Mom's Tofu House — Restaurant in South San Francisco

This place has the most authentic South Korean food you can find in San Francisco. A hidden gem in a plaza underground right across from a Korean church, you would probably miss it if you are just driving by.

The soul of a Korean restaurant is their Kimchi. If their kimchi doesn’t taste good, their dish wouldn’t do any better. Mom’s tofu offered a variety of 6 different kinds of kimchi after offering a small bowl of creamy corn soup as an appetizer. The kimchi are made from vegetables that you would normally find in a Korean restaurant in South Korea such as bean sprouts, spinach, and fish cake.

Their utensils were wrapped in a paper wrapper with Korean writings on it, very clean and neat. They specialize in tofu and the tofu stew came in a variety such as beef, combination, seafood, and pork. Normally, the stew is spicy but you get to choose your spicy level.

The sizzling pot of tofu stew came with a bowl of purple rice that will fill you up for sure. We also ordered a fry tofu, the tofu was freshly fried and it came with a honey mustard sauce which was delicious.

I saw some reviews complaining about the server’s service but I think it is just a culture difference between Americans and Koreans since this is the same kind of service I received when I was in Busan and Seoul. The meal ended with a free small cup of sweet pumpkin rice soup as dessert and the server guy offered an extra cup to my husband upon request. I would give a 4 stars for customer service which you cannot complain if they offered you...

I went to Mom's tofu house before at its previous location in south city as well as the millbrae location. While both times weren't great visits, I was stunned by my visit to the recent opening of this new location. It's located downstairs in the building, with a long interior with lots of tables. We ordered the spicy chicken wings, japchae, seafood pancake, and bulgogi tofu soup (under mom's favorites, not spicy tofu soup). The sides came out really quick and our food soon after. The chicken wings weren't too spicy but still had a nice flavor to them. The japchae was probably my favorite as you could taste the quality of the dish. The seafood pancake was huge and had a wide variety of seafood in it. Unfortunately, we were unimpressed by the bulgogi tofu soup. The waitress had mentioned it wasn't going to be the same as the usual tofu soup, but we understood that. What we were more disappointed about was that we had expected something similar to the photo in the menu, but the dish did not resemble it at all. I think we would have rather had gotten a regular tofu soup at that point. The prices of these dishes are also a lot more than most korean restaurants. However, the quality of most of their dishes are really high. While I would probably come again, I would not order the bulgogi...

Mom's Tofu House is a small little Korean restaurant tucked away on Grand Ave...with some great Korean dishes!

I usually come here during my lunch break from work, and as long as you get there before noon, you'll be able to get a seat and a table without a wait. Once the clock strikes noon however, the people from the surrounding areas start trickling in, and before you know it, you're hit with a mass of people on their lunch break, all waiting for a seat and table. If you get there after noon, you might have to wait a bit before getting a table.

The best part about this place is that the mini Korean side dishes (kimchi, fish cake, salad, potatoes, etc.) are all placed together in a side bar area. This side bar area is self serve and you can refill your own plate as many times as you want.

Along with the unlimited side dishes, I usually also order a spicy beef soon dubu (beef tofu soup) which comes with an egg (crack it open and throw it in your soup) and a small bowl of steamed white rice. There are 5 levels of spiciness, and I find the 4th level (spicy) to be the most optimal. Anything more than the 4th level is too spicy to be enjoyable.

Prices are relatively cheap (as far as Korean places go), and the service is quick and friendly.

I would definitely recommend this...