Won Mi Korean BBQ

Compared to other Korean restaurants, I’ve had bigger portions for much cheaper. I did arrive at around 1 in the morning and I was grateful that the place was open to satisfy my cravings, but man. I kept asking myself «Is this place really worth it?» I would say no. Flavors were good, sure, and bridezillas was playing on the huge tv above the cash wrap, but other than that, this place wasn’t really worth a second glance in my opinion. The server was super sweet though!

I was boring and ordered bulgogi. Can’t help it. It’s comfort food thanks to my brother’s wife who raised me on the stuff.
I really want to branch into bibimbop, barbecued octopus and the like, but someone else needs to order so I can try it.
The bulgogi was really good. Not stringy. Not over sauced. Could have been spicier but it was fine. The ribs I saw delivered to others LOOKED good. But they for another table — so I couldn’t ask to try them. :-(
Little relish dishes were good. Love sprouts and kimchee. Only one kind kimchee though, and I’m just not an anchovy fan.
Nothing really outstanding either way. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again, but I wouldn’t hesitate to stop in when I’m in Fillmore anyway.

Food was okay. Galbi and udon noodles hit the spot (although the soup was as bland as a clean white board).
Did see a rat crawling on the wall behind the cashier desk/​in front of kitchen before it scurried away into the corner though. Also, I saw a pigeon eating off of the floor in the kitchen lol kinda made me wonder about what I just put into my belly and all of the possible health code violations…
I told them about it, and they seemed frantic, apologized and I think said something in Korean about trying to take care of it as the lady grabbed a piece a paper at the counter with lots of numbers and stood next to the phone. I just smiled and kept wondering to myself if I’m gonna die lol. Oh well, I’ve eaten a delicious peanut butter sandwich that I dropped on the floor before.

Their chicken soup is sooooooo good. Chicken is really well cooked, tastes great and stuffed with very delicious rice.
You have to try that out.

Came here after drinking around 3am. I ordered a kimchi tofu soup and a beef tofu soup. Both were bland and not that spicy. I felt like I was drinking hot bland soup, so unappetizing even when you’re drunk. The banchan was good but they didn’t have kimchi, which I thought was odd. Service was friendly but nothing to boast about. I doubt I would wanna come back when I’m drunk, I think McDonald’s would be a better option.

Late night munchies after a night out. Seafood pancake and kimchi fried rice were decent, but the seafood soup was GROSS! First of all, it was soooo bland and it was spicy. It was basically like eating spicy hot water. no bueno! don’t get this, stick to other classics. Would come back after a late night out since they open so late.

I don’t know how this place exists, but I definitely know why. It’s 3am in the Western Addition, and you need something hot because you’ve been drinking and/​or partying. Won Mi comes to the rescue (unless you’d rather have the 24-​hour Subway across the street). Service is great here, and it seems like a family joint. Booths are dinky and sticky, but the people are nice. Serving sizes are pretty small, and the food is hot and spicy, but it looks like it tastes — mediocre. A bowl of stone bibimbap will have about 3 pieces of shredded beef and some kimchi. It’ll go down in quickly because it’s small, especially for $ 15, and the same goes for their tofu soup. Bowl of military rations top ramen soup is the same. You essentially know what you’re getting here.

What an awful place. Extremely loud due to noise from adjacent night club. Banchan was just OK and small amounts of it. Place was dirty and I noticed afterwards has a very bad health score.
Lots of complaints about the service — I actually thought the server was lovely, she was the high point of the evening for me.
The soups were just ok.
I would not go back.
Update: Both of us ended up with food poisoning that lasted for several days and was among worst we have ever experienced. I’ve reported them to DPH and hope they will get re-​inspected. They have a food safety rating of 80, which I could not see, because it was not displayed in the restaurant.

We got the short ribs, BBQ chicken, tofu soup and some rice cakes. The spare ribs were amazing… except they cost ~30 bucks and consisted of hardly any meat. What was there was delicious though. Chicken was really tasty too, and was also overpriced and didn’t have much meat.
The rice cakes and tofu soup were eh, they were what you’d expect. Service isn’t the best, but we were there at 2am. The appetizers we delicious.

Is it different than the past place? I was there 20 minutes figuring out the déjà vu until I realized that it’s practically the same.
Not a nice part of town, not a particularly aesthetically pleasing restaurant… food was tasty if not special… prices were high.
I’d return to Janchi in the Castro before I came back here a second time, I’m afraid.

