I decided to try Haju based on a recommendation from a social media account focused on Boston food that I follow. I should have read reviews first because a lot of them, regardless of when they were written, reflect my experience. The interior is frankly pretty sad--no decorations, dim lighting, and the only thing on the walls was ads for some of their menu items. My mom and I decided to stay since we figured if the food was good then that was what was most important. Sadly the food was not good. The banchan was weird: we got a dish of fish cakes, potato and macaroni salad, and pickled white onions. No kimchi at all. We only liked the fish cakes, which weren't the best we've had as they were pretty oily, but we agreed they were the best part of the meal. The other two were flavorless. I had the hot stone pot bibimbap with beef. I'm pretty sure the beef was ground hamburger meat as others have mentioned which was very disappointing. I had to drown the dish in gochujang to make it palatable and I didn't finish eating it. The only thing preventing me from giving this place one star is the staff, who were very friendly. They refilled the dish of fish cakes more than once which I appreciated as many Korean restaurants don't refill banchan. read more

Haju Kitchen - Hot stone beef bibimbap with side dishes - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Came here after Zumba class at the Y as the place next door was packed. I ordered the vegetarian soondobu which is essentially a tofu and vegetable soup with egg and comes with rice. It was boiling hot, had to wait for it to cool some. But I liked it. Hubs ordered the beef bibimbap and he liked his dish too. Was sizzling hot when it arrived. Service was efficient, they bring a bottle of water and glasses for the table. The server also agreed to take photos of us when he had a moment. They did get busy while we were there. Free wi-fi - they wrote the password on a post it for us. Overall good experience. read more

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Came in for a quick dinner wanting some hot soup. Restaurant isn't busy and waiter seated us promptly. I ordered the spotted tofu soup with beef, seafood and veggie. The side dishes aren't that good. The soup tasted fine but didn't have too much tofu and the seafood was fishy. Will pass in the future! read more

Haju Kitchen - B5. Assorted Soondubu - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I went pretty late, at about 7:30pm so close to closing. I am choosing to believe that this is why the food didn't taste too good. The staff members were nice and the side dish was nice but it was cold and just not it. I might go back to give it another try and to get the bingsu read more

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A casual Korean spot on Mass Ave that seems like a cute small business! We tried the Banchan (fish cakes strips were the fav), Bulgogi Beef, Beef Sundubu, Beef Bimbimbap, and Japchae. Overall they were alright. read more

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Service was fine, interior was very plain, bathroom was dirty. The tofu stew was decent but the japchae was very watery (see image). I drained about half a soda's worth of water and oil from my dish, which is supposed to be a dry noodle dish. The meat was overcooked and very little. read more

Haju Kitchen - C6. Japchae - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Came here for dinner and it was very good! Me and my mom were able to share one serving of cheese tteokbokki which was very tasty. We received our food very quickly and the service was amazing. read more

