Paju serves unique, delicious, high-quality Korean food with small but significant ingredient…read moreadditions/changes that I haven't encountered anywhere else, and I'm hooked. The menu and experience differ between lunch and dinner, and this is my lunch review. Simply put, lunch is much more casual and affordable than dinner (You order lunch scanning the QR code at the table). If you're on a budget, you can eat lunch here for less than $20. I went here for lunch twice during my business trip last month and here's what I ordered: - Seafood Tofu Soup - $17.50 - A seafood soondoobu (순두부) with a generous helping of soft tofu, shrimp, mussels and clam, served with rice. Delicious, refreshing and not spicy-I bet they could make it spicy if you asked. I enjoyed the texture from the cabbage bits. - Seolleongtang (설렁탕) - $15.50 - Oxtail bone broth served with potato starch noodles and brisket, comes with salt and green onion already added(typically doesn't at other Korean restaurants). High-quality ingredients and flavor, a great comfort food with a generous serving of brisket. - Shaved ice dessert (빙수) - $9.00 - A great combination of cinnamon, ginger cream and fried rice puffs. Delicious and different than other Korean shaved ice desserts I've had that typically have red bean and overly sweet ingredients. If you're on the fence about coming here, maybe try out lunch first. Lunch is more casual, affordable and simpler than dinner, but is delicious and high-quality. You should come here for dinner too, and I'll post about my dinners here soon.

Dinner from late 2025 Paju in South Lake Union is slick…read more That is the first word that comes to mind thinking back to this meal. There is elevated, and then there is Paju-elevated. I dislike the more common 'elevated' where a restaurant makes changes such as swapping meat cuts from traditional recipes to something wagyu without any added thought or creativity in the process. Not at Paju. They are Koreans elevating Korean dishes. The dishes are refined and well-honed. Their creativity shows they know what they are doing. Plating is thoughtful. The restaurant itself is modernly elegant, great for date nights. Note the restaurant is quiet and elegant; perhaps they have a private room for loud celebrations. Staff was helpful with my questions. Food was available in a timely manner. The Food: Octopus, $27 - 5 Stars Served with smoked trout roe and dashima beurrie blanc sauce, this dish is visually attractive and absolutely delicious! One of our top dishes of the night. Paju Fried Rice, $27 - 4 Stars Cooked with kimchi, bacon, squid ink, and quail egg, this dish is one of their most popular dishes. I find squid ink to have a subtle earthy type of sea-umami flavor. The bacon and kimchi are a touch stronger in this combination. It's a good dish, but amongst our five dishes, this one ranked the lowest. Mushrooms, $23 - 5 Stars Served with parmesan cheese shaved so thin it's translucent, white kimchi, and truffle aioli, this dish is the bomb! Excellent for the mushroom lovers, it might convert mushroom haters, too. Lol. Another top dish of the night. Branzino Gui, $51 - 4 Stars Served with four banchan, this dish stands out for its execution - impeccably grilled and plated. The fish is very tender and perfectly cooked. I do think it is a bit plain for the price. Branzino is fairly common in different parts of the world. Ranked 4th for the night. Duck - 5 Stars Duck breast is served with a slice of duck and pistachio pastry plus four banchan. The duck is super tender. The pastry is clever utilizing other bits of duck meat. The simple sauce is very important, adding flavor to the pastry. Also delicious.

Nom!!!! Definitely on the pricier side of Korean bbq but oh it was so good. We enjoyed everything…read morewe tried out here. We each had our "finest feast" and I'd do that everytime I come here. The scallion pancake was good, the beef tartare was amazing (which I don't say often), my husband loved their egg soufflé. Cocktails were delicious that if you're not careful, you can drink them all pretty fast! We didn't even have room to try the soup at the end. Highly recommended!!

Had a group of 10 people including one vegetarian. When we got the bill, we had been overcharged by…read more$500. We were able to get it fixed luckily (they charged 3 extra signature feasts) but it was still a headache to deal with and a bad mistake had we not paid attention. Food was mostly good. Could go without the beef tartar. The potato salad had the consistency of play doh and found the kimchi fried rice to be lacking. Meat quality is good though and well cooked.

