The Jumping Spoon is probably one of the few Korean restaurants that I actually really enjoy eating at. Korean food can be very hit-or-miss for me, but the food here is actually pretty damn good. I gave them four stars, which is saying something because I'm pretty picky when it comes to Korean food. I've eaten at other Korean restaurants where certain chicken dishes didn't agree with me at all, and my stomach was reminding me about that meal for the next few days. I've never had that problem here. The food tastes fresh, the flavors are good, and I've enjoyed what I've ordered each time. If you're someone like me who doesn't automatically love every Korean restaurant you try, The Jumping Spoon is definitely worth giving a shot. It's one of the Korean spots I'd actually come back to. read more

A nice restaurant in Hercules to have lunch with a former colleague that lives in the neighborhood. It was clean and the service is good and friendly. It's not a big place but it was not busy when we ate there. We ordered from the lunch specials: I had Salmon Teriyaki and she had the spicy Dae Ji Bul Go Gi which were both delicious. I would definitely return and try some of the other dishes. read more

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I was having dinner with my friend and he suggested to eat at this place. I have never been here before and the name seems rather unique, so I decided to give it a try. Would never have guessed it was a Korean restaurant. We were seated right away and our server was pretty attentive. We got the usual bon chon of appetizers and were able to place our orders quickly. Kimchi Jeon: I always love the Korean pan cake. My choices are usually the Green Onion or the Kimchi variant. Here, they had the Kim chi version. It was crispy and fried to perfection and was not salty. The dipping sauce helped complement the pancake and there was plenty enough to go for a second round. Soy garlic and spicy fried chicken: This was absolutely delicious. The spicy was not too spicy, with just the right amount for the kick and not making me want to drink milk. It was also crispy and crunchy, which is what I expect from Korean fried chicken. The soy garlic was phenomenal. The sauce was not overtly sweet and it tasted what I expect from the flavor profile. These pieces were also fried to perfection as well. Kimchi Soondooboo: I always love the soft tofu soup and I am glad they had this here as well. The version here is vegetarian (though you do get an egg). The tofu was soft and there was plenty of it in the soup. My only complaint personally was that the broth was a bit bland for me. Could be that I am used to have a meat version of kimchi Soondooboo. It still tasted delicious on a cold night, but I felt it was still missing some seasoning or flavoring. Overall, had a great experience here and looking forward to coming back. read more

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Authentic and really good Korean food in Hercules. Located in a plaza housing complex, there's plenty of street parking and not too busy on a Sunday afternoon. Felt like we had the whole place to ourselves, they even have a tv where they play the football games with kpop music in the background. Their banchan was SO good and fresh!! They also replenish if you finish the first round. We had a part of 3 and I ordered the chicken dolsot bibimbap (hot stone), galbi, and seafood soondubu (tofu soup) with no spice. We devoured our soup and all all of our bibimbap and galbi. We also ordered galbi dinner takeout which is the galbi, a cup of rice, and huge portion of the banchan! It was soo good, they also serve beer and soju here, feels like you're in Korea! Service was great, there was only one server and he was able to manage everything. Also a good place for takeout too! read more

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The banchan is varied , tasty & generous here !! I requested the dolsot to be extra crunchy & it was so crunchy !!!! The mushroom tofu stew is served boiling hot & so tasty!! They close @ 8 but let me in for a take out order @ 7:40 !!! There is a tv w/closed captions. ( football ) & K-pop music playing, it's very spacious & artful w/ a large Asian mural on the inside wall ! read more

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Love their food and their service is fast and easy. A very clean and neat restaurant and well guided though your visit! One of the places my coworkers and I order lunch from often! Must try! read more

