Mandu

Reviews 7

CA

Carol Chan

When my husband and I first began dating, we were just walking distance away from NYCs K-town. Soon tofu, Bibimbap were our default, go-to, comfort food. Unfortunately, DC just doesnt have any good Korean (or any Asian) restaurant options available. After multiple failed foodie trips to Northern VA for some legit Korean grub weekend after weekend, my husband and I were more than thrilled to learn that Mandu was just walking distance from us and also offered all our Korean cravings! We were welcomed and impressed by Mandus clean, bright, modern dining room. My husband went with his go to soon tofu and I went with their brunch platter chicken special. We were served with their side dishes immediately after we placed our orders. All of their side dishes were very tasty and spot on (loved the black beans, chilli cucumber, and marinated eggplants!). I couldnt help but ask for multiple refills (at least I was eating my veggies and not a whole bread basket!). My husband was impressed by the amount of seafood he received in his soon tofu. Although it was little spicier than what hes used to, he claimed it had just the right amount of heat to it. I couldnt believe how much food came with my brunch platter. I actually had enough leftover to pack home for another meal. The pancakes were out of the world (piping hot + chewy inside, crispy + crunchy outside) - too bad it only came with two pieces! I would definitely order them separately next time as my appetizer! The chicken - a little overcooked aka dry and overwhelmed by the amount of chili oil - nevertheless still delicious (a little fat doesnt hurt anyone and I need to work on some curve on this body). Not that I didnt have enough to eat from my brunch platter and side dishes combined, my special also came with dessert! I had the options of sorbet (guava or passionfruit) or gelato (Nutella) - I opted to share the guava with my husband. Served in a small tea cup, the guava sorbet was light yet creamy = simply the perfect sweet ending. Overall - Our waitress was a trainee and did an amazing in serving us (refilled our side dishes 4 times!). Foods were on point, just a little on the pricier side (more expensive than all the Korean restaurants we had back in NYC - but hey with the limited options in DC, this was a steal!). Mandu has officially become our Korean fix restaurant! Cant wait to return to try the rest of the menu!

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JE

Jessica Rosenberg

We came here for dinner and tried three things: veggie mandu (dumplings), bebimbap in the hot pot, and kimchi fried rice. All pieces were nice but ultimately not thrilling. The mandu--we chose fried over baked--had a nice crisp exterior and a good dipping sauce; the interior was a little blander. There are 6 to an oder, so its an easy number to share. The bebimbap was good and the portion was nice, but the hot pot ended up being pointless! The rice is supposed to crisp in the hot pot, but ours never did. So we paid $2 to eat our bebimbap out of a hot pot that didnt work. Bummer! The kimchi fried rice was really spicy. Ive never had a dish like it. It was nice, though Id have been disappointed if Id ordered that as my sole plate (instead of split-splitting with the bebimbap). It was just one-dimensional. It was also *very* spicy--almost too spicy (says someone who loves spice). Finally, the meal comes with banchan--small plates. This was a nice addition! The service was good and attentive, though we became concerned as they kept serving drinks to the obviously drunk people at the next table. Eventually the server delivered them a drink and said, "Okay, this is the last one," so it was good to see the server cut them off... it just shouldve happened several drinks sooner.

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TA

Tatyana Malyutin

This was a new and very pleasant discovery for us. We love Korean cuisine and this restaurant offers most of the authentic dishes in kind of "modern package". Though not a big variety of panchan (hope I spelled it right)but all very yummy. Mandu was the only thing that was somewhat disappointing. All the other food and drinks were just great. Ambiance is cozy and modern and service was not great but very good. Definitely recommend this place to Korean food lovers and particularly to newbies to this cuisine. You are not going to be overwhelmed by smock of grilling, or hard choice in ordering process, or shocked by uneven service of authentic places, but still enjoy very yummy food. And the prices are very reasonable too.

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DA

David Douglass

The service was terrible. It took 10 minutes for me to get a water and 15 minutes to get my side dishes, which I had to specifically ask for since the server forgot. Oh ya. I asked if a server called in sick because there was only one waitress for 6 inside tables, 3 outside tables, plus she was taking food orders from 4 people at the bar. Nope. All those people were served by one waitress and a host and that is standard. I ordered the dumplings pan fried, but they were grease balls. I then waited another 25 minutes for my bibam bap. For those that dont know, bibam bap is rice, cold vegetables, one fried egg and very little beef. One of the worst "Korean" restaurants Ive ever been to. Ill never be going back.

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KA

Kayla Iuliano

You know a restaurant is good when you crave their food for 3 years! In 2014 I grabbed dinner here with some friends. I was back in DC this past weekend and made sure to head over there again. The appetizers were wonderful, the food came out quickly, and was decently priced considering the amount youre given and its quality. Service was great. Both times Ive had the Dolsot Bibim Bap (rice, veggies, and beef in a hot stone bowl). Highly recommended! Perfectly cooked, fresh veggies, and the bowl stays so warm that even after half an hour (about the amount of time it took me to finish eating due to the volume of food), its still only a shade cooler than when it came from the kitchen. Awesome place!

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YO

Youjeong Han

My server was very bad. She was asian and had pigtail hair style. She never smiled while she was serving and looked at me very scary. Im not american so not good at English, when I order the menu to her by not perfect English, she had scary looking to me. That make me feel very scared and pretty bad. It was nice restarunts and I like their food but I hate the true that some unkind asian girl look like Korean serves my countrys food badly. I put about 15% tips on the table but it is not for her. If she has conscience, she must give tip other employees like entrance guide or bar server. Ill never go there because of the girl.

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ST

St Mi

Two friends and I went on a Saturday night (early-ish) and it was already crowded and noisy (as most places in DC are during post-work hours or on the weekend). Because we were early enough, we got seated immediately. The tables are packed in, but not so tight that youre sitting in someone elses lap. The food is pretty good, though for the price the portions are small. I can say this was pretty good fare; however, it seemed to be missing that "je ne sais quoi" that makes Korean food such great comfort food. Would I go back? Yes, but probably for takeout, and only after saving up for it.

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