The best Korean restaurant in Lexington, hands down! My favorite thing to het here is Seafood sondooboo. Sondooboo is spicy silken tofu soup. It comes with wife varieties of kimchi which makes it diverse. I have also gotten fried rice here and it's different from a traditional Chinese one. Basically anything you get here will be amazing. read more

Koreana Authentic Restaurant - New prices - Korean Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Very friendly service, the food was flavorful. The glass noddles had great texture and sauce. read more

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Google this place, look like great reviews. So we showed up for dinner after I bought my wife an Anniversary gift from Audi of Lexington for her 2024 Audi A5 Cabriolet. So we came here to celebrate. we were greeted right away from the owner. So this is what we ordered, short ribs was the BEST!!! Generous portions, great flavor. The bulgoie was ok. The Chop chae was good. My wife order the stone bowl beeping bop was not my favorite. Side dishes with fresh and flavorful. Overall not too bad. The only issue. The ambience was a little OLD dining area. A little cosmetic/aesthetic, needs to work on, especially the bathroom. read more

Best Korean in Lex! You'll feel like family when you come in! The black noodles and short ribs are the best I've had!

Korean is hands down my favorite cuisine and being new in town I'm on a mission to find my favorite spot. We ventured out to Koreana for dinner Friday night and while the place was busy, the server was friendly and attentive. We ordered karbi (flanken style short ribs), chop chae and mondu for my husband and I to share and my daughter got woo dong. Everything was very tasty, though the ribs were a bit dry due to being over cooked. Before leaving I ordered kimchi jigye to go and I have to say it's hands down the best version I have had. It's chunky with meat, vegetables and tofu, and the broth is rich and spicy, without being overwhelmingly so. Overall a pleasant experience I'm looking forward to exploring the menu further. read more

Koreana Authentic Restaurant - Kimchi Jigye - Korean Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

$105 take out for two bulgogi, 1 jap Chee, 1 be bem Cham pong. The food was ok, but the prices are crazy. Based on the menu was not expecting. read more

The food was outstanding and the owner was very friendly. The prices were way more than I thought it should be. The beef and chicken bulgogi was really good. The outside of the place is a bit rundown and the inside of the place is small. read more

Great Korean restaurant nestled in the Woodhill shopping center, looks ratchet outside but a gem once you try their food. I was so happy to find that this place did not permanently close due to pandemic as many local restaurants have. It was nice to have banchans with our meal, and each one of them were delicious-my absolute favorite was the sprouts. My Bibimbap came out sizzling in a pot and it stayed hot the whole meal! The flavors were amazing, the only complaint I have is that there wasn't a lot of meat in the dish for the price paid. The jajagmeon was delicious, the noodles tasted like it was freshly made. Again, it needed more meat for the price. My mom's soup was delicious. I forgot the name but it was spicy-just right amount. The portions were big for lunch menu and we definitely used to go boxes. The server was very nice as well. All in all, a great experience and great meal! Don't sleep on this restaurant just because of its surroundings. I recommend a try if you like Korean food. read more

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This is the literal definition of Hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It looks very suspicious on the outside but the hostess and owner is super warm and welcoming. Looks like a place where there are lots of frequent locals who often go to have a meal by themselves. Food was spot on. Ordered the typical popular Korean dishes such as Hot Stone Bibimbap, Bugolgi, and soondubu. The food felt so authentic and so homey. Nostalgia is probably what describes it the most. Just like your Korean grandma serving you food and making you feel like you've grown up in Korea all your life but it's the first time you've had this food again after all these years. Gave it a 4 star review because the restaurant itself indoors felt a bit dingy. But gosh does eating the food make you forget about all of it. read more

Awesome Korean Cuisine and Service. Large portions and lots of selection of side dishes served with the main course. Highly recommend!

