Yoon Ha’s Kitchen

I walked in this past Saturday around 8:30 am and got a few stares. I assume it’s because it’s uncommon to see a young female come in that early especially when the neighboring wholesalers are in full swing and most people frequenting are workers, restaurant people, or families.
I learned from the male owner on the way out, a lot of people are coming to the neighborhood because of the wholesalers and as a result, that’s why the restaurant hours are so early (Mon — Sat, 5 am — 3 pm). The wholesalers start as early as 2 am each day, and people come in droves to get stuff at wholesale prices. (Outside, while I was eating, cars and trucks were parked every which way. After I finished eating, it was slightly unnerving to maneuver around without getting hit.) More people tend to come to the restaurant around lunch time (11 am ish) and so when I asked for kimbap, which is offered only on Saturdays, he told me they couldn’t make it until at least 10:30 am and asked me to come back.
As for the food, I ordered the grilled marinated beef on rice for $ 9.99. I paid $ 10.99 when food tax was considered and left a $ 2 tip. They bring your order to you and the woman told me I can pay after I finished eating even though a sign says «Pay first.»
There was a lot of food, and I thought, «Maybe, just maybe I can eat all this. After all, I’ve been up since 5:30 am and I went for a bike ride…» but in the end, I finished a bowl of miso soup and ate half the rice, half the kim chi, half the cold tofu slices, half the bean sprouts, and half the meat and veggies and took everything else home. It was nice the male owner gave me new utensils when he could have easily stuck me with the used ones.
I’m coming back because I feel like the service is good, food is good (and I don’t have to trek to VA for Korean), and prices are reasonable. On top of that, they have traditional breakfast, ramen, and lots of Spanish stuff, most of which I couldn’t translate on the menu.

If Yoon Ha’s Kitchen was in LA, it would get 2.5 stars. But this is DC folks, and we are desperate here. This is your utlimate hole-​in-​the-​wall joint for authentic Korean food. Dont expect any decoration or atmosphere or even plates here. Im knocking off a star because of the opening hours — the rest of us who dont work in NOMA needs some deliciousness too during weekdays! Most people who come here are the staff of nearby warehouses.
Now the food here is obviously great. I’ve tried most things on the menu and no complaints. The Korean couple who owns the place /​cooks everything is sweet and accommodating. Every item on the menu comes with rice and sides, that is A LOT of food and so cheap for DC. It’s CASH ONLY (unless changed recently).

I was so excited to find a place I could Korean favorites right here in town since I usually go to Annandale. I got the soondobu, which was delicious (despite barely having any seafood in it). I want to go back for the bulgogi!
This isn’t somewhere I’d go on a first date, but if you’re craving some Korean during the week, make the trip. It’s clean inside, though very simple. It’s a few blocks from Union Market, in the wholesale area.

Bulgogi or pollo guisado? Soft tofu soup or sopa de mondongo? Rice or pupusas? Kimchi or tacos? Yes impossible questions but this little hole-​in-​the-​wall serves Korean *and* Salvadorean specialties, a pretty cool shared-​kitchen arrangement and everything is less than $ 10.
Only 6 tables and it’s quite plain, but extra friendly people and they speak English too. Well, the Korean people do; I got some help from customers with the South American specialties cos their chef didn’t have the words. Like her sopa de gallina: apparently this is a soup made from an old, tough chicken — that took some explaining.
One $ 8 lunch special easily feeds 2, at least for people headed back to their offices where they can’t nap lol. No line when I wandered in so I watched the man stir-​fry mine fresh right there in the open kitchen, no steam table here happily. My #7 spicy pork (dwaeji Bulgogi) came with a cup of bland miso soup, a huge plate of perfectly cooked rice (hot and a hint sticky), mild kimchi, fresh bean sprouts and pickled tofu. Great flavors on the meat, but so much food I took half to go.
The menu is on Facebook but all the prices are a buck low. They *do* accept credit cards, for an extra fifty-​cent charge. Has a TV too — an old-​school tube TV, what did ya expect?
(Listed for a long time as New Young Kitchen, Unilocal finally updated this one with the correct name: YOON HA’S KITCHEN.)

I’ve had nothing but awesome food and pleasant experiences at this place. The food is fresh and delicious. The place is family-​owned and run, the owners are this super sweet older couple, and their son is very friendly. They will go out of their way to accommodate dietary needs (my mom can’t have salt, my husband and I are vegetarian), and you get a ton of food for great prices. I think it’s still cash only, so come prepared. The inside is clean but nothing fancy — come here for a great meal (or get takeout). Yum!

