Nak Won

I used to live in Korea, and am a little particular about Korean food. This place is the best I’ve found in the Portland area. For me, the litmus test of Korean food is Doenjang Chigae — and this place did not disappoint. The flavor had the depth and complexity that I had not experienced outside of Pusan. Banchan was good, with a nice variety, and good portions. They also refilled several, which was a nice service touch. My only wish is that they would have more variety in Soju to chose from. But they do have Makgeolli which is great.
The place fills up surprisingly quick around 6:00, and there can be a line waiting for a table. If you can arrive a little early, a table is easy to come by.

Expect to come out smelling like food! This place is dark and not flashy at all. I love the rice cake in their sweet and spicy sauce. The kalbi ribs were very tender and flavorful. I wasn’t that impressed with their tofu soup but I did appreciate them adding the ramen to it with no extra charge. They have a variety of banchan which taste different on certain days because they make it in house. I’d definitely come back here but a shower afterwards is required.

Lived in Portland for 20+ years. Moved up from Los Angeles where there is great K-​food. Nak Won is the best K-​food in the Portland area, PERIOD. Great banchan and all the dishes are fantastic and with really good portions.
Just had family up from LA this Memorial Day weekend and for whatever reason they wanted Korean food so I took them there. They were blown away that you could K-​food this good in Portland and for prices that are way lower than LA prices.
BTW, we are all Koreans, so we know good K-​food.
I really don’t understand why there are some low reviews for this place. The food is great, the prices are great and the service is great.

This place is always a reliable place to go to when you want a solid korean meal. My friends and I decided to come here after a bad experience/​service at a précis restaurant.
The prices are reasonable and the portions are generous. We ordered a few dishes and they were all solid. We ordered the bibimbap, bulgugi, tofu soup (Kimchee and pork), and black bean noodle. It’s also important to note that the banchan here is very good.

Yummy food. Large portions. Authentic Korean food.
Only 2 wait staff and all the tables were full.
I would definitely go again!!!

I’ve been here so many times, and I love it every single time.
I just don’t understand why people give it low ratings because they are comparing to places in other states. This place is the best in Portland, the banchans are fricking delicious and the entrees are as well.

just enjoy the real Korean food here, they have the best cold noodle, bibimbap, military stew, and a lot more, even better than you can have in korea or China, side dishes are also amazing, do not expect too much for service.

I dined with my Korean friend based on her experience here and a recent write-​up I saw on Oregon Live. So tasty! What a great spread of banchan and the bibimbop ($ 14) was exactly what I was craving. Good portions, great flavors, decent service, and no wait on a Monday evening. I did, however, leave smelling like the kitchen… not sure if that’s a sign of a good meal and/​or just poor ventilation. There will definitely be a next time but with a change of clothes in the car.

Everything I tried was delicious. They bring you seven plates of appetizers, all of which have free refills. I think they bring kimchee, radish kimchee, seaweed, scrambled eggs (it goes by another name), egg cake, alfalfa sprouts salad, and a savory jelly. The meal itself was also delicious!

Came here for a quiet birthday dinner on a Monday night.
We loved the pork belly and Kim chi stir fry, the banchan was top notch, and even if the bibimbop was on the bland side, we fully intend to eat our way through the whole menu… the kalbi we ordered never made it to the table but we were happy to cancel it, as we were very full from everything else: big portions.
Very good.

Nak Won is a great value. My family of four feasted on banchan, steamed pot stickers (jjin mandu), kimchi jjigae, steamed rice, lettuce chards and ssamjang, and a platter of meat — pork belly (samgyeopsal), beef (bulgogi), and beef franken ribs (galbi). We ate so much we chose to skip dinner altogether. All for around $ 60.
Rule #1 — Arrive early. The place is popular and, predictably, packed. There’s a three-​hour window for lunch (11:30−2:30) and a three-​and-​a-​half hour window for dinner (5:00−8:30), except for Fridays and Saturdays, when the restaurant closes at 8 p.m. Wander in during the last half hour at your own risk. In that last half hour, the kitchen is backed up with orders and the menu options narrow. Don’t blame the restaurant. Blame yourself for arriving late.
Rule #2 — Play the field. Explore the menu and order a dish or two outside your comfort zone. You will be rewarded. Ordered beef bulgogi last time? Try the soondubu jjigae, a soft tofu soup with meat and vegetables served boiling hot. Our family eyed dishes delivered to surrounding tables and made notes for our next visit.
Rule #3 — Bring friends. Korean BBQ and comfort food play well to a communal table and Nak Won’s atmosphere is no exception. You’ll quickly find there’s plenty to share with your guests, whether you ladle soup, slide along small bowls of banchan, or serve sizzling hot meat from your table grill.
Quibble #1 — The steamed pot stickers was the only dish to disappoint. I knew I should have ordered a green onion pancake. Though, I recovered when I ordered a large bottle of Hite beer to share with my wife as we deliriously chewed on BBQ meats.
Quibble #2 — Banchan is free and refillable, although I didn’t care for either the spicy bean sprouts or the fish cake. The potato salad is authentic to Asian cultures (I ate a similar recipe in Japan), but might come across as relatively flavorless to palates tuned to spicier variations.
Quibble #3 — Finally, some more adventurous Korean BBQ meat choices aren’t on the menu but those listed at Nak Won are solid.

it’s really difficult to find a good place like this to have Korean food. The BBQ style is not only attractive but also delicious! we ordered beef prime rib which taste amazing. Also, the starters here in the small plates have a good taste.

