Cho Dang Gol Korean Restaurant

I was craving for some spicy tofu soup so I dropped by with my coworker, we ordered the mushroom tofu soup and it ended up a $ 40 pot. I was very shocked but according to a Korean friend, I was told that if I order a dish for two people, that’s usually how it comes in.
The tofu was so silky soft, it slipped in my throat and melted, it’s spicy but not super salty, the mushrooms were pretty good, the shiitake was not soaked well in the broth but it was fine.
My coworker and I bother like how it taste regardless of the price, so next time be sure to order by individual dishes. Oh and for a check-​in tip, definitely check into Unilocal and get a veggie pancake — Korean style!

A friend and I had dinner here on 1÷14÷16. Jessie was our server and she was awesome. Food was good too. So why the one star? There was an all out brawl in the restaurant between staff. A true knock down, drag out fight. Not sure what happened, but there was a lot of yelling, dishes started flying and punches were being thrown. It started in the server prep area and spilled into the dining area. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like this.
The crazy part — they acted as if it was everyday behavior. Staff broke it up, they bandaged up the one guy who’s neck was scratched really bad and he was bleeding, and started serving customers as if nothing ever happened. Totally weird! We asked Jessie what was going on and her comment was, «oh you know these young men, they get upset and then pow, they start fighting.» Umm what? Yup, that’s what she said.
In today’s crazy world, you never know what will happen next or how things will escalate. There was no apology or explanation to customers at all. I will not return, because who keeps staff that will behave like that, risking the safety of others?
Oh and not sure why, but after the fight, Beyoncé’s If I Was A Boy just kept playing over and over. They really ruined the song for me, never want to hear it again. Felt like we were being punked.

I was starving and craving Korean food during a cold winter night, so I quickly ordered delivery from here via doordash (props to doordash for keeping my soup sizzling hot!). I ordered the popular bulgogi stew, and with my order came 6 very generous offerings of delicious side dishes, rice, and noodles! I had no idea that an order for one would result in THIS much food, so I’ll always keep this in mind, when in hunger, order Korean food.
The bulgogi stew was very tasty. I’ve only ever had it served on a sizzling hot plate, but having it served in a sizzling hot soup made it all the more comforting. The broth was however a bit too sweet and salty for me to drink alone but goes very well with the rice.
I’ve also tried the kimchi jjigae on a separate occasion and would highly recommend it! It’s SO tasty, one of the best I’ve had! The house-​made tofu is the bomb.

We had a 30 min wait for two around 8pm on a weekend — nothing out of the ordinary for ktown really. I was thankful that they seated parties of two at 4-​tops despite the crowd, especially while watching large parties spill into the aisles around tables that could not fit 10 chairs. Be prepared to rub elbows and get cozy if you come with a group.
Highlights were the better-​than-​average banchan including homemade tofu, free scallion pancake (buchu jeon $ 18) in exchange for a Unilocal checkin, and well seasoned beef and kimchi cham dubu ($ 13) that restored hope and meaning to my icy, dark soul on a cold January night. I am picky about rice and theirs was exceptionally good.
They do skimp on protein here as other reviewers noted. Portions are sufficient but not huge and one clam plus one shrimp hardly make a seafood stew. Strangely the tea was so weak it was basically soapy hot water. Service wasn’t memorable; in ktown I consider that a positive.
At the end of the meal a lovely cinnamon ginger tea closed us out on a high note. I will absolutely return and thought the price overall was pretty fair for what we ordered… and received gratis!

Update: the oyster dolsot bibimbap is a must. Plenty of oysters are included in the bowl, and they provide a very delicate but rich flavoring to the entire dish.
The Tofu jigae is good as always.

Long wait for food, $ 20 bulgogis, but let’s just say it’s been 4 months since I’ve been here and I’m still thinking about it.
This place was right next to where I was staying at the Hotel Metro in midtown/​Korea town.
It seems to be connected to the Courtyard Marriot, but it’s actually it’s own separate restaurant. It’s quite small inside so I wouldn’t feel very comfortable dining in.
They looked extremely busy, given this was Labor Day weekend. They also had some Michelin star ratings. I would recommend this place since the food was served piping hot and the flavors were not overpowering. I repeat this is a place I visited 4 months ago, so sorry for my lack of detail on what I actually had.
All in all, I would say check this place out and find out for yourself.

Great restaurant with the best tofu soup in ktown. Always a wait but worth it. Favorites are the CDG Bo-​Ssam which is steamed to perfection!

My friend and I came here for the dinner. It was late but the restaurant welcomed us nicely. I had dinner once before on my birthday last year with my friend, and I always wanted to come back! Their hot pot was awesome and atmosphere was pretty great.
I sometime feel most of the restaurants treat cleaning/​washing stuffs not equally but Korean employees were very nice to them. So we were very happy during the meal.
No one wants to see or listen terrific situation or conversation during the meal.
Thanks :) we will come back soon!

