Chingu means friends in Korean! Months ago, my chingu called me on Friday night and told me she walked by a restaurant named Chingu. Most importantly they serve soju and Korean food. Without hesitation, we met up and walked in the restaurant. It is a great spot with good vibes and kpop music! My favorite dishes are steamed eggs, cheese & corn, army stew and fried chicken original. They have Jinro zero sugar too! Since then this place has been our favorite place to hang out. The owners are very friendly and good people! We love Chingu!! read more

Chingu - Soju wall - Tapas Bars Near Me - San Mateo, California

Very impressed with my steamed egg dish Everything was made perfectly! Complimentary broccoli/tofu, Kim Chee, and bean sprouts. Nice atmosphere and Friendly service! Highly recommend sitting behind wall when entering the restaurant (if available) it was cold when the door swung open for each customer. Korean chicken was my least favorite. My Husband ordered the ... that was heated by stove and done well but could've used more meat for the price. All in all a good experience read more

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Good food, good people & know hospitality business well. Nice and warm welcoming place to hangout. We will be back shortly. read more

Ordered Kimchi Jjigae and bibimbap last night, and got food poisoning from them. I've been puking and having diarrhea with an intense stomach ache all morning. Not sure what it was but the meat in the bibimbap was so tough that I couldn't chew through them and kimchi jjigae tasted off. read more

We arrived 5 minutes before Chingu opened on Friday night. There were 6 parties already lined up before us. Once the restaurant opened, they seated the first 4 parties, though there were open tables still available. Then the next groups were seated 15 minutes later, which included my party. Understandable, since they're still in soft opening mode and the kitchen is still getting into the groove of things. Inside, the vibe is high energy with k-pop playing and a video projector of music videos. As for the food, we ordered the Korean Fried Chicken; half sweet & spicy and half honey soy. The honey soy was far more dry than the sweet and spicy, which the latter was slightly better. The Grilled Wagyu Ssam was a disappointment, it was overcooked and dry. In addition, the amount of meat provided was not as expected for $47, and not nearly the amount pictured in other Yelp posts. A quarter of the large plate was meat, another quarter cheese, and other half vegetables. The cheese was difficult to scoop up because it was clumped together pretty well. The side of ssam, lettuce and perilla leaves was fresh and plentiful. Perhaps there are other items that would have pleased my palate better, that I missed out on. The banchan tasted fine, but the quantity could have been more for two people. Though you can get more if requested. Service was friendly and attentive, which I did appreciate given they're just getting started. I am truly routing for Chingu to succeed as the number of Korean restaurants in downtown San Mateo is quite few compared to other cuisines. Service 5/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Food 3/5 read more

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A small place with a big idea. Chingu is still in its soft opening state when I went. It has a cool entrance view with all of the soju bottles stacked and one huge TV playing kpop songs. Narrow and small but it has potential. Ambiance is loud when you come at night on a weekend. We got a table right away and checked out their 2-3 page menu. The food: Corn Cheese - really good and cheesy! They do not skimp out on the portions here and the flavors hit just right. Grilled Pork Belly Ssam - This is their unique style of a dish. It was really good and provided a good portion for two people. They do give you two types of leaf wraps to wrap it around the assorted accompaniment of food, one of which was not to my liking but the lettuce wrap was nice. I will say that I knew how the other tasted but it just isn't my preferred taste. The pork was well marinated and the cheese pull was Instagram worthy. The Service: They only had one person running around and getting everything for everyone. Felt bad tbh but he tried his best. We always did have to call for his help or else we wouldn't of have been able to request the things we did. I also wanted to mention that even though I arrived around 9 PM, the empty seated tables still had so many dishes from the previous clients. Just an additional note to our waiter needing extra help. Overall: Chingu has good food and ambiance for what you would expect from a late night Saturday weekend, but the service needed assistance and seeing those dirty plates did not help. I would come back once they work out their kinks. Also, $3 for just a bowl of rice is too much for any place. Did not know this until the bill came. read more

