Seoul Food

fantastic. We loved the food. We love Clara. This place is closed but it deserved more stars.

This is a retro review as this place has been closed for a bit and is now Super Fusion 3.
I was here a few years back as one of my first experiences with korean food. I got bulgoki and my companion got stone pot bibim bap. When the food came, the owner stood at our table and demanded that my friend mix his bowl immediately. I totally thought the owner was going to grab his spoon and do it for him! It was a hilarious memorable experience. We used to joke that the owners were North Korean.

Nice owner (helps being Korean I guess). Wish I could say the same about the eel bi bim bap… tasteless. The pot stickers (for apps) were definitely from the frozen section at a local asian mart.
Come over to our place for excellent dol sot bi bim bap. It’s not hard yet places here excel in failing.

Joseph M and Katie r hit the nail on the head with this place. I am not sure what their problem is but when myself, my sister and her husband went to order, they basically told us the kitchen was closed 5 minutes after seating us. I haven’t been back since but was so shocked i started writing on my own food blog because i had to get my experience out there. Here’s my original review (this was a third visit too) from over one year ago:
«Having been a recently pleasured customer, I returned to enjoy another wonderful meal at Seoul Food Restaurant on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge MA at the intersection of Forest St and Mass Ave. Seoul Food is a tiny home style cooking Korean restaurant with seating for 20 – 22 patrons. I arrived at approximately 845pm (Seoul Food closes at 940pm according to owner) to eat dinner by myself; I was told I would have to wait as most of the tables were occupied (except for a six top, i.e. a six seat table, close to the kitchen). After having enjoyed my last meal, I agreed to the wait.
Fast forward fifteen minutes (900) and my roomates call — they inquire if they can join me for dinner. Of course, I ask the proprietor if he can serve three instead of 1 — no problem. A four top finishes their meal and the owner seats me at the table — It is approximately 905pm. I order some Kimchi and a soda (no alcohol served at this establishment). I am served my appetizers at 911pm (I know the time because I have a text message from my roommates that arrived at precisely that moment which informs me that they are parking the car on the corner and will be in Seoul Food in a minute).
917pm. My roommates arrive. I leave the table to greet them at the door. We return to sit and the owner tells us the kitchen is CLOSED!!! I had not even taken a bite of my Kimchi or sipped my soda (which, as I mention, had essentially arrived simultaneously to my roomates).» oh well.

OMG I LOVE THIS PLACE! Ok, enough w/​the caps, but seriously, I’ve been eating here for probably 10 years. The food is terrific; crazy spicy hot.
If you get the bibimbap you better eat it right or Mama will come take the spoon right out of your hand and show you how. Not everyone likes her hands on approach but it cracks me up. I love her. If I haven’t been there in a year, she still remembers me and compares business notes with me.
I can’t gush enough about this place. Go there. Now. Do it.

Beef bibimbap and vegatable pancakes were good. The vegetable pancakes taste like how my mom makes them which is what I was hoping for since I haven’t had them in a while. The bi bim bap was what I expected and I brought some newbies to Korean food and they loved it. They never had the bi bim bap and they tell me they dream about eating it again and want to go again soon.
The Korean host was nice and we didn’t get the infamous service that has been posted in reviews but I wouldn’t say it doesn’t happen. It just didn’t happen this time. I was hoping to experience this with the newbies but alas, I was disappointed. ;-)

My boyfriend is rarely impressed by Korean food because his mom’s is the best, but this place impressed him. We were thrilled to it! And I was thrilled that they not only have the typical meaty bibimbap– Seoul food serves it up with raw tuna, snapper, tofu or all veggies.
I had the veggie pancakes and the stone pot tuna bibimbap. It was the best Korean food I’ve ever had in a restaurant! I didn’t think I would finish the whole pot– but once I started there was no stopping me. The service was very attentive– they never let our water glasses get empty.
The place is very casual and plain. No alcohol. And it’s tiny. So expect to wait during peak hours– especially if you are with a group.

Far as I can tell,
the dining room just extends
their home kitchen.

Not a glam place and the static radio music takes some adjustment, and when they are done for the day at 9:00-out you go. The scallion pancakes were a hit. The bimipab is worth the trip though, get the stonepot though.
They did let us stay from 6:30 — 9:00. No liquor license though.

The first time I went here, I was exhausted, recovering from the stomach flu, and starving. My friend and I sat down, and just started eating scallion pancakes. Then I got the green tea. I think we must have been there for two hours. I probably drank two pots of that tea and ate several plates of scallion pancakes. It is the most delicious green tea I’ve ever had. I think they make it with rice in it?
I’ve gone there twice with large groups, and one of my friends got the bibimbap lesson from the owner woman, but I think that she’s actually nice, and just trying to explain. Anyway, I’ve never had a bad experience there, LOVE the green tea and the scallion pancakes.
Judging from the other reviews, this is a «love it or hate it» place. I’m in the «love it» camp for now.

This is my first review ever. I just had to write this. In fact, I didn’t eat any food there. The service was so crappy that my family just decided to leave after talking for about 1 minute. They basically kicked us out.
This was THE WORST PLACE.

I really hate to give a scathing review based on one experience, but I doubt I’m ever going back here again, and the story must be told.
I had just finished dinner at home when a friend called me up and wanted to talk and grab a bite. It was a quiet weekday night, around 8pm, and neither of us had been to Seoul Food, so we figured we’d give it a try — I wasn’t hungry, but tea and a cup of soup wouldn’t hurt. The place was half-​empty, so we took a table for two by the door and poured over the menu. The menu had lots of options, but none of them appetizer-​sized. No big deal, I thought, I’ll get some tea, and maybe a dessert. My friend said he’d get the larger sized soup, and ask for an extra bowl so I could try some. Deal.
It took a long time to get waited on, but we had catching up to do, so it didn’t bother us too much. When the man came over to take our order, my friend ordered the large soup, and asked for an extra bowl. He said, «no, we don’t do that.» Pause.
Me: «That’s fine, don’t worry about it.»
Friend: «So, I’ll just have the soup, then.»
Man: «So, that’s two soups?»
Me: «No, it’s okay, I’ll just have some tea.»
Man: «No, you can’t do that» **What?** «You can’t do that. Two people, two meals.»
Me: «But I’m going to have some tea, and maybe later get some dessert.»
Man: «No, sorry.»
Friend: «You mean you aren’t going to serve us?»
Man: «Sorry.»
At which point, we’re flabbergasted (mind you, the place still has at least 3 empty tables) and collect our things and leave. We went to the Thai place across the street, where my friend had an awesome curry, and I got my $ 3 appetizer soup. Sheesh.
Maybe I should applaud this place for keeping true to its standards and not buying into the American model for a service economy, but I still can’t believe I got kicked out of a restaurant for only wanting tea!

Good bibimbap and the Mom & Pop figures are nice enough but somehow I just didn’t really get into the place.
Maybe it was the sky high prices disproportionate to the 4 strips of eel within said bibimbap or the fact that they never refilled the little small dishes (side note: I’m not sure if it’s decorum to do so, but other Korean restaurants in the area do make a point to keep us well stocked in kimchi), overall I left with a less than full belly and a weird feeling. I can’t really qualify what that feeling was, but I do know that I probably won’t be going back any time soon.
And I agree on the ambiance. I get the «homey» friend feeling, but if they were my friends I’d tell them to change their creepy lightbulbs.

They totally deserve higher stars. I thought the bim bin bap (?) was great. If I lived in the area, I would eat here once a week.
When we were leaving, the health inspectors came in.
I am sure everything was fine.
Just like eating at a friends house.
cozy, and tasty.

Yes, this is a mom and pop shop. But damn, someone out there has some mean parents…
The ambience: slightly creepy
The food: tofu stirfry– literally slimy tofu straight out of the box, into an oily sauce. overpriced and oversalted.
The service: they tried to take our plates as we are still eating, and after we took 3 minutes too long to pay the bill, mom said: YOU HAVE TO GO NOW, PEOPLE ARE WAITING.
There are too many good restaurants on this earth to frequent Seoul Food again.

I got the soondubu chigae and it was yummy but not woah-nelly-that’s-delicious good — I wish there had been a little more seafood besides a couple tiny scallops and a few little pieces of squid. Well, minus that detail, I really liked it and ate til the last drop. What a fatty, I know :)
3 stars — a little pricey for what it is, and the panchan is only okay in terms of taste and variety, but I’d be happy to go again.

I’m sad to see so many harsh reviews. I guess that I can see where people are coming from, sort of, but as a girl who has four Korean aunts, I felt at home in this establishment. Like some people hinted at, this is your way to get a home cooked meal and have your «mom» mix your bibimbap for you.
A little pushy? Maybe.
Opinionated? Yeah.
With love? Of course.
It’s not fancy food, but it is yummy and I would never recommend trying to order sushi at a Korean place, unless you’re ordering a kimbap roll and that’s rare in a restaurant. If you’re in the area and like a nice warm bowl of bibimbap, it won’t hurt to try this place out.

I was pretty confused by all the bad reviews. My roommate and I are definitely of the «people who love this place» camp! The waitress/​owner is a character. She was super helpful, opinionated yet HILARIOUS throughout our meal. Maybe a little pushy (she did mix my roomie’s bi bim bap for him!) but that’s just the Korean mom thing, and I thought it was charming. I speak Korean, but there were a couple other diners who obviously weren’t Korean and she seemed to be having a great time with them as well.
My roommate and I used to go to Koreana a lot because it’s closer to our place, but I think we’ve found a new staple in Seoul Food. I hate traveling in the winter but it’s just a quick walk from the Porter T stop so that’s good.
As for the food… I had the spicy tofu soup which was amazing! It made me feel warm (and stuffed) for hours afterwards. My roomie got the bi bim bap with extra beef and no egg which he was raving about. We shared the veggie pancake (and brought half of it back with us). The prices are high, but no worse than Koreana or other sit down Korean places in the area. The prices are ok for me because the portions are big enough to make a two-​parter.
I say give it a try. Go at a decent hour. Be nice to the owner. See what happens!
edit ⁸⁄₀₈: I had to take away one star recently because the bibimbap just isn’t what it used to be. The last couple times I had it, there was barely any meat and too much sesame oil in the rice. I’ve since moved away from Cambridge since, so I hope that this was just a fluke.

Rudest. Service. EVER
owner/​waitress even argued loudly with another customer over them not leaving her a tip! That’s just bad service right there

The thing about hole-​in-​the-​wall places is that they can either be the best or the worst with very little gray area in the middle. Seoul Food definitely falls in the former category– I am SO coming back here. It’s not cheap, and the ambience is reminiscient of someone’s back porch, but the food was fantastic, and the service was very attentive. I felt like I was eating at my Korean grandmother’s house.
The vegetable pancake was by far the best I’ve ever had, and the spicy tofu soup was very flavorful. Seems like a great place for vegetarians.
I won’t lie– I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the bill– that pancake is expensive– but honestly, the pancake is more than enough as a dinner on its own, and so I would recommend against ordering an appetizer and an entrée. I had leftovers, and if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go finish my soup for lunch now.