Seoul Tofu House — Restaurant in Honolulu

My husband and I were staying at the Laylow hotel which is surrounded by restaurants that usually have long lines, but surprisingly Seoul Tofu house didn’t, even though it turned out to be our favorite place that we ate at on the whole island. We had the short ribs, green onion pancakes and the chicken katsu two nights of our stay. The jeon pancakes were delightful because usually when we order this we get one large cut pancake but the small discs packed more flavor and really made it a comfort food with the crispy edges, savory inside and delicious sauce. The katsu was perfectly crisped, balanced breading, juicy chicken and came with a flavorful white dip we don’t usually see at our local restaurants. Our favorite were the Kalbi short ribs, which were the best short ribs we’ve had in a long time (my husband is still dreaming of them). Perfectly marinated and grilled quality pieces of meat. We also really enjoyed the side dishes and loved how the macaroni banchan paired so well with the rice, kimchi and Kalbi. We did takeaway both times since we stayed right above the restaurant; seriously nothing beats eating short ribs in bed (especially if you pick up some peach soju from Mitsuwa marketplace next door). Hands down I’d recommend Seoul Tofu house over any of the other local spots, skip the line and...

I was craving Korean food and it was only an 8 minute walk from Hilton Waikiki so I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised, it was very good and hit the spot!!! I didn’t expect it to taste like it does in LA or Korea so I wasn’t disappointed. My mom and I got there around 3pm for a late lunch. We were greeted by a friendly gentleman who seated us and took our order. We were the only customers at the time which made me a little nervous but it was an odd time.

My mom ordered the seafood soondubu and I ordered the kimchi soondubu (w/ pork). The waiter said that their soups were spicy so I had to ask, Korean spicy or Hawaiian spicy? He said Korean spicy so I got my mom the mild and I got the regular; both were good to our taste.

I don’t think they use the silken (soft) soondubu they use in traditional restaurants, instead maybe a medium firm. I’m guessing it’s due to availability which is no biggie. The kimchi soondubu had large chunks of kimchi and pork whereas I’m used too seeing smaller pieces in soups, still tasted great! The kimchi was a bit overly fermented both in the soup and the banchan but again, it was still very good. When back in Waikiki I will...

This.

If I could, I would give it 6 stars. I have homemade Korean food all the time, but this restaurant single handedly blew me out of the water. Dare I say I like this even better than the soontubu houses in Korea Town, LA.

Why? The silky broth, slightly creamy, thicker viscosity than what I'm used to was so spectacular. I love that there was a single large shrimp at the bottom, beautiful meats, great rich that's what the flavors of that broth. Exquisite.

My combo came with some kalbi, and banchan.

Those were super good, I'm usually not impressed with store kimchi but I enjoyed their offerings.

Comfortable price too.

It was in a cozy little restaurant.

The servers were really helpful, and nice.

I know this is not going to be popular, but out all of the mixed plates that I had, the fresh fish, poke... this was the most exciting dish I have had in Honolulu thus far, as a first time visitor.

I admit I am biased, because I'm a soup guy.

If soup is your thing, and you're familiar with spicy tofu soup or soontubu, check...