Was visiting Newbury St. area with my wife and she expressed that she wanted some Korean food since it's not something easily available outside of Boston. We got off at the Hynes Convention Center T Stop and I noticed this place was the closest option. I didn't think too much about the decision since it was on a busy street. Surely it must have great food to survive a location with so many options, right? 1.) Banchan - this refers to the little bowls of vegetables for those unaware. This was the first sign that this place seemed a little mediocre. We received 3 plates: 1 had fish cakes and glass noodles. tasted good. 1 had four pickled garlic cloves and small slice of pickled jalapeno. tasted good but I was confused why it was such a tiny serving. 1 was a weird combo of a few noodles and a potato. what the hell? Not a fan. It didn't come with kimchi! It was $2 for a tiny, tiny bowl of one. 2.) Bulgogi for $15. Extremely lacking in flavor. I don't order bulgogi for "fine", I ordered it for a smack in the face of sweet and savory beef. Some of the pieces were chunky and badly shaved. A lot of vegetables. Very, very OK. I ordered a Set B combo which came with a small order of chicken bites (mild) and the tteokbokki. 3.) Small chicken bites. No complaints here. Well-fried bite-sized pieces of juicy dark meat. It didn't really have the texture of typical Korean fried chicken though. It was closer to karaage. It came with a side of dipping sauce. They told me it was suppose to be mild spicy sauce similar to typical soy garlic glaze. It really just tasted like a slightly sweet sauce with slight tamarind. Not bad! 4.) Tteokbokki. $29 as an individual choice !! Ridiculous price. SURELY it must be worth it right!?! It came out as a giant plate and initially it did seem worth it. The sauce was so extremely mild. Even just spooning the sauce into my mouth it was a toss of between "this taste like nothing?" and "I guess it's tomatoey?" The rice cakes were a great texture. It came topped with a lot of ramen and cheese. Hardly any fish cakes. There were also a couple of dumpling tossed- they were the cabbage-wrapped meat+veggie variety. I just didn't enjoy this dish that much. Overall, I felt like I didn't enjoy anything. I came to Boston for decent food and this place tasted like something I would purchase in desperation. No comment about the service. It was just 1 dude taking care of everyone at 4:30pm on a Monday. read more

Just ok. We had the spicy chicken, kim chee fried rice, and the chewy cold noodles. The flavors and quality wasn't quite right. The rice had an odd floral taste that was unfamiliar to me, but that wasn't the issue. It just wasn't very good. The chicken was similarly not very flavorful and didn't have that sizzling taste either. The best dish was the noodle. The flavor and textures were good. Overall, just ok. I probably wouldn't go back if there are other options. read more

I like the food at this place. Delicious! I went there because one of my classmates is a big fan, so we went there together and ordered for takeout. Service is OK. Not super friendly, but also not rude. Does have a bit of a smell in the place because I don't think the carpet has been cleaned in a while. They have these rice bowls with chicken that are really good and you can get them more or less spicy. They come with a mayo-based sauce. Good stuff! read more

They have BINGSU!!! I was very excited to see them advertising it, so I came in and had lunch. I got the hot stone beef bibimbap and the portions were perfect and the whole meal really hit the spot. I can't believe I passed by here so many times without going in! The service was fast and the vibes inside were so calm and pleasant. The shape of the restaurant means it doesn't get super loud even when multiple groups are talking, which is a must for me. Overall, love! read more

Great KFC and great service, our server spike excellent Korean and English and was pleasantly patient with us in spite of our jet lag and his being so busy Seafood Soup was delicious too But could have been a bit spicier Boneless scallion chicken was very tasty accompanied with tasty Cole slaw Bone in chicken was also very tasty No beer or soju but a Dr Pepper hit the spot Would definitely recommend over BonChon in Cambridge read more

Would give zero stars if I could. Disgusting food. Terrible ambience. The rice was even bad. And how hard is it to make rice. Whatever you do do not eat here. We couldn't finish our food and no one cared or asked. read more

had the kalgukso, the broth tasted very watered down, had all the seasoning and flavors, but so incredibly subtle and not in an intentional way. it was almost like they started the day off with a good batch of broth and watered it down as more people ordered instead of making new ones. utensils and water were given to you in a pile, you are setting up your own table, the water bottle that is given to you is very awkward to poor, I spilled some (other customers did too) the space was like an undecorated home, something you find off zillow, but somehow got turned into a restaurant. the space is not decorated at all, feels a little unpleasant It's not bad, you're not going to get sick, but I am not satisfied with my experience, so much potential everywhere read more

Service was fine, food taste likes Cheetos and I just really wish I spent my money somewhere else. Ignore that we ate all of it we were starving. read more

