I am Korean and grew up eating Korean food… I was really looking forward to trying this place due to the high rating but left severely confused because it was such a let down from the very first dish to the last. Let’s just say this was a disgrace to korean food lol… for some reason this place is on the michelin guide but it’s actually so mid and lacking.
My partner and I went for valentine’s day and we were severely disappointed so we needed a redemption meal… overall, I thought it was:
- lacking in flavor - lacking in service - lacking in creativity - legitimately didn’t even meet the basic standard of a generic korean food…
some things we got: - tomato kimchi salad (i get what they were trying to do but it was so sharp and pungent and the tomatoes were hard) - beef tartare (the only thing that tasted decent but still the beef was stringy. the seaweed was actually nice and crisp tho) - mulhwae noodle (so odd… the noodle didnt mix well with the cold soup/sauce and the raw fish was a weird addition - and yes I know what this dish is supposed to be and I’ve had it before) - fried chicken (i’ve had better fried chicken at san tung and other hole in the wall places sigh) - miso marinated pork (tough, bland, boring and miso is not even korean)
if you appreciate korean food, don’t go here. go support your local vendors and hole in the wall spots! do yourself a favor and please go to Mugoboka or Daeho or even the takeout kimbap from Woori market, the grocery store next door would have more flavor than this. For the price I paid, I expected better than this…
I never leave reviews but sharing so you don’t make the same mistake…! especially if you actually know and enjoy Korean flavors and are expecting a “wow” experience, you won’t get it here.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Tianhui Y
An elevated Korean dining experience.
Was really excited for the Uni Scallop Toast but was unfortunately disappointed in the uni taste - it wasn’t very fresh. However, the Mulhwae Noodle and Chicken Bao was delicious - fresh and savoury.
For entrees, we got the Galbi Steak and Jang Cream pasta. The steak was tender, juicy and flavourful. The pasta, on the other hand, tasted very bland and not as creamy as we were expecting it to be. It tasted like a very ordinary pasta anyone can make in their kitchen - it was pretty disappointing.
The service and atmosphere of the restaurant was great. Servers followed up with us on the courses pretty frequently and the ambience was nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Felix Wang
Good food but quite expensive. Uni scallop toast, mulhwe noodle, and kimchi fried rice were all great. Galbi was not good.
6/10
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Pam V.
This place is a must-go for a delicious and modern take on Korean cuisine. We had 3 people sharing 6 plates for dinner (4 small and 2 large) which was just enough food for dinner. The cocktails were also all great and just the right balance of flavors. The dishes that stood out the most were the sunchoke & truffle, soy glazed potatoes, and the radish kimchi fried rice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Mulhwe, Jang Cream Pasta, Radish Kimchi Fried Rice with Braised Pork
Charlie Lee
I stopped by in the evening while on a business trip to San Francisco. It was expensive because it was covered by travel expenses, but even though I didn't have to worry about the price, I was disappointed and have no intention of visiting again. The raw fish soup had so much vinegar that it made me cough every time I ate the soup with a spoon. The vinegar was so strong for everyone I went with that it made their tongues and lips tingle. The red pepper paste meat sashimi is so salty that you can't taste the taste of the meat at all. Again, I have absolutely no intention of returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Adibah S
We had the oysters, mulhwe, beef tartare, jjimdak bao, uni scallop toast & black cod. All the dishes were very flavourful and well thought out. The only thing that left us feeling neutral about was the mulhwe, it was just ok. Will definitely come back for the oysters, steak tartare & uni toast, they were flavourbombs! Great service, our server took his time explaining which dishes were his favourite :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast
Sagar Mittal
The food here was amazing! We got the uni toast, charred broccoli, fingerling potatoes, cod, and chocolate cake. It was all excellent, though the uni was not universally loved.
We came in because we're in the neighborhood and Bansang has a Bib Gourmand distinction, but we spent $60/person for a fairly light meal. Expect to spend $100/person. Definitely worth it, though.
The overall experience could use some improvement. Our server made us feel rushed and their recommendations were minimal. There is a tacky 5% service fee.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Cake, Gochujang Black Cod
Monica Ravizza
Disclaimer: I grew up in Los Angeles, home of some of the best Korean food outside of Korea.
