Korea Tofu House

The food here is excellent but the service is so appallingly bad that I’m giving it only two stars. I’ve been here quite a few times and have gotten used to refilling my own water glass or grabbing extra napkins myself, but the last time I went they simply forgot an entire order. Now I just can’t go here anymore. Too sad, because their ramen tofu soup is very good.

I love Korean food, but this place was just ok. I ordered a lunch special, kimchi fried rice, and it was just ok for the price. The portion of kimchi fried rice was too small for the price that I paid.

I love this place! It’s probably my second Korean place I’ve been to and fell in love. I always look forward to getting their sides. But their spicy bulgogi is delicious! My friend always gets their short ribs, which is good too! During dinner time is the busiest, but never seen a full house yet. Maybe because I go before it ever gets busy, but the lady owner is very friendly and recognizes us whenever we come in. Also, the spicy seafood tofu soup is bomb! Refillable sides during dinner time I believe and always a great quiet place to just hang out and talk.

I’m sooo sad that they started charging for the fried fish! It’s my favorite thing about soondooboo restaurants and I think my heart broke just a little bit after having to pay an extra $ 1.50…
The food, as it’s always been, was tasty. The bibimbap I got (with beef) was a huge portion and so I took about half of it home. The tofu soup+short ribs combo is good, but I think they started skimping on the ribs portion because there were only 4 small pieces.
I’m probably averaging all my past experiences here into this four star rating. But tbh, their miserly means should probably dock another star…

Wow. It has really gone bad!
We haven’t been back for quite a while, it still seem like it’s the same owner but they totally cheap out now!
We used to love coming here for their fried fish that comes with all tofu order, but it’s only available for dinner now and the fish shrink! It’s SO tiny!
The side dishes are also reduced to just 5.
If you order a tofu and BBQ combo, they only give you very little BBQ short ribs, I think we only had 4 pieces.
I guess we will have to start looking for new tofu place to go to from now on.

After my transcendent experience at Su-​Dam on El Camino Real, I’ve been trying to recreate the experience by going to several Tofu Houses. Sadly none of them compare, this one included. The merit of this Tofu House is it’s in Cupertino Square. I frequent this plaza, so it’s convenient. Also, they do not use MSG, and they were able to bring out the flavor of their dolsot bibimbap to a considerable extent. However, I have to point out four weaknesses.
1. The Barley Tea: It was a little light in color and flavor. A little stronger wouldn’t hurt.
2. The Kimchi: It was the most pedestrian kimchi I’ve had in a long time. With no real spiciness, it tasted like cold cabbage that hadn’t fermented long enough.
3. The Japchae: My noodles were on the chewy side. I realize every store prepares it differently, but I was expecting it to be soft.
4. Dolsot Bibimbap: Nothing is really wrong with the Bibimbap, it’s just the first time I’ve ever seen broccoli in the dish. My egg only had the yolk, no egg white. I also felt like my stone pot was not hot enough to cook my rice to the desired crispiness.
Now let me point out the strengths.
1. No MSG, always a plus.
2. The beef in the dolsot bibimbap was very good.
3. The server refilled my banchon.
All in all, coming here for lunch is fine, but don’t expect the moon. It’s not as authentic as Su-​Dam in Los Altos.

This place sucks!
Very slow from the moment you walk in. They won’t even pay attention to you. It’s like you don’t even exist.
The food was terrible, the portions were small and expensive. Our food took like 45 min to show up and the restaurant wasn’t even full.
Won’t go back!

My absolute favorite korean place is So Gong Dong Tofu House on W. Calaveras, but this is my second favorite korean restaurant. The service is really good, and the woman who owns the place is so friendly. My mom and brother go so often that she recognizes them, even though not by name. I’m surprised at how low the ratings are. Maybe we just get better service because we’re considered regulars.
I remember when this place used to be a chinese restaurant, but the food was meh. I’m so glad it changed into a korean restaurant. They seem to be doing a lot better than the chinese restaurant.
I’m such a sucker for the tofu soups, so it’s what I always tend to get. Their seafood and beef/​pork (combo tofu soup) is pretty good. I always like to add in kimchi myself that they give with the side dishes. They used to give fried fish as a side, but it wasn’t offered the last time I went, so maybe it changed? I’ve also had their seafood pancake. I didn’t really like it, but my dad loves it.

I don’t know what the heck is going on here, but a few things have changed since I came here earlier in the year. The service is still good and attentive, but I have to wonder: Did they raise the rent or something in Cupertino Village?
They only give you four side dishes with your entrée now which are kimchee, seaweed, the spiced white gelatin things and little nuts (They look like peanuts). They no longer serve the little fried fish as a side anymore either. If you want it, they charge you extra (about $ 2). Also, the rice that comes with the tofu claypots used to also be cooked in a claypot which had a crispy, hard rice shell once you got down to the bottom.
The tofu claypot is still pretty good otherwise, but spicy is really not spicy. It’s too bad they changed these things. Most Korean restaurants serve more than four side dishes. The little fried fish was a special perk I always enjoyed when coming here. I miss the rice cooked in the claypot.
Oh, well. I no longer have a reason to eat here anymore with the plethora of Korean restaurants on El Camino.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!
Agreeing with S. C: not sure why there are some poor reviews, but I think it has a lot to do with customers mainly being Chinese and having a poor Korean food experience. Well, the Korean food here is good. Trust me– I’m Korean.
The spicy tofu here is the main attraction, but don’t underestimate their ddukbokki (spicy rice cake) and grilled barbeque dishes!
One thing I did notice is a problematic waitress. Her English is rather poor, but she really imposes on how you order with her strong Korean accent. It can be a little bit distasteful, really (a poor choice of word to talk about non-​food quality in a restaurant review, dont you think?).
Well I’ve spoken to her in Korean, and it’s just her personality. She doesn’t mean any harm, and frankly, I don’t think that she has any idea that her interpersonal skills suck.
Love it!

I don’t know what’s up with the not-​so-​great reviews for this place, my family loves this place. Whenever I’m in Santa Clara visiting my aunt (I live on the East Coast), I ABSOLUTELY have to come here at least once.
True, I haven’t been here in over a year now, but the many times I went we’ve always had great food, great service. My grandmother was vegetarian, and the owner and the servers were all very understanding about that and had the tofu kimchi (soondobu) done right. My cousins, sister, and I all love their galbi. My sister has been know to demolish her platter in minutes and steal my galbi right under my nose because it’s that good. The banchan is also varied and yummy.
The place is Korean owned, but at least one of the waitresses knows Chinese, and some of the younger waiters/​waitresses speak English (I’m guessing they’re local high school or college kids).

I’m surprised I haven’t written a review for Korea Tofu House since I’ve been here over a handful of times in the past few years. The first time I discovered this place was because a friend and I went to Cupertino Square, didn’t have any cash, and this is the only place I know of in the center that takes card.
I returned here again this week because of the exact same reason — my girlfriend and I were in the area, wanted Asian food, but were too lazy to find an ATM.
The service has always been okay at KTH. My friend didn’t like the poor service when we visited, but I explained to her it’s most likely because of language barriers. A lot of ethnic restaurants you visit, if people don’t speak good English, they tend to act more aloof and rushing, and they most likely don’t have an actual problem with you.
On my trips here, I have tried their Tofu Soup (Soondubu) and Clay Rice Bowls (Bibimbap). Korea Tofu House’s entrees are just okay to me — the dishes aren’t necessarily bad, but I’ve had better at many other places. However, I really enjoy the appetizers that they serve here — they are all very fresh, tasty, and I really like the fried fish they serve. Many places don’t serve that type of fish, and usually have it as an appetizer on the menu.
The food here is on the pricier side. Overall, decent Korean food, but not the best. I suggest and rather make the trip over to El Camino Real and going to any of the numerous great Korean restaurants over there.

Kind of but not really. Korea Tofu House is tucked away in Taiwan town. I tried to love this place, but I really couldn’t. +1 for being Korean owned though.
Their side dishes were just not that awesome. There was a decent variety, just like every Korean restaurant, but they felt bland. As far as the soondubu itself… not really. The «hot» here is not really that hot compared to the other tofu houses in the area. What kills it even more, is that the prices are $ 2 – 4 higher than all the other spots in Santa Clara. Now if you’re going to charge more than the competition, thats fine. But at least make it taste just as good if not better.

2.5 Stars
I’ve been craving beef short ribs (Kalbi) for awhile now and was even going to attempt to make them myself this weekend.
Passing by this restaurant, we noticed that there was quite a bit of people eating here for dinner so we assumed it must be good.
Initially, after reading reviews that said with the side dishes and a combo entrée, it would be sufficient to fill up two people, we settled on getting Combo C1 ($ 17.95) which is Tofu Soup, Rice (in a clay pot), and a choice of pork or beef short ribs. The waitress kept asking if we were going to order another side or another dish and I guess it made us feel guilty so we ordered Bibimbap ($ 13 something).
The short ribs had a little more fat than the short ribs that I usually eat but overall had good flavor.
Besides guilt tripping us to order another dish, the waitress was nice. She kept asking if we were okay with our side dishes. One of the side dishes included two small fried fishes which was delicious.
Overall, the food is not worth the price. I’ve had better Korean food for the price. Prices are a lot cheaper during lunch so I guess if I had to come here again, I’d come for lunch instead of dinner.

This place is pretty good when you’re in the mood for a hot tofu soup. Their side dishes includes a nice fried fish that is wonderfully aromatic and flavorful, with crisp skin and tender flesh. Their rice comes in a nice stone bowl with a few peas on top, which is great so the bottom of the rice gets nice and crisp and chewy.
I could use some more diversity in side dishes, but overall its a nice place for an average Korean meal.

I usually never get sick of Korean food and always have a strange craving for it whenever it’s a cold day… but even if I were to have a huge Korean food craving, I would not come here.
First off, the food is not worth the price. The soup lacks flavor, and everything is just so-​so. I ordered a medium-​spicy kimchi tofu soup and I barely tasted any spiciness to it… Disappointing!
Bi bim bap is okay; they filled it pretty much with rice and not enough meat… and the meat dishes come in huge portions, so it’s good to share them with one other person.
Like everyone said, the free fish is good… just a hassle to eat since there are tons of tiny bones.
I’m just really confused, because this place was filled with a lot of customers. I don’t see what’s so great about this place.
One last sad note — our ban chan came AFTER we got our main course food…

Three of us came here for dinner on a Friday night around 7:00pm.
Food:
The menu here is very simple. They have their tofu soups, kbbqs, and bibimbops. We quickly ordered as we were starving. The banchan came quickly. I liked that we each got a whole fried fish. However, everything else was lacking in flavor, including the Kimchi.
I got the beef dosot bibimbop. Let me tell you, I am a guru when it comes to bibimbop. I let that sucker fry until the rice is nice and crispy. There’s a method to it, you have to push the rice out. However, no matter how much i tried to let it fry, it did not. My rice was not crispy at all. I was very very disappointed.
Bf got the beef tofu soup and galbi combo. This was a great value. However, the galbi platter was kind of small. You can get much more for the same price at Sui Tofu on El Camino.
Service:
The ladies here are nice. However, they neglect the side room where we were sitting. They never came by to check on us or to fill our water. We had to flag them down. Even as they were cleaning a table near us, they didn’t see us waving and saying «Excuse me.» We had to ask for water twice, asked for boxes, and the check.
I think this is a decent korean joint. I would not come here unless i was in the area. The best part about eating here was the fried fish in the banchan. However, I’ll gladly go to any other tofu house, even if they didn’t have the fried fish.

My first foray into Korean cuisine was a wacky, weird, and messy experience. Let me break it down into those descriptions.
Wacky:
Banchan: Numerous small side plates of various veggies, such as the popular kimchee, along with proteins like tofu and small whole fish. All cold of course. The fish had numerous small bones which you had to pick through. There was this stack of whitish, almost clear cubes with a glaze of chili oil. Very neutral tasting.
Weird:
The waitress: My dining companion wasn’t ready to order just quite yet. She told the waitress lady to give her a few minutes. To which the lady replied, «I wait here». Can we say «awkward»? So with the lady looming over our table, pen and pad in hand, the pressure to choose a dish was on. She hurriedly chose the bi bim bop and away the lady was to send in our order.
Messy:
I had the combination tofu soup along with the short ribs. The soup came out boiling and sputtering. Note to all: Don’t wear light colored shirts while eating tofu soup. As the waitress laid the bubbling soup in front of me, several small drops from the hot soup jumped and landed on my newly bought shirt. Bummer. The soup was delicious with all the seafood and tofu. The short ribs were flavorful, but a bit dry and tough. The rice in a pot that came with my entrée was mediocre. Most of it was stuck to the pot anyways.
I may give Korea Tofu House another shot down the road. And I’ll make sure I wear a very dark shirt.

$ 11 for bibimbap dolsot (beef and veggies!) Delicious, hot, and tasty!
His soon dofu was pretty tasty, but he ordered medium hot, so it was not spicy enough for me. :P Plenty of beef and tofu in his pot, and comes with stone pot white rice. (It’s an interesting way to serve the rice here.)
Plenty of side dishes – fried (whole) fish!, marinated tofu, marinated soy beans, acorn jelly, kimchi, seaweed salad, mung beans, and some vegetable jap chae. I am disappointed with the tofu and kimchi actually, as it’s pretty bland and the kimchi is weak on spices!
Service = super friendly, quick and just enjoyable!
Décor = simple and family-oriented…there is plenty of table space, and plenty of space for conversation, children squealing, and laughter.
Bathroom = a plus, as it is pretty clean.

Yay, a Korean tofu place in Cupertino Village!
FOOD: 3 stars
* The kimichi and panchans aren’t impressive at all. No good.
* I’m somewhat okay with the soondobu here. It tastes slightly different from the other tofu joints, but at least the pots of tofu are served sizzling hot and they can be made VERY spicy upon request. (Though I don’t recommend this option as the chilis kill the other flavors…) I personally like it «medium.»
* The barbeque beef/​chicken is mediocre, but at least they don’t soak the meat in heavy sauce.
* The pot of rice is great. I love scraping off the burned, crunchy parts!
SERVICE: 5-​star, excellent service. They’re really friendly and attentive.
AMBIANCE: Clean, spacious, comfortable… Suitable for lots of occasions, except for first dates?
NOTE: Closed between lunch and dinner, from 2:30pm