Soo Bak Seoul Bowl — Restaurant in Albuquerque

Soo Bak Seoul Bowl is a Korean bibimbap restaurant in Nob Hill on Hermosa.

The venue has an industrial feel with concrete floors and metal chairs in a repurposed auto maintenance building with garage doors. The wood-topped tables warm the space up a bit, but the focus here is the food over the ambiance. Luckily they do the food really well so that isn’t an issue!

Patrons order at the welcome station, after which they’re given a table number and can find whatever table suits them. There’s a station patrons can get their silverware and water; any other drinks will be delivered. They have both alcoholic and zero-proof drinks. You can see the food being cooked and prepped by the open kitchen staff while you wait.

I got the Staff Pick bowl, one of eight of the specialty bibimbap bowls Soo Bak offers. The Staff Pick comes with “Fried Rice, Teriyaki Chicken, Sautéed Daikon, Carrots, Edamame, Asian Pickle Chips, Sesame Cabbage, Korean Red Pepper Sauce, and Sriracha.” I added the Sriracha Lime Crema from the Fire Bowl, which is another specialty bowl.

The Staff Pick was delicious! I liked the mix of rice, meat, veggies, pickled veggies, and sauces. The sriracha wasn’t overwhelming or too hot and gave the bowl a small hint of heat and flavor without overpowering it. The sriracha lime crema was not hot, so adding it was another good flavor profile that complimented the bowl. The chicken was well cooked and juicy - no dryness or toughness whatever. It was the perfect ratio of ingredients that seemed to go together well.

This was my first time trying Soo Bak as well as bibimbap, and I’m already excited to go back and try a different bowl. Besides the specialty bowls, patrons can build their own with choices of 19 toppings, 5 kimchi selections, 7 proteins (three of which are vegetarian), and 9 sauces. They have vegetarian and gluten free options labeled on the menu so it won’t be hard to make those specific bowls.

If you’re in the mood for some Asian food in a casual setting, go...

Update: second taste disappointment. I've been looking forward to eating this again all week since my last review. I opted for the byo after sampling a couple bowls last time and stuck with the Korean BBQ for both dishes. Unfortunately, this time I was not as impressed with the quality of meat. About 40% of bites were fatty or grissle and there was way too much sauce. Veggies and egg rolls were still really good and fresh but a little bummed to worry about which experience I'll be getting next time... Yes I will be back for the tiebreaker.

Daaaaang. This hit the spot. We ordered the green and the original bowl and I couldn't decide which I liked better. Even the tempura was tasty and we had the food delivered. It was fresh yet savory and filling with just the right amount of sauce on top. We also had egg rolls which were perfectly crispy. All for a very reasonable price. I can't wait to...

I have enjoyed eating here multiple times and I have told multiple people about how good the food is here. That's why I'm so disappointed in my visit today. I went with my wife who I told about this place. The service is still decent and the prices don't seem to have gone up, but we both got about half the portion size of what I got in the past. We each got broccoli as a topping they served it to us cold on top of our otherwise warm food which was unpleasant. Even the flavor of the food was off. What is normally very flavorful food was pretty weak this time. The location isn't great and inside is just ok. What made this place great was the food. I'm hoping they were just having an off day because I plan on giving them another chance. If we get a good portion and flavorful food like in the past, I will change my review. I still think this place is worth a try if...