Came here for some warm food after getting caught in the rain on Thayer and learning that Mama Kim's was not operating. It's a bare bones restaurant that's tucked away below a closed pub--walk in, order and pay at the counter, and be seated. There's free miso that's worth taking advantage of. I ordered the spicy chicken stone pot bibimbap. It was not very spicy at all, which was a letdown. Furthermore, it was pretty dry--I actually added soy sauce and some of my miso to enhance the taste of the bibimbap. Apart from those two letdowns, it was a large portion of food that tasted decent overall. read more

Ordered chicken friend rice, kimchi chicken fried rice, secret spicy wings, chicken and veg dumplings, chicken bento box. Kimchi chicken fried rice was really good. Wings were very sticky and too sweet for my taste. Chicken Dumplings were good but veg weren't great. Fried rice was just fine. Chicken in the bento box was good but rest of the stuff was not great. read more

I'm so torn writing this review because I used to love this place, but I have to agree with others that many flavors have changed and unfortunately I think something I ate here on my last visit left me not feeling so hot. I still found the flavors of my favorite spicy pork in my bibimbap very tasty, but the kimchi was subpar. I was also disappointed by the tastes of my husband's bulgogi. For what you get, I don't think the prices add up. Particularly for what other Thayer St restaurants are able to offer for similar or cheaper prices. read more

I've been back several times since my previous visits because I just can't resist Korean food, and the service here is so nice. Since then, I haven't had to ask for kim chi (thank you!) and the food is consistently tasty and satisfying. I have the day off today - maybe I'll be stopping by for lunch! ps One reviewer said the prices here were half of Sun & Moon's - that's not accurate, at least for the stone pot bi bim baps. The prices here are on par with most other Korean places I've been to up and down the East Coast. The difference, though, is that my points of comparison are restaurants where a server comes to your table and takes your order. read more

Tonight I get the beef tofu stew but it don't have any flavor, taste just like water. Sad read more

Soban Korean Eatery - Korean Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

This place used be really authentic and Korean lady was a chef and her daughters used to serve. Just so comfortable atmosphere but within a year or so after they sold the soban it went down hill..completely down hill!! All styrofoams and plastics? Are we at picnic or something? Just no-no. Even the bibimbap wasn't that good as used to be. Please come bak mama( ex-owner)!!! read more

Nice buffet with fresh vegetable choices . Vegans will be happy . The restaurant is very student oriented ...cramped and not fancy. The food is tasty although you may have to wait for quite a while if the place is crowded , usually around dinner time . A lot of variety . The reason why I prefer not to give a higher rating is the general appearance of the place . Very cramped and could be cleaner . The staff is very nice, not proficient in English , but they do work hard read more

Soban Korean Eatery - Please don't leave this near the dinner table! - Korean Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

I called in to order take out over the phone after I get out of work. The first guy told me they closed at 11pm. I told him "ok i'll call back around 10 since that's when I'm officially off. I call in again to put in my order, and this time it's a different guy. I only say hello to the guy and he already begins to get emotional and frustrated exclaiming "aw na man we're closed!" I say ok, my apologies, I only called in because another employee told me you close at 11pm. He then says "aw.. well how long is it going to take you to get here?" I explain I'm about 10-15 mins away and I'll be able to start heading there in 5 mins. I place my order, the call was a bit weird but placing my order went alright. I begin to make my way there and while on the road I get a call from a strange number. It happens to be the guy who took my order calling from a different phone and he's harassing me over the phone and begins to yell at me because I'm not there yet. I was respectful and polite over the phone but this guy just got plain rude. ALL OVER SOME FOOD. And it hadn't even been 10 mins since I initially spoke with him. I know what it's like to work in a restaurant so I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but this guy was belligerent and if he would have talked that way to me in person, there definitely would have been a different outcome for him. I tried to reason with him and he's still being rude so I told him to forget the order if he's going to act that way. I don't want to spend my money at an establishment that's going to disrespect me that way. He then proceeds to tell me he's going to call the cops on me. As an afro-latino man in this society I took that as a threat on my life. I just hung up. It's sad I was looking forward to that plate I ordered but whoever that guy was can have it since he seemed hangry. I personally wouldn't hire someone who behaves like that to work at my business. read more