We haven't been since our review over a year ago, and thought we'd return to have some solid Korean food. Unfortunately, the food didn't hold up, and it left us pretty disappointed. We went on Monday night and we were one of only 2 parties dining in. Service was attentive as always. The banchan was already a slight bummer. The sukju namul (bean sprouts) weren't seasoned enough, and the bf thought the kimchi tasted off All the other banchan dishes were fine. We ordered the ham (Spam) tofu soup, fried beef dumplings, and beef bulgogi. The beef dumplings were nicely fried, and were the best things we ate that night. The ham tofu soup was fine, but again, lacked salt or a strong flavor. I asked for a salt shaker and it did help make it more palatable. The most disappointing was the beef bulgogi, which was paper dry. This is an absolute must-avoid. All in all, we're unlikely to come back unless we're already in the area for some reason. It's serviceable Korean if you're local, but sadly isn't good enough to make a trek out. read more

Jumping Spoon - Fried beef dumplings - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

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Came for an early dinner on a Sunday with the family. Maybe we were there too early and they weren't ready for customers, but service was sorely lacking. We had to walk to the kitchen to get the servers attention several times since nobody would come by to our table. Mind you we were the only party in the restaurant. Food overall was pretty average. The seafood pancake, tteok with cheese and fried chicken were good. The bulgogi and kalbi were lacking flavor and beef was tough/ overcooked. read more

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Came back here because I was craving a bento box. Looking at my previous photos and I'm impressed that their menu hasn't changed too much since 2018. I enjoyed their lunch bentos. I can't eat bean sprouts and they were able to give more broccoli, instead. I got the bulgogi bento and it came with japchae, veggies, rice, and one potsticker. It was definitely satisfying. The veggies were pickled perfectly and steamed nicely. Not too raw. Ask for gojichan to add more zest to the dish, it definitely made a difference. Besides the lunch bentos, everything else is still generous portions for family style. This place definitely satisfied my craving and I would come again! read more

(We've only ordered take out and have never dined in) We've ordered take out from Jumping Spoon a handful of times, but I have to admit it's usually because we don't want to drive further for Korean food we like better. They're generous with their banchan. And the food is sometimes hit or miss-- particularly the meat. I also don't care for their japchae. Not a ton of flavor. read more

Good service , environment clean and neat , food is good especially the seafood pancake ! read more

Jumping Spoon - Yum yum - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

Jumping Spoon is such a solid spot in Hercules! The service was super friendly and welcoming from the moment I walked in. I went for the bento box lunch special and chose the short rib--so tender and flavorful! It came with rice, salad, and traditional Korean sides like kimchi, broccoli, and bean sprouts. Loved the balance of flavors and textures. But the real standout? The fried chicken with honey garlic glaze. OMG. Yummmmm Crispy, sweet, savory perfection in every bite. I'd come back just for that! My family and I ordered 2 of those, on one plate you can half the flavors, like 1/2 rev and other half flavored. So good & tasty! Definitely recommend for a relaxed lunch with good portions and great taste. Will be back! read more

Jumping Spoon - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

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TOFU STEW! A local hidden gem. I was pleasantly surprised by the tofu stew at Jumping spoon. It was quite flavorful and was yummy. Quick service and very filling. Look forward to having it again and again. Lots of banchan on the side too. One of my favorite parts . read more

Jumping Spoon - Banchan - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

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We recently ordered take out from here. And have dined in several times previously. I like how they give you banchans for take out orders. they compliment the meal well. Overall the food was well received. My only complaint is the the fried chicken was more like chicken wings. the portion for what you pay is expensive. The portion was is 50 percent less than on previous visit. I would not reorder the fried chicken in the future. They do offer lunch specials which is nice. read more

Overall, a solid 3.5 stars. Food good. Service good but weird. Ambiance was okay. It was tasty but nothing to really stood out. read more

Jumping Spoon - Spicy rice cake with ramen - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

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We ate dinner here & was greeted & seated quickly. Was asked about drinks. When we received our drinks we ordered our meals. In the meantime we we're brought our appetizers dishes Mmmmm Our steam dumplings, combo tofu stew (spicy), mackerel / pescado & spicy pork! Ha Ha we enjoyed our dinner & took some fish & spicy pork home. It was a great amount of food & great taste! I would recommend this place highly. We both left w/ leftovers & very happy I'm sure you will too. read more