My sister and I showed up around 2:30 AM on a Saturday night after we’d finished hanging out with some friends over at Carbon. We were happy to find that Won Mi stayed open until 4 AM.
Right after we were seated, a group of 10 clubbers showed up drunk and started an argument loudly between their group. All the customers who were already seated obviously felt uncomfortable so one table left without even getting their food. I decided to ask for my order in a take out box and another table next to us decided to do the same thing as well.
We ordered the yukae jang, which happened they had already poured into a serving bowl so we went ahead and just ate it there. But throughout our meal, all we could hear was the constant cursing and bickering amongst that group which definitely dampened the mood.
In all honesty, I believe that it was the job of the employees or restaurant owner to make their customers feel safe and welcomed by asking the drunk customers to either lower their voices down or just leave since they didn’t even place their orders yet, not let them continue to escalate their argument by making the rest of their customers feel uncomfortable to the point where we wanted to leave.
The soup was bland, but the banchans were salty. I’m not sure how that actually happened, but they must not have been made by the same chef. I ended up eating the mul naeng myun at home and that was also bland.
The food was subpar, service was ok – but I wish they had been more sympathetic towards the non drunk customers instead of allowing the drunk customers to kick everyone out.

awesome. all kinds of kim chee type appetizers come with every meal. open til 4am.
there’s a fantastic comfort meal I love here. comes in a sizzling stone bowl. I don’t know the name just now… sounds to my barbaric non-​Korean-​speaking ear like «bim bam shebop». I guess I can find out what that’s called and edit soon. maybe you could remind me.
oh. Atkins friendly dishes are available too. although I’m not sure if they’d know Atkins. I liked the first one of the fish selections.

Opens late!
The place is pretty much what you see is what you get. You have the normal korea food options, like tofu stew, and at the beginning they give you a bunch of appetizer plates. The appetizers were pretty good, as were the tofu stew – it was spicy enough to have a «kick» without being too spicy
Overall, a ok place to stop by, especially if you’re looking for food after a late night of bar hopping!

I think the restaurant is owned by old people. Because our server were old people only. The food was delicious. I was really full, and was able to finish it. It’s a tad expensive, but overall the food was delicious.

Solid Korean food with good service. Came here on a whim while walking around Filmore with some friends.
There were only two employees working at the time, but our waiter was friendly and helpful and service was prompt. We got a large ice water pitcher and tea pot for the table, which was nice. Side dishes are refillable upon request.
I ordered the dol sot bi bim bap. Delicious, fresh and piping hot. Big portion so I had half to take home. Overall yummy mom and pop Korean shop. I’d come back if I’m in the area and looking for some comforting Korean food.

They close at 4am but chose to close the kitchen at 3am because they ran out of rice. Wtf.

Wandering down the outer reaches of Fillmore when Shorty started gnawing on my arm, a subtle hint that Shorty was hungry. Shorty being on a bit of a Korean kick as of recent lit up at the sight of Won Mi. Unfortunately Shorty’s hankering for Korean made me ignore three warning signs (1) the aggregate Unilocal rating, (2) a completely empty dining room at 12:30 PM on a Sunday, and (3) the waiters mumbled excuse for not offering the lunch menu which was prominently posted outside the restaurant (don’t know if it was «not on weekends» or «not anymore»).
Considering the restaurant was empty service was disorganizes although friendly enough. Shorty’s Sae Woo Bok Um Bae (shrimp fried rice, $ 12.95) was weakly populated with small «bay» shrimp, some zucchini cubelets, and not a lot of flavor. My Bi Bim Naeng Myun (cold «buckwheat» noodles, $ 13.95) had the requisite chewiness, but was topped with half of the saddest mini boiled egg I’ve seen (pigeon? Game hen?), two dry flavorless slices of boiled beef shank, and an afterthought of cucumber and daikon. A refill of the ban chan was offered but there wasn’t anything interesting enough to accept it.
Conclusions — i should have let Unilocal Warn Me about Won Mi, it was overpriced and underflavored.

Absolutely HORRIBLE service! But what other place is open until 4am?!
Kalbi is great! And soft tofu soup is yummy, too…
This is the best kind of food after a night out of drinking. Not sure if I’d go when sober though.

This Korean BBQ place is open until 4am and is located right across the street from Origin, so anybody can guess what crowd this place attracts. The food is pretty standard Korean food. I came here with a group for late night munchies after clubbing at Origin, and we had bibimbap, japchae, seafood pancake, tofu soup, and ddeokbokki. Portions aren’t spectacular. Korean restaurants always tend to charge significantly more for dinner than lunch, and this place is no different. Would be nice if they had special late night prices, but I guess they can keep their dinner prices since they get consistently good business from the club (it can get quite crowded).

