Mashita Galbi Jjim — Restaurant in San Francisco

I visited Mashita Galbi Jjim on a Sunday evening around 6 PM with a party of four, and to my surprise, there was no wait—we were seated right away. With only two staff members working the floor, the restaurant still managed a steady rhythm of service. The space itself is inviting, with a high ceiling that makes it feel airy, a clean bathroom (always a plus), and a generally cozy environment that sets the stage for a comfortable meal.

For food, we ordered two dishes: the pork tonkatsu and their signature galbi jjim. The tonkatsu arrived quickly, golden and crispy, delivering the kind of satisfying crunch and savory bite you’d expect from a well-executed cutlet. The galbi jjim, however, was a different story. It took about 30 minutes to reach our table, which seems to be the norm based on observing other tables. While the wait did build anticipation, it also disrupted the pacing of the meal. When it did arrive, the flavors were solid—rich, hearty, and braised with care—but not quite at the level of depth or complexity I’ve had elsewhere. Personally, I still prefer Daeho’s version, which leans more memorable in both flavor and overall experience.

Service was professional and efficient given the limited staff, though not particularly warm or engaging. It felt more functional than personal, but everything we needed was taken care of without issue.

In terms of ambiance, Mashita balances casual comfort with a slightly polished feel, making it a nice spot for a relaxed meal with friends or family.

Value-wise, the restaurant is fairly priced for the quality and portion sizes. While the food is solid and the dining experience smooth overall, I didn’t find it compelling enough to make this my go-to spot for galbi jjim.

Final verdict: 4/5. A reliable option with cozy ambiance and decent execution, but not quite distinctive enough to stand out in a city with strong...

I got my food take out.

I got the garlic noodles with chicken and the sweet spicy crunchy chicken wings.

Bonus kimchi, noodle, spinach?seaweed? dish It was divided in to 4 seperate servings.

Both main dishes were utterly delicious. If it we're an endless bowl, I'm pretty sure I would kept eating the garlic noodles until I keeled over and died. I never wanted the flavor to end.

The bonus dish was a nice little change of pace as the garlic noodles were a bit spicy so I was grateful for the change of pace every now and again.

The wings, oh man, THE WINGS! Mega crunch city, flavor bombs, and generous size. Not sure where they source the actual meat from but they were huge. The flavor was not dissimilar to gochujang but I'm not 100 percent sure it was gochujang. The texture was 10/10 ultimate crunch with juicy tender meat underneath.

A couple of other bonus points. 1. The packaging. They heat shrink wrap their to go dishes so when I finally got to sit down and eat it, the food was still piping hot. A small but important detail to me.

The Lady at the counter seemed stern and down to business, but was...

Korean restaurant on Polk St for Galbijjim. The star is the short rib stew, it comes with rice cakes, cheese and noods. The meat is tender and flavorful and off the bone. We initially thought the portions were smaller than Daeho but without bones, it’s a lot of meat. Don’t skip their other dishes, garlic chicken noodles, dumplings and fried chicken were all very good. The Banchan was pretty standard. Luckily we made reservations, a Thursday night yet it filled up quickly. If you are in the mood for Galbijjim this is a great option. Service was friendly but slowed as they got busy, a little understaffed at this point. Maybe they didn’t anticipate being this busy! Recommend checking them out! The place is on the small side so reservations...