Gaju Soft Tofu Restaurant

Pretty Good. Came here with parents. The food amount is decent. The Tofu Soups are not too bad, just the original taste with Kalbi!

I think it no longer goes by Gaju… probably a new ownership. They still have the purple rice. We went around 11:30 so we were their first customer. It was a hot day but they basically let us sit there for about 15 minutes before my mom said its kind of hot is there a fan? Then the lady said she already turned it on… yet shortly after the conversation we began to feel the AC… hhmmm. It kind of took an arm and leg to get service. Also. on a hot day they usually give you the iced korean tea but she gave us hot… so we were sweating like crazy eating tofu. just lovely

one extra star because i consider this place one of the tastier tofu soups in the area.
service is ok. sometimes theyre really good, sometimes they dont bother to check up.
there could be more side dishes. they give you mainly some veggie dishes and kimchi. not a whole lot of variety. over half of them are kind of plain. maybe on a good day they will have better options.
i usually get assorted tofu combo. its good. a lot of clams and little beef chunks.
i think i may opt for the dumpling one next time. my friend got it and it was good. pork and leek inside, or so thats what it taste like.
i like how they give you purple rice here.
2 dollar off during lunch special time!

Food: I think the soondubu is average. Not bad, not amazing.
Bonus for serving one of those pancakes as a side dish — that’s a first for me.
Parking: Lot was full on a Friday noon, so we parked in the lot of the Greenland Supermarket next door. Short distance walk.
Oh, and $ 30 minimum for credit card… wish I had know this coming in cause my friend and I ended up having to order up to this amount since we did not have enough cash on us.

OWNERS CHANGED and now I LOVE IT EVEN MORE!
I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but the dude with the all caps lock review (ahem, TIM) needs to caaaaaalm down a little.
They are so friendly and are very generous with their side dishes. Everything is pretty much the same format. Now, if you get the kimchi stew, you get an option of beef or pork. The last time I had gotten this, it didn’t have this option.
And also, the owners are not Chinese. I was speaking to them and they are all Korean so I have no idea what Tim is talking about.

I recently went to GAJU TOFU. I can CONFIRM that the MENU, DECOR, and SERVICE has changed.
THE FOOD HAS CHANGED; THE SIDE DISHES, THE MENU, and EVEN THE BOWL THAT THE BEEF RIB SOUP COMES IN HAS CHANGED. GAJU TOFU HAS CHANGED FOR THE WORSE.
THE TOFU SOUP USES CHEAPER SPICES AND DOES NOT TASTE AS GOOD AS WHEN THE ANGRY KOREAN LADY WAS THERE. DOES NOT TASTE KOREAN. TASTES LIKE THE FOOD WAS MADE BY THE MAINLAND CHINESE.
THE BEEF RIB SOUP NOW COMES IN A METAL BOWL. MUCH LESS MEAT. DOES NOT TASTE AS GOOD BEFORE. I DO NOT LIKE HOW THE SOUP TASTES SWEET, AND HAS EGG. IT DOES NOT TASTE KOREAN, THE BEEF RIB SOUP TASTES MAINLAND CHINESE.
I AM A LONG TIME CUSTOMER OF GAJU TOFU, BUT I AM NEVER GOING BACK. IT’S BEEN TAKEN OVER BY THE MAINLAND CHINESE.
I THINK THE FOOD IS BAD AND GAJU TOFU WILL LOSE ALL ITS CUSTOMERS IF ITS FOOD DOES NOT IMPROVE. I HOPE GAJU DOES BETTER.
I MISS THE ANGRY KOREAN LADY OWNER AND HER FRIEND WITH THE ROUND FACE. I think she may open her new store, down the street.
I DON’T BELIEVE A WORD THE MAINLAND CHINESE LADY IS SAYING, how the Owner didn’t change. THE NEW MAINLAND CHINESE LADY MANNING THE CASH REGISTER APPEARS TO BE THE NEW OWNER.
IF ANYONE HAS ANY OTHER INFO ON WHAT HAPPENED TO GAJU TOFU, PLEASE POST.

