Probably a very authentic Korean food spot, but the menu has no description of the food and waitress doesn't speak English to explain what in each dishes. Very overpriced, and with the combo meals, they try not to bring the star until the very end only if you ask for it, but won't deduct the price if you did not want it anymore. Most likely will not return to this place again. read more

Feels like home food. Korean style foods and restaurants. The soy sauce raw crab is not east to find in the US. Probably a few in entire Texas. This place thankfully sells the raw crab. We enjoyed it. If you miss the raw crab, I recommend this place. read more

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The good: Spicy means SPICY when ordering seafood tofu soup, generous with the tasty banchan, outstanding service, and overall yummy food The NOT as good: Relatively pricier, spare ribs were respectable but not the best, divey/sketchy exterior and interior I love Korean restaurants that serve delicious banchan (the free apps that come before your meal) and aren't stingy about giving you more. The staff here was super sweet and accommodating. They even came back over to offer us more kimchi and refills our favorite small bites. Love it! The food here was tasty, and I would come back for the seafood soondubu ($9.95). We asked for it spicy, and they didn't disappoint! It was delicious and I appreciated the mussel shells were already removed. The spare ribs (~$24), however, were not as great as those I've had in the past - they were lacking in the spice and relatively less savory. Plus, the price seemed higher than what I've experienced at other local Korean spots that generally charge ~$15 (or at least under $20). We actually skipped the seafood pancakes, we would normally order, because the price point on the pancake was just higher than what we expected . . . and let's be honest, we really didn't need more food. The two dishes we ordered, plus banchan sides were more than enough food to leave 2 people more than satisfied. I would definitely go back for more of the tofu soup and maybe to try the sashimi that all the yelpers are raving about. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Seafood tofu soup, spare ribs and 6 banchan sides - yum! - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

I went here with my friends who knew the owner and we got hooked up big time! It was an amazing feast of food. So many variety of food coursed out for an awesome experience. It was 6 of us and we ordered the biggest set they had on their menu plus the live octopus! If you were looking for a place that serves live octopus, this is the place! I enjoyed it so much so I took my family hoping they will leave with the similar experience but it was quite disappointing. I had ordered exactly how my friends and I have ordered but got wayyyyy less food as well as less variety. It was an expensive dinner that left me feeling unsatisfied. I don't think I will go back here except to eat the live octopus. read more

As of May 21 2020, this place is OPEN FOR DINE IN!!!! I'm sitting inside right now and was greeted with a warm smile. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

Hands down the Best Korean food in Houston. Been here a three times since we first tried it about two months ago. Every time is a treat, and all dishes were delicious! Try the eel! read more

Well we're too start we have been here many times over the last fifteen plus years have had several things like fried pork octopus even Korean barbecue. But the thing we mostly come here for is the Raw flounderserved Korean style with Many side dishes Oh feel the Wasabi burning and clearing of the sinuses. By this time you're really full but they bring out more they take the rest of the fish and make a soup called May Wong tongue that stands for hot spicy soup. We generally taste a little bit and then take the rest to go to eat with lunch the next day and if the Wasabi didn't get those sinuses cleared the mail wong tongue Should certainly do the trick. I knows sushi is become very popular but if you want to kick it up a notch come and try the Sesame. We know all the best Korean restaurants and this one is definitely one on the list. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Sashimi - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

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This off the beaten path in Houstons unofficial version of Ktown. You may not otherwise realize it but this place is a freaking gem. Make sure you stop in here to check out the wide array of Korean cuisine. Although they specialize in Korean seafood, they can essentially make so much more here. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Grilled eel with sautéed onions. Awesome! - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

This restaurant is disgusting.. Should be shut down. Food wasn't fresh and taste nasty. The service was just about fine.

i got ganjang gejang and stone rice. the marinated crabs are not the best, it is ok if you are craving for it, but to me not a must have. the stone rice was sooo good. You know how you gotta scrap all the crunchy bits at the bottom, at this place you can get the whole bottom out CRUNCHY!! I also got a tofu soup, was not good lol all i can taste was the chili paste and flakes, not recommend! read more

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I really really wish houston had a good Korean bbq place that's also clean and modern.. Like Dak and bop's atmosphere and Il Me Jung and Myung Dong's type of Korean food. We came here on a Saturday evening for dinner after reading somewhere that this was listed as the best Korean restaurant in Houston in 2014. We ordered their pork bbq in spicy marinade, pork belly bbq, and beef doen jang Jigae. Everything was really good and they had some traditional side dishes that are rare to find in other Korean restaurants. The waitress who served us was very kind and friendly. She said they stopped serving steamed egg for free since the egg price went up after bird flu but she decided to make one just for us since we were nice-how sweet :) read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Bulgogi and pork belly - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

We like trying new foods, diversifying our pallet and learning about other cultures.  This night we had decided on Korean BBQ.  I have always heard about how delicious it is and was so excited to experience this.  When we got there it was your typical hole in the wall, WHICH IS WHAT I LOVE!  The staff was very welcoming, surprised we walked in, but welcoming.  We were very oblivious to what to expect and our server really steered us to let them cook our food.  I believe mainly because they did not want us either messing anything up or possibly they didn't want to clean up after us.  We followed her recommendation and were very delighted in the presentation and food.  The flavors were amazing and there was more than enough for a VERY affordable price read more

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After I moved from Cali, I have not found the true Korean style sashimi restaurant yet. I read some local Houston Korean newspaper and found this place! They served us lots of banchan and seafood soup! They brought food pretty quick and service was good too. If you want real Korean style sashimi, I definitely recommend this place! read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Sashimi set - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

Walking in the restaurant makes you feel like you've walked into a portal to Busan. The women who run the restaurant give extraordinary service and look after all of their customers. They serve some of the most authentic korean food I have taste in Houston. Their spice levels keep the food in the perfect balance of hot and savory. If you can't handle the heat the waiters may laugh, but it's all in good fun. 10/10 made my trip in visiting Houston read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

I love korean food! After reading so many reviews of this place, I had to give it a try. The outside is a bit confusing because in the front of the restaurant the sign does not actually say Il Me Jung but some korean letters. The billboard does say the restaurants name in england though, it;s just a little hidden behind another sign. When I first walked in, I was greeting immediately by a lady who was very nice. She sat my down while I waited for my guest. She was also my waitress. As I was waiting she brought out some drinks and side dishes along with a complimentary egg soup? She was very helpful with the menu and gave me some input on what she thought would be best for what I was looking for. I love that they are not stingy with their side dishes or any of the entrees as well. It seemed to me that people mainly come here to eat the sashimi instead of just their meat. But I didn't get a chance to try it. Overall this place was good. Definitely would like to come back and try other dishes. read more

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Great authentic Korean restaurant. My family in Houston always brings me here when I come to visit. They are regulars here. The servers are so great and nice. The Korean BBQ is the BOMB.COM. I come to Houston 1-2 times a year and I come to this restaurant 1-2 times a year. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Hole in the wall that's packed with goodness. Very confusing, but AKA Il Me Jung Korean Restaurant, Korean BBQ, Dokdo. You know a place is good when the servers don't speak English well and they look like lovable older grandmas. Pricey, but very good. Seafood hot pot was very flavorful and fresh. Kalbi ribs were cut think and very tender. Banchan was fresh and good; there were some dishes that we didn't see elsewhere: boiled pickled daikon and eggplant. Hite beer was reasonably priced at $3.50. read more