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Chingu offers great service (4 stars) but the Korean food lacks authenticity and falls short in terms of flavor and quality. Despite the friendly and attentive staff, the dishes don't capture the true essence of Korean cuisine and may disappoint those seeking a genuine culinary experience. Like pretty bad (2 stars). However, if you're looking for a spot to enjoy late-night soju, this place fits the bill. read more

Chingu - Tapas Bars Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Chingu is a newer spot in San Mateo with a nice atmosphere, but the food and experience didn't quite measure up. Food service was very slow, which may be due to the small kitchen relative to the number of seats. We ordered fried chicken, chicken skin, mandu, grilled pork, and the seafood tofu jjigae. The chicken and pork were pretty good, but the jjigae was lukewarm when it arrived, so we didn't end up using the raw egg it came with. While it included a decent amount of seafood, the broth was bland and lacked any flavor. The rice was also a letdown -- crunchy and tasted like it had been sitting out for a long time Given the portion sizes, the prices felt steep. Overall, the meal was just okay, and I probably won't be returning anytime soon. read more

Extremely loud, almost impossible to have a conversation. Hard surfaces and a very noisy group was all it took in such a small venue. Food was good, but it took a long time to receive. They may have been short handed. read more

Probably my favorite spot in San Mateo. Fortunately it's open late, but it's not a classic "late night spot" in that it is incredibly good and shouldn't be reserved for late nights. Everything is so delicious, and portions are sizeable. The space is casual and hip, and highly recommend bringing your friends or a group here so you can order more items! read more

Keep in mind this is still their soft opening, but even so I felt like it was unacceptable to serve lukewarm food Service: They only had 1 person taking order during the busiest time of dinner, bringing food, providing to-go box, and handling the checks. As a result it was extremely slow, but we expected it. What we didn't expect was waiting for over an hour for the first dish to arrive. They were nice enough to give us 1 beer on the house, but had I known the wait for food would be this long I wouldn't have come here. Other tables also waited for quite some time, and I saw some tables leave without getting their food. If you want banchan filled or need an extra bowl, be prepared to wait for upwards of 20 minutes or ask several times Food: The food is below average across all the dishes. Starting with the banchan, the kimchi, potato and spinach were all extremely salty. Their kimchi jigae was equally as salty, and lacked other flavors. What I found weird was even though we waited for over an hour for food, when they came out nothing was hot. The fried chicken was lukewarm, kimchi jigae could barely cook the raw egg with its heat (I'm used to it coming out bubbling but this didn't even have steam). The fried chicken was also overcooked and a bit tough to chew. The buldak chicken was the only average dish of the night. Ambience was nice with good interior decor. They also open to midnight which is not common for most places in san Mateo. I would give it a few more weeks to sort things out. It's definitely not ready to be at full capacity. read more

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Super slow place. We waited for more than an hour and by the time we received food it was too late to enjoy.

The food here is so good. We always go crazy when we order here. Last time, we got the bulgogi fries and crispy chicken skin to start. I like the bulgogi fries, but they go heavy on the sauce. We also ordered the bibimbap, kimchi fried rice and some grilled pork dish. The food here is always good and so are the drinks. The service can be a little rushed, but other than that this place is really good. read more

I asked for extra spicy tofu soup and got it, some places don't deliver on extra spicy, but they did. Aaron who helped me was attentive and kind. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone dropping by to grab a quick bite to eat. read more

