Manna Korean Restaurant

I had a friend drop me some food off from here and have never been disappointed. For me, korean food is all about the comfort food, since, well I’m asian and just miss oriental flavors in general in a relatively asian food starved town. So it’s very clean simple flavors that define this place, especially in its soups that I love.
So I really like the galbi tang and the duk guk — very simple yet flavorful broth. If you order takeout though, they don’t give you much in the way of rice or noodles for the galbi tang though which I kinda find odd. Yet they heap you plentiful amounts of kimchi.
One thing I don’t recommend tough is the tonkatsu. 2 stars for that. It’s dry, the breading comes off too easily and is so razor thin to the point I can’t tell if i’m eating breading or pork.

Maybe I ordered the wrong thing (the bibimbap, a rice bowl with veggies, beef and egg), but I found it rather bland. I tried adding sriracha and soy sauce, but I never got a lot of flavor out of the dish. My husband ordered the beef short ribs, which were excellent, though the banchan was hit and miss. I wish Unilocal allowed half star ratings since I feel like this place was a solid 3.5 stars when it came to food, but the restaurant isn’t very attractive, so I decided on the lower rating. There’s not much to look at on the inside, and the restrooms are awkwardly situated. It’s not the kind of place I’d bring a date by any means, but it seems like a decent choice for quick lunch or a to-​go order.

Arriving: Manna was situated at the end of a strip mall. The karaōke place next door seemed inviting, but I was here for one thing, tasty Korean food. There was a large crowd inside for the lunch rush, but seats were open. The smell of a meal worth paying for crawled inside of our heads.
Seated: We were given a table immediately, the same spot we’ve always known. Water graced our presence in a timely manner. A salad was also placed on our table after we had ordered. It had a onionish kick to it that’s not for everyone. I ordered the Spicy Pork Bulgolgi and Susan ordered the Chicken Bulgolgi. Golf played on the TV opposite to the kitchen. The kitchen was open-​window and watching the chefs filled Susan with confidence that she would get a satisfying meal.
Eating: The appetizers came out seconds before the main course. The potatoes were «life changing», sweet and satisfying. The kimchi was perfect: spicy, cool, and crunchy. Both entrées tasted great and came out at a perfect temperature. The bulgolgi was delicious and I would get it again. A soup came out ¾ of the way through the meal. It looked like miso soup, but it tasted like it was infused with incense. The white rice was sticky and a great addition.
Digesting: My stomach was extremely happy and I couldn’t leave the table until I finished off everything. The check came and went without hassle. I’ll be yearning again for this meal in a couple of hours.
Atmosphere: ⁸⁄₁₀
Taste:9/10
Service:7/10
Bunbelly Scale: ¹⁄₁₀
Post-​Meal Cigarette: ⁸⁄₁₀

my hub and I really liked the food here. I ordered a bbq dish while my hub got a soup. as an appetizer we ordered kimchee pancake and it was yummy. will defintely try this place out again!

Extremely yummy!!! I like the Korean pancake!

So tonight was our first time here. Came with my parents (mom is Korean), and we are all Korean food experts! First of all, the atmosphere is casual. The menu has pictures for everything, so if you’re not familiar with the cuisine, you can still order! We ordered a little bit of everything so that we could get a feel for their flavored, and let’s just say we were not disappointed. We ordered a zucchini pancake. This was not on the menu, but they were nice enough to make one since I’m not a fan of seafood (they offer a kimchi pancake and seafood pancake). The zucchini pancake could have been cooked just a little longer to crisp it up, but had good flavor! The beef bulgogi was very good. Sometimes the bulgogi can be too sweet, but not here. Nice portion size, too. The jap chae was also well done. There was a tiny hint of spice, which was different for us, but not bad at all. We also tried the dduk mandu guk. Probably best part of the meal! Broth was very well done – good beef bone flavor! And the dumplings were not too soft and mushy – just right! The only disappointing part of the meal were the banchan (side dishes) – there were only a few, so not much variety and just ok on the flavors. We will definitely be coming back with family to try some more!

For the past 3 years, my mom and I have come in here whenever we’re in the mood for some good ‘olé Korean food.
Their side dishes are fairly good, we get a new surprise dish every once in a while and if we don’t like it, the ladies are kind enough to refill the ones we did like. Their kimchi tastes different a lot of the time, but it’s usually still delish! The bean sprouts and potatoes are my favorite and are consistently great, no complaints there!
I usually always get either the (beef or tofu) dolsot bibimbap, seafood pancake, or manduguk– all delicious dishes by their own accounts.
My mother, on the other hand has practically tried the entire menu and then some, and she’s never had any big complaints about any of the dishes besides maybe the dish lacking a bit of salt or needing extra rice. (Note: this is coming from a woman from SoCal).
Parking wise– its in a little Korean plaza that has plenty of parking spots, and there’s also a nice grocery store next door that you can find some of the dishes from here to take home for a smaller price!
Note: we usually come in for brunch or a late lunch and it’s not too hectic, so service is nice and fast.

