Oshio — Restaurant in Chico

If you never had food from here before - make sure you call ahead to order, because you will not be able order at the window. Our first time here and we were greeted with a "call to order" sign.

We attempted to order in the parking lot an hour before closing which personally i think its enough to fulfill an order especially if its not a traditional restaurant. But the lady was not happy and said she was very busy and seemed VERY hesitant about taking our orders assumingly because she was talking to other staff in the back during the phone most likely contemplating with them. She did offer to take our orders anyway and we proceeded to tell her what we wanted. She asked what kind of meat we wanted on the first thing we ordered. We chose what meat we wanted on the selection but then she declined right after and said that she can not fulfill that selection because it was too late to cook that specific meat.

While i understand and try to be considerate of business operating times as i do try to be mindful of closing times because i know what its like working in the restaurant industry. If they ran out of a certain ingredient, thats understandable. But please do not provide an option and then decline right after and say you will not do it even though you have just asked if we want either or.

Not a very tasteful first time experience. We decided not to order any thing after that conversation because i did not want to continue to hear her pick and choose what items on her menu she wants to prepare. I have no doubt they offer some yummy food. But hopefully there will be another time i will consider this...

Maybe before talking smack about your customers in front of them, confirm that they don’t understand Korean? 저는 한국에서 15년 살았어요… (I lived in Korea for 15 years) and moved back to the US last year. My (Korean) wife and I passed by Chico as a pit stop from Lassen Volcanic NP and she was craving Korean food. We stopped and I ordered for her as I was still thinking about what to get. Immediately, the ajumma making the food starts talking smack about me not ordering. I responded (in Korean) that I was still thinking, but she ignored me (or didn’t head… I was loud enough though). Anyways we ordered bibimbap and mandu and she’s cussing up a storm the whole time. After we’ve been there a bit, and finishing up, she starts talking smack about how we are just “on our phones” and essentially being bad customers. We were there no more than 30 mins, but that’s besides the point. For what it’s worth, the young lady at the counter (her daughter) was quite nice and trying to calm down mom’s lunacy. I would feel she was 2nd hand embarrassed telling her not to act out in front of customers.

The food was okay but way overpriced. 17 for vegeterian bibimbap is absurd. Mandu seems like the frozen kind but 9 bucks is also way too expensive. It costs like 1/8 that to make. I don’t live in Chico but if I did, I wouldn’t ever bother...

Truly a five star food experience. The woman at the counter was very helpful explaining all the dishes, but what really made this experience great was the food! We ordered a beef bibimbap which came with a friend egg and colorful vegetables on a white rice bed. Seasoning and textures merged together beautifully in a somewhat bittersweet fashion as mixing together the ingredients absolved the once visually tantalizing presentation of the bowl. We also received a chicken kimbap roll. I had yet to experience a roll of sorts containing non-marine, "land meat" which actually faired better than expected. The roll slices had a freshness to it and a memorable color palette. The roll itself was a little on the bland side but paired with the kimchi which we also ordered amped it up a notch. The kimchi, to my palette, did not seem actually "fermented" but the flavors were so on point it didn't really matter. Oh and the crunch 👌🤤...

We said thank you on our way out to one of the cooks who was charmingly gracious and grateful in response to our thankfulness. Overall it was not a perfect experience but I do not expect that as someone in the food service/hospitality industry. A five star experience nonetheless. Well worth returning or recommending to locals or people...