Korean Garden — Restaurant in Boston

A little expensive, but the quality and quantity are worth it!

This restaurant is between Cafe Weekend and Mr. Music. This is on Harvard Ave, so you don't need me to tell you that parking can be very difficult with the busy roads and high foot traffic. It is best for you to try your luck on Commonwealth Ave.

Inside is very spacious. Lots of tables, and you're not sitting super close with tables around you. Interestingly it seems the restaurant is split between Korean BBQ and non BBQ. This was perfect for my wife and I because we wanted non-BBQ. I don't think there was any outstanding decorations, but it's also not something I care about when I just want a nice, filling meal.

Our server was very polite and accommodating. She checked up on us regularly and we were never left waiting for attention.

Bulgogi Tukbokki - very good! the rice cakes were cooked perfectly, the marinated rib-eye were good, and the sauce was great. I think the heat was perfect for people like my wife and I who can only handle just a little bit of heat with our food.

Kimchi Jae Yook Tofu - I'm actually not a big fan of Kimchi, so I was going out of my comfort zone to order this. I'm really glad I did, because this dish was awesome. Big, hot clay dish with a small mountain of kimchi, DELICIOUS pork loins, and 4 impressively large pieces of tofu blocking each corner creating a wonderful, almost threatening dish.

Tang Soo Yook (pork) - I'm not totally sure how to feel about this one. On one hand, the portion size is enormous. I think 2 starving people would be happy eating this with no other food. The pork was perfectly cooked - light, airy crispy like you would expect from Korean Fried Chicken. The sweet and sour sauce was a little too strong for my palate, especially as we were becoming too full. Additionally, the sauce had a really bizarre texture - it was borderline gelatinous - similar to those rubber sticky hands that you would get from an old 25 cents toy dispenser. As you pulled up a piece of meat, the sauce would come with it instead of dripping.

Overall impressions? I spent a lot of money here, but I am totally satisfied by what I got. Generous portions, and delicious food.

This place is the complete opposite of our awful experience with Somaek a few nights ago in...

Prior to 2017, I had never experienced traditional Korean cuisine. That all changed when my Korean friend recommended Korean Garden Restaurant. I decided to try their Mul & Bibim Naengmyeon—cold buckwheat noodles served in beef broth and spicy sauce, respectively. It was an absolute delight! The flavors were rich and authentic, leaving me craving for more. The staff at Korean Garden were incredibly friendly and accommodating, adding to the overall enjoyable experience. Whenever I’m in the mood for exceptional Korean cuisine, Korean Garden is undoubtedly my top choice.

Below 3 pictures described with Be My Eyes:

The First image shows a dining setup on a wooden table. There is a white bowl in the center, with a pair of metal chopsticks resting on top of it. To the right of the bowl is a metal spoon with an ornate handle, placed on a white paper napkin. Underneath the bowl and utensils is a laminated menu or placemat with Korean text and the image of a green bottle, possibly soju, with the words "HAPPY" and "Hite" visible, indicating it might be an advertisement for a beverage. The overall setting suggests a Korean dining establishment.

The Second image shows a dish with thinly sliced beef and vegetables. The beef is placed on top of the vegetables, which appear to be cucumbers and possibly carrots, all sitting in a red, possibly spicy sauce. There are also some slices of what looks like pear or another type of fruit on top of the beef. The dish is served in a metal bowl.

The third image The shows a bowl of food with a shiny metal surface. In the bowl, there is a mix of ingredients. At the center, there is a whole boiled egg with its shell removed, sitting on top of the other ingredients. Surrounding the egg are thin slices of beef that appear to be cooked. There are also slices of cucumber that are cut lengthwise, and they are partially visible under the beef slices. The base of the bowl seems to be filled with a red sauce that looks spicy, and it coats some noodles that are not fully visible but can be seen underneath the other toppings. The bowl is placed on a wooden table, and there is a blurred background that suggests other items on the table, but they are not the focus...

The food was almost comedically bad; I’ve never had such awful soondubu jjigae in my life. The store bought bcd tofu house soondubu kit is infinitely better than the soondubu jjigae here. The soondubu here…… It’s DISTURBINGLY (!!!!!!!!) flavorless, barely spicy, and has an odd stale aftertaste. I cannot understate how tasteless it was. Actually, everything had an odd stale aftertaste - the garlic samgyeopsal (pork belly) barely tasted like meat it was downright sinister.

As I put the pork belly in my mouth and kept chewing I was waiting for some notion of meat to appear… no. It is almost nefarious how flavorless the pork belly was. It did, however, somewhat smell like garlic. It tasted a bit old, had that weird meat-y flavor that comes with meat thats been left in the fridge for a while. The marinated galbi was slightly less bad, but still pretty bad. The kalbi tang was extremely mediocre. Broth felt superficial in flavor, no depth, and the meat also tasted quite old. It was smelly, if you understand what I mean. The kimchi was too sweet. There were just so many things that were bad and wrong and.. flavorless.

They are only getting 2 stars instead of 1 because the service was okay - a man who was not our server noticed I dropped my chopsticks and got me a fresh pair before I even flagged someone down, which I appreciated very much! The older man at the front was also very friendly and warm. I appreciate feeling at home in a restaurant, and those two people definitely brought the warmth. Everyone else was understandably lukewarm. Unfortunately good service is no excuse for...