ReaL Korea — Restaurant in Exeter

Hidden gem! My sister recently came back from a year abroad in Korea studying at University in Seoul. Since I couldn’t go out to Korea to visit her, we decided to make a trip to Real Korea when she came back to the U.K. so that she could show me some of the dishes she had loved eating when she was out there.

The restaurant/ takeaway is tucked away, and I only came across it whilst looking through Deliveroo. However we wanted to visit in person, and wow it’s a real gem of a place. The owners are very lovely, humble, hospitable people. They gave my sister and I a free starter, which we really appreciated, and they also gave us free ice creams to welcome us to the area (as we had only just recently moved here). So kind of them! My sister even conversed a little in Korean and it was really nice to have a friendly conversation. As K-pop fans, we also loved the music that was played whilst we enjoyed our food.

The food itself was amazing and very authentic. We ordered Dakgangjeong. The chicken was very tender, and the sweet and spicy sauce was lovely. We shared it between us but I could have eaten the whole bowl to myself, it was that delicious! We also both ordered the Jeyuk Deopbap which was also really tasty. My sister especially loved the rice. We also got a Milkis each to drink. I was so happy they had this drink option because it’s one of my favourite soda drinks that is hard to find.

We were so happy with our experience at Real Korea, and we will definitely be back to try different things from the menu.

So pleased there is an authentic Korean restaurant/ takeaway here in Exeter, and we really hope this business continues to grow and...

The food here was fantastic! I have been lamenting the fact that we have to go to Bristol or London for Korean food, and on a whim did another search and saw this one with perfect reviews! The place only has a few tables, as it looks setup mainly for delivery orders. We chose to dine-in.

We ordered quite a lot of food to be honest, as we wanted to sample several things to get a feel for the place. It was all fantastic and made us very happy.

The Carbonara Buldak crispy mandu were a new flavor for me, and while it was crispy, the shell also had a soft give to it for a great texture. That came out with the Dakgangjeong, which is chopped thigh meat in a lovely Korean fried chicken batter and sauce.

We also had the tteokbokki with cheese and added gimmari, which was a great addition. I've had this dish many times in other places, but the gimmari really added a great taste and texture contrast against the soft tofu and tteokbokki rice cakes.

The L.A. Galbi was hands-down the best we've ever eaten! It was incredibly tender and the flavour was just oustanding. This is most likely going to be ordered every time we go back!

The last dish we tried was the Jjajangmyeon, and it was really lovely and aromatic, much more than I was expecting. The onions added a nice sweetness to the sauce, and the noodles were perfect.

We'll be back soon to try more dishes!! We left very stuffed and...

Went for the first time last week. I am so hooked on kdrama and have always wanted to try their food, so when I found the restaurant and read the reviews I knew I wanted to go there. I have to say that I am such a fussy vegetarian and I know the korean people are all about spice and lots of flavour so I was afraid that I wouldn't enjoy the food. I had the egg fried rice and it was honestly the best rice I've ever eaten. It was so tasty and the rice was super fluffy ( never had that before ) The eggs were so rich and tasty. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. A young man came in and sat at the table next to us, he was so sweet and polite. I'd love to meet him again, his parents should be so proud. My husband had bulgogi and really enjoyed it. We got some kimchi and I even tried it. We will definitely be going again, also taking family at least once. I even asked my hubby if we should move to Exeter, we live in Newton Abbot but I have to say the trip was so worth it. So easy to find and there is roadside parking so it's great for disabled and old folk, like us. There isn't one negative review about this place and it's easy to see why. Spotlessly clean too. Can't wait to go again. It is a little expensive but worth...