Korean Village

Having moved from the south bay, I missed the variety and selection of Korean restaurants up here until I found this place. Friendly staff, quick service and good food is usually a winner for me.

No table side BBQ. The banchan taste just OK and entrees are little worse than average. We got the Kalbi and a couple of other dishes along with a surprise it from my a pan fried fish, which was terrible. It was delivered about 10 mins after all the dishes came out and was way over cooked. In fact there wasn’t much left left of the fish. I’d say skip this place.

Great service, friendly on the phone and in person. Tasty food. Nice selection of sides like kim chee, crunchy curd/​tofu, bean sprouts, marinated potato, daikon, steamed broccoli, etc. lots of parking and tables. Bottles of Soju for $ 12, cant go wrong with that.
The Seafood Hot Plate $ 16 was tasty, it came out sizzling with rice to get crunchy. The disappointing thing is «seafood» equates to mostly squid, and there were 2 small piceces of shrimp which still had the skin on it – so def previously frozen and purchased in bulk. Wish there was fish or clams or mussels or something like that too. There was just enough sauce. I prefer things in the less salty side so it was great. I ate half of my dish and took the rest home.
Lots of booths and tables at 6:30pm, but it statted getting crowded @7:30 or so. Ample parking, as its part of a plaza on Santa Rita. They face the main road and are adjacent to where Kumon is located.
It is a 3.5 overall but rounding it up to 4 stars. I would come back and try the Bi Bim Bap next time.

Boyfriend and I ordered half kalbi and half beef. Portion sizes are great including the jap chae. We ended up taking some home because we couldn’t finish it. We also ordered the kimchi fried rice which was bland. We’ve had better but overall, a good experience.

*Galbi Tang ~ flavorful soupy broth with generous chunks of meat
*Home style banchan
*Veg Rameyeon ~ could have been less watery
* seemed expensive compared to South Bay Korean restaurants
* friendly owners

Short Story:
A fantastic Korean place in Pleasanton!
Long Story:
I have been coming here for the past five years and I have to say each and every time it has been wonderful! The décor and ambiance are nice and for the most part, the service too. The prices are a bit high, but the awesome food does make it worth it. We usually get the tofu soup and the Kaibi. We have tried the seafood pancakes which most of the time comes out super crispy (just the way I like it). We’ve also tried the Korean fried rice and the bugolgi.
Verdict:
Going back tonight… with the goal of eventually trying everything on the menu!

Favorite place in Tri-​Valley because of the superb family service. They take the time to talk to you and answer any questions. Comfortable environment for everyone. Hard to come by this sweet environment in most restaurants nowadays.
The food is cooked like it’s from Mom’s kitchen. I grab their to-​go juicy, short ribs all the time on my way home!

We couldn’t decide what to eat so we turned to Unilocal and found this place. Unfortunately, this place won’t be in our return list. The foods here are a little bit bland. They do give you a lot of banchan and some are pretty good (fish cake, potato and mushroom). We ordered:
— steamed dumpling (not a fan)
— seafood pancake (pretty good)
— kalbi (bland, i wish they put more seasonings)
— pork tofu soup (good)
— seafood bimbimbap (bland)

I love this place. I can’t believe I’ve lived in the area for over a year now and just discovered it.
often crowded, especially on the weekends so you know it’s popular. haven’t had a dud dish year and have eaten here at least six times in the last few months. bibimbap is great, served in a flat stone dish rather than a bowl, but works. noodle soup is good and I love the hot stone pancakes but they are more than a meal so unless you’re sharing them as an app with a few people, be prepared to take a lot home.
service is top notch, everyone is nice and friendly. I will definitely be a regular

Stopped by here with the family after shopping at the outlets. This is a family owned restaurant and we felt welcomed upon entering. They were accommodating for our party of 6 and 3 kids.
We ordered bulgogi, short ribs, bibibap, tofu soup, and pan fried mackerel. Food over was overall pretty good. The banchan were just okay. Kim Chee was a bit disappointing but not horrible. The bibibap, short ribs, and tofu soup were all very good. I believe the worse thing we had was the mackerel. So my only advice would be for the restaurant to avoid using old oil when frying food.
Would I come back here, probably.