Koreana is very authentic. It is one of those hole in the wall kind of places that has good food. Prices typical of Korean restaurants in town but the food is probably a little better here than the other places. You definitely feel like you're getting an authentic experience. I ordered the kimchi jigae and enjoyed it. The side dishes are my favorite part of the meal, theirs are kind of on the smaller side but they've always been fresh. My husband likes the bibimbop. read more

I thought this food was really good! I've been craving a stone bowl ( dolsot) and it was really delicious. The serving was very generous and I've eaten a lot in different places and this was right up there with the best!! The building itself and location makes you think twice but I promise you it is good eats!! read more

Koreana Authentic Restaurant - Dolsot ( after I let the rice fry on the bottom and get crispy I turned it over) it was much prettier before but so delicious!! - Korean Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

My goto spot for Korean food. The husband/wife cook and serve as close to an authentic Korean meal as I remember my mother cooking growing up in a Korean household. Definitely make time to eat there whenever I want comfort food. The karbi, bulgogi and fried rice is the best. read more

We have been a little shy in trying this place since our first and only Korean experience was an expensive, dismal attempt far from authentic. However, we braved the neighborhood to find a quaint, but dated, 50 person joint where the food is definitely the shining star. The owner is a hoot and answered all of our questions. It did take a little bit to get the food out to us, but you could hear it being made fresh to order. We started with Jem Mon Do dumplings...the homemade sauce was fabulous! And then the grand eating adventure started. Cham Long, Omn Rice, and Pork Bul Go Gi....and they brought six different sides. The table was full and my husband had a huge smile on his face. More than halfway through he asked for a menu to choose another delight, until I told him not to. We will no longer shy away from Korean cuisine. What a gem in Woodhill! read more

Koreana Authentic Restaurant - Jem Mon Do (steamed dumplings) - Korean Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Great place to get your fix for Korean food. I have been here twice now and was satisfied both times. Not the best Korean food I have had, but probably some of the best in Lexington. read more

Koreana Authentic Restaurant - Dolsot Bibimbap - Korean Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Pretty tasty food....been craving Korean and this place is as close as I can come to the food I used to eat out on the west coast. The kimchi and pickled sides along with the veggie steamed dumplings and kalbi were total standouts. I also tried their version of kimchijeon (pancakes) and they were okay but a little too thick and full of too much filling for my taste. I generally make my own at home anyway. Service was prompt and the woman who took my order was very helpful. Didn't eat in so can't speak to the ambiance but the place is fairly small and might feel crowded if it gets busy. The food I had was the star event for me and I would definitely eat here again to experience some of their more popular Korean dishes. read more

Ok, the outside of the building looks like this is the place you would go to get shived, HOWEVER, it's the best Korean food I've ever had. Kimchi was out of this world, bibimbap was incredible, and the bulgogi was so good I couldn't stop eating it. I absolutely loved this place. The owner is super nice and really goes the extra mile. I can't recommend this place enough. read more

I've been here tons of times over about 15 years but never left a review. Always 5 stars. The owners serve and cook. You can get seconds on sides for free. I like the spicy cucumbers the best, so I had two of those. The servings are very large. Be prepared to take home leftovers unless you're just really hungry. I will keep coming here as the flavors are always amazing and authentic! read more

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I haven't had great Korean food like this since I was in South Korea a few years ago. The owner was super friendly and kind, this will be my new Korean spot, glad we tried it! Super clean inside and you feel like you're at an aunties house lol. The food is 10/10!!!!! read more

Awesome Korean food! This place is a total dive on the outside, and don't let the fact that it shares a building with a drive through liquor store throw you off. This is the best Korean in town. A caveat: it's not Korean Barbeque. Just Korean food at large. There is a Korean bbq place in town, but I haven't been...(That being said, you can get bulgogi, etc, it will come out already fully cooked on a cast iron skillet.) This place can get pretty crazy on a Friday or Saturday night, and it's likely to be filled with Japanese folks (the menu is also printed in Japanese to accommodate their huge Japanese following...). So go in early, or be prepared to wait a little. They're closed on Sunday, and they don't do lunch on Monday, but they do have dinner on Monday. It's weird. I know, but consider yourself warned. One of my favorite things about this place is the have vegetarian dumplings in addition to the meat-filled sort. I have a pork allergy, and you would not believe how hard it is to find authentic dumplings that don't contain pork. The veg dumplings are awesome and not a "second place" sort of option as many veg dumplings are elsewhere. You can order your dumplings steamed or fried, they're delicious either way, but I love the charm of the bamboo basket filled with steamed dumplings. Every meal comes with an assortment of maybe eight or so banchan (Korean style pickled side dishes). Aside from the the obligatory kimchi, there's a revolving door of seasoned sprouts, pickled daikon, fermented soy beans, lotus root, etc. Be sure and sample them all, they're lovingly made and delicious! This is where to come for dolsot bibimbap. If you haven't enjoyed this dish before, cancel your dinner plans and go get it!! It's served in a smokin' hot cast iron bowl-- the rice at the bottom gets to be delectably crispy. So good! Be sure to ask for your egg raw (it will cook against the hot bowl, so raw-egg-phobes fear not) so you can get some creamy sauce going on as you stir it up. Otherwise, they bring it out fried up and on top. They smile knowingly when you ask for it raw. :) Also, ma po tofu is a simmering bowl of excellence. The tofu is delicately creamy, almost fragile, and the soup (sauce?) flavorful and memorable. When I'm craving noodles, I always get the Goo chu chapchae which is a dish of cellophane noodles with green chili peppers and shredded vegetables. Very hearty and satisfying, but some people who've never had cellophane noodles before are sometimes off put by the texture. But, what can I say, I love it! Also recommended is the Pajeon (vegetable pancake) or the haemul pajeon (seafood pancake). It's not necessarily a pancake per-se, but more of a fritter? Korean stratta? Not sure the proper way to describe it. It's a mixture of vegetables and green onion, egg and flour that's pan fried, then cut in wedges and served with a dipping sauce. The texture is hearty and satisfying, and it's one of my favorites things to order. It makes for good leftovers too. This dish is really similar to the Japanese chijimi, if youv'e had that before. The soups here all come in bowls as big or bigger than a basketball, and you'll have a quart or more left over even if you eat like it's your last meal. The broth is flavorful, but mild, and filled with fat udon-like noodles, or what have you, depending on which one you order. When I'm sick, I always send my husband to Koreana to bring home some wudon soup. My in-laws come here with us, and they're not particularly adventurous eaters, so they gravitate to familiar Chinese-esque things like sweet and sour chicken. Which, is the best in town. If you order it, it will come out whenever it is ready, whether that is before your appetizers or after everyone else's meal. Yeah, that's annoying, but the dish is such utter perfection, I am happy to eat it early or late. Not eating it at all would be the tragedy. It's unbelievably crispy, not a hint of sogginess, and hot hot hot (temp not spice). In the beverage dept, they have roasted barley tea, in addition to the usual gamut of drinks. They have Korean and Japanese beers, but I don't know if they have soju or not. I'll have to investigate next time... The chef here is a mysterious guy that I rarely see, but from what I understand he is the ONLY guy cooking back there, so things can get a little backed up on a busy night. I frankly don't care, I am grateful to eat whatever this guy cooks up! His wife is the proprietress and she will mill about, check on you, and offer up some unique medicinal advice if you get her going... We tend to come here a lot in the fall and winter, when the spicy, soul satisfying flavors can warm you up physically and mentally. Sooo good! read more

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I came here on a Friday around lunch time with a friend and we had such delicious food here. I ordered the beef bulgogi that came with many sides, and my friend ordered chicken fried rice. We enjoyed our meal as it was hot fresh and quickly prepared. It was an abundance of food so we ended up taking more than half of it home. My favorite is the sides, as they each provide a different variety of taste and flavor to each bite of my bulgogi. I would most definitely be coming back and I'd highly recommend everyone to give this place a chance. read more

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My Favorite Authentic Korean Restaurant!! You might as well be in Donghae !! Absolutely the best Korean food on this soil. The Flavors in each dish are bright and Rich with typical Korean Flair! I live to come here and emerse myself in this Culture. Where EVERYTHING IS MADE FRESH FROM SCRATCH!!" Oh my my goodness!!! Save the plane ticket and just come here!! read more

