Seoul Station

Update — this place has been closed since late 2009. It’s been replaced by Xi’an Famous Foods as of summer of 2010.

Korean TACOS!!! Sooooo good. Came here on a food crawl, that all we ordered and it was fabulous. I loved the combination. From the other reviews, probably a good idea I didn’t try anything else hah
It’s such a cute random spot– great to just pull up a chair outside on the sidewalk and indulge. I went last summer and last time I passed by, it said closed for renovation. The website leads to seamless but I am still unsure if this place still exists? I really hope so, but then again, for only one good menu item I suppose I can’t be surprised.

I seriously want to choke a bitch for trying their korean soft tacos here. Wannabe is an understatement at their feeble attempt at nouveau cuisine. I should have known better. After this post, your biz will be sure to be in the shitter. Moo ha ha. How now brown cow?

I came here after randomly walking around one night for a new spot to try. The menu looked interesting enough at good prices, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
It’s a nice interior, a couple of tables and a communal table connected to the wall. It’s definitely more of a takeout spot, but good if you have 1 or 2 people with you.
I got the bibimap with bulgogi. Unfortunately the rice was not toasted or crispy like it should be, the bulgogi was tasteless, as was the rest of the dish. A dish like this should definitely have a lot more flavor to it.
I also got the pancakes, which was fried well, but again lacked taste without adding sauce to it.
The prices are reasonable, the bibimap was only $ 8 for a pretty large portion. The pancakes were a little more expensive, only 3 small pieces for $ 4.
Overall I think there are better Korean spots in the area, though a little pricier.

I was excited for the korean tacos. The concept seemed great: anything with korean beef is a-​ok with me. But the food was pretty disappointing. The taco meat was cold and the taco shell itself was soggy. We ordered a sandwich with chicken as well… if you can call it that. I think there was a total of 2 pieces of chicken in the damn thing and the rest was full of lettuce and raddish. It was far from disgusting, but definitely not something to rave about.

I came here purely on the recommendation to get the korean tacos, and I loved them. I got the spicy pork taco and the bulgogi taco. One would never think a korean taco would exists, but the flavor combination works.
My friend ordered a BiBimBap. and it was on the healthy tasting side. There was definitely no grease (even on the beef) and the veggies tasted like they were steamed/​boiled with very little salt. It seems like a good dish to get especially for someone looking to eat more healthy.
I would come back just for the tacos!

Now that a few weeks have passed since I ate here, I feel like I can give a fairer assessment of this place. For what it is and how much the food costs, this place is pretty decent. Nothing here tastes phenomenal – not even the Seoul Sandwich, which I ordered with spicy pork. While everything about the sandwich itself is solid, from the perfectly toasted bread, to the very fresh and well seasoned ingredients, the food lacks that «oomph» factor. While some have compared the Seoul Sandwich (which is basically bibimbap in the form of a sandwich minus the rice) to the Vietnamese banh mi, I’m sad to say the Seoul Sandwich falls way short on the uniqueness-​of-​taste scale. Maybe it’s the odd concept of eating a very common Korean cuisine staple (bibimbap) and putting it between two pieces of bread. Nonetheless, the sandwich is still very good, it just lacks that «wow» factor, like completely.
I also tried their soft taco which I ordered with beef. It’s small, but very cheap. Next time, I might order several of these and forego the Seoul Sandwich. The small tortilla was soft and fresh and all the ingredients in the taco just worked well together. Plus, they give you a lot of chimichurri sauce which is delish! I also ordered the duk bokki which I thought was just standard. It was nothing special and had a slightly «fishy» taste that stood out. I don’t mind this personally, but it might put off others.
Would I go here again? Of course. It’s simple and cheap Korean food with a twist. That said, I’m not quite sure what all the hype is about…

Kogi was the food experience that made me want to start Unilocaling, some 350 reviews ago. I was there the first weekend before the bloggers and the lines with nothing coloring judgment but my palate and my tum. What I’m trying to say, besides «I’m awesome,» is that I have a special relationship with the A-​one in Korean tacos and can’t help but let that impact my opinion of this place.
Seoul Station’s bulgogi and spicy pork are far from bad, but they won’t leave you wiping gleeful dribble from an overeager mouth. That said, at $ 2.50 apiece, they are cheap and certainly bigger than what you would get at Kogi. The meat could be better marinated and more inherently flavorful, and a little bit of acidity would give the tacos a bright boost. They are, though, perfectly passable, and certainly worth a try.
The steamed pork dumplings, at $ 2.95, were a disappointment. They weren’t steamed enough and the filling was bland. I wouldn’t order these again.
The item on the menu that I am most likely to return for is probably one of the most humble. At $ 1.95, the kimchi stew (or to the long-​initiated, kimchi jjigae) is a nice warm cup of comfort. This was my #1 craving when I went away for college, and remains the one dish that reminds me most of home. Sure, Seoul Station isn’t about to compete with my mom (may I suggest SPAM?) but it’s tasty and happy-​inducing in its own right.
Service, especially for a little bitty take-​out place, is excellent. There’s also plenty of seating where you won’t look out of place taking a solitary meal, dipping your face into kimchi jjigae with a book in one hand.

