Seoul Bistro — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The food is excellent if you live in a city that doesn't have a massive Korean American population and 600+ Korean restaurants. Of course, none of those restaurants are Korean + Japanese + Karaoke + "Titanic" movie-themed.

At Seoul Bistro, where "Titanic" reigns supreme and Celine Dion's "heart goes on," my mind was asking 'What the hell is this?'

My girlfriend really loved her galbi-tang. Star earned. Service was polite and mostly efficient. Second star earned. But here's where the Titanic - err, Seoul Bistro hits an iceberg:

Our veggie jeon was raw and mushy - hard to eat and flavorless. Same with my veggie soontofu: The chef must have thought it was clever just to add more spice to mask its blandness. Like Leonardo DiCaprio's character Jack, he must have thought he was 'king of the world' with that move.

But Seoul Bistro turned into Billy Zane's evil character Cal Hockley when they automatically added gratuity to our bill. Plenty of places do that for understandable reasons - e.g., for parties of six or more. But we were just two people. OK fine whatever.

The real issue? Just like Cal's dishonesty - when he pretends to have a child in his arms to steal a lifeboat spot - Seoul Bistro HIDES the fact that they've added gratuity. No hand-written circle, no friendly "thank you" next to the gratuity line. No indication whatsoever. In fact, when they hand you the bill, they fold the customer copy over restaurant's copy, conveniently covering the part where is shows gratuity was added. Sneaky move, right?

If you're not careful, you'll be throwing your blue diamond neckless - ugh, damn you, Rose - I mean, your hard-earned money on some soup that looks Korean but tastes like the landing spot of the Titanic itself: the North Atlantic Ocean. Maybe Seoul Bistro's theme should be another hit from 1997: "Liar, Liar."

Anyhow, with all the incredible Korean restaurants in the LA area, this one isn't worth settling for. Celine's Dion's heart goes on- and I say move on from...

I had passed by Seoul Bistro a few times but never went in because I wasn’t familiar with Korean food. I’m glad I finally did because this place completely changed my mind. Everything was fresh, hot, and flavorful, and the staff made the whole experience easy and welcoming.

We ordered the beef bulgogi bowl, rose ddukbokki (the cheesy pasta dish I had seen on Instagram/TikTok), and the sweet and spicy Korean fried chicken. All three were excellent. The bulgogi was tender and well seasoned, the cheesy ddukbokki was creamy, rich, and addictive, and the chicken had a great crunch with just the right amount of heat. They even give you gloves to handle it, which was a fun touch. Portion sizes are generous and perfect for sharing, we left with leftovers.

The atmosphere was relaxed with Korean music in the background, and there’s a call button at the table for service, which was really convenient. It seems to be very popular for takeout too, since I noticed a steady stream of delivery drivers picking up orders. Prices are reasonable for the quality and portions, and while they do add gratuity for dine-in, I thought it was fair given the service.

Overall, Seoul Bistro is a gem in Studio City. It’s approachable even if you’re new to Korean food, and the flavors really deliver. The 4.6 rating is well deserved, and I’ll definitely be...

Me and my friend chose this place randomly as we were craving tteok-bokki and it was nearby. As we were looking at the menu from outside out of curiosity, a kind man welcomed us in. We were a bit hesitant about the tteok -bokki as we’ve had sweeter sauces that we were not fans of. When we tried the sauce from this restaurant, we knew instantly that this would be our go-to spot ! We then ordered the k-chicken (sweet and spicy), it arrived freshly fried and hot. We waited a couple of minutes as it needed to cool down and when we took the first bite we knew that it was made for us. I would 100% recommend this place and it seems to be ran by a family as well. The kind old man who opened the door for us was so sweet and brought us gloves to eat the chicken with. 100% will try to go...