ordered the spicy pork and it was not really like Korean spicy pork at all. A little disappointing but it was palatable so I was able to finish it. They offer a lot of toppings that you can add to your meal. Not all toppings are free though so make sure you know what you are adding ($2 for an egg!). They also offer a variety of sauces. Service was fast and they took credit cards here. Easy to get to via metro. If I'm in the area again I'll be back to try something different. read more

Really liked the tacos here. They are huge. We had the kimchi krunch, fireball and klassic. All were great. Kimchi krunch was my favorite. Fireball was just a little too hot. Next time, I will just order two tacos per person, three is to much. Word of warning: we were charged an extra $1.40 PER TACO for beef. That seems a little excessive. read more

They cut cost by serving ground beef instead of beef slices for their bigogi. I ordered from this place for the first time and I will never order from this place again. The ground beef dishes are the worst and not pleasing to the palate. Use real quality beef for your menu and not ground beef!!!!!!!!!! No! I ordered from your restaurant in Washington DC! But no worries, keep doing what you do. My review was never about a refund ($48, Grubhub order)I ordered from your restaurant and the food was crap. Thank you for your worthless attempt to refund that order. I ordered your food and it was the worse Korean food I have ever eaten since the first Korean dish I ever ate while stationed in Seoul in 1985. Again thank you for nothing! read more

Surprisingly good. Hubs and I came in after a long day on the town and we're happy that they were still open after 9. I asked for the inspection score, and while they didn't know it, I was told it was a B. Sigh, but I was hungry and nothing close to us was open so I sucked it up. Hubs and I had a rice bowl (1/2 purple and 1/2 white) with chicken, cucumbers, bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro and kale slaw drizzled with cilantro-lime ranch and topped with crispy garlic. We were pleasantly surprised, especially with the purple rice, which tasted better than the White rice. I've wanted to go back since then but won't be able to until my next trip. Check it out! read more

SeoulSpice - Rice (purple & white) w/ chicken, carrots, bean sprouts, kale slaw, cilantro, cucumbers, cilantro lime dressing & topped w/ crispy garlic - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

My fellow and I were in the city visiting a friend and this was our first taste of DC fare. It happened to be near to a place we were visiting daily, so on our week-long trip, we stopped in here twice. We were so pleased with everything they offered. I love the concept behind build your own meal, and that there is a flat rate for whatever style (tacos, burrito, bibimbap, salad) and includes all of their base proteins and toppings (double protein, The Egg, and avocado being additional charges). The kale salad/topping was insanely good. I could have eaten just an entire plate of it. Everything looked and tasted fresh and there's a lot of food for the price. The crew working both times we visited were really friendly, the restaurant and bathrooms were clean, and I love the fact that so much of their eat-ware is compostable/recyclable (a very common thing we saw through all of DC). I wish we had a place like this in our area. I think it would do so well, considering Korean food in general (authentic or Americanized) is hard to find. read more

Seeing "Seoul Spice" in big letters got me really excited, as well as the graffiti inside, but it seems the walls are the only thing with a lot of heart. With the exception of the cashier and greeter, the rest of the staff was a bit questionable. I couldn't understand one of them because they were talking too fast and another employee didn't know what Bulgogi was; definitely not what I was expecting from a Korean chipotle. Speaking of bulgogi, it tasted very old and cheap. It looked like it was sitting in its juices for hours and that's how it tasted. I did appreciate their various selection of veggies and corn etc. The bowl altogether was alright, but being a Veteran in eating Korean food, I knew it could of been better. My girlfriend had a sushi burrito, which clearly, they did not know how to wrap because it all fell apart. Seoul Spice is good, but not great. I definitely believe they can wow me if they could somehow liven up their ingredients and staff! read more

SeoulSpice - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I came into this fast casual style restaurant when they opened on a midday. The restaurant itself is quite large and could easily accommodate 50+ people. The style is similar to Chipotle where you can build your own bowl of choose from a preset menu.There are also other options such as a wrap or a salad, but I decided to go with the bowl as I was craving a good inauthentic bibimbap. The service workers were extremely nice and warm as I walked into the restaurant and gave me a brief description on the concept and food. I went with the bulgogi bowl and added almost all the veggies. It was nice to see such a large selection of the veggies (that are supposed to mimic banchans) and definitely made the colors in my bowl "pop" out more and seem much more appealing. I also went with the purple rice to make myself feel somewhat healthier, although I'm not sure if there really are health attributes to the rice. The Korean hot sauce (infused with gochujang paste!) is a must as it gives a certain kick to the meal that sriracha and tabasco just cannot match.The flavors are decent and with my selections of veggies and toppings each bite was crisp crunchy and flavorful. Overall, I would rate this place a 3.5 in part to the fact that they were missing kimchi when I went in during opening. MISSING KIMCHI. AT A KOREAN FUSION RESTAURANT. The associate told me that they still had to make kimchi for the day...so I don't know whether she was telling the truth or if she was just covering for the fact that they didn't have kimchi left. read more

