If you need a break from southern cuisine, then try this establishment. SO had the chicken teriyaki and I had the steak and shrimp combo. Bottom line, the service and food were very good. read more

Mama Kims - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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In a great location as you walk down King Street so it makes for a nice option for a quick stop as you're window shopping (or forreal shopping :)) Very quick to get your food out. I certainly appreciated that. Serving size was average compared to what I'm used to. Price was fine. The food was pretty good. I noticed more people ordering the Japanese options rather than Korean dishes during my visit. I chose a Korean mixed rice and enjoyed it. As for the sides, their two kimchis were great. Didn't love the third option (non kimchi). The only downside for me was the service was lacking. While quick, didn't find them to be friendly. No one ever comes to check on you so make sure you have everything you need as to not need to wait in line again. Drinks are self serve. Will likely visit them again and would recommend the food. read more

Mama Kims - Bimbimbap - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

I was so happy to find a Korean restaurant in downtown Charleston. My husband and I came here twice during our visit in Charleston. We shared hot stone bibimbap and grilled beef bulgogi. The food was delicious and the side dishes were great. Good service. read more

Mama Kims - Beef bulgogi with Korean side dishes - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

You got a good amount of food for the price you pay on the lunch menu. Very filling. The cashier was very friendly and assisted with the menu when ordering. You received a number plate. Staff brought food to you. Indoor seating available in the front of the place as well as additional in the back. Accessible restrooms for customers. Bright red walls and a television playing Sunday football while dining in was a plus. read more

Mama Kims - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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The first time eating at Mama Kims. I had the Teriyaki and Steak with fried rice. It was delicious. Large portion size. Service was quick . Parking can be difficult. Downtown Charleston area. But if you are spending the day downtown check this restaurant out. read more

Mama Kims - Chicken and Steak & Chicken Lunch with fried rice and vegetables. - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Had to walk a few blocks for this place. The shut king st down on 2nd Sundays. Who knew?!?! It's pretty basic Asian dishes. I thought it would be different. I guess the best thing is location c of c kids don't have to travel for decent hibachi. Onion pancakes were different. Chicken and rice were dry as hell. Nothing special to see here other than convenience. read more

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the food was not very flavorful. the gyoza and my chicken teriyaki was not flavorful even with the yum yum sauce i dipped in it. the first time they forgot my broccoli so they gave me a new one for free which was nice. the place was chill, nice music. read more

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Walking along King Street, you almost miss it, but it's worth dropping in. The Staff / Service was very friendly and pricing very appropriate. You pick up a menu and order and the window, find a seat and wait for them to bring your meal. Ambiance isn't anything to write home about, a bit unkempt but the Food is authentic. The bowls are ok, BulGoGi is yummy though the green onion pancake with pink sauce was my fav. The kimchi is as authentic and tasty as it comes :) Thank you Mama Kim. read more

Mama Kims - Steak & Mushroom Bowl, Shrimp & Broccoli Bowl, green onion pancake with pink sauce and a side of kimchi. - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Ughhh I wish I could give this place a better rating since the ladies seemed sweet, but it was just okay. I'm often in Northern Virginia or Ellicott City Maryland and I'm surrounded by hundreds of amazing Korean restaurants. I fly to Los Angeles several times a year and have tried dozens of Korean restaurants in the West Coast as well. I tried the Tteokbokki here (rice cakes) and it was just alright... a little too sweet for my liking. Another thing that caught me off guard was the pricing - almost everything was damn near $20 a dish. How does a small mom & pop charge that much for regular Korean food. The rent must be high for them to tax the food that high... you guys should still support this small business if you have money to spend; the Noonas are very nice! read more

My friend and I were walking through this area and saw that this place had Korean food, so we stopped by to get take out. I got the Bulgogi Bibimbap and my friend got the Green Onion Pancake. We waited inside for our food, wait time wasn't bad. Interior is kind of dated. I liked the Green Onion Pancake. The pancake is pretty thick, but I like how much pancake you get per bite. It was tasty. The sauce for the pancake was good, maybe a little too salty but good nonetheless. My bibimbap had a couple of sides, but I was disappointed at the amount of bulgogi beef I had. For the overall price of my entree, it felt too expensive to pay for half a serving of beef. The bibimbap tasted okay to me. Alright but not amazing. Overall, I'd give this place a 3.5/5. read more

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Food was so amazing! I had the sundubu-jjigae and it was delicious. I want to recommend to everyone! Mama Kim brought the food out to us herself and she was the sweetest. read more

