Tobaki Restaurant

the owner just changed. menu is totally different.
food is just blah
no wonder it was constantly closed recently.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr where is my old tobaki?
:(

Ever since discovering Western Doma in LA’s delectable version of cod with vegetables and spicy red sauce, I’ve been looking for a duplicate, or at least an approximation, down here in Orange County. With Tobaki, I think I’ve gotten close enough to stop my nonstop jonesing.
They call it black cod with seasonal vegetables on the English translation menu. We were going to order that and something else, but the waitress stopped us as soon as that came out of my mouth, and said 1) that it now cost $ 3 more than was listed on the menu, and 2) that it fed 2 people. Well… OK then. I asked Dan whether he wanted to change the order, since he was feeling the KBBQ and I was feeling the seafood (as per usual), but, pouting, he said not to worry about it.
He pouted no more once we got our fish! True to Korean restaurant form, there was way way too much food on the table. We kept uncovering more and more fish pieces from underneath the sauce and the tofu and the potatoes and the onions and the kimchi. Plus, there were 6 banchan, a clear beansprout broth, and a side of seaweed crisps. You couldn’t possibly be hungry for anything else.
Honestly, the cod tasted more like mackerel to me than like cod. I wouldn’t bet on it being cod. Fortunately, I like mackerel, so I didn’t mind. Beware of bones.
Homestyle Korean food is the way to go! It only cost $ 20 for both of us, was full of flavor, healthy, and impeccably well-​rounded. I still like Western Doma’s version better, but when I don’t feel like driving 35 miles, this place will make a good placeholder — and lots of other stuff on the menu looked good too! Anyway, I owe Dan a meaty lunch now.

Pretty good Korean food.
Very friendly waitress.
Kid friendly.

This is my new favorite Korean restaurant.
Eating here is like eating at your friend’s house. The service is warm and welcoming– And even though the restaurant is busy, the owner always seems to have time to stop by and make sure everything is going ok.
Which is awesome, because I’m totally used to being treated like a villain if I ask for more rice or banchan at places like BCD Garden Grove. My days of begging the waiters at BCD for more water and rice are over!
Here, I get all the rice, tea, and side dishes I want– WITH A SMILE! (Even when she has to go back 5 times to get more food because I can’t stop stuffing my face.) But don’t blame me, the banchan is really tasty here (5 stars!), and I can’t help myself. And they have that purple rice, too. Mmm!
I tried the soondobu chiggae, daengchang chiggae, and kimchee chiggae. Overall, it was all decent (4 stars) People say that the food tastes like home… Yeah, that’s true… but a better way to describe it would be to say there’s a slight indescribable flavor that I can only call «essense of grandpa» mixed in with the food. I dunno, but the food really reminded me of him. Which is ok, but not awesome. Because I don’t really want to think about my grandpa when I’m chowing down on some Korean food. I love him, but c’mon… I’m trying to eat!
I’m pretty sure it was the taste of the tea that made me think of my grandpa or maybe the smell of the place… Something herby about it. So next time I’m going to drink water instead. Or soju!
But overall, this is a gem of a restaurant with really good food and awesome service. The atmosphere is nice and clean, and is a nice change from the hectic/​stressful Korean restaurants I often find myself in.
Oh, btw, there wasn’t any meat in the daengchange chiggae. I wish it had some, but it was still very tasty.

Not to be compared to K-​Town.
Kimchee Stew with Pork slabs almost half an inch thick, and most of which is fat, with triangular wedges of the freshest tasting firm tofu, in a spicy fermented soup and napa cabbage.
Instant Observations:
1– Everyone in the restaurant was Korean.
2– You need to ask for an English Menu.
3– Lunch Specials are more expensive on the Weekends.
4– The banchan is standout here. Cubed Radish Kimchee. Dried Anchovies. Napa Cabbage Kimchee. Bean Sprouts with sesame oil. Fish Cakes. Seaweed.
5– Service was friendly. She intuitively asked me if I wanted more banchan.
6– Barley tea is served instead of water.
5 stars for banchan
4 stars for kimchee chigae
5 stars for service.

— Locale destination —
It’s in the strip mall, neighbor of Hannami Super Market I reviewed. There’s plenty of seating. Very sweet owner ;) She offers very attentive services, which is very refreshing at Korean Place. (This is quite compliment out of Korean place — you do know what I’m talking about ;))
Décor is nothing special.
— Gluttony expedition —
Banchan: Great home-​made kimchi. The best kimchi I’ve ever had at Korean restaurant. I LOVE them ;)
Soup: Bean sprouts in it. Meh.
Rice & mixed veg w octopus: Typical mixed rice in the hot pot. Octopus was cooked well. Good portion.
Black cod w seasoned veg: HUGE portion. Tasty and homie black cod. Not too spicy. It was cooked with kimchi and tofu. It fills 2 adults easily.
Coffee machine: There’s coffee machine (See my pic) like in Korea. I don’t know how much it costs (25 or 50 cents).
— Conqueror’s deduction —
It’s solid 4 stars. I want to try more so that I might be able to add more stars. They have Kalbi but don’t expect here to eat Korean BBQ. It’s more like Korean homie foods. Great banchan (her home made kimchi was soooo good ;)) and foods. I tried many places in Korean town, but as Calvin O described, this place is one of the best here ;) Another hidden gem ;) I’m a big fan :)

If it werent for my gf, who knew that this place even existed?
We come here one late afternoon for lunch and find the place to be almost completely empty. We did not see a waitress, so we decided to seat ourselves.
I would say bringing someone that spoke Korean would definitely enhance the experience. After all, the English menu just does not look too appealing. The waitress first brought out the menu in Korean but we asked for a English menu and out comes a menu that looks like a ghetto take out menu.
GF and I ordered a bibimbap and a seafood pancake.
It was more than enough for the two of us and that says a lot coming from a big eater like me.
The bibimbap and seafood pancake were delicious. Cant wait to try some of their stews with this chilly weather!

Solid Korean comfort food.
I’m new to the area and i’m working on finding good restaurants. i wanted to find a good korean place to eat since Garden Grove has so many, and i’m happy that i’ve come across tobaki.
This is a solid Korean restaurant which is family owned and operated. The food here is non-​commercialized authentic Korean food. I’ve only been here for lunch, but the specials are very well priced. Grilled Mackerel and Daenjang for $ 9.99 is what i’ve been getting.
Talking to the owners, they emphasized that they make everything here and don’t use MSG. If you stay away from the super starchy dishes, this would be a pretty healthy place to come to.
For me, this is where i’ll come when i want home style food.

I don’t have much to say in terms of my overall experience. We ordered two dishes, the bulgogi stew which was interesting but I prefer the one I had in LA at Park’s BBQ. We also ordered this platter with succulent pieces of pork belly which you can wrap in cabbage, a little bean paste, and garlic. MMmmMM. The only problem is that you should probably have more than 2 people to eat this dish, just because after awhile, you feel gross eating so much pork (mind you there is a considerable amount of fat on these suckers)… that is unless you are a pork fan, then you can have a field day on this particular dish.
The service was attentive, the restaurant is small but not as busy, the lighting I’m not a fan of (very intense white light, not soothing on the eyes). The floor boards were really sensitive to, I could feel the customer behind me everytime he moved in his chair.

The best spicy pork I’ve ever had! The beef dishes and kimchi were better than most as well. Good service, great atmosphere. Very friendly staff.

My friend wanted to go to an all-​around Korean place she hadn’t tried before, so I took her here. We ordered the Budaechigae this time around, and I realized that this place is more 3 than 4 stars. Budaechigae (Korean Army Stew) is meant to be shared between two, and was just enough for the both of us. It comes in a large bowl and not on a burner like most places. It came with the usual ramen, spam, hot dog slices, and tofu. It sure did hit the spot.
The panchans were pretty good, and the service was decent, so why the 3 stars? There isn’t anything too special or stand-​out ish about this place that other Korean restaurants in Garden Grove don’t offer. I live in Irvine, and I wouldn’t go out of my way for this place, especially since Kaya in Irvine is definitely better.

Wonderful, clean-​tasting, homemade food. Been there 3 times and each time the banchan was a little different, like it was actually based on the cook’s daily inspiration. Highly recommend this restaurant – it’s a little gem.

This place is our family’s go-​to place when my mom doesn’t feel like cooking. This is a small, family run restaurant by a mother-​daughter team. The food speaks for itself with the home-​made touch and you don’t feel heavy after eating it or leave with that certain after taste you get when you sometimes eat at other Korean restaurants.
My family has sampled almost everything on the menu and we can’t find fault with anything. Everything is good so I recommend everything. They are closed on Sundays.

Total cost = $ 23 ($ 18.50 + $ 4.50 tip)
Ordered LA Galbi which was $ 18.50. The ban-​chan was very tasty and the waitress refilled them when needed. I counted 18 bones when I was done so I guess I got 6 stripes which were cut into smaller pices. It looked exactly like one picture a user posted.
Even though there was only one waitres, she was very attentive and checked in on me often.

This place hands down is one of my favorite Korean food joints in Garden Grove. It’s ran by a mother and her daughter and they do this to keep the integrity of the food intact. The daughter remembers all of her customers and gives the best recommendations accordingly when you feel like trying something new.
Their fish steam/​stew is out of this world. Hands down the best I have ever tasted. My personal favorite is the Kimchii-​Mackeral. And their stuffed chicken soup is the best I’ve had in all of OC let alone the South Bay. But when I want something simple I go for their grilled meat (burl goh gi for me) with various greens. You just wrap it around the meat, dip it in the sauce, and your mouth explodes with happiness.
It’s small, clean, and very personal. If you want to try some real down home cooking, you should definitely try it here.

Tiny hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant around the corner from Hang A Ri Noodle House (it’s in the same plaza). It’s near the Grace Music store and a small hair salon. It’s one of the few Korean places that has a menu that’s only written in Korean. I can read limited Korean, but the English translations are usually helpful. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted.
Today I ordered their «Tobaki baek-​ban,» the lunch special that comes with rice, assorted ban chan, daen-​jang jjigae [bean paste stew], and your choice of grilled fish (salmon, mackerel, jo-​gee, and one other choice that I can’t remember).
The assortment of 9 banchans tasted fresh and home-​made. They served regular kim-​chee, radish kim-​chee, and a delicious bok-​choy. I skipped the soy marinated squid, but I liked the tofu and the bean sprouts. The mackerel was salty and cooked well. You get all that food for only $ 5.99. It seemed to be a popular place with local employees.
The waitress recommended their fish stews. She said one order has enough food for 2 people. I’ll try that next time. Service isn’t bad considering how busy they get. Even though it’s a tiny restaurant, it was packed during lunch. It seemed like a lot of regulars go there, and that’s a good sign.
I’m not sure if they have a separate menu with English translations. In case they don’t, grab a Korean friend and have lunch here.