Jumping Spoon - Here's Steam Dumping, Combo Tofu Stew ( Spicy ) Mackerels / Pescado & Spicy Pork. - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

The service is decently fast, and the workers there are kind. The interior is nicely decorated and clean, along with the bathrooms. The food itself is a little over priced in my opinion, but still tasty depending on what you het. read more

I always go for the Dolsot Bibimbap here. I've tried a variety of their other dishes as well, decent standard nothing particularly special to say about those. Foremost though... unlike so many other places, they give you a lot of meat if you get the beef variety. I've many often gotten bibimbap where they never provide enough meat, but they provide plenty here. The banchan are also great, and they'll gladly refill. Service had been a bit spotty in the far past (say a full year ago), but in recent weeks, they've been very friendly and attentive, hard-working good folk. Prices are relatively reasonable for good warm Korean food. Personally, ambiance is top-notch as it's not noisy. Quiet, cozy atmosphere. Definitely a yummy go-to spot we'll keep supporting! read more

We are regulars and so grateful this place is in our neighborhood! We live the lunch specials and the soondubu is great! Warm family run business! read more

Worst Korean food ever! Pork Bulgogi had no flavor or spice. Ordered half of chicken and it was 4 chicken strips. Very disappointing. The service was horrible! Waitress never came back to check on us. Place was clean and nice inside but not welcoming at all. read more

The food was mid. I liked that we got some banchan even though we ordered to go. Spicy pork bulgogi (3/5) This dish not very spicy and not as flavorful as other places I've tried. It has been one of the better options on the menu though. Chicken nuggets (1/5) They were very hard to chew. Not your traditional nuggets. The taste was similar to General Tso chicken. Rice cakes (2/5) These were also hard to eat. I think I might have waited too long? The soupy part was good and the egg was good, but the cakes themselves were too tough and they don't hold up over several hours. Service (3/5) Wasn't the best I ever had but they weren't the worst. The website also indicates that you can order online but I was never able to verify my email even though I'm super sure I typed it correctly. Ambiance (4/5) The place is clean. Even with groups of people in there, it doesn't get very noisy. They have a darker theme going on. read more

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First time tried this local delight , good service , nice ambiance and tonkatsu bento box was ok. read more

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I've been coming to Jumping Spoon for a couple years now, and it's an okay Korean place in the area. They are located next to an apartment complex, and I've never had an issue with parking or getting a table. My go-to is their lunch special bento box. It comes with 1 main, rice, salad, and a few other side dishes. I also have tried their yook gae jang, ohjinguh bokum, and soft tofu stews. Overall, I don't feel like the food is amazing compared to some other Korean places in the area. The owners seem to be Korean, but some of the menu items seem a bit fusion, for example the bentos and katsus. I mostly come here for convenience. read more

Jumping Spoon - Chicken & Short Rib Bento - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

Been living here for years and just discovered this Korean spot. Food is super yummy and prices pretty affordable. Love their Beno Box special and they even offer it on the weekends. The food is yummy but what makes it more special is Edwin the server. He's super friendly and very tentative, just make every visit memorable and want to come back for more. read more