"I've never craved Korean food the next day more than I did after trying Chingu" The restaurant just opened and their soft open banner was displayed so didn't have high expectation for the restaurant. They did prove themselves and then some. If you have the time try this place. You can thank me later. I can tell the owners put in a lot of work to create an industrial style ambience similar to what the Chinese called "dai pai dong." Imperfect concrete floors, shipping container walls, wood tables and benches brings me back to when I use to drink outdoors on a park bench under the night sky. They have soju bottle shelf that displayed used bottles that people can sign and autograph. This adds a little personal touch for the neighborhood and whoever has a chance to add to their collection. I ordered the following: Banchan: Chingu had the usual stuff, but I personally like fishcake and anchovies which I wish they had. Army stew: This is my second favorite dish. Perfect amount of food and the flavor was spot on. They saw we were big eaters and Ed gifted me another side of ramen. I told him to give himself a raise. 5/5 Dried squid/jwipo: this dish reminds me of the dried squid I use to buy from the Chinese supermarket when I was young. They just 1upped this dish, grilled it and served it warm. Order this first to munch on while you wait for everything else 5/5 Kim chi fried rice: This is my favorite out of all the dishes. They cook parts of the rice that crisps up that adds a great texture to the dish. Wish the egg was a little more runny, but that is my personal preference. I will most likely ask if they can do it runny. 5/5 Corn cheese: the corn was sweet. The cheese was cheesy. What more can you ask for?! 4/5 Jap chae: this dish had great taste but the noodles could be a little less cooked. I like the noodles with a little bit more bounce. 4/5 Seaweed rice ball: this little appetizer was perfect to set the mood. I thought the rice was going to taste like seaweed and rice put together, but they seasoned it perfectly and my expectations were satisfied. 5/5 A5 wagyu (forgot the official name): I love wagyu and I love eating with my hands. This dish you wrap the wagyu in lettuces along with kimchi, and an assortment of banchan. 5/5 Bulgogi beef stew: because we ordered so much food I asked them if they can downsize the amount of food we got. They said because we were the only customers they were able to adjust to a smaller bowl. They typically have the soup/seasonings set for the big bowl, but I'm glad they were accommodating. Soju: I love how they keep the soju bottles and use it in their decor. I added my share if soju bottles. You can autograph it and design it to your liking. I think I was too drunk to write of them so I definitely will remember the next time I go. Overall I love that this family owned restaurant opened in the area. I don't see much restaurant like these so Chingu is definitely addition to the downtown community. This is definitely going to be a regular spot for me! Edit: some pictures didn't load. Cheers! read more

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They are soft opening! Must try!! Highly recommend this Korea restaurant. Everything that we ordered was so good and delicious. The army stew had meat and veggie were so fresh. The House special soy sauce marinated raw shrimp came with the seaweed and white rice. I will definitely come back to try the Korean fried chicken. There is also a good place for friends and family dinner! read more

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We were excited to have another Korean restaurant open up nearby and hoped it would be somewhere we could be regulars at. The ambiance is like a soju bar. The food is fine as you'd expect. We tried the fried chicken, bibimbap and tofu soup. The service is really just the bare minimum so that was disappointing. The food is quite expensive so all things considered, I don't know that we will come back often. read more

Timely service and the food was good. The spice was just at the right level for me that I didn't need extra rice or soju to relieve the spices. The vibes were definitely good if you're into the industrial nightclub vibe. read more

Chingu - Tteobokki and bulgogi fries - Tapas Bars Near Me - San Mateo, California

Fun young loud ambience with Korean drink appetizers and foods. The service is good. Do need to go earlier to avoid busy times for settings. Great selection is sojus. read more

We stumbled upon this gem after seeing a reel about it on instagram and we will definitely be coming back! We ordered the cream corn, Korean fried chicken, bulgogi fries, and shared a Bibimbap between two of us. It was definitely a little too much food for two people and we had leftovers we cherished the next day but every dish was so flavorful! The Bulgogi fries and cheese corn were my favorites. Service was great, the vibes were really fun and they play Korean TV with fun music all night. We had so much fun and would definitely dine again! read more

Chingu - Bulgogi fries, corn cheese - Tapas Bars Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Cool idea for a Korean spot in downtown San Mateo, but unfortunately misses the mark on a few things. 1. I enjoy the variety on the menu, however the small interior of the restaurant becomes a real limiting factor for couples or groups who want to share multiple dishes/drinks, especially if you order one of the larger items (ssams, stews, etc). The tables are quite small and just one large item takes up the entire table space making the dining experience feel cramped and unmanageable. 2. Service needs to be improved. We consistently needed to flag down wait staff the entire meal and on several occasions we needed to remind them of asks or some items were forgotten entirely. Understanding the restaurant recently opened, they were at full capacity, and they had to manage a long queue of disgruntled customers, but all these factors compounded to a poor exeprience. 3. I really do hate to harp on pricing, however it is a tad pricy even for Bay Area standards. Food is average at best and not particularly unique with the price premium coming down to being able to eat and drink much later in the evening than a majority of San Mateo restaurants and bars. I really wanted to like this place because I love the concept, but it's a miss on the execution. read more