Things happen for a reason. I was in the mood for a little KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) and chose Rocky Rice but after feeling uneasy for 10 minutes with no service, and me, getting ready to transform into someone not Christian-​like, I got up and left and walked right on over to Manna which is in the same center. The place was packed and inviting aromas from the kitchen permeated thought-​out the room. As soon as I sat down at a table, a waitress attended to me immediately. I didn’t see any KFC on the menu so I chose the BBQ beef boolgogi which came with miso soup, salad, rice and small-​bowl sides of kimchi, savory boiled potatoes, tofu and some others that I had no idea what the names were but they were very palatable. One thing that really impress me were the stainless steel chop sticks. The engravings at the top of the chop sticks gave one a firm grip to maneuver the chop sticks with precision. At first I was not pleased to see the bone-​in slices of beef but after savoring one slice, it didn’t matter. I would like to thank Rocky Rice for an unsavory and unpleasant experience otherwise I would not have found a real Korean restaurant. Indeed, I shall return to Manna to savor some of their delectable delights.

Best Korean food in town! Service is excellent and the food is always tasty and fresh. Love the naengmyeon (cold noodle soup) in the summer, and the soondubu jjigae (spicy tofu seafood stew) in the winter. I’m Korean, but for those of you who may not be very adventurous, the bibimbap (rice with beef and vegetables) is excellent. Just add the sauce to make it as spicy as you like!

This Korean restaurant is probably the best Korean place in Austin. I’ve been to many different Korean food places in Austin but always found something to dissatisfying my taste buds. I’m from California and have eaten at some of the best quality Korean restaurants so I’m confident when I say this place is authentic, flavorful and stays true to the traditional Korean meal.
When you first enter the cozy restaurant you feel at home. And TONS of Korean people (always a good sign that the food is good!)…not to mention the smell of delicious bbqed meats being cooked ! My mouth was watering just from watching the cooks (the cooks were making delicious foods in a open kitchen where customers could see everything).
I came with my friend (who is Hispanic) and we both enjoyed several dishes.
The grilled mackerel was delicious and meaty. The Sullung tang and dol sot bibimbab was perfect. I could taste the rich oxtail bone from the hours of boiling that the meat went through. Lastly, the LA Gabi and Spicy pork (dae ji galbi) was amazing. The spicy pork was probably the best I’ve ever had anywhere. Get this, they do not use MSG!!!
I was curious about who cooked everything and was told by the sweet waitresses that a true Korean chef who used to serve meals for diplomats in Korea was the chef and owner! Wow!
My friend and I weren’t able to finish everything because it was too much food but I did take the leftovers home and ate it for dinner. It was still delicious. By the way our bill was pretty cheap considering all the good we had.
I’m excited that I discovered this place and can’t wait to check it out again !

The food is extraordinarily good, and the menu extensive. I especially like the spicy calamari since it comes with a hefty portion of vegetables, and just the right amount of heat. They provide half a dozen side dishes and miso soup, which is more than a lot of places. The price was a bit higher than average, but you also get enough food for 2 meals and I took home a substantial portion for dinner the next night. The interior of the restaurant is spotless and well-​maintained, with staff who are very attentive to the customers. I eat out at Korean restaurants quite often, and this is among the best I’ve had.

My qualifications: I have lived in Korea, have a Korean spouse, and go to Korea several times a year.
On quality of the average dish alone, I would give this restaurant 4 stars. Some of the dishes I have tried in the past are less than stellar.
However, that’s frankly to be expected with such an extensive menu (I think 50 main dishes). I would argue the menu is too extensive, given that most restaurants in Korea specialize in 2 – 20 main dishes, but I understand that Manna is trying to do what it can to provide a broad selection of decent/​good Korean food in a town with few Korean restaurants. It’s unfair to penalize them too much for some subpar dishes.
I would recommend finding dishes that you enjoy, and sticking with those. For me, that’s grilled mackerel. My wife really likes the (champon) and the (yukgaejang). I enjoy the yukgaejang as well, but in small portions only as I try to eat mostly grass-​fed beef.
I have been here several times over the years, and usually order mackerel. The quality of the mackerel has improved over time, which led me to write this review. (It was a pleasant surprise.)
In summary: it’s a great place for us to go when my wife is too tired to cook and we both want high-​quality Korean food.
I also like that the ceiling is really high. It makes the interior feel open and spacious. One of my pet peeves with some Korean restaurants is that the ceilings are sometimes low, leading to a claustrophobic, closed-​in feeling. You will never have that issue at Manna.

I had a pleasant experience. I know the restaurant service is different in Korea so I never expect much when dining. The ladies here are nice. My brother loved his short ribs and my sister’s bibimbap was sizzling so I don’t know if one of the previous reviewer order the one that wasn’t the stone bowl or if it really wasn’t hot and sizzling. My spicy tofu bowl was spicy enough that I drank 3 cups of water. I don’t recommend the combination meat because it didn’t really mix well in terms of flavor but was good nonetheless. The japchae or glass noodles wasn’t up to par but it had bulgogi in it. When we were almost finished, we were given a plate with watermelon slices and the check. Also there were only 5 side dishes but each had a bigger portion than most side dishes in other restaurants.

