Ramen is not your basic ramen - it was a really nice spicy flavor. The egg roll was very good as well.

Diaspora is an old standby for my wife and myself. Partly because it's near the university, mostly because it's good. It doesn't hurt that it's a nice, hip space (particularly for an Asian restaurant in Columbus), and that the owners and waitstaff are warm and friendly. Diaspora has one of the better sushi menus in town, but the real reason we eat here is the Korean food. It's a limited menu, but makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity. We're particularly fond of the dduk mandoo gook (dumpling soup), soon tofu (soft tofu stew), and the kalbi (bbq short ribs). There are lots of perfectly good Korean restaurants in town, but these dishes are just a cut above what you'd get elsewhere. Particularly the kalbi. I started eating beef again just so I could enjoy Diaspora's kalbi. Yeah, I may come back as a cow in my next life, and die of mad cow disease in this life, but it's worth it. Yeah, it's that good. read more

What a campus gem! I love that the sushi is so good and it's such a good location. I tried the bulgogi and I would definitely recommend it! I had the hot sake, I should have gotten the big one because it was sooo good. They have great Japanese beers. The basic ramen was good too, great price! I will definitely be coming back. Service was on point as well! read more

I want to add that Diaspora really does serve delicious, FRESH sushi, and not as pricey as those other restaurants that are more for show than quality. I'm talking sashimi here. I think a lot of places get away with serving mediocre fish because it's smothered with drizzles and more. Yes, you'll find that here as well, but you'll also save a few bucks. The waiters and chefs are super friendly. There is parking in back. The only drawback I suppose is that it's not the most intimate dining experience, so I wouldn't go on a date here. Otherwise I would have given them 5 "as good as it gets" stars. I really wanted to! read more

Diaspora - Chirashi - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

After having some pretty questionable Korean food in Columbus lately, it was really great to eat at Diaspora. They've been open for more than a few months now, and I had been meaning to check it out because there's a full bar inside as well. A friend beat me to the punch and convinced me to try it. Diaspora has a great interior design, with tall walls and opening ceilings that reveal the air ducts. A great color scheme and nice lines opens up the atmosphere. We were immediately seated and brought menus. I noticed that the menu was small and not nearly as extensive as other Asian restaurants. However it was colorful with plenty of traditional Korean dishes. I opted to start my dinner with a drink, and the glass of Jack & Pepsi I got had absolutely no ice in it. This meant more of the really important stuff, alcohol! I would probably give them 5 stars for this fact alone. For dinner I decided to try something Japanese and ordered the Don Katsu. It was juicy with a light flaky breading. Two rice cakes accompanied the meal and the plate was drizzled with okonomiyaki sauce. There was a small salad of shredded radish and cabbage with a French dressing. I'm guessing it was served to be a palate cleaners. My fellow foodies opted for Korean dishes, Bulgogi and a seafood stew in spicy red broth with thick noodles. Both tasted top notch, though my friend with the seafood stew did experience some stomach problems later in the evening. Of course our food was served with the traditional Korean side dishes called Banchan. The prices are reasonable, with bento lunch box specials. The food quality was fantastic, and our waiter was polite and told us afterwards that the Korean Seafood Stew was a specialty and their most popular dish. Great place! PS. Does anyone else this Diaspora is an odd name for a restaurant? read more

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Clean, orderly, fast-casual Korean restaurant. I've wanted to try this joint since the closest I've gotten to Korean is Bibibop in Grandview. Met a friend for lunch , and there were plenty of seats open (yay for summer on campus)! We were greeted right away by two lovely ladies. Got our drink orders and let us survey the menu. I had a few questions regarding the difference in the noodle dishes, and she was happy to explain. She had a great smile and bubbly personality! I chose to try the Jajangmyeon. It's a noodle dish with black soy sauce, cucumber, onion and pork cubes. It tasted good - and filling! Next time, I'd prefer a tad less sauce, so I can taste the veggies more. I was a bit nervous that the sauce was basically gonna be straight soy sauce - yuck! - but it was not! It had good flavor! For $9, this was a decent lunch decision. I'd definitely like to go back and try their bulgogi and bibimbop bowls - the pics on Yelp look scrumptious :)) read more

Diaspora - Jajangmyeon - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I think this place is very decent! It has good sushi and great service. Very cute building and great location. Portion sizes are very big. Now my biggest thing was I wish it was a bit more flavorful. I'm not sure if they had a public bathroom. I didn't see one. Parking is hard due to its location in the short north. I got the tiger roll the veggie tempura, and the bowl. It was good. I would recommend coming for the sushi at least. read more