What a tucked away gem. It is seriously so hard to find that I'm not even sure what it's name is. Il me jung (per their outside signs and google) or dokdo (as seen here). I've been going back and forth between pictures and my memory and am 99.99% sure they are the same place, and I really just wish I had avoided all the confusion by checking in. Regardless, once you find this place you will have some phenomenally authentic korean food (read: it will be you and a bunch of old korean men eating there, and if they keep coming back for more, the cooks must be doing something right). Just look at the photos of the tofu soup. Hands down the best tofu soup I have ever had in my life, and you can tell it is going to be amazing just by the beautiful, rich red color of the broth. In addition to quality soup, they have premium cuts of meat for their bbq grills. Some of it is so good, in fact, that they won't even let you grill it yourself. Don't be offended, they just want to make sure you end up with the best flavor experience, and maybe after becoming a regular you can earn the right to use the tongs to handle the meat at your own table. Order-wise, I am a sucker for the short ribs, spicy pork bulgogi, beef bulgogi, and even though pork belly isn't usually my top pick, they were able to sway my opinion on it. read more

it's a small restaurant, definitely pricey comparing to other small korean restaurants. BUT the FOOD IS WORTH IT. Food is seasoned so well, tbh, better than some places I've eaten in Korea! Their side dish, kimchi, eggplant, and fish cakes are AMAZING. I tried their jjigae, pancake and stir fried octopus plus albap (rice w variety fish eggs). I love the service, the lady was so nice and attentive. Authentic, good korean food! (pricey though) read more

Dokdo Restaurant - jjigae, seafood pancake, octopus stir fried, albap - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

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First off, this is probably the most hilarious name for a restaurant that I've ever come across. If you're not familiar, Korea and Japan aren't the best of friends... and they've been fighting over some islands for god knows how long, which the Korean's named Dokdo. Keeping up with the theme, the sign is a picture of the islands, there's a massive portrait of the islands in the restaurant, and some "DON'T TREAD ON ME, DOKDO IS KOREAN" signs. I'm not sure if they're being serious about this or it's kind of a tongue-in-cheek gesture, but I find it funny nonetheless. Had a lot of Korean friends recommend me this place. First off, this isn't sashimi. It's (hoe) which is similar, but very different from Japanese sashimi. The type of fish you normally get has a different taste and texture. The fish typically has more of a chewy texture, and the way you dip it and eat is different. For what you get and the freshness of the fish, it's very reasonably priced. You also have the most ridiculous banchan I've ever come across. When we first got some of the items, we were pretty certain that we didn't order them... turns out they are all free with the hoe. Stir fried spicy squid, egg cake, fried pork cutlet, tempura, oh my. Service is also incredible. The ladies serving us were incredibly friendly and helpful. Food came out fast, and they helped clear our plates to make room for more banchan lol.... Definitely would recommend, especially if you've never had this style of raw fish before. read more

Customer service is sub-par and the staff is very unhelpful. I've been here a few times and while the service was never great, I was appalled with the service the last time I dined here. We were ordering off their set sushi menu that comes with sashimi and the various side dishes etc. No where on their menu does it provide details around what dishes come with the different sizes etc and we had asked what sides dishes come with the set and the difference between the medium size vs. the small one... The response from the lady (in korean)-- "just different things. you'll find out when you order it" to my first question and "just more variety" to my second question. Seriously?! I pushed her on my second question and the response i got was.."you get some fried veggies/shrimp" FYI - the difference in price between the small and med is $20, so we passed on the additional fried veggies/shrimp. A place like this would never survive in NYC or LA but they're lucky they don't have much competition in terms of korean style sushi. I recommend taking your business down the street to Dadami. Customer service is better (also not the best, but they are at the very least responsive) and the food is much better. read more

this place is nothing fancy and unassuming but you can feel the authentic vibe as you walk in. you expect the place to have good food! it's also comfy with a homey and family-style feel. the good: - the service and waitstaff (all korean) - the bbq - the meat (pork belly and kalbi - short ribs since they ran out of beef tongue) - the banchan (korean side dishes is what, IMHO, makes or breaks a korean bbq restaurant. each dish should be flavorful and unique complimenting your main meat cooked right in front of you) - especially the 'goldilocks' kimchi - 'just right' with great flavor without being too spicy - the authenticity (as far as i can tell not being korean and all) - the atmosphere: korean advertising posters on the walls and korean tv programming on the screen - the overall experience the not so good: ...crickets... read more

