My wife found Vivid Bibim on Yelp. San Leandro often has very high quality Asian restaurants, so we don't mind the longer drive for a weekend lunch. Vivid is located in a strip mall off Washington St, and looks like a family-run operation with lots of Korean customers. IMHO, Korean cuisine is not only super tasty, but super healthy too and consistent with HHS Secretary Kennedy's diet of high protein, fresh/pickled/fermented veggies, and yes either a fried or boiled egg with hot dishes. Banchan came out first, and was fresh. We loved the bean sprouts and kimchi. Free refills - just ask! Wife got the seafood ramen - nice broth and chewy noodles, but frankly she found chicken meat and not seafood. Maybe a kitchen oversight? The two entrees we got were definitely 5-star worthy. A big, heaping sizzling platter of bulgolgi is a crowd pleaser for sure. Thinly-sliced, juicy, and sweet-savory beefy flavors. I need to eat in moderation due to propensity to develop gout, but my 5yo son loved every bite. Its a bit pricy at $42, but it can feed 2-3 people. Next time we visit, we'll probably try either the BBQ chicken or the Pork Belly. The other amazing dish is the Chicken Dolsot. A huge, sizzling stone bowl of crispy rice and tons of colorful veggies and super juicy chicken meat. A fried egg thrown in for good measure too. I do recommend adding some red Gochujang Sauce for extra flavor burst. Looking forward to coming back for more. After the initial lunch rush passed, the entire kitchen staff came out and ate a meal together which was cool. read more

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Great meal here served by really nice people. Dropped by for lunch on a Saturday afternoon with my husband and the place only had one other party in it. The waitress was super friendly and seemed to really like us, so her welcoming demeanor set the tone for the rest of the meal. We went with the kimchi stew, spicy rice cake appetizer, and the seafood dolsot. My husband wished the seafood dolsot was crispier, but felt like it hit the sweet spot between hearty and healthy with really good flavor. We loved the kimchi stew, which was the perfect sharable amount for two people or a satisfying dish for one. It was bubbling when it arrived to the table and had a lot of tofu and kimchi. The only dish that kind of disappointed me was the rice cake appetizer. While it was certainly a generous portion for an appetizer, I felt like there could've been way more rice cakes in there, and I didn't care for what I think was some sort of fish patty that were mixed into the dish. I would've much preferred swapping those out for more rice cakes. However, the flavors were delicious and the spice level was potent without being over the top and killing all the flavor of the dish. They have a wide variety of canned Korean drinks here, so I bought a couple to go: a carbonated watermelon drink and pear juice. Both were really good, and I'd order either one with my meal the next time we drop by. Also worth noting that rice and banchan refills are free so long as everyone at the table orders a dish. The purple rice has been overcooked and/or too hard at other Korean places I've been to, but it was fluffy and tender here, which I appreciated. However, one other minor complaint: it was a bit pricey for what we got. Three dishes plus tax and tip had our total just under $100. If we'd been here with even just one other person, I'm not sure what the total would've been. For a family of four or a group? It's got to start adding up pretty quickly. But at the end of the day, the food and service were good here and we'll be back to try more of the menu in the future. read more

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Soooo good! Wonderful service and cute little spot with minimal seating, seems family owned. I think the bulgogi was a tad dry but overall great dishes and super casual. I really liked the galbi and the rice cakes were the perfect level of spice. I suggest adding cheese. The side dishes were fresh and the purple rice was soft. Will def come here again! read more

Vivid Bibim - Rice cakes and cheese - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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My first time here and I ordered the Dolsot. I enjoyed it very much. The bonchon was on point. Clean and fast service. Good customer service. Oh yeah, the chicken wings are amazing! read more

Vivid Bibim - First crime here - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

Just ordered the cheese corn cause I've been craving it for a while now so today was the day. Really liked it and will have to stop by sometime to eat more of it and of course try the other dishes as well. read more

Vivid Bibim - Cheese corn to go - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

