Seorabol Korean Restaurant

Probably the best Korean restaurant I’ve been to in Philly since leaving Cali 2yrs ago. I haven’t eaten at a lot of places here, just a couple in jersey and cc but this place reminds me of home! The spicy pork bulgogi is perfect!

Good food… fresh and tasty

When it comes to Korean BBQ, this place is top notch. The ambiance isn’t great to look at, but when you taste those dishes, and see your bill at the end; you realize nothing else matters.

This is no understatement, but Seorabol is the BEST KBBQ IN PHILLY! We came here on a cold January night and were seated immediately. I opened the huge menu and was so happy to see so many different options. For 3 people, ordered the galbi gui, bulgogi, and the pork belly for bbqing. Then for sharing, we ordered a dumpling soup, seafood soondubu, and seafood pancake.
After we ordered, the other waiters brought out the charcoal while another one quickly brought out what seemed like 50 side dishes to begin the feast. Some of my favorites are the charred fish and cooked egg dishes. Soon enough the meats came out and the waiter helped us cook as our mouths drooled over the deliciously marinated meats.
Once I took my first bite into the lettuce and galbi combination dipped in the 2 sauces, I knew I was in love and forgot why I had not come back sooner to this place.
Once we had hit a food coma, the waiter helped us back up our leftovers (Yay for tomorrow!) and brought out some cinnamon tea to help settle our stomachs.
I cannot wait to be back to this place!

My favorite korean resturant in Philly. Decided to try different dishes on the menu and it was okay. The tofu hot pot was small and not very filling. The beef wasn’t good. The meat was touch and such a small portion too. The spicy pork will always be a top pick and the seafood pancake is the best in the city.

My Vietnamese/​Korean mother enjoyed our grand meal, which is saying a lot (A LOT!) considering Asian mothers rarely have any desire to dine out of the home and even more rarely stamp their approval on other peoples’ Asian cooking.

One of the better Korean restaurant in this area. Always busy so assuming food is fresh. Fast service considering busy. I came at both lunch and dinner taste is consistent and good.

Pretty cool and different environment. Food was really good but this was also my first Korean bbq so I have nothing to compare it too. Large proportions and a variety of sides. I’m giving it four stars because it was difficult to place an order being as though only 2 employees could understand what we were saying and we had to keep searching for those 2 employees for all of our needs. However, we will definitely be revisiting.

Awesome seafood pancake and Korean BBQ!!! What a yummy place! It’s always a long wait but once you sit down it’s worth it!

We were excