Koba

Ordered lunch from here. Ramyun noodles with chicken, seafood pancake! My co-​worker had the dumplings and rice cake soup. We were satisfied!

Great little Korean spot! Good food at a cheap price. I ordered the Chapchae for $ 6.95. It’s listed as an appetizer but i ordered it as my main course because the portion was more than enough to fill my belly. This Korean joint definitely see my ugly mug again :)

Homely little place with good food, they always punch above their weight without resorting to fancy décor. Bibimbap and kimchi fried rice are simple yet very tasty.

Good prices. Glad to have an ok Korean joint in neighborhood.

There isn’t much to korean BBQ but this place was on par with all the other Korean restaurants.

I know that bibimbap isn’t exactly the most exciting dish at a good Korean place, but I still get pretty excited by a good dish of bibimbap. (That sentence made no sense, huh?)
I eat lots of crappy bibimbap at corner delis in Midtown. Koba? Not crappy. Lots of little plates of awesomeness are served with the bibimbap, including this gelatinous fish skin stuff that I inexplicably really, really like. It’s like scaly-​looking fish jello. Except that it’s good.
No really – I swear that scaly-​looking fish jello is good. How could you possibly think otherwise?
And the lunch special is insanely cheap… I think I paid $ 8.95 for miso soup, bibimbap with chicken, hot tea, and a soda. And kimchi and fish jello…

This restaurant was kinda close to my ghetto Queens hotel so I decided to give it a try. Since it was freezing cold outside, I decided to go for the Kimchi chigae (kimchi casserole) and it was ok. Very sour and spicy, but good for digestion, kimchichigae was ok. it’s usually is poor man’s food, but I love it on a cold day.
Considering the restaurant is small and there were only 2 groups when I was eating, service was fast and friendly. My only complaint food-​wise is the wacky rice. I love my rice and I can tell when the rice is wacky or weird. This joint is definitely flagged for wacky rice.
I won’t be back though. There are plenty of great korean places in Korea town and in Brooklyn.

The previous occupant of this space, Friend’s Korean Restaurant, was a pretty solid place, especially for the hood. Unfortunately, they closed after only a few months, to be replaced by Koba. With the new name came new décor and a new menu — both for the worse. I had written off the place, but was convinced to visit after reading the two other reviews.
My Korean friend summed it up by saying that it was the 2^nd worst Korean food he’s had in recent memory (the worst was a place in Flushing that we’ve both repressed the name of). But Korean restaurants generally tend to be of higher quality across the board compared to other cuisines, so take that into consideration.
The banchan was servicable. Yeah, the cabbage kimchi was a little bit spicy, but lacking in flavor. The noodle dumpling (deepfried square dumplings filled with japchae noodles) was oily and a little bit flaccid. The kimchi jigae and galbi were just «eh.»
Granted, the prices are lower than at other Korean places, and the quality of the food is definitely a notch up from the crappy Chinese places in the hood. But I think there are many better options within walking distance.

Koba took me by surprise. How can such a tiny restaurant, located essentially across the street from Queens heavy-​hitter SriPraPhai serve up such great home-​style Korean food?
«Koba delivers.» It’s kinda ironic that I even use that trite line. Because from the outside, Koba looks like a Korean takeout joint, specializing in bento box-​like servings of bulgogi and rice. It doesn’t seem like a place you’d want to make a foodie pilgrimage to. But don’t judge a book by its cover.
Around sundown, the owners dim the lights, illuminate some simple tea candles, and transform the brightly yellow painted restaurant into an inviting Korean haven.
Although it touts itself as a Korean BBQ restaurant, it’s the stews or jigaes that really stand out. $ 6.95 buys a huge bubbling cauldron of Korean classic stews, such as the spicy tofu-​seafood haemul soondubu jigae, or the tangy kimchi-​pork kimchi jigae. I sampled both, and I was utterly shocked at how tasty and spicy they were. Koba doesn’t hold back. Banchan was also wild on flavor, with super spicy kimchi, salty baby dried fish, some pickled root and a standard plate of sprouts (all presented in neat geometric plates).
Further, I appreciated that the place was so inviting; the food was so honest (and not greasy at all… makes for a good weeknight place); and the service was so friendly. The owner-​woman works hard to make you feel welcome in her cute little Korean oasis amidst the grit of Roosevelt Ave. and despite the rumbling of the 7 train heard overhead.
Great addition to the neighborhood, and pleasant experience overall.

This place was top notch on a Saturday night. I wasn’t dressed up all that nice, but they greeted me and treated me like a valued customer. That feels nice. they even brought out banchan and barley tea for me, just with a soba curry dish for $ 7. Not bad!
Korean restaurants can go either way for me. Really great service, or really rude service. It’s all in how they’re feeling, you know? (because I’m not Korean; if I’m w/​my Korean friends, then, 1^st class service the whole way…)
It’s decently priced. The food was nothing to rave about or take a long train ride for, but it was good, and it’s great to have a decent korean place in the neighborhood. I’d definitely go back.