I've been on the look-out for this restaurant to open for awhile, and I'm glad it finally did! Drop by to get a quick meal with a modern twist on Korean flavors. 1. Pick your base - If you're a Chipotle-rice-bowl person, get the Rice Bowl (and try the red-bean rice for a subtly more flavorful base). If you're into the trendy sushi-rittos, get the Korrito. And if you're thinking about the tacos, don't; the tortillas were flavorless and cold, and you definitely get a lot less substance/filling. You're better off getting the first two. 2. Pick your meat - Definite yes to the beef and spicy pork. The chicken was pretty good too. 3. Pick your veggies - You're allowed to get as many as you want, so why not try them all! I didn't have any complaints about them. Get the kimchi, pickled carrots, and radish for classic Korean flavors. 4. Pick your sauce - If you like the classic Koren bibimbap taste, get the gochujang (Korean spicy sauce - it's not too spicy). If you like creamy sauces, try the sriracha or lime-ranch. If you like lighter sauces, get the ginger-carrot. All of them passed in my book. 5. Pick your toppings - Again, why not try them all? :) 6. Would you like a drink? - If you say yes, definitely try their homemade Apple Kale juice. It's refreshing and not too sweet! You can ask to try it also. 7. Want to eat in? - Go for it! There may be a lunch rush, but the line goes pretty quickly. Plus, the space is surprisingly large, so finding a seat shouldn't be a problem. read more

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Changing the way NoMa talks about Seoul Food. The fast casual style has overrun DC, but not for Korean Fusion cuisine or in the NoMa neighborhood. Attending a busy preview night, I was surprised first by how spacious this place is. LOTS of open seating, small tables tucked away for lunch meetings, and a huge bathroom. Everything anyone needs as a mid-day pit stop. The grub, as expected, is in easily labeled containers down an assembly line but with some interesting ingredients to write home about: -Spicy Pork: Plenty of tang for those white boy pallets like my own but the kick I crave. -Avocado or Egg topping choice included in the rice bowl! -Kimchi! -Purple Rice (Pepper Rice): My ultimate favorite and contender with Chiptole's Cilantro Lime Rice And if I wasn't satisfied from that start, the people behind the counter are thoughtful, excited, and ready to rock NoMa. Special thanks to the general manager who exudes excitement and a young African-American server who seemed to just enhance that. SeoulSpice gives us the familiar and efficient format with a lot of flavors that the neighborhood has been craving, plus enough leftovers for a second meal. read more

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My family is subscribed to the local Korean newspaper and when she saw that SEOUL SPICE was open, she insisted that we go because they had advertised it as the best Korean food in town! Disclaimer: I am writing this review as a Korean-American who grew up eating Korean food. We went on a Wednesday and upon entering, the atmosphere was bright and fun. The 2 employees were extremely kind and welcoming but it was dead. FYI: There's street parking directly in front of the restaurant for an hour for $1.70. The food, as mentioned in the first review, is colorful but doesn't have the taste of genuine Korean food. It really is ultimately a "Korean" version of chipotle. They marinate their beef and call it "bulgogi" and that's as Korean as it gets. You go through adding plain vegetables like: carrots, scallions, bean sprouts on top of your choice of meat and rice. You can get your food in the form of a bowl, burrito or taco. *if you want an egg with your meal that's an additional $2* I'd save your $8-10 and go to a local grocery store to buy these ingredients and make it yourself! The service was great but the food, not so much. read more