It's Seattle Restaurant Week, so I wanted to try Chan for its elevated Korean fusion cuisine…read more Overall, everything was pretty solid. The short rib was nice and tender, and the kalbi beef was well marinated and flavorful. For dessert, they had a ginger ice cream that was delicious. The atmosphere and aesthetics of the restaurant were really nice and added to the experience. Service for me that night was a bit spotty, but overall it was still a good place to try.

Amazing happy hour! So much bang for your buck. You basically get most the apps and shareables for…read more40-60% off, which is hard to come by these days. We got the wings bulgulgi sliders, cauliflower , beef tartare and potato salad. The wings and tartare were my favorite. Sliders were the least crowd favorite - bread was so dry and meat could've been saucier. Cauliflower was super flavorful, wish portions were bigger to enjoy more but cant complain. For a fusion/ upscale they overall did great keeping the flavors!

These folks probably need another great review like Elon Musk needs an increase in his allowance,…read morebut fairness demands that I not keep silent regarding my enjoyment of this restaurant: THE ROSES: Ample dedicated parking. The staff is gracious, prompt, professional, and - I hope no one objects when I say this - rather attractive. Generous portions and reasonable prices for what you're getting. The food is nothing sort of legendary - bold flavors and dishes have the perfect balance of sweet, heat, savory, and umami. THE THORNS: None significant enough to mention. NEITHER ROSE NOR THORN: It is important to note that this place is insanely popular with the area's Korean community. The restaurant is quite busy Thursday thru Sunday, and significant waits for a table are likely. Monday thru Wednesday is your best time for going and getting a table without a wait. The price of some dishes, like their signature offering, Kalbijjim, might give you a pause ($80+). It is important to keep in mind this is made to order, and one serving can easily serve four regular appetites. If you're just a couple, you're definitely going to be taking this home with you. This is not a bad thing, as Kalbijjim is one of those dishes that is even better the next day and doesn't suffer from reheating. THE VERDICT: Daeho Kalbijjim is extremely popular, and it's not hard to see why. The execute authentic Korean cuisine pretty much flawlessly with efficient and charming service. What else to you want in a restaurant? Highly recommend. Just try not to go on the busy days.

I wanted to give this place a second chance because I know a lot of people really enjoy it, but…read moreunfortunately my experiences were underwhelming. As i always say go try it for yourself. The first time I visited, the quality of the meat cuts didn't impress me, and the soups lacked depth of flavor. I'm not talking about needing more salt--the broth itself just tasted flat. When you're paying close to $30 for a bowl of soup, I think it's reasonable to expect a higher level of quality and care to ingredients. The second visit was a mixed experience. To be fair, I was in the wrong. There is a clearly posted policy stating that your entire party must be present before being seated. My group was about seven minutes away, and since I had already checked in on Yelp and there were only two parties ahead of me with no one physically waiting, I asked if I could be seated and order while I waited. I had already been standing inside for about 10 minutes. I was told that although tables were available, seating me ahead of the other parties on the waitlist would be unfair. I understood the reasoning, but she had also asked prior for my order. Her explanation left me confused so i sheepishly said I understood the policy. She already seemed upset by the time i had gotten there. Sometimes we have off days i get that. This place is clearly hit or miss, I've got friends who absolutely swear by it. For me, though, it wasn't anything special and didn't justify the price. If you're looking for Korean food in the area, I've had better experiences with higher-quality dishes elsewhere, especially in Lynnwood.

Visited here very hungry after bouldering for a couple hours. They keep it nice and warm in here…read morewhich I loved (I noticed a lot of Seattle restaurants don't turn on heating :')). It is set up like a cute korean style bar with small round tables which make sharing easier. They have a pretty good selection on their menu and we ordered a couple of items to share. The Rose Ttoekbokki with cheese was very yummy, but it kinda tasted like pasta with rice cakes instead of spaghetti. I think that is the point of this dish, so if you want a more traditional spicy flavor then get the other ttoekbokki option (spicy rice cakes). We still loved this one and the rice cakes were so chewy and delicious. The cheese corn was very yummy and exactly what you would expect. It pairs perfectly with the other dishes. My friends also shared the Seafood ramen and Beef bulgogi. They liked both dishes. One of our favorite things were the side dishes actually! The tofu was so yummy, and the bean sprouts were so crunchy and well seasoned. We even asked for extra! The only aspect that makes it difficult to come more often is the price point. Since the dishes are so big and shareable, it is easy to split amongst a group, but it is a little less affordable to come here for dinner and drinks.