The WORST Korean Restaurant EVER! AVOID this spot with all cost!
The service was terrible one korean ajumma approached me and said «why is your Korean sounds like dumb and foreign?» REALLY? Are you talking that to real Korean and actual customer to like that? This person does not even have a basic manner towards to the customer! And foods wasn’t that great. It was mediocre level. Lastly their menus are OVER PRICED! Again, people who thinking to visit this place for Korean food, please try other places!

This spot used to be Won Mi, but it was pretty interesting when I went there for the first time and they changed their name to Nare almost overnight. It’s good for some really beyond late night eats. Both times went with a nice group of friends so we ended up ordering one of their dinner sets for 4 people which definitely saves a lot of time from deciding what to get since most of the good stuff is included.
The dinner set we always got was B-​13 which is a BBQ set for 4 people for $ 83.95 and it included the following:
Gal Bi — Broiled short rib marinated in house special sauce.
The Gal Bi was good. They had a nice sear and the marinade had the right mix of savory with a hint of sweetness.
Dak Bul Go Gi — BBQ chicken marinated in house special sauce.
Chicken had a nice smokiness to it.
Dae Ji Bul Go Gi — Broiled thin sliced pork marinated in spicy sauce.
I didn’t really care too much for the pork as it was a little too sweet for me and it was a little mushy.
Soon Doo Boo — Spicy soft tofu stew with beef and vegetables.
This soup definitely hits the spot! It was full of flavor and had a nice little kick!
Jap Chae — Stir fried clear yam noodle with vegetables.
Nare’s Jap Chae had a good veggie to noodle ratio and noodles had a nice chew.
Overall, the food is good and with them be open super late is a huge plus. If you’re hanging out in the Japantown \ Fillmore area and need some late night eats after hanging around the bars, Nare is definitely an option to consider.

Three stars Korean food but they open late so that deserves an extra star. Most of the food is saltier than I’d prefer but it’s okay. However, the soups are on the salty side and I always need a full rice bowl to eat with it. So, the food may be hit or miss depending on your palate.
The place is big enough for groups and I don’t recall ever having to wait for a table. Service is friendly each time, in our cases at least. This is all about convenience since we sometimes hang out near here, and can then just walk over afterward. Most of the time we have spicy food and soup since after a night of drinks — though sometimes to have just one more beer or soju, if it’s still early.
Note the name always remind me of a Human League song (
), when the visits are after karaōke.

It’s been almost 4 years since my last review for this, so this needs to be updated!
Located on FIllmore Street intersecting Ofarrell St. & Geary Boulevard in the heart of Japantown. This is a perfect place to eat after the night being drunk at the club, because it’s opened until 4AM! Hot brown rice tea and sizzling bulgogi with white rice? Count me in. They also have popular Korean dishes, like KBBQ (Galbi, Bulgogi or Samgyupsol), Bibimbap in a hot stone and a few of others.
The décor is clean, not very gravely like some places, simple and fairly amble for a restaurant. Nothing fancy, or awesome, just good food at a fair and reasonable price.

3.5 stars
Drunk and hungry is NOT a good combination. Especially past 1am in San Francisco.
Where do you go to feed a group of Unilocalers in this town at that hour?
Nare.
Formerly Won Mi BBQ, Nare exceeds in service and food quality than it’s previous Korean BBQ self. The place looks exactly the same, except for a slight price hike.
The banchans were limited to 6 plates of kimchee, anchovies, potato, bean sprouts, fish cake and another boring veggie offering. Do share the Kalbi, dhak bulgogi and dwaeji bulgogi. Of course, the soon dubu is already a given as is the bibimbap. Much better eats than disgusting McD’s down the street! ;-)

Am I biased because I just love Korean food? Maybe. Do I hand out 4 stars automatically just because of that? Maybe. And am I hungry at 2am? Most definitely.
After reading the reviews below I got the impression that Won Mi Korean BBQ has what the Doner Kebab in Berlin is — the perfect late-​night dish. They might as well open at 10pm?!
And guess what, I was hungry that night at 2am and was also in the area. Two large dining rooms, fast service, reasonably priced. Lots of starters, sizzling tofu hot pot, banchan, bibimbap, japchae. Solid food. And so much better than a Doner Kebab.
Disclaimer: they changed their name recently to something I can’t pronounce, but it still has «Korean BBQ» in it. Sorry for the unprofound note, my Korean friends.

