Han-Wool

I was excited to see that there was a Korean place near 30^th Street station where I could grab some grub before catching a bus connection to NYC. I was not very excited at how mediocre the establishment was.
The layout/​décor of the establishment was not very impressive, it was almost depressing to be in there; the lighting was between well-​lit and dim (a weird description, as it was dusk).
However, the staff was very pleasant.
The food is way overpriced for the portions and the quality. The bibimbap was aight; I love the crispified rice at the bottom of the sizzling stone pot, but other than that, reliance on the chili sauce for the sole source of flavor is not a good strategy; salt the meat before serving it please… it goes a long way.

Had a very mediocre $ 13 lunch here.
It was summer — so the place was nearly empty.
Age-​Dashi Tofu was cut into 2 HUGE chunks and swimming in dashi.
That was (sadly) the best part of the meal.
Beef Bi-​Bim Bap had very little meat that was nearly flavorless.
Not great at all.
Will not be back.

Ahaha, I wanted to like Han-​wool so bad even though my freinds gave it scathing reviews. I love their Green milk bubble tea, and thought I would go here as a kick-​off on my mini-​moon…
The server must have been brand spanking frist day new and my heart feels for him, but this was hands down the worst server ever. I arrive and ask for a green milk bubble tea to go: «I don’t think we have that.» Oh don’t worry, you do, it’s your feature. Do you have summer rolls? Like spring rolls but not fried? «Let me check» comes back «Yes, we do.» So I said «okay, based on that, we’re going to sit and eat. I ordered my bubble tea twice more before I got it. The kitchen came out to inform me they do not have summer rolls. They also didn’t have any Kirin, even though they boast 3 types of Kirin, and it’s plastered over every bit of their restaurant and menu. Odd.
The sushi and hand rolls are way overpriced.

I really hate to give this place such poor rating — esp. since, well, they’re Korean and I’m Korean and Koreans have this solidarity but I have to be frank here– this place needs to step up its game. Sorry…
It’s a nice sit-​down restaurant at the heart of UPenn; so I would imagine they can capitalize on this aspect but I’m not sure why they aren’t more strategic with their business.
Aspects I think they can improve on:
— side dishes: c’mon. THREE measly side dishes that aren’t even that good? You can easily tell the quality of a Korean restaurant by the type of side dishes they present.
— the actual food: the quantity is SO tiny!!! Ok, the food is edible but so what? If the portions are fit for those on a supermodel diet, I don’t think you should charge so much for it (refer to photo).
— the diversity of dishes: I think they offer a lot actually but it’s sort of an amalgam of different types of food… a bit of chinese, a bit of japanese, a bit of korean-​american fushion, and korean. I think they can build up their reputation by perhaps really improving upon one aspect of their menu and gaining some regulars here. Maybe serving really solid soup dishes or lunch boxes or something. There’s breadth but not much depth, I think.
Sorry if you’re a fan of the restaurant. I don’t mean to be super critical (although I realize I am…) Please take it as constructive criticism.
Oh, on a positive note! They’re boba (or bubble tea in east-​coast speak) is probably the best I’ve tasted in the vicinity!

Eh. It was, eh. I mean, not really terrible. But not worth going back.
I got the Bul Go Ki Gui. It’s thinnly sliced beef with some decent flavor on sticky rice.
I wasn’t bad. But sorta only okay. I’ve had better. And, I’ve had it better for less.
If you got and get a lunch special, maybe it’s not the worst because they have some cheap options, and there’s not much like it in the area. But no way I’d ever pay dinner prices here.

I really do not understand the low reviews of this place. I’ve eaten here several times now, and the food has been consistently good. I’ve only ever had their Korean food – never their sushi or Japanese items – so I can’t say how these items are.
This is not the best Korean food I’ve had, but it’s pretty solid, and it’s among the better Korean food I’ve had in Philly (which, IMHO, has a few spotty restaurants).
I’ve had several of the tofu stews with vegetables and seafood, and the bibimbap. It has always been very fresh. There has been a generous amount of vegetables and meat, and a good amount of spiciness.
The side dishes have also been good.
Prices are reasonable too. It’s not dirt cheap but it’s not expensive, and considering the good portion size and free side dishes that come with the Korean items, I think the prices are very fair. Really, what are you all complaining about?