The food was good, without a doubt, but it wasn’t amazing and not worth the price. The rice cake and fried rice were good the nap was unremarkable. The galbi beef was good, but didn’t blow me away the way it does at my favorite Korean restaurants.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Jen Ko
Favorite thing was the kimchi fried rice. I would come back for that. We ordered a few other dishes that were good, but none as memorable as that one.
JY H
I went there with low expectations and still was disappointed. Looking at menu and being familiar with Korean food, I wasn’t too thrilled to try this place but I was open to visit. Comes today, it was easy to get reservation and I enjoyed the company, so why not try it.
We ordered mulhwe which they forgot, jeju salad which was a bit too sour or refreshing depending on your palate, uni toast, and ribeye galbi.
Uni toast was ok. It didn’t blow my mind and I didn’t think the price was too offensive after SF premium, fusion premium, Korean food craze premium, Michelin write up premium, etc…. But it was just meh.
It was the ribeye galbi that was so bad, I left this restaurant with the impression they have given up. No effort to refresh menu, inject creativity, or be innovative. First of all, it wasn’t ribeye. Also, every component of this dish was done poorly compared to simple original. Ssamjang, baek kimchi, ssam vegetables, galbi itself were all bad. There was no element of creativity. It was just dulled down.
Amazing service and food. Highlights: sunchoke & truffle, korean steak tartare, miso marinated pork, and uni scallop toast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Miso Marinated Pork, Gochujang Tartare
Nathan Ou
I’ve been to many Korean fusion fare restaurants (1. parachute (1 Michelin star), Chicago IL & 2. restaurant gish, Santa Clara, CA). I cook a lot of Korean food and am well-versed in the koreatown LA food scene. Korean food is my FORTE FYI.
At high-level, Bansang falls FLAT in comparison.
Food 1. Mulhwe noodle: presentation is nice. Tastes like traditional naengmyeon which was done well, but with fish? If the chefs intent was to recreate naengmyeon but with different array of ingredients, well done.
Not very innovative in terms of taste if I could just go eat naengmyeon down the street elsewhere. 2/5.
If you flex the Michelin award posted on the wall of your restaurant. I expect INNOVATION and CREATIVITY (that actually tastes good)
2. Uni scallop toast $29 for 1? Yikes. SF tax I guess or deliberate up charge for uni? Who knows. I’m not an uni person. Was not impressed 2/5
3. Rice cakes & chorizo Honestly not sure what was going on here. Chorizo that tasted like pepperoni. How is this supposed to complement the crispy rice cakes? I’m confused. 2/5
4. Jang cream pasta Literally what was this? INI ristorante in Garden Grove, CA delivers better Asian/italian fusion than this. 2/5
5. Jjimdak bao This item was actually good. Presentation nicely done and taste executed well 9/10
Oh and the real kicker was it was my birthday and the waitress had the audacity to dish out the dessert menu.
Typically, a restaurant that executes well would acknowledge the birthday celebration on the online reservation, and deliver said birthday item as a surprise. Bansang failed to deliver in that regard. My partner had to ASK to have a special birthday dessert presented after we rejected the dessert menu.
Conclusion: my real irk with the SF food scene is you charge a HIGH premium for food yet under-deliver in the taste and service. Bansang is one of those restaurants (that and flour and water). Tread carefully but to each their own everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Miriam Mechref
Loved this restaurant for a nice intimate dinner. Food was delicious and unique, service was excellent, place was very well decorated!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Mulhwe, Jang Cream Pasta, Gochujang Black Cod
Daniel
One of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco! It’s the perfect spot to enjoy a simple meal with a glass of wine or champagne and a few dishes—especially their uni toast. Sitting at the bar, I can comfortably have a great meal even on my own.
Bansang… It’s hard to call it Korean food; I’d say it’s more like California cuisine. They consistently maintain the same high quality every time I visit, and the staff always greets me warmly, making it easy to walk in without feeling awkward even when I’m alone.
