Hailan Korean Restaurant

I’d been looking forward to coming here for quite some time, and I have to say I was really disappointed. I know friends of mine are big fans, so I was preparing myself to find the new obsession, the only one where I eat for weeks on weeks until I ruin it on myself (will power, where art thou, sigh).
Sadly (or perhaps happily!), it wasn’t meant to be.
It’s a nice casual place with very lovely staff. Not sure if perhaps I ordered wrong, as my friends’ food was better, but mine really wasn’t great.
Firstly, I ordered the pork gyoza. They looked interesting but in all honestly all I could taste was grease. I was actually annoyed with myself that I finished them because the grease actually made me feel rather sick.
Then, usually my favourite dish, the bibimbap. Ah it was so disappointing. It’s THE WORST when you’re looking forward to a firm favourite and waiting for it’s arrival at the table, and it doesn’t half live up to expectations. So there was nothing really bad about it. It was perfectly acceptable. But it wasn’t amazing. There was really no flavour to the beef, so it had to be doused in chili sauce (which incidentally was very nice). There wasn’t a huge amount of beef in there either. And the main source of consternation, there was no sticky rice at the bottom! It nearly felt like it potentially had been cooked separately and presented in the bowl, as usually with bibimbap, the rice carries on cooking in the roasting bowl so you get this gorgeous crust to mix in with the rest of it. There was cucumber and courgette mixed too, which for me is a no-​no. One or the other.
My friend ordered the kimchi and pork with tofu as a main and that was much more flavoursome — though I must say still very greasy. To be honest as lovely as they are in here, I wasn’t wowed, so can’t see myself going back.

This place is really delicious. The food is very authentic and the service is great. We had the dumplings, pancakes, calamari, Fried pork, and rice bowls. I would definitely recommend this place. Additionally, the prices are very reasonable.

One of my favourite restaurants in town. They really cater for everyone as I often amend the dishes available.
The staff are fantastic.

My husband and I were in Dublin for a brief stop on our way back to the States. We were both craving bowls of mulnaengmyun (cold buckwheat noodle soup) after having eaten many meat-​heavy dishes. We ordered two bowls as well as a starter of steamed pork and Chinese cabbage dumplings.
The dumplings are closer to the Chinese style of dumplings, with dark vinegar and chili oil to go with the soy sauce. Unfortunately, after eating nearly all of our plate of dumplings, I cut into a dumpling and noticed that the pork looked raw. Not slightly pink, not raw on the edge. Completely raw.
I never turn down a bowl of naengmyun, and I was hungry, but I couldn’t make it past a few bites. It was a red flag when I saw gobs of gochujang (red pepper paste) in my bowl. Generally, mulnaengmyun does not have gochujang thrown in. If you want the spicy kind, you order a separate dish called bibimnaengmyun – same dish except no broth, instead replaced with gochujang. In fact, the restaurant offered bibimnaengmyun in addition to mulnaengmyun.
My husband is Chinese and didn’t mind the mixup. I’m Korean-​American, raised almost entirely on Korean food, having eaten countless times in Korea, living in Los Angeles, home to arguably the best Korean food outside of Korea. But I’m not a snob or a purist. I wasn’t expecting authentic Korean food, per se, just something refreshing and palate-​cleansing.
But then there was count two: I could have sucked it up and just ate the dish if it wasn’t also so full of sugar that it tasted like a candy bar. When you make the spicy, soup-​less style of cold noodle, you add a little sugar to balance out the red pepper paste. I thought this might have been what they were trying to do here. But it was so sweet, as I said, that it tasted like pure sugar. My husband mused that perhaps there was a Chinese or non-​Korean chef in the kitchen.
I hate turning down food. I can’t remember the last time I did it. I love eating that much. But this dish was so far from what a proper bowl of naengmyun should be. Instead of cold meat broth with dashes of white vinegar and maybe spicy mustard – i.e., a savory eater’s dream – I got a confusing bowl of spicy red pepper with an equally strong dose of sugar. It didn’t help that one of the servers (a sweet, hardworking person, I am sure) was wiping down chairs with strongly lemon scented cleaning product that filled my nose with that Pine-​Sol smell.
The restaurant was full of Korean-​speaking customers, and the interior is very clean and bright. I am sure it does fine, and perhaps some dishes are better than others. But it is pretty hard to mess up a bowl of cold noodles.

It was a cold evening and I was looking for a warm bowl of Tofu soup.
The service here was prompt and friendly. I quickly ordered some pan fried pork and chili dumplings to start and a bowl of kimchi and pork soup.
The dumplings were very juicy with just the right amount of crisp. However, there was a lack of any spice or heat from the chili peppers !
The soup was nice and hot with ample kimchi, few pieces of tofu and barely any pork. The pork was thinly sliced and fatty, while tasty it lacked any substance. It needed more meat /​perhaps some pork bone.

There’s a lot to be said about going to a restaurant and immediately dragging all your friends back there 2 days later but that’s exactly what happened when I visited Hailan Korean Restaurant.
The staff, atmosphere and food are all great. Seriously, the staff are some of the friendliest staff I’ve ever met and they seem to be having fun doing their job whilst also being attentive to customers.
This was my first time trying Korean food but I’ve been instantly converted. Think chinese food but much, MUCH healthier. I order the seafood bibimbap, a beautiful assortment of steamed vegetables & fish in a sizzling hotpot. You add as much sauce as you want and then stir it all up with a fried egg, it doesn’t get better than this. A large bowl of miso soup also accompanies it which is also delicious. We also had the kimchi pancakes to start (Although it was really more of an omlette). I really can’t say much more than all of this food is DAMN good, it’s probably some of the best asian food I’ve ever tried in my life, if not the best.
The prices for mains are between € 9-​€ 11(wow) and starters are around the € 5 mark. If you like asian food in the slightest, you owe it to yourself to try this place. I’m on a personal mission to show as many friends & family as possible this value laden, delicious gem of a place.

