Yi's Traditional Korean Beef Soup

The beef soup is excellent and the best kimchi I’ve had in NoVA

Love the beef bone soup here, it’s tasty with self added salt and pepper, and it holds gelatinous texture that’s very satisfying! The beef brisket is also tender. Perfect to paired the soup with their kimchi and radish and the sauce also brings a little spicy hint to the soup. We’ve tried their combo with hamburger steak patty, we love it a lot. It’s Korean fusion which has a sweetness hint like bulgogi taste in the meat, the onions inside also blends well. We’ve ordered their no1 seafood pancake, the portion is big and crispy. Mandu dumplings tastes good too. Comparing to normal soup that can be found in other restaurants like sondubu(soft tofu) soup , their beef bone soup is a must try! The restaurant is very crowded, hopefully they will consider opening a place in Maryland!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Tasty food and good Service

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Service sucks! Owner should pay attention to their service. Treats everybody differently! Not worth my time and money
Not coming back!!!!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 1

I finally understand why this place is notorious for providing rude service. This was honestly one of the most uncomfortable dining experiences I’ve had.

We walked in around 9:10 PM, and the restaurant clearly states it closes at 10 PM. As soon as we entered, the staff sighed, looked at her watch, and seemed annoyed that we came in. After hesitating for a moment, she finally seated us, but the attitude already made us feel unwelcome.

What made it worse was that we hadn’t even sat down yet or received menus, and while we were still walking to the table, she immediately asked us to place our order. At that point, it already felt like we were being rushed out before even starting our meal.

Since there weren’t many places still open nearby, we decided to stay. Our food came out before 9:20 PM, but around 9:30 PM, she brought the check and told us we needed to pay early because they were closing soon. If the restaurant doesn’t actually want customers after 9 PM, it shouldn't have advertised a 10 PM closing and shouldn't have seated people that late. Paying customers should not be pressured to leave throughout the entire meal.

For reference, we ordered yukgaejang and seolleongtang. Neither of us even finished the food, and my husband ended up with an upset stomach after eating the yukgaejang. I can now see why there are so many complaints about the service here. We definitely won’t be coming back.

Food is okay, but service is very lacking. No one came to check on us and no one came to refill our water. Also the place was nowhere near being busy, and yet we had to wait about 10 minutes before anyone noticed we were ready to order.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 2

Love this spot! It's like the mom/pop traditional Korean food place but modernized for today!!! One of the things I don't like about the traditional places is how sticky and dirty it often gets after years of business. I like this new clean approach so much more!! I recommend seolleongtang with a side of tteok-galbi!

The traditional Beef Soup is fabulous. My small children and baby enjoyed it too and ate until they were stuffed! The sweet potato noodles and purple rice were hits mixed into the broth. I went to to brisket this visit, but next time I would love to try the tendon and cabbage.

Everyone who works here is lovely, and the restaurant balances the feeling of home with modern/high end decor. There was no wait time and the staff was attentive and kind. I also appreciated that they were open later than many shops in the plaza.

All of the Beef Soups are gluten and soy free, but make sure you ask about the kimchi batch for gluten and soy allergies because the recipe flexes.

Overall very very good. I haven’t had a traditional Korean beef soup in years so this hit the spot and was nostalgic.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I wasn’t satisfied with the service today. When my friend asked for a to-go container for soup, the staff member poured it right in front of me and some of it splashed onto me. I understand the place gets busy, but this felt careless. At least a quick warning before pouring would have been appreciated.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 2

I never leave negative reviews because I have business too and understand how hard it can be. But this experience last night was completely unacceptable.

The service was terrible from the start. We were greeted by a waiter with a bad attitude—no smile, no basic courtesy. He handed us only two menus for our group, and when we asked for more, he walked away to get drinks first. He later came back with both drinks and a menu, as if “saving a trip” mattered more than actually taking care of customers—even though we were seated right next to the counter. It felt lazy and dismissive.

As first-time customers, we were already confused by the short and unclear menu. When we asked questions, the woman staff struggled to communicate and relied on Google Translate. Even then, she couldn’t explain what was in the dishes—especially the soup—so we had to order blindly.

When the food arrived, it got even worse. We just sat there waiting for spoons, forks, and chopsticks… and waited… and waited. The staff could clearly see us not eating but never once came over to check on us or ask if we needed anything. We looked at them, they looked at us. We finally had to call them over ourselves. A woman came, silently opened a drawer of utensils under the table, and immediately walked away without saying a word. We all just looked at each other, completely speechless.

Then the food itself was a huge disappointment. One of the soups tasted like plain water—no flavor, no seasoning, nothing. The other soup came with light taste, but this one was purely plain. We strongly believed the chef forgot to season it, so we asked if it could be adjusted. They said no and handed us a bowl of salt. That was their solution. Completely ridiculous.

Eventually we had to share our soups with our group member and still paid for that interesting bowl.

This wasn’t just bad service or mediocre food—it was a complete lack of care, effort, and basic hospitality. Easily one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had.

DO NOT RECOMMEND. We will definitely never return.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

high-quality excellent soups. Friendly service. Would return again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The staff were very kind and responsive. Also really enjoyed the food, especially the new tteok galbi. I definitely would come again

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had wonderful dinner even with a baby. Every dish was delicious and the ginseng chicken was so refreshing.

All staff was very attentive.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

EXCELLENT place for Korean beef soup! My sister bought some foods for my parents. I noticed that my mom who is very picky for foods loves those foods so I visited this place on Sunday afternoon and ordered four packs of sellongtang soups with radish and cabbage kimchi for sides. It was long drive from Maryland, but it was worth!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Employees are always kind and the seolleongtang is delicious!
The perfect comfort meal and the kimchi is honestly my favorite. We always leave happy and look forward to coming back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5