The place next door had a line out the door so we came here. When we left about an hour and a half later, the line next door had grown to three times as long as it was when we went in. I'm guessing this place gets overflow of hungry concert-goers. We needed to eat before our 8 o'clock show. Hello, Haju! 1. No alcohol on the menu. Probably another reason there's no line. No problem. We drank diet coke and green tea, but a beer would have been just the thing. (This probably keeps the college kids away.) 2. The pork dumplings are deep fried. This could have been miscommunication but, hey, I'm game! But they were served with no sauce. And there were no sauces on the table. The server finally brought a single very tiny dish of plain soy sauce, even though there were two of us. I asked for hot sauce. (I didn't get it.) 3. The "pork" dumplings were heavily veggie/rice? Not a lot of meat and consequently not very flavorful. Where's the sauce? 4. The bibimbap, which came in a very hot stone bowl (yay!) which crisped the rice almost perfectly (double yay!), also came with ground beef. Ground beef, almost grey in color. It could be me, but I was shocked. I never expected ground meat, especially at the price point -- top of the menu, the highest priced entree. It was also missing kimchi and hot sauce. And it had only a few vegetables. It tasted okay, but, man, what a disappointment. 5. And long story short, I never got hot sauce until halfway through my entree, the hot stone bibimbap (~$16), which should come with gochujang and kimchi but didn't. I had to physically wave the server down multiple times like a flagger at Nascar. Her co-worker saw me waving (I had tried subtle half a dozen times) and I could see him telling her that a customer was waving her down but every time she went to a different table. Maybe it wasn't just me she didn't understand. When she finally came to our table, I had to ask and ask and ask for hot sauce. I've never had a server ignore/not know/forget -- I don't know what.... When I pointed to a red bottle, she finally brought it, but it was sweet. And so I had to flag her down again using the same ineffectual method. Why no condiments on the table? Ambiance is college cafeteria. Everything is a mess. Not even an attempt at decor. Do yourself a favor. There are about a million other eateries in the area. read more

Haju Kitchen - Ambiance? - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Tofu stew was good, and tofu was fresh: on par with other good Korean places. Kim Chee pancake was also good. read more

Waiter was so nice and food was so good! I had the beef Bulgogi and my mom had the bi bim bop and both were delicious!! Definitely recommend this place!!! read more

I've been here twice for dinner and sometimes it does get quite busy like the next door restaurants on the street. We had the Beef Soondubu, Pork Slices, and Naengmyeon. The foods were average overall, and side dishes seemed limited. This restaurant is located in an easy spot for students on Mass Ave. read more

Haju Kitchen - Beef Soondubu, Pork Slices, Naengmyeon - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I actually stop going here after their management changed few years back. My friend worked here for summer and he invited me to have dinner with me so I was like, why not? It is a free meal. We ordered tteokbokki, fried chicken with soy garlic, bibim bap and french fries. Contrary to my disbelief about this place, the dishes here weren't bad at all. Next week or so, I decided to bring another friend of mine to try pout cheese donkatsu, as it is hard to find the place that serves this dish in Boston. They surprised me again, and this was the best dontkatsu I had so far in Boston. I recommend getting fried stuff here, that's where they are specialized in cooking I feel like. I tried different kinds of rice dishes was disappointed those so I do not recommend ordering those. Please try cheese dontkatsu here, it's really good. (But they only serve it during lunch time tho, I don't know why) read more

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On a weekday lunch a coworker and I decided to try out Haju Kitchen, being one of the few Korean restaurants in the immediate area. Although the establishment was mostly full, I managed to snag the last table. I ordered for myself the seafood soft tofu stew. For the table I ordered the fried chicken w/spicy soy garlic sauce & scallion. The seafood tofu stew's broth was far too one-dimensional. It tasted only like basic stock and gochujaru. There were no aromatics, like garlic or additional anchovy stock. 2* Additionally, the establishment only served one banchan - fish cake. Not even basic kimchi or bean sprouts were served. 1* The fried chicken with spicy soy garlic sauce & scallion at least seemed passable. It wasn't spicy, but at least had decent amounts of scallion. 3* Overall, the experience seemed mediocre at best. I doubt I'll return. read more