This is our second time here. So far everything we have ordered is great. We’ve tried the mackarel, yellow croaker, ojingo, bulgogi. Prices are very reasonable. I’ll definitely be coming back many more times.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I really felt let down not only was the food not as good as it should have been the service was lacking as well. I should’ve known when it took 10 minutes to bring me an iced tea there might be a problem.
I was given a half brewed glass of tea, ice and a Lipton tea bag… floating in the water. I will post a picture of my tea.
After what seemed like maybe 20 minutes we were given our meal. We ordered the kimchi pancake, Dolsot Bibimbob and beef Bulgogi.
The Bulgogi was an average portion and seemed to be lacking in flavor. Don’t get me wrong it was eatable. I found it very forgettable and I knew a few bites in this was something I would avoid ordering in the future.
I was surprised by the small size of the Bibimbob. I noticed that it really wasn’t sizzling. I am a custom to this dish being brought to the table steaming hot. This was a let down. My beau didn’t seem to interested in it. Normally he would dig right in and give me his smile of approval. There weren’t any smiles this night. Just comments like «it isn’t that bad» «we aren’t coming back» and lastly «the dishes are missing flavor».
The best item we ordered was that veggie kimchi pancake. Sadly it just was’t enough to make up for the other food.

Starting off when you walk in you are greeted and asked to sit and given a glass of water. I am not sure they serve any other beverage such as soft drinks as I have not asked and I mainly drink water wherever I go. Browsing the menu there are quite a few good choices as far as meals go. My wife and I have tried the Bugolgi and the Galbi. My honest opinion so far is that the Galbi is better than the Bugolgi, but I don’t know what the best choice there would be yet as I have only gone twice. I didn’t care much for the little bowl of salad they give you before the meal as it had some kind of sauce that made it bitter and sweet.
The side dishes taste fresh and the kimchi is excellent along with the fish cakes. I thought it was a nice touch to make the potatoes sweet potatoes with soy sauce, but I still like original potatoes better. The miso soup served with the meal was good, but I would prefer if it was less salty. Still good though. The main dishes were excellent, but my only advice would be to make the Bugolgi more flavorful. Don’t get me wrong it is good, but I think it needs more flavor. My only gripe with this place and the reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I am very picky about this, but I drink a lot of water when I go out and would like a refill when the drink is empty, and this did not happen the entire time I was there and left the last time I had gone. Otherwise this place is not bad for the price.
And again if you are going try the Galbi.

I’m so sad this place is no longer what it used to be. I’ve came here a handful of times for the past four years. Today was my first time in over a year and it was a huge disappointment.
their kimchi tastes reallllly salty and has a weird aftertaste (like bonito?). The kimchi jiggae was so sad — a whopping three small cubes of store bought firm tofu :(I mean I know this isn’t LA but when tofu is one of the three main ingredients (the others being kimchi and the meat) how can u fail on the tofu portions so badly? Esp when their entire menu prices have gone up by 1 – 2 $! And the pork bites in the soup was more like 90% disgusting fat and 10% edible meat.
Add on top of that their sub par service if you are non Korean (just being Asian isn’t enough apparently) gets pretty old. And frankly the place was 85% non Korean on a Saturday night anyways-​not very authentic. I will be taking my credit card (they are still cash only) to the yummy Korean restaurant just up the street from now on.

Clear menu with photo for every dish, which is totally awesome. You know what you will get exactly before you order it. Very clean in general, although the the décor was pretty plain and boring, not meant for a date. No booths, all chairs and laminated wooden table, which make them easy to clean. Located right next to a Korean market, great place to have a meal after shopping.
We came here 2 in the afternoon, it was just one lady on the floor, we had to wait about 20 mins before the first dish was served, but the rest of the dishes were served fairly fast after that. Compared to other Korean restaurants, they have fewer free appetizers. The fried pork chop was amazing, so was the seafood hot pot and sea food pancake. BBQ was my favorite but the proportion was very small, there were 6 pieces in it. This was my first time here, I think I will come by again during regular meal time to see how it is.

IVe been on a quest in the last 9 months. To find a place where the soon tofu is actually good in austin.
I think i finally found the place. The broth here has flavor. Something thats lacked at just about every korean restaurant out here so far (korea house, umiya, hana, chosun, etc).
They did put some stuff in the soon tofu that normally doesnt go in there (like potatoes, and some other little chewy seafood maybe squid ball) but because the broth is good i can let that go. I also appreciate the fact that the tofu wasn’t overly mashed. Recently experienced that at a place called ilsong in san antonio.
Bottom line: id come here again for the flavorful broth. I just wish they didnt try doing so much by adding in stuff that doesn’t need to go in there. Im still on a quest for the perfect soon tofu. But based on the tofu soup alone id come back.

You know the old saying: in an ethnic place, if you see people from the same ethnicity eating there than its probably good!
Nothing fancy here but that food is really good. I don’t know too much about Korean food and I can’t tell whether or not it’s truly Korean BUT with the quality dishes and great prices, it gets me to come back!
The service isn’t good but this is the case for most asian places that are mom and pop! You don’t come for the service, you come for the excellent offerings of food and this is a great pick if in the area! Meal for two for under twenty dollars, I think so!