Chill vibes and great service by the waiter tonight. Standard Korean fare, but was surprised that the menus were paper and sauce stained. read more

Chingu - Spicy chicken - Tapas Bars Near Me - San Mateo, California

Not many places are opened after 9pm in San Mateo, which makes Chingu a great option for late night snack. A fun and loud place full of energy. read more

Cute small Korean restaurant. I honestly wasn't blown away by any of the meals and nothing I ate left a long lasting impression or blew me away. Typical food and the prices are a bit on the higher end considering the portions as well. It's good for a group of young friends, but it'll be costly to feed a family here. The tables by the window are also annoyingly small and I felt very claustrophobic with the table next to me. Overall, I would still maybe come back but I would still recommend other restaurants for more authentic food. read more

The food here is so tasty! My favorite was the wings. Would definitely order it again. The service was good too, our server was very friendly and made good recommendations. The ambiance made me feel like I was in Korea, it's a great place to hang out with friends. I will definitely be back. read more

always 5 !! the bulgogi beef stew is enough to feed 2-4 people and is so nutritiously flavorful! my mom craves their fried chicken which is a must order read more

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The food here was to die for! And the service was great! I'm writing this review a bit late but I went last Tuesday for my birthday and it was so worth it! And the darker ambiance made it for a really nice experience. It's more my thing. But I highly recommend this place! read more

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Excellent service, good food, opens until later. A bit on the pricier side but not too bad.

Small and cozy, great music and almost feels like you're at a real pocha outside under the night sky. Owners are real sweet and attentive, they were super friendly during our dining experience. We ordered 5 dishes: -Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef: my favorite, well seasoned and a perfect runny egg, portion was a little small for sharing but if it was just for myself it would be perfect! -Army Stew: hearty flavor, so much toppings not just kimchi. Lots of places will just load you up with kimchi rather than other toppings like tofu, sausage, spam, ramen, rice cakes and such. -Spicy Chicken Buldak with Cheese: this one took longest to prepare but it was well seasoned and spicy, glad we had the cheese because it helped cut the spice. -Teokbokki: Good amount of ricecakes and fish cakes not stacked with cabbage like other places. -Bulgogi Fries: bulgogi was delicious and the fries were still crisp. Overall would come back to try more items! read more

orean and she kept repeating back to me in English, which means either she doubted my ability to speak Korean and order what I wanted or she doubted her ability to speak Korean properly to respond Pretty funny read more

Chingu - Tapas Bars Near Me - San Mateo, California

Food was good and service was quick on a Wednesday night. We loved the egg soufflé and the bulgogi beef stew. The ttokbokki was great too (but sausages are not included). Great value and price though! Only complaint is that it is really loud for how small the place is. read more

This is fairly new located downtown San Mateo , it's like a Korean bar type of restaurant.. like pocha K but smaller venue. I ordered chicken skin and the tofu soup. I truly enjoyed the ambiance service and the food. My brother loved it here. It's a spot I'll go to if I want to chill with friends. read more

This hole in the wall joint is really good. It's tiny and I suggest showing up to get in line 10 minutes before opening. There is a small staff and an even smaller kitchen staff so wear so patient pants. Soju is the drink of choice here but you can get sodas. Do not expect mixologists spinning out something fancy with soju and prickly pear juice with gochujang spiked something or other. Drinks are simple. The food is .. exemplary. I grew up eating my Korean Mom's cooking as well as my Mom's family - all amazing Korean cooks. So I have high standards. I went with a couple girl friends and got in line at 6. There was a line of 15 people already. They settled about half the restaurant before settling more people. Again, like three waitstaff, tiny restaurant, be patient. After 15 minutes, we were sat along with a few others. We ordered: cheese corn, steamed egg, japchae (glass noodles with vegetables and meat), pork ssam (grilled pork with veggies you nestle into perilla leaves or lettuce leaves), bibimbap. All were very good. There's fish/seafood in the steamed egg which is different from what I ate as a child but still so comforting. The japchae. Oh the japchae. Don't say anything to my Mom but this is better than hers. Thick with vegetables and flavorful bulgogi. The ssam is lovely and the introduction cheese is a very nice touch. The bibimbap can almost qualify as dol sot bibimbap because if you let the rice linger on the hot plate, it gets crunchy. Also very flavorful and amazing (do not forget the gochijang). I want only good things for this restaurant. read more

