Shin-La Restaurant & Sushi Bar

Shin La is a decent restaurant, especially for Brattleboro. They offer some authentic Korean cuisine as well as some Japanese and «fusion» dishes. Decent sushi. The really standout is eating one of the many soups they offer on a stormy winter day while sitting in the window, watching the traffic roll by. My personal favorites are the New year’s soup, chicken Kara age, and the Kim chee soup. There are options to add to most soups (tofu, spinach, egg, dumplings, etc.) Again, for Brattleboro’s extremely limited offerings I would recommend this place for sure.

I ate here last week with my boyfriend who is Asian American. As soon as the server came to the table she informed us they were not making sushi that night and she hoped we were there for it. We weren’t there for sushi, we went for Korean food, which was decent. As we looked around the restaurant they were serving sushi and in fact they served sushi to people who ordered after us. I am confused as to why they declared to my boyfriend and I they weren’t serving sushi, when they were. It made us feel uncomfortable and I don’t think we will be returning.

Came here for lunch and was surprised to find a real deal Korean restaurant in Vermont. We had the lunch box roll special and the ojinguh bokkeum which tasted authentic and reminded me of the street food vendors back in Korea. The kimchi was great and tasted homemade.

Try something else in Brattleboro like Duo
Service poor, food bland
The salad was swimming in dressing
And the vegetables were not fresh
The chicken teryachi simply had sauce poured on it and was tough
The server ignored me for an extended time to get the check I finally stood and put my coat on.

I have been several time in Brattleboro for business but it’s the first time that I decided to stay for lunch and make a stroll downtown. Weather was mild on that otherwise cold January and I wasn’t sure what to expect from the culinary scene here in this small town in Vermont far south.
The town itself is very nice, mountains around, Connecticut river cutting through downtown which is vibrant with little shops. Seeing Shin-​La on the street, I checked the reviews on Unilocal which rave about their Korean food, especially kimchi (which I loved)… deciding not to explore more for now, I came in…
I so wanted to love the place but the whole thing was a big disappointment…
Yep, I had a Bibimbap and while not bad, it was really, really uninspired and the most bland I had so far anywhere. Tea was simple paper tea bag (a shame in any asian restaurant).
I would have still rate them 3 star if that wasn’t of the service…
The waitress looked like she would have rather been anywhere than here. Maybe it was a bad day for her, but it shocked me a little since the people in Vermont are usually very friendly.
I will come back to ear in Brattleboro but I’lll try other place, not this one.

Man, fix those annoyingly flickering lights! We just had a cup of tea and then had to leave because we almost had an epileptic seizure! Too bad:(Waitress was nice, menu looked ok.

The steamed shrimp shumai is pretty good for 6 pieces with some green onions for garnish and ponzo sauce. I ordered take out. Spider roll and college roll is what I got.
Spider roll: softshell crab was cooked right. Good amount of rice for the roll.
COLLEGE ROLL: avocado and yellow tail. The yellow tail was alright, its fishy tasting, it shouldn’t have that after taste for the fish. It’s like butter when you eat it, but honestly it tasted like it wasn’t so fresh. Trust me I have eaten in many sushi spots, yes call me a SUSHI SNOB IF YOU MUST!
I’m all about the taste and quality.
Service: slow, and they need to try to improve on costumer service, I mean if your working for tips you need to be on point. over priced for the quality. Honestly the past reviews is a miss hap. Why not just stay a KOREAN restaurant. But hey I tipped because of pitty. Get your fucking shit together!
Also ordered tempura and said the Fryer was out of order… how so if my softshell crab in my spider roll is fried Chef?
Laziness is on board with this place. DON’T lie to customer’s if your lazy to cook your product. Are you sure its 30 years you have been here? I highly doubt it, but then again… your values are gone.
I would have to be Drunk to say they have the best sushi in town… smh to the max!
All in all I rather not come here for sushi.
I give them 2 stars for trying though.

