MinGa

Min Ga is a cozy and absolutely wonderful place for Korean and other Asian foods, with a delightful and attentive but unobtrusive staff. I have to admit that I’m pretty partial to the beef bulgoki, but they do offer a wide variety of authentic Korean and other Asian food favorites that I see other customers eating very happily.

The best part of this restaurant is the setting — in a small building with a pleasant calm vibe, tucked away from the nearby 15 – 501 highway. It almost has the feel of a large house, nicer than the usual strip-​mall setting of most other Korean restaurants in the Triangle. I’ve enjoyed coming here since it was called Sushi-​Yoshi, the popular Korean-​owned Japanese restaurant that used to occupy this space. They still have some Japanese things on the menu. The food is enjoyable, but mostly mediocre and quite pricey for Korean. If you haven’t had Korean food before you may be amazed by it. The banchan (side-​dishes served with every meal) are good. Most recently I had the bibim naeng myun (spicy cold buckwheat noodles with beef), which was one of the tastiest things I’ve had here. Worth a try if you’re hankering for Korean food in the area because it’s the only Korean place nearby — there’s better and cheaper Korean food elsewhere in Durham and Raleigh.

Met Lauryn C for lunch here and first impressions were high. Beautiful space, cozy atmosphere, clean bathrooms (though no soap) and the menu looked great. We each ordered the bulgoki boxes (Lauryn had pork, I had chicken). They each came with dumplings, salad, and a Korean roll. They brought out bowls of miso soup, which were lukewarm. The salad was good and dumplings were ok (hard to mess up a deep fried dumpling). The roll and meat on the other hand was not. The roll was bland and the meat, while hot, had no flavor, and was gristly with extra skin. We left it half eaten and felt queasy the rest of the afternoon. The price was high, it was a 20 minute drive from RTP, and left a bad taste in my mouth. Good thing I had delicious Mexican for supper to make up for a disappointing lunch.

Perhaps I have high expectations but this place is really bad. The taste is off in many of the dishes I’ve tried, ranging from tofu soup to bibimbap. If you’re debating inter korea house and minga, go to inter korea house

On another quiet weeknight I visited minga and greeted with a still massive menu had a decision to make. Enjoying kimchi dumplings we were greeted with the generous portions i remembered and upon arrival of the condiments assortment i was feeling excited for the entrees to come.
Maybe it was an off night. I had a rice noodle dish with Black bean sesame sauce, pork and vegetables. I guess i had just expected more variety and texture, rather it was a very one dimensional sweet-​salty stew of indescribable contents over a heap of, albeit satisfyingly, chewy noodle.
The bi bim bap my companion ordered was slightly less well adorned, crisp-​rice lacking.
An off night, bit still reliable Korean in Chapel Hill

Probably one of the best Korean restaurant in the RTP area. I have tried other places and this one got the flavor spot on. Food comes out fairly quickly and it’s always on point. This place have never failed me in food quality and cleanliness. Service was so so, but I can overlook that. I don’t have much high expectations for great service at most Asian restaurants.

Authentic Korean food in a nice house. Everything is pleasing. I took the Tofu soup which was surprising.

We went to this restaurant for lunch on a Sunday. We appreciated the selection of Korean and Japanese menu items. we were the only non-​Asian family having lunch at that time, and the waitstaff was very concerned that we would not be able to handle using the chopsticks; they kept offering us forks. Very kind! I think we finally reassured them with our skills. We’re fans of bibimbap, and ordered that in stone hot bowls. Our kids like Japanese tonkatsu. Our food arrived and it was absolutely delicious! First came the Korean side dishes, called banchan. They were also lovely. Several kimchi variants, potato salad, stir fried tofu, and pickled bean sprouts. All wonderful! Our luncheon dishes were delicious, the tonkatsu crispy and juicy, the bibimbap flavorful. An authentic restaurant for Korean and Japanese food.

I was feeling a bit sick so decided to come here for some spicy soon tofu on Friday night around 10pm. The restaurant was really nicely decorated and not too crowded. I was seated quickly and ordered the Beef Soontofu Jige.
They brought out a good number of banchan which are traditional korean side dishes like spicy pickles, kimchi, and potato stew, these were all pretty good, but some were a little salty. The soontofu came out boiling hot and was the perfect level of spiciness.
The dish was full of tofu, beef, and mushrooms, though I wish they gave you an egg to crack in it as a lot of other tofu houses do.
The food was pretty good and they have a pretty big variety of different korean dishes like dukkboki and bibimbap so I’ll definitely be back to try those!
All in all I really enjoyed the meal and atmosphere and would definitely recommend this place to anyone craving korean soon tofu!

