Spring Restaurant

Haven’t been here in a long time but recently went with my mom. We ordered kalgooksoo and donkatsu. They got so cheap with the portion of the donkatsu as the plate was practically empty. Two small pieces and one was dark looking as if it was cooked in bad oil
My mom called the waitress over to tell her that it looks too dark and the waitress paused, smiled and just told us to eat it as if it wasn’t a big deal. She could’ve at least asked if there was anything she can do, but couldn’t believe what a terrible service we got. Luckily my mom and I are not the type to make a scene or a big deal. I ended up eating a pink fatty pork cutlet that was dark on the outside. The taste was ok and the kalgooksoo was good but was not happy with the portion nor the service. Needless to say I won’t be returning

Avoid this place.
I came here for kalgooksoo but they ran out of the noodles which was disappointing. Waitress took forever to come come take our order. Not a big deal since I was not in a rush but still it was not busy and they were just passing by.
There was a table next to me, 3 kids and their mother. Not being nosy but it was right next to my table and my food was not coming out anytime soon. She ordered donkatsu but no sauce so she had to yell across to the slow waitresses and they took forever to bring it. Then she called them back after it was cut up for her kids to eat saying it was not cooked all they way. Waitress was next to my table for a few min looking like she was cutting the prices to make sure the customer wasn’t lying. Then she brings it to the back what looks like they threw it back in the deep fryer which of course she refused. Who would want to eat that. Not sure if the waitress even apologized.
I do not expect good service at Korean places but his was unacceptable for my standards. Place needs new staff and a manager and nothing special about the food.

Great authentic-​tasting korean food. Ordered the chicken soo jae bi and ddukbboki. Both were great! The waitress brought out a free appetizer as a service, which was a nice bonus. Can’t wait to go back.

I stopped eating meat more than a year and a half ago and cut out all animal products soon after. Spring has been one of the top choices for dining out because family and friends like it, and there is always a vegan option for me. The waitress tonight was kind to inform me of their vegan dishes on their menu (their menu changes quiet frequently) but unfortunately, I found out, after I had already ordered, that their kimchi contained fish sauce. Which is okay — the waitress did her best when helping me out. The waitress changed my order to a regular bibimbap and all was good. The bibimbap looked delicious — there were so many veggies on top of the rice and I could hear the rice crackling in the stone pot! So, I mixed it all up and took a bite… into a piece of beef. It doesn’t matter why I don’t eat animal products — whether it’s because of allergies, religion, ethics, or just because I don’t enjoy the taste. Being served a dish with something that was STRESSED to be left out is something that I believe REQUIRES an apology. Instead, it went something more like: «let me see, they made a mistake, let me bring it back to show them, and we’ll make you a new one QUICKLY so that you can finish eating before closing.» When my new dish was brought out, there was no comment — the waitress was silent and just put it down in front of me. The dish was made in a very hasty and careless manner because of the time and did not taste very good because the rice, the best part, did not have enough time to get a little crusty in the stone pot. I am truly very disappointed and upset. I have been frequenting Spring for years but after this experience, I do not plan on ever going back.

Service is horrible! NEVER AGAIN!!! I’ve been to this restaurant about two dozen times. I’ve been to the old location and the new location. I’ve brought my family and friends here many times. I’ll give the food 3 stars/3.5 stars. I used to frequent this establishment out of convenience (location) and to support local businesses. I have noticed that the service at this place has gone way down. Recently, I went for a meal with two of my friends. We each ordered an entrée and we additionally ordered TWO more entrees to share. We were hungry and we’re looking forward to enjoying our meal. During our meal, we requested more water twice and were ignored… One of my friends. who was obviously annoyed, went over to their water cooler and self served his own water… We had to finally flag down the non English speaking employee to get more water. Later, I asked the waitress if we could get more of ONE side dish. I am 100% certain that the waitress heard me but I too was ignored. About 5 minutes later, I again requested my ONE side dish (banchan). This time the waitress gave me a nasty stare and told me that they ran out of side dishes. It was as if she was incredulous that I asked for ONE side dish. I was so angry and lost my appetite that it was at this exact moment that I said to myself… NEVER AGAIN!!! if you can’t accommodate your patrons with water and one side dish at a korean restaurant or any restaurant for that matter, you are in the wrong business. I used to always wonder why there aren’t too many good food spots in the area. Now, I wonder less.

One of the benefits of living in Northern New Jersey is ready access to good Korean food. For those of us who haven’t been able to go to Seoul or don’t go to midtown Manhattan frequently enough, this is about the next best thing!
For me, a Korean restaurant is only as good as their bi bim bap (veggie-​rice mix-​in) and their bi bim nang myung (spicy cold sweet noodles). I’ve had both these here & they are solid. They have their own version, the Spring nang myung which is in-​between a soup & the regular version — a fish broth serves to tone down the heat and might be good for someone who has not accustomed to spicy food.
The most recent time I went my dining companion and I decided to change things up a bit after chatting with the owner, a mature korean gentleman who was very friendly and pleased we were dining in his restaurant. Clearly, it is a mom and pop operation — we met Pops!
We shared the dduk bok gi, a spicy appetizer of rice and fish cakes with onions which was very good (same consistency as gnocchi). I had the Kim chi ji gae which looked like twice cooked pork — after a few bites when my bald spot started sweating, clear it was completely different! A dolsot bi bim bap was served to my friend, which is bi bim bap served in a hot stone bowl that retains the heat & over time makes the rice crispy. We had tea and quite a bit of water.
Service was great, people were friendly, food was great. If you’re in Bergen county for the day near Alpine, you’ll want to give Spring a try.