Just dined here for lunch and it was good! A casual, authentic Korean spot. The lunch special was about $16 and I chose the tofu bibimbap. It was tasty with fresh veggies, but so light on the tofu protein, maybe about 6 cubes. My friend ordered off the regular menu, the $22 beef japchae, and really tasty and flavorful, but very slight on the protein, as well. Womp womp. Service was kind and quick. The food was good, but I think if they added a bit more protein to meals, it would feel like a bit more value. read more

Vivid Bibim - Lunch tofu - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

Quality/Quantity - Vivid Bibim replaced JP Seoul Tofu House (3.5 star review). I am struggling to find a GOOD Korean restaurant in the east bay with out having to go to Telegraph in Oakland (terrible parking). Please message me with any suggestions. Or am I just so spoiled with the many GREAT Korean restaurants in the SF area?!?! Today we got the following: Seafood Pancake - Decent size, decent amount of seafood. The outer part of the pancake fried well, the center too soft (raw) for my liking. The sauce was good. Beef Bulgogi - Generous portions, thank you. Mild flavors and minimum onions. I guess this is the new trend, minimum onions; see my last few Korean restaurant reviews. Purple Rice - Either under cooked or left over...? The rice was firmer than I preferred. Banchan - Thank you for the 10 varieties! But not even enough for a decent sample for both my wife and I. I had to ask for more and it was still not enough... I/we like our side dishes with our entrees. Ambiance - In the corner of the mall, it still looks the same as JP Seoul Tofu House. Plenty of parking tonight; well we parked a little further as a few cars took two spaces?!?! Selfish. Early dinner today, so were the first customers here. One unisex restroom. Service - Just okay. We had to ask for everything we needed. They did come by once to check on us. And they did say bye as we left. Price - $71 + tip. Expensive for what we got. One appetizer and one entree; imagine if we were NOT light eaters... My search for good Korean food continues... Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since January of 2025 and your 1 year anniversary. read more

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Ordered to go again from here, again the food was phenomenal and the service was great. Food was ready for pick up as promised. Japchae with slice beef has become one of my favorites from here, packed with flavor and the beef was very tender. Spicy Rice Cake Ramen was very good and tasty, it's a mild spice. Oyster Pan Fried with the Sauce was great, it was fresh!!! read more

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Great service and care upon us walking in Complimentary barely tea was really good Tofu soup was my favorite Loved the little condiments Fun experience and great flavor read more

Vivid Bibim - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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Came here for lunch on a rainy day in SL. There was plenty of seating and was greeted/seated by friendly staff. The tables were clean and seating was comfortable. I'm a big fan of Korean food and I took my husband who had only had kbb, but not traditional food. He was immediately enticed by the smell of food, so I knew he would enjoy it. Everything on the menu looked amazing but I did notice there were some traditional soups not mentioned, so the focus was mainly bibimbap. Which is still okay because I was aiming for my husband to try the famous dish! We ordered traditional bibimbap and dolsot style (hot stone bowl). Both were absolutely amazing and came with traditional banchan sides. My husband got the spicy pork dolsot and fell in love with it! The crispy rice at the bottom was a hit. The portions were also very huge and I took my time to enjoy every little bite! I was literally grabbing the kimchi and opening it up to make a taco haha. We did notice the table behind us ordered the short ribs, and OMG it smelled delicious! We would've ordered some but our dishes were huge lol. We will def be back to try more! read more

Vivid Bibim - Tofu Bibimbap - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

We've come here a few times and are happy to have this Korean place in this area. When we last went we ordered bibimbaps with tofu and the other with seafood. The food is pretty good but also nothing too special. This place has standard Korean fare and also replenishes the pickled vegetables upon request. It is comfy with small tables throughout the establishment. read more

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Came here for a pre-concert meal with some friends and it totally hit the spot! We got a bunch of plates to share and what really stood out was the kalbi and seafood pancake. I was surprised they had bossam as it's less common in Korean restaurants these days - thought it could have been a little more tender, but still good. The banchan was also yummy. Service was great and there's a small discount (4%) if you pay with cash. Plenty of parking right in front and close to the freeway, which was a plus given our time constraints. I want to come back and try more of their dishes. I'm sure it'll be even better once we have more time to sit and soak in all the flavors. read more