Mama Kims - Soon-Du-Bu-Jjigae - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

I had mama Kim a lot when I was in college at CofC and there habichi is really good. I had the japchae for the first time as well as the green onion pancake. Both weren't bad but they weren't my favorite. The japchae usually comes with beef. But I got it without. (They don't let you substitute a protein) which is fine. It was filling and came with an unnecessary side in my opinion. The saucy was too salty in my opinion snd was overpowering. The green onion pancake is different from other Korean pancakes I have had. It's usually crispy and this one was fluffier. Overall I have had better unfortunately. read more

Mama Kims - Japchae - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Intended to go to King street Foods which is next door. I guess I wasn't paying attention....anyway, ordered some edamame which was excellent, and a spicy pork rice bowl. I should have taken more time to look at the menu but I was a little confused as this was not the menu I saw online, duh. Decent meal anyway. I'll try next door next time :) read more

My husband thought the hibachi was not very good, "C for quality," is how he described it. The bi-bim-bap was alright; not as good as 843 in North Charleston. The edamame portion is a rip off... you get way more at a nice sushi restaurant for the same price. It's the type of place where you order/pay, then get your own beverages/forks/napkins/etc., and find a seat, bus your own table... as in no service besides bringing your food to the table. Not going to be a regular but would come back if downtown and craving Korean food. read more

Amazing food at a great price. Definitely go with the spicy pork bulgogie, it will leave you sniffling

Ordered scallion pancakes expecting what I'm used to and got a pancake very thick. It came with soy sauce not a sauce that usually comes with it. Not a pleasant texture at all. Shard it and thoughts were the same. Nope. read more

Mama Kims - Scallion pancake? - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Great food and kind service. The miso soup is one of the best I've ever had! I would definitely recommend

This restaurant is my newest favorite spot in Charleston. The Ramen soup is the best I even had. The atmosphere is quant and the staff is warm and friendly. read more

Mama Kims - Ramen Soup and dumplings - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Ambiance is not great. Dark inside and not the cleanest. You order at a window and they give you a number for your table. You get your own drinks and they bring the food to your table when it's ready. Beef bulgogi was just ok tasting and had some chewy/fatty pieces. My daughter had some soup and said it was flavorless which was a disappointment. Not a place we would go back to in the future. read more

Amazing food and such friendly staff. Enjoyed every bites. Definitely recommend trying out

The chicken bowl was life changing 10/10 I would eat 14 of them. The service was also amazing

Disgusting & Dirty! Food was mediocre & expensive for what we received. Parking was a pain. Not one good thing to say about this.

Came all the way from Greenville to eat again at Mama Kim's. Ordered like always the spicy pork bulgogi. Was disappointed with the size of the food. Compared to last year the portion shrunk. The taste was the next shocker for us. It had a bad siracha flavor. THAT doesn't belong into Korean bbq!!! Never going back again!!! read more

Mama Kims - Spicy pork bulgogi. 12-18-23 - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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Food is good, more veggies needed though. Quite dirty, rags on the floor by where you order. Food came out fast and hot. Small quantity for $17 read more

I'm from Orange County in Southern CA and was vacationing in S Carolina for a week. My daughter and I were craving Korean food and we came across Mama Kim's while shopping on King Street. The service was great and the food amazing and authentic. We had the bulgogi and kimchi jigae. Both were delicious and as a native Korean, born and raised in an area of CA that is a plethora of Kfood and culture and raised by my grandmother, a Korean immigrant, I can truly say that this was as authentic as you can get. Don't hesitate to try Mama Kim's!! read more

Mama Kims - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Great food! The atmosphere is ok when you walk in but don't let it deter you. The Korean bulgogi is bomb! Generous amount of meat!

Stopped at Mama Kim's for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. I ordered a bibimbap and my companion a chicken bulgogi. We also ordered sodas as there is a machine where you can pour your own. My go-to soda is diet coke and I was disappointed that it was totally flat. I dont like non-diet soda and there were no other alternatives so i ended up just drinking flat soda. The food was rather disappointing. The kimchi and side dishes were tasty for the mains were rather bland. I had to ask for additional bibimbap sauce to have any taste on the food but, but it was not great and the egg was overcooked. The place is not very well taken care of and could use some renovations. For the price, there are a lot of places downtown with better food and ambiance. read more

Mama Kims - Chicken bulgogi - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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Great food and quick service. The food tasted very authentic and was priced fair for downtown. Check this place out.