3.5 STARS
Was in Japantown for some karaōke with Rodney H, Bobby L, Peter L & Wanugee N. After last call, we were starving, so we decided to head to Won Mi Korean BBQ, only to find out it is now called Nare! From what I remember of Won Mi, Nare’s interior is exactly the same, so not much has changed there. I didn’t really look through the whole menu, but Nare offered up pretty much the same fare as well.
We ended up getting B13 which is a BBQ set for 4 people for $ 83.95. Came with the following:
Gal Bi — Broiled short rib marinated in house special sauce. This one was good. It had a nice sear to it. Just the right mix of savory with a hint of sweetness.
Dak Bul Go Gi — BBQ chicken marinated in house special sauce. I had a bite of this. Chicken had a nice smokiness to it.
Dae Ji Bul Go Gi — Broiled thin sliced pork marinated in spicy sauce. I didn’t really care for this as it was a little too sweet for me and the pork was a little mushy.
Soon Doo Boo — Spicy soft tofu stew with beef and vegetables. This hit the spot last night! The soup was full of flavor and had a nice little kick!
Jap Chae — Stir fried clear yam noodle with vegetables. Had a good veggie to noodle ratio. The noodles had a nice chew.
We also got an order of Dumplings ($ 9.95) which were okay. Nothing to write home about.
Nare is open until 4a, so it’s a great spot for late night Korean eats! My favorite dish from Won Mi was Jok Bal so hopefully Nare still has that. I’ll be back to find out!

Overall: 2.5÷5 (I would have given this place a higher rating if the service was slightly better and the pricing was more fair; would definitely have passed if other eateries were opened late)
We arrived here around 2am.
For the amount of food we ordered, this place is overpriced!!! I didn’t even eating much, and it came out to be about $ 20/​head!
They weren’t generous on their ban chan dishes. =(
Highlights:
Beef tofu soup: 2.5÷5 SPICY!
Spicy rice cake: ³⁄₅ okay, not as tasty as ones I have had at previous Korean places
Bulgogi: ³⁄₅ good, but not great

This was one of those rare instances where I DGAFed about where we went to eat. Emphasis on the word «rare.» Like, dodging a blue turtle shell in Mario Kart rare. Which meant that I hadn’t had the chance to look up the restaurant prior to entering. Which meant that it didn’t occur to me that we had entered a place with korean BBQ in its name, though I was leaning towards soondubu.
So, I kind of set myself up for disappointment from the beginning.
$ 11.95 for the SOON DOO BOO JJI GAE, a soft tofu stew with beef and vegetables that comes with a bowl of rice (
). Add an extra buck for an egg in your soup. I found the broth to be too heterogenous, with oily and spicy standing out as two separate facets of the soup. They were very light-​handed with the beef and very generous with the cubed squash. I’ve never had squash in soondubu before, so that was a first.
The complimentary banchan was comforting, though the portions were the smallest I had ever seen (
).
So, yes, I probably should have taken the hint and ordered KBBQ. But at least I got to try squash in my soondubu, got to see what Asian-​portioned (vs. American-​portioned) banchan look like, and got to experience some exceptional service. Actually, yes, their service is amazing. During our meal, they didn’t turn away anyone who asked to use their bathroom. They even gave us a complimentary salad with diced apples, celery, and tomatoes swimming in a pool of watery mayo sauce. Despite my lackluster description, it was actually quite good.
Why do people come here? First would be their bathroom. Second would be their late hours. Third would maybe be their KBBQ. I wouldn’t know, haa.

I came here on a whim during the wee hours of the morning and behold, I was greeted with such savory aroma. Usually people have to resort to fast food chains or questionable taco trucks with mystery meat unknown when hunting for something to either soak up that bottle of beer or to just satiate those late night hunger pangs. Let’s just say that Won Mi Korean, won mi over. Get it, get it?! Oh I crack myself up…
Aside from my self amusement, I truly do think that having a full rounded, home cooked meal, definitely serves as a great option after a night out with friends.
So… I always seem to order the same thing. Soft tofu vegetable soup with rice and banchan on the side. Oh, what a treat those banchan sides are. Banchan is an assortment of side dishes made up with different ingredients, all differently flavored and textured. It adds a tasty element to each bite! If you’re not a believer in deliciously stinky kimchee just quite yet, they do have other mild banchan sides to choose from.
Even late into the night, I found that service was prompt, happy, and welcoming. They really treat you well here. The restaurant is also very clean and cozy.
If I’m ever in need of some late night grub, I’ll definitely have Won Mi in mind!