Believe it or not, Hercules was not the first place I thought of when I was looking for Korean food. OK, I wasn't actually looking for Korean food, but I was in Hercules on my way to the Bay Trail when I found this quietly unassuming spot in what looked like a suburban office building on Sycamore Avenue. The menu listed all the standard Korean dishes I expected, and then I saw the last item and got a bit excited. It was the $16.95 Samgye-Tang. That's when they poach a small Cornish game hen stuffed with sweet rice and place it in a broth infused with ginseng and mixed with jujube and garlic (photo: https://bit.ly/3VyZAl2). It's one of my favorite comfort dishes, and they did a solid job preparing it cleanly and full of flavor. Prior to the soup were seven little bowls of Banchan which I promptly munched down (photo: https://bit.ly/3g0xxL4). I have to say the service was a bit curt, but I wasn't feeling particularly hyper-sensitive about it. I returned a few weeks later and decided to try the $17.95 Gal Bi Lunch Box Special. Not the full set of banchan this time but there was plenty of food in a large lacquer box starting with the tender bone-in sliced BBQ short ribs served on top of a bed of shredded cabbage. Also present were Japchae noodles, salad, rice, one fried gyoza, and a smidge of the banchan with fried tofu, bean sprouts, and broccoli florets (photo: https://bit.ly/3yLzCB4). Good stuff and the good news was that the service was nicer this time. FOOD - 4 stars...the ginseng game hen soup was the standout dish here with the full set of banchan dishes a fresh-tasting second AMBIANCE - 4 stars...well spaced tables and relatively quiet SERVICE - 3.5 stars...definitely improved from first to second visit TOTAL - 4 stars...you can find good homestyle Korean food in Hercules...who knew? RELATED - Exploring this part of Contra Costa County? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2VyCP18 read more

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I and my wife have been walking around Sycamore and noticed this Korean restaurant. We're telling ourselves to try them on our daily walks and finally decided to walk in and have lunch. After looking at their menu, we decided to try their lunch special. The place is very clean and we were seated right away. The server gave us hot tea while we looked at their menu We had their spicy marinated Chicken and marinated spare ribs lunch special. The lunch special comes with salad, rice, and noodle The chicken and ribs are tender and the flavor was delicious. The portions are huge and generous. I'm satisfied with the price and the servings on this lunch special I'll try to come back and try the other items on their menu. This is a cool Korean restaurant in Hercules read more

Jumping Spoon - Spicy marinated chicken - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

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Great local spot. Thought everything was perfect. I've eaten a lot of Korean food and it was delish. Would def come back again as it's close to my office. read more

Spacious with plenty of seating and clean with plenty of street parking. The service was nice and quick. But the short ribs were a bit tough and too sweet. The kimchi stew was good, nice flavor just a bit on the small side. The bi bim bop was a bit on the small side as well. No outdoor seating, only indoor read more

Jumping Spoon - Kimchi Stew - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

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Authentic Korean food!!! So many selection to choose from. One of my favorite dish was the beef tofu soup. It was perfect for the cold weather... the side dishes very also very tasty and best part was that it was unlimited... servers were very good and attentive to our needs. I will definitely go back when I'm in the Hercules area. read more

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The service is consistently prompt, but I'm disappointed in the inconsistency of when we get banchan. We order the same things, and sometimes they provide and sometimes they don't so 3.5 for this. Aside from that, we do enjoy their food and appreciate having a decent local spot for Korean food. read more

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A nice neighborhood Korean spot ! Enjoyed the heat from the kimchi tofu stew. The mushroom bibimbap was really yummy tooo. Our favorite was the naengmyeon - even on a cold day like today ! Wait time for food was roughly around 35 mins ish :) read more

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Cheap plastic watergalsses. Indifferent service. Lousy overly salty food and too expensive for what you get. Avoid going there.

I ordered the spicy barbecue chicken with cheese, which comes with a side of steamed rice, veggies, and kimchi. Service was good and wait time was about 15-20 min. The chicken itself had okay flavor but I could not see any cheese and it was extremely difficult to chew. I am not sure if maybe I just got an older batch right before closing or if it was over cooked but I would not order that again. The spice level was medium. Rice and veggies were good. read more

Jumping Spoon - Spicy barbecue chicken with cheese. - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

The food was excellent and the service was great. This was my first experience with the restaurant

I had lunch here with a friend. The restaurant is very bright and welcoming. I had the tofu pork stew, it was absolutely delicious, and my friend had beef bibimbap which looked wonderful although I didn't taste it. The stew was so flavorful and complex. Service was efficient and friendly as well. The place really filled up while we ate but our server was very attentive. read more