(AS OF MAY 18, MY LATEST ATTEMPT TO EAT HERE THE PLACE IS CLOSED DOWN FOR ‘NEW MANAGEMENT, CLOSED FOR REMODELING’)
People’s main gripe about the place seems to be the service; generally most people agree that the food tastes great. Well, here’s my take on the service:
1. It is true that the two waitresses there are middle-​aged women of korean descent. I am fairly certain they are not the owners (albeit could be related to the owner), since I’ve seen the ‘owner’ show up really late/​close to closing time to do book-​keeping work for the day of business.
2. It is true that the two waitresses are relatively emotion-​less when they take your order. But I simply think that is due to their culture and age, not because they hate you. Imagine your mom serving you at the dinner table, is she going to be wearing deep v-​cut and smile and sweet talk you?
3. On at least a couple of occasions my family has certainly walked in at 9:30, and didn’t finish and leave until like 10:15pm or so. Yes we were the only table left and yes the waitresses appear to be bored and have nothing to do other than sitting around waiting for us to finish eating. But they never came to ask us to hurry up. And honestly, I feel bad to show up so close to closing time and delay their time to get off work.
So… I think the service is adequate, they get you what you need. They’re just more stereotypical koreans.
As for the food, I think it’s evident from everyone else that they taste good. I typically order the korean BBQ + tofu combo, or the beef + tofu combo. I tend to pick seafood tofu pot with mildly spice (none — mild — medium — spice scale). The side-​dishes are nice, though the exact content varies from time to time and I generally just eat them without questioning what shows up and what doesn’t. Over the years I did feel that the amount of meat has decreased, but so has the economy.
I will definitely try the place again once the new management is established — hopefully they’ll be just as tasty.

Food: I was craving tofu soup and this was the closest location to me. I got a tofu soup bulgogi combo. The combo tofu soup bowls are smaller than the regular but that’s okay with me because it was just enough. The banchans were okay. I was sad that the pancake couldn’t be refilled as those are my favorite.
Service: Don’t expect service with a smile like at BCD. Its not going to happen. Come, eat, pay, go. That’s also fine with me as the tofu soup was pretty good.
Ambiance. The place is decorated nicely and has soft lighting. It was a nice place to have a meal.

Awesome Korean HotPot tofu soup place at a decent price.
Got confused with the AYCE place accross the lot, but this place is relatively quiet. We came in right when it opened pretty much, so it kinda smelled like cleaning product, but once our delicious meals were served, we didn’t notice it much. It got pretty packed soon after, so I guess early lunch is pretty popular here.
Had the Bulgogi and tofu soup and the wife had the Kalbi with the same. She got mild and I got medium… umm, mild is not even anything, so medium is what I would say should’ve been mild and the mild non-​spicy. I wonder what non-​spicy would’ve been like. But we enjoyed our meals thoroughly and with the bunch of sides they provided, we were really full after our meal.
Service — There was only one lady serving us and the place was packed, so I wouldn’t really take it out too much on her that I had to get up and ask her for water; but it was very good and I’d definitely come back again.
Parking is decent; not sure what it’s like in that area at dinner time tho, but I’m assuming it can get pretty crazy.

Service was okay, we constantly had to go up to the front desk to ask for water or more tea. The place is really small so I’d suggest making a reservation. The tofu pot was mediocre, I have definitely tried better. The purple rice is amazing though & the short ribs are yummy. The bill came out to be 50 bucks for 5 people & we only ordered 3 things.

I use to come here all the time, but that was like five years ago. A friend of my wanted Korean Tofu and she didn’t like her last experience at BCD and she doesn’t like our regular place in Diamond Bar because she think it has msg in it. So I recommended this place, even though I haven’t been years since I been here.
I was pleasantly surprised! The place had been remodeled on the inside, so it look much nicer. The tofu was really good and my favorite part, I love the sides. I really like there selection of the sides, normally I feel like all the sides kind of taste like kimchi or are spicy. But I really like there seaweed, potato salad, pancakes, and fish cakes. Of course there was kimchi, but I like that they were not all spicy, but If you like kimchi than maybe this is not a pro.
The tofu soup was really flavor, but not too salty. All 5 of my friends really enjoyed it. I actually got the chicken soup with ginseng instead. It felt really healthy and really good for you. It was a whole small chicken, so really decent in portion and it was only $ 12.99. The chicken was stuffed with sticky rice which was really good. It had soaked up all the flavor of the chicken and herbs. I think this is the perfect dish if you are sick or just want some comfort food.
I’m totally coming back to this place!