I’ve been here a handful of times already, and it’s only now I’m finally reviewing this place.
This place never fails in anything… at all… from the customer service up to when you’re done with your food…
I believe a family owns this place… they’re the sweetest people ever… always smiling, very attentive, and very friendly… I love it… reminds me of the time I was here a couple of years back… the woman that served us (she may have been the mom or something) told me not to forget to review them on Unilocal… lol…long overdue I know, but it’s here now in case you’re reading this! :)
Anyway, each time I’ve been here, I’ve ordered the same thing… the steamed short rib in a stone plate… I’m not really hungry right now, but seriously, my stomach can easily growl the moment I start thinking about this dish haha… the meat is so flavorful and tender and everything else that goes along with it…
Oh yeah, I love their ban chan here! When I was with my friend here over the weekend, we asked for two rounds of it, killing everything with the exception of some of the kimchi lol
The seafood pancake here is humongous but so friggin’ delicious…
Great experience every single time! :)

If you are ever in town and want some Korean food, try this place out. I have been to a few Korean restaurants around the area and I find this one is by far the best.
We ended up coming here for dinner. When we arrived, we were seated right away. Service here is great. We didn’t have to wait long for our food to arrive.
The banchan came first. I like the fact that they let you have refills. Other Korean places I have been to don’t give you that option.
Here is what we ordered:
Kalbi (Korean BBQ ribs) — $ 16.95 (half)
Teriyaki chicken– (full) $ 18.95
Japchae– pan-​fried noodles, beef, veggies– $ 13.45
I really enjoyed the kalbi and japchae. I always end up ordering Kalbi. It’s my favorite! The japchae reminds me of yakisoba because of the sweet taste it has.
Overall, really good place with great service.

Let me start off by pointing out that the service was great. But that was the highlight of the meal. The banchan (side dishes) were plain and average — not well seasoned and not nearly as many as you get in places in Oakland.
— spicy seafood tofu soup: tasty but the seafood pieces in the soup were indelibly tough and way overcooked. They also cooked the egg in it instead of providing me with the egg to add as most other Korean restaurants do. Needless to say, the egg was tough and dry as well.
— short rib soup (galbi tang): bland with high white pepper content. The rib pieces were flavorless and tough. I know the highlight of the soup is the rich broth you get from the rib bones, but there was no richness here. Very watery and peppery. Very skimpy on the noodles. I barely ate it and didn’t bother to take it home.
— kimchi fried rice: my son took a bite and said, «yours is SO much better… like by a lot!» Nuff said.
I had such high hopes that there would finally be a Korean place in the Tri-​Valley that was worth spending money at. But I was thoroughly disappointed. The dishes will run you around $ 17 or more — very pricey for no apparent reason except that the restaurant is located in Pleasanton.
I don’t understand the great reviews for this place. I guess I just have to continue and make the trek to Oakland or Berkeley for good Korean food.

I was craving Korean food, and this place had good reviews so I decided to check it out.
I ordered the korean pancake, japchae, and bulgogi. I placed an order over the phone, and picked it up.
I thought the korean pancake was crispy and tasty. I also like the japchae and the meat. The to-​go orders came with some side dishes. I like all the side dishes.
Overall, I think this place does have decent Korean food — it definitely satisfying my Korean food cravings!

From their website’s About page:
«The restaurant was established in 2006 by Samuel and Helen Lee. Year after year, KV has sought to accomplish its most important mission: to provide healthy, authentic Korean food in a family-​oriented way to anyone willing to experience what Korean food was and is.»
Family-​oriented, indeed.
One thing most of my Asian friends and I agree on is how much our family members will comment on just about everything and anything — weight, relationship status (as in «why are you still single?» or if you’re married, «why don’t you have (more) kids?»), how much you earn, relationship status, further education, relationship status, and on and on. But you know, it doesn’t just have to be family members. Sometimes older Asian people who aren’t even related to you feel like they can say what they want. I remember coming back to work after Thanksgiving break and having one of the waitresses come up to me, pat her cheeks, and say, «Oh, you ate a lot during the holiday, hm?»
T_​T
My guy and I were all set to meet at 6 PM one Sunday evening, but I ended up finishing my errands way earlier than I anticipated, so I just decided to pop by the restaurant at 5:15. Most of the tables were already filled (good sign!), so they sat me at a booth near the right wall. One of the waitresses came by shortly and offered me tea and water. I told her I needed to wait for someone else before I ordered, and she nodded before walking away. I then took out my book and began to read.
When my date showed up, they brought him water and tea as well, and gave us some time to look over the menu. He likes Korean food, too, but I think I’m the one who is on the «I could eat this for three meals a day, every single day for the rest of my LIFE» level” so he allowed me to pick the dishes. Smart man, lol.
One of the waiters stopped by our table and the first thing out of his mouth was directed at my date: «You really made her wait for a long time.»
As his words registered in my brain, I immediately waved my hands and shook my head, «Ah, it’s alright, it’s not his fault. I just came really early…»
Slightly taken aback, my date shrugged and affirmed what I said, «She told me 6 o’clock.»
The waiter laughed and asked what we wanted to order:
*bulgogi beef — full order — 20 (half is 13.50)
*japchae — pan friend noodles, beef, veggies — 13
^^ All main dishes come with 10 refillable ban chan (side dishes) and steamed rice
*hot stone pancake (seafood) — 15
^^ they also have the following varieties: beef, pork, kimchi pork, & veggie
I was kind of craving mandu (dumplings), so I inquired about the dumpling appetizer. As soon as the waiter noted that his mom made them fresh every day, I was sold.
*handmade steamed dumplings (10) — 10.50
^^ they can be ordered fried or boiled, too
One woman came by with the appetizers about 10 minutes later, and my guy and I were both surprised by the size of the hot stone pancake (check out the photo) that easily could, and probably should, have been shared between 4 – 5 people. The mandu were so good, though, that we split them 5 – 5 and finished them off.
The same woman came back with the bulgogi beef, ban chan, rice, japchae… and some words for my date. She motioned at me and shot him a semi-​scolding look, «Look! She’s sooo hungry because you made her wait so long.»
Aigoo, ahjumma…
After she left, I apologized to my date, but he just laughed. «I guess I’m being treated like a son. She’s giving me dating tips!»
We made our way through all of the japchae and bulgogi beef, and part of the way through most of the ban chan. It was our first time eating Korean food together and we discovered that we had the same favorite — gamjajorim (glazed potatoes).
When we left, it was with full stomachs and a great date story from a truly family-​oriented restaurant. Thanks, Korean Village!

My first visit to Korean Village today was a memorable one. I walked in with my colleague Roger L a few minutes before noon and the place was practically empty. We were shown to a clean spacious booth and noticed another colleague having lunch with a cousin at an adjoining booth, so we walked over to say hello. They were regulars and gave us the skinny on the best things to order and how to order them.
They recommended:
— Kalbi (Korean BBQ short ribs) if we didn’t mind spending a little extra
— Spicy BBQ pork if we could handle the heat
— The bento lunch box if we were looking for something relatively light (this comes with limited Banchan)
— An entrée if you want a large quantity of food and «refillable» Banchan of almost every variety
We hedged our bets — Roger ordered the spicy BBQ pork entrée, I the Kalbi bento box. The restaurant started filling up almost as soon as we’d placed our orders, and the food arrived quickly — miso soup, Banchan (nine square bowls), a sizzling serving of spicy BBQ pork that made my eyes water, and a big bento box (with six Kalbi pieces and a LOT of Banchan).
The food was excellent. The pork was succulent and the spices set my mouth on fire. Beads of sweat started pouring down my temples, but I could not stop eating it. Roger preferred the Kalbi, which was cooked to medium rare perfection. He ate half my food, I ate about half of his — hey, that’s what friends are for!
By the time we finished our food and headed back to work, the restaurant was packed to the gills with more patrons pouring in — the almost empty parking lot now chock-​a-​block with cars.
We will be back soon — I can’t wait to try all the other food this Korean Village has to offer!