I recommended this place, you got a lot of real korean food on the menu, there are special lunch deal as well, the price is normal for this kind of restaurant. For example I got a lunch special with one miso soup in a large boll (some restaurant give you a small cup, with a miso with out taste) that taste delicious, and a Bibimbap as well delicious, just like as used to eat in asia for only 7 €. The staff is nice and polite.
If you want to have a nice korean food, you should definitely go to Hailan restaurant.

I came for the sushi, but was seduced by the bibimbap and some kimchi pancake. No harm that the charming waitress reminded me to use the spicy sauce on my rice-​y, eggy, veggie hot plate. It was all good. She must have been laughing inside at my noob ways, but kept it politely to herself. Cheers. Although she might have warned me that the rice punch doesn’t. Next time I could do the same again and smile. Enjoy.

Happened upon this restaurant walking around Dublin looking for some spicy food. Awesome find! Super friendly and attentive staff, reasonably priced amazing good. The kimchi vegetable pancake and the vegetable bibimbap bowl is out of this world. A must try!

Good first impression here at Hailan.
The place is still all new. The staff welcoming and friendly.
The menu wasn’t as extensive as their sister restaurant on Capel Street, which was good to be honest. I find it much easier to order when there isn’t pages and pages to flip through.
Today I had the Bibimbap with beef and it was really good. I really enjoyed it. Much more than the last time I had it in Kimchi-​Hophouse and it was miles better than the last one I had at Arisu. The rice became lovely and crunchy next to the hot clay bowl. And the beef was minced, which I much prefer. Not sure which is the correct way to present the beef, but liked it here. I definitely will be back for that again. A great dish for the winter months too.
The location is another added bonus for me as it’s now the closest Korean restaurant to where I live (akaik).

I’ve been here three times, the food is really really good! And the staff are super polite.
First time I had bimbimbap, nice and spicy the way I like it. I had pork ramen which was good, I’ve had better noodles though but that was in Japan so I’m not entitled to complain lol. Today I had the seafood bento, ate every bit of it, so delicious!
Coming from a Dublin girl who lived in Japan 3 years. :)

We had a meal for two totalling € 29.40 — happily stuffed.
We ordered he seafood tempura (€ 8), Beef bibimbap (€ 9.90), Salmon & avocado roll (€ 8.50), and a side of chips (€ 3).
The food took a little while to arrive but it was because it all came together. I would have preferred the appetizers first, or as they come… but this meant when the food came you had a feast!
I was quite happily surprised with the portion of the tempura — it was definitely a sharing appetizer. However, it was not the original tempura breading but instead the plain chippers breading. It was still good but I was definitely disappointed as I wanted a proper tempura.
Bibimbap didn’t come sizzling, but the portion was a good standard. The only complaint I have is that the beef was very small in proportion — and it was mince. I have to say the bibimbap was a frugal one at best with a taste that was forgettably standard. Nothing to impress.
Salmon and avocado roll was a good portion was the price, I was craving some sushi and this hit the spot just right even though there was nothing fancy about their rolls menu. The sushi rice was a very nice consistency, very moist and gave the impression it was just made (unlike most other restaurants).
Regarding the experience/​ambiance of the place — was pretty standard, it was acceptably clean, but nothing impressive. Me and my boyfriend noticed that they played the radio for music and that annoyed us quite a bit because of the radio ads that blared above us.
When we arrived it was just another table and us. The only staff was what seemed like the owner/​manager and a waitress. The owner did some pacing around the length of the restaurant (perhaps in an effort to cover all tables, but) that made myself a bit uncomfortable. The waitress was very friendly and courteous, but by observing her I can see that she can definitely use some training as she mixed up an order and served it at two different tables before bringing it to the right one (myself). Having seen all that I was a bit uncomfortable being served food that has sat in front of two tables of customers let alone being walked all around the restaurant.
I would go there again simply for the value for money. If I were stuck in town hungry this would be a go-​to place I can rely on a good meal without breaking your bank. I would also recommend going to this place if you have a group of people. It has enough foods and ones that lean towards non-​traditional Asian foods (ie. Chips & the tempura) that makes this place a safe bet.

This restaurant is the sister of the Hilan restaurant on Capel St. I’m always happy to try Korean restaurants whenever I spot one as I miss mom’s cooking. I’ve visited twice now and I can say it is certainly good competition for the other Korean restaurants. Its especially nice to see one the other side of the Liffey. I’ve ordered the beef bibimbap twice now and I can say its definitely on the coattails of kimchis. My only qualm was that the egg yolk was overdone the two times I’ve ordered it. I was extremely underwhelmed with their bland and rubbery kimichi pancake. The second time I ordered the spicy beef soup which was lovely and just what the dr ordered for a hangover. (Yukgaejang) I highly recommend you try it as I loved it. The bibimbap comes with a complimentary dwenjangjjigae (like a korean version of miso soup) which was a nice touch! They have beer and wine here and all very reasonably priced. There are always plenty of korean people eating here and the service is excellent. Give it a go. I still prefer Kimichi’s food so I have to rate them one star lower than Kimchi but the standards are close enough and it saves me walking over to the more unsavoury part of town to fill my korean food craving.