My boyfriend and I happened upon MinGa when we were visiting Chapel Hill for a couple of days. Both he and I lived in bigger cities like San Francisco and New York, where there was no shortage of good Korean food, so we kept an open mind going into MinGa. The food wasn’t great, but it was good enough for a quick lunch before heading to the airport.
The Not So Good:
— Miso soup that comes with the Bibimbap was not good. My boyfriend actually really likes miso soup, but this time, he pushed it away after tasting it. It didn’t help that we had eaten at Sushi Nikko just the day before, where the miso soup was absolutely delicious.
— The side dishes were bland and not memorable. I love visiting Korean restaurants where the side dishes are delicious additions to the meal. At MinGa, I only remember one dish being rather tasty — it looked and tasted like strips of kimchi pancake.
— On a hot day, I love slurping down some Korean cold noodles. MinGa gives you a generous bowl of noodles, but it wasn’t as good as many other places I’ve tried. It wasn’t bad, but I ended up only eating half the bowl. However, for my boyfriend, who rarely eats cold, vinegary noodles, it wasn’t too bad of a dish — this could just mean that I have become picky after trying so many.
The Good:
— The Bibimbap was really flavorful! I kept stealing some from my boyfriend.
— Good service.
Verdict: Would go to grab a quick meal, but not a place I would take out-​of-​town visitors for good Korean food.

Not that many Korean restaurants in the area. This one is on the high end of the spectrum. Nice atmosphere. I’ve been there 4 – 5 times now. Kalbi and Bulgogi are outstanding. I also had Katsu and hot pot that were excellent as well.

I got the bulgogi bibimbap but the bulgogi is rather flavorless. Kind of disappointing considering the meat is such an important part of the dish. Interior deco is fairly nice though.

MinGa serves Korean food but it is «good’ at best. Please do not come here to have your first taste of Korean food. Almost every Korean restaurant I have been to was better.

Absolutely outstanding sums up this korean restaurant off center and a bit innocuous in foody Chapel Hill. Korean food is amazing because it combines sweet and spicy, umami with salt. The Tofu Jigae soup will warm you up on the chilliest North Carolina evening and the Bi Bim Bap remind you to make a mess of your dish. The classic appetizer-​condiments ubiquitous at Korean restaurants is well enjoyed and the tea is hot and refilled often. I enjoyed the house Sweet Potato sausages as an appetizer and the small bill at the end of a generous meal. What a way to bring some heat to an unusually cold January evening. Given that there is a definite lack of Korean (really asian cuisines beyond Chinese Japanese, or Thai) in the area, I was relieved to find Minga a sound solution to my need.

I live in Durham and I always had to trek to Seoul Garden in Raleigh to get good Korean food UNTIL I FOUND MINGA! I come here at least twice a month for their food. The price is a little steep for the food, but that seems to be the typical price range for Korean food in the Triangle. Banchan (free side dishes) are delicious and refillable! I recommend the (chicken?) gizzards and any of their soups. Would definitely come here more often if the price was lower though!

Nastiest korean food I’ve ever eaten.
Yook ge Jang (beef stew) was so sour and vinegar-​y.
The bibimbap was mostly rice and gave too little toppings to mix the rice with.
The side dishes are all so unflavorful and bland. I don’t know who is cooking this food. Are they korean? Are they tasting the food before serving it?
I’m korean and I’ve never ever had such bad Korean food in my life. I can probably cook better than this.
Please do not be mistaken in thinking this place is authentic Korean food.
The restaurant itself is clean and bathrooms are clean.

As a korean restaurant it is a great place, staff is always welcoming and decoration is nice.
I usually go there to eat grilled or broiled whole fish but the problem is there’s no consistency.
One day they make it too dry, the other day they serve the fish with internal organs still intact (that was really gross) Anyway, I like the place but each time I have to specifically explain what I want.

It’s a good place for Korean food. I was very pleased with seafood Bibimpab.
The service was ok. The atmosphere itself was not impressive too. The other dish with octopus was overcooked. This place has a nice location, authentic food, potential to be excellent.
But still we prefer Inter Korea when it comes to Asian food.