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Finally... a delicious and healthy fast-casual Korean joint in DC! I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of Seoul Spice and came to their soft-opening. I was very impressed and satisfied by the food and service. The decor of Seoul Spice is bright and lively, with pretty lights hanging from the ceiling and an awesome graffiti mural on the walls. It is quite spacious inside with ample seating. There are six signature combinations to choose from, or you can create your own rice bowl (bibimbap), korrito (kimbap), tacos, or salad. All options are $8.49 and up. After choosing your "style," the next step is to pick your protein (bulgogi beef, chicken, spicy pork, or tofu), veggies (bean sprouts, carrots, corn, cucumber, avocado, Korean radish, kale slaw, and kim chi), house made sauces (Korean hot sauce, creamy Sriracha, cilantro-lime ranch, or ginger carrot), toppings (crispy garlic, roasted sesame seeds, cilantro, and chopped scallions), and extras (soft-boiled egg for $2 or tub of kim chi for $5). I created my own bibimbap rice bowl with purple rice, bulgogi beef, carrots, cucumber, Korean radish, kim chi, all the toppings, and the soft-boiled egg. The portions were very generous and my bowl was enormous! The food was delicious - everything was so flavorful and wonderfully seasoned that I did not even need any sauce. All the food at Seoul Spice is gluten-free, and their ingredients are locally sourced and organic. Their marinades and sauces are scratch-made without any MSG. They also have a nice selection of beverages, including Asian soft drinks and fresh juices made in-house - talk about amazing! I had the kale apple cucumber juice and it was so refreshing and tasty. I'm totally digging Seoul Spice and hope that they will open up more locations soon! read more

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Unique Korean food that is fast food yet very fresh. Think Chipotle style. I had the classic bowl with purple rice, chicken, kitchen, corn carrots, fresh cilantro, bean sprouts and sesame seeds. Real great flavors. Fresh is all I could keep thinking. The flavors were very nice and I accompanied it with a Diet Coke to salve my concerns. They offer alcoholic drinks but it is very limited to beer, a Korean raspberry one and one cocktail made with yogurt. A nice break from the traditional and fast to boot. Come, pick out your goodies and enjoy. read more

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My family was staying at the Marriott nearby and we wanted something quick before a day of sightseeing without feeling too heavy. This place definitely fit the bill! The place is super airy and open, exposed ductwork with bare concrete floors and all. There was lots of natural light coming in too so it felt really cosmopolitan. This restaurant is basically set up like a Chipotle: you choose a rice and meat then you get them either in a bowl, burrito or taco. The twist is that the ingredients were all Asian inspired! I highly recommend the creamy sriracha (spicy mayo) and the purple rice to go with your meals. It's a little hard to hear the servers given the higher glass sneeze guard and the acoustics of the place but they were patient even when they misheard my parents' order. I would definitely be back if I'm in this part of DC again! read more

SeoulSpice - Bowl! ($8.49) - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

So, I think I figured out the answer to my lack-of-spice issue with SeoulSpice - S-R-I-A-C-H-A, and lots of it. I went back to SeoulSpice this past week to see if my first impression was completely off base, or if I ordered the wrong thing...etc. I changed my order up a bit (tofu, thanks to Lent), no ginger dressing and asked for a LOT of the spicy sauce. I also added the egg, which I didn't have last time. Full disclosure: when I was walking back to my office, someone on the street told me "my food look good" among another comment that I'll refrain from sharing. The bowls are quite pretty and colorful, no doubt! When I got back to my office, I opened the container and tasted the spicy sauce by itself. On a scale from 1 to 10? Maybe about a 3.5, with a touch of smokiness. I keep a bottle of sriacha at my desk and I was extremely liberal with my application. Mixed it all up, and there we go - that's the spiciness I was looking for. (Note: they do have plenty of Sriacha, but I chose to use my own because I wanted to taste the sauce by itself before deciding how much to use.) As for the egg - it was good, not great. Perhaps I was thinking the yolk would be more runny(?) and be more of a 'coating' on my meal. I'm not sure it added enough flavor to warrant the extra $2 - I probably won't get it next time. I still hold to many of the original thoughts in my first review - the portion was more than enough, the ingredients were fresh, I like that we can customize our own meals and the prices are fairly competitive (with food trucks and other establishments) with what you get. Now, if you're not a spice fanatic, chances are you won't have the same issues I did. There really are plenty of options to choose from, both by creating your own or trying one of their 'signature' ones (which are good for ideas, as well). The spice lover in me says: my one tip to SeoulSpice would be to considering offering another really, TRULY spicy sauce option. read more

SeoulSpice - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Ordered a bowl that looked good, but when I got home and opened it a small fly crawled out. #cookathome

I'll tell you why these bowls have "NO FLAVOR" it's because the toppings aren't cooked and seasoned like in real bibimbap. But for a fast food joint to keep their toppings fresh for long time, it cannot be cooked. Because cooked bibimbap toppings go bad extremely fast. So if you're going here thinkin you're gonna get an authentic bibimbap flavor, you will be disappointed. But how much gochujang can one squeeze in a bowl to get that same flavor? And on top of that eat heaping amounts of spicy mayo on top of sriracha?? Hmm, doesn't sound so healthy now, does it? Think of this place as Chipotle but with a Korean twist. Koreans and Korean food lovers will probably not find this joint impressive but all others who are hungry and don't got no time will. I did not enjoy paying $3 for a can of grape sac sac but what can I do. Added extra tofu on my fireball bowl for whopping $2.50 thinkin I'll get two big beautiful slices (saw it on Yelp pic) and it came all chopped up and disappeared in my bowl, what the hell!!! Two bowls, 1 extra item, 2 sac sac= $27 Hot diggity. You wanna whine about getting the real bibimbap flavor, then get your ass to Annandale or Falls Church!!! read more