Okay I honestly thought I had already written a review for this fantastic place… it wasn’t until I was stuck in the traffic going here the other day that I decided to pull up my review for them to see what I had ordered and found that I had no review for them! The shock!
Over the years (from the young university days to certified adulthood currently), I have been here countless times with friends. The food is consistently good and the portions are bigger than neighboring Korean restaurants like Hae Rim and JCD. The ban chan (side dishes) is also one of the best in town (better than JCD and Hae Rim)
1. Black bean noodles — Served with a fried egg on top, it is seriously superb. This is the only place that serves it with a fried egg and I’m so, so glad they do because it is another unlocked level of goodness when you eat it with their fabulous black bean sauce. I would come back just for this dish alone.
2. Seafood pancake — Average but their sauce makes it a bit more special.
3. Soondubu (tofu stew) — Also standard but the portion is big enough for more than two people. Hae Rim still holds the crown for the best Soondubu in Beaverton.
4. Beef bone soup — Served with small dishes of salt and hot pepper so you can flavor it the way you want — I don’t have anything to compare it to but I got it because they always make it look so good in Korean movies! My first time eating it was here and it’s served with chunks of juicy beef and noodles. You can definitely taste the bone marrow.
5. BBQ beef ribs — Served with chewy rice cakes — and the sauce is sweeter (meat also more fatty and chewy, less charred and BBQ-​y). I prefer my ribs less fatty and chewy and a bit charred for more smoky flavor. Both JCD and Hae Rim have better beef ribs.
I have also stolen a few pieces of their spicy rice cakes off a friend’s plate when she went to use the bathroom and I can say that it’s pretty good here as well. Overall, a solid place for noodles and soups!

Love the variety of banchan (side dishes) here — possibly the most diverse selection in Beaverton. Portions are pretty large, food is tasty, & service is good.
The Kimchi Samgyeobsal (porkbelly & kimchi fried together with a spicy sauce) is one of my favorite dishes here. Haemul pajun (seafood pancake) is also really good. In the summer, I like ordering the Mul Naengmyun — it’s so refreshing and delicious! And I like that there’s more than just one slice of meat in it.
There are several tvs throughout the space playing kpop & american pop music videos, Red Bull Xtreme Sports videos, & other entertaining things.
The only downside is that it gets pretty busy for dinnertime, but I think the owner does a pretty good job of managing the customer wait & turning away customers if he thinks he won’t be able to seat & serve them in a timely manner.

Amazing ban chan. Seafood pancake was exquisite, so was the marinated beef. Had to roll myself to the car after. Worth it!

Family run authentic Korean food. Been here multiple times and never disappointed.
My favorite from this spot is the Military Stew, and the banchans are some of the best I’ve had.
Be mindful that space is limited, so line can be long depending on what time you come.

Hole in the wall authentic Korean food at the highest level! Host is friendly and awesome. Banchan is plentiful and tasty. My personal favorite there is the black bean sauce noodle. Amazing;

Nak Won may be a winner depending on how much you are craving Korean food, how hungry you are for Korean food, and how long you are willing to wait for Korean food. The Korean BBQ (KBBQ) options are limited and the quality is ok-​to-​good, but is Nak Won worthy of a 45-​to-​60-​minute wait? Not really.
Seven bowls of traditional Banchan like Kimchi, Bean Sprouts, and Turnips started our meal followed by the Korean Barbecue. Favorites like Beef Tongue aren’t available at Nak Won; however, classics like Short Rib (Galbi) and Pork Belly were fine. Ssamjang (spicy Korean paste) served with Lettuce Chards wasn’t very spicy, so, I stuck with the base Oil and Salt Dip.
My in-​laws love Seafood Pajeon, so, we shared the Nak Won version of a Korean Pancake. It was average and oily. Get one if you are in the mood to satisfy a craving.
Having a local Korean place in Beaverton serving average Korean food is a win … especially on cold and rainy days. If you can get in and out of the damp weather for a quick bite at Nak Won then consider yourself a winner.

One thing I have to give Portland: when a restaurant goes big, they go BIIIIIG. Nak Won serves the largest bowl of soft tofu soup I have ever seen. My friend and I were debating for a long while what else would go well with soup on a cold afternoon — the point was moot: between the soup and the banchan, we didn’t have much stomach space for the seafood pancake that we finally decided on ordering. Don’t get me wrong, that crispy pancake was delicious. But when you see that humongous bowl of tofu soup (mostly tofu, wish there was more broth), you’ll feel like you’re sitting in front of a food challenge. It’s definitely large enough for 3 people to share, but there’s nothing wrong with taking home leftovers!