The worst service and food. There are so many good Korean restaurants in K-​town. I don’t write hate reviews but me and my friends all agree that this place is not worth coming.
One of the servers pushed us to order appetizers without mentioning complimentary typical Korean side dishes. When another server brought our food, my wife was making a space. Since the server wanted to put down the food she was holding and my wife’s arm kinda blocked the food at the moment, the server said «Oh my god!» In a mean way.
Their Japchae is oily with unusual green peppers, Jjigae had no taste and Galbi wasn’t marinated well.
It was just this time only but we’ll never come back.

The spiciness level is pretty high in the rice and fish cake appetizer. That green bean paste they provide you with really squelches the fire though. Pretty amazing stuff.

#Pretty solid Korean restaurant. Good lunch special deal. #Complimentary banchan. Is there a way I can just order the complimentary #banchan? …Because that is the thing I really like at Korean restaurants.
They also give you #complimentary house-​made soft tofu. It is soft. Needs a little flavoring. Put some kimchi juice on it.
The #tofu stew was too hot to put the baby on. He melted.

Delicious authentic Korean food but crazy expensive, even compared to other K-​town options in Manhattan. Everything was too greasy. Small portions for the prices, and it’s very crowded, even on a weekday night. I miss my cheap LA korean food!

I always eat bibimbap at a place in Flushing but I wanted to try this place out bc of all the good reviews. So I was really disappointed by the bibimbap. The sauce was the only thing that gave the meal flavor.
Disclaimer: I haven’t tried any other dish.
Great service!

Sit back and relax while I recount my spicy and satisfying meal that was $ 15.18 in the middle of Manhattan (?!)
I had a late night work event to go to last night, but dinner was not going to be served and I had about 2 hours to kill. It was doomy, rainy and I was stuck around Bryant Park in Manhattan with nowhere to go…
I then recounted a recent discussion with my Korean intern about Korean food. Since I work in Queens, we were waxing poetic about Flushing… and how it’s pretty much the only place to get Korean (or Chinese) food with the *proper* seasoning, ingredients nowadays (For your reference:
). However, my intern said there is ONE place in Manhattan that is still REALLY good… actually one of her favorites… Cho. Dang. Gol.
SERENDIPITY! I am rarely in midtown Manhattan after work with hours to kill so I headed to the restaurant, alone.
I started the meal with a little bowl of their homemade soft tofu (included in the meal). It was like a palate teaser…
THEN my fiery pescatarian palate went in ‘Meg Ryan restaurant orgasm scene from «When Harry Met Sally» mode’ when the Banchan came out (finding out what the banchan will be is one of my fave parts of Korean restaurant dining). The kimchi and spicy cucumbers were delicious, the spinach w/​tofu divine and the sauteed green peppers (omfg). The best part was the scallion pancake, I have never seen that included in banchan. The candied fish was interesting too, though that was my least favorite. I was already feeling the perfect internal warming at this point.
Then my soft tofu seafood soup (Soondoobo or as they call it Haemul Chan Doobo) was served. [Note: This was the only dish that I ordered, everything else came with the meal]. The server had asked if I wanted it spicy… and I had replied «YES, spicy, PLEASE». When it came out, it was piping hot and the *perfect* portion. It was SO perfect for that moment. Warm, complex, SPICY and not too large. The sweet server came over with worried eyes and said, «I told the kitchen you wanted it SPICY… are you ok with the spice?» I had just taken my blazer off due to the oncoming heat and looked at her with a big smile and said «It’s Perfect.» It was really flavorful, spicy and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Now the Soondoobo was admittedly not the best I’ve had in NYC, probably #2. I *still* think the BCD Tofu House in Flushing has the best Soondoobo (I surmise this is because BCD puts more fresh seafood in the soup, which is more $$$). HOWEVER, BCD’s portions are huge and you can only go there on an empty stomach. Completely inappropriate for a weeknight meal before an event.
Now back to CDG.
I was presented with a very cold cup of cinnamon tea with the check (later that night my Korean friend told me it is called Soojeong Gwa). Ummmm, how in the world have I never had this delicious drink before? It reminded me of Horchata and put the bow on the end of my perfectly portioned meal.
Did I mention that my bill for this whole experience was $ 15.18??? You can’t beat that.

I loooooove soon doobu and was told that this was the best place in town so I couldn’t wait to try it.
Ew, are you kidding me? Not sure why people come here. Did not like this place at all. Their soon doobu sucks and is not as great as BCD Tofu House, which is just a few blocks away. My friends were not impressed either and I came here with 3 other people.
I ordered the seafood soon doobu and got one little shrimp and one clam — that’s it! The rest of it was filled with squash. I do not want any vegetables in my soon doobu!
I also ordered their japjae and was not impressed either. No flavor and not as good as the japjae at Boka.
One star for the homemade tofu but that wasn’t even the star of the menu. They give you a little bit of it as one of your side dishes but that’s it.
I won’t be coming back here any time soon.

