Seoul Tofu House — Restaurant in Federal Way

Disappointing Experience – Poor Service and Unprofessional Behavior

I rarely leave negative reviews, but my experience at this restaurant was so unpleasant that I feel it's important to share it for the benefit of others considering a visit. Sadly, this was one of the worst dining experiences I've had.

I stopped by on a whim, as I was in the area for business and wanted to try something new. I mentioned to the waiter that it was my first time dining here, hoping to get some guidance.

Confusing and Unclear Service

My first red flag came when I was served several side dishes without any clarification. I was expecting the "Bean Paste Tofu" dish, but the sides included fish items, which threw me off. I asked the waiter for clarification—specifically whether the side dishes were part of the tofu meal—and he curtly responded, "I already told you tofu is coming!" and walked away without further explanation. This was a simple question, and his dismissive tone was unnecessary.

Abrupt and Unfriendly Interaction

When my main dish finally arrived, I asked the waiter how the meal was typically eaten, as it was my first time ordering this. Again, his response was short and condescending, telling me not to mix the sides with the main dish and leaving the table quickly. I felt uncomfortable and unwelcome, as if I was inconveniencing him by asking for basic guidance.

Unnecessary Aggression Over To-Go Boxes

As I was eating and realized I needed to leave soon, I flagged down the waiter to request a to-go box. This is where the situation escalated. When I asked for a box, a female staff member (perhaps the owner or his wife) came over and, in a loud and aggressive tone, demanded, "How many boxes?" When I hesitated, trying to figure out how much food I had left, they continued to pressure me, stating that the side dishes were "free" and that customers typically don't take them home. I was confused—I'm paying for the entire I can't take certain portions home?! The staff continued to speak to me in a rude and impatient manner, which made the whole experience uncomfortable.

Unprofessional Payment Interaction

At the register, the frustration continued. I had difficulty navigating the payment system, and when I asked the waiter for assistance, he barked at me to simply "tap, tap!" when using the card machine. When I finished, he yelled at me for not leaving a tip. I was stunned—after the disrespectful treatment I received, it was hard to imagine leaving a tip for such poor service.

Cultural and Racial Concerns

I also couldn’t help but notice that I was the only non-Korean customer in the restaurant, and I felt the staff's tone and demeanor were noticeably different when speaking to me compared to other patrons. While I can't speak for every interaction, I left feeling that I was treated with less courtesy simply because of my race and lack of fluency in Korean.

Conclusion

Overall, I cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone. The poor service, unprofessional behavior, and lack of basic courtesy made my visit uncomfortable and frustrating. I was hoping for a pleasant dining experience, but instead, I left bewildered and disappointed. I suggest that the owner and staff reevaluate their approach to customer service. Treating customers with respect should be a basic standard, no matter their background or how many times they've visited.

I won’t be returning to this restaurant, nor will I be recommending it to my friends, family, or colleagues. There are many other places in the area that offer both quality food and excellent service, which is what any...

It can be easy to overlook Seoul Tofu House amidst the sea of other Korean restaurants in the area. Don’t be fooled by the unassuming name, as this place is a gem. When you first walk in, you are transported to a street in Seoul, with traditional roof tiling decorations on either side above benches occupied by lively Jinro Soju frog mascots, seemingly conversing with each other. As you walk past the cheery frogs, you arrive at the main dining hall, a grounding experience as your eyes meet the soft colors of wood and botany, contrasted with an inviting curiosity invoked by a refrigerated display of various banchan available for wholesale.

I was seated right away, and the service was outstanding. I ordered the bean paste tofu soup - was pleasantly surprised to have rice come in a hot stone bowl (a way of serving rice that I have not seen from some of the surrounding restaurants). And when the rice didn’t seem crisp enough, I was brought a whole other hot stone bowl filled with rice, crunchy from char on the bottom, just as intended. The selection of banchan was great: kimchi (not too sour, aged just long enough), fishcake, bean sprouts, spinach, seaweed with a gochujang dressing, fried mackerel. A nice seasonal addition was also acorn jelly with a soy-red pepper flake dressing.

Finally came out the main course - the bean paste tofu soup. Great ratio of vegetables to tofu to soup. Perfectly seasoned and balanced. What a surprise too, when I was offered a bib to protect my business clothing while I ate! Impeccable service.

From the transportive decor, amazing food, and astute attention to customers, do not pass up the opportunity to try Seoul Tofu House. You will be...

Watch out for this place, they will rip you off with not only their expensive food menu pricing, but also in other sneaky and dishonest ways. The waitress tries to act dumb or pretends to not understand English. We asked her do you have fried rice? She replied with "No". We asked her do you have Sprite? She said "No". When we looked at the menu again, we saw that they were both clearly listed there on the menu. They also got our orders wrong. We ordered one bulgogi combo and one short rib galbi combo. They brought out two short rib orders. Both portions were extremely small and barely gave you any meat. Almost 80 bucks for hardly any meat. Food quality was just ok, about the same that you could find at any dozens of other Korean stores around the Federal Way and Lakewood area. When we went to go pay, they manually added on the tip charge fee specifically on purpose when we only had FOUR people in our party, not five or six! They definitely cheated and overcharged us for that. Overall it was a terrible experience and would NOT recommend this place. Be sure to look at the menu prices before even coming here, watch out carefully because it seems like they try all the sneaky tricks and tactics to rip you off and take advantage of you. I've seen other Korean restaurants in the Federal Way area where they will automatically charge you a tip fee AND leave a blank tip line on the receipt without telling you to try to fool you into tipping even more money...