The cafeteria-like environment might throw you upon walking in, but Soban is pretty good for a quick bite! I am from Northern Virginia, which has a vibrant Korean community and is where I had bibimbap for the first time (and fell in love with it). Both times at Soban I have ordered the stone pot bibimbap and it does take the experience to another level. On a cold winter day, it stays piping hot the entire time you eat it. The rice gets nutty and crisp where it is touching the pot which is quite tasty. However, for the price, I feel that the portions were a bit small. Skimpy on both the veg and the protein. I have ordered mushroom and squid versions... the mushrooms were delicious but the scant portion of squid unfortunately had the texture of rubber bands. Both times the egg yolk was cooked through a bit, which takes away from the runny goodness. The sauce is good but not very spicy. A very nice staff member the first time I was there brought me some extra gochujang which was much appreciated. Both times I left satisfied, but not full per se. Also my tummy was nice and warm as I walked through the cold winter night. Really a solid 3.5 stars. Soban does a good job, but they should either change the prices or the product so that they are more well-matched. read more

Check your credit cards!!!!! The business owners didn't like my brothers tip he gave and charged him an additional $10-15 on his credit card! Super illegal and messed up. read more

Overall the food is fine. I like their grill boxes and free small dishes. However the service is bad.

I ordered the beef dolsot bibimbap and it was perfect, made just the way I like it. There is also a banchan bar where you can get as little or as much of the side dishes as you want. The place is quite small though. read more

Soban Korean Eatery - Beef dolsot bibimbap! - Korean Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

Food was just ok. I enjoyed the service so I would be willing to try it again, plus my girlfriend said her dish was pretty good. I was disappointed in the bulgolgi, just lacked flavor and was more like Italian beef than anything else. I would avoid it. read more

Looking for reliable, relatively cheap Korean food in a pinch? I would head to Soban when I'm craving some spicy soft tofu stew (soondubu) or bibimbap (no stone bowl saves you some cash, but worth it for the splurge) but don't have the time or money to head to Denden. Ordering takeout is pretty fast, but I prefer eating in because of the supposedly unlimited sides (banchan) you can take from a small cart. Get the kimchi and the stewed potatoes, for sure! read more

Large selection of Korean dishes. The interior is not very comfortable; more like a fast food restaurant. But the service is speedy, taste is good, location is central. read more

Excellent food--highly recommended The stone bowl was really good. There are a lot of side dishes to choose from, and the cashier was friendly. The waiting time is usually around 15mins. Many of my friends like this place. read more

Soban is by far one of the best places to eat on Thayer! They have an extensive menu with a variety of Korean food along with several other popular Asian dishes (I.e. Pad Thai, ramen, etc.). They have a serve yourself buffet of sides which hangs daily and the portions are generous! I highly suggest that you overlook the hole in the wall aesthetic and venture here for a meal over Shanghai. My personal favorites here are the stone hot pots and the japchae! Also, if they have the been sprout based sides, I highly recommend them! Also be patient with the staff, for, while they're very kind, the couple who often works there do not speak great English. read more

Great service and unlimited sides. Owners are very friendly. The food tastes very authentic and reminds me of home.

Definitely the best Asian food on College Hill.

I had dinner here when they had just opened in July 2011, and was happily surprised to find a place like this in Providence (I just moved from Los Angeles, where the K-town food scene is insane). I lived in Korea for about 1.5 years, and LOVE real-deal Korean food, so.... I had the stone pot bibimbap, which was great. The gochujang was somewhat different than the kind typically served in korea, but very, very good. I wondered why they served miso soup instead of the very similar tasting, but more "Korean" doenjang chigae; I was glad it was free, of course, but why not just serve doenjang? Tastes similar, goes better with Korean food, and I think anyone going there to eat would be able to handle it. The best things were the homemade kimchi and other pickled vegetables--this always defines a good Korean joint, and they've got the goods. The place is family run, with the parents (from Korea) cooking, and the charming and friendly daughters taking food orders, serving, etc. All were very friendly and welcoming. I'd like to see things a bit more affordable for a casual place like this (maybe they'll get some lunch specials for the college budget?), but the food itself and overall experience was great. I'll definitely go back soon, and look forward to watching this cool new restaurant grow! read more

Soft tofu soup was excellent. Great flavor and tender meat, dumplings were not good. Over fried and dry and definitely not worth the price.

I was incredibly excited to see a new Korean restaurant on Thayer Street, offering dishes not available at other Korean restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, the quality of the food on the day I went was terrible. I was there at lunchtime on a hot day and ordered naengmyeon, a dish whose name translates to "cold noodles". $11.95 got me a bowl of lukewarm, congealed noodles with very little sauce and a few sad slivers of wilted cucumber. The food at the buffet looked like it had been there for days. Maybe they will get their act together and improve the quality of their food, but for now it's a definite no. read more

l am Korean , and l think Soban is most delicious korean food in RI. And their taste is so close to original Korean food~! when l remember my mom's food l go to Soban here. And they use none or less GMS, l think. Anywya enjoy ~!! read more

The servers are not very friendly! I have been several times and each time, the women who works there is not friendly! This last visit she embarrassed my friend for going up to the side dishes more than once, but there is not a sign saying you can only go up once! The food is ok, but have gotten it before and it has been cold! If you want good Korean you should go to Teriyaki house! The service is awesome and the food is amazing! read more

Been here so many times. Soban offers comfort Asian food in Providence, which is often seriously lacking, although prices are quite high. Delicious steaming soft tofu stew in a cold New England winter. read more

When you go inside you expect it to be nice, but instead it's a little dingy. I come in with my friends and there's smoke from the food they were cooking earlier. Our meals came first before our appetizers. For the size of the food, it should not be that much. They are on the expensive side by a bit. Not sure I would come again. I might give them a second chance, but who knows. Plus the food was okay. There wasn't that much flavor put into it. You could definitely find a better Korean spot than here. read more

Ordered food on Uber Eats and it took an hour and many changes of Uber drivers for me to decide something was wrong and they basically refused to fill my order because they were understaffed BUT my issue is the lack of communication. I spent an hour waiting to end up calling and they said they weren't even going to try and fulfill the order because inside restaurant customers come first. Okay thanks I guess. Btw my order was over $90, it was only 6 items and I tipped the drivers well before I even got the food because of the many times I've eaten here I've actually enjoyed it. read more

The taste of food is really good. I'm from China and my roommate is from South Korea. Both of us are regulars here. And he told me the taste here is similar to the taste in restaurant in Korea, compared to those Korean restaurants in downtown. My recommendation is soondubu with seafood. I usually have once a week. The only star I deducted is for the enviroment in this restaurant. It is clean but just too simple, looks like a delivery restaurant, although they never deliver. read more

After watching the incisive and thought provoking Bio-Pic social commentary doc "I'm not Your Negro" at the Cable Car, we opted for this Thayer St establishment. Very reliably good Korean chow. Diego had the Chicken Udon Noodle bowl. He gave it a 3.5/5. Miyako Eel Stone bowl Bibimbap She gave it a 4/5. Isabela Spicy Pork Stone Bowl Bibimbap she gave it a 4/5. I had the Beef Stone Bowl Bibimbap. I gave it a 4.25/5. The noise level with the place packed with presumably Brown undergrads debating, and flexing their late teen, 20something intellectual range and recently acquired knowledge about sociopolitical perspectives on a range of 20 century history. At one point we all wished Calgon would whisk us away! It rivaled a runway with jumbo jets taking off from every direction. All and all we will likely avoid the 7-8pm time slot to avoid testing our nervous system. That said the chow was certainly worthy of future visits. Salud! read more

Got the chicken bbq box that made me sick- pad thai was flavorless, and the scallion pancakes were soggy

I have to admit to being a bit disappointed in this place. The food is okay - not stellar, but also not bad, just okay. I've never seen the buffet actually in use, no matter when I come, so I've only tried the a la carte dishes. The cabbage kimchi does not seem to be house-made, which is disappointing. They did have seemingly-house-made oi sobeagi (cucumber kimchi) when I asked specifically about it, but they seemed VERY surprised that I asked, and kept asking if I was sure I wanted spicy food. Which is one of my two biggest gripes about this place. I get it, I'm not Korean, but I adore Korean food, and eat a lot of it. I don't expect people to just know that I want my food spicy, but when I ask for spicy, WHY must you argue at length with me about it? The other issue I have is the price. The bibimbap is an INSANE $14. Unless you eat like a bird, there's not enough there for leftovers, either, which might have gone some way toward justifying the price. The yuk gae jang, while quite serviceable, is also several dollars more than the same dish at either Sun & Moon or Sura (downtown), with less meat and vegetables in it. (I also accused it of being made with chicken or vegetable broth instead of the usual rich beef.) I was SO EXCITED at the arrival of Korean on Thayer St, and I wish them well, but I don't think I'll go back often. read more

