I can't believe I live within a 15 minute walk and have never been here. It's crazy good! First I was impressed with the beers on tap, which were mostly local/regional and no light beers or beers from the big guys. They had a lot of good looking cocktails but I'll save that for next time. I had the dumplings- half and half. Tasty!! I thought I'd like the pork more, but I think I liked the tofu. Both really good though. Next I had the katsu chicken Curry. Totally hit the spot especially on a cold night like this (will be 9 degrees tonight!). I didn't finish it all but it was an internal struggle inside not to try. Can't wait to come back. Great people too!! read more

Soju - Chicken Katsu Curry - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This place is bomb af, Great service and it gets packed pretty quickly. The grapefruit soju is my jam! Weekends are crazy busy here come early for sure late night will be a wait! read more

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Located on Penn on the edge of Garfield and Bloomfield, this restaurant brings a fresh and bright twist on classic Korean American staples. The decor, is *also* fresh and bright, and the atmosphere is verifiably hip. Soju, a distilled spirit featured in many of cocktails on their impressive drinks menu, is the perfect choice of name for a restaurant that has distilled some of the best cultural dishes into their modern fare reinvented counterparts. Chef Simon Chough clearly takes great pride in his work, and often comes out and greets his guests. The menu is solid with something for everyone, and if you are not Korean American, probably provides an opportunity to learn and taste something new. read more

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The killer tofu makes it difficult to not go vegetarian. The drinks were some of the best I've ever had. The artwork was fun and interesting to look at. read more

First off, expect a long wait. I'd recommend putting your name in and then doing something else - your local galleries, go somewhere for a drink. I got the barbecue combo and it was amazing . The service, even with the wait, was jovial. Also recommend the killer tofu appetizer. Honestly it seemed like a good deal for the money. read more

First off, the place is extremely small. And the service was just a little odd, not bad, just odd. She wasn't mean, but she wasn't nice, if any of that makes sense. We tried the Gimbap, chicken Katsu, Poke, and matcha pie. Honestly they were all really good. The chicken Katsu was much better than most places and don't let the picture of the Poke full you, it was a very good amount of fish. The pie though was excellent. Super fluffy and not too sweet. I think this is a really good place for a date or a small group of friends, definitely wouldn't bring a group here read more

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This place has a lot of character, from decorations to the china plates. The food has an American twist to it, but very delicious. Family style seating at long tables. The ownership is the chef and he came out to introduce himself and thank us for coming. Waitress service was generally good, but took a long time to get our check after we asked for it. Would comeback again for more. read more

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Absolutely incredible- that kimchi fried rice is unforgettable. Very friendly waitstaff. clean, stylish restaurant- love the eccentric art on the walls. Might be in my Top 10 favorite restaurants of all time. Looking forward to my next visit already. read more

My husband and I tried Soju on a Tuesday for our date night. We recently visited a Korean restaurant in Boston that I loved with a similar menu so I was super excited to try Sojus menu. We went in around 7:30 on a Tuesday. As soon as we walked in a table opened up so we didn't have to wait which was nice. There are maybe only 10 tables and a small bar area in the restaurant so I could see it getting really busy on the weekends so plan accordingly. We ordered the Mandu to start, then Chicken Katsu and Kimchi Fried Rice with beef for entrees. We shared everything and it was more than enough food. The mandu was ok. (I'm still comparing to the ones I had in Boston. I dream about these things man. Maybe I loved them so much because I was hungover haha). My husband liked them very much though. The chicken katsu was fine. Nothing super special to me. What earned this place 5 stars was the kimchi fried rice! Oh man! Amazing! I couldn't stop saying how good it was. My mouth is watering as I'm typing! I'm looking forward to going back to Soju for the kimchi fried rice and I'll definitely try some other offerings on their menu! read more

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I very much want to come back here to try their cocktails! They looked amazing, but I was driving so it was not meant to be. At about 8pm on a Saturday night we waited ~45min for a table for two: no problem because they will call you when your table is ready, so we passed the time at Mixtape 2 doors down (of course Mixtape sometimes also has a wait...) I had the kimchi fried rice and it was delicious! So much more flavorful than I was expecting. My friend had the Bulgogi, and she described it as "so much better than at other places". They were out of dessert, which was probably better for our health anyway Delicious food and lovely atmosphere! I'll be back for those drinks someday read more

Soju - Kimchi fried rice - delicious! - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Lots of hustle, no-nonsense vibe with great food. We didn't know what to expect when we went looking for a Korean BBQ place when we found Soju. There's no grills on the tables, but no lack of flavor and experience. We had the rice cake appetizer and some classic fare for the meal. We received generous portions of well-crafted dishes. The staff never stopped moving, and were friendly and attentive. Not that it matters, but we never saw any Koreans working here, which speaks volumes about someone's attention to the food. However it works, it was a great experience for us. The odd little bar down the street was a nice way to wait for a table also. read more