Spring is the best restaurant in America.

Spring is the best restaurant in America. I love everything here especially the Hae Mul Soo Jae Bee, for sure. This place is a favorite in my family, and we keep coming back, even though Korean mom waitresses suck. Because it’s common in Korean restaurants, I still rate it ⁵⁄₅. Would eat again

extremely disappointed because SERVICE IS THE WORST! The servers are very rude. Not worth giving a penny for tips. I admit that food is good though. But the owner should know that the restaurant is not all about the food and they should also give respect to the customers that they are serving for.

Very bad service, the server forgot my order, and pretended not understanding English. When she finally understood that it’s her fault, she turned around not even saying sorry. Will never be back.

Was extremely disappointed. Ordered the spicy beef soup which was pretty thick with the equivalence of a stew. Was drowning in cellophane noodles, rice noodles and scallions. Where was the beef? Felt like they took a 2 inch long piece of beef and stripped it apart and only gave me about 6 strips.
Paid nearly $ 14 for this dish… was not worth it at all. I couldn’t even finish it because i felt that all i was eating was noodles…

Boo Boo agree that this place changed after they moved to their new location. The food quality changed or either the cook changed.
This location used to be another one of my favorite places. Hodori :(

I love Korean food and despite trying Korean restaraunts all over new jersey and new York, Spring is where I return to when I want a delicious, authentic, home style Korean meal. Everything is absolutely delicious and the menu has tons of options. In addition, the owner is extremely friendly and always comes out to personally ask how our meal went, which I think is a nice touch and adds to the home style vibe of the place. I can’t recommend this place enough!

If you want really authentic Korean food this is the place to go. This small restaurant caters mostly to Koreans with all the comfort Korean food you would find in Seoul. The owner is the chef and he takes pride in not Americanizing the food.

I want to start by saying that I have been eating Korean food since I was old enough to eat solid food and Spring’s food is well worth a five star rating.
I understand the complaint that it is a little pricey, but you are getting a friendly environment with good service and a higher end environment (although I think it has to do with the fact that it is in a higher end neighborhood).
I went to this restaurant at its old location and just ate at the new location, and the food is still great maybe slightly better. I’ll describe todays experience.
We arrived soon after it openned and were greeted by a pleasant staff who seated us promptly. We ordered our food, I got the spicy seafood kal-​guksoo (I don’t know how to say that in english). We also ordered the ukaejang (seafood soup) and samgyetang (chicken soup). Almost two minutes after ordering our food, the owner came out and greeted us with a free fried porgy (a large one at that). After a quick conversation with him we began eating the fish and it tasted like fishy heaven, it was lightly fried and served in a spicy potato starch sauce with mixed vegetables.
After completing that we received the rest of our meal. The samgyetang tasted simple with a little complexity to it, very fresh. The uckaejang was large and hot and delicious. And the kalguksoo was chewy and filling, very comforting on a cool day.
Overall, this restaurant is clean and friendly (if you know Korean talk to the owner) and the food is albeit a little expensive, but tasted fresh, clean, and very Korean.

Since their recent move to a new location, I have to agree that the food quality seems to have dipped a bit. Things are slightly inconsistent, mainly some dishes are just too spicy or too salty or both. Also, portions sizes seem to have gone down. Service is still friendly though!

Good food: unique menu: good portions.
But the service lacks any kind of attention.
Have to ask for water every time I go and then have to ask for the check and wait.

After they moved to a more central location the service became worse, portions much much smaller as well as Pan chan offerings.

I have dozens upon dozens of choices for Korean food in my area, and I still find myself coming here visit after visit. It’s incredibly unspectacular, and people will tell you there are better restaurants out there, but I simply love this place.
I’ve tried just about everything on the menu, and every dish tastes great. As people have said, there’s a definite homemade feel to all the cooking. The noodles, the stews, and even the comfort items like donkatsu and hamburger steak were all pleasant surprises. Their yook ge jang is a favorite of mine.
The home-​y feel extends to the entire place. The staff is very friendly, and the atmosphere is very casual and comfortable.
Again, it’s all very unspectacular, and you could argue that it’s a bit pricey for what it is, but I’ve never been disappointed on a visit here. It’s one of the best Korean restaurants in the area.

Just good-​old down-​home Korean comfort food. The most consistently good Korean food in the area.
We eat from here at least once a week. They don’t have BBQ, but pretty much everything else a Korean person craves. Solid hot pots, great bibimbaps and fried rices, even the naeng myun and jjajang myun is good. I actually prefer theirs over the other shops in Closter that specialize in these dishes.
I would also order the bossam pork belly or jokbal pig’s feet. They do really well with this dish as well.
The owner is also one of the friendliest people we know. Always greeting us and even serving us something special off the menu on occasion. The servers are also very friendly as well, always asking how we are doing. It’s hard to find places these days where the staff seems to care about your personal life.
If you’re looking for someplace you can count on for quality Korean food, this is the place to go.