This is what you get for $34 budaejjigae. Worse than a $3 instant noodle soup. Ended up throwing away everything after tasting the soup and checking how much stuffs are in the soup read more

Haju Kitchen - Threw away everything since it was just water with a few chops of ham and vegetables - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I really wanted to try Budae Jjigae (army stew) and I decided to try this place since they had a deal! I chose set 2 that included the buda jjigae (2 steam rice included), seafood pancake, a choice of sides (coleslaw, steamed rice, or french fries) and 2 sodas for around $30! Food: Banchan - There wasn't much banchans. I liked the fishcake more than the onions. Budae Jjigae (army stew) - It was okay. It felt like it was missing or lacking some toppings. But it was pretty filling in the end from the other items in the set. Seafood pancake - It was good and there was a good amount of toppings! Fries - They were super fresh and hot, so it was good. They forgot to give us our sodas, but thats fine! We were really full in the end and had to take leftovers home. Overall: It is a good place to go to if you are craving Korean food with good deals! read more

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LOVE soy sauce chicken!!! Tastes so good. Bibimbap yummy too Our Korean friend took us here read more

Haju Kitchen - D1. Classic Fried Chicken Boneless Bites D2. Soy Honey Garlic Wings D4. Sweet Cheese Chicken (Boneless ) C5. Kimchi Jigae - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Pretty satisfactory spot for Korean comfort food! I came in on a Sunday night after spending all day at Tatte across the street. I ordered beef soondubu (medium spicy) which comes with rice and a little bit of banchan. Banchan selection was small but I asked for a side of kimchi and an egg to put in my soup and they brought it for me free of charge! The meat was beef chuck instead of the thinly sliced beef which is what I'm typically used to but it didn't really change the flavor of the soup. It wasn't the best I've had but it satisfied the cravings! If I'm ever in the Berklee area again I'll probably drop by to try the other stuff on their menu. They have a wide assortment of Korean dishes from fried chicken to tteokbokki to BBQ to all the differsoups Service was friendly and fast and the place wasn't that crowded despite it being dinner time on a weekend! read more

Haju Kitchen - B4. Beef Soondubu - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I had the Tofu Stew here and it was really good. I've had Korean tofu stew many times both in America and in South Korea and I would say this place is up there with the best I've had. It was very tasty and the kimchi was flavorful as well. I really recommend this place if you want some tasty Korean food in Boston as Korean restaurants are pretty limited around here. Just so you know, this is a little restaurant where you sit down and order at your table and they bring it out to you, just like they would in Korea, so don't expect to be waited on like you would at a western restaurant. 미국과 한국에 있는 다양한 식당에서 순두부찌개를 먹었는데 이 식당의 소고기 순두부찌개는 정말 맛있었어요. 추천해요~ read more

Haju Kitchen - Beef Tofu Stew 소고기 순두부 - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

With the lack of Korean places in Boston around Northeastern, I am so glad that I found this place on my two-dimensional navigation device. I ordered Kimchi fried rice(김치 볶음밥) and Small Fried Chicken Combo which consisted of 5 wings and 3 drums(huge portion for one probably good for two). The Soy Hot flavor was fantastic; if it tasted that great as a takeout order 10 minutes later, I can only imagine how impeccable it would be if I dined in and had it freshly fried. The Kimchi fried rice was better than most places I have tried at, amazing portions once again (saved for a later date :D). I perfect over hard egg on the platter of fried rice was absolutely sensational and was the perfect remedy to my hangover from Saturday night. This is now one of my favorite restaurants in Boston. read more

