Yellow Submarine — Restaurant in Virginia

I will be leaving a pure honest review covering the items I ordered, flavor, pricing, and what have you. This is not to slander, but to maybe encourage the restaurant to perform better. I have eaten Korean food from a restaurant named Sami's Korean in Yorktown with authentic Noonas and Korean grannies that work there.

Soy/Sweet Spicy Wings - 3/5

Cooked to a nice tender feeling the flesh just comes right off with a nice crunchy exterior. However, the flavors are oppressed by the amount of sesame seed oil. Sweet and Spicy are on the slightly lower end of the spectrum with maybe a slow burn with the sweetness not being over powered, but wish the gochu stood out more than the sesame seed oil. I would still buy again because they're cooked well, flavors need a bit more improvement.

Mandu - 3/5

Its standard, It's fried. However, most Mandy's suffer by not having enough flavor since it's fried and relies on the Sweet sauce too much. that means only the meat and onions in it is what you got. The exterior is a really nice crunch

Sweet beef bulgolgi - 2/5

Average,, it's cooked more to be a cheese steak with their thinly sliced pieces cooked, drying out the meat, rather than the succulent chunks of beef. The meat is very grainy and falls apart in my mouth causing a spread of unpleasant texture like I'm eating cat food.

Spicy Pork Bulgolgi - 3/5

Good for a Friday night of drinking. It's Spicy, the pork is nice a chunky. There is a sweet, smoky, and slightly spicy. The inconvenience for myself is that the paste used to flavor is noticeable and off-putting texture wise.

Spicy Sweet Beef - 1/5

With the problems of the sweet beef, but then they add pickled jalapeños. Never have seen a Korean restaurant use pickled jalapeños. Still cat food.

Spicy Korean Ramen - 3/5

It's good, but the noodles are from a supplier like shin raymun. Makes me feel I'm paying $10 for a spicy shin raymun soup for $3. They do spice it up and just because it's shin raymun doesn't mean it's bad. Its really delicious, but if they have this potential they can start from scratch rather.

It's average, but doesn't mean you shouldn't come here, but for myself I will continue to eat at Sami's Korean and won't come back here unless they improve their food. My advice is to raise the prices more for better product or experiment. Take a trip to Samis Korean if you want...

I've ordered from here twice now and have been quite pleased both times. If you're expecting 100% authentic Korean this may not be for you, but for what it is and the price point I have no complaints. The spicy pork bulgogi is great as is the yaki mandu. I found the miso soup to have a bit too strong of a sour aftertaste for me but it's still fine. On my second trip here I did a takeout order and they forgot my cheesecake. Not a major issue, I live right up the street. So I went back and he knew the issue before I even said anything and handed me the cheesecake and a Snickers bar to help make up for the gas for the extra trip. I'm not big on candy bars or chocolate in general but I gave it to someone that would appreciate it. I also got an order of soy garlic and original wings. I'm actually not a fan of breaded wings at all, but they were still quite good and I did finish them. This location was previously Mama Zeny's filipino buffet, Kaya Korean restaurant, and even before that was Tick Tock diner. There has obviously been quite a few businesses through this building, but based on the friendliness of the owner and quality of service and food, Yellow Submarine deserves to last a while. Highly recommended, especially if you're in the area and looking for something a bit different. I will certainly be returning.

EDIT: 5/2/23 Since this review 3 months ago I have been back here SEVERAL times and it is always consistently good. I basically get the same thing every time, but last time tried their chicken bulgogi instead of the spicy pork and was just as pleased. I always ask for extra of what I originally THOUGHT was some kind of zucchini gochujang mix, but the owner corrected me and explained it is just...

I debated whether or not to write a review for Yellow Submarine because I have mixed feelings about my experience here. On one hand, I love that it’s a mom-and-pop owned Korean hole-in-the-wall. The place is cozy, the music selection is great, and the food was pretty good—I ordered the Bulgogi Sub and enjoyed it.

However, I feel compelled to share my frustration with the customer service, as I believe that’s a major part of the overall restaurant experience. I placed my order online, paid in advance, and received a notification that my food was ready. I arrived about 5–10 minutes after receiving that message, only to find out my food had been given to another customer.

Mistakes happen—I get that. But what really disappointed me was how the owner handled it. When the DoorDash driver returned with my order, the owner said he would make a fresh meal, which I appreciated. But I also expressed that the mix-up had cost me my entire lunch break. Instead of showing any real concern for my situation, he gave me a quick apology and brushed it off.

What really rubbed me the wrong way was that he then turned to the DoorDash driver, apologized again, and offered her free drinks or snacks for the inconvenience. Meanwhile, I—the paying customer whose time was impacted—was offered nothing. That felt unprofessional and inconsiderate.

So while I liked the food and the vibe, I’m not sure I’ll be returning. The lack of genuine customer care really left a sour taste in what could have been a...