Dubu Haus

Dubu Haus has been on my list for a while since it opened. I really enjoy homemade tofu, especially the medium+ firm kind. What also appealed to me about this restaurant was the bossam wraps. I’m also a fan of wrapping pork belly with vegetables in general. I felt like this would be a very decent Korean homemade type of restaurant that wasn’t centered on BBQ. I was able to make a reservation for 2 a few days in advance without any issue.

Ambiance & Service

The interior felt upscale and a bustling ambiance. There were many diners in 2s and 4s eating out. Many ordered the soon dubu stews.

The service was very fast, and we were done in less than an hour.

Food

The complementary shot of soy milk was unsweetened. My partner did not enjoy it, but I actually like the flavor.

Here is the assorted banchan.

From left, via clockwise:

• Napa Cabbage Kimchi
• Vegetables. Not sure what this is called, but it’s very familiar in Korean banchan.
• Squid
• Bean Sprouts
• Radish Kimchi
• Shishito Peppers and Anchovies

The Bossam ($32) came with 8-hour braised pork belly, handmade dubu, radish kimchi, and napa cabbage. The tofu was very delicious especially texturally. It’s equivalent to a medium firm, and the tofu was quite flavorful. The bossam was soft and tender. All the flavors are very familiar and similar to other restaurants. Thankfully, the radish kimchi was legitimately good.

The Cod Fish Jeon ($17) came with 4 pieces of cod, with egg and red chili. This was a surprising dish because it’s something I would never order. I originally wanted to order the mandu, but my partner wanted to try this. Surprisingly, the cod fish was delectable. It was soft and assembled well together in the egg. My partner says they’d love to come back just to have this.

The Perilla Oil Buckwheat Noodle with Bossam ($24) came with 8-hour braised pork belly, kimchi, radish, lettuce, egg, seaweed, sesame, perilla & pine nut pesto. Note that this was cold, but I didn’t care. The noodles were chewy and good. The bossam was unfortunately not as good as the standalone bossam appetizer. The bossam here seemed to be chilled, and excessively thinly sliced. Everything else in the dish did not have any dominant flavors, so it wasn’t as memorable as the other dishes we got this evening.

When you receive your bill, they give you dessert, which was house-made soy milk with vanilla and soy dusting. This was pretty good because it wasn’t too sweet and balanced for my palette.

Overall Impression

Dubu Haus was a pretty good restaurant, and it’s a good alternative to the main Koreatown restaurants if you’re looking for bossam or stews. The price isn’t too expensive, and the hospitality was pleasant.

Yelp & Google Jabs

I accidentally brushed my suitcase against the door while walking in and probably looked a bit disheveled after traveling. The hostess took one look at me and told me the wait for a walk-in table would be 90 minutes. Another hostess then whispered something to her in Korean, and suddenly the wait time dropped to 30 minutes… About 10 minutes later, my friend arrived and our table was ready–despite the restaurant being roughly 75% empty when we were seated. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry, and this interaction felt like I was being judged at the door. It seemed as though the initial assumption was that I was an undesirable customer, until they noticed my designer jacket, accessories, and that I spoke fluent English and was polite.

Even though the restaurant may appear 75% empty, it’s because they have to hold for reservations. I did find it amusing that this Yelper went into a narcissistic mode pointing out their designer clothes. How many people do they think NYC restaurants see per day?

I got the short ribs soondooboo and it tasted the most similar to BCD’s, with a better cut of meat of course.

It’s crazy to me how the NYC crowd love and praise BCD Tofu House. Perhaps this is because there’s just one in the city, but I definitely don’t think BCD is all that cracked up to be. In Los Angeles, there are a ton of BCD Tofu House, and they are pretty consistent though there are better tofu houses. I can say it’s the same in NYC as well. For example, Cho Dang Gol has a better one, as well as Dokebi.

Revisions

1. Feb 20, 2026 - Initial revision.