Best Korean Restaurants in the SF Bay Area

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If you want some Korean lovin’ in the East Bay, Ohgane Restaurant in Oakland is the place to be. Not only do they have a wide variety of dishes, they give you plenty of fresh side dishes (bban chan) for you to savor while you’re waiting for your entrees to come in. I found the bibim neng myun / kalbi combo to be my favorite here, but you will find anything else they have to be just as good. The restaurant has a parking lot in which its front door is on the side. The décor is fairly modern with some Korean flair, which one side is open to self bbqing or the other side which is much quieter with no BBQ vents. If you’re considering a large party, they have an upstairs which can accommodate 100 people.

[ http://www.yelp.com/biz/ohgane-korean-restaurant-oakland ]

Ok, here's another out of the Korean BBQ realm of korean food and takes us to Santa Clara. The specialty, Oxtail soup! Korean comfort food at it's best. It's a beef bone soup with not much done to it except cooking in a pot for a long time. So don't be an amateur and just drink the broth as is. Add a dash of chopped green onions, salt to taste and you got just what you want to warm your belly. Goes perfectly with kimchi and daikon kimchi which they keep in jars right at your table. Great remedy for hangovers.

[ http://www.yelp.com/biz/seoul-gom-tang-santa-clara ]

In the fog of Daly City is Kukje, Korean supermarket. On the right side of the market there is a wall dedicated to serving prepared foods. The packaged chicken wings and kim bap is awesome here, as well as the wide selection of ban-chan. There is a small area in the corner of the market dedicated to a restaurant. They serve various Korean comfort foods like mandu kook, but I think the must-have here is the dol sot bi bim bap. It's a hot stone pot with rice and various veggies, a little bit of bulgoki, and topped with a fried egg. You mix it all up and add kochujang, a sweet and spicy red pepper paste. If you let the bottom of the rice crisp up before you mix, it really is a little bit of heaven. The soft tofu soup is also excellent and goes great with the bi-bim-bap.

[ http://www.yelp.com/biz/kukje-market---the-restaurant-daly-city ]

The most well know Korean BBQ Restaurant in San Francisco has to be Brothers. I wouldn't say it's the best Korean food out there but it is the go to place in SF for some solid Korean BBQ. Everything here is pretty standard as far as Korean BBQ goes. Nothing special or out of the ordinary.

[ http://www.yelp.com/biz/brothers-restaurant-san-francisco ]

In outer sunset of SF, is a hidden gem of a place. Best known as the garage, this small restaurant is actually a garage! But don't be fooled by the humble exterior. When you walk in it's really quite surprising what they did with such a small space. The decor and intimate seating arrangements really just add to the charm. They even have an adjustable screen separator to the booth seating so you can add a little privacy to your meal. The restaurant is really a social drinking place for young Korean adults but you will also find yourself with some good Korean food. It's not the typical Korean BBQ that most people are familiar with. They serve what would be equivalent of Korean bar food. Some great things to order from Toyose is the chicken wings, the kimchee bo-kum-bap with fried egg on top, duk-bo-ki (spicy) with ramen. And if you are feeling especially adventurous try the chicken giblets (ask your Korean friends after you eat it, what the Korean translation of the dish is). Oh and don't forget the alcohol, you can't pass up the yogurt soju.

[ http://www.yelp.com/biz/toyose-san-francisco ]
Check out the pictures of the food. Yummm..

Honestly I haven't been to this one but I've heard some great things. I looked it up on Yelp and dang it has one of the highest ratings I've seen for a restaurant. Here are some comments I've heard from friends. The most well know dishes of korean restaurants are done well here. Like the BBQ meats: Kalbi, Bulgogi, as well as other staples like Tofu soup. Heard great things about the service as well. And for the ladies, on multiple occassions I have heard they have some hot waiters. So you get some eye candy with the food.

[ http://www.yelp.com/biz/sj-omogari-korean-restaurant-san-jose ]