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    Simmer & Steamer

    3.8 (34 reviews)
    Closed 10:30 am - 8:00 pm

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    Mozzarella Cheese Corndog
    Emily N.

    Came for a quick bite, no wait on a weekday, lots of seating available and service was good. Ordered the Korean cheese corndog, which they said takes 5 minutes to cook. They warned "be careful it's very hot", however it was COLD. No cheese pull, no sauces available. $6

    Kimchi Fried Rice
    Wesley L.

    I really wanted to like this place. Pretty affordable rice bowls with a variety of toppings drew me in, but the flavor and quality is why I will not be coming back. My friend and I ordered 4 bowls (2/3 of their menu): their galbi beef, pork belly curry, soft tofu, and kimchi fried rice. They're all around $10 and cost $3/$6 for a large/mega respectively. We ordered the galbi beef as a large and didn't see a noticeable difference with the other bowls (even though it says more rice/more sauce on the menu for the bigger sizes) Everything came with an egg (soft boiled but more on the raw side) The galbi beef tasted like American shredded bbq meat. The kimchi rice was okay, but "healthy" as my friend phrased it with not a lot of sesame oil, kimchi, or soy sauce flavor (the beef hotdog helped). The pork belly curry tasted very watered down like from a box and the crispy onion toppings reminded me of American bbq again. The best bowl by far was the soft tofu with seaweed, kimchi, and a brown sauce which was simple and had the stronger Asian flavor I expected. The service was straightforward and quick, you serve yourself water and bus the table after. Atmosphere is pretty simple with bright cold white lighting and a photo booth. Presentation and pricing was really appealing, but there need to be major improvements to taste. I understand it's more of a Korean fusion restaurant, but the flavor did not remind me of any particular cuisine

    The Korean food was the same everywhere, but it was nice to meet the foods
    Jinseok K.

    The Korean food was the same everywhere, but it was nice to meet the food that actually had many stores in Korea, and it was nice to have a cheap price, friendly and cost-effective. It's so nice to have a photo booth in the store

    every table has a cup with hair band offering
    Anthony H.

    It is a real treat these days when you can find good quality rice bowls for less than $10, especially in pricey downtown SF! We read about this brand in the local paper and decided to try the downtown SF location. We came in a late Saturday afternoon, between meal times, so the place was empty, but we saw a lot of to-go delivery orders being picked up. We placed our order at the kiosk (did not recall that tip was asked), and selected the preference for the egg that comes with it (soft is the recommended choice). You have the option to add other ingredients (ie. kimchee). We picked up water, napkins and utensils at the self-serve station and sat down. One peculiar thing we noticed is that at every table there is a cup with hair bands inside that are offered to the customers. We wondered what these are for and speculated that it is to help get long hairs out of the food! LOL. Soon the food was brought to us at the table. The food was served in disposable-containers, but it was expected due to the low price. While the food was not as pretty as you see in the menu pictures, the portions were decent, and the taste was pretty good. We had the galbi beef bowl, sausage curry, and the avocado with caviar. My wife and two kids all thought the food was tasty. The avocado with caviar was the surprise hit. My daughter ate it all up and proclaimed she could have another bowl. Simmer&Steamer have other locations in the Bay Area, so we have marked it down as a new favorite and plan to visit the other locations!

    Ashley C.

    Stopped here on a whim mainly because it wasn't crowded and it was finally a place that had a public restroom. The guy working was so nice, and our food came out so quickly! I enjoyed the kimchi fried rice and the soft boiled egg. The sausage that came with the fried rice was a generous portion too. The galbi beef was okay, but reminded me more of a shredded beef texture you'd find in Mexican food, rather than your typical galbi in Korean food. I would have rather had a beef bulgogi option than this type of beef. Other than that, the prices are fair for the smaller size portion. This is something you'd want for lunch or a light dinner. The space is very open too unlike most fast casual places in this area, and still within walking distance from drinks and desserts.

    sausage curry
    Rachel Q.