I came here thinking it was really good, because it had a 5 star average and it just opened up. However, I was pretty disappointed. This was among the worst Korean food I've had, especially for the price. I ordered the bulgogi, and for the price of $18, it was definitely not what I expected. First of all, the bulgogi was not cut properly. It was more of a steak (?) and the portion was small. It came with some side dishes, but they were in a small bowl, which is unlike what I've had in other Korean restaurants. The flavor of the bulgogi was extremely sweet, but alright. It didn't taste super Korean, but I could see the appeal. It wasn't exactly "bad" - just not good. I would definitely not come here if you're looking for an authentic Korean experience, and if you like fusion food, I guess this is closer to that. However, flavor could be improved, and prices could be lowered, or portion size increased. One good thing though was that the service was friendly, and food didn't take long to get there. read more

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Soju is a new and upcoming Korean restaurant in Bloomfield that is highly overrated. Me and my group of friends were craving authentic and well-made Korean food and we saw this place open up and decided to go. The first impressions of this store were promising - the decor was contemporary and waitresses friendly. However, we were given A4 paper menus with a limited selection of choices. I ordered the bibimbap for 18 dollars (it was 14 dollars + 4 dollars for beef which I thought was absurd and reflects a poor pricing strategy). The food itself was pretty good, I would argue a little too sweet but given the target audience it makes sense, but absolutely not worth the price of nearly 20 dollars. The bibimbap also comes with no side dishes, a necessary practice in Korean cuisine. TLDR: service and ambience is good, food is decent, but definitely not worth the price. Would not come again. read more

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My friend and I came on a Thursday evening around 7 and it was packed! It's a great vibe with jazz music playing and hipsters all around. For food, we ordered the seafood pancake (made with scallops), ahi tuna poke and galbi. The Poke was an extremely generous portion of tuna with both flavors of sauces. The galbi was finger linkin good!!! The cocktails were also amazing - I got the Bloody Mary made with kimchi, one of the best I've ever had. Can't wait to come back. read more

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Food was excellent. I recommend the Poke Bowl. Service was great and timely. This restaurant is quite busy and it seems to be a favorite spot for locals. read more

Went to Soju with a friend this past Tuesday evening around 7. Was able to get a table in the back without a reservation, but most others were filled. Figured we had to start with their namesake, a Korean distilled liquor, which you drink by the shot. Tried a bottle of the original unflavored, which was tasty! But I'm a newbie to this beverage so have nothing to compare. Decided to ease in with a few apps. Kimchijeon, which the menu describes as a spicy, savory pancake with house made kimchi and mung beans. Arrived as a cut quesadilla-looking thing with a slight kimchi hue and a steamed, limp texture. The dipping sauce had a pleasant spice, but overall it was a disappointment. Spicy Tuna Gimbap, or "raw ahi tuna marinated in spicy mayo, egg, pickled daikon radish, cucumber, carrot in a rice and seaweed wrap," was nicely flavored and textured, but I've had similar, with better results and less expensive at sushi bars. The Korean Fried Chicken (double fried for the crispiest chicken, served with house made hot dipping sauce and sweet dipping sauce) was the biggest disappointment of all. Whole chicken wings and drums with a crispy coating flavored entirely by salt, fried until the meat was jerky. KFC usually stands out for its crackling crisp crust, yet moist meat, flavored with soy ginger or similar. Here it was inedibly salty and you could barely tell there was meat in it. The mains looked tempting, but we decided to cut our losses and try our luck elsewhere. A pleasant atmosphere, but a pricey letdown. read more

Soju - Kimchijeon, Spicy Tuna Gimbap and KFC - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Soju was good. I didn't have the highest expectations going in, but I was pleasantly surprised. The space inside is small, but the atmosphere is great. Although it's a Korean restaurant and they have some Korean dishes (ie: kimbap, bulgogi), it's more Korean American/fusion since there's poké and other Japanese inspired dishes like chicken katsu and curry. I shared the kimbap, which is like a Korean Sushi, and it was great. We also had nori fries which weren't anything too special. For my entree, I had the spicy pork tenderloin dish which came with banchan (side dishes) in one bowl. Although the plates looked small, the portions were pretty big. I will be back to try out other dishes and some soju drinks! read more

Delicious tteokboki and options for vegetarians and meat eaters to share! My friends and I were having trivia at Two Frays brewery nearby and looking for appetizers to share. Soju was absolutely the perfect move- it was ready for takeout quickly after ordering and everything was hot and delicious. read more