My Go To place for Korean food in Durham. Authentic. restaurant owned by a Korean family. I like their Hot Stone Bimbimbap here but there’s barely any meat in it. For almost $ 10, I feel that it should have a bit more beef. I feel that their Kalbi is a bit overpriced for again… barely any meat.
I would recommend their Kimchee soup on a cold day, their cold noodle dish on a hot day or their daily lunch specials.

First time having Korean food. The waiters were very helpful and explained clearly everything I asked about. The atmosphere is very good. Food was flavorful and abundant. Most of the other guests were Korean or Asian so I am guessing it must be authentic, as most reviewers say. I recommend this place highly

I’ve been to Min-​Ga many times. The restaurant itself is very clean and Korean artsy. The food tastes excellent – this is the best Korean I’ve had in NC. And I have been to Seoul several times. Their best food is Bulgogi and Pork Bellies.

Pretty nice Korean food. I really love the side dishes. I ordered the F2, just normal Korean food. Flavor is also nice. Environment okay, service okay. We need to ask tem to refill the side dishes, not so good. Overall, nice.

As much as I really wanted to like this place, I just couldn’t deal with the mediocrity of the food. I’ve been to many Korean restaurants and this by far was one of the lowest in taste. We got the soon tofu and it was bland and the fact that it was a bit pricey made us not like this place either. The ban chan was very Americanized and lacked flavor. The owners and their daughter were very sweet which is why I’m giving this place three stars, but I wouldn’t go back for the food.

Music was irritating, kid crying near my table, food was somewhat cold (how long was it waiting for…)
Food was okay but a bit under seasoned; not worth it to come back again.
Peace fam.

My family’s go-​to place for Korean food. I love the bibimbap here — they make it so well. Also love the amuse-​bouches they serve prior to the meal (the potato one is the best). Their Korean pancakes are also amazing — can’t go wrong with either the seafood one or the kimchi one.

Had this the other day with a friend I had not seen in a few years. It’s a half way point between where she lives in graham and where I live in Raleigh. Location is easy off of I40, even if a little hidden.
Interior décor was lovely. Music was top 40. Would have been nice to have some soft Korean or Japanese music playing in the background to feel a little more authentic. Service was quick… Almost rushed. Would have been just right if not catching up with an old friend. It took us forever to even look at the menu then couldn’t really decide.
I stuck with a simple breaded fish dinner. We got some veggie dumplings to start. Both were tasty. I don’t know enough about typical authentic Korean food to say whether our food items were the norm, but the portions were large (we both took half home). The mochi and green tea ice cream we ordered after were yummy and just the right size.
Little pricey for everything, but for all the food we got, that seemed ok.
Would likely return in the future to try again.

I’ve really tried to love Min Ga but at this point, I can’t. I’ve come to this restaurant for years, even had one of my birthday dinners here with a large group of friends, but every time I eat here, there is some disappointment.
The service: I can get past the prices but the service bothers me. Even on my birthday, after we got our food, we waited for the server to bring us for silverware for a while, and then I ended up having to get up from the table to go find someone. On a more recent visit, our waiter never brought out our waters, even after we got our food and asked her again for water, she went to the back but did not bring them out. It was not until the end of the meal that she finally did. I don’t understand why the service can be this bad when there were no other customers.
The food: I’ve tried a wide variety of the foods on the menu. Some are close to being good but usually turn out to be somewhat bland. More specifically: the jampong is not very spicy, the nengmyun is watered down, the jajangmyeon doesn’t have much taste and didn’t have much vegetables or meat in it. If you want to know what you should get, I’d recommend: the seafood pancake, ddukbokgi or jampong. The seafood pancake and ddukbokgi are good choices if you want to share with your friends, which is always fun! The banchan are pretty good as well.
Summary: If you’re really craving Korean food and just gotta get your fix, try it! It’s definitely hit or miss. Maybe you will like it! Unfortunately, I think I’ve given Min Ga one too many chances and will have to get my Korean food fix elsewhere…

Desolate; soundtracked by Katy Perry and Bruno Mars. We were the only ones there, save for the ghosts of the war.
The food was fresh. The portions acceptable.
It is like eating at the edge of the world, now that the world has been paved over.

This place is sooo close to being 5 Stars, if they lowered their prices by about 20%, that might be the difference. Fellow Unilocalers got it right! It is a bit pricey and most of us can appreciate value for our money. I’m guessing they’ve built the cost of the Banchan (side dishes) into things. That being said, the food here is really, really good. Clean, quaint, great lighting. Staff was very helpful in narrowing down selections because I wanted to eat EVERYTHING! The Steamed Tofu (a ton) appetizer was so simple and wonderful with its sauce. The Pan Fried Dumplings were different and delicious — can’t remember the last time I had beef in a dumpling — almost seemed deep fried to crunchy goodness. The pork Bulgoki — I literally lost my mind it was so good — spicy and tender — and the bottom pieces charred and stuck to the grill — oh yes! The Shrimp Bokum was good as well but a bit bland and not as spicy as I would have liked. Killer hot green tea. Totally enjoyed the meal and had to stop eating or unbutton my pants in public. Thankfully I chose the former. Check this place out but bring a FAT wallet and loose pants.

This was our second time visiting. Place was clean, server friendly… Only complaint there is NO MUSIC WAS PLAYING. We could hear every word of the (annoying) conversation next to us.
We ordered the fried dumplings and steamed tofu apps and they were both delicious and ample portions. Especially liked the soy dipping sauce.
My husband ordered the Hot Stone Bipbimbap (and loved it) and I ordered the Kimchi Seafood Tang. My tang was excellent, just the right mix of savory broth and spicy heat that I wanted on a cold night. My only complaints are that my dish contained only 1 small shrimp (1!) and the only other type of seafood in it was squid. Didn’t seem like enough variety to be called a seafood dish. I am a squid lover, but mine was pretty tough or maybe I wouldn’t have cared.
On a not-​food-​related note, we looked up the closing time online (which was 10pm) and arrived at 8:45 pm thinking we would have plenty of time without feeling rushed. They closed at 9:20 and the manager/​owner (?) was walking around scowling. We ended up feeling guilty and took the rest to go.
Overall, we love the place and will def go back.

A group of us decided to try Min Ga Friday night based on Unilocal reviews. This sit down restaurant is your typical standard Asian style restaurant and very clean. I made reservations over the phone and I am glad I did because there wasn’t a table open when we left around 8pm. They have a good size menu with Korean and English to describe the dishes and photos for most items. I ordered a Plum Wine ($ 5 a glass) and my friend ordered a Sapporo. They have a selection of 4 – 5 beers (no draft), sake and different wines to choose from. We started with the pork dumplings ($ 12.95) — steamed with pork, tofu, bean sprouts, vermicelli noodles and scallions. One might think this price is steep but you get 12 or so large dumplings and they were delicious. Fresh ingredients and a wonderful ginger/​green onion/​soy sauce to dip them in. For my entrée I went with the Hot Stone Pot Bibimbap ($ 12.95) — steamed white rice topped with vegetables, beef, and fried egg. Served in a sizzling hot stone pot with pepper paste sauce on the side. Heaven I tell you! Everything worked well together, the pepper sauce made everything taste even better and after the dish sat awhile the rice at the bottom formed this wonderful crust to it. Best Korean food I have had and I have visited Korea before. It was also served with a tofu soup not listed on the menu (surprise!) and it was delicious as well. My brother ended up getting the Beef Bulgoki ($ 21.95). The portion size is small for the price in my opinion and it didn’t wow either one of us. The Ban Chan’s (7 all together) were nice here as well. The waitress brought them out before our meals and I asked her to go over what was what and she did a great job explaining. The Kimchi radish stood out for me and I couldn’t get enough of them. I am looking forward to coming back and trying some other menu items but it will be hard not to order the hot stone pot again. Walking out we noticed they have a garden outback behind the restaurant which is a very good sign. If you haven’t tried Korean food before I think this is a great place to start and if you enjoy Korean food I don’t think you will be disappointed.

An awesome Korean spot for those on the western part of the triangle (near Raleigh, Seoul Garden is it) — ordered the japchae ramen noodles with spicy beef and was not disappointed. The noodles were incredible, the beef seasoned just right, and of course the awesome banchan (appetizers). The menu boasts an extensive selection of Korean dishes, some quite authentic (maybe will try the intestines next time). Only regret is that it’s not closer. Five stars!