Excellent homemade Korean food. Best restaurant in Brattleboro for lunch. Fresh homemade Kimchee of many varieties made straight from the garden of the owners. Ask for the special Kimchee of the day as it is in limited quantity and often not on the menu. The bulgoki is really tasty and is not that spicy. If you like it spicier be sure to ask for extra red pepper paste on the side. You can also add it atop the bibimbap which is wonderfully fresh. The dish that keeps me coming back every time I’m in Brattleboro is the Kimchee chigae — a delightfully spicy pork base stew with tofu and Kimchee. I’ve had this dish in probably more than 75 restaurants and no one makes it better. The wait staff are always friendly and attentive. New to Korean food? There are plenty of options to get you started. A must visit for anyone visiting Brattleboro!

Salmon sashimi was good, eel and avocado roll ditto. Chicken yakitori was not so great (the sauce was weird and the chicken didn’t have great flavor). The miso soup was a bit sweet for my taste, but I love love love the spinach in it, and the tofu was delicious. Friends ordered sushi and Korean food and seemed happy. Lovely, patient server.

Being late arriving to Brattleboro all the restaurants were offering 35 min. waiting lines for dinner. I found this establishment directly across the street from the theater that a group of us were attending a concert.
The staff were laid back but very attentive. My order was taken and in a short time it was in front of me. The food was excellent, served hot and plentiful. I would recommend this establishment for, fast service, casual atmosphere, good food and plenty of it. BTW parking was NO PROBLEM.

Absolutely amazing. From the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, and whenever we are around this area, we always go out of our way to come here to eat. Sometimes we take trips to VT just for Shin La! (Located S. of VT, close to the border)
Korean dishes are delicious AND authentic, as well as their sushi. Whenever we come here, we try to order something new, and it never fails to amaze us with the vibrant tastes and authenticity.
However one of the most outstanding factors of this restaurant is its service. Wait staff and especially the owner is extremely generous and caring. Very considerate and is obvious that customer service and satisfaction is a high priority at Shin La.
Every time I come here, the food and service always exceeds my expectations. Shin La never fails to deliver!
Highly recommended, easily 5 stars. If you have never been, a must try!

I love this place. I should say, I love Mrs. Kim! She loves her regulars and knows exactly what I like, and they have absolutely amazing yuk gae jang (its not on the menu!)
The sushi is fresh and rolled by either Mrs. Kim or her son, its fast and delicious. I have to say, there is better fresh sashimi in the world, but I love this place for what it is — a real restaurant owned by a family who loves and cares about the town and the food they serve to their customers.
Also, ask about their daily specials — there is always something interesting and yummy (zucchini pancakes with a special dipping sauce)

Great little place with very pleasant staff. The menu is all over the planet. I ordered the Soon doo boo while not traditional it was a great homestyle take on it.
When next in Brattleboro I’d give it another shot.

Hmm, wish I could’ve given this place 2.5 stars but that’s not allowed on Unilocal!As this place is just a barely a notch above «Meh». In other words, utterly unremarkable.
We had sushi here for lunch. Don’t get me wrong, the food was nicely prepared, fresh, and fairly prompt. It’s just that nothing about the place says «remember me». And it didn’t help that the waitress was having an off day and didn’t even ask the customary «How’s your meal or Is everything ok» shortly after serving the meal. Also the restroom was not in the best shape, and I’m being kind here.
So, next time your strolling thru downtown Brattleboro and you walk by Shin-​La; keep on walking. Went here on: 10−17−11.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this place if you have any interest in ordering sushi. That being said, stick with what they know best — Korean food.
Since they aren’t very good at getting fresh produce, I’d go further and order only the fried items off the menu.
I was an idiot and ordered what I thought would be a sushi donburi and it was the oddest thing I’ve ever seen with iceberg lettuce hiding some tasteless chunks of defrosted frozen fish and some odd dressing with rice on the side. The waitress seemed surprised when I told her it wasn’t fresh fish but luckily she replaced my order with some Korean friend noodles.
Maybe I came on a bad day because I’ve had tempura there that wasn’t half bad but what do you expect from a Brattleboro Asian restaurant?