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First off, the place is super cute! Once you step in you're met with a wall of soju with cute drawings and written messages. The rest of the place looked like a small outdoor street corner with freight containers around. The food here is amazing! We've gone a couple times already and have not been disappointed. I will say the place is small and gets easily packed but definitely worth the wait (if you're not hangry) ;). Definitely can't wait to come back! read more

Stumbled upon Chingu and saw that it had just opened up so we decided to check it out for some Korean bites and soju! The place is small and we luckily got seated quickly. We were greeted by a stack of empty soju bottles at the entrance and kpop music playing in the background. We ordered: Steam egg - very fluffy, generous portion, and flavorful 5/5 Korean fried chicken - crispy outer layer with juicy meat on the inside 5/5 Kimchi jigae - the soup had good flavors, not too bad 4/5 Stir fried sundae - blood sausage with veggies, this one did take a while to come out 4/5 As a new restaurant, they're still figuring out staffing hence why the owner was the only one running food and taking care of every table by himself, but he still did it with a big smile and tried his best to check in on us. This is a great place for drinking and hanging out with friends, just be ready to spend some money because the food is a little bit pricy. read more

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Finally, a suljib for the Peninsula! We stopped by on during their soft opening for a couple of bottles of Chamisul and spicy kimchi jigae, good food and great service (unlike most suljibs!). Can't wait to come back and try their other food! read more

Chingu - Tapas Bars Near Me - San Mateo, California

We ordered Dolsot Bibimbap. It was good. Four different Banchan were served. The only beer they have is Terra. We needed to chase down a waitress to get the bill and then a second time to give them our cash payment. Make a reservation- we had to wait 40 minutes to get seated. read more

Love that it had a dive bar feel! Food was amazing and love that it's all shareable portions so you can eat and talk with friends. Service was very accommodating and helpful. They will suggest what to try if you're new to Korean bar food. read more

Finally a Korean soju bar in San Mateo! And it's opened past 10pm We came here Friday around 7pm and there was already a bit of a wait. But we were seated quickly! The place is small so if you have a big party, I recommend coming here after 8:30pm. We ordered a few things off the menu including the bulgogi stew, fries, wings and tteok-bokki. Everything was super flavorful! My favorite was the bulgogi stew with the glass noodles. The highlight was honestly the atmosphere and the service. Our intention was to spend the night here drinking soju and we did just that! Will definitely be back for dinner and another night of drinking :) read more

Note that this was their soft opening. 6:00pm - We went at opening 6pm. But they were not ready for service until 6:20pm. We waited outside for a bit, they eventually let us sit inside to wait. 7:00pm - It seemed like some employees were celebrating their friend's birthday, so all the other customers were not prioritized. We waited about 40 minutes to get our order in with the one waiter. 7:30pm - our food came. we got the: Perilla fish cake fritter - felt like something you'd buy at Hmart frozen aisle and was thrown in the microwave. Served with ketchup and mayo. Corn cheese - basic corn cheese. Not seasoned, and expensive for what you get. Sundae stir fry - really bad. Incredibly salty. Typically it's at least stir fried in gochujang. This was just a plain sodium bomb. Sundae was structureless and fell apart immediately. Fried chicken - decent! Comparable to Bonchon, although the wings are smaller. They got the order wrong since we got the half soy half spicy and just got the soy. We didn't bother fixing the order since we'd rather leave than wait for more food. Once we finished it took another 30 minutes before being about to get the check and leave. Overall pretty disappointed by the service and food. Hope it improves! read more