Please don’t waste your time here! I’ve lived in Univ City for a while and I’ve always contemplated going here to try the sushi or korean fare. I once tried a bubble tea from it and although it took them years to make it and it was very overpriced, I liked it.
I ordered a shrimp shumai (dumpling) to start. The taste was really good, but it was served lukewarm… these either had been sitting around for a while or they were not reheated very well. Disappointment.
Next up, my friend ordered the hot stone bi bim bap and I ordered the veggie bi bim bap. The appearance was nice, the egg was runny, but it just had absolutely NO FLAVOR! Nothing on the plate had flavor. The kimchi on the side was fine, but neither the tofu nor the rice/​veggies had any flavor at all. Nothing had salt, everything just kind of tasted the same. We added hot sauce but it just wasn’t hot enough. We asked for their real hot sauce and they said they had none… it was so disappointing. We had originally wanted sushi but the sushi bar was closed… we went with these overpriced dishes we didn’t even like or finish and walked out with a bad taste in our mouths.
Besides the fact that the food is not good, the ambiance can only be described as bizarre! There was only one waiter for lunch on Saturday and only 3 other guests. It seemed like the restaurant lights were off for the most part (in an effort to save energy, maybe?), one other table was working in the back, and it just looked generally sketchy. The service was not great and it was way too expensive for what we had.
Avoid this!

Granted, I’ve only been here once. The atmosphere was «meh.» It wasn’t horrible, but nothing to really write home about. I got the Teriyaki Shrimp Lunch Bento Box. It’s a lot of food for $ 12, at least in my opinion. A steaming hot bowl of miso soup (it was … miso-​y … it’s hard to mess up miso soup) and the bento box came out steaming hot. a few california rolls, a bit of salad, a large portion of rice and a nice portion of teriyaki. not the best teriyaki i’ve ever had, but edible, hot and fairly fast.
i don’t think that i’d make this a regular lunch place, but it’s a good place to stop and grab a bite when you’re in a pinch.

To be quite honest — friends and I walked in, sat down, and walked out. I remember going to this place back in the day and back then it wasn’t very good — they don’t have grills on the table to cook your own bulgogi and always skimmed on the banchan. Anyway today we wen’t in and saw how inflated the prices had become — $ 20 for a plate of bulgogi. sure, for two people that’s about right — but in fact, $ 20, according to the waiter was only for one person!!! Not gonna happen buddy!
What happend to recession prices???

It was close to my work and my boss loved this place. I was not as enthused. I’ve only ordered the Korean dishes here, but heard ok things about the bento boxes for lunch. Although not entirely bland, the sauce that goes on top of the Bi Bim Bop whatever never really tasted as good here as other Korean places that I’ve been to (namely Giwa in Center City).
Maybe the vegetables weren’t as fresh? Or something was bitter? I mean, it’s a melody of vegetables, eggs, tufu, etc, (how hard can it be?) but I wasn’t digging the mix most times I went. I have ordered different dishes, but most were a variation on the same dish (I was determined to try all the bowl of stuff types). I enjoyed the raw fish pile Bim Bop the best; I probably should have tried their sushi.
The service was never too terribly bad, but none of the waitresses/​waiters seemed too friendly. They refilled my water a lot.
All in all, a place to go if you have an intense craving for Korean food and are in University City.

It’s close to work and it’s the only reason why I come here. The food is good, but way too overpriced. The soondubu has way too many vegetables that takes away from the tofu part of it!!!
Sushi is also only a-​ok here. Also, they don’t allow lunch specials for take out.

The staff is friendly, but this is seriously bad korean/​japanese food for WAY too much. Ugh it’s so overpriced! I just need my Asian fix! Also doesn’t taste fresh. At all.

It’s so disappointing that this is the one easily accessible Korean restaurant in University City. Especially when it’s freezing out or super hot and humid in the summer, it’s hard to walk all the way to Koreana. I’ve come here a few times and it’s just so overpriced for what you get. They have the variety on their menu of a typical Korean restaurant but if you’re going to charge over $ 10 (and close to $ 20) for every entrée or big appetizer, then have decent ban chan! Ban chan is what any decent Korean restaurant has – small dishes of various sauteed and marinated meats and vegetables that is served after you order, that you nibble on and eat with your meal. Nice restaurants in Korea tend to serve 10 or so different kinds.
For lunch, the ojing-​uh bokeum or donkatsu is decent. The bento box comes with plenty of food. The dol sot bibimbop is tiny though. The servers are quite nice and the place is quite big, but I would avoid this place if you are willing to walk a few extra blocks to Koreana.

I would’ve given this place 2 stars if it weren’t for their side dishes. I’ve always been meaning to try this place and finally got lunch a few weeks back. I’m extremely partial to dol sot bibimbap, so of course I ordered it. It was…
lame.
The stone bowl was deceiving: it was large so I was looking forward to the generous portion, only to be disappointed that it was just wider and pretty shallow. I was STILL hungry after finishing my entrée AND the side dishes (I have quite the appetite). I’ve had bibimbap for a couple dollars cheaper and left feeling pregnant with a food baby at other places, unlike here at Han Wool. But, like I said, at least the side dishes were unlimited and they were tasty. Plus, the staff was quite friendly.
Some other negatives include the slow service and setting of the place. The dining area is situated in the back of the restaurant and there aren’t any windows, so it’s pretty dim and slightly gloomy.
Yeah, my food baby did not happen.
P. S. My friend actually had a really good experience here. She had a large dinner to celebrate an event and everyone had a ball. Apparently they do karaōke.

Skip this one, while they have an extensive menu of Korean food, and it might be great, I had a Sushi/​Sashimi Bento and my Salmon was frozen.
Needless to say, this was a poor lunch.

Finally ordered lunch from Han-​Wool and their portions are pretty small. I got the shrimp curry and it came with white rice, 1 pc gyoza, 2 pcs of kimbop, and a side salad. Still… so…hungry…
(By the way, they now serve bubble tea. Just thought you should know.)

Came here for a late night dinner, but didn’t like it much.
The restaurant is clean and the service is good, but the food not so much.
I had Soon Dubu Chigae & my friend had Jjajjangmyun.
I usually love my soondubu, but here I didn’t even finish it. it was just lacking. the banchan also wasn’t that great, but the kimchi was good.
For what I paid here, we would have been better off going to north philly.

This is a solid 3-​star place. I had the Chap Chae (I think that’s what it was called) which was vermicelli noodles in special sauce w/​beef. It was pretty all around decent but a little skimpy on the meat.
Furthermore, the sushi was acceptable but not impressive enough to rave about.
Perhaps I did not try the right things and I’ll probably give Han-​Wool another shot sometime. Its worth a try if you live in the area anyways and are bored with other local options.

Somehow, I managed to arrive here looking for Japanese food. I would have to give it two stars for that… the sushi was only so-​so, the miso soup was good, but it was convenient.
As for the Korean food, the bibimbap was the best of the dishes I tried, but they never quite measured up to what I had come to expect from the 69^th street venues. Minimal kimchee, too, which I was suprised at. Three stars due to their efficient and pleasant service, though.
This place can also convert to a bar/​dance floor late at night for student events, too.

Located near Drexel and UPenn, Han-​Wool (Korean for «paradise»?) serves decent Korean cuisine. It’s not a dump, and there’s lots of seating available. To be safe, make reservations, especially at night, as the place can get crowded with locals and students alike.
Prices are on the steeper side, but where else can you get Korean in this neighborhood (besides that Korean pizza place)? The agedashi tofu ($ 5.50) isn’t crispy enough, but I love their spicy Kimchi Jji Ge ($ 9.95; that’s kimchi and sliced pork casserole with tofu and vegetables in a spicy sauce). Try their omelettes and the bulgogi! Many dishes have a vegetarian option. Of the banchan we received, the spicy broccoli and radish pickles were a treat for me.
Our server (Jessica?) was fine. Would be nice if they checked on us more often, but if we needed help, they were easy enough to hail.
Haven’t tried any of their Japanese dishes yet — also note that they don’t seem to open their sushi bar Saturdays (at least for lunch). Last I checked, they had beer and wine, but never ordered alcohol here either.