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Korea-town is my hood, so I get to try lots of yummy Korean food on the daily. My friend introduced me to this place, one I've never been to before. It's very easily missed, odd color shack on Long Point. The inside looks just as shack like with all the temporary partitions but I didn't come here for decor, I came for food. First trip I had the usual bbq, it's decent, bone on galbi was the best of the choices. During the first trip I noticed 'budae jjigae gonsul' on the menu and took a mental note. I was crazy that since the last trip back from Seoul. Finally found the time to get my budae on, and came w two others. Order down and I gotta say they recommend 2 ppl per order but it easily fed 3. Nothing satisfies the processed food craving like hot dogs, lunch meat and cheese. I'm really glad that I get to eat something outside the usual Korean fare to remind me of Korea but really wished that they had used Spam instead of lunch meat... read more

Dokdo Restaurant - budae Jjigae hot pot - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

Ummm.....excuse me, waiter why is my food moving? I guess that's the question you would ask if you didn't know you ordered the live squid! Yes I said live which means the tentacles were still moving and sticking to the plate or any surface it came in contact with. This was a dish straight from the show Bizarre Food on the travel channel. I've been dreaming about places like this in Houston (YEAH!). I love trying new and weird dishes and this is the oddest by far here (Please let me know if you know other places with weird dishes). The live squid pieces were served on a bed of diced cucumbers. There is a dipping sauce which was made of sugar, salt, sesame oil and something else I couldn't figure out (fish sauce?). The squid was chewy and I could feel it moving around in my mouth as I chewed it. I enjoyed the taste. =) We ordered the seafood platter which reminded me of a clam bake. There was mountain of clams (huge too) and two large conch (saltwater snail). It's a Korean restaurant so there was a grill in the middle of the table. The waitress (owner's wife I believe) grilled the clams for us as we ate. We even got gloves to handle the hot shells. The seafood pancake was the best I've ever had. It wasn't greasy as most places I've been to. The hot sauce that accompanied the pancake was perfect (not to spicy at all). The side dishes were all good and the Kim chi was delicious. The fried halibut was good but, it was a bit dry. I stilled enjoyed it! The service was excellent and very helpful. Don't know Korean? No problem the wait staff is very helpful. You get two thumbs up for just having a weird dish! Everything was so fresh and tasty! I'll slap 5 stars on this place and call it a day. As Harry Callahan from the movie Dirty Harry might say "You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel food adventurous? Well, do ya, punk?" read more

If you're a newbie to Korean cuisine like me, Il Me Jung is the perfect place to start figuring it all out. As you drive up, you might be a little puzzled. There's the Korean flag hanging out side, which makes perfect sense, but then right next to it there's a Confederate flag with a large-mouthed bass artfully displayed in the middle. Go figure. As you go inside, your nostrils are immediately filled with the aroma of Korean BBQ. My friends warned me that we'd stink like that all night, but hey...there are worse things to smell like. The best thing to do is go with a group of 6 or 8 people...that way you can taste everything. The entrees are around $14-17 per person, but don't let that scare you away. The bulgogi (marinated beef that you grill yourself) comes with...get this...spicy green onions, seaweed salad, rice, bean paste, a whole grilled mullet, kimchee, an apple salad that masquerades as a potato salad (good, but talk about challenging your eyeballs and tastebuds!), and this incredible egg dish that's like a combo of soup and custard. Yep. Lots of food. Other great dishes include the seafood pancake and a rice/sashimi/raw veggie dish. The pan-fried dumplings are ok, but nothing to write home about. As for the service, although it wasn't super attentive, you get to ring a buzzer on the wall when you want the server to come over. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself. They were out of a few things and the young server was kind of clueless as to what was in any of the dishes, but the older folks running the place clued us in. All in all, food's fantastic, and it's a fun experience! read more

Awesome restaurant for hoe. The seafood is so fresh!!!! The owners are also very nice. They have hard to find dishes too like jeotgal.

