Ondam — Restaurant in Santa Clara

tl;dr: Ondam is my new go-to place for Korean food in the Bay Area. The food is great, and the atmosphere is fun and authentic. I highly recommend that you try the Clam Kalgooksoo and any of the Sot Baps as well as the Ondam Chicken platter if you're into KFCs (the Korean kind).

I'll break up the rest of the reviews into sections, starting with my reviews about the food (because that is the most important).

About the food: We ordered four dishes total: Clam Kalgooksoo, Octopus Sot Bap, Prime Bulgogi Burger, and Ondam Chicken Platter. We really enjoyed our meal overall. The ingredients were of high quality and the portions were fairly generous, especially considering the quality.

1. Clam Kalgooksoo: Kalgooksoo is one of my favorite dishes, especially when paired with clams, and I want to say that Ondam has one of the best Kalgooksoos in the Bay Area in my opinion. I really enjoyed the flavor of the broth and the texture of the noodles in this one. The broth had a deep flavor from the clams and mussels, which were also generously portioned.

2. Octopus Sot Bap: I don't think there are many Sot Bap places in the Bay Area, so I really encourage everyone to try any of the eleven Sot Bap variants, ranging from seafood to beef to vegetarian options. We ordered the octopus variant, and we enjoyed it a lot! The edges of the rice were well sizzled and had nice crispy texture to them, and the center of the rice brought a rich flavor borrowing hints of nuttiness from various grains and sweetness from several steamed vegetables. They also provide you with a separate sauce seemingly based on soy sauce to add if you want additional saltiness. The Sot bap also comes with a classic Korean beef radish soup.

3. Prime Bulgogi Burger: To be honest, I don't know why I ordered a burger in a Korean place, but I heard a lot of good things about it, so I gave it a try. The quality of the burger was great. The buns were well oiled and buttered, and the patties were tender. The taste is pretty much a well-made juicy cheeseburger with the added flavor of bulgogi sauce drizzled onto the patties.

4. Ondam Chicken Platter: The Bay Area has a lot of Korean fried chicken places now, but Ondam's chicken platter definitely competes well amongst them. The batter is crispy, and the meat inside is tender and packed with flavor.

5. Banchan: If we're talking about a Korean restaurant, you have to also talk about banchan. The banchan options are fairly standard for a Korean restaurant. The flavors of the kimchis were pretty good and paired with the main dishes nicely. The rest of the banchans were also pretty tasty and overall of fresh quality.

About the service: I've seen existing reviews both on Google and on Yelp regarding delayed service. Ondam had already been open for a few weeks when I made my first visit, and it seems that the staff have already made a number of improvements. All of our orders arrived within 15 minutes, and we were out of the restaurant full and satisfied after about an hour. The staff were attentive, and made a few rounds to fill up our tea.

About the atmosphere: Once you enter the restaurant through the iron double doors that is quite interesting in itself, you will be met with an upscale decor with some authentic Korean elements. The interior is clean and open.

My family visited Ondam on a Monday lunch period. There were many customers at the time, but fortunately, we did not have to wait...

Ondam seems to be in its early stages (currently in its soft opening phase), and while there's a lot of potential, there are a few hurdles to navigate before it hits its stride.

The first thing that struck me was the ambiance. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and well-lit, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. It's definitely a place where you'd want to linger over a meal with friends or family. However, finding parking in the plaza proved to be a challenge. There's limited space, and you may get stuck in the parking lot because of the one-way parking route. [See my tip to avoid this hassle]

Unfortunately, Ondam doesn't take online reservations yet, which, combined with the limited seating, led to a long wait for a table. Our wait time to get seated was 20-25 minutes. After that, it took us another 20 minutes to place our order and get our food. On the bright side, the menu is extensive! From meat dishes to a wide variety of seafood options, there's something for everyone. I particularly liked that they offered both familiar and more adventurous choices.

Speaking of adventurous, my friend opted for the algoni kalguksu. This dish (noodle, pollack roe, fish intestine - you name it!) is not for the faint of heart (i.e., me). My friend liked it. I tried it, but unfortunately, I couldn't get over the fishy smell and some of the textures. Also, I found the flavor to be very mild (you can't pick your spice level for this dish). I got their bulgogi sot bap with egg yolk ($2 extra). Bulgogi was cooked well, but the rice was dry. The pork soft tofu soup had the same issue with the rice. Please note that the pork soft tofu soup contains minced pork.

My friends and I also shared an order of the ondam mini cheese tteok and ondam chicken platter. Ondam mini cheese tteok with the mozzarella and American cheese was sweeter and less chewy than expected, but it was decent. Finally, the ondam chicken platter was a crowd-pleaser, offering a generous portion of perfectly cooked chicken. It's a good appetizer to share. You get 3 flavors of boneless chicken- sweet & spicy, soy garlic, kkanpung.

While the food itself was decent, the service was a bit on the slow side (probably because of how crowded the restaurant was through out the night; partly because all the people who were waiting to get seated were all standing inside the restaurant). It seems they're still ironing out some kinks with a new staff. Overall, Ondam has the potential to be a great addition to the neighborhood. For now,...

New Korean spot in Silicone Valley K-Town Area. Ondam is currently doing a soft opening...just keep that in mind. Although I think they did a remarkably good job, there is a lot of room for improvement. Personally, I think I will skip most soft openings from now on. I reckon I'll wait till a venue is fully open, established and running smoothly before I go try it out. Therefore allowing the venue a chance to sort things out and have operations running smoothly.

Ondam was packed during our visit on a Friday evening for dinner. The waiting list wasn't efficient...just a notebook to jot down names. The column for phone numbers was crossed off, so they weren't texting you or calling you...not sure what happened. They call names out old school style. Our wait time was quoted at 40 to 50 minutes, but ended up being 1 hour and 5 minutes. There were several small parties before us, but I think they ended up leaving. They also didn't have a dish on the menu: 53 Assorted Pancake. I'm not sure if they just didn't have it or they ran out that day.

#KoreanEats:

~ Ban Chan - 3.5/5 Not a lot of Variety or unique items. I had better elsewhere. The Creamy Noodle one was interesting.

~ 9 Beef Tartare - 4/5 Simple and tasty...yet a bit scary looking. Portions were a bit on the smaller side.

~ 5 Meat Pancake - 3/5 Disappointing. I think it would be OK, if it weren't called a Pancake. We all had expectations of a Korean Pancake; Crispy and light on the outside with a hearty filling. This tasted more like a meat dumpling.

~ 48 Stir-Fried Squid - 4/5 All about the sauce. A healthy amount of Squid. I do wish it was "Fried" a bit longer for a crispier texture. Make sure you ask for a side of rice as it does not come with it.

~ 52 Ondam Oyster Bossam - 4.5/5 Hella Meat. Brilliant Presentation! Looks just like the pictures. Good amount of Pork & Oysters. Make sure you are hungry or Hangry when ordering this...

~ 58 Spicy marinated Crab - 4/5 This is a RAW Crab dish..for those that are not familiar...like half of my crew...lol. Not toO acidic, pungent or spicy, very well balanced.

I got no problem coming back...but it will be a while, after they are officially open. I reckon when they have everything up and running smoothly. Still...off to a...