This restaurant is from a renowned Korean chef (Ok Dongsik) and is a 6 time Michelin Seoul Bib Gourmand restaurant. We were nearby at a popular sample sale, and this was on my list for a while to checkout. The menu is very small and is straight forward. We were able to walk in at around 6:30 PM on a Wednesday evening without reservation. They turn over seats fairly quickly even though there can easily be a line of people waiting.
They primarily serve Pork Gomtang, which is served in the Gukbap style. From their site:
What is Gomtang?
It is a Korean traditional soup, slow cooked with any kind of meat and parts of meat such as beef, pork or chicken bones.
What is Gukbap?
It is a style of serving a bowl of hot soup with cooked rice inside. Our broth is unique to traditional Gomtang as it is made without any bones or other parts of pork. Okdongsik’s special recipe only uses meat and vegetables. What you get after many hours of slow simmering is a clean, savory broth with the deepest umami. If you’ve had Gomtang or Gukbap in the past, you will see the clear difference.The light, refreshing, salad-like kimchi is carefully made to enhance the flavor and texture of Pork Gomtang. Our house special spicy fermented pepper sauce also brings a kick to the meat so please add it to your taste.
Ambiance & Service
The restaurant is basically a very small kitchen with a counter top of seats. Behind the seats that run parallel to the wall, there is a little ledge to put your bag and a hook to hang your personal items if needed. It’s mighty convenient, especially on a cold winter date where you have a slew of jackets and bags.
The food comes pretty quickly after you order because most of the things are heated and prepared, so the service itself is really speedy and suitable for a very casual meal.
Note that there is a speakeasy bar at the back of the restaurant, so there may be some foot traffic as people heads toward the back.
Food
The Tangerine Ade ($8 - left) was a non-alcoholic fermented Jeju tangerine marmalade drink. The tangerine was tart but quite delicious. The drink was basically a mix of some syrup and sparkling water.
The Maesil Ade ($8 - right) was a non-alcoholic Korean green plum drink. The plum flavors had an interesting sweet and sour flavors with sparkling water.
The Kimchi Mandoo ($12) came with kimchi, tofu, and pork. This was quite delicious, and it had a nice spicy kick to it. The kimchi was fermented and micro-chopped. Because the skin is on the thicker side, the skin doesn’t break easy and holds the contents when you pick it up. These mandoos are basically preheated in some electric pot, so once you order they come right away.
Before they serve the gomtang, they give you some side dishes, which includes a side of kimchi and some Gochuji (house special pepper paste). They ask that you put the chili paste on the thin slices of pork in the gomtang.
The Dweji Gomtang ($18) came with a hot bowl of pork soup, rice, and thin slices of pork. The broth was light, not greasy, and very homely. If you’re someone that desires a lot of salt, just know that this soup won’t really do that. It’s very similar to the pork broth that some LA Korean restaurants serve before Korean BBQ. The thin slices of pork are unseasoned but are complemented well with the pepper paste. The pepper paste was fairly basic in flavors in that you just taste the grinded chili peppers. My partner wasn’t a fan of this, but I found it pretty good. It’s very rustic, tastes healthy, and is similar to soups that you would find at South Korean mom and pops restaurants.
Final Verdict
Okdongsik is not really one of those restaurants where you are going to be blown away by heavy flavors. It offers basically one item: a pork broth with rice. Even though it’s simple, this is pretty rustic, comfort food that you’d get in small low key restaurants or at home. If you haven’t had this before and want to try some typical Korean foods, give this a try, but don’t expect it to be heavily seasoned.
Yelp Jabs
Make sure to make a reservation here, as the seats get filled up quickly & the waiting time can be quite long.
Definitely check out this restaurant on a weekday and with a very small party due to the very limited seating.
I would recommend you to not eat the kimchi mandoo first and eat the gomtang first if you can. If you eat the mandoo first, you will definitely feel that the gomtang is underwhelming and flavorless.
One thing that Elitists don’t realize is that you can reset your food palette in Asian restaurants between the different elements by just drinking the tea. It has this effect of grounding your taste senses, and you will be able to go between strong and light taste buds.
Revisions
- Nov 29, 2023 - Initial revision.