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The food here is pretty mediocre. I would give the food alone 3 stars. I come from an area where there are plenty of Korean restaurants around and this one would be slightly below average. The reason I gave it two stars is because the service is very slow. The servers are always very nice but the food takes a very long time to come out. I've waited up to 45 minutes after ordering just to get my food. Needless to say, this is just way too long considering most people don't have much time for lunch every day. One time, they forgot our order sitting in the food window for 20 minutes until we pointed out to them it was sitting here. Overall, I will still be coming here because of its convenience and proximity to campus, but if you have a car and have some time, there is better Korean food elsewhere. read more

A reasonably priced and casual cafe style Korean place right across from OSU campus. There are a lot of students, locals and visitors coming through this location. I had their deluxe bento box with beef bulgogi ($16.95), and wife had their Dolsot Bibim Bahp ($10.95). read more

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It's my second visit, so time to write a review. I came in from the 2 degree weather and needed to warm up, so I ordered the Bolsot Bibimbap. For those of you unfamiliar, it comes in a sizzling hot bowl with rice, veggies, meat, and a cracked egg. It took no time at all to come out and was piping hot. Not only that, there were six different Korean side dishes with it-Delicious! I think this was a great deal for a reasonable price, and I would definitely recommend others to try it. read more

Diaspora - Bolsot Bibimbap and side dishes - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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I really, really miss this place. We've gotten take-out recently, and it was delicious, but I miss going in with my family and eating there. They're doing a great job of staying safe during COVID--but I miss being there. read more

My roomie and I both had cravings for some korean eats. She was still new to the campus-area dining scene, so of course I had to take her to Diaspora. The whole place was filled with international students. I'd like to think that this was a good indication of the food- but I thought otherwise. We shared my usual- Soon Tofu and Bulgogi. Our bowl of Soon Tofu was only a few degrees more than lukewarm coupled with a drier than expected plate of Bulgogi.The flavor was still spot on, but the cuts of meat just didn't live up to its full potential. I usually don't rely much on the banchan, but I thought it was the sole highlight of our meal. Maybe because they were busier than usual, but nobody ever came around to refill my friend's water. I hope to come back to rekindle the fondness I once harbored for you, Diaspora. For now, you're just A-OK. read more

Diaspora - Soon Tofu, Bulgogi, and banchan - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Food was good although the banchan was skimpy. We had to ask the people at the table next to us if we could have theirs because they didn't eat it haha. Service is fine but nothing remarkable. They were responsive to all of our needs but not particularly proactive or eager to serve. If I lived in Columbus and near campus, ain't going to lie... I'd probably be up here all the time just to get my fix because at least it is good authentic food. read more

I only ever get sushi here so I can't say anything about anything else, but the sushi is always really good here. Definitely my favorite place to get sushi. They have deals on their menus too where you can choose to combine two different kinds. The sushi always tastes fresh and the presentation of the sushi is always on point. The staff there is always very pleasant and really nice. I really enjoy coming here! Also, they have parking in the back so it's very convenient if you're trying to drive there! read more

Diaspora - Sushi! - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

FAT sushi. Don't underestimate the size of the rolls! Two is plenty for one person, I even like to share 3 between two people. I've always loved the Cap City roll and their other specialty rolls are great too! I used to come here frequently in college, it's been over 5 years since I graduated and I still like to visit when I'm in town. Good for them for keeping them spot in High St, so much has changed in the area but I hope they never move! read more

This is my worst dining experience, no service at all! I waited here for over an hour and a dish didn't come, very outrageous. I asked the waiter how long it would take for the food to come, and he told me five minutes, but it didn't come after another 10 minutes. The side dishes are also given a little after many requests. Customers should pay to eat and not beggars. Finally I told the waiter that the wait time was too long and I had to leave, and he didn't mean to apologize at all. I think they are deliberately discriminating against some races, and I don't recommend anyone coming. read more

I'll start this review by saying I don't have much experience with Korean food, but Diaspora overall seemed pretty average and nothing more. I ordered the Udon bowl with tiger roll (tempura fish with crab meat) lunch special for $8.95. The tiger roll was okay but nothing especially impressive. The udon soup had good flavor, but being just a bowl of noodles with pretty flavorful broth was not that satisfying. Both dishes were decent, but getting a basic 4 piece sushi roll and a small bowl of noodles for $8.95 isn't really a "special" in my book. Overall the food was decent, but personally I would definitely want to try other Korean places or go to other restaurants on high street before coming to Diaspora again. read more

Diaspora - Udon soup with tiger roll lunch special - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I ordered Bulgogi to go and while I was waiting the staff was really nice. My portion size was big for the price. I like how they also included the pickled sides. I'm used to getting the sides when I dine in at places, but I didn't know of places that include the sides even for carry out orders. The Bulgogi flavor was different from some that I've had, but I liked it. read more

Diaspora - Beef Bulgogi - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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i love diaspora! they have a huge menu w lots of options. the black bean noodles are so yummy. the korean wings are very flavorful and crunchy and some of the best wings i have had. the rice cakes are so good. i just tried the tempura udon and it was amazing. i dont like shrimp but the tempura shrimp is sooo good. they have mochi too which i love. service is so nice and fast. plus good prices. i love coming here and want to try the whole menu!! read more

Absolutely the best. We are regulars, the lunch specially half a roll and a bowl of ramen is unbeatable for the price. It's proven hard to find places with both great ramen and rolls but Diaspora knocks our socks off every time. Even with lunch portions, we can hardly finish the food. And for $7.95 it's a steal. Great service, can not say enough great things about it. I've also heard the bulgogi is delicious. Definitely go, you won't regret it! read more

One of the best Korean restaurants in the Columbus area. (I should know - I'm Korean! smile) The restaurant may be on the small size, but it's menu is packed with authenticity and flavor. From sushi to traditional Korean dishes - I have never been disappointed! read more

Hungry for something substantial near the OSU campus, a friend suggested we go to Diaspora -- somewhere I have somehow never been, despite having been working on my doctorate here for nearly a year. As other reviews can tell you, Diaspora is essentially the kind of Asian fusion that has been popular for the past decade or so -- a bit of Japanese, a bit of Korean, some Thai and Vietnamese, and definitely a few selections from other Asian cuisines as well. Their menu is surprisingly comprehensive (i.e. large!), and the restaurant certainly doesn't feel like the typical college fare, even though college kids and grad students are no doubt their main clientele. Since we were there for lunch, my friend and I ordered off the lunch menu. She had a spicy tuna roll, which she knew from prior visits was excellent, and I had katsudon, which is basically breaded pork and fried egg on top of sweet-soy-sauce-seasoned rice. I also ordered an eel roll off the menu (a large, hand-rolled cone), and my friend followed suit, and ordered the same thing. Overall, my meal was delicious! The roll was a bit unwieldy, but that's simply how they come. The katsudon was nice and filling -- definitely a generous portion given that it was on the lunch menu. I must admit that I abandoned my chopsticks for a fork once I got through all the pork, but eh. Service was a touch slow, even though the restaurant wasn't very busy (despite being lunchtime on a weekday beside a major university campus), but there's really not much I can say that isn't laudatory about my first Diaspora experience. I suspect I'll be checking in here in future weeks, and when I do, I may well wind up upgrading this review to five stars -- again: surprising, given the location and my expectations! read more

I randomly came here with a friend. The waiter was nice and knowledgeable about the menu, he gave us excellent recommendations. We ordered a variety of things: Seaweed salad, Jjham Bong and Señor Loco. We also ordered another sushi roll but they never brought it out. I'm giving my experience 2 stars because it was HOT in that restaurant and then they messed up on my sushi, I asked for no jalapeño but they still put it on there (I spit out the slice I ate and sent the rest back) but they refused to take it off the bill. I won't be coming back which is too bad because the Jjham was really good read more

Good place to go casual lunch or dinner. love their huge portion very tasty seafood noodles and garlic chicken wings. Sushi is fresh and portion is fair as well. Love their Salmon rolls, spicy tuna roll. have never tried their special rolls, which my friends always order them. so I am assuming that they are good as well. Service can get a little slower in times, and overall, great place to go. read more

Happy to have stumbled upon this place. Located right in the heart of OSU campus, Diaspora did a perfect job satisfying my Korean food craving. I ordered the Soon Du Bu tofu soup for lunch. That was on point, with a good amount of seafood and tofu. The broth was amazing and not too spicy. Service was clean and fast, and there was ample seating during the weekend. Definitely give this place a try, highly recommended! read more

Diaspora - Soon Du Bu with assorted banchan (side dishes) - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

We tried to go to BIBIBOP but it was closed due to summer hours, but we found Diaspora to have everything we wanted. Good $10-$14 entree pricing and high quality ingredients. read more