Overall, this place is over-rated, as I assume people are fooled by its appearance instead of paying attention to the food selection and taste. Despite the fact that the restaurant is listed as a restaurant, a label as bar may suit it better, because the menu is extremely limited. Besides, the food cannot even be called Korean fusion. It is purely a deviation of Korean based on misunderstanding. I ordered the kimchi fried rice and BBQ chicken. The fried rice is way too sour, as many other reviewers have stated, and you know that the kimchi is the problem. BBQ chicken is average, or let's put it this way, you can grill it yourself without any efforts. I didn't try any drinks, as many reviewers have said that they were too sweet. Good taste? Maybe, who hates sweetness? However, I don't plan to get diabetes. The restaurant is worth 3 stars, as you can tell that it tries hard based on its hipster decor and the Asian Fusion style. I will give it 2 stars to warn you that it is overrated. read more

Soju - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Food here was great as usual. The service was great as well because they recommended the poke and the soup. The poke was fresh which is important when you live inland and I have a hard time finding raw fish in Pittsburgh. The beef noodle soup was warming and flavorful. read more

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Great food, great cocktails, great vibes. We will definitely be back to try more dishes. We arrived at 4:55 to a line and the place was full by 5:15. read more

Soju - Bbq combination player, Nori French fries, Bibimbap - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Great place with great Korean food. We stopped by on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Incredible experience, between the food and the service we had a blast. Sun and Mike took great care of us, we ordered a ton of appetizers and shared it all. Every dish was spectacular. Fantastic spot can't wait to go back! read more

Soju - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pan Korean with a heavy Hawaiian twist refreshingly different, plus a hip vibe with an outstanding bar staff that can pretty much make anything. I highly recommend. read more

This is not a place I would have noticed on my own, but upon recommendation from my son I was happy to try. Though we ended up getting takeout, the dining room was busy. I liked the simple but sophisticated ambience. I will say that I found the menu to be a lot more expensive than others with similar offerings, but everything we ordered - chicken Katsu, bulgogi and Tteokbokki - was well prepared and tasty. I would like to return and experience the food in the dining room. My deduction of a star is related to the expense, not the quality. read more

Waited a little over an hour for a table here, but BOY was it worth it! All the food was so great and well balanced. The place was packed all night with lots of good chit chat and eclectic vibes. I got the soju punch, which was super tasty! Highly recommend the Gimbap! And you have to try a shot of the soju, so delicious and refreshing; we tried the grapefruit flavor. read more

I think I hyped up Soju in my brain. I was SO excited to try; expecting SO much flavor. The food was decent, don't get me wrong. I was left wanting more, but I do have a high tolerance for heat and spice, haha! But still, I think maybe the spice was toned down a lot (to appease the area). We had the Korean BBQ plate, a special of the evening: kimchi soup, a special of the evening: boneless fried chicken in a sauce (I forget exact name of it). The star was the special fried chicken appetizer, it was really flavorful and delicious. My boyfriend was surprised that an appetizer was our favorite. The soup was good, I was just expecting more developed flavors. The pickled cucumber are really nice!We would totally come back just strictly for the ambiance, service, and staff. That's why I'm giving 4 stars. They were very kind with us even though we were eating with a baby. She was able to eat everything, nothing was too spicy for her. We also got there right after they open, so we were able to get seated right away! This is a very cool spot for Pittsburgh, but we were left underwhelmed. read more

Came across Soju as a lucky tourist from Boston looking for a quick, quality meal at a reasonable price. They hit it out of the park on all points adding a great atmosphere, friendly staff and an owner who works to make sure everything is done right and obviously enjoys what he does. With a menu that will satisfy anyone's tastebud, the waitstaff will take the time to help you pick something to your liking. Their bar and drinks are fun and reasonable. Enjoy! I know I will again soon! read more

Fabulous food! Creative menu. Creative cocktails. Very eclectic. Highly recommend. The platter that has a variety of meats was excellent and well worth trying read more

Omg super yummy food, fantastic service, killer cocktails, awesome space. We were at the community table, but it was a little bigger than we needed. They seamlessly transferred us to another table when it opened up. They were very kind and helpful with my mother in law, which was extremely appreciated. We had tons of yummy apps, fried rice, grilled pork, and even the cheese cake. We would totally come back!!!!! read more

Simply not very good Korean food and the banchan were terrible. Tasted old and the flavors weren't there at all. Cocktails were fantastic though and staff is friendly. read more

We had a great meal at Soju. We sat at the bar on and the bartender that served us was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. She told us all about Soju and how it is made. We split a couple small plates. the fried chicken was extra crispy and perfect. We also enjoyed the fried tofu! Sadly, they did not have a dessert menu. read more