Vivid Bibim - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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My gf is sick and wanted soup, so I ordered Korean army stew and corn cheese to go since they're her favorite. The service was so good, they called me and asked if I was going to eat it right away so they could pack the ramen separately so it doesn't get too soggy. That is above and beyond service imo and coupled with the fact that their food is delicious, I give this spot a 5/5. Will come back for sure and have been back a few times already. Their service is always spot on and respectful with delicious meals served with a smile. I was not expecting this level of thoughtfulness getting take out as well. read more

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Came here on a Wednesday night for an early dinner and there was no wait. For a table of 2, we got the regular fried chicken, seafood tofu soup, and beef dolsot bibimbap. The regular fried chicken was standard. I wish it had more flavor. For the seafood tofu soup, the seafood was tiny but the flavor of the soup was delicious though. The beef dolsot bibimbap had a generous amount of toppings and a great presentation. Stuff was very friendly and service was fast. I would come back for the dolsot bibimbap! read more

Vivid Bibim - Seafood tofu soup - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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Vivid BiBim recently took over the old location of JP Seoul Kitchen. Menu is slightly different while the restaurant is more open as they removed the black menu board above the cashier stand that divides the kitchen from the dining room. Did not recognize any of the workers so it must have been a total buy out. Service is polite and very good. We were politely asked to move once to accommodate a larger party as we were only two. We initially offered to take a smaller table but they said it would be ok, but we were moved later. LOL. Plan ahead people! We ordered: - Chicken Wings which came out hot and crispy. - Spicy Pork Stone Bibim Bap which comes out on a wider, flatter stone pot to allow for greater surface area to crisp the rice. They were a little skimpy on the pork. - Short Rib Noodle Soup or Kalbitang which had a good amount of beef and flat cellophane noodles. Overall, good and we'll be back to try other things. We liked JP and hope to continue with VB. read more

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Vivid Bibim opens in JP Seoul Tofu House's space, decor & infrastructure the same. Flatscreen on, music in background. As usual. Seated, ordered. Food etc. came 10ish minutes. Offerings ( Koreanish): appetizers, lunch specials. Noodles, soups & stews, specials, bbq. & grills, bibimbap, fried rice. Bites: mackeral gui (14.56) lunch specials -banchan: spicy bean sprouts, spicy fish cake, spicy cucumbers & onions, kimchi, daikon schreds, brocculi with cheese. All tasty, reasonably fresh. Single piece skin on mackeral, boneless, gutless. Moist, flakey not mushy. Not Korean style. traditional version either has guts intact or has guts out but residual taste present. No drama. Lemon squeeze to flava. Purple rice accompaniment, has antioxidants, iron, proteins, fibre. 4.5 stars semi worthy. Quality:good. Quantity: ymmv. read more

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The $19.76 beef bibimbap is a safe pick. It's delicious, packed with nicely sized veggies, and served with the hot sauce on the side. You can customize the spiciness to your liking. The $62.40 short rib jjim was good but on the sweet side. The meat was tender. The carrots were really soft and absorbed the liquid. I look forward to trying their pork bossam next read more

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Came here on a Sunday at 6 pm and there were two other parties at the time, but the place got pretty busy closer to 7 pm. We ordered galbi jjim, beef dolsot bibimbap, seafood pancake and kimchi fried rice. Everything was pretty delicious! The banchan also tasted fresh, there were 8 varieties. They even had a rolled omelette which I don't see often. We read about the dolsot bibimbap in an SF chronicle article, and I will say that this is definitely one of the crispiest rice I've had for a dolsot bibimbap. It had burdock root which I really enjoyed. Lots of great texture in this one. The seafood pancake was also nice and crispy, with a good ratio of seafood to green onion and flour. One of my favorite dishes. The galbi jjim was very flavorful and packed with meat. It doesn't come with cheese like Daeho's, but I actually prefer it without the heaviness of the cheese. It is a bit on the saltier side so definitely best eaten with rice. It also has carrots, radish, rice cakes, mini potatoes and glass noodles. The kimchi fried rice was seasoned really well, and had bits of corn, carrot and peas. Service is very friendly, the lady regularly checked in on us and asked if we needed more banchan or rice. It seems like a family run business - would definitely come again! read more