I was visiting family in town and we went to Jumping Spoon for dinner on a Friday evening with a 6:30 reservation. We were seated promptly and ordered a variety of dishes: fried pork dumplings (Goo Man Doo), Cheese Duk Bok Ki (tteokbokki), galbi, japchae, ganjang fried chicken (half order), plus a pitcher of strawberry soju. My favorite item by far was the galbi, which was tender and flavorful and had the right amount of char. The ganjang fried chicken was another standout. It had a tasty soy/garlic sauce and was served with pickled radish to provide some acid to balance out the flavors. Lastly, the fried pork dumplings were the perfect appetizer for the table and came with a great dipping sauce. All in all, every item was tasty, but I found the tteokbokki to be on the chewier side. Also, while I enjoyed most of the banchan like the fish cake and potato salad, the kimchi was a miss for me. It didn't have much bite and was dull in color and flavor. I've had tastier storebought kimchi, so hopefully, Jumping Spoon can improve on that note. Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the food at Jumping Spoon and my party left feeling full and satisfied by the end of the night. This spot is a great addition to Hercules and I'll definitely be back the next time I visit family in town. read more

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It's been a while since I came to this restaurant. From what I recalled previously, the food was just so so, but they certainly surprised me today. I had the beef and seafood soondobu (tofu soup) for lunch today, extra spicy, and I was very impressed by the flavor of the soup/broth! I did wish that there was more beef in my soup, but the flavor of the dish was quite rich and perfectly seasoned! We also had the kimchi pancake and it was a good size and filled with kimchi! (Not just flour!) Price wise I thought it was reasonable $15.95 for my tofu soup that came with rice and I think the kimchi pancake was $13.95 and it was plenty to share! I would certainly come back to try their food again. read more

Grabbed dinner with a friend and we decided to support local businesses in Hercules. I got the extra spicy beef soondubu and my friend got the bibimbop. I thought the banchan was pretty solid. My soondubu was average. It had a 50/50 mix of meat and veggies but I wished my beef was a bit more tender. There's also something missing from the broth too but I'm not sure what exactly is it. My friend thought the bibimbop was could have had more flavoring. She also thought her beef was too tough. However, she liked how the portions of everything in the dish are very generous which she appreciated. Overall, pricing wasn't too bad and service was okay. If I don't want to drive far and am too lazy to cook Korean food, I'd stop by here. read more

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Jumping Pigs! We decided to have a quick dinner in the nearby Korean restaurant, Jumping Spoon. Not many people really know about this place unless you live in Hercules/Pinole area. But glad it's here for convenience. I've been here a few times but just never wrote a review until now. We ordered a Spicy Pork for the main course, a side of rice and the seafood pancake. The Spicy Pork came out in a mountain size portion. We ordered Spicy pork before and as always, the flavors and tenderness were always jumping and tonight were no different. This is a must try. As for the seafood pancake, its our first time experience and wow! I thought I ordered a medium size pizza as this one came out on a huge platter. It was pre-sliced like a pizza too. The main ingredients were squid and shrimps. Unfortunately the flavor didn't jump off the plate, so it was okay. The sauce that came with it didn't help either. There is something that is missing to make it good but not sure what it is. If you like seafood, try it at your own risk. Anyway, we ended up taking half of it home. Nevertheless, we left Jumping Spoon feeling satisfy and full! read more

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The city of Hercules is far from poppin'. Activities and good eats aren't abundant. There's a few good spots far and wide, and it's just one of those towns you drive by and stop to get gas while on the road without thinking twice. You wouldn't believe there's a delicious Korean joint tucked off in a mixed commercial/residential area along the way to the bay trails! Smacked in the middle of the condos and shops, lies this Korean spot that deserves some recognition. The lady was super pleasant and attentive. Our food came out piping hot along with the yummy soju! It's a nice quiet place to grab a bite nearby busy San Pablo Ave. read more

Jumping Spoon - Strawberry soju! - Korean Near Me - Hercules, California

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