What was meant to be a quick snack took my friend 40 min to receive, and so to-go it was! It was room temperature and by no means crispy when we met up and I had the chance to sample it. My piece was dark meat and tender, though my friend's was white. It was Glazed Spicy, but the fried chicken pieces were not completely drenched (to my liking, since I am not a spicy eater) unlike at other Korean fried chicken places *cough* Bonchon. The heat wasn't overwhelming to me, so I helped myself to a second piece later on. Note: Since this review was drafted in April, the Yelp business profile for InBoston has been renamed Haju Kitchen. read more

Haju Kitchen - Farandole wings 4/2018 - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I've been coming here for the past three or four or however many name and management changes, and while some iterations were very disappointing, I can't find fault with Haju. I've been here a few times for dinner here and there as a quick decision since there's never a wait, regardless of if I'm with one other person or as a group. The service has always been attentive and friendly and we never have to wait long for our food. When I came last night, our waitress noticed our side dishes were running low before I even did and refilled them, which I thought was really nice. The food itself is good enough for Haju being the only Korean place in this area so I can't really complain. read more

I really wanted to find a decent Korean restaurant that is not in Allston, and Haju is conveniently on Mass Ave. Unfortunately the food didn't quite meet my expectations. Food I've tried: - CHEESE TTEOKBOKKI ($27): I can't quite describe the flavor, but I found that it was 2% lacking something and lackluster. The balance of the seasoning wasn't quite right in my opinion. The salt level was ok, but there was something off about the balance of spicyness and sweetness that just made it a subpar tteokbokki. I still did it eat as it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't a dish I would want to try again considering this dish. Portion wise it is meant to be shared with 2 people, but it is $27 which is high for tteokbokki and the flavor you are getting. This dish did come with 2 complementary sodas. - SOY HONEY GARLIC WINGS ($18): definitely there is more soy than honey in the seasoning, as the sweetness I would expect was not there. The meat was a bit on the drier side as well. Like the tteokbokki, the price $18 is high for what you are getting especially because the flavor is meh. Atmosphere: - Pretty crowded as I visited during peak hours. - The restaurant is not too large, but there is a medium number of seats. - Vibe is definitely a classic Korean bunsik restaurant vibe. Service: - The staff was friendly, service was pretty standard. Overall: - I wouldn't really go back considering I wasn't really satisfied with the flavors and the price is definitely high. read more

Haju Kitchen - Cheese tteokbokki - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The food was decent for walking distance within the area if you're craving for something Korean. We got the Set 1 ($25.95) which comes with Tteokbokki and we chose the Small Chicken Bites Mild. Tteokbokki: 3/10 Barely anything besides just cheese and mushy dumplings... Chicken Bites: 10/10 Crispiest and yummiest chicken I've ever had, these were so good! If you get Mild, it's basically just Crispy Chicken with the addition of a 'mild' sauce that comes on the side. Overall, the food wasn't amazing but service was friendly! Place is small and there's usually no wait. Decent for a quick, convenient Korean meal if you're nearby read more

Haju Kitchen - Set 1 ($25.95) Tteokbokki + Small Chicken Bites Mild + Rice + Soda - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

TLDR: solid Korean college spot. Banchan is a little lacking. The dishes themselves were solid, but nothing incredible. We had the japchae and beef bibimbap. They were yummy but could use more meat. Overall it'll fill a Korean crave but not spectacular. read more

I only got Togo tteokbokki but it was really good and spicy! Staff were very friendly! read more

First off: they are the only fricken delivery people in all of Boston that read my "special instruction" to go to my actual door. Good job! Ordered from grubhub, had no idea what's the different between A vs B type chicken? So whatever just ordered the one that had the spicy! Spicier than bonchon I swear! Every 3 bite require a dump truck of water and radish to quell the fire! Love it love it. Love the pickled radish, got 2 because I'm pickled obsessed. So glad. It taste great with my other meals the next few days. The potato salad was ok, never got to eat it all because I put it in the fridge and it totally disappear... I guess my roommate really liked it... The fries is... ok. I don't like that type of starchy texture. I'm more of a peel my potato with some skin on it and lemme dip it in vinegar kind of person... So these does not work with vinegar! Too sad! Maybe it will work with ketchup for normal people. Had a good delivery experience, will definitely dine in eventually; but for now I have a go to place for chicken... because Bonchon's delivery and maximum is too expensive and its just as good as Bonchon. read more

Not bad! Walked in here like around 5 or so on a Saturday- I think most of the college crowd had vacated Boston at this point, so there weren't too many people around the area. Still, there were several people inside Haju, which led me to believe that it must be a decent place. I opted for a soondubu with pork, which came out pretty promptly, which also includes rice (obviously), and also some side dishes, which I didn't try since I was kind of in a hurry. I thought the dish was pretty good, and really didn't have any complaints with it. While there wasn't very much pork in the dish, the broth did have a pretty strong pork-y taste to it, which is a lot better than some other places, where I suspect they just use water or some sort of vegetable broth. The price came out to something like $12, which was reasonable, and fine- and like I said, I got my order really quickly. I would totally come back if I were in Boston again and in the neighborhood. read more

Haju Kitchen - pork sunduboo - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Food is okay, but the customer service is really bad. If you not tip enough, they will complain and ask for more tip. I gave them lower tip because one of the servants had attitude with my sister when she brought a water bottle inside. That waitress did not even allow my sis to put the bottle on the table. read more

I came here for lunch on a weekday and it was pretty decent! I had the bulgogi entree which consisted of sweet soy beef and a medley of vegetables. It came with a side of miso soup and a small bowl of steamed rice. The bulgogi was just okay- I thought the flavor fell flat here. The vegetables were fresh and I loved how varied the mix was!! The miso soup was very flavorful and enjoyable. :- ) Some places serve it really diluted and watery- I'm glad it wasn't the case here! Overall, an enjoyable experience but I'm not sure if I'd revisit. read more

Came here for dinner on a Friday night - nothing like a cold winter's night to make you crave some soondubu. I would say that this place is understaffed - each staff person had to juggle a lot of tables at a time and our table only received water ten minutes after we were seated. Kinda bummed that they don't serve alcohol in the establishment, but that's not a back breaker here. I ordered the beef soondubu and it came with a piping bowl of steamed rice. It was okay, not bad, but then again, not something to be over the moon about. It did have a fair ratio of meat/vegetables/soup but I just wish it had that egg cracked over just before serving since I feel that would have brought everything together. At times, I felt like I was tasting more spice than actual seasoning (just burned rather than tasting flavor). Not sure if I would order the soondubu here again, but I'd be willing to try their other options. read more

Came here with a friend and got Budae Jjigae (army stew) and bulgogi. The meal came with 3 bowls of rice which was a lot more than needed but nice to have. The meal only started with 2 panchan which was a little disappointing since I enjoy these at most korean restaurants. I would say the meal was solid but the jjgae didn't have a ton of stuff but was loaded with soup. Overall the meal was solid but nothing I would go out of my way for. It is a nice variety for the area but I think there are better Korean restaurants in Boston. read more

Haju Kitchen - Budae jjigae - Korean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I came here with my sister on Tuesday night for dinner. The place was fairly busy, though we were able to get seated without a wait. My friend had advised me against getting the fried chicken bites, so instead my sister and I ordered the soondubu (tofu soup) along with a seafood pancake as an appetizer. Before getting our orders, we were given complimentary appetizers (fish cake and a pickled vegetable). The fish cake was really good, and we got free refills! Then, we got the seafood pancake; it was a ton of food and also tasted very good. It actually contained seafood such as octopus and squid which was nice. Finally, we got our tofu soup. I thought it was pretty well flavored; the medium spice level was definitely spicier than I had imagined though! The beef in my tofu soup was a bit chewy, so it would have been nice if it was a bit more tender. Other than that though, I thought that all of the food was pretty good. Overall, I had a pretty good experience and would not be against coming again. read more

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