A cozy little Korean bar! There aren't that many tables, but I enjoyed this vibe. Service was quite…read morefast on Saturday evening. We ordered: -Fish cake soup: pretty good, the soup had a good depth in flavor and I liked the variety in fish cake. Perfect for a rainy day. -Tteokbokki: was a bit spicy and the rice cake was chewy and cooked well. I've had better sauce though. -kimchi pancake: wasn't our favorite. Was a bit too thick and had too much batter - I like these to be more crispy and thin. Overall, a fun place for a casual Korean bar food.

I went shopping at Uwajimaya and my husband stayed in the car to listen to game 1 of the NBA…read moreFinals. After the game (apparently I was in the store for a long time), he looked up Korean Chicken close to where we were and found this gem. He quickly placed an order for pick up. The place is clean and welcoming. The chicken wings were huge and delicious. He ordered their Yanghyum Chicken Wings. He said they're his second favorite of all time (his favorite was from a place in Boise, ID).

Dinner in Seattle, Washington…read more.. Since we were in Chinatown and had free street parking on a Sunday, my niece and I looked around for our next meal. She said she saw a Korean restaurant next to where we parked our car. She was right! Gangnam Seattle was a cozy, calm shop. Service was efficient and polite! I got the Bulgogi and rice meal while my niece got the dumpling soup (with mochi). The portions were so generous that I took my leftovers to my niece's apartment. She had it for lunch the next day! Delicious! We were happy to not have to cook our own meal! LOL!

Finished the Boeing factory tour and was looking for a good spot on the way back toward the…read moreairport. Came across this place with strong reviews, and the name itself includes seollongtang, which is always a good sign that soup is taken seriously here. The restaurant is much more polished and refined than I expected. We ordered the combination and the cartilage and tendon one. I am always here for tendon, so that was an easy decision. My husband went with white wheat noodles and I chose the clear sweet potato noodles. It also came with rice, which was an unexpected but welcome addition. The banchan of kimchi radish and kimchi Napa cabbage were both excellent and refilled quickly without needing to ask twice. The soup is rich, creamy, and deeply comforting, the kind you immediately wish you had closer to home. Only wish is that they had a combination that included tendon, because that would be perfect. Definitely a spot I would come back to when we are in the area.

Do yourself a favor and skip the collagen powder you take as a supplement, and have a bowl of the…read morereal deal! My family and I weren't able to finish our bowls on a pick-up order and the soup solidified (as it should) in the fridge overnight. That should be everything you need to know about the quality of sullungtang this place offers. Otherwise, the place is clean and comfortable, the service is routinely good and the kimchi is fire.

This spot is a hidden gem in Ballard. It's not the best Korean food I've had but definitely has all…read morethe comfort food you need for a cold day if you don't want to drive far out to fed way or Lynnwood. Seafood pancake was crispy and paired well with the dipping sauce. Banchan was on point but galbi was a bit on the sweeter side + had a bit too much fat and soondubu tasted more like kimchi jiggae. Overall tho, fair prices & good selection of Korean comfort food!

Solid place to grab Korean food in Ballard, despite it being one of the only Korean restaurants in…read morethis area (that I'm aware of). Have been in a few times and have had a solid experience each time. Fairly small place and not THAT many tables. You order at the counter and then sit down. It's self serve for water, silverware, and complimentary barley tea, which is nice. Both times the customer service when ordering was fine but not super friendly. I was the one saying "hello" first and saying "how are you?" before the cashier said anything. Kind of awkward/standoffish but not a dealbreaker when the food is good. Most recently I had the kimchi jigae, which was relatively spicy, even when I asked for less spicy (and they said they could accommodate). I'd say it was like 2-3 stars. Flavor was great though and it was a decent portion (for $17) and satisfying. Also, a pretty wide range of menu options, despite it being a small place. There were 4 complimentary banchan dishes (napa kimchi, cucumber kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and fish cakes). Note that I don't think there are free refills like other places... maybe you can ask but I didn't see anyone doing so. For 1-2 people, it's a relatively generous amount. Also, only certain dishes come with the banchan, so be sure to read the menu carefully if you are wanting the banchan.