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    Sodam

    4.5 (527 reviews)
    InexpensiveKorean, Tea Rooms, Bakeries
    Open 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Sodam Takeout or Delivery

    Sodam Photos

    Business Info

    SODAM ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Sodam

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    L: kimchi & banchan | R: groceries fridge, sm freezer & seating | R back: cup ramen station | Counter: cooked noms | Island: sweets & snacks
    Nettie S.

    * foodie DEETS here * - review #206, 09.22.25's visit Been wanting to stop by the only kimbap place I've came across in Tri-Valley. Yelp pix had outdated prices tho. So, I'm updating. V I B E S . . . Small, unassuming Korean mkt w/ bamboo shades drawn, at the corner of a semi-deserted outdoor strip mall. Enter into an open space w/ kimchi & banchan fridge along left wall, double grocery fridge on the right, & tiny standalone freezer case w/ limited supply. Surprised to see tables against the right wall to eat at. Right, back corner was a cup ramen station (5.95, add-ons avail), drink mixes, & snacks. Packaged, cooked items were at the counter. Lastly, sweets & better snacks were on the island. N O M S . . . - Fishcake Kimbap, 9. | 2 small rolls - Gobo Kimbap, 7.5 | 1 fatter one w/ above + burdock root. GET - Beef, 8. & Spicy, 7.5 avail, but not for me - Jab-Che, 7. | classic, clear vermicelli noodles - Wings (~8), reg or spicy, 12. | -20%, hr before closing Also avail: - street food | spicy ricecake & fishcake soup (+udon) - various pancakes | get the sampler pack! - shaved ice, seasonal D R I N K S . . . Slushie machine w/ 2 flavs, Shik-he (refreshing rice) & Green Plum. Coffee & teas also avail. S E R V I C E . . . Language barrier made it so hard to communicate, unfortunately. Clerk seemed kinda nice otherwise. Return? maybe, if in the area P.S. If u found what I spent time on to be of help, show this (Asian) sista some love by SMASHing a reaction & FOLLOWing me if u don't already!! ;-P Thx in advance & may there be more noms in our futures...

    Getting some kimchee and other goodies
    Cheryl M.

    Sodam is a small (and dark) Korean mom-and-pop shop offering savory, sweet prepared items, variety of banchans (sides) and snacks. I usually pick up the following items to go: :: KIMBAP (Korean rice and filling, seasoned with sesame oil rolled in seaweed) - good :: MANDU - Korean dumplings - cabbage, pork, chicken or vegetarian) :: JAPCHAE - a type of chewy, translucent glass noodle made from sweet potato starch mixed with variety of vegetables of carrots, spinach, green onions with sweet soy and sesame oil - yummy! :: Fried and glazed wings - these are a hit or miss for me. Always best eaten fresh so any crispness is lost :: BANCHANS - various side dishes like Kimchi - salted and fermented spicy Napa cabbage, radish, etc - delicious kimchi and hits the spot Items available off a menu like fish cakes and Korean street food, Tteokbokki which is a chewy rice cakes cooked in a red, spicy broth. A couple of tables for dining but mainly set up for take out. Pricing reasonable. Service friendly and helpful with explaining items. Small, shared lot.

    Japchae
    Terrysue T.

    This is a great place to get Korean food to go! I've been here many times and always love getting their fresh kimbap, their fried chicken, and their japchae! I also love getting their pre-made refrigerated items too - tofu soup, kimchee, spinach, and other banchan type foods. They also have marinated meats but I haven't tried it yet. This place is pretty much like a small Korean store with snacks, drinks, and other Korean food. They even have fresh rice drinks which I love too. The ladies there are always so nice and friendly.

    outside
    Amy Y.

    Good thing I live far away from this mom and pop mini food store, or I'd probably almost eat out daily! It's a very, very small "mart" that spells imported Korean groceries and their own homemade Korean side dishes and meals - a lot of cold banchan, Korean fried chicken, kimbap, savory pancake, blood sausage, marinated raw meat, japchae, mandu, tteok-bokki, fishcake, and rice cake desserts. They also have a heating station for packaged ramen, and a small seating area. They are very kind and humble, and it's definitely worth a detour to take home some fresh Korean food and snacks if you're in this area. They will discount 20% off the prepared items towards the end of the day.

    kim bap and corn tea
    Aletta A.

    Stopped in for the first time after somebody gave them a shout out on NextDoor. Never knew about this place. Nice variety of frozen food, ban chans, snacks, desserts, and ready to eats. There's also a little area to make your ramen.

    Menu
    Tina T.

    This place is so cute! We got the beef kimbap for lunch, it was cold but they had a microwave so I just heated it up. Theres some tables and seating so we ate our lunch here. Theres a good selection of Korean sides in the fridge, and snacks they sell, and warm food to order. They even have individual ramen packets and the self-serve ramen maker you can use to boil the ramen!

    Beef kimbap and sweet rice cake (red bean)
    Sylvia K.

    Came here on a Thursday around 2:45pm. We got the beef kimbap and the red bean rice cake. Both were so good!! Beef kimbap was very fresh and flavorful. Rice cake was very soft!! Red bean wasn't too sweet. It was perfect. One of the best rice cake I've had!

    Rice cakes, looks interesting to try
    Sherri W.

    Craving my Ttekkboki so while in the area had to stop by & got carried away. While arriving after 4:30pm the sweets table was very sparse, but I was happy to spot the White Bean Injelmi. A powdery sweet treat filled with white bean paste all wrapped in a chewy mochi outer shell always leaves me satisfied. Not intending to buy, I got enticed with the 20% off sign for the chicken wings & decided on the spicy wings. It had a nice sweet & spicy sauce that was perfect bc I don't like overly sweet wings & highly recommend. The real reason for the trek to Sodam was their Tteokkboki. Sometimes tteokkboki can be a little too sweet, but not at Sodam. I would suggest eating the chewy rolls while it is hot, otherwise the rice cake rolls get a little hard. Sodam is a hidden gem, that I hope stays for a long time.

    Angela T.

    We love Sodam! Great banchans and snacks! We love everything at Sodam from their banchans, fishcake kimbap, eomuk tang, tteokbokki, sikhye, and the tteok desserts! They now have Han river style self serve ramen! The only thing I wish Sodam did was --be open on Sundays. I always crave their food on Sundays, but they're closed on Sundays. We will continue to support Sodam even when HMart opens!

    Chicken wings and drums are my favorite
    Karrie L.

    I tried their seafood pancake today and it was so good! Also got my usual cucumber kimchi and beef gimbap. Also updating menu photos

    A L.

    Don't want to wait in line at H-Mart? Go to Sodam. This local family run small Korean grocery, grab n go, eatery has served the community for many years. Prices are reasonable. Food is homemade and tastes authentic. It's a small place with limited seating. Most go for take out of the food in the refrigerator, freshly made snacks including generously packed kimbap. Go support this local authentic store!

    Menu
    Shanna P.

    Whenever I am in the area, I always make sure to stop by here! This place is perfect when you're in a rush. For under $10, you can get a meal that can make you full. I ordered the beef kimbap when they were closing, and they're so sweet that they made a fresh batch for me. I also like how they have so many different options with their menu, snacks, ramen station, side dishes, and drinks.

    Fishcake Kimbap
    Tiffany C.

    Picked up some food for lunch while in the area. Simple pre-made hot food menu display right in front of you. A good place to pick up for lunch or dinner for lazy nights. Bought the bibimbap, spicy fish cake, a plum drink, and a fish cake rolls to go. It is quick in and out. Fish cake rolls are always my fav.

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    4 months ago

    Cute little market with frozen foods, side dishes and ready to eat foods to go. Friendly service.

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    they carry excellent korean snacks. Their ddukboki is great. And we also buy dduk (plain rice cake) to make dduk soup.

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    Page 1 of 14

    Sodam Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Sodam

    Can you sit & eat in here?

    Yes there are a few booths inside

    How much is a tray of jop chae?

    $6.50

    So you currently have japchae or any vegan options?

    They had japchae the last time I was there. Not 100% which items are vegan though so you would need to ask them.

    Are your japchae & kimbap gluten free?

    The Japchae uses potato noodles and the kimbap is gluten free. Or does have fish cake or beef.

    Do you sell homemade kimchi?

    I see jugs and small clear boxes of kimchee in their fridge inside the store. Might be homemade, not sure but they do sell kimchee.

    View All 7 Questions

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    Tasty Pot

    Tasty Pot

    4.4
    (1.2k reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$

    I've been meaning to write this review since July 2021--at least, that's how old my first set of…read morephotos is from when I intended to post a review. But years later, Tasty Pot at Ulferts Center is still one of our reliable go-to spots in Dublin. My wife usually orders the Beef Hot Soup, while I go for the Taiwanese Supreme Spicy Hot Soup - both with a side of rice and either black or green tea during lunchtime. Both pots are consistently delicious, satisfying, and served steaming hot - the kind of hot that clears your sinuses and makes your nose run. For reference, we order them at the "medium" spice level, so either we're weak sauce or they really are that hot and spicy. I especially like that Tasty Pot's meals are complete individual servings. You get the full hot-pot experience without having to fetch ingredients, wait for a communal pot to cook, or coordinate a family-style meal. It's easy, convenient, and perfect when everyone just wants to dig into their own bowl. Service has always been fast, and the food comes out piping hot and ready to enjoy. The wait staff also checks in to see whether you are running low on soup and need a top-off. They also have a rewards program that earns you points toward a free hot pot; it has changed over the last couple of years from a "buy seven, get one free" setup to a points-based system - either way, it's a nice bonus. If you're craving comforting Taiwanese-style hot pot in the Dublin, Pleasanton, or Livermore area, this is an easy five-star choice.

    My sister recommended Tasty Pot because she said it was well known for its soup and good service,…read moreso we decided to give this location a try. Unfortunately, our experience at the Dublin location was extremely disappointing. We visited on August 8, 2026, at around 8:45 PM. We are a family of 9 and were just passing through the area on our way to our hotel. Since the restaurant's website states that the closing time is 9:30 PM, we thought we had enough time to have dinner, especially since this was our first time visiting. As soon as we arrived, however, we were told by the server that 8:45 PM was the last call for orders. We immediately tried to order as quickly as possible using the online ordering system because we did not want to inconvenience the staff. After placing our order, we were then told that green tea and other teas were unavailable, so all of our drink orders were canceled except for water. We understood that items can sometimes run out, so we let that go. The biggest problem was the service and atmosphere after we received our food. It was very difficult to get the attention of the staff because everyone seemed to be rushing around cleaning. We genuinely felt like we were a burden simply because we were still eating. What was especially inappropriate was that while customers were still dining, the staff began putting chairs up on the tables. I even took a picture because I believe management should be aware of what was happening. If the restaurant is still open and customers are still eating, this is not the kind of atmosphere customers should be subjected to. Even worse, it appeared that the AC was turned off while we were still eating, even though it was not yet closing time. With hot pot already being a very warm meal, we were literally sweating while trying to eat. After a long day of traveling, the last thing we wanted was to feel rushed and uncomfortable during dinner. We tried not to make a big issue out of it because we were tired and simply wanted to finish our meal and get to our hotel. But honestly, this type of service is unacceptable. I don't know if this is how every Tasty Pot location operates, but if this is specific to this branch, management really needs to address it and properly train the staff on how to treat customers who are still dining during business hours. Unfortunately, this was our first experience with Tasty Pot, and it will most likely be our last. We were hoping to enjoy the food and understand why my sister recommended it, but the poor service and uncomfortable atmosphere completely ruined the experience. With hot pot, the food is already hot enough. There's no need for the customers to leave with a boiling-hot temper because of the service. Very disappointing, and definitely not a place I would recommend based on this experience.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Seafood Lobster Hot Soup
    Seafood Lobster Hot Soup
    2.15.2025

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    2.15.2025
    Happy Lamb Hot Pot

    Happy Lamb Hot Pot

    3.9
    (799 reviews)
    3.8 mi
    $$
    Large group friendly
    Casual dining

    Came for dinner on the last day of their during their 20th anniversary promo and was impressed with…read moreeverything! Despite the chaotic lines and super long waitlist, our experience was lovely when we got in after a little over a two hour wait (joined around 4:30PM and were seated around 6:45PM). The hotpot ingredients were organized, clean, and well-stocked. The meats came out relatively quickly. Service was extremely attentive and friendly. Sauce bar was clean and stocked as well. Plentiful side dishes. I've been to this Happy Lamb before and had a fine experience that time as well. Just had to shout out this location for giving us another great dinner experience during an epic promotion (:

