Hodori — Restaurant in Mesa

First of all, thank you so much to our amazing Server, Jun, who’s a genuinely kind, attentive, quiet professional. We appreciate you going above and beyond, and providing outstanding, memorable service. You inspired this 5 ⭐️ review. 🙂

We ordered our favorite Soon Tofu Combo, and as usual, we thoroughly enJOYed the mouthwatering, delicious meals. 😋

Hodori’s spicy pork dish is one of the top, two BEST we’ve had throughout the world, to include South Korea.

The flavor is so savory, that just thinking about it makes my mouth water 😛; and they seemed to have marinated the meat well, since it’s very tender and juicy.

Plus, the sauce has a perfect amount of ingredients that’s NOT too salty, sweet, or overly seasoned; and the grilled, BBQ flavor is a BIG bonus.

We’ve had spicy pork at many other Korean restaurants, and theirs is surprisingly even better than a lot of Korean BBQ restaurants (to include the most expensive one in Phoenix, which is a bit too sweet).

Their Soon Tofu soups are very flavorful and refreshing, and you can choose your level of spiciness.

We both love spicy foods, but I usually stick with “spicy” or “very spicy”—since the next, spiciest level, “EXTRA SPICY” is 😳🥵😵—and he usually chooses the regular spice level, so that we don’t end up 😩😭 the next morning on the 🚽😅.

I prefer the Hodori Special, mixed seafood, or the two kimchi versions of this soup, and my former husband/now partner prefers the one with sausage and ham.

The side dishes are overall decent, but the cucumber 🥒 kimchi and stir fried zucchini are tasty.

I like their hot, barley tea 🫖, but for dinner, I also enjoy the ginseng soju they have—which isn’t a strong, rubbing alcohol smell and flavor like regular soju 😬—but smooth and pleasant.

We started eating at this restaurant since 6 or 7 years ago, but became regulars the past couple of years due to service slowly and then gradually improving.

Jun, is hands down THE BEST Server we’ve experienced, who we’ve noticed provides excellent customer service to everyone, and not just us.

And this is rare no matter what restaurant you visit—especially during super busy hours, like yesterday (Saturday)—because it’s NOT easy to multitask AND Be awesome.

We hope other customers also deeply appreciate seemingly rare, memorable service, and share BIG tips as well (it’s NOT an easy job).

The ambience could use a renovation, but it’s like a mom and pops restaurant that serves great food, so this can be overlooked.

Plus, it’s spacious and comfortable, and general cleanliness and delicious food is what matters the most to us, following good service.

Granted, the restrooms haven’t been impressive, but we normally just use it to wash our hands. Hopefully they’ll upgrade.

We will continue to recommend this restaurant to those we know, who also reside in Sedona, and/or frequently visit...

I thought I'd be excited for "Nakji Bokum" (spiced seared octopus) prior to discovering list item: "Eun Daegu Jorim"- the prized North Pacific black cod. Yes, you read correctly; black cod. For those unbeknownst, black cod differentiates itself from standard cod filets via its velvety texture and buttery flavor. It's rare, and considered highly unusual to find a venue that serves black cod, as its supply is largely outsourced to the Japanese. Ladies & Gentlemen, I made it a point to compare & contrast two separate visits to Hodori due to list items; "Nakji Bokum" (spiced seared octopus) & "Dongtae Un Tang" (spiced pollack soup). With that being said, a third visit is in the making detailing the glory of Eun Daegu Jorim. Continue reading...

Reference points for this review include but are not limited to; Kim's Oriental; Ha Ahn; Korea House; Miega Korean BBQ: (Clevelands' Asiatown) & Hangari Kalguksu: (Los Angeles' Koreatown.) Both cities, providing solid ethnic representations of mainland cooking techniques.

Both orders commencing this review were placed via UberEats- a delivery platform providing reasonably priced delivery and venue discovery for those interested in broadening their palettes. Through the use of UberEats, I discovered Hodori- offering traditional South Korean fare at a moderate/high price point. From what I've gathered, price points reflect import rates. Quail eggs, black cod, monk fish & other misc. line the entrée list, with other South Korean staples listed in misc. You'll be hard pressed to find competitors offering above mentioned entreé selections elsewhere in The Greater Phoenix Area.

Understandable, but at a moderate/high price point, portion sizes left much to be desired. Are you interested in the "Nakji Bokum" entreé I referenced earlier? Most entreés, including "Eun Daegu Jorim" are pricelisted starting at $29.95. An expensive takeout, or a reasonable date night. Your pick. With that being said, Hodori contains a plethora of exotic list items and are prepared with traditional cooking methods. All orders arrive standard with kimchi, quail eggs, broccoli salad, pickled spiced cucumbers & rice. If you are like me, and looking to get your hands on an exotic takeout- Hodori is an excellent choice; succeeding in broad spectrum import availability.

Flavor combinations pertaining to other misc. categories were underwhelming. Price points were both grossly misaligned & borderline bogus. It is important to keep in mind that flavor profiles vary by region when considering international cuisine. However, classic dishes that remain staples in South Korea use baseline recipes. Haemul Pajeon? Think; mashed potatoes. With that being said, I recommend staying within the entreé categories and reconsider misc. orders in order to minimize price-point/value...

We visited here because of the good reviews. We enjoyed the first three dishes and we were happy to taste good food here. We then ordered bulgogi and found it was a little overcooked and burnt. I can even smell the burning smell. We told the server and she said it was their style and she said she could remove it though she looked mad and told us not to order it again . They did not offer us redoing the meal so everyone was still hungry and upset about their service.

Then a man came and argued with us saying we might not want it because we were already full. That’s not true ! We were so shocked he just wanted to humiliate and embarrass us and made things even awkward.

We told him we don’t have burnt bulgogi in other Korean restaurants and he even asked which Korean restaurant we went before and warned us not to do it again. We won’t come back again because of his rudeness . We will not recommend it to our friends either. He does not care about what the customer think and get mad with complaints.

Actually We even didn’t get the basic service in the restaurant. After we were seated and served with water, we waited for like 10 minutes but no one came. After the food was served, no one came to ask how was everything.

It is always awkward to speak up while we are not happy with the food, but those restaurants we went are so friendly to fix the problem and we tip them well to show our appreciation. This is definitely the worst dining experience we ever had so far. You should apologize to us for accusing us not wanting it because you think...