I wish there were more places like this—somewhere you can enjoy delicious food in a relaxed setting without breaking the bank!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Mulhwe, Kimchi Oyster, Gochujang Black Cod
I am Korean and grew up eating Korean food… I was really looking forward to trying this place due to the high rating but left severely confused because it was such a let down from the very first dish to the last. Let’s just say this was a disgrace to korean food lol… for some reason this place is on the michelin guide but it’s actually so mid and lacking.
My partner and I went for valentine’s day and we were severely disappointed so we needed a redemption meal… overall, I thought it was:
- lacking in flavor
- lacking in service
- lacking in creativity
- legitimately didn’t even meet the basic standard of a generic korean food…
some things we got:
- tomato kimchi salad (i get what they were trying to do but it was so sharp and pungent and the tomatoes were hard)
- beef tartare (the only thing that tasted decent but still the beef was stringy. the seaweed was actually nice and crisp tho)
- mulhwae noodle (so odd… the noodle didnt mix well with the cold soup/sauce and the raw fish was a weird addition - and yes I know what this dish is supposed to be and I’ve had it before)
- fried chicken (i’ve had better fried chicken at san tung and other hole in the wall places sigh)
- miso marinated pork (tough, bland, boring and miso is not even korean)
if you appreciate korean food, don’t go here. go support your local vendors and hole in the wall spots! do yourself a favor and please go to Mugoboka or Daeho or even the takeout kimbap from Woori market, the grocery store next door would have more flavor than this. For the price I paid, I expected better than this…
I never leave reviews but sharing so you don’t make the same mistake…! especially if you actually know and enjoy Korean flavors and are expecting a “wow” experience, you won’t get it here.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
An elevated Korean dining experience.
Was really excited for the Uni Scallop Toast but was unfortunately disappointed in the uni taste - it wasn’t very fresh. However, the Mulhwae Noodle and Chicken Bao was delicious - fresh and savoury.
For entrees, we got the Galbi Steak and Jang Cream pasta. The steak was tender, juicy and flavourful. The pasta, on the other hand, tasted very bland and not as creamy as we were expecting it to be. It tasted like a very ordinary pasta anyone can make in their kitchen - it was pretty disappointing.
The service and atmosphere of the restaurant was great. Servers followed up with us on the courses pretty frequently and the ambience was nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Good food but quite expensive. Uni scallop toast, mulhwe noodle, and kimchi fried rice were all great. Galbi was not good.
6/10
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
This place is a must-go for a delicious and modern take on Korean cuisine. We had 3 people sharing 6 plates for dinner (4 small and 2 large) which was just enough food for dinner. The cocktails were also all great and just the right balance of flavors. The dishes that stood out the most were the sunchoke & truffle, soy glazed potatoes, and the radish kimchi fried rice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Mulhwe, Jang Cream Pasta, Radish Kimchi Fried Rice with Braised Pork
I stopped by in the evening while on a business trip to San Francisco. It was expensive because it was covered by travel expenses, but even though I didn't have to worry about the price, I was disappointed and have no intention of visiting again. The raw fish soup had so much vinegar that it made me cough every time I ate the soup with a spoon. The vinegar was so strong for everyone I went with that it made their tongues and lips tingle. The red pepper paste meat sashimi is so salty that you can't taste the taste of the meat at all. Again, I have absolutely no intention of returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
We had the oysters, mulhwe, beef tartare, jjimdak bao, uni scallop toast & black cod. All the dishes were very flavourful and well thought out. The only thing that left us feeling neutral about was the mulhwe, it was just ok. Will definitely come back for the oysters, steak tartare & uni toast, they were flavourbombs! Great service, our server took his time explaining which dishes were his favourite :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast
The food here was amazing! We got the uni toast, charred broccoli, fingerling potatoes, cod, and chocolate cake. It was all excellent, though the uni was not universally loved.
We came in because we're in the neighborhood and Bansang has a Bib Gourmand distinction, but we spent $60/person for a fairly light meal. Expect to spend $100/person. Definitely worth it, though.
The overall experience could use some improvement. Our server made us feel rushed and their recommendations were minimal. There is a tacky 5% service fee.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Cake, Gochujang Black Cod
Disclaimer: I grew up in Los Angeles, home of some of the best Korean food outside of Korea.
