The Stone Korean Tofu House — Restaurant in Mesa

I used to love this place and have even recommended it to several friends and family, but honestly not anymore. It’s a shame because it’s a cute spot and they always play kpop which I loved. But any vegans or vegetarians, beware, their “vegetarian” menu is a straight up lie and it seems like most of the staff don’t know or just don’t understand what vegan / vegetarian is. I’ve been eating here for over a year and ALWAYS mention that I’m vegan and ask for vegan sides like no hard boiled eggs. There have been a few slips ups - one time they brought out fish as a side. If an order is off the vegetarian menu why are non veg sides even being given to the table at all? Whatever, accidents happen.

Two says ago my boyfriend and I came in and ordered our usuals and wanted the vegan sides as usual and explained we were vegan -AS USUAL- and extra kimchi. That’s when the waitress told me ALL of the kimchi and all sides except the broccoli and red cabbage have FISH OIL IN IT. MIND YOU ON THE VEGETARIAN MENU THE HAVE A “ KIMCHI BIBIMBAP”. FISH OIL IS NOT VEGETARIAN. And again we told them EVERY TIME and after a year someone finally informs us of this? So absolutely disappointing. You're literally lying to vegans and vegetarians. I don't know if it’s about profit or you’re really that ignorant, but as a BUSINESS it’s unacceptable either way. Fix your menu. Stop lying. We will never be back and I will tell anyone I know not to trust this establishment at all. You should be ashamed at the level of negligence and how unknowledgeable your staff are.

And we still tipped $10 on...

Delicious, high quality, charming decor, and a wonderful host. I refer to our server as my sweet grandma because she clearly enjoyed introducing me to the menu and helped select our meal. I knew for a fact if I wasn't enjoying the meal the way it was meant to be, she would stop by with little tips about this or that. And she did! You have to crack the egg into the soup right away while it's still boiling to cook it best. Then you can spoon the soup over the rice to enjoy both while letting the boiling soup cool slightly and not burn your tongue. She is very proud of their rice and they have a fantastical wall of machinery to cook it in single servings. You can request over cooking the rice a little bit to sear/burn the bottom layer which you then turn into a hard rice cake kind of thing (grandma helped with this too haha). While the egg if cooking and the soup is cooling, we enjoyed the sampler platter appetizer plate thing with various garnishes like fish, potato salad, pickled veggies, and other things I don't know but it was all fun. It's like their equivalent of chips and salsa I suppose, but a little more filling. Oh and the water was very obviously not tap water, perhaps filtered, and a really nice surprise. It was served in a bottle with a narrow neck so the ice wouldn't splash into the stainless steel cup (stainless everything actually, really pretty).

Anyhow, very high quality in every way and well worth the slight premium for a simple lunch. Certainly going...

Ohhh! That was a good one. Very good one. 2nd time and still a winner. I was taken for lunch here by my boss, who is a very proud South Korean. This time, I went out for dinner with my wife and a couple we love so much. They are crazy about anything Asian and so do we. The restaurant is located in an industrial/semi-not safe area, and they recommend you to keep your car clean of anything valuable.. but once you step in that electric sliding door, it feels like going through a magic mirror. The place is not huge, but it definitely gives you the feeling of a Korean place, beautifully designed and welcoming. The team is very nice and will guide you through the options they have. We started with the vegetable pancake and moved to the main dishes. We shared the big seafood pot, which is a nice experience by itself, the short ribs, spicy chicken, and the beef bowl. everything was very delicious, hot, fresh and makes you want to eat more and more. The spiciness level was too mild for us, so we added some sauce. they have 2 types, the one they give to everyone and the one you need to ask for specifically. The latter is too hot and dangerous, but we all liked it in some way. We also took their Korean beer. They have 2 options, both of which are very light beer, which I will probably skip next time. That was a loaded dinner that ended up at about $35 each. It's surprisingly fair. Very...