I've been to Soju several times and have never been disappointed in my visit. Great cocktails (lots of cocktail options which are less sweet/have interesting flavor profiles). My favorite Soju dishes are the bimbimyap (their pickled cucumbers just really add something special to this dish), the chicken katsu, pineapple salmon, and their poke (with the spicy mayo sauce). They also have delicious mandu (dumplings) and nori french fries! Definitely try their cheesecake! Service is generally pretty good. I've usually had attentive and nice servers who made good menu suggestions. Space is really nice! It's a cute place and they manage to get quite a lot of seating into a small space. It's really nice to have an option like this in Garfield...reasonable pricing, cute space, great food, great drinks! read more

Needing to arrive at a popular restaurant shortly after opening at 5, the evening seemed like an episode at Boca del Vista on 'Seinfeld'. However, the restaurant was filled at 5:30 as we were told it would be, but with a much younger crowd. The staff said they would call us in 30 minutes when a table was available if we wanted to check out the neighborhood. We had a cocktail at nearby Mixtape, which was a great experience, and we got our call right on time. The staff at SoJu was excellent and very helpful. They continued to be very efficient but unhurried through the meal. The food was also excellent, as we had been told. We sampled a few appetizers, one which we declared the winner was a corn fritter topped with fresh tuna. The meals were Korean food staples, bulgogi, bibimbap, etc.,but each was well plated and very good. It was a nice Saturday evening of good food and friendly service. read more

I had the pineapple salmon. My husband had the dwaejibulgogi (pork). Everything was super delicious. Super creative cocktails, great selection of food and drink, and awesome and chill staff. Music was great to listen to and since it was nice the garage door was open. Such a great choice! read more

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Good Korean food in Pittsburgh? On Penn Ave? All my skepticism was tossed aside after the first few bites at Soju. We had a large party, so we basically got to try a little of everything. The Gimbap was tasty, with sweet rice and marinated beef balancing the crunchy daikon and subtle flavor of the Nori. The Kimchijeon was smooth with just the right proportions of ingredients (meaning, no huge chunks of seafood popping out of the filling). But the best appetizer was the Tteokbokki - the tenderest rice cakes dipped in a sweet-spice sauce, I had no shame in finishing off that plate and asking for another. The Galbi and Bulgogi were seasoned just right and disappeared quickly, and the Salmon and ChickenKatsu were both cooked perfectly, with a nice addition of grilled beets and zucchini to balance the flavors. And remember to save some room for their cheesecake -- not exactly traditional Korean fare, but when you taste it, you won't care. I'm definitely going back. Fair warning, there will be a line when you show up - we arrived exactly at 5pm when they opened, and we were seated quickly, but by the time we were done, there was a line out the door, in the rain. But be patient -- this food is definitely worth waiting for. read more

I don't know why this place has such a good review on yelp. The food was flavorless and unauthentic. You know it's gonna be a bad asian restaurant when they plate you with forks and knives. I got the kimchi fried rice. The kimchi was flavorless as was the rice. It was so burnt I couldn't eat it. I also ordered the gimbap and poutine. The poutine tasted like Japanese curry and was also flavorless. Worst asian dining experience ever. There are so many other asian restaurants in Pittsburgh, don't bother coming to this one. read more

Soju - all the burnt rice from the fried rice - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Soju is amazing! I love the atmosphere of this place so much. It's very fun, welcoming and vibrant. I've been to many korean restaurants, and I enjoyed their approach to classic dishes. I got the Katsu curry with the chicken. This is an ultimate go to comfort food and it did not disappoint. The soju punch was refreshing. I'm definitely coming back to try more items on the menu. read more

Soju - Chicken Katsu Curry - Korean Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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I absolutely enjoyed everything about this restaurant. My friend came in from out of town so I made a special trip to Garfield. Great decision. We shared the poke bowl (1/2 spicy and 1/2 sweet), pineapple salmon, bbq platter and grilled vegetables. The tuna was fresh and very tasty. The pineapple salmon was my favorite. So tasty. Well seasoned and cooked perfectly. The taste was so unique I won't even try to describe it. The bbq was tender and great. I preferred the steak and pork but short rib was good too. The vegetables were prepared so well that we ate all the beets and sweet potatoes. Our server was the best part. She was friendly and helpful. She also doubles as the bartender and made me a delicious margarita. read more

Enjoy your Korean viddles in a comfortable, artsy, cozy and clever vibe. The food takes a few creative twists but stays true to spirit and quality care and ingredients. Prices are super fair and service is spirited. Taking safety precautions per the current state of pandemic stuff. Can't wait to come back and try the whole menu over time read more