Great Korean food at a reasonable price, a hard to find combo in DC. The best part (hint for my
The food is super fresh so be prepared to wait 20 – 30 minutes for your order.

It’s unfortunate to give this a low rating as I had very high expectations of the bibimbap here based on the previous reviews and raves on this restaurant. My bibimbap order did not come with rice as advertised. Service was slow and I was too rushed to ask them for rice. The seaweed had an unpleasant aftertaste, and the salad lettuce was not fresh. The sunny-​side up egg was overcooked, so no oozing yolk. Even the meat needed a little more seasoning that I had to add some more sesame oil. Perhaps this is a case of the Mondays and I could give this another shot, but I’m afraid that I have eaten better bibimbap in the District.

I’m a Korean Junky!!! LOL … With that being said, I ran across reviews and a high rating for New Young Deli.
I was happy to see a true Korean Menu … Not some Asian Fusion. Could not find one of my favs on the menu, So I requested SoonDuBu Jjigae … They honored the request with a little reluctance. It was too watery for my taste … Not spicy at all … Pork pieces were extremely tiny and scarce. Side items were great … Kimchi was on point. I will go back again and will request more heat to broth and will not ask for anything off the menu … LOL

Ultimate hole in the wall, home-​y tasty Korean food, large potions, sweet hospitable Korean family/​owners, awesome!
We found this place on our way to Union Market while we were exploring whole sale vendors. Very much a small house looking building hole in the wall. only open very early through mid afternoon targeted at wholesale community so we will probably only get to go Saturdays. I got the soondooboo chgae (Spicy soft tofu soup with beef) my fav Korean dish. It came out bubbling in the traditional clay pot. Large portion enough for two plus bon chans (Kimchi, sesame bean sprouts, and fishcakes) and rice. Soup was savory, I asked for «medium spicy» and will get medium hot next time. It’s wasn’t the ultimate best Korean place I’ve been but very tasty especially since DC proper is limited in Korean options.
My partner got the rice dollar cake soup. The broth was savory but not too salty it came with egg and tender beef. I typically am not a fan of rice dollars but it was soft and chewy instead of hard and tough.
Both items were around $ 15 total and the son brought us water while we were waiting. Very affordable lunch spot.
Looking forward to making this our Saturday cheap eats and Korean spot.

Funky place in union market area, zero atmosphere, but cheap, decent Korean lunches. Beware vegans: the tofu soup has meat in it!

Enormous portions. Come hungry, leave happy with your wallet intact. Bit of a sketchy neighborhood, but that’s ok, since it’s only open during the day and is a short walk from the NY Ave metro station. Best price/​quantity/​quality I have found so far in DC for any type of cuisine.
If he asks your whether you want your dish spicy, be advised that he means Korean spicy and not watered down typical spicy you find in the States. I lived in Thailand as a kid, so I know spicy; my boyfriend’s dad loves real spice too and he couldn’t handle it.
Also they only have japchae on the weekends, so be advised if you’re searching for it.

Truly excellent korean food and such a good find in this neighborhood.
The beef bulgogi is my favorite. The bi bim bop is also delicious, but it’s a bit harder to do as a takeout option. Kimchi is also very good. I haven’t tried their salvadoran food because the korean is so great, but it always looks and smells good.
Note — the restaurant is actually called Yoon Ha’s Kitchen and Deli. And call ahead (548‑0060) since it takes about 15 minutes and it’s not the most beautiful spot to wait.

The wait is kind of long. It took around 45 min to get our food. I got the Kimbap and bibimbap (rice with assorted veggies and beef). The food is average. The people are super nice but the food is average. The meat was not warm when it came out. The place is a hole in a wall but this is pretty authentic korean food for dc.

Amazing food. Ultimate hole in the wall. Nice owners.

Just got back and had to review right away! Other than the owners being super adorable and cute, the food was sooo cheap! I ordered 1 bimbimbap and 1 spicy bulgogi and it came out to be $ 17.50. When I got home, i found that my food came with like 6 boxes. For each order you get a pint of rice and a pint of miso soup (both yummy and delicious!). The rice was sticky just like it’s suppose to be. Even my fat (not really fat, but I like to believe i can eat like a fat girl) self couldn’t finish 1 serving. I had ½ the bimbimbap and now exploding as i’m writing my review. The spicy bulgogi was moist & had a good kick to it, not super spicy but good. The bulgogi came with 3 different ban chan sides (bean sprouts, amazing kimchi, and sliced fish cakes). I can’t say any more about this amazing hole in the wall– since they are so tucked away, they could easily americanize their food and feed people generic dishes, instead they keep everything as authentic as possible to the T. Can’t wait to go back and get some jigae!
ps: yes when this place is called «divey» it is def «divey».

I love this place. Unlike Chinese it’s hard to find good Korean food on a budget. Young’s is affordable and doesn’t taste like food sitting under a hot lamp all day.
The bulgogi is good. The kimchi is good. Everything is good. The service is great. Like most Korean restaurants, you are inundated with a variety of foods before you even get your order. It’s traditional Korean food not remixed for Americans.
The décor? Nonexistent unless you like hole in the walls. I like hole in the walls. We go with the little one and she is encouraged to run around the small dining area. The owner was more than nice, bringing our little one some sweets and reassuring us it was okay for the little one to go Tasmanian Devil in the place.
This place comes highly recommended. For the food, the people and the wallet.

As a Korean who had lived in NYC, I was really missing Korea Town, so what a wonderful surprise finding YoonHa’s Kitchen and Deli (New Young’s Deli) in DC. The food is some of the freshest tasting Korean cuisine I have had in a very long time. You can tell they make it as it is ordered. And as people have said, the portions will fill you up and the prices will not empty your wallet.
As for those calling it a dive… hmmm…I think they are over using the word «dive.» It is a nice homey little diner. Sure, it is not fancy, but it is clean, warm and inviting… it is definitely NOT a dive.
The food itself is incredibly authentic, and the family that owns and runs the place is so wonderfully friendly. They even told me that if I need to buy a large batch of their kimchi, they would be happy to oblige (you just need to call them in advance so they can prepare it). Score! Nowhere else in the District can one buy REAL kimchi.
If this family opened a second diner in areas like Dupont or other posh neighborhoods, I am certain they would become one of DC’s #1 destinations, but that would also take away from their personality. I love their family run, side street, authentic feeling as it is. Now… only if they were open later!

Authentic Korean in the hood. Don’t mind if I do. Under $ 10! Massive amounts of food… win.
It was great. Such a good find on Unilocal.The bibimbap is awesome. I look forward to trying the Latino food, which they have there too, I suppose because the «sous chefs» are from El Salvador. Pure guess as they have papusas.
The bibimbap is a really healthy option, with twelve vegetables, miso soup, an egg, and what looks like home made hot sauce.
The owners are quite friendly.

Oh. Yeah. Saw this on Prince of Petworth a few days back. I work in Noma on 1^st NE. Just a brief walk over there from the office. This is a total dive place, in the middle of the crazy restaurant warehouse scrum on the North side of Florida avenue, head in, take a left, first building on your left. It’s run by a middle aged couple, super nice. Me and a co-​worker split a bulgogi pork, a spicy squid, and a bimbimbap. The owner actually came over and mixed up the bimbimbap for us and explained everything that was in it. Anyway, we were stuffed, and each thing was about 7 bucks, so the price was right. Overall, good flavors, plenty of food, everything was good, but I’ll be back for that bimbimbap, yes sir.
Ah, it’s also called Yoon Ha Kitchen now. Don’t know how Unilocal changes the name of a place, but would recommend that too…

This restaurant is under new management. It has been closed for a good month or two. and opened up yesterday (Oct 12^th, 2011– A day after my Birthday, which made it seem like a birthday present to me– :-))
The restaurant operates from 5am to 3pm. And I am assuming it is standard Monday — Saturday.
I went to this restaurant twice so far. Both for breakfast. I was sick and under the weather today, and was craving «Korean Porridge-​AKA Jook.»
Although this was not in their menu, I called and asked if it was possible. Never the less, the lady in the front was excited to take on a new «challenge» and was happy to make the item for sick ‘ol me. The food was fantastic.
The owner’s daughter Sandra told me, her mother is a big believer of «great tasting food, without the use of MSG (Monosodium Glutamate). And as she stated, the food was perfect… exactly what i needed.
Everyone should check this place out. A hidden jewel among the busyness of the 4^th St Market place.
Call ahead! (202) 548‑0060