I love love love Korean food. And there are an abundant number of Korean restaurants in New York, but I always go to Dok Suni’s in the East Village, because it’s the best Korean I’ve had, and, well, it’s across the street from me; I can see Dok Suni from my window.
So when Seoul Station opened, I decided to give it a whirl. I figured I can see it from my window too, so it’s gotta be good. Now mind you, even the non-​discerning eater can tell that Dok Suni’s and Seoul Station are very different establishments. Whereas one is somewhat highend, with table service and booze, the other is really just a takeout-​type of place, with smartly and simply branded paper bowls, using the 90s font answer to edgy and emo (Confidential).
Of course it wouldn’t be the same. But it couldn’t be that bad. I mean, I loved Confidential, and there were about three consecutive projects I art-​directed that used it. Sadly, it wasn’t good at all.
I ordered Bulgogi Bibimbap, and I should just have ordered an extra large order of sticky rice with cardboard-​textured beef. Yeah, it was that unfortunate. The rice lacked any crispy/​burnt pieces that add an amazing smoked flavor and a nice texture to Bibimbap. Dok Suni masters this technique to a fault. Confidentially speaking, Seoul Station could really benefit from a good night out on the town featuring Dok Suni as their dining destination.

Seoul Station is one of those hit or miss restaurants. Either you’ll absolutely love it like a junkie, or just think its somewhat bland and continue on in your culinary journey. I have friends that swear on the korean tacos and I have some that won’t even touch it again.
As a tip, if you want to flavor up that bland sandwich; ask them for a side of gochujang (the bibimbap sauce) — it really turned the sandwich around and added some character.
Seoul Station is a place you have to try for yourself; swing by next time after you’re done doing sake bombs down the street and write your own opinion on it.

Amazing Korean tacos! This was actually my first time to ever have such a thing and I’m so glad I did. I had the bulgogi and spicy pork tacos. The bulgogi was heaven. Perfect mix of spicy and sweet. The pork was just as good but was a little too watery/​juicy. My taco shell actually broke in half from the pork au jus. No big deal, just ate the rest with a fork.
The staff was super friendly. Can’t wait to come back for more.

not bad! i had the korean tacos, one with bulgoki (beef) and one with spicy pork. as much as i like the bulgoki taco, which had the cooling green/​cilantro topping… i love the spicy pork much better. hey for $ 2.50 per taco, i’m not gonna complain. it was good to me for the price. it’s tasty to me and well worth the money.
i also had the ddukboki (spicy rice cake) and although it tastes a little different than what i make at home — still worth the $ 6 to me :) i’ve never tried the truck in LA but for nyc, this is good for me!

I haven’t been to Kogi — the Korean Taco Truck in LA, but even if this might be the only place in NYC to serve Korean Tacos, it’s a pretty good first offering. They have 2 choices — bulgogi and spicy pork — each taco is $ 2.50, served on a corn tortilla, and packed with much more than Pinche Taqueria. They’ve only been making them for 3 weeks, so it’s only on the chalk board as a special.

This place is so confused – honestly.
Korean Tacos w. Cilantro – Ew. Not good fusion – and the fact that you couldn’t get the tacos with kimchi on them – even worse!
The bibimbap was okay – and the rice combo – mediodre, plus they forgot to give us our kimchi chigae–
Everything is served in plastic or paper dishes – and I think the prices are actually quite high for the quality of food and how it is served–
Damage – $ 30 bucks with a small tip for 2ppl –what a joke!

Not impressed.
I tried this place after reading a post on eater about korean tacos in the city. Having heard all the rave about the kogi trucks in california, I was hoping for something really tasty.
Each taco was $ 2.50, and so I tried a beef (bulgogi) and pork (spicy pork) taco. Not gross, but also not that great. The fact that there were «korean» flavors really didn’t do much for the taco. I think I would’ve preferred a taco from taco bell…

Pretty good cheap food. I went to try the Korean tacos as I’ve heard amazing things about Kogi. I have to admit I really hope Kogi is better as I was not really wowed by the tacos at Seoul Station. Don’t get me wrong, they were tasty, but I was expecting mind blowingly orgasmic or something. I had both the spicy pork and beef — the beef was a bit mushy and pork had a bit too much fat on it. Both also needed a bit more flavor. My friend and I also shared the veggie dumplings — definitely skip those if you, not worth it. Bonus points for awesome hip hop on the stereo.

Although this place definitely doesn’t serve up the most «authentic» Korean food, I had some bibimbap which was quite tasty. Although it was served with scrambled eggs instead of a fried egg over the top (contributing to the inauthenticity), I enjoyed myself and it was a pretty filling dish.
The interior has a very neat and minimalistic design, and along with the low price of the food and the friendly service you get from the owners, you can’t ask for a whole lot more for the price!

This is yuuumm. Small little place not great for sitdown but nice. Never had korean before so I can’t compare but that was real tasty. Took a while to make be prepared to wait

I love Korean food and am glad this new fast food place opened a few blocks away. They have a couple of vegetarian options here– bibimbap and a vegetarian sandwich. I ordered to stay (there’s a counter and a couple of tables to eat at), and my bibimbap was served in a paper bowl. I guess it’s too much to ask for a stone bowl at a cheap takeout place — I love those things! At first, the portion looked really small, but I the bowl was deeper than it looked, because I got full quickly. The food was ok; I’d return because it’s a healthier fast food option.
The interior is small, clean, and modern looking (flat screen tv on one side playing pop music videos). My bibimbap came to $ 8– not as cheap as I’d like considering it was mostly rice (almost no veggies and tofu, and they are stingy with their sauce!). Sandwiches are around $ 7.

Cheap eateries are one of the reasons East Village is one of my mainstays.
Although, being Korean makes me a bit tad judgmental when it comes to Korean food.
I tried the sandwich which was chicken and cucumbers slathered in some nondescript brown sauce on a roll. While it was OK at best, it certainly wasn’t Korean.
I give it three stars for the unassuming and modest décor, Kanye West music videos on the flat screens, lowbrow prices, and the friendly staff.
Would I come back? Only if the line at Pommes Frites is too long.