First Korean Market — Attraction in San Francisco

Splendid little korean market. Their house kimchi is my favorite store-bought kimchi in the city, and the variety (it covers the entire back wall) is good -- cucumber, daikon, white, the chopped- and whole-cabbage, etc. A pretty good selection of the seasoning staples too - perhaps a dozen different sorts of gochujang & doenjang, lots of different korean soy sauces. Freezer case with lots of fish, decent range of sweet snacks, noodle aisle. They sell pre-marinated meats in korean styles if you feel like home BBQ in a hurry, have a banchan-bar of sides sold by the pound, and their own pre-made specialties wrapped in cellophane if you can only operate a microwave.

The proprietress is a little cool, at least if you don't speak korean, but she's always polite and warms up delightfully for repeat customers. My daughter and I make the trip across the city for banchan, kimchi and sauces about once a month, and she always has warm smiles and sometimes some free...

We really like this little Asian grocery and stop here at least 5-6 times a year to restock on our Korean faves. It's on Geary just a couple of blocks of 19th so super accessible if you're driving through city. It's the best place in SF that we've found to affordably pick up frozen thinly sliced pork belly and beef for BBQ and a whole suite of freshly made banchan. They've also got a good selection of kimchis and frozen pot stickers. While you could probably get this all a tiny bit cheaper in the Easy Bay or Peninsula at a giant Asian chain market, this is best place for locals and its always great to support a...

I miss the old friendly owners who used to know their customers and treat all their customers with respect - not just the Asian customers. I was buying some sushi with my kids and the old lady was trying to rush me out rudely. I am literally trying to give your business money and this is how you treat me and my family? It’s really like the stereotypical movie “hurry up and buy” SO RUDE!! For that reason - you get a bad review from me!

The sweet older couple who used to own this place sold it a few years ago. They knew how to treat their customers and their prices were so much...