Dooriban

Probably this is the best Korean restaurant in the area, the authenticity is in the DNA, this place is ran by a Korean family bringing their home town taste here. We came here as a group of 12 colleagues with very different taste buds and got opportunities to try different dishes on the menu, the unanimous feedback from the team is they will come back with their friends and families again as all of us were very satisfied with what we had. You will be surprised the variety of items the owner is offering on the menu and they charged reasonably, good value for money. We ordered the Korean chicken wings and Korean seafood pancake to share. I didn’t have chance to take a picture of the full plate of the food, as the group can’t wait to share the food as they taste sooooo good. I had Korean Galbi which is a beef short rib clear soup, trust me this is a must order item. It is not very common you can get clear soup in the US and they use whole piece of short rib to cook the soup with radish. It must have cooked for so long the meat was very tender. If you are a big eater , please order fried rice and you can ask for the type of meat either chicken , pork or beef base on your preference. The portion is huge. The owner is definitely having a very particular standard on the food, we were informed there is only limited amount of over night rice that they have to serve the fried rice. They didn’t use the fresh steamed rice to do fried rice and insisted to use over night rice which has a different level of moist. One thing I always love about Korean food is they always serve a variety of side dishes, different kimchi , pickles , tofu, very refreshing. A side note , the restaurant is facing the main road and having plenty of parking spaces , this is one of the major considerations when the owner chose the location.

Don't be fooled by the exterior and pass up this restaurant. The inside is clean and tidy. This was our first visit, and we were greeted and seated right away. The staff were friendly and very helpful with explaining the menu and giving suggestions. To the food; Appetizer: Beef Mandu ( very tasteful), Main dishes: Beef Bulgogi bento & Seafood Japchae. The food was incredible! And the servings were very generous. Your taste buds will scream, "Yes! Authentic fresh Korean flavors. " Dooriban will be in our rolodex of favorite eateries.

Dooriban is our favorite Korean restaurant in the area. My boyfriend and I love their veggie mandu (fried dumplings), saucy wings, and you must try the kimchi pancake!! For our main courses, I always get the Ah Goo Tang (spicy monkfish soup with kimchi and tofu). I dream about this soup served bubbling hot in a stone bowl and love to take home leftovers to eat for lunch the next day. My boyfriend loves their rich, savory ramen and the classic bibimbob rice dish also served in a stone bowl with an egg on top. The other photo here is of some of the side dishes (banchan) served to share with your meal. Everything is soo fresh and flavorful! The delicious, authentic food served in the casual atmosphere by warm and friendly staff always makes us feel at home at this local St. Pete spot.

The lunch box spicy chicken bulgogi is true explosion of flavors. The sides are overwhelmed of taste, especially the house made kimchi stolen my heart. And the chicken fried rice is banging in its flavors and look colorful, The restaurant are very generous with meat they provided. I was completely in to my fried rice . I felt its quite expensive compare to other cuisine but worth it to give a try once in a while.

UPDATED REVIEW: 3/5 We were finally able to come back and eat here again, looking forward to their Jjampong but a look at the menu got me disappointed very quickly. They only serve Jjampong on Mondays-Thursdays. I even confirmed with the staff and I couldn’t bring myself to understand why the change. If they’re trying to gain more business during the week by only putting Jjampong on menu on the weekdays, this isn’t it. Galbi: 2/5, it was sticky and flavor was lacking. Fried pork: 4/5, delish as always. Beef stew with clear noodles: 5/5, the best. Service is always on point but I won’t be coming back since they changed Jjampong to weekdays. Bad business move for sure. ORIGINAL REVIEW: 5/5 As the other reviews have stated, this restaurant took over a Taco Bell or small fast food establishment prior but they do have a big sign that you can't miss finding this place. Once we entered, we were greeted by a server who seated us immediately. The setup of the restaurant is like any other, you can dine in or place an order to go. Their menus have photos so if you don't know what to get or only know by the looks, they have photos! That was very helpful. Beef Stew: 4/5 Very delicious and light. Pork Belly for 2: 3/5 It was sweeter than I thought. It had a soy sauce cinnamon glaze so that was okay. Korean Chicken Wings: 4/5 It was good, not too fluffy or not too soaked in sauce. Don't even get me started on the service, it was perfect. I've never met more friendlier wait staff than at this place. It's such a great family feel that you literally felt at home. I am definitely returning and highly recommend this place to others. I'm definitely a fan! Do yourself a favor and get down to Dooriban!