Cho Dang Gol is the only traditional Korean restaurant I’ve been to so far in Manhattan that brings me back to LA’s Ktown, which is light years ahead of 32^nd St. The kimchi biji, dolsot bibimbap, soondubu jjigae, and galbi jjim are all on point. Their homemade tofu is soft and springy — I love how they give you samples of it at the beginning of the meal. The banchan also rotates constantly and features delicious items like fried eggplant and mini squash pancakes.
Prior to coming to Cho Dang Gol, I had never tried kimchi biji or galbi jjim before. Kimchi biji is akin to tofu porridge and a tasty alternative to kimchi jjigae. Their portions are also generous. Galbi jjim is my new food obsession thanks to Cho Dang Gol — if you know what hong shao rou is, this is the Korean version. While even the smaller portion is one of the pricier items on the menu, the meat is so tender and mixed with chunks of sweet potato and rice cakes. I could eat anything dipped in the sweet, tangy sauce. I was also delighted to see that the dolsot bibimbap had the appropriate crust of rice at the bottom of the bowl — you’d be surprised how hard this is to find.
One thing the restaurant should improve on is making sure the jjigae contains enough seafood (or meat), which was rather scant the time we ordered it.
At the end of the meal, the server will scoop out the leftover bits of rice from the communal bowl they served you from and make rice tea (not sure if this is only if you order certain dishes.) This should be your go-​to Korean spot in Manhattan if you are not doing barbecue.

I thought that this restaurant was nicely decorated, and similar in style to BCD. My friends and I all ordered the lunch special, which was around $ 15 per person after tax and tip. I knew that my dish was going to be spicy, but it ended up being terribly spicy. I know that’s something I have to take responsibility for, so I won’t personally deduct any stars for that. However, I will have to take off one star for the piece of hair I found in my rice, and another star for the incredibly small portions. I also have to take off one more star again because I felt that service was slacking. Our waters didn’t get refilled without us having to ask, so a couple of times, I was dying from the spiciness without water. Good thing I have high endurance, otherwise I would have collapsed. Other than that, I thought the restaurant offered nice options and I enjoyed the company.

Cho Dang Gol is a little removed from the hustle and bustle of K-​town (32^nd St. between Broadway and 5^th), but it is my favorite Korean restaurant in NYC — both healthy and delicious!
Cho Dang Gol makes its own tofu with soft bean curd. Consequently, the tofu is fresh and definitely tastes much better than your store-​bought versions. I usually get one of the Cham Dubu Jjigae (soft tofu soup), which has generous amount of soft tofu in hearty broth. All the banchans (side dishes) are delicious, and I especially love the small bowl of soft tofu that they give to each person at the beginning of the meal.
In addition to the jjigae, I would also recommend the Casserole (great for sharing!) and dolsot bibimbap.

My long time friend and I decided to catch-​up and grab Korean food. After interrogating her lifetime New York friends, they gave up the name — Cho Dang Gol. After coming in through the doors to a packed house, we figured things would be different from our home state of California — and boy, were they.
The service wasn’t great, seating, taking our order, and delivery times were extremely slow, and they pretty much left us alone after delivering our food (see photo), making it necessary to flag down service for refills on side dishes or drinks. But it was ok, since we were deep in 7 years of catch-​up time. until the bill came.
When it did arrive, the place was still pretty packed, and we quickly decided on who would pay, the amount, and tip based on service. As we were getting up to leave, we were given attention (not the kind we were craving) and asked why we didn’t give a bigger tip. Seriously? You ignored us pretty much right after delivering our food. You took lengthy amounts of time before giving us any service after we flagged you down, and now you want a bigger tip? You’re kidding me. To prevent any K-​Drama from unfolding, we tossed down some cash and walked out.
Never again.

Cho Dang Gol is one of my favorite spots in this stretch of Koreatown in Manhattan (the other is Han Bat). Even though the place was bustling with the lunch crowd (there was a bit of a wait), it manages to feel very cozy and intimate inside.
They give you a piece of their custardy, fresh housemade tofu to start and a cup of soothing warm barley tea. The banchan were delicious: tiny salty sautéed anchovies, creamy acorn jelly (dotorimuk) with nori, daikon and cabbage kimchee, string beans with red pepper paste, fritters with root vegetables, and sautéed spinach with a pleasant sesame flavor.
I was torn between the cham dubu (soft tofu stew) with beef or seafood, but my Korean colleague pointed out that the seafood is generally better, so I went with that. The soup itself was delicious: hunks of silky and almost curdled tofu, clams, shrimp, egg, and a soothing and mildly spicy red pepper broth. The sticky rice was perfect, and they add barley water to the rest of the rice in the pot for a different, earthy taste at the end. The service was swift and friendly.