Mandu

Mandu was decent. I liked the Kalbi which was pretty flavorful! The soondubu was not that great, not very spicy and lacking in flavor. Side dishes were below average. Service was very good, they are friendly and accommodating.

Kalbi excellent. Sojutino delicious — peach and mango. Dolsut bibimbop not hot (no crispy rice at bottom), dukboki is not what expected, more like jigae than sauce. Don’t forget dukk in mandoo gook! Not enough given. Msndu good, meat was best of the 3 choices. Overall, good since location of better places to far in traffic with kids

Found this place as my friends and I were just walking down the street and saw happy hour sign 5 – 7 it was on a Saturday during a busy pride festival weekend and trying to escape the heat after standing for a few hours. It wasn’t packed. Our bartender Ken was very friendly and recommend awesome choices. Their sojutini’s are amazing and at $ 4 be careful! Try the yogurt it was my favorite. And the shrimp mandu was also great and only $ 4 and each order came with 6 pieces. Ken suggested fried was more fun :) they have happy hour everyday 5 – 7

Wonderful meal sitting outside on a warm summer evening watching the people go by. The Moscow Mule had a bit of freshly chopped ginger that added a little extra zing. They provide a sampler of Korean appetizers. The eggplant and pork dish was delicious and the service was great. Would definitely go back.

Great food and service! I have been there for three times and I would like to go there in the future. No matter pork or rice would be good. I don’t remember the exact food name.

Food is amazing, ambiance is nice. The only reason for 4 stars over 5 is because the service was super slow. We sat for a while before someone began serving us and brought some water. Otherwise, visit was great!

Good Korean restaurant on K street. Two story small restaurant that packs a big punch cuisine wise. For starters, I had a shrimp appetizer that was good but not great, hence the 4 and not 5 stars. It was a serving of only 2 shrimp dipped in a flavorless batter and then fried. It lacked any real flavor so that was a minor disappointment. The entrée was great though. I had a bim bop bowl that was enormous and delicious. It had slices of porcini mushrooms, lots of seaweed, slivers of beef, sprouts and crispy rice on the bottom. I did have to add hot sauce because I prefer spicier foods in general. The menu is not extensive but has many of the standard dishes you expect at Korean restaurants.
Would come back!

Of course our first meal visiting DC had to be Korean. I love Korean food and so we came across Mandu.
Mandu is a cute little spot that even though it’s not a big establishment is still very spacious.
We arrived at lunch and were immediately seated. Our server, Ashley, was prompt at greeting us and bring us our drinks and complimentary yummy little dishes of kimchee, spiced cucumber, beans, and broccoli.
For my meal I had the soon doobu, which is a delicious spicy stew, with seafood, tofu and a raw egg that cooks in the hot pot the stew is served in. The seasoning was perfect and it was the prefect level of spice. There was a good amount of seafood and tofu so it is rather filling. It is also severed with a side of rice, so between the complimentary small dishes and the stew, I walked out stuffed.
They do offer specials, but I believe they are only for the bar area so make sure you pick your seating accordingly.
Overall, it was a good experience and for a quick lunch it’s a great spot to go to.

Yay! Korean food! Didn’t think I could find any in the District, but it exists! And thank goodness for that.
First off, the staff seems great. Our waiter was patient, friendly, and offered good suggestions. We went in a group of 6, and I always appreciate when the staff is willing to be accommodating of group requests, such as wanting to share entrees, etc.
We got two of each dumpling. I think the pork ones were best. The vegetable ones were intriguing as well.
I really like bulgogi, and it’s pretty decent here. I am a big fan of the soon dobu as well, and it brought me back to late nights spent with my Korean friends who always knew exactly what to order whenever we capped off the night with some good eats. The decoration is interesting – one wall has 3D cranes (or some type of bird), and another that separates the bar area from the tables has little boxes that my friend thought made the place look like a morgue… Not exactly appetizing décor. But I was facing the cranes so I didn’t mind.
Overall, it was an A-​OK place to go to satisfy a Korean food craving. I look forward to trying the late night menu.

Such a different atmosphere from the one near dupont! This large, brightly decorated location was just what my friend and I needed when a charcuterie board from a wine bar didn’t quite cut it for dinner. So a couple orders of mandu and another glass of wine each, and we were much happier for it! I had the vegetable dumplings which were still plenty filling. Our waitress was quick and friendly and we were in and out for a late night bite to eat.

Came here for dinner with a large group of friends. They had a nice upstairs area that accomodated our large group (including a baby) quite comfortably. It’s not the most authentic, but if you’re craving Korean, it will do in a pinch. We ordered the pajeon, the dumplings (that I never got to try because they were all devoured before I could!?), and the eggplant to share. The eggplant is quite tasty, but the pajeon was ok. I ordered the kalbi dolsop bimbimbap. I thought that their gochujang could have used more of a kick (and perhaps seconds on the gochujang in general). The kalbi was a bit on the sweet side. My rice ended up getting crispy on the bottom, but my friend, who waited a while to eat her rice said that the bottom never got crispy.

Great food! Okay service! My favorite dish tonight was the eggplant appetizer and BBQ beef… At first I was apprehensive cause I heard it was Korean fusion but everything was done very flavorful and tasty!

One word. .. yum. It was a cold day and I felt down. What better way to eat Korean-​style chicken noodle soup. It hit the spot and it was exactly what I was looking for on this cold day.