Rebecca and I met friends here for dinner. We have been here before. Great meal.
We ordered Kim chee fried rice. The Kim chee was pleasantly hot and very flavorful. Spicy pork and kakbe ribs were our meat dishes. Cooked through, but not over cooked. Great marinade and sauce. The black bean noodles were good, but a bit hard to eat. All in all, the meal was well prepared and very flavorful with each dish having a distinct flavor.
The price was very fair, less than we anticipated. The service was a bit slow. The food made up for everything. Glad we stopped in.

4 stars because they close too early.
I had been trying to eat here for months! But every time I arrive for dinner (they open at 5pm) the wait list is 1:30HR++ so basically by the time it’s time for your group it’s pretty much closing time.
The tip is to go early in the morning on a weekend.
I finally got the chance to go here and it was worth it. Legit eats! Very much of a home feel and the servers are super nice, you might have to vigorously flag them down every now and then for more sides.
We got Japchae, Soon Tofu Soup, Ox tail soup, Seafood pancake, Tabletop grilled meat: kalbi, bulgogi, pork belly.
They give you many sides as I learned they make Asian style potatoe salad as a side so that was nice.
Being honest the table top BBQ is too much work since they have to bring out a separate unit. I prefer the built in charcoal tables at other kbbq places.
Go eat here but don’t go in groups!

This place is legit. Not only do they have really great selection of banchan (and free refill for those extra hungry ones), the portion of their entrees are HUGE.
We went on a Saturday for lunch — they forewarned us that it’ll be a little slow that day and we were OK with that. The brought us a huge jug of water and we sat around for about 10 — 15 minutes until someone came to take our order.
We got seafood pancakes, grilled spare ribs, spicy octopus on hot plate, spicy cold noodles, and kimchi fried rice with chicken. For the three of us… it was a bit much, but we were used to smaller portions…
They promptly brought us 8 banchan dishes — kimchi, daikon, sprouts, potato salad, seaweed, fishcake, mung bean cake (I think), and steamed eggs. I like the variety of banchan because they all offer differing flavor and textures, and held us over until our main entrees arrived (it really did take a little while, but we were warned so it’s OK).
The first one that came was the seafood pancake with a side of chili soy sauce. Matt liked that he could actually taste the seafood in it, instead of a bunch of green onions. It wasn’t overly greasy, but the edges could use a little more crisping.
We then received our spicy cold noodles in a gigantic bowl, along with the sweet and spicy bean paste — that was perfect on a hot day. Very refreshing, and I like the noodles were still very bouncy, and the veggies were crisp and fresh. It comes with beef chunks in the noodles, but they were slightly too hard for me although the flavor was there.
At this point I was already pretty full, and that’s when the two hot plates came — spare ribs and spicy octopus. Matt attacked the spare ribs — it was savory and sweet, and I loved the thinly sliced onions soaking up all the juice and caramelizing on the sizzling plate.
I also enjoyed the spicy octopus — they were mostly tentacles, but these tentacles are chunky and juicy! It was unfortunate that after a few bites, we found a little piece of hair in the food. My dad was saying that it’s OK, just pick it out and the rest of the plate is still good, but I kind of lost my appetite after that (probably because I was also getting full). The restaurant was really nice about it and comp’d us the plate. My dad wanted to order another plate of it to bring back to San Jose for my stepmom — that’s how good it was! Thankfully he didn’t, otherwise the fellow passengers on that Alaska flight would have hated him… cus it smelled so good.
The kimchi fried rice was served and pretty much left untouched because we were all stuffed to the brim. It had a fried egg on top — perfect gooey egg yolk after cutting into it. It tasted very buttery and it took us a few dinners to finish the leftovers!
I would come back, yes, despite the mishap on the octopus. The food was delicious and portion was great. Price is very reasonable and the restaurant looks clean!

It’s funny how 2 restaurants next to each other but Nak Won has their own quality. We ordered black bean noodle with an egg on the top. Holy heaven! That’s exactly what I expected for a black bean noodle which I had been seeing in Korean dramas. I had been looking for everywhere to find a good black bean noodle but they all failed me. B
But Nak Won didn’t.
My mom she got spicy squid and it was very spicy and tasty too. The amount of rice, squid and vegetables were mixed well.
Just don’t like the fact that they close for late lunch hour which around 2−5pm but I know they need to have lunch too.

Always great food and love their side dishes. We got ordered two meats and BBQ-​ed, and it was definitely plenty for two people. Meat is great quality and seasoned well.
We also order jabchae but it didn’t come out until after we were through eating all the grilled meat, and we were stuffed. It was a very large dish of jabchae so we packed it up to go. Next time, we will order 2 meats– and that is enough.
I recommend cooking the pork belly after the grill is seasoned as the 2^nd round of pork belly had a lot more flavor. The prices are reasonable, and service is friendly.
There is often a line, so be prepared to wait. The tables turn quickly though.