Bonjoo

It has been closed for over a year and the phone has been out of order for over a year why doesn’t it say closed here on Unilocal and why are new reviews going up? I wish it was still open but it is not!

Great service, great side dishes, comfort korean food and a decent price, but the food always seems to be a lot better eating in than it does from their delivery…

Lies. Its almost a year later and you haven’t opened. Koreatown, here I come.

Delicious! The food was good, staff was nice, and there is a ton of space. I made a reservation because it was my birthday, but walking in I could see it wouldn’t have been a problem getting seated without one (we were 6). They also sat us right away even though our whole party wasn’t there yet.
Also the décor was nice — this is cool because a lot of times places with enough space to seat large groups look like cafeterias. Bonjoo has great ambiance.

Living on the LES, I’m too lazy to take the train up to K-​town every time I get a hankering for Korean food. As such, I am eternally grateful to the good people at Bonjoo who provide me with affordable and homestyle Korean food so close to home. My Korean food cravings are almost always for some kind of soup or stew, so the $ 10 selections at Bonjoo are perfect.
I like the lighting and the décor. It’s rare to find a Korean restaurant that would make a good date place (maybe that’s bc kimchi-​breath is not exactly sexy), but I’d say this place is it.
Open late, and delivers!

Decent Korean food in the East Village that won’t bankrupt your wallet on a date, make you feel rushed, and offers some nice ambiance? Really? Bonjoo is a great place to take dates or groups of friends for some excellent Korean food. Try the bulgogi, spicy pork with tofu, the Korean dumplings. My BF definitely liked his litchi cocktail and I enjoyed my cold cinnamon tea (soo jung ga). They have a really extensive menu and I’m pretty pleased that I found a few things that I’d like to go back and try. There’s booths in the front room and in the backroom are long tables for large groups.
Only 4 stars because the two times I’ve been here, we’ve had to literally track down the server so we can get our checks. That’s an upside if you don’t like to be rushed I suppose.

Lived in Seoul for 9 months and fell in love with their amazing spicy food. while in a visit to NYC figured i can get a great Korean authentic food and headed to this restaurant. its not open during launch so make sure you get the hours right. we had to wait for it to open by grabbing some desert and tea at a near coffee place. so… the soups here are to die for. we tried the Yook Ke Jang soup and the Kimchee Jigae. Beef mandoo and bibimbap. i so missed the soups. yay. it was a success. prices are not on the cheap side but it was defiantly worth it. will go back if i get the chance.

We went into Bonjoo unplanned with little if not NO expectation.
What a decent surprise!
My friends and I shared an order of the homemade pan-​friend beef dumplings: Delish. I’m very picky about my dumplings as I’ve had Korean dumplings, in all shapes and sizes, all my life. They did a really good job of not skimping on the insides and seasoning it really well. It had all the necessary ingredients (at least from what I could see) — seasoned sprouts, garlic, and some tofu bits. They were definitely home-​made/​hand-​made and not those frozen factory manufactured ones that are super skimpy on the insides and where the seasoning tastes, dare I say, generic and almost fake (yuck!).
My entrée was the spicy pork (jae-​yook bokkeum) which was pretty good. Jae-​yook bokkeum requires spicy-​ness with a tinge of sweetness. While the dish was pretty good, I think I would have added a little less sweetness to it, just a teeny bit. But I appreciated the generous add on of carrots, onions and scallions cooked with the deliciously marinated pork. The portion was HUGE for it’s price. Well done.
My friend had the bulgogi in a hotpot (ddukbaegi bulgogi). I LOVE this dish. This dish brings me back to my memories of working in Seoul Korea, when the only decent ‘beef’ based dish you can get for lunch at local eateries was exactly this dish. It’s quick for the kitchen to prepare and it doesn’t require all the babysitting traditional BBQ needs. Plus, with all the natural soup, it’s a hearty meal for the non-​stop working men (and women) of Korea. It was such a delight to discover it at this restaurant which is defnitely off the beaten path, far from K town — and honestly, I haven’t seen this dish anywhere in Ktown yet. In Seoul, it’s often considered the «poor man’s bulgogi». Yummmy. Bonjoo’s version of this dish was perfect! The soup was perfect, meat was moist, and they even added the clear noodles to make it the real deal.
My boyfriend wanted to get the shrimp dish — but they didn’t have it. Like Jennifer N., we were told that they were out of the shrimp dish and suggested we get the other one. Since my bf was trying to stay away from anything «fried», he decided to get the salmon instead. BIG MISTAKE. Warning: for those who go to a Korean restaurant and get «teriyaki» — don’t do it. It’s the worst money you’ll spend and you’ll regret it.
All in all, great experience. I’d go back again — I just won’t have anyone order teriyaki (I tell this to my non-​Korean bf all the time — he just doesn’t listen) From a NYers point of view, I do wish the service was more attentive. But, from a Korean’s point of view, I thought the service was fine.