The food, service and drinks here are all excellent! Their menu has a wide variety Korean dishes that provides plenty of options to ensure everyone is happy.
The mandu (dumplings) themselves are delicious. I tried the pan-​fried beef & pork ones, which tasted great. We also ordered the Soon Doodu (spicy seafood stew) which tasted decent but I wasn’t really that impressed. I was expecting it to be spicy, but it really didn’t have much heat. My favorite dish I ate during this meal was the Galbi (marinated short ribs). This dish come straight off the grill and is served with grilled veggies and lettuce. The meat was packed full of delicious flavor and was grilled to tender perfection. The Dwejee Bulgogi (spicy marinated pork) from the Grilled Menu was also very good.
Mandu also has a ‘Late Nite Bar Menu’ which includes Korean Fried wings, Korean BBQ Tacos and a few other delicious items. They also have a great happy hour from 4 – 7 PM everyday!

If you’re into authentic Korean fare, you should head to Annandale. But if you’re looking for a savory, solid meal that won’t break the bank and appreciate trendy décor, this is a very good spot.
Since you’ll be paying $ 14 bucks for a regular bibimbap anyway, suggest you go for the dolsot (stone bowl) version — it comes out scalding hot and nets you some delicious crispy rice. It’s a very good version of the dish. Highly recommend.
The mandu themselves are solid but not extraordinary — you order dumplings and you get dumplings.
The soon doobu (spicy seafood stew) wasn’t excessively spicy, but didn’t have the depth of flavor of some of the other dishes.
The banchan (served in adorable dishes at the start of your meal instead of, say, bread) are a nice complement.
I would definitely come back here next time I get a hankering for funky Korean. Suggest you give it a try!

About a 2 – 2.5: Mandu is a Korean restaurant that opened back up in ’06 and has 2 locations (one on 18^th and one on K St). Owned by Chef Yesoon Lee and her two kids, Jean and Danny, the place offers a brunch, lunch, and a late night bar menu. A group of us came here for lunch, and we tried the following: Mandu (you get to choose the filling of either shrimp, beef & pork, or vegetable — we opted for the beef & pork; you can also request these to be either steamed or pan-​fried; we opted for the latter; these were just okay, with a crispy exterior on a slightly thicker skin; I just wished that the beef & pork mixture was more seasoned and more savory, and the soy sauce was more salty rather than sweet); a Mandu Guk (a dumpling soup that is made with beef broth, some beef and pork dumplings, mushrooms, pulled brisket, scallions, and scrambled egg strips; this was a little watery and a bit underwhelming); Bibim Bap (a rice bowl with veggies, beef strips, and a sunny-​side up egg, the veggies/​namool were all a bit underseasoned, and the gochujang sauce was a little sweeter rather than spicy); and, a Dolsot Bibim Bap (bibimbop in a hot stone bowl; again, the namool were underseasoned, and the gochujang sauce was sweeter — it would have been great if the stone pot was extra hot and made the rice crispy, and the sauce was more spicy). Service was okay, and the place itself didn’t seem to be that busy, even during the lunch rush. I’m glad I was able to check this place out, but not sure if I’d go back!
+sweeter soy sauce and gochujang sauces
+2 locations — 18^th and K Street
+limited free parking off of K Street

The kimchi fried rice is to die for. I get mine with a fried egg on top– seriously so good and just the right amount of heat. My husband always gets the Dolsot Bipbim Bop and it’s delicious! We also love the Pa Jeon (mixed seafood and scallion pancake).
The waiter kept it real and told us the best dessert on the menu is their Mochi (ice cream enclosed in soft rice dough) favorite flavors are mango and green tea. Overall really clean, pretty interior and nicely run restaurant. **Shout out to the food runners/​busboys who were on top of their game!

3.5 stars
Bulgogi is straight up yummy and I highly recommend. Shrimp mandu is soooo good. Brunch special is fantastic. Red bean ice cream is refreshing. The waiter was helpful and courteous.
Atmosphere is nice but there was a lot of dust all over the green ducks on the walls. The dust was thick on the rocks in front of the hostess stand. Clean up!

They’ve got a fantastic happy hour deal:
— mandu (dumplings) — $ 4 for 6
— sojutini — $ 4
— draft beer — $ 3
— rails — $ 4
And I think their bar lunch special is great too, $ 13 for 2 Korean tacos, 6 dumplings, and a beer.
I didn’t get to try their actual entrée options but, as a Korean who’s been to many Korean restaurants, that’s a lot of money for those foods. I think I read someone’s review talking about how good their bulgogi is; just go get Korean BBQ at a real Korean restaurant. Again, I haven’t tried the entrees so I can’t say anything about how they taste, but I won’t be paying to find out. I’ll gladly come back for their happy hour and bar lunch special though.

Wow. Very impressed with Mandu. Everything that we ordered was delicious, but the highlight of our lunch was the Galbi Dolsot Bibimbap and the kimchi. The kimchi was out of this world actually. It had a crisp and clean bite to it, unlike the kimchi I’ve had at other places before which has a rotten fermented taste to it. I ordered the japchae and that was also really good, but I wish I had ordered the Galbi Dolsot instead. ;) I tried a bite of my friend’s and one bite just wasn’t enough.
We will definitely be planning another trip to DC sometime in the near future and will be coming back for more food from Mandu.