Yoodon — Restaurant in New York

I walked in to order takeout. I was a bit put off that the lady - very nice, but curt, seemed intimidated by my hulking presence of 5'6" 175lbs. I was hoping she wouldn't run away. No one else was there in the dining room. It was just the two of us on a Friday afternoon in broad daylight, 5/3/24. I got the fried pork and asked for noodles instead of rice... "NO CAN DO!" (My words, not hers, but the result is the same.) So, I went with what they wanted me to eat instead of what I would have liked, and settled for the rice. I would have happily paid a little more for the substitution, and being I was the only one there my guess is they were no too slammed to accommodate my request. It was simply a steadfast rule of some sort, but the perfect opportunity for her to upsell me. Anyway, the pork was OK and came with a sauce, a salad and soup, which were also OK, and rice is rice - white rice, nothing special. That said, I'm prolly not gonna give them a second shot, although the Yoodon Cheeseburger looked like a great idea. But I would have wanted it without cheese. Perhaps that too would have been a "NO CAN DO?" Again, my...

I had to try Yoodon based on the stellar ratings. Some dishes I ordered based on the staff’s selection which included the Yoodon kimbab and Yoodon burger. The Yoodon kimbab is delicious. Cooked with fresh vegetables and pre-packed shrimp meat, the outside is fried giving the kimbab a crunchy texture. Overall, everything was nicely balanced topped with a brown sauce that gave it a slight sweetness. I would reorder the Yoodon kimbab. The Yoodon burger was very big. It came with fries and a side salad that was topped with shredded mozzarella cheese and ketchup. The burger was mediocre. Not something I would reorder. I could barely taste the meat even though it was a decent size. The pork cutlet Katsu was also just all right. Pork was over cooked in my opinion and also topped with the brown sauce giving the pork cutlet a sweet flavor. It came with a side salad as well ... with ketchup to top. Lastly, the shrimp tempura udon; soup is tasty, not too oily, and shrimp tempura was more tempura than shrimp though. I wouldn’t mind reordering the udon but I think I would try a different kind. I will come back to try other...

I happened to be in the area and was looking for something to eat when we came across Yoodon on Google. We decided to give it a try, and I’m so glad we did! This small, hole-in-the-wall spot truly delivers big on flavor.

The food here is absolutely delicious and packed with flavor. We tried the chicken stir fry, the spicy shrimp tempura kimbap, and the chicken cutlet—all absolutely amazing. The chicken ramen was also rich, flavorful, and comforting. Honestly, I can’t even pick a favorite dish because everything was so good!

The lady at the front was so sweet and welcoming, which gave the place a lovely, family-owned vibe. For the quality of the food, the prices are really reasonable.

This spot is more of a grab-and-go kind of place, even though they have seating available—it’s a bit small for dining in, but perfect for takeout. I’ll definitely be back the next time I’m in the area....