Diaspora - Good stuff. Bibimpop was a tad small for 8$, but the seafood soup was huge and filled will noodles and crustaceans. Kitchen closes at 8:30! - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Really good Korean food, really friendly service, and everything tasted fresh and authentic. My girlfriend got the diaspora combo box and I got the dolsot bibim bahp, both were really good. The appetizers they give you were really good too, probably the first kimchi I actually liked. People that are saying this is expensive, I'm not really sure where that's coming from. Both of us ate for $23.54 before tip, can't beat that for good food at a sit down restaurant. Only thing that sucks is that they closed the surface lot behind this building to build yet ANOTHER building on High Street. I'm not sure what the point of this is, but parking is even more difficult in this area now due to a lack of any parking garage or surface parking lot. read more

I'm a Korean student on campus and have been craving my homeland food while here! Overall, the restaurant serves a good amount of Korean and Japanese food for being an on-campus restaurant! The bulgogi and miso soup tasted average (but still good). You can't really mess it up. The side dishes that come with the dish were small but still okay. Although the menu choices aren't as varied compared to other authentic Korean restaurants, they have chosen good and basic dishes that appeal to college students! Would come again. read more

Diaspora - Bulgogi with rice and side dishes - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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I love thei jjangmyeon and tempura. Been trying to find a decent tempura in columbus. This is spot on! Lightly battered and crispy

It's okay. Not the normal sushi but korean styled i guess. Hand roll was just rolled up like a blunt, cigar, etc. Would rather get sushi from kroger for more taste read more

I understand this is a Korean restaurant, but the Katsudon (a Japanese dish) was verrrryyy questionable. It didn't even taste like a pork cutlet. The meat seemed to be like one of those frozen Tyson chicken strips. Overall, it was very mediocre and almost a waste of my $10. I should have just gone to bibibap down the street. I would think this place would have better Asian food than a chain restaurant but I guess I'm wrong. It was pretty disappointing. read more

I ordered lunch offer, tiger with ramen. I love it .The food was delicious and fresh. read more

Diaspora is a difficult rate for me as a student, so I'll proceed as a list of the pros and cons accordingly. Starting positively, the location is fantastically within walking distance of all campus locations, the service is incredibly fast getting food out, the food itself is authentic without any additive flairs, prices are very reasonable, and most dishes I've had are tasty! For the cons... the workers are all young and aren't that attentive, the food is good but somehow feels kind of heavy and old at the same time, and the food was kind of cold. TL;DR... a very nice spot for a quick sit down lunch that brings a taste of off campus life that can't be expected to be the highest of quality due to its location, but is still better than any of the fast food options on High St. read more

Our regular spot downtown Columbus Always busy n service was great! Ordered the deluxe bento w both spicy pork bugolgi w sushi n sashimi great combo!!! read more

Diaspora - For $20 livin it!! - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

After having sat on my list of "To Try" for the last two years, I finally got the chance to check out Diaspora. I'll admit it's partly because I live practically down the street from two (three if you count Arirang -- but that's another review in of itself) of the better Korean restaurants in town that I never felt the need to go out of my way for the same staples. However, following the showing of Eclipse in IMAX, I had a sudden hankering for kimchi jigae -- not exactly the best choice for a sweltering summer day, but I had to satisfy my craving. It came out of the kitchen piping hot and full of heat... just the way I like it. Moreover, they were generous with the cuts of pork in this stew. My mom's bento box featured bulgogi, which itself was marinated to superb perfection, and a California roll, which was huge but on the dry side. Now onto the banchan (aka the ancillary side dishes that typically accompany Korean meals.) Much, much smaller in portions than either Kaya or Silla, our server didn't even bother asking if we wanted additional gamja jjorim (glazed potatoes) or the spicy tofu. One of the good things about Diaspora, unlike most of the OSU campus, is that parking is easy and free. Servers here are friendly but service can be a little slow -- drinks were not refilled and flagging down our server for the bill was a little difficult. A few hits and a few misses, but a solid Korean eatery on campus. read more

Diaspora - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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As a Korean person that knows how much Kfood should cost, this place feels overpriced to me if it's not during the lunchtime special. It'll be hard to find appropriately priced korean dinners in Columbus however. All the menus in town (diaspora, japanese oriental house, kaya, minga, sansu, silla) are priced identically. I almost feel like they conspired to agree that fake yu kae jang (spicy beef soup) should cost $11....when really it should be more like $7, especially for the quality that they serve. When I say "fake" I mean the soups taste like they heated up some prepackaged stuff and sprinkled in a healthy dose of MSG. For example, the soondubu (tofu soup...always $10 EVERYWHERE in cbus) soup base doesn't taste like they made it from scratch. Diaspora's banchan (side dishes that all K restaurants serve for free) are not very generous, varied, or tasty. pros: Diaspora is in a good location bc it's walking distance from campus, and it has a cute, bright interior. read more

Sumo roll. Dragon Roll. Cap City Roll. The Jessica Trio, food experts and adoring fans call it. Despite the corporatization of the campus food scene (wipes away a tear), Diaspora is the beacon of light that reminds students and foodies alike that chains ain't got NUFFIN on this small business. But Jessica! The rolls are like $12 and what le hell. Easy, crybaby. Wait until you see the size of these rolls. I'm embarrassed to ask for a fork and knife but there is no way, unless you are a largemouth bass, that you can glom the whole roll in your mouth. Unless... you want to look like Khaleesi when she eats the horse heart, only instead of blood you have rice and fish all over your face. Needless to say, these rolls are filling AF. There is so much fish stuffed into there! Maximum capacity. And the fish doesn't have that fishy smell to it (like Tai's, for example). Considering Columbus is landlocked, the sushi doesn't get much better than this. And it's GOOD. Service is good. Ambiance is acceptable. Go for the food, not for a Disney dining experience. And if you call yourself a sushi afficionado, and you haven't been here before, I call you a quack. Parking in the back! FO FREE. read more

Back from San Francisco on a visit, which I am pretty sure is King of Sushi, I landed myself in the presence of Diaspora. I wanted this to be reminiscent of the low lit rooms and old chinese couples catering to you with the scenery of asian art and broken english. Frankly, for campus this was classy. Sushi was good, Get the Godzilla Roll. The taste never left my mind and I think I will go there now for a nice sushi time. Prices are a little up but the quality is great. Environment was modern. Kinda classy, but good enough to come in on a rainy day. If you want some great sushi go here, BUT never get the tea. SUPER BAD TEA. read more

I love the food here. They have a lot of things to choose from between the sushi and Korean dishes. It's one of the few places near OSU that has something unique to offer. The lunch special is great because you can choose between a few of the sushi rolls and ramen or udon noodles. read more

Diaspora - Korean Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Before I came to Ohio State, there were a hell of a lot of things that I had never experienced: all-nighters, drunken revelry, gyros...but among the things I most regret never having tried for the first 18 years of my life is real, restaurant-grade sushi. (Granted, I'd had California rolls from the grocery store before, but let's not pretend that counts.) Luckily for me, Diaspora has wonderful sushi. I have to be honest, despite their enormous selection, I've rarely strayed from the tried-and-true, my perennial favorite: the Tiger roll. Panko-breaded and fried whitefish drenched in spicy mayo, stuffed into a roll so wide that each piece required two bites to finish. I've also had their veggie tempura roll (another monstrously huge treat full of deep-fried things and happiness), and my second favorite would probably have to be the kamikaze roll. As you might guess by the name, it's very spicy, but I enjoy inflicting that level of heat on myself. It's just...it's all good. Try everything. As for the rest of the menu, Diaspora has a wide variety of traditional Korean food. My favorite, and the dish I had on Monday, is the bibim bap. They give you the option to pay two extra dollars and have the meal served in a heated stone skillet, and after receiving a lukewarm meal in what looked like a metal salad bowl...I'd say take that hit in the wallet. Despite the temperature issues, it still tasted great, of course. Bibim bap is basically a bowl of goodies: rice, ground beef, carrots, mushrooms (not a fan, but they're in big, easy-to-avoid pieces), bean sprouts, fern brakes, and topped with an over-easy egg. The trick is to break the yolk and swirl everything together, and then top liberally with the chili sauce and sesame oil they bring to the table. Delicious. Also, aside from a select few dishes, all the entrees come with perhaps the greatest thing about this place: the side dishes. Six little bowls that the waitress will even refill for you: kimchi, spicy tofu, some kimchi-style veggies, fish cake, cucumber salad, and The Potatoes. I'm not sure what they do to turn plain white potatoes into little pieces of heaven, but they're marinated in some sort of sweet-salty syrup, and they're perfectly cooked, and let's just say they're usually the first things to go when you're sharing. My only real gripe with this place is the service. And I hate to say that, because this place, like a lot of family-owned, small restaurants in the area, is full of very nice, very appreciative servers. But I've noticed that it is rather difficult to alert the server to the fact that you are ready for the check; sometimes this part of the evening takes longer than the actual wait for food. But all told, this place is really a jewel of the University District. A unique (at least for Columbus) selection of authentic dishes that a lot of people won't have had the chance to try before. And you really can't beat their sushi. read more