The food was good, without a doubt, but it wasn’t amazing and not worth the price. The rice cake and fried rice were good the nap was unremarkable. The galbi beef was good, but didn’t blow me away the way it does at my favorite Korean restaurants.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Favorite thing was the kimchi fried rice. I would come back for that. We ordered a few other dishes that were good, but none as memorable as that one.
I went there with low expectations and still was disappointed. Looking at menu and being familiar with Korean food, I wasn’t too thrilled to try this place but I was open to visit. Comes today, it was easy to get reservation and I enjoyed the company, so why not try it.
We ordered mulhwe which they forgot, jeju salad which was a bit too sour or refreshing depending on your palate, uni toast, and ribeye galbi.
Uni toast was ok. It didn’t blow my mind and I didn’t think the price was too offensive after SF premium, fusion premium, Korean food craze premium, Michelin write up premium, etc…. But it was just meh.
It was the ribeye galbi that was so bad, I left this restaurant with the impression they have given up. No effort to refresh menu, inject creativity, or be innovative. First of all, it wasn’t ribeye. Also, every component of this dish was done poorly compared to simple original. Ssamjang, baek kimchi, ssam vegetables, galbi itself were all bad. There was no element of creativity. It was just dulled down.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Sooooooooooooooooooooo delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing service and food. Highlights: sunchoke & truffle, korean steak tartare, miso marinated pork, and uni scallop toast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Miso Marinated Pork, Gochujang Tartare
I’ve been to many Korean fusion fare restaurants (1. parachute (1 Michelin star), Chicago IL & 2. restaurant gish, Santa Clara, CA). I cook a lot of Korean food and am well-versed in the koreatown LA food scene. Korean food is my FORTE FYI.
At high-level, Bansang falls FLAT in comparison.
Food
1. Mulhwe noodle: presentation is nice. Tastes like traditional naengmyeon which was done well, but with fish? If the chefs intent was to recreate naengmyeon but with different array of ingredients, well done.
Not very innovative in terms of taste if I could just go eat naengmyeon down the street elsewhere. 2/5.
If you flex the Michelin award posted on the wall of your restaurant. I expect INNOVATION and CREATIVITY (that actually tastes good)
2. Uni scallop toast
$29 for 1? Yikes. SF tax I guess or deliberate up charge for uni? Who knows. I’m not an uni person. Was not impressed 2/5
3. Rice cakes & chorizo
Honestly not sure what was going on here. Chorizo that tasted like pepperoni. How is this supposed to complement the crispy rice cakes? I’m confused. 2/5
4. Jang cream pasta
Literally what was this? INI ristorante in Garden Grove, CA delivers better Asian/italian fusion than this. 2/5
5. Jjimdak bao
This item was actually good. Presentation nicely done and taste executed well 9/10
Oh and the real kicker was it was my birthday and the waitress had the audacity to dish out the dessert menu.
Typically, a restaurant that executes well would acknowledge the birthday celebration on the online reservation, and deliver said birthday item as a surprise. Bansang failed to deliver in that regard. My partner had to ASK to have a special birthday dessert presented after we rejected the dessert menu.
Conclusion: my real irk with the SF food scene is you charge a HIGH premium for food yet under-deliver in the taste and service. Bansang is one of those restaurants (that and flour and water). Tread carefully but to each their own everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Loved this restaurant for a nice intimate dinner. Food was delicious and unique, service was excellent, place was very well decorated!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Mulhwe, Jang Cream Pasta, Gochujang Black Cod
One of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco! It’s the perfect spot to enjoy a simple meal with a glass of wine or champagne and a few dishes—especially their uni toast. Sitting at the bar, I can comfortably have a great meal even on my own.
Bansang… It’s hard to call it Korean food; I’d say it’s more like California cuisine. They consistently maintain the same high quality every time I visit, and the staff always greets me warmly, making it easy to walk in without feeling awkward even when I’m alone.
I wish there were more places like this—somewhere you can enjoy delicious food in a relaxed setting without breaking the bank!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Scallop Toast, Mulhwe, Kimchi Oyster, Gochujang Black Cod
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