Went here for the first time and ordered a veggie bowl with tofu. Loved it so much that I came back the next day and got the salmon bim bop in a stone pot. It was so delicious. You could hear the rice sizzling and getting crispy. One of the best things was the salad bar that provides great free sides. Only negative is that decor and atmosphere is like a rundown cafe. I'm totally cool with that but they charge a pretty high price for what they are giving their customers. read more

I liked Soban so much before the change in management at the end of the summer. Their food was very good, the service friendly. It had an authentic and charming air. Now, however, it has gone terribly downhill. All the former staff are gone, who had been there since the restaurant opened. No longer does one get any service. Banchan are no longer served to one with each meal. Instead, there is a big and rather messy looking buffet filled with kimchee and other stuff for one to pick out. None of the banchan taste as good as they used to. They no longer have real bowls for miso soup, nor real cups for drinks. Instead, one uses foam cups and bowls, which I cannot understand. And, one has to get one's own food now, which I find rather annoying for the prices. The food has gone terribly downhill as well. The eggs with bibimbaps are runny and mucky, whereas they used to be hot and crisp. They put shredded lettuce in their vegetable bibimbap as filler. The remaining ingredients feel dull and flavourless. Their stews have similarly declined in quality. I don't understand it. Soban had a lot going for it. Now, however, I'd stay away. The prices don't even remotely warrant what one gets. read more

I'M SO TORN. I used to love this place, they had great food and portions and a very very reasonable price for Thayer st. However after recent management changes.... The food just doesn't taste the same... and the portions... I thought maybe they had made a mistake because my Ddukbbokki maybe had 8 pieces of rice cake and no Odeng (fish cake)... It was pretty ridiculous.I also saw their prices have gone up... IT'S SO SAD. I really did love this place and the owners before... Too bad I won't be able to enjoy coming here anymore... Also to the old owners i'd like to say Thanks for everything while you were still around! Hope you guys are doing well with whatever new ventures you start! read more

I don't understand how Soban has under 4 stars. Maybe the food seems expensive but in New York the prices usually run higher and the quality is not as good. I've only tried the Yook Gae Jang, but it was absolutely delicious, well-portioned, and filling. It's safe to assume that most people (that aren't Korean) don't choose this since it's so spicy you'll probably choke the first time you eat it, but Soban got it just right which is hard to do. I'll definitely be back to try the BBQ. read more

I'm not sure how the food is here, but the service is completely terrible. I bought a meal for a homeless woman and I think I was scammed by both the woman and the worker at Soban. I was overcharged for the meal and the worker was being extremely uncooperative and silent when I was trying to figure out why the charge was so high. Anyway, I am not sure if the worker was in on the scam or if she was genuinely confused, but I will not be trying the food here anytime soon because of this service. read more

I got tofu bibimbap (#26). It was delicious! They messed up my order but realized without me saying anything and fixed it very quickly. But it took a long time for my friend's udon to arrive--I was almost done with my dish by the time it came. All the menu items are affordable, and you get a good amount for food for your money. I can't comment on the authenticity, though. Definitely check out this hidden gem! read more

I think the best menu at Soban is the bibimbap, which is like a safety menu for most Korean restaurants in America. You can choose the kind of meat or tofu to have on top of your bibimbap, which is a nice little choice that they give. Other foods are generally okay but nothing that really stands out or is superb-Personally, having the water, basic soup, and the utensils as self-service and the foods being brought to you creates a little confusion but they don't have a lot of people working their so I can understand that I guess..They are closed on Sundays because the owner is a pretty big religious dude so FYI on that- read more

Love the soondubu! And the complimentary miso soup. Standard korean fare with typical prices on par with Sura and Teriyaki. The taste is awesome though! :) And the owners are friendly and welcoming. read more

HOW NICE! It is Thanksgiving tonight and they share a plate of delicious turkey with me while they are having their happy family dinner I feel so honered and welcomed. The Bibimbap I ordered is very good! read more