This place is LEGIT delicious. Heads up - some of the dishes seem pricier but the servings are large. One bulgogi dish or chicken stir fry can be split between two or three people. Just so you know! We didn't know this until it was too late. Good thing our buddy eats for 8 people so we had no problem cleaning house. We got the pork bulgogi, soondubu (seafood) and marinated chicken. OMG. There's a ton of korean restaurants in this area but COME HERE. Food is on point, service is excellent and you get all those little sides still. It's just great. REALLY REALLY great. Love the feel of the authentic korean atmosphere. Absolutely love it. WILL BE BACK!!!! TONGSEOOO. No idea what that means but I hear Koreans say it a lot so I'm going to pretend it means CHEERS! =) read more

Must try the Al-Bap here! :) it's colorful fish eggs, rice, kimchi, etc. and the rice is crunchy at the bottom. My all time favorite. This is a very traditional korean restaurant. Smaller than most but sure to feel like home. read more

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The place is a little crowded, but the food was really good. I loved one sidedish in particular, which had roasted squash with honey drizzled on it. YUM. I ordered the California rolls, which were beautifully presented and perfectly rolled. They were small enough to pop in my mouth, which is a plus. My parents are a fan of sashimi, and when the huge platter of it came out, the restaurant had sprinkled gold on it, which was pretty cool. My family and I came here a few more times, and I seem to be more and more disappointed each time. It seems the first time was the best experience; after wards, it seemed to go downhill- the flavor, service, etc. I still like this place, but it is not one of my top choices. read more

Very authentic. They don't speak much English so it's always an adventure. It's the only place I know of to serve live seafood sashimi from the tank. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Live flounder sashimi comes with EVERYTHING - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Very excited to try this place and the flounder sashimi special. The presentation was cool but the flounder sashimi was too chewy. Maybe fresh flounder has that texture, but it wasn't to my liking. Tried to down a few more pieces before moving on to the other dishes. The sides and other dishes were average. The restaurant is small but quaint. Service is typical of Korean restaurants. Not the best, but who expects that in Koreatown. In the end, I couldn't get over the disappointment of the flounder sashimi. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Flounder sashimi special - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

I've been here twice. The first time, my experience was amazing great! The meat and the kimchi tasted so yummy. I had came here with a gf and was able to cook it at the table. So, we would do the bbq and drink soju. The second time was just this past weekend on Saturday. I came here with my family during lunch time. The waitress did not allow us to cook our food at the table. I thought this might have been strange. I'm not sure if its because I had kids (12 y/o and a 7 y/o) with me or what but the other table next to us was able to bbq. I'm not sure but our food was cooked in the kitchen and brought out to our table. If I had knew this was going to be like this, I wouldn't have came here and went somewhere else. I'm not sure if I will be back. read more

My husband's Korean friend said this was his regular place. Their specialty is actually the sashimi stuff which is not my favorite (supposedly you can he raw octopus so fresh that it will still move in your mouth) . Generally he just likes this place. So we gave it a try. We had the tofu seafood soup. Pan fried dumplings and Kalbi Jim. The side dishes are all pretty delicious and our orders were all above average. It's not a "wow" place but it's decent and you will want more. We haven't tried he BBQ yet but probably will go back some time to try it out. read more

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I thought I've tried all of the best Korean restaurants in town until l came here. Surprisingly, I did not have Korean bbq when I came here, but I did have lots of their fresh seafood. Their sashimi is very fresh and delicious. The sushi chef even comped my boss a free plate of abalone (sea snails), which were very interesting. I must rave about one particular dish, one of their side dishes, the grilled fish. It is absolutely freaking amazing! I've eaten a lot of fish in my day, but this fish is grilled to perfection. I'd say it's a medium rare so it's not so dry, rather, some parts of the fish is still soft and runny. It was extremely delicious and tasty, a bit bitter but rich and succulent. Best of all, it is considered one of the side dishes and I got 2 for free! All of their other side dishes were interesting too, some I've never even tried before, like grilled special mushrooms. My boss said this restaurant is famous. We went on a Monday night and every table was filled. Given, it's not a big restaurant, about 11 tables, but being super busy on a Monday is surprising. There are only 2 waitresses and one seems to be the owner. They are head over heels busy and service may be a little slow. My boss said this place is expensive but half of the dishes are comped so it comes out about right. But then I checked the prices on the menu and it's very typical. $22-$27 for galbi bbq, $10-$15 for stew. Don't let this little shack deter you. Good food and good drinks about to follow if you dare enter! read more

It's dumpy and divey. They have a security camera with a live feed out to the parking lot. They have a strange server attention getting system from Tandy from 1987. They have some sad looking sea creatures hanging out in two large fish tanks in the front. My pork belly was overcooked. It may have been a good thing because it was the worst quality pork belly I ever had - I don't know if I could have stomached it. The staff was nice but I say that about a lot of places. The banchan was ok. Meh read more

Il me Jung is on the divey side as far as Korean places go. Usually this excites me, because everyone knows there's a direct correlation between diviness and yumminess! Sadly, here we have an outlier. Kimchi jigae was thin and sour, Dwenjang jigae was borderline sweet. Fried dumplings were clearly of the frozen variety. Side dishes, aside from the steamed egg, were LAAAAAAME... Poor selection and not that great. We didn't receive the grilled fish others spoke of. All in all, a huge disappointment. Sounds like this place is good for sushi, but that's not why I drove all the way out here dammit! read more

I was excited to try the seafood but disappointed when the only sushi i could order was $70 platter. I was by myself so not really an option. Since i was set on seafood i ordered seafood dol sot bibimbap. I love bibimbap and you can rarely mess this up. But they did. I cant put my finger on it.... I think it was too much rice and the rice was too mushy. The rice never crisped up. Plus the seafood they used looked like it came from a mixed medley bag. I want to give this place another try as it was busy and everyone looked happy. I just think i ordered the wrong thing. read more

Dokdo Restaurant - Spicy tofu with beef stew - Korean Near Me - Houston, Texas

Pretty good. I see that this place is probably known for their seafood/sashimi like offerings but I stuck with the normal Korean BBQ meats. I didn't want to do the cook it yourself though, so my friend and I told them to cook it for us. Had the short ribs and pork belly, along with a pancake and sundubu. That's pretty much my go-to order when it comes to Korean BBQ restaurants. Decent stuff. I didn't like their short ribs as much as other places, nor their seafood pancake. Normal amounts of accoutrements that comes at any Korean restaurant was good, though could have had given us a little more. Rice was ok too. It's not a bad place and from the pictures they have, their seafood offerings look great. However, I have other places next door that I much prefer to go to instead. Not a place I would oppose going to again, just that there are so many places within 1/4 a mile that make more sense to me to eat at. read more

Omg. I just tried to try a new Korean Restaurant.. i was looking for something small. Local. I wanted to give this a try It was AMAZING. I tried their pork soup. It's huge!!! 39.95. But HUGE. and soooooooo soooooo goooood Also tried the seafood pancake 14.95. Huge as well full of seafood. And very fresh If u are looking for a authentic Korean place. U need to try this guys !!! read more

This is one of my favorite Korean restaurants in my Hood. Of course, there are so many to choose from around my hood. This is my go to spot for great bulgogi, kalbi and jigae (hot pot casseroles). I LOVE the panchan (side dishes) here. Usually comes with several kimchees and seaweed salads. It's what makes this places among the best. The only negative about this place is that its so small and parking sucks. Try the dewei-ji bulgogi its the spicy pork version of its beef brotha. Service is friendly. Usually the owners are on hand to make sure you are taken care of. read more