SeoulSpice - Fire ball bowl w/ tofu as $2.50 extra, I added extra sriracha - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Very Tasty! The food is fresh and light. You do not walk away feeling sluggish after eating a nice bowl. I think I've been here at least 5 times. read more

SeoulSpice - Tofu Half Rice Half Salad Bowl - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Love the concept of fast-casual Korean food! When I walked into the store, I was a little skeptical because of how empty the restaurant was. However, I was greeted immediately when I walked in and he explained the choices to me. I opted for a salad bowl with a little bit of purple rice. Now, this isn't a super extraordinary bibimbop, but it's definitely something worth eating regularly because of the abundance of veggies and the meets. I got half (dak) chicken and half bulgogi (beef). Surprisingly, the chicken was actually a lot more tender and flavorful than the beef. Overall, I'd recommend this place. Fast service and healthy options! read more

SeoulSpice - Half beef half chicken salad bibimbop - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I really liked this place! Awesome that they're on uber eats! I tried the bowl and the burrito style roll. The meats were just amazing the fusion of flavors! Omg. Order from here, get anything you'll enjoy it! I think the only drawback is they run out of kimchi really fast, I was disappointed read more

SeoulSpice - The bowl omg so good - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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The bowls are truly excellent and very very satisfying. The flavors are so fresh and diverse, and the ingredients are so beautiful just to look at, just like a rainbow! Every color is covered! Including purple [rice]! I didn't get the famous egg but will next time. read more

SeoulSpice - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Disgusting. I'm so confused as to how this place has ratings as high as it does. I ordered the Bibimbap bowl with purple rice, chicken, all the veggies, and hot Korean sauce. It was one of the absolute worst dishes I've ever eaten. Or should I say, "half-eaten," because I threw at least half in the garbage after stomaching as much as I can. What a waste of my money! I can't even begin to explain what was wrong with this dish. From the terrible almost rubbery chicken to the less than appetizing flavor profile, this dish was a fail at every turn. So disappointed! Will definitely never eat here again. This place doesn't hold a candle to Seoul Food in Takoma DC (see my review of that place). Go there if you want some real Korean comfort food that is not simply edible, but genuinely delicious. read more

We got here a bit before 2 pm and it was still bustling with lunch patrons. The line was long but it moved quickly. Ordering is similar to how Chipotle is designed. We got a beef bowl and a salad and for $8.99 each, the portions were generous and the flavors were great! Luckily, the space is large so it is able to accommodate all the diners. Service was okay. read more

SeoulSpice - Beef salad - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

SeoulSpice you are simply terrific, I had a wonderful experience here yesterday. Such a great ambience and pleasant staff. SeoulSpice had just absolutely excellent food. I had Kimchi Krunch and really liked it. Staff are very helpful. They're attentive, respectful and always on their game. SeoulSpice - It is a unique and wonderful experience. read more

My all time favorite place to order from. Double meat and all the toppings make me happy! Try "the egg" for sure, soft boiled and delicious! Super affordable and clean food. read more

Delicious, plain and simple. Basically they took the chipotle concept and made it for Korean style BBQ. One of the main highlights is the purple rice. Don't let it scare you just because it's purple- it's some of the best tasting rice I've ever had. For protein I like the spicy pork- just enough kick without killing your taste buds. Add some cilantro ranch and veggies, plus sesame seeds and garlic and it's a fantastic lunch. Service is always super quick, and the place is actually a good size with plenty of seating. Already thinking about my next lunch here... read more

Pretty surprised about this place. I was expecting a mediocre meal, served chipotle style, decent flavors decent quality, but I couldn't be more wrong. It was a step above that if you ask me. We both got rice bowls, I got the original and my boyfriend got the seoul train and both were absolutely delicious. We both got the bulgogi meat with our bowls and it was so flavorful, it was hard to beat. We each got assorted veggies on to of our bowls and they were crunchy and fresh. You can tell they really care about quality here. We had great service from the ladies working and they were pleasant and seemed like they enjoyed their job. I will be coming back here for a great value and great food. read more

SeoulSpice - The classic bowl - Korean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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