    It's been awhile since I've been to this location. This is now called Happy Lamp. I used to know it…read moreas Little Sheep, but it looks like it went through some rebranding but it is still a hot pot place. Some pros to this place is that now it is an ACYE and still has lamb options! I came here with a large party. You can make reservations in advance which is great. We were seated promptly when we arrived. However, since the party was pretty big (larger than 10), the table we sat at felt awkwardly position. It was round but it definitely has the cooking stoves in the center. It was hard to cook since we had to reach out to them, there were 4 cooking apparatus in the center. Also, this table felt very private - so there's definitely pros and cons to it since there's a barracade that enclosed it. There's also hot foods that is a self-serve buffet, this includes french fries, chicken wings, chow mein, fried rice. I didn't try the chow mein and fried rice. My kids ate the chow mein and some of the fried foods and gave my a thumbs up. They definitely enjoyed the french fries and there's also sesame ball in this hot food buffet section. There's a separate section for DIY sauce bar which has all the essential sauces I like. There's also another self-serve buffet section of raw foods which includes a variety of vegetables, dumpling, quail egg etc. The meat are ordered with the wait staff. If you order off the premium menu, it also includes some hot foods such as the lava baos which my kids adore. As for the broths, I think I'll stick the original bone marrow broth. I do feel like there's a herbal or distinct taste to the broths but it is still fine. I tried the spicy one and the tomato-based one. Although they are good, I prefer the simplicity of the broths sometimes so sticking to the original broth. I still enjoyed all the meats. I had the lamb and it was what I expected. The higher quality meats were fine as well. They do come around to refill the broth as well. As for ending the menu, there's self-served soft serve which you can put in a cone or a cup. They also have those fried dough with condensed milk which is delicious. Of note, I find the water here has a metallic taste. Unclear if it is due to the city of Dublin water or it has something to do with the restaurant. Overall, still a pleasant experience and would definitely return to enjoy hot pot!

    Photos
    Happy Lamb Hot Pot
    Happy Lamb Hot Pot
    Happy Lamb Hot Pot

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    Go Goong

    Go Goong

    3.5
    (558 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    Just discovered my new favorite Korean restaurant tucked away in a back corner of a small shopping…read moreplaza which houses Paris Baguette and the Bagel Bakery on Regional street in Dublin. Ordered the hot stone (sizzler) beef bibimbap which was delicious and very filling, served with the usual accompaniment of sprouts and kimchi, etc. It was empty on a Friday afternoon when we sat down but had a steady influx of people and was busy by the time we left. It's a hidden gem down the street from the recently opened HMart which has a food court that was overflowing when I swung by this past weekend.

    I've eaten here once or twice in the past when they first opened, and honestly, there are much…read morebetter Korean food options in the Tri-Valley area. I hadn't been back in years until yesterday, when my usual spot was closed and my mother and I stopped by out of convenience. Unfortunately, the experience reminded me why I hadn't returned. The customer service was lacking -- we were never checked on during our meal and I had to repeatedly look for an employee to request a refill of a banchan and later, flag someone down when I was ready to pay. To make matters worse, I was surprised to find that the kimchi fried rice did not include any protein. Charging $20 for kimchi fried rice without any meat or protein is cruel and poor value for the price... I cannot stomach paying high prices for mediocre food and inattentive service. I will not make the same mistake of coming back again.

    Photos
    Go Goong
    Go Goong
    Spicy pork belly - pork was tender with wonderful flavor, a bit like "twice cooked pork" (02/2024)

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    Spicy pork belly - pork was tender with wonderful flavor, a bit like "twice cooked pork" (02/2024)
    Young Dong Tofu House

    Young Dong Tofu House

    3.6
    (539 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    Finally made it back here and it did not disappoint. We ordered the seafood pancake, and assorted…read moretofu soup, and everything was delicious. I love the variety of banchan they serve, and the pancake was the perfect dish to share. The soondubu was packed with flavor, and I had to pair it with a Terra beer--great combo. It can get really busy during peak hours, but we came for an early lunch and only had a short wait. That just shows how popular this place is. There were plenty of regulars dining in, including my friend who brought me. If you live in the Tri-Valley, you don't have to drive far for great soondubu. There are definitely more Korean restaurants popping up around here these days, but this spot has been an OG since I was a kid, and it's still one of my favorites.

    I came back with my boys again this past Th as they wanted tofu pot again. I decided to try…read moresomething new, the seafood pancake, but it was a bit disappointing as the seafood pancake was not crunchy, but soggy. I won't get the seafood pancake next time, will stick with my usual tofu pot soup. Service was fine. No side dish fish when you don't order an entree, I didn't get one. Only my boys got the side dish fish this time, the fish was a bit more soggy too this time as I was informed. I am wondering if we got a batch that was left out for awhile like the seafood pancake. We came on a Th night around 6pm. My experience this time was not good as I had a stomachache after eating here and had to go use the restroom after leaving. Let's just say my tummy did not like what I ate. I suspect it was the seafood pancake. Stick with the tofu pot.

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Seafood pancake
    Seafood pancake
    Seafood tofu soup

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    Seafood tofu soup

    Sodam - korean - Updated August 2026

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