    Delicious home-cooked meal vibes at super affordable prices (meals for $6-11)! I got the sausage curry, but was initially very thrown off by the color of the sausage.. I was told that it's because they combine multiple sausages together to make a mega one. It ended up tasting pretty good though! The curry egg rice was also really yummy for the price! The restaurant is also very spacious with lots of tables. It has a simple, no frills setup with a limited menu, but offers really affordable and yummy meals for when you want home-cooking but don't got that time or energy to cook!

    Kimchi Fried Rice
    Sophie F.

    A decent and reasonably priced lunch spot (can't find fried rice under $10 anywhere else!) Kimchi fried rice was flavorful but a bit dry. I came here during a Sunday and it was empty. There's also a Korean style photobooth in the restaurant if that's of interest to you. Service was above and beyond and they even brought the food to my table even though I ordered through a kiosk.

    The Gochu-jang Chicken Rice Bowl

    Ok the first time was good I got the gochujang chicken and it was good simple would have liked a veggie on the side instead of onion flakes but whatever. Place is clean and service is good just to add. So, I told my manager about it, she treated me and ordered it for pick up. She payed extra for avocado $3 omg the avocado was so dark and nasty :( it was so sad y'all made me look bad ! Quality control please.

    Galbi bowl and curry bowl

    Good service and clean space. The portions are decent for the price. However, I didn't enjoy the galbi bowl (rating: 1/5). The meat and sauce tasted sour for some reason. The pork curry bowl (rating: 3.5/5) tasted like a typical curry, which was fine. Nothing extraordinary, but OK if you need something quick. I don't think I'd come back unfortunately.

    Pork Belly Curry Rice Bowl

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    1 year ago

    Love! A rare gem in Berkeley for asian dishes that taste like home. Very clean, friendly service, good food,

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    1 year ago

    I love this place! Food is soooo good and the employees are always the sweetest, this is my go to place!

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    I recently went to KaoKao Grill for dinner, and the food was flavorful and cooked perfectly. The…read morestaff made sure we were well taken care of, and the place had a lively yet comfortable.

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    OMG it took forever to get our food even though it wasn't busy. It was just Ramen too... Not sure…read morewhat was going on but other people seemed to get much faster than us. It wasn't busy and took about 40mins after ordering. Once it arrived it was ok but the pork was very tough (except the strip of fat) and was pretty simple... like some pickled onions, bok choy, some scallion/ garlic stuff.... Even though the description doesn't lead you to think a lot is going on (Slow-simmered pork broth, thick-cut pork belly, scallions), generally isn't there some extra stuff going on or option to add stuff? Bean sprouts, mini corn, bamboo? Even the egg is $2 extra. But that was all that was optional. Was just a bit boring. Host and server were nice. Watching the kitchen staff move in slow motion was a little frustrating when was getting hangry from waiting so long and then it was a bit disappointing as well.

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    An Absolute Korean Food Dream!…read more Me and my wife ate here several times already, but where do I even begin?! From the moment we sat down, we knew this was going to be a special meal. We kicked things off with Jinro Strawberry Soju -- two bottles, obviously, because you don't come to a place like this and hold back. Light, refreshing, and the perfect way to set the mood. The bento box was a showstopper -- crispy katsu resting on a bed of cabbage slaw, fluffy steamed rice topped with black sesame, golden gyoza, perfectly steamed broccoli, and a rich dipping sauce. And the banchan spread that came alongside? An embarrassment of riches: pickled cucumbers, pickled radish, seasoned bean sprouts, braised greens, spicy kimchi -- every single one house-made and bursting with flavor. But the real scene-stealer? The Rose Tteokbokki in a cast iron skillet -- a fiery, deeply savory broth blanketed in melted cheese, topped with a perfectly halved soft-boiled egg, scallions, and black sesame. It's the kind of dish that makes you go quiet mid-bite because words simply aren't enough. The portions were generous, the service was warm, and the vibe -- somewhere between a cozy Korean market and a neighborhood gem -- made the whole experience feel like a hidden treasure. 10/10, would absolutely come back and bring everyone I know. 먹자! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

    Simmer & Steamer - korean - Updated May 2026

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