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Vivid Bibim is a humble strip-mall Korean restaurant that recently popped up in a San Francisco Chronicle review, which touted their bibimbap as one of the best! Before trying the restaurant's namesake dish, we were started with an array of eight banchans: kimchi, cucumbers, potato salad, broccoli, tofu, bean sprouts, fish cake, and kale--these each came in tiny portions but with free refills, of which we got plenty. But the dish I came to try was their Seafood Dolsot Bibimbap, in which purple rice was topped with a colorful array of ingredients including marinated squid/shrimp, cucumbers, carrots, daikon, red cabbage, spinach, bean sprouts, fiddleheads (gosari), pickled radish, and a perfectly fried egg with a runny yolk. After being mixed together with sweet and spicy gochujang, the rice mixture formed a nice crispy crust on the hot stone pot! I also got an order of their Dumpling Soup (Mandu Guk), a warm, savory broth with pepper, egg, seaweed, and disappointingly, store-bought dumplings. While the soup was warming and tasty, the small, flavorless dumplings were a letdown. That said, the service was quick and friendly, and the bibimbap was the star dish, though the prices were rather expensive for the food we got. read more

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My wife and I enjoy Korean food. However, I have noticed that Vivid Bibim has been slowly raising the price of there foods. And the portions have been smaller. Their Bibimbab stone rice was smaller with less portions. And the cost of there meat dishes (pork, beef or chicken) is over $40 !!! Ouch. I will probably not go back to this restaurant until they offer better options and pricing. Say tofu soup and a meat dish (combo). read more

Came for an early dinner and it was great! Amazing service, the server was very helpful in explaing a few dishes to us and even offered a cute childrens plate for my nephew. Its fairly small with maybe 10-15 tables but you can fit up to 6 at some tables and the portions are big enough to eat family style so perfect spot for a quick family dinner! read more

Vivid Bibim - Fried dumplings - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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This place replaced JP Seoul, another Korean restaurant. Got to try this place for a Saturday lunch after reading about the bibimbap in the SF Chronicle. Service is definitely top notch here. We ordered our food and received our food super quick, and they constantly checked in with our table. The amount of Banchan dishes they give is incredible and they're solid! Ordered quite a few things but our favorites go to the fish and bibimbap. Everything was cooked fresh. The bibimbap had many types of vegetables julienned nicely and a great presentation. We let the rice crisp up while we ate the other dishes and it was tasty and well balanced! The japchae is also very flavorful. We liked it all and portion sizes are good for price. Would definitely be back! read more

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Solid Korean in this area with friendly service Hot tea served right away. I wish the banchan was also served quickly. Instead we sat for 10-15 min. The banchan came right before my husbands bibimbop. Then we waited another 5 min for my bibimbop. That was odd timing. We also had to ask for refills on the banchan we liked but they happily refilled The dolsot bibimbop has plenary of veggies. The rice was crispy without too much oil, and the egg is nicely done. The beef version was as expected. The salmon version was terrible. Tasted like low quality frozen salmon. I took one bite and didn't finish the salmon. Servers should have asked if there was an issue with the salmon when they saw I ate everything except that I will return, just not for the salmon version of Bibimbop! read more

Vivid Bibim - Beef bibimbop was good - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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Found this place when we were shopping for furniture at living spaces. Right across the street! Plenty of parking. Not difficult to find. We were greeted as soon as we arrived. They weren't full, so we were seated right away. We ordered vegetable pancake, shrimp tempura, and beef dolsot bibimbap. All delicious! I was too excited and forgot to take photos. What I wasn't expecting was they brought a plate for my toddler. Not a lot of restaurants provide kids plate so this was a great surprise! Food was delicious and employees were very friendly and attentive. read more

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This place is amazing. Kalbi Tang or soup was amazing. not just your normal meat and soup but glass noodles fresh slices of cucumber or something and egg!!! amazing! bikini is amazing with great veggies and the seafood pancake is crispy outside a d fluffy inside... food quality is really above the rest in the east bay. must try!!! read more

I've been here a few times and love it. First, the food is delicious. Second, the service is wonderful and the staff are incredibly friendly. From the very kind and friendly lady that served us to the young man that was cooking in the kitchen, and from the kitchen while cooking, waved and said goodbye as we were going out the door. Will be back again. read more

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This place is awesome. They recently changed owner I believe and the chef is super amazing. The tofu soup is a go to for us. Their sides are also super fresh!! Theyre very attentive to us as well ! Definitely will come back again when you walk inside it super clean inside as well. read more

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Pretty fire Korean spot that just opened up! I got the short rib and pork bibimbap and it was super good. The food came out immediately and was steaming hot. We had a woman (didn't catch her name) who served us and she was very sweet and made us feel at home. Servers kept coming to check on us to see if we needed anything else. Ambiance is chill and relaxed on a Wednesday night! Love supporting local businesses in the area, definitely come check it out! read more

Vivid Bibim - Pork bibimbap - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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First time at this place, as it was my sister's birthday and I had her choose where she wanted to go. I have to say, the food was GREAT!! Come hungry as I felt the portions were larger than the norm. Staff were very attentive - always checking to see if our food was good, needed more water, or if we needed more condiments to replenish. This was the former Burger place, so the place doesn't fit no more than about 50 people(?). We arrived 45 minutes after they opened, plus, it was a weekday, so it wasn't crowded at all. Highly recommend this place if you want to try Korean Food!! read more

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Good Korean bbq place. Bi bim bap is good but the stone pot felt a bit too burnt. Meat is good, banchan is tasty, and friendly servers. read more

Vivid Bibim - Beef Dolsot BiBimBap - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

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We read about Vivid Bibim from the SF Chronicle, and waited about a month before we visited for the hype to died down a bit. The restaurant is in a strip mall with plenty of parking. Our servers were a very pleasant older lady and a young guy. The young guy was very helpful and answered our questions about the menu. The Chronicle recommended their dolsot bibim bap, so we tried two versions, the beef bibimbap and the seafood bibimbap. Our party of five also ordered the jap chae noodles, the pork belly bossam, and the fried calamari legs. We were pleasantly surprised when the older lady brought out not one, but two trays of ban chan side dishes, for our group of five. This is the first time we were given two sets for our group of five. Normally we would get only one set at other Korean places. The banchan dishes were beautiful and delicious, with some unique dishes like baby greens in spicy sauce, and pickled slices of daikons. We had one refill of the banchan during our meal. The bibimbaps were just as the Chronicle had described. The portions were very generous, so even our 16 year old son who usually has a voracious appetite, couldn't finish his. The bibambap had a good amount of crispy rice at the bottom, and the different toppings were beautifully presented around the bowl and topped with a fried egg. The lady server came over to help mix the bowl for my elderly mother, and we really appreciated that. We enjoyed the fried calamari leg appetizer and the jap chae glass noodles. The pork belly bossam was enough to share with 3 to 4 people even. We were instructed to put a slice of the thin pork belly on top of a small piece of steamed cabbage, and then we can add the spicy scallions, bean paste, or other banchan if we wish. The pork belly was a bit tougher than I expected, but I still enjoyed it very much. Needless to say, we had a lot of to-go boxes. We really liked Vivid Bibim and have marked it as one of our favorite Korean place. read more

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Solid spot overall! Replaced JP tofu house before but the food is just as delicious! I'm not the only one that thinks so because it was still popping around 8:30PM. I had their tofu dolsot bibimbap, their barbecue chicken, and their vegetable tofu soup. The dolsot bibimbap was great. The bottom had a lot of crispy rice due to the stone pot cooking method. The veggies were fresh and abundant and the tofu was nice and succulent tasting. BBQ chicken - This tasted like the usual standard bbq chicken from a Korean spot. Marinated very well and not dry one bit. Excellent when mixed with the rice from the bibimbap or eaten on its own. Vegetable tofu soup - Super flavorful! I could eat this with heaping amounts of rice. The flavor profile has a lot of depth and I'm still thinking about it and remember how it tastes right now. read more

Well here we go again team eatwhateverwhenever. Was on the hunt for something like, you know food for luch. Happened to see this little spot while coasting by. Flipped a U and ran inside. Was greeted & seated promptly. The waitress was very kind. Even gave me the intel on the wings. Which was very insightful. Everything from.food to sides were on point. The tofu kimchie soup was so flavorful. The chicken wings were delicious. I truly enjoyed my meal. They didn't sit me and foget me. They actually tapped in with me to check how I was doing, and if I was enjoying my meal. Things like that are greaty appreciated. The only thing I would change is my seating location. Breezy day so when the door was opened my napkins would catch flight and I was hit with a chilly breeze. Other than that my food was a hard 5/5 service 5/5 read more

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Big fan of the hot stone bibimbop. Comes with lots of good vegetables and mushrooms! Also purple rice which is cool. Good service, attentive staff, and definitely a family friendly environment. read more

Vivid Bibim - Pork Dolsot Bimbop and the Seafood Pancake - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

This was our virgin trip to Vivid Bibim. It truly won't be our last. We have 'wanna try items' on our lil' bucket list to try on our next journey here. The food was very flavorful and tasty. We had the Korean style chicken wings (sauce on the side please) so we can indulge into the crunchiness of the flats and drummettes, boy were they delicious and hot. We shared the salmon bibimbap. Service was on point. Both Lisa and Roy explained our selections and how to go about mixing (or not) the salmon bibimbap dish. The cast iron bowl was bubbling hot, we could hear the rice, veggies crackling as the anticipation awaits. Ooooohh awwwh, it was the BEST. Lisa brought us hot barley and corn tea, what a delight. Gotta give it a try for sure. Bonus: plenty of off-street parking. read more

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Came after our uncle saw a write up of this place by SF Chronicle. To my surprise, Food was outstanding and Service is Beyond Expectation. Very friendly and attentive Service which is not the norm for most Asian Restaurant. Try their Bibim which I gather is their specialty but their Japchae noodle was great too. read more

Vivid Bibim - Interior - Korean Near Me - San Leandro, California

My husband and I love Korean food , we live not too far from Vivid Bibim Korean restaurant, my husband enjoys Tofu hot stone bibimbap , I love purple rice with Marinade Bunchan means different marinate vegetables and Saba fry fish , they have variety of menu, meats , tofu soups, Ramen noodles, short Ribs lots Korean dishes to choose and enjoy ! Yummy Korean food ! Here few pictures of tasty dish ! The service also very friendly and restaurant very clean ! read more

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Food was great, small servings though compared to other similar cuisine places. Prepare to spend $20+ for one item. Service was good; they're friendly. Small place; not crowded on a Monday night. read more

This place was excellent. Their kimchi amazing. The waitress was very nice and gave me a free bowl of rice and kept bringing our table more kimchi because I kept saying how good it was. I had the beef ramen and chicken wings. Wings were delicious and the soup was very good but super hot! I had to wait a little to eat it so I didn't burn myself. read more

ooooh the hype on this place is real! i found out about this place through an article on the San Francisco Chronicle saying that their Stone Bibimbaps was one of the best in the area and I must say that he was right! The stone pot is HUGE and if you let the rice sit for about 10 minutes it gets super nice and crispy. Tradition is to mix it but I don't like doing that because I don't want the wetness of the beautiful ingredients on top to mess the crunch on the bottom. Yes, it's $22 but it's on par with other Korean restaurants but I feel like the ingredients are all super top notch (beef was nice and tender) plus the stone pot is HUGE so you DO get a lot of food. Wonderful banchan; we got three rounds. we also got the japchae which was really delicious and had strong sesame oil flavor. the stone bi bim bap though was def the star and we will be back for this! read more

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