The best food we had in Charleston!! The service was amazing as well! Please stop by this gem. Thank you!!

Good experience at Mama Kims. The prices are alright. We ordered bibimbap and it's good but not out of this world. Hit this place up if you want quick no fuss service. But the people who work there are good. read more

Good Korean food. Especially for the south. We usually eat here when visiting for spring break.

Really good food but a little too expensive. The price is on par with a traditional hibachi restaurant and this is mostly a take-out joint. The staff was friendly and they obviously have a sense of humor. read more

Mama Kims - Hey, I get it! - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

It doesn't look like much. Just a little place stuck in a street full of bougie stores. But, man, it was so good! My daughter and I both had shrimp and broccoli bowls and it was delicious. We ordered at the counter, and before we knew it, they were bringing out our meals. Highly recommended. read more

We ate here for lunch and it was just what we were hoping to find! Lots of delicious Korean flavors in my pork bulgogi and my husband's chicken bulgogi with fried rice. I got white rice, which was sticky enough to use chopsticks with ease. Plenty of fun sides to enhance the meal: spicy zucchini, kimchi, plus sprouts and marinated veggies. Lunch was under $40 and we left quite happy. read more

Mama Kims - Pork Bulgogi, white rice & sides - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

I feel like I just got ROBBED at Mama Kim's. My family has been going there for at least 5 years. I ordered ramen (lived in Japan for 5 years and South Korea for 2 years...I love authentic ramen and ventured out at Mama Kim's). It was $11. They served me spicy beef ramen from what I am convinced was a ONE DOLLAR PACKET (see picture). No beef. No soft boiled egg. Not other added character. Nope, just a tiny bit of scrambled egg and couple of chives. Seriously?! 1100% markup on ramen. Just don't serve ramen! Do better, Mama Kim! (Note: I'll still go for Mama Kim's bibimbap.) read more

Mama Kims - a bag of noodles - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

I love korean food, I always do. When I eat on a korean restaurant for the first time, I always get bibimbap. The bibimbap was good, the veggies are seasoned great and not overcooked but I wish they added more meat on it. I probably had like 5-7 pieces of beef on my bibimbap which is a little bit sad. My husband ordered beef bulgogi, and this is what really disappointed both of us. It was served on a sizzling plate and there is no sauce to sizzle. It was really dry and lacked flavor. It should be savory and a little sweet. On the positive note, the banchan is great, the kimchi is really good. (Yep, better than the best store bought you can get.). The pickled radish and bean sprouts is a great way to cleanse the palate and give the dish a good crunch. Egg on the bibimbap is cooked perfectly, runny yolk with crispy sides. read more

Mama Kims - Bibimbap - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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The pancake appetizer was absolutely delicious. The "mud" noodles were out-of-this-world good. The workers were friendly and very helpful. Try it. You'll be impressed. read more

I feel the four stars are a bit high for this place. Taste wise it reminded me of a Panda Express, I got the steak fried rice bowl and it was really lacking in flavor depth. My husband got the bulgolgi beef and his was much tastier and a much bigger portion. Mine came in a small bowl and wasn't filled as much as I think it should've been for $14. It's a sit down restaurant but no wait staff really. Won't be returning but if you're in need of food and enjoy Panda Express you might like it here as well read more

Tired food, hard fried rice and a dirty dining area. We tried the bolgogi thinking it was their signature dish and it was okay. would not go again. read more

I was so excited to come here since the bf said that he used to come all the time during college. Ordering the food was strange already when we noticed add $3 for hot stone bimbimpap and the dude said well you also get more food then does the slight walk away cuz we took a little to figure out what we wanted. After ordering we asked for the soda cup and he gave us a water cup, forgetting that we ordered a drink ..... then food came. what the crap was this? bimbimpap's meat was sooooooo meager. Any korean restaurant wouldn't serve this absurd meager portion. Legit felt like they got 1 piece and cut it up into 6-7 small pieces to fill the 1/10th side of the large bowl. The entire bowl was filled with rice.... trying to do a cover up. Then came tteok buki, tastes gross. watered down and rice cake was over cooked/soggy. no egg... just not your typical korean rice cake dish. Honestly I get it, you might be recovering from covid or whatever, don't cut corners like this? it's so obvious and the price was helllllaaaa overprice for what we got. I'm not coming back. no thanks. go somewhere else for korean food read more

Mama Kims - korean rice cake, partially eaten already. just rice cake and fish cake - Japanese Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina