Jumping Spoon — Restaurant in Hercules

My accounting team and I love to grub so when we saw a new spot near work and Korean at that, it was a must try. I wasn't sure how busy they'd be for lunch so I called to inquire about making a reservation. The lady on the phone said they only accept reservations for parties of 6 and over. Um...okay first time I've encountered that but she reassured me that there would be no problem for our party of five being seated right away.

We arrived a tad earlier than lunchtime, 11:45am, and thank goodness we did. We beat the main lunch crowd and most likely "would" have had to wait for a table if we had arrived later.

Bright, airy space with high ceilings, lots of windows and nicely chosen decor. Due to the industrial type space, once it was filled with people the noise level was quite loud. Definitely not an intimate date spot, more of a get together with friends and family kind of place.

We were seated on the right side as you enter. The tables are placed close together so if the person sitting at the window needs to get up for any reason, the person next to them has to get up as well to let them out, if the table next to you has people dining.

Water is served in a plastic bottle and with metal cups for drinking out of. Our water was empty half way through the meal and never refilled. In fact, I don't recall them asking at any point if we wanted anything other to drink than water. The service was very pleasant but it felt like we were constantly flagging them down. One team member needed a fork, we asked for hot tea, we asked for extra napkins, we asked for more banchan, etc. They brought out individual small plates for us to eat off of after food was served and another oddity was for five people, they only gave us two steamed rice servings.

Am going to list the dishes in the order they were brought to our table.

Ban Chan ~ there were 7 which is limited compared to other restaurants I've been to soybean sprouts kimchi daikon macaroni salad potatoes "gamja jorim" japchae "cold noodles" spinach "sigeumchi nmul"

Kimchi Jeon $11.99 ~ kimchi pancake 4 stars - tasty Godunguh Gui $14.99 ~ grilled Mackerel 4 stars - the best dish we tried Kim Chi Fried Rice $10.99 ~ 2 stars - on the bland side Gal Bi $27.99 ~ beef short ribs 4 stars - yummy but small portion Yangnyeom Chicken $23.99 ~ deep fried chicken in a sticky, spicy red sauce - decent, sauce wasn't really sticky or spicy, messy to eat because it really required to be eaten by hand, big plus was it was a large portion

Not sure what happened with timing in the kitchen but they brought out the last dish after we were finished eating. Which frankly was fine with me because the Jap Chae was totally unlike what I was expecting. I tried it but didn't like it. The cold noodles they served as part of the Ban Chan was what we thought we were odering an entree sized serving of. This version was warm, heavy with sauce, and included beef and vegetables.

Jap Chae $13.99 - yam noodles with vegetables and beef 1 star - not what I was expecting - won't order again

I'll be back but I'll admit, I'm glad my first try was compliments of work so I know some dishes I'll definitely order and...

It has to be a ONE star because you can't post a negative 6 stars.

A couple ahead of me placed an order to go which I was going to do. Service people acted like I didn't exist. Other dine in parties got seated. 15 minutes later the I asked the couple what they had ordered. Gal bi and crispy chicken...which we noticed just got served to the 2nd party that just got seated and ordered 7 minutes earlier. The couple politely asked for their money back several times. To where restaurant employees acted like they didn't understand any english (which all of the workers spoke fluently) (what?)

30 minutes later still no food for the couple in front of me and I was still non-existent. No one has taken my order yet. So the couple still asking for their money refunded the tall Korean chubby kid said okay I'll give you a refund. He then went to the back and brought the order out and said here the food is delivered you can't give your money back...uh what? He would not budge and acted very thuggish...(found out the workers there are owners family). The thuggish childish young man said I'll call the police. The couple said okay and to where the korean young man just froze.

Another 10 minutes of the couple arguing to get a refund and finally received their money back. I still haven't been helped. So I would NOT even come back to this place and I live around this neighborhood.

So I would rather go out my way as far as San Jose and have a nice delicious meal there.

Meals here are just okay nothing to rave about and are SUPER EXPENSIVE.

AVOID at all cost not worth it at all. You've been warned.

negative 6 stars - SERVICE. 3 star - FOOD.

I'm from around the neighborhood the only reason people eat here is the only KOREAN place around and they mostly just curious. Most say they are NOT a return customer. The young people you see on YELP posting reviews on this restaurant are the owners'...

An unexpected little suprise while getting lost in Hercules. This place is big enough with plenty of TVs to watch the game.

We came in last minute to catch the last half of the semi finals and were pleased to see the game playing and sound on house speakers. If I wasnt driving, I would have ordered tons of soju and beer to enjoy with the game.

There were plenty if options of different Korean dishes, from street food to boxes to a main dishes. I ate so much that I started to get food come on the way home.

I dont know why this place is 3.5 stars, when it should be higher. Clean attentive and good food. Cheaper than eating Korean 8n Oakland and a lot cheaper than SF.

So for those of you planning to watch the game and get your drink on with some Korean food I suggest watching it here. Btw I'm from Korean sooo I'm pretty picky about my Korean food. This place...