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I am not nearly as familiar with Korean food as I should be (to-do list!!!) and this hidden gem in the corner of a somewhat overlooked strip mall in Lexington was a great place to get schooled!! EVERYTHING sounded, smelled, looked, and tasted WONDERFUL, from the steamed dumplings we shared to the noodle soups (a black bean mixture stirred into a huge noodle dish was AMAZING, the pork bulgogi almost everyone at the table ordered was perfectly spiced, an AWESOME stir-fried kimchee dish was a perfect blend of a thousand and one sweat-inducing spices, and my dosot bibombap was a wonderful mix of beef, eggy goodness and crispy rice. Too awesome to even "modestly" leave leftovers, especially since I was on the road. Great service, plenty of variety (almost every meal is offered as a veggie option), lots of interesting sides, and way reasonable prices. Don't miss it, Lexington!! read more

Sooo glad we found this place. Already been twice in the past week. Love that they have so many vegetarian options. Fried rice is excellent with yummy egg and veggie topper. Owner is very funny - likes to rib the guests. Will be back again and again. Seriously one of our favorite restaurants anywhere. The veggie steamed dumpling are awesome! Fried rice is divine and the dolsot bibimbop....yum. Don't let the exterior scare you off. Brave the area and step on in. The husband cooks and the wife does everything else. She's very funny. read more

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I've been wanting try this place for a while and I'm so glad I finally did. The lady who answered the phone was extremely nice and helpful. I wanted a vegetarian noodle dish which they happily made for me and it was delicious with fresh noodles and plenty for tomorrow. We also ordered the pork bul go gi, also delicious. This is definitely a place to try out. The staff is helpful and nice if you are new to korean food. read more

A small hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a very Korean atmosphere that would make anyone that's from or visited Korea feel right at home. Menu has Japanese and Korean translation in handwriting. This place is truly for the older Korean individual that has settled in this part of the world. The food is humbly prepared by an appropriate ajuma. Beer comes cold with a chilled glass. Though a little bit on the expensive side, meals come very large. Appropriate cost to size of meal. I was surprised on the taste and presentation of the food. I highly recommend this place to newbies and Korean food lovers. read more

Amazing! This is the most authentic Korean food I've had in Kentucky since visiting Seoul South Korea. The owners are amazing the proportions on point it's delicious. The place looks like a hole in the wall but the food will not disappoint nor will the service. read more

My first venture away from my regular Korean food stops outside of Louisville brought me to this Koreana restaurant in Lexington! Very good Banchan and fresh, high quality Beef Bulgogi Flavors were authentic, very good, food well prepared and the dining area, although somewhat smallish) was very clean! An overall good lunch experience worth the stop and the money! read more

At first I read the reviews and scoffed at the shady area comments, but no, they were right. It totally looks like a shady area. The inside is nothing to write home about, pretty sparse with a few tables. For awhile we were convinced only the one waitress worked there, but we saw at least two other people so joke's on us. The service is extremely slow (see above one waitress comment), though she told us it was because they make everything to order, making this not good for groups. Which we were. The table got galbi (short ribs) and pork/beef/chicken bulgolgi (can choose to be spicy or not). It comes with a small bowl of rice. It's cool that it comes on this sizzling plate that looks like a cow. They are good portion sizes too, you could get two meals of the bulgolgi. I liked the galbi, though honestly it didn't add anything beyond what I could get frozen from Trader Joe's. The waitress seemed real nice and my friends seemed to enjoy the food. They bring out some ban chan (appetizers) with your meal, about six dishes with one free refill. Typical kimchi and pickled vegetables. I'm not sure enough to overcome the long wait time. Alas I still wait to be impressed by Korean food in Lexington. read more