I’ve been to this place a few times and all in all it’s not a bad restaurant. It’s nestled right across from my favorite AYCE joint but sometime when your stomach can’t handle the madness of 4hrs of KBBQ at Korea House, Gaju is a nice alternative.
I think most people come here and get the tofu in the stone pots but I almost always only order one thing on the menu, the Abalone Porridge. I’m a fan of porridge and a fan of abalone and then you crack an raw egg into it when it’s still piping hot. I’m a fan of eggs too so there’s a trifecta of good times when it comes to this dish.
They do a pretty good job on the ban chan. Any joint that has fish cake and potatoes in their lineup has a place in my book!

love their small dishes… especially tempura and Kimchi
come here more than 10 years+…
time really go too fast…
They even have lunch special lunch box now! (TOGO only)
for only $ 6.99, your choice of Beef, Chicken, or Pork.
and have 3 kinds of side dishes.
I always like to eat more healthy… therefore, I will choose purple rice instead of white rice! love it! feel healthy~

I love having friends who live in the neighborhood… they know all the best eating spots! After eating at Korea House, I thought the RWLD, HH, WAL area was going to disappoint in all things Korean food related.
Gaju was actually really really nice. They recently finished remodeling so the interior looks clean, minimalistic, and classy. There weren’t too many people for Friday lunch — yay for us!
… our orders…
Dolsot Bimbimap + Tofu Soup (kimchi w/​beef) — the meal came with PURPLE RICE!!! =O This is only the 3^rd place I’ve seen it served (other two were in K-​Town). Dolsot came out hot and with all the right fixins’. =) Loved scraping the bowl for the crispy rice! The tofu soup was pretty standard. didn’t think there were lots of meat in it but hey, it was a combo. ~$ 13
Beef bulgogi — mmm. delicious and thinly sliced beef. Meat wasn’t dripping in oil either. There were slices of onion but didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the meat. I really appreciated that they used good meat … none of that watered down meat (where water is injected to make the meat look fuller than it really is). LOVED it! ~$ 10
Kabli — This was my friend’s favorite. I could see why. Meat was very tender and juicy (really surprised).. ~$ 10
They gave us about 8 banchans (all fresh) … and one pancake /​person. Made for a very filling meal. :) My husband joined us a little late in the meal and we still had leftovers for lunch the next day. =0)
A definite keeper! I could definitely see taking the family here. =)
I see a few reviews stating service was bad… I’d have to disagree with them. Our cups were always refilled and we had nothing to complain about. =) There’s even mouth wash in the bath room … little things like that makes me love the place even more. =)
…next time I come it’ll be for the handmade knife cut noodles, mandu and possibly one of their $ 6.99 takeout only lunch special korean bento boxes!

This mainly goes out to the one waitress that always seems to be there whenever I go. A couple of years ago, my mom swore this place off because they refused to give us more of their vegetable pancake that’s one of their side dishes.
I went with a group of my friends last week, and the service was no better. Because we were a group of 20 something year olds and ordered in english, that automatically means bad service. And this time, she didn’t even give us the vegetable pancake! It was ridic.
Another time, she had got my order wrong and when we told her we didn’t order it, she said «Well, what am I supposed to do with it???» Well, I don’t care! You’re the one who messed up my order in the first place!
My blood pressure rises every time I think about this place. It sucks too because their food is actually quite good :(I just can’t deal with this lady anymore!

I love me my tofu! I’ve been addicted since the Unilocal event a couple weeks ago! It’s just so good! I haven’t had enough of it yet!
Anyway, so I came here with a couple of friends, and three of us got tofu, and the last one got bibimbop!
I loved the tofu here, it was soft, and pretty good! I loved the fact that it comes out super hot, and it almost burns my mouth! That’s how you know that your eating good food!
So I got the combination, and the lady who took my order, who was by the way Chinese, told me that it was all tofu and seafood, but when it came out there was beef in it. I had asked my friend, what combination meant, and she said that there was beef, and seafood. (In the OC, the menu usually just says what’s in the clay bowl, but in LA, they just say ‘combination’)
Anyway, so I ate most of my food, and what I didn’t finish, I took home. Very good tofu! I’ve been having a slight addiction to tofu!

