Bowl'd Restaurant Review

1479 Solano Ave. (Santa Fe Ave.) Send to Phone

510-526-6223 | Make Restaurant Reservations

Price

$$$$$

Authentic Korean food made and served with Westerners in mind.

Bowl'd Restaurant is one of our 2012 | Top 10 SF New & Notable Restaurants |

Cuisine

Korean

Open

Lunch & Dinner daily

Features

Heart-healthy dishes
Kid-friendly
Reservations suggested, but only taken for parties
Casual

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Compared to other Asian cuisines consumed in America, Korean fare remains somewhat foreign and even intimidating. The two young women who founded Bowl'd (its name alludes to both "things in bowls" and "bold") wanted this place to be a culinary bridge---and it is, attracting lively multicultural crowds. An English-language menu explains every dish in detail, introducing a cuisine with key flavors that include sesame seeds, garlic, fiery chilies, smoky barbecued beef and sea life. While Westerner-friendly, Bowl'd isn't Westernized. Accompanying every order are a complimentary array of traditional side dishes---banchan---such as sesame-oil-bathed bean sprouts (kongnamul), seaweed salad (miyeok muchim), chewy white fish cakes and jalapeño-tangled dried anchovies, heads and all. (Vegetarian banchan are also available.) Standout sides include oyster pancakes and barbecued-beef rice rolls; follow these with rich red kimchi stew, comforting classic bibimbap or chewy jhap che with golden sweet-potato noodles so long that they are traditionally snipped tableside with shears. For the daring: fish roe and egg yolk rice bowls. Soju augments fruity "soju-tails.”

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