I have been to this Koreana many times over the course of my stay in Lexington, not because I was particularly fond of the place, but because the selection of Korean food in Lexington leaves something to be desired. Each time I've come here I was with 1 to 3 other people. The food itself was okay, and the service lackluster. Our table often went without service for extended periods of time, even when the restaurant wasn't busy. When asking for side dishes that were supposed to come with each entree, the owner often became ornery and at one point even lectured our table on taxes she has to pay for buying supplies for the restaurant. However, the worst and last experience was when I was with a good friend of mine, and the food was not cooked to our satisfaction. After calmly explaining that a dish we had ordered had too much pepper, she took the dish back to the kitchen and began to slam dishes and pans while yelling loudly in Korean. After a few minutes, she came back out with the dish, waved the dish menacingly in our faces, and asked why we hadn't said anything earlier. The dish had not been eaten save for a few preliminary bites. The whole time, my friend and I said very little, as we began to feel very uncomfortable in the restaurant with the owner yelling at us and other patrons staring over at our table. We quickly got our check, as she still made us pay for the food after her completely unprofessional behavior, and yelled at us never to come back as we were leaving. Perhaps we simply had bad luck in light of all the other positive reviews on Yelp of the place, but I simply cannot bring myself to go back after that last debacle of a dining experience. read more

Love everything on the menu here. Ran by a very nice family. Service and food is excelent. Stop by when you have the time. I recommend not to wear white...I am a messy eater. read more

I've been trying to visit this place for several years. Every time I go by, it's closed. Clearly it is not in my destiny to visit.

I have been going here for many years and when I tell you that I have never once gotten bad food here, I am absolutely telling the truth! The menu has several authentic Korean dishes as well as some Japanese inspired dishes. I have tried a few other Korean restaurants around town and none have even come close to the taste and quality of the food at Koreana's. They can go from not spicy to burn your pants off. I have tried all of the different levels of heat and they are all good! I would definitely recommend this restaurant because of the high quality of the ingredients as well as the pride they take to make sure the customers are enjoying everything that comes out of their kitchen! read more

If the Stomach is the center of the Soul, Food must be its Religion. Chefs, as the givers of the Food, must be the High Priest and Restaurants are the Temples. At least this is the way that Lee's cooking makes me feel. Always temperature perfect and exquisitely seasoned, I have never failed to be pleased here. Large servings almost always allow me to have extras for home except when I am very hungry. I have also never failed to be made to feel at home here and I am confused by some other things I have read. Go out and enjoy a hot, pleasing meal in a relaxed atmosphere at Koreana. read more

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5 star flavor at Denny's prices. The marinated beef dinner was superb.

My hubby and I came here for dinner on a Wednesday evening. Don't let the unassuming storefront dissuade you from partaking of the best Korean food you will ever have. The service is stellar. We ordered steamed dumplings as the app. They were freshly made, served in the bamboo basket. Tender, perfectly cooked dough parcels stuffed with seasoned meat and fresh veggies and paired with a lively dipping sauce. They were utterly divine. Hubs ordered the bimbimbap and I had the beef bulgogi. My meal was incredible. The beef was thin sliced and ridiculously tender. The seasoning was spot on. My husband's stone bowl came out sizzling and fragrant. It was filled with goodies that were consistently delicious from one bite to the next. All the traditional garnishes rounded out this meal to be one of the best I have ever had. read more

I would say this place is the most authentic korean restaurant in lexington. Their noodles are the best!

So, my boyfriend and I have been going to Koreana for years now and honestly, it's the best Korean restaurant we've ever been to. It's super clean, the owner is amazing and the food is THE BEST! I cannot find chicken bulgogi anywhere in KY that even comes close to Koreana's (even the out-of-state Korean joints we've tried when traveling can't compete). Seriously guys, if you want awesome Korean food and great service go to Koreana. read more

i was looking for authentic korean food and i got it!! was super delicious and reminded me of authentic food that i ate when i was in Seoul. ! read more

I always get the gan ja jang here and it's very good. I end up with leftovers each time because it's so much food. I think the dish has beef in it, compared with DongYang's mixture of seafood. I like both versions. The dark brown sauce and the texture of the noodles is great. The lady who takes your order and brings your food is super friendly and helpful about the menu. read more

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