It was a surprise to find an authentic Korean Restaurant in the EV.
The outside didn’t nothing to the restaurant’s justice. Once you walk inside, that’s when you realize, wow this is quite a nice place. The décor was pleasent, and the wait staff were nice.
In the back, they had a garden reserved for guests who like to BBQ their own meats… It looked pretty big, so many next time a larger party could fit.
My friend LL really wanted Soon Dobu, spicy tofu in a sizzling stone pot… we looked at the menu and it was there with different varieties too.
I liked that they had an eel bimbimbap… and the stone pot was hot enough to give me the crispy rice that I like so much! :)
I must try the BBQ next time and it came with lettuce… which signifies authenticity to me in a Korean Restaurant. I mean there are definitely other signifiers but this is definitely one of them. @_^

Something went wrong for us here…
We started with the jon (basically plain pancake) which was delicious, and the chicken jap chae (glass noodles with onions, spinach, scallions, carrots, and mushrooms). Both were delicious and we were totally feeling the Bonjoo vibe.
Then we found out the shrimp dish we wanted-​jumbo shrimp gui– was unavailable but we could get another shrimp dish instead (already I was confused. Clearly Bonjoo hadn’t run out of shrimp… and according to the menu the shrimp gui is a relatively simple dish). The waitress suggested the tiger shrimp. What arrived was ten enormous shrimp (so far, so good) in a violently sweet, electric orange sauce. I hesitate to even call this sweet and sour sauce since it was just sweet, with no sour involved at all. This sugary sweet shrimp fiasco literally made my stomach turn.
Maybe we made a wrong turn on our Bonjoo adventure, but I’m not sure if I could go back…

4.5 stars
I’m very, very impressed with Bonjoo. I was trying to find a place where my co-​workers and I could celebrate finishing our internship before we head back to school. The premise was that it had to be cheap, and it had to be a Korean restaurant, because yours truly wanted to introduce some ethnic flavor from the motherland to my non-​Asian friends. Plus, it had to be a place where we wouldn’t feel rushed, and we could take our time in finishing our meal (which ruled out a lot of places in K-​Town).
I’m glad to say Bonjoo exceeded my expectations, and despite one minor flaw, I’m willing to go back and try again, this time with a different menu.
Dirty little secret: If you order within the Twilight Hours between 4 or 5 until 7 pm, you can have dinner with lunch fare prices. Thus, I had a salmon teriyaki bento for only $ 7 that was legitimately good and not skimping on anything! I haven’t tried their bibimbops (none were on the Twilight Special menu), but their bentos were excellent– balanced flavors, pretty presentation, good portions for the price. Great deal all in all. Everyone was happy and content-​full, not food coma-​full.
The ambience, décor, and setting gets full stars. You can tell a lot of effort was put into making an intimate environment without being dim or sketchy. I saw a variety of people coming and going: work groups, close friends, dates, family members.
One minor issue was that it took a while for our food to come, but I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt, because they were making bentos and not regular entrees. I highly recommend this place, and would gladly come back here again with a group of people who have a hankering for some great Korean grub in a more chillaxed setting.

I have been to this place exactly four times and all four times they played a Ray Charles CD. Sure Ray is great but it’s like I have the same exact experience every time I go. Maybe they should switch up the music some, ya know?
Oh yeah, and the food is all that. Manhattan’s best bibimbob!

This place is amazing. I just returned back from Korea and was so disappointed with the taste of Korean food in New York. The food in Korea is amazing. I have to say the food in BONJOO is my kfood fix. I finally found a place so close to the taste of Korean food in Korea. I am so pleased with there services and food. My favorite of course is the Kim Chi Jigea and the small order of spicy Duk Boki. It is perfectly spicy and the stew is so well cooked. When Im craving protein, I most definitely enjoy the Galbi they offer. I actually go there a lot and the taste is always on. Also I bring some of my friends there who are highly critical of Korean food. Most of them are with the expression «what do you know about Korean food WBoy» but it awesome when they actually realize that I know what I am talking about when it comes to Kfood.
BonJoo is so perfect. Enjoy MK.