Wow, I love this place. If I lived local to this place I would be here all the time gaining weight from the deliciously thick udon noodles that soak up the flavor from the soups they serve. And home made Kim Chi? Uh yeaa we bought all that they had available to bring back to Long Island with us. Keep in mind that I am partial to cozy little places with authentic bold flavors. The Sushi was good, but the korean dishes they serve. well that’s what you should come here for. They serve specials too which are intriguing and unique. OH and they also serve local and organic beers. LOVE.

Very nice folks with pretty good food. I just cringe when I see the Sushi chef sitting out front in a white apron smoking cigarettes, however. The place doesn’t feel clean when you’re in it, and I like to believe that Sushi chef’s don’t have cigarette tasting fingers.
I don’t order Sushi here (because I think of ashtrays and liver flukes). Otherwise, their food is tasty.

Our late-​afternoon meal at Shin-​La was delicious! This is important because we were driving through Brattleboro on a Saturday around 3:30 pm and nearly every other restaurant that interested closed in the late afternoon and reopened after 5:30 pm.
The menu and staff (who might have been the owner?) were very vegan-​friendly and friendly in general.
First, I enjoyed the Tofu Teriyaki appetizer. The tofu had a fabulous firm-​soufflé-​like texture. The sauce was thick and flavorful. I’ve had tofu teriyaki at Japanese and Chinese-​Japanese restaurants and this was a new set of flavors and textures.
I wish I’d written down the name of my entrée. It was in either the Korean or Specialties part of the menu, and is Korean dish. It’s a fresh hot vegetable dish, which according to the menu choices, I ordered with tofu and without egg. It comes with a delicious sweet-​hot chili sauce, which was the perfect spiciness level for me. My entrée arrived in a sizzling crock so the rice continued searing to the crock’s inside surface until I had fabulous crispy-​browned-​rice pieces to enjoy, too.
With my meal, I sipped brown rice tea, a perfect complement.
RE the demographic discussion begun in another Shin-​La review: While I consider myself a Vermonter, I am from South Florida and have dined on delicious Korean food in Florida, New York City, and Boston, though never in Korea.
We shall return!

Shin La is one of those places that growing up I thought was the bomb… and now I return after having expanded my knowledge and culinary palette… and I realize… it isn’t all that great. I recently went with an old friend during a visit to Brattleboro and I ordered some very typical sushi dishes. I ordered the spider maki roll and the california roll. The sushi came out and it’s TINY. There is definitely a quantity issue here… but moreso is the issue of quality. The seafood isn’t very fresh and the rice (at the time I was there) was definitely undercooked and not sticky enough to hold its shape.
Also awkward are the tables with the high benches that cause the table to hit somewhere UNDER your belly button. It’s an uncomfortable experience having to hunch so far over the table to actually get down near your food.
I’m going to stick with eating sushi when I’m in Boston and go with alternatives food sources in Bratt!

Lots of people love Shin La. My theory is that most of those people have just never had better since almost all those folks grew up in/​near Brattleboro. I mean, Shin La is absolutely the best Korean food in the area (or maybe even the bottom third of the state). That’s because Shin La is the only Korean place around. Shin La also is the only place that serves sushi and general Japanese fare in downtown Brattleboro, which automatically makes it the best Japanese place in town — there are two other sushi places nearby but they are not downtown.
With that said, Shin La is pretty bad.
The sashimi my friend got was sliced into very thick slices. In fact, I don’t think the word «slice» actually can be used to describe those pieces of fish. The one piece of salmon I tried from her plate was not very good. I mean, it didn’t give me food poisoning like the worst sushi I’ve had did, but it didn’t taste that great either. In fact, it just didn’t taste like salmon. The rolls that I got were similarly bad. The miso soup was below average but still acceptable. The discoloration of the photos in the menu and of the menu itself did not inspire my confidence in their noodles and Korean dishes, so I did not order those.
The reason why I gave it two stars is that they did do a pretty good job with the tempura and the spicy tuna rolls. Also they had Kirin and Sapporo.
Basically, Shin La is okay solely because it is the only thing around. I’d go there if I absolutely had to have Korean food without driving an hour south to Hadley, MA. There are better Japanese places around Bratt that I don’t want to bother with them again.