Dasonii Korean Bistro

They closed. :-(
This was one of my favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh, I’m really sad.

Since my move to Pgh, I’ve been trying to find a great Korean restaurant. Was looking forward to Dasonii, and hoping that it would be end my search for Korean greatness. Unfortunately, after my visit, the search continues…
Food (6.5÷10) = Came here with family and got to sample a few things:
1) Side Dishes (Banchan) = one of the best features about Korean restaurants are the side dishes (banchan). Dasonii serves 5 dishes (spicy cucumbers, shredded carrots, potatoes, bean sprouts, and of course kimchi). The side dishes I enjoyed the most were the cucumbers and potatoes. The kimchi? Meh. The kimchi was unfortunate/​disappointing.
2) Seafood pancake ($ 14) = per menu, the seafood included were scallops, squid, and shrimp. Was not expecting much, considering I’ve never had good experiences with seafood in places situated far from the ocean. The pancake was just ok. It’s not the typical seafood pancake I’ve had at other places.
3) Seafood Dolsot Bibimbap ($ 15) = Seafood included were again shrimp, scallops, and squid (same stuff in the seafood pancake). This dish is served in a stone put, and is composed of rice topped with julienned vegetables, and fried egg. The stone pot is supposed to make the rice at the bottom crunchy. Unfortunately, this desired crunchy texture did not exist. The overall flavor profile was bland. To get any flavor, I had to use a good amount of the gochujang hot sauce (the hot sauce that comes on the side of bibimbap dishes). The seafood itself was meh. Was not impressed with the product.
4) Seafood soft tofu stew ($ 11) = Seafood again was the triple «S,» shrimp, scallops, squid. Was really excited to see this dish on their menu. This is one of my favorite Korean dishes (soondubu jjigae). An egg is dropped into the soup shortly before being served. A bowl of rice accompanies the pot of boiling soup. Unfortunately again, this dish was meh. The flavor just wasn’t there. Was disappointed.
Ambiance (7.5÷10) = Very spacious, very clean. Simple and not overwhelming atmosphere. Shiny metal tables. Fancy cups for the barley tea.
Service (7.5÷10) = was nothing special. didn’t get the super warm friendly feeling that other’s had mentioned in prior reviews. Was seated, took our order, ate, and departed afterwards.
Overall Opinion = I really wanted to like this place. I didn’t have high expectations going into Dasonii, just had high hopes. But even without high expectations, I left disappointed. After asking Korean friends who have lived in this city, I guess it’s time to accept that great Korean food does not exist in Pittsburgh. I’m giving Dasonii three stars, because I don’t have the heart to give anything lower to the family running this place, who for sure put their hearts into their business. In reality, the quality of the Korean food is just two stars (i.e. Unilocal’s «Meh. I’ve experienced better»). If you love great Korean food and have experienced it in places such as California, NYC, Atlanta, Toronto, or Annandale to name a few cities, you’re probably going to be disappointed with Dasonii.

After an afternoon of shopping at IKEA and The Mall at Robinson, my hubby and I began searching for a dinner spot. He saw great reviews for Dasonii on Unilocal,so we decided to check it out.
The restaurant was quiet for a Saturday evening with less than 10 diners the entire time we were there. Though clean and modern, the restaurant was sparsely decorated. Our waitress was very attentive and did a great job of explaining several dishes as we are not very familiar with Korean food.
The meal started with a little sampling of tasty treats, including kimchi, bean sprouts, and cucumbers. We ordered the Sweet Potato Tempura which was incredible! I was almost tempted to order a second portion of the appetizer it was so delicious. Finally, I had the Sweet and Sour Chicken. Though good, it was not exactly what I was anticipating. However, I am more familiar with the Chinese version of Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Overall, I had a good experience and would definitely be up for returning to Dasonii again in the future.

I stopped by here a couple of Saturdays ago with my fiancé for a later lunch. We had been looking for a semi casual restaurant in the Robinson that wasn’t a chain and this popped up on Unilocal for us. Whenever we entered the restaurant the first thing that jumps out at you was how sleek and modern everything is. The whole place looks very clean and is done in silver and black.
For my lunch entrée I decided to have the Angus Short Rib Dolsot Bibimbap which is five different vegetables over rice and a fried egg in heated stone pot for crispy and crunchy rice with hot chili sauce on the side. It comes with 5 dishes of banchan that are served before the meal that I thought were excellent. They were delivered to our table by our waitress who was a little bit awkward but we assumed that she was new on the job. After asking her what they were she told us that the banchan consisted of Pickled radish, kimchee, potatoes in sesame soy, tofu and a cucumber kimchee. After we had finished the banchan, she took them away and our meals came out and I liked what I saw. Apparently whenever I think of Korean food, bibimbap is what I am thinking of and the presentation of these were nice. The short ribs in it were cooked good and tasted nice but I am not sure that they were worth paying the extra money for over say the seafood or chicken as it was not really the star of the dish. That honor belonged to all of the vegetables and the crunchy rice which I loved.
The bottom line for me is that I would head back to Dasonii in the future. Hopefully the next time it is during the week as their lunch menu if significantly cheaper then. Even so, this was still one of the best, if the best Korean food that I have eaten in Pittsburgh.

My stomach still hurts from our experience earlier today. When we got to Dasonii, we were the only ones there. It’s very clean and the atmosphere would be nice if there were more patrons.
We decided to share the kimchi pancake and the jap-​chae. While we were waiting, we snacked on the banchan, which was tasty enough, very mild, but tasty.
The kimchi pancake came out first. It wasn’t cooked all the way though and it didn’t taste like kimchi. The pancake was overly doughy. It was too mild to be considered a kimchi pancake. Just like a pancake with vegetables in it.
The jap-​chae was even more disappointing. When you first tasted the noodles, they tasted sickeningly sweet and heavy. It apparently had been flavored by the fat of the meat that was mixed into the dish.
The food was so heavy, that it made both of us feel a little ill. We couldn’t even eat half of our food. It’s been a really long time since i’ve been so disappointed with a dining experience. I’m really surprised about all the positive reviews of this place. Maybe we ordered the wrong stuff …

We came here with a mixed group of people who have never had Korean, who lived in Korea and who were vaguely familiar with the cuisine. It was a large party of 8 and they were very patient in answering our questions and catering to our needs (like beverage refills).
The menu is varied enough that there will be something for every taste, even the non adventurous eaters. A nice touch was the small appetizer type items that accompanied our meal. My favorite were the spicy cucumbers, but there was also kimchi and about 4 others. They ranged from being mild to extremely spicy. It was a good way to try new things. When I asked for extra cucumbers because I loved them so much, the obliged. They even brought me two small containers, free of charge at the end of the meal and the ingredient list!
Every diner enjoyed their entrée choices and most had rave reviews. Items were spiced perfectly and cooked to the right levels.
It is a bit far for us since we live in the Eastern suburbs, but I’m sure we will be back.

I think this place is really more of a 3.5 star place.
I came here with my boyfriend on a Saturday afternoon, and the place was empty.
We ordered a kimchee pancake to share. It was okay.
I ordered the angus beef dolsot bibimbap. To be honest, it was disappointing. There was a decent portion of meat, but too little rice and way too many vegetables. I felt like a third of my bowl was shredded carrots. The bibimbap sauce was more tomato-​based than what I am used to. The whole thing wasn’t bad, but I’ve definitely had better bibimbap elsewhere… including at Japanese restaurants.
My boyfriend ordered the angus beef bulgogi. He enjoyed it.
What I really liked was the banchan. The potatoes are amazing! I requested a refill of the potatoes. And their kimchee is pretty tasty. They also gave us sprouts and cucumbers.
Overall, I got a weird feeling from the waitress/​owner (?). It was a semi-​awkward dining experience.

Am I missing something? Measly portions, lackluster quality and flavor, and pricey menu is all I took away from this place.
The banchan was decent but came in 6 dishes with very small portions. When we asked for seconds, the waitress seemed taken aback by what I thought was a common request. She eventually said «ok», then never returned. Uh, alright. We asked another waitress after 10 minutes and she delivered.
For our meal, we had dukbokki, soondubu, and galbi dolsot bibimbap. The dukbokki was too sweet and tough, the soondubu was bland, and the bibimbap had mushy rice and no flavor whatsoever. And they were all pretty meager portions. We ordered off the dinner menu and barely even got lunch portions.
So nope. I don’t know what else Pitt has to offer for Korean, but there’s gotta be something better than this…

I have had the bulgogi and the bibimpap. They were both fantastic. As a matter of fact, I went to dinner there on a Friday night and went back for lunch the next day.
Friendly wait staff, clean, and great banchan. When I am in the area, I’ll be sure to visit EVERY time. Well done!

What’s kind of disappointing about a really cool city like Pittsburgh is its lack of great Korean food and Dasonii bistro can also be added to that list.
Don’t get me wrong, if you’re craving Korean food, this very well might do the trick, but like Sushi Kim, Korea Garden and Green Pepper, none of the food knocks your socks off and can’t compare with that of Annadale, Virginia or Koreatown in NYC.
We got a dolsot bibimbap and soondubu along with the grilled butterfish. The beginning dishes were ok, nothing great and the food also tasted fine. The advantage this place has over some of the others around Pittsburgh is that its relatively good for the price. If you happen to be around Robinson Town Center and want Korean food, give it a shot but don’t go out of your way to come here.

When you visit a Korean restaurant, the best way to judge the food is the quality of their kimchee. Dasonii, without no doubt, makes one of the best kimchee from scratch that tastes no MSG. For that reason, you will fully enjoy what they serve at Dasonii, from kalbee, bulgogi, bibimbap, to naengmyun, seafood pajeon.
Dasonii holds a monthly cooking class and the other day I participated in the kimchee making class. Making kimchee is such a hard work but the reward is worth while. The owner of Dasonii shares every knowledge he has with us and meticulously explains the procedure. The class not only taught the kimchee making but also explained how to make the kimchee Jjigae. Jjigae is slightly hot and spicy but the flavor is just awesome. After the class was over, we were served the Jjigae which is a must-​try item. The jar of kimchee we made during the class was our take home kimchee.
If you like the Korean food, you must try Dasonii at least once. The owner and his wife, who care about the guests, are one of the nicest and wonderful people you would meet. Great authentic food, awesome service, heartwarming welcoming and chic interior will make you visit Dasonii over and over.

Three stars as compared to other Korean restaurants that I’ve been to… not necessarily in Pittsburgh. If this is what Pittsburgh has to offer though, I will admit that I’m a bit saddened.
I am a fan of Bibimbap Dolsot. If you are not familiar, it’s a smokin’ hot rock bowl full of rice, veggies, meat, and a raw egg. The idea is that the rice gets nice and crispy from the hot rock, and the egg cooks through the mixture due to the heat.
I just wasn’t impressed by their bibimbap offering here. the egg was pre-​fried before being added, there was very little meat (I had steak, gf had seafood (out of bag)) and the rice was relatively bland. They did have a huuuge table ahead of us and perhaps that’s why it was an off night.
The free sides were decent, however; we received 5 and most were tasty.
One thing that did surprise me, and a reason that I may go back, is the sushi. Not because it’s the best sushi in Pittsburgh, but because it’s decent, and for the price it’s surprisingly good. No skimpy portions, well balanced rice-​to-​fish ratio… I’m generally very skeptical of the «hey we’re an Asian restaurant so we should have sushi» trend, but they do a good job here.

My boyfriend and I were looking to try some Korean so we stopped here after finding some good reviews for it online.
This place is located in a strip mall next to a Petco and a Galaxy Golf. We went on a Friday afternoon and there was no wait. You will first notice the clean modern steel décor when you walk in. There is also a small bar to the right and a sushi bar to the back of the place.
When we were first seated I just about had a panic attack when I saw there were only chopsticks and a spoon. This is America!!! I need my fork!!! The menu had many dishes all under 15 dollars. I got the spicy pork kimchi and fried pork dumplings. The fried pork dumplings were beyond delicious. I know I will be back just to get the dumplings. They were fried golden with a savory pork filling that you could dip into a light sauce.
The spicy pork kimchi was not the best meal I have ever had. The dish was really spicy. I think I would have loved it had the pork contained meat and not just fat.
The service here was ok. I would have gave this place a better rating had the waitress paid attention to us more. She only seemed to care about us when we asked for a check which is usually a last ditch effort to get a decent tip.

This place has been on my husband’s radar for awhile now, so we made the drive over to Robinson Township for lunch today. The woman who waited on us was very friendly and helpful. We both ordered hot tea, which is a barley tea, and something I’ve never had before. The menu is large and well written, with the lunch items listed on the back. We went for dinner size portions, as you get more ban chan with them, and we both really enjoy these little dishes of pickled vegetal yumminess. They were all good here, so much so that we ordered more kim chee and potatoes halfway through our meal. The bulgogi here is different from other places I’ve had it… marinated and charcoal grilled meat is served on a hot plate with cabbage, onion, carrots and broccoli. The chicken was perfection, but I missed the Korean chili sauce, so she brought us some. The kimchee soup with pork, tofu and rice cakes was delicious. I think I’ve learned my lesson with this dish; you have to resist the urge to dig right in and let the flavors meld. The rice cakes soften, and the spicy elements of the dish have a chance to marry with the other flavors. Everything was prepared with care here, and we’ll be back often to get our fix of delicious Korean food.

Huzzah! Another restaurant in the area I can get excited about. We’ve been on a hunt for Korean across the country lately and are slowly becoming knowledgeable about this healthy and flavorful cuisine. I had lunch here today and was really happy that my fellow Unilocalers got this one right.
It’s a clean, modern and attractive space. The music is a strange mix of American music styles and it’s sometimes distracting but it wasn’t so loud as I couldn’t tune it out. The service was great. Of course, it helps that the owner was waiting on us. She was really patient with all the questions I had today and after awhile warmed up to us and we had a really nice conversation about the history of the restaurant and her role there with the family. The waitstaff is learning Korean and teaching her English. You can tell she’s a bit uncomfortable but once you show her some kindness she rises to the occasion.
We ordered the dinner portion of chicken bulgogi. It comes with 5 dishes of banchan and since someone recommended the picked peppers we asked for some of those too. The banchan was excellent. Pickled radish, kimchee cabbage, potatoes in sesame soy, tofu and a cucumber dish. One as good as the next. The peppers were jalapenos that had been carefully seeded and deveined. I was worried they’d be too spicy but they were delicious. The bulgogi is simply marinated, grilled and served with cabbage and carrots on a hot iron skillet. I expected chili sauce on the dish but you had to ask for it separately. It was delicious on it’s own but really needs the chili sauce in my opinion.
We also ordered kimchee soup with pork, cabbage, rice cakes and tofu. This dish gets better as it cools in it’s hot pot at your table. It gets a little spicier, a little richer as the flavors develop. I love this soup. I have had one better in Cleveland but this was quite good.
I highly recommend you eat here. We will be back very often. I can’t wait.

A big bowl of goodness is what I had! It is Sunday Afternoon, my long drive from Kentucky has made me hungry for something unusual than my normal football watching meals (pizza or wings).
Continuing on my food adventure of Pittsburgh, I decided to stay local to where I am staying and saw the great reviews on Dasnoii Korean Bistro via Unilocal.
Intrigued, I decided to venture out. It was actually hard to find for me (probably due to the fact I just spent 5 hours in a car and my eyes gravitated to the Basefall sign below the Bistro). I found it and glad I did.
I sat down and the waitress knew I was lost. I knew what I wanted but I have to admit I am a Korean rookie. I have always had good Korean food but it has been stew based and not sure what it was.
Following the lead of my fellow Unilocalers — I purchased the Dolsot Bibimbap (Beef). All I can say is I went into the meal open minded and I was happy the Unilocal Team recommended it.
My waitress approached me with what look like a bowl made of lava rock on a wooden plank. She warned me that it was very hot. Like a kid — I did the quick touch — and yes I can tell you it was very hot. I beleive I burned my finger prints off and to while writing this review I wonder why I did that but … back to the meal.
The bowl was layered with what looked like a fried egg, beef, rice, veges — I have no idea what kind of veges but the make up of my garden section appeared to be cabbage, carrots, sprouts, etc…
I poured the bbq sauce on and mixed it up. It was very yummy and I am sure good for me. This meal made me feel good that I ate versus the tempting 4 beers and 2 dozen wings that I normally do on a football watching day.
I am probably committing sacrilege but my mixed up concoction tasted similar to a Korean style Japanese steakhouse meal -(I am not sure if that is going to make sense but wow! it was good)
I am excited to go back and jump out of a tree with one of their stews.
A high recommend.

I got the dolsot bibimbab (the stone bowl bibimbab) and they told us they changed everything and added new things and it’s REALLY good!!!
The family shared a sushi boat. It was really good as well! Fish was fresh, the sushi rice was good, very enjoyable.
My brother got the kalbi. They were marinated SO deliciously. My brother devoured it.
My other brother got the shrimp fried rice. That was really good as well! I wish I had a big enough stomach so I could eat three entrees + sushi HAHA.

After picking up a rental car at PIT to use for the weekend, my girlfriend and I passed by this place, which I probably wouldn’t have visited if I didn’t have a car. The restaurant is located along a small strip mall, next to a Casual Male XL (tip: if you’re using google maps, it places the marker slightly past the location if you’re coming from the 376. if you pass McDonalds, you’ve gone too far.)
First impressions: the restaurant is spankin’ clean. the tables had easy to clean metal surfaces, and the booths were all comfortable to sit in. we came at 11:09AM, just a few minutes after opening, and we were the 2^nd set of patrons besides a small group of three koreans. later on around noontime (lunchtime), two caucasian groups dressed in business attire came in.
i’d been craving dolsot bibimbap for over a YEAR now, so i was stoked that i was finally able to have the chance to eat it here. this isn’t to be confused with bibimbap, which is the same thing, just without the vital hot stone pot that gives you crispy rice along the edges. we ordered a dolsot bibimbap, one each, and a soonduboo jjigae (spelling error perhaps), a tofu broth dish (see pictures) with small seafood bits at the bottom, including as little shrimp, one mussel, one miniclam, etc. Given my sensitive stomach due to lack of sleep (my digestive system refuses to comply when i don’t get enough sleep), and the depressing windy rainy day outside, these two warm dishes made me feel fantastic afterwards.
the dolsot bibimbap was served with a sunnyside up egg (see pictures again). To those who are scared of undercooked eggs, one need not worry; the egg will cook itself if you put it along the edge of the pot. the rice and everything inside had not been sitting inside the pot for very long, for when i tried to start mixing, the rice came cleanly off the edge, meaning that i needed to leave it for a little bit to get that crispy rice i wanted. the gochujang (standard chili paste/​sauce for bibimbap) was served in a conservative quantity on a small side dish. this sauce came out slightly sweeter than other places i’ve tried, so if you’re a fan of spicy, i’d recommend you ask if they have anything spicier. however, it was just spicy enough so that it wouldn’t limit the masses from tasting the delicious dish.
The soonduboo jjigae was a perfect accompaniment to my main dish, along with the four side dishes (banchan). each of the side dishes were not the very standard types of banchan i get at most restaurants (see picture, again). this included a warm tofu in a semi spicy sauce, which had the perfect soft texture that fresh tofu should have; mungbean jello (in picture, the white stuff that’s not very easy to pick up with their hollow metal chopsticks), which tasted good with the kimchi; and lastly, some veggie that a food noobie like me couldn’t identify. it looked like parsley but didn’t seem to be parsley. let me know if you figure out what it is!
the presumed owner (a korean lady), came over numerous times to our table, first asking how i had heard of this place (thanks Darren W.) to which i replied, « Unilocal!», then identifying 2 of the 4 banchan (i should have asked about the greens…), then asking how the food was. at the conclusion of our meal, she encouraged us twice to come back. the server forgot to give us our side dishes for a little bit in the beginning of our meal, but apologized for not doing so, and when we asked for a refill on the warm tofu side dish, he never came back with one.
this was probably one of my best decisions for comfort food on a cold day. if you come for lunch, a good number of dishes are 1 – 2 dollars off (not a lot of savings, but more than none for the same thing!). although i haven’t had much korean food in pittsburgh, i’d definitely recommend this place over sushi kim.

I’m so glad there are more Korean restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, but not if the food isn’t good. I came here with low expectations and was still disappointed.
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