So we went here on a Tuesday specially for the lunch menu or Korean barbecue. Just be aware that their lunch specials are only Wednesday — Saturday (completely found this odd). Also, this place isn’t a real Korean barbecue because they don’t have the grills in the tables! Anyways, I ordered a Japchae and it was decent. This place is just average to me.
–Kristen
3 stars from Kristen, Edmund was not here to rate

Third time is a charm, and a delicious one too!
I’ve been wanting to try Korean Village for quite some time based on all the good reviews here. My two previous attempts of eating at this restaurant ended in disappointment since the restaurant was closed (they take a break between lunch and dinner). Today, I went back there again with my friend Sarah and fortunately for us, the restaurant was open, which meant I finally got a chance to try their offerings.
We arrived at the restaurant at 1:15pm today. The restaurant was about 75% full at that time. We were greeted by one of the owner’s sons and he seated us at a booth close to the cash register. I looked around and the restaurant appeared clean and spacious. By my count, there were about a dozen tables/​booths. Several paintings and a couple large TVs decorated the walls.
The same son brought us water and menus. We chatted a bit and he was very friendly. He told us his entire family helps out at the restaurant. He also told us the banchans, made by his mother, have no MSG in them since he’s allergic to it. That was good to know since that meant we were getting something homemade.
Sarah ordered the hot stone bibimbop ($ 15) and I got the seafood soondubu (extra spicy, $ 12.50). Before the food came out, the son brought us the banchans. An array of 10 lined up neatly on a tray. I sampled every one of them and definitely noticed the quality. They were definitely some of the better ones I have had in awhile.
My soondubu came out bubbling hot. An egg was already cracked and dropped into my soup prior to service. It had an adequate amount of octopus, small oysters, and shrimp. Taste wise it was pretty good. The only knock I had was that the soup wasn’t spicy enough, but that’s just a personal preference. Sarah’s hot stone bibimbop was impressively presented. They used a large pajun (pancake) hot plate to present the bibimbop. The larger surface area allowed more rice to be burnt. Taste wise she said it was definitely one of the better ones she had ever had.
Service was excellent. A couple of the sons took turns to take care of us during the meal. We were very satisfied with our meal. Our visit today definitely validated what other Unilocalers have said about this place. Korean Village will now be a part of my regular Korean restaurant rotation!

Another great experience at Korean Village. We’re pretty lucky to live close to this place, but we’re moving farther away in the near future, so reviews of this place will not be as frequent :(
Anyways the fiancé and I didn’t want to cook two nights ago as we’re packing up our stuff, so we walked to KV for another meal. She had their chicken soup (everytime I think of chix soup, I think its samgaetang, but this wasn’t samgaetang) and I had the combo kalbi and naeng myun.
I’d say as usual that the kalbi was really good, but a little more would’ve been nice. But what stood out was the broth in the naeng myun. When we paid our bill, the mom was curious what I thought and I told her it was so delicious. She said they made it the day we ate. Good job, I really enjoyed it. My fiancé really enjoyed her soup. She wasn’t feeling that great that day, so chicken soup was in order. It had pieces of dduk in it (the same kind you’d find in dduk boki) and a game hen (I believe it was a game hen). Regardless of what it was, it was delicious as I had some of it too.
The service was awesome as usual. All three sons were working that day, never seen the younger son until that day. The parent should be proud of their kids for helping out and being great hosts for this awesome restaurant. For non-​Koreans (or Koreans that speak less than perfect Korean like me :)), the sons speak perfect English and so don’t worry too much about not getting your questions answered.
Gonna miss this place, but I’d definitely drive down here if we can’t find anything better on the other end of the 680!

After working in Pleasanton and eating out constantly with my Co workers. I came to the conclusion that Pleasanton have a decent amount of food variety. I decided to come here with my coworker on Friday as we have been craving Korean food for a long time! We arrived right when it opened and were seated immediately.
I felt very welcomed by the staff as they were nice and attentive. We ordered an order of bulgogi and seafood pancake to share as it came with 7 unlimited sides. Our waiter came frequently to check if we needed more sides. Although the sides tasted average, it was a nice gesture. The bulgogi was disappointing as it wasn’t grilled quite the way I expect it to be. It was actually watery. What blew me away was their seafood pancake. It didn’t look like your average seafood pancake when it arrived sizzling hot on the table. Upon first bite, it had a crispy batter that wasn’t burnt and an okay amount of filling.
Overall, I would want to return to try other types of food on their menu. But, there are a lot to be desired still from Korean village as the seafood pancake was the only thing that was acceptable. And the friendly service!