Kimchi

8:40 pm on a Mon night. They advertise open until 9pm. And I walk in to get something to-​go, door open, lights on… and they tell me their closed?! Well, I will NOT be back.

Came here during business hours, but the place is closed. It’s got some kind of business license transfer thing posted on the front window. Not sure if it’s gone for good. Too bad didn’t have a chance to try it!

First off, I hate negative reviews. But, this was just bad. So bad that I’m not eating at a Korean restaurant for a few months (and I like Korean food).
Horrible service (they obviously just don’t care), bad food, portions that were a complete joke (ramen is top ramen for $ 12).
Do yourself a favor, and just don’t go. There are plenty of other Korean restaurants in Pleasanton.

I would give no stars if possible. Worst Korean food experience. Extremely small portions. And terrible service even though the restaurant was completely empty.
We asked for tea and water and were told that we can only have one or the other. The waitress (I think she is the owner) continued to lecture us that California is in a drought (as if I didn’t know) and that «California law» says that she can only serve us one or the other (incorrect btw). She literally refused to give us both. We should have left at that point.
The seafood ramen was a joke. It was literally HALF a bag of top ramen doused with some hot sauce and a few pieces of seafood. It came in a small metal bowl (~4″ diameter) and was not even half full. A whopping three bites for $ 11. Kalbi portion was also pathetically small.
Plus, the TV was on with a horribly inappropriate Korean game show with the volume turned way up. I couldn’t even have a conversation because of the volume. The waitress was too busy watching TV to even check on us. And you can bet that she never refilled our water.
We will not be returning.

Service was really bad. The owners are couple I believe and they never greeted you or smiled at you. We were the only table there on the day we visited for dinner.
It took a while for waitress to take order. Food was ok and portion is small and price is high also. After they served all our orders and we didn’t see any one at all for the whole time… no tea refill, no kimchi refill… nothing. We had to ask for a check… sigh…I don’t think we would ever come back to it and will not recommand it either.

I will never go back again!
I enjoy Korean food a lot, but this one is the worst in the area.
First of all, the small dishes (appetizers) are rediculously small portion. Food is strictly ok and the service is horrible. I didn’t feel like tipping a penny. Not just the food portion is tiny, when I asked for some more water as what I ordered was too spicy for me, the server gave me literally no more than ¹⁄₃ glass of water and went back to chat with her friend.

1^st time and last time just not happy with the lunch portions for $ 14 Kalbi dish. I’m still hungry. Meats good quality but not much.

Kimchi probably has a lunch menu but none seen on saturdays. other korean eateries did (all gone now). empty when i entered. saw small pics of korean food on wall. couldn’t see them from across the room.
menu: typical pricey suburban korean menu, no lunch menu on saturdays
eats: bulgogi beef fried rice (12.95)
–only a few pieces of bulgogi present, mostly chewy beef pieces
–fried rice, sticky rice kind, tasted sweet, msg and ?
–thought it was bulgogi and beef fried rice, nope, bulgogi pieces in fried rice
–6 dishes banchan with literally 3 pieces each, bland, refrigerated veggie.
–not a good value
panchan:
–best value bulgogi and soontofu (16.95)
–no service, no check in.
–check came slow, only one other table present.
waitstaff too busy watching korean drama on flatscreen.

The worst customer service ever received. If you go to this place when its vacant they will welcome you but if you reach at crowded time they wont even acknowlede your presence.
Never going again to this small dingy and dirty place. just overhyped by Unilocal

FANTASTIC, I manage to make another person a fan of Korean food.
Second time at this place, again for lunch.
Small little shop, very friendly owner/​server, clean and nicely decorated.
I ordered the ham/​sausage soft tofu stew. Soooooooo good. Super spicy, great comfort food for a nice cold day. Just the right amount of sides of tofu, kim chi, stuff.
The rice they give you is a little different, it’s purple. Looks like it’s mix with a bean or yams mixture, gives it a nice texture.
Not too pricy, about $ 10 – 12 for lunch. Think I am going to come back here for dinner one of these days. Can’t wait.

First time here and yet the place is small, nothing fancy and the food was pretty good. We ordered a traditional bibimbap and it was a good size plate with tons of veggies and some beef. The
Purple rice that comes with it was delicious. Japchae was very good, though I wished she would have added beef to it. Tofu soup was perfectly spiced with beef and mushroom. Side dishes were limited but I gave this place 4 stars for the service. The owner was very nice and generous, did not get am attitude when we asked for more side dishes. Prices are avg for lunch and we will be back again.

This review’s almost a year overdue, but better late than never right.
I first came to this place with my friend for an afternoon snack around the end of October 2013. Became a place I ended up frequenting once every two weeks or so for the rest of my senior year in high school.
I can’t really speak for the service since it was mostly empty every time we visited, but considering we went between the bustling hours of 3:30 — 4:30pm, it wasn’t surprising. I’d say pretty good service. People are nice, and since the place is kinda small, it’s a good place to unwind and chill.
The items on the menu are pretty varied (they sell freakin’ chicken katsu here), meaning some of the things you’ll find on this menu, you won’t in any of the other korean places around the area. Me and my friend would frequently order the bibimbap, which from what I remember, was pretty inexpensive for such a filling and flavorful meal. They also serve this korean fusion thing, the bulgogi burrito or something like that, which is pretty unique just to the restaurant itself and worth the visit just to try it. It isn’t bad, and pretty inexpensive.
Anyway, this is one of those places where the 3.5 rating really does not speak enough about this place. You come and sit down not expecting a fancy 7-​course meal, but a good place to chat and catch up with friends. I’ve developed a sort of bias for this place since I’ve spent so much time here just chilling and eating, but it really is like one of those places you just keep going back to. Like the late-​night diners highschoolers would frequent back in the 70s; or so films would tell me.
Also, I recently ordered a kimchi fried rice to go from here about a week ago, and it was decent. Think it was ’cause they used purple rice instead of regular rice. Still wouldn’t change my review for this place. A solid ⁴⁄₅.

Let’s start off by saying the food was authentic and their meat had a very juicy/​savory taste.
We walked in at 4:42 PM. Restaraunt was completely empty and we said,“hello?”. The waitress lady who was sleeping on the left hand side couch sat straight up and was like «oh hello». She didn’t apologize or even say anything about the fact that she was sleeping in the booth lol.
I did like all the quality pictures of their dishes along the walls! With the silent wave of her arm while she was still sitting down, she guided us to sit down. After we sat at a table she begrudgingly got up and handed us our menus then left. No words spoken.
We ordered the appetizer japchae ($ 10), terriyaki chicken bibimbap ($ 12), and chicken bbq burrito ($ 8). Check out my pics for them, although be aware I did use a filter haha.
She forgot our hot tea so we had to ask this nice man.
Anyways, we got our food in orderly time and were served by a nice Korean man who was very polite/​welcoming. He explained how to mix the bibimbap and poured our water.
Then I noticed we never got side dishes. I figured because we were young so we were too dumb or inexperienced to want side dishes. But yea, I asked for side dishes and they gave me tofu, mushy sweet potatoes, kimchi, bean sprouts, and spicy potatoes.
I don’t like being taken advantage of.
Then I got my burrito, but when I bit into it I noticed there was no meat lol. He said sorry and gave me a little plate of the chicken. So here I was shoving bits of chicken into my burrito with chopsticks like a 5 year old.
Then we finished our meal in silence and waited for the check for like 15 minutes. I asked the lady for to-​go boxes and politely asked for some possible extra tofu/​sweet potato side dishes. She was like, «NO. We cannot give to go side dish!» I was like (in my mind) «LADY YOU DIDNT EVEN PUT THE MEAT IN MY BURRITO THATS NOT EVEN A BURRITO DID YOU WANT A TIP?!»
So yea 3 stars because alright food with alright authentic taste with slightly expensive price. Half good service half crap service.
Forgot hot tea, purposely (?) didn’t give side dishes, forgot to put the friggin meat in my burrito, and wouldn’t even consolidate me with some measly tofu or potato bits. Cheap cheap cheap.

Came here on a Thursday evening and it was completely empty. That worried me a little but the experience didn’t disappoint!
Tofu soup + bulgogi + rice = ~$ 16
I don’t think that’s a bad price at all. I ate lightly though and finished only half the tofu and bulgogi and rice so I brought the rest for a great lunch the next day. The friend I was with finished it all and was satisfied so it’s not guaranteed that you’ll have leftovers. I think it’s worth the price since bulgogi by itself can be pricey though. Service was friendly and fast. Will definitely be back!

If it walks like a burrito and it talks like a burrito… then it’s a burrito, but Korean Style! Spicy pork, kimchi fried rice, cheese, and romaine lettuce.
Kimchi passes my under 10rule for eating out during lunch time: It has to be under $ 10 and I have to be out in under 10 min. They succeeded with my call in order taking under 10 min to prepare and my burrito being ~$ 8. But Kimchi has rules too. Such as, orders have to be over $ 12 to use CC. Had to break into my emergency cash stash, hisssssss.

— place is really clean.
— came for dinner, not busy.
— friendly service, husband/​wife team?
— food came out quickly.
— Korean food tasted fine.
Recommend: try the Korean burrito and the sizzling clay pot dish — the crispy rice on the bottom is the best part!

Pleasanton/​Dublin probably has the worst Korean food in the Bay Area and Kimchi is no different. I can’t blame them if the demand and turnaround are both low.
Side dishes are a little old. Potatoes were slightly undercooked. Dumpling soft tofu soup includes two round dumplings and a huge block of tofu (barely looked cut). Flavors tasted like it was cooked on the spot because there was no depth. If you’re going to do that, there better be a good broth to serve as a base. I asked for spicy so I saw some fresh jalapenos thrown in there.
With a lot of the lunch dishes, you do get a little fish on the side but there are a lot of bones. We were the only ones in the entire restaurant for a good 30 minutes but we had to ask for our side dishes to be refilled. I do see that they sell kimchi and the side dishes in takeout containers.
I do like the décor and how they have a nicely taken photo of every menu item along the walls.

After reading all the pervious reviews from the other Unilocalers, I decide to try it after a looong school day. It turn out I really like it!!!
Since most of my friends like Korean food, I’ve tried many Korean restaurants from Cupertino to Fremont. But Kimchi did surprise me!!!
It is located in a small plaza next to Domino pizza. Small, clean, decent, and the owner who looks like the young auntie in most Korean TV dramas. XD
Reasonable price with large portion. Oh, did I mention their Seafood Pancake is a must try?! Most of the Korean restaurants I went to were using flour paste but Kimchi uses egg for their seafood pancake. Yup, u are right, I think that will raise their cost too. The result for that is I have to stop myself from non-​stop eating it! ‘Cause it’s crispy on he outside, soft on the inside!
Will def. try more next time.

Went here for lunch today and it was an overall good experience. I thought it was closed at first because no one was inside. I was the only one there for a while until a beautiful woman walked in towards the end of my meal. At least I had some eye candy for a little bit.
I ordered the BBQ short rib and seafood tofu combo which was more than enough for one or two person. The short rib was good but the soup was okay. The soup wasn’t flavorful and there was barely any seafood in it. You get the typical side dishes but they didn’t serve the sides that I like.
Overall it was a decent place for Korean BBQ but Korean village is still #1 in town for me.

Best Korean place in Pleasanton! This is my go to place to get some Korean food!
I think I tried all the dishes on the menu.
Bo Sam and Cold noodles are my favorite!
Also, California roll taste really fresh! I recommend you try steamed dumplings here! The owners hand make them and they are delicious!!!
Great side dishes. Most importantly, the owners are very welcoming!