This place is delicious. I very small step removed from it’s neighbor Dok Suni, but very good still.
I had bimbimbap, doesn’t everybody? That’s a mix of rice, covered with various veggies, and some hot sauce. Meat too if you like that. I got my with jabchae which is clear noodles. Also had some steamed mandoo (dumplings) which were tasty.
Oh and of course the waitresses are cute as hell. And sooo friendly!

Really happy with this place, i just ordered the wrong thing. My date got the hot stone bowl thing with chicken and I ended up finihsing it off. We ordered shumai to share which was typical, but the dumplings-homemade/grandma’s recipe are on the list for next time.
They have this veggie sheet thing, that i couldn’t resist, a combo of seaweed salad, avocado an dother veggies in this handmade 12 veggie sheet. it was crazy, tasted good in a healthy way, but probably not a repeat order. The staff is really nice, and it was pretty dead on a Wednesday night?

I was at this place several years ago and damn, this place is the worst korean restaurant in the city (oh, I know. I am korean and i have eaten at pretty much all korean places in the city). I thought korean food in places like Michigan or Seattle was bad but I honestly don’t think you can get any worse than here.
Stay the hell away!!!

For Korean, bonjoo does it up in typical new york fashion — korean food thats pricey, done well, and made to share. Now its, no LA Korean food, but in the northeast I would say its pretty freaking good.
We ordered up the following feast: kimchi jigae, mushroom soondubu, galbi plate, bulgolgi plate, seafood jigae, and the kimchi scallion pancake. Top that off with a couple of Asahi and a bowl (no joke a big bowl) of the unfiltered rice wine served with a spoon and mini bowls.
The stews (jigaes) are all amazing. All served piping hot, chock full of goodies like rice cake, kimchi, seafood, and other veggies, the broth is thick and not watery at all, and just the right enough of spice to warm you up from the steadily dropping temperatures outside. The meat dishes were all served perfectly, seasoned authentically, over sizzling stone plates. I wish that for your 20bucks though, that you got a lot more meat, but that’s just the spoilings of all-​you-​can-​eat places in LA for $ 15.
On the plus side, the appetizers that are served (banchan), although limited to four or five banchans, are all very good. You get a potato dish, a baby cucumber dish, kimchi, and picked diakon. And you can ask for more!
All in all, we left this place stuffed and satisfied, and a little tipsy. This massive feast fed six people and we left with about $ 25 per person including tip. I would definitely come back here for a good time!

I love this place because it’s close to me, the food is good, they have a decent amount of sides, and prices are decent. This is one of the 2 places I would go if I’m too lazy to go to Ktown.
I like their seafood pajun, bulgogi bibambap, and jigae. They have some fusion items on the menu, but they really don’t appeal to me. Service is pretty good. I’ve never seen lines at this place and I hope it stays that way. The meal usually ends with a complimentary shot of cinnamon ginger tea which I LOVE. I had to remind them the last time I went since they were slightly busy, but oh well, who doesn’t like free, yummy stuff.
The décor is trendy and dark and the bathroom is pretty clean.
I would order from here more often if they were on SeamlessWeb. What can I say? I like to minimize human interaction.

I used to live near Bonjoo and I went there many times. I always order Galbi (beef barbecue). That is soaked in special soy based sause before they grill. That sause is very good. Texture is soft and juicy!
My husband is also a fun of Bonjoo and loves Kimuchi Chige. It’s hot soup with Kimuchi and Tofu. Very healthy. I took some friends to Bonjoo and they all liked it.
I like not only their food but also atmosphere. Their lighting, music (Jazz, Bossa Nova, Asian Pops) Workers Attitude and etc. Must go!

If you going to tell me, Bonjoo is an awesome Korean food restaurant, then you have to get out of this city, and get a flight ticket to LA or San Jose OR why don’t you try to Seoul! then, we can argue about what the real Korean Food is!
I admit this place is cool.
music. check
light. check
decoration on the wall and table. check
wait staffs. check
the food? oh please. I could see the pretty red pepper COLOR on Ddukbokee, and Kimchee Sundubu Jjigae! are you really talking about the HOT SPICY KOREAN FOOD from this place? seriously?
YOU DON’T KNOW about KOREAN any better than ME!
I would give 3 starts for service and atmosphere only!
for food? for KOREAN food? talk to my hand!
did you hear me? talk to my hand! period!
ps: oh. other non spicy food like Kimbop wasn’t too bad. but still. ehhh.