I’d choose this place than BCD down the street, hands down (Dashboard Confessional?)
I went here a couple of times, and here are my stories.
The first time, I got the Ham and cheese or whatever tofu.
After that I didn’t eat soon dobu for awhile due to a minor soon dobu phobia.
I swear that «breakfast» tofu shouldn’t even be on the menu, it was just (pardon me) gives me goosebumps in a bad way, very, very, bad way.
But maybe thats just me, if you like your soon dobu smells and taste like breakfast mixed into one tofu soupy, then hey, it might be your favorite here! If you decided to get it and don’t like it, don’t message me saying I didn’t warn you!
The second time and the many times after I decided to just to be «normal» and ordered spicy dumpling soon dobu. And hey, I’m glad I made a very safe choice. It tasted better than BCD, the banchan was good and plenty, and they serve «purple rice» It’s kinds cute seeing Lakers combination color on your food (purple yellow purple yellow!)
All and all, this place is a solid OK restaurant for me, 3 stars for their safe bet spicy dumpling soon tofu with great banchans.
The service was okay, so I didn’t have any complains about that :)

Yeah, the taller waitress with the glasses could be friendlier, but she grows on you. Her grouchiness is only balanced by the other waitress’s friendliness.
I always come back to this place when I want some soontofu. It’s definitely one of the better ones in the area. The small dishes are plentiful and even come with mini korean pancakes. The décor is pleasing, but the space is rather small, which is fine because I’ve never seen it over flowing with folks.

The interior looks fairly new and it was recommended by a friend so I came here for their great lunch combos. They give complimentary hot rice tea to every person… but after you have some spicy tofu soup, ice cold water seems more fitting. Their side dishes included the usual, kimchee, bean sprouts, fish cake, seaweed, radishes, and my 2 favorites — a fruit with egg salad and a great egg pancake! The egg pancake side dish was especially tasty.
I had the #7 lunch combo — Grilled Salmon and Tofu Soup for $ 13.99 Yes, they have grilled salmon as one of their dishes! Medium spicy was just the right amount of heat for my beef tofu soup. There was a good amount of tofu and great flavor. I enjoyed the «purple» rice it came with; I heard it was better than white rice is for you. The grilled salmon came with a slice of lemon. It was a bit overcooked — not juicy enough. Definitely a healthy tasting salmon though.
The food was good but it was hard to get the waitresses attention. Not that it’s uncommon in many restaurants such as these.

I’m surprised at the high reviews for this place because I’ve been to much better soondubu places in Diamond Bar, Irvine, Garden Grove, and LA!
The pros:
— They have purple rice! I prefer it over white rice and it’s healthier.
— Their side dishes are pretty good — I came for lunch and they had a seaweed dish, bean sprouts, radish kimchi, regular kimchi, dried mini anchovies, and this egg pancake.
— Nice ambiance for a korean place & the waitresses speak fluent English
— Variety — they have more than just soondubu on their menu, they also offer traditional dishes like bibimbap, deng jang chigae, kimchi chigae, yukejang, noodles, and various meat dishes.
The average:
— I got the dumpling soondubu and my BF got their ham and sausage soondubu. We ordered our tofu medium spicy, but both were blander than other places I’ve been to so maybe next time we need to get it spicier. The tofu was silky though, which I liked. They also didn’t bring us an egg until we requested it. You need to put the egg in when the soup is piping hot and mix it in… it’s good this way!
— Service was all over the place. The restaurant was pretty packed and there were only 2 waitresses so I guess that’s to be expected.
The bad:
— I actually got a soondubu + bulgogi combo and the bulgogi was chewy and gross. The meat was not the typical bulgogi meat that’s used, so I’m not sure what kind of meat they used. It was also super oily… I would NOT get this again.
— Kind of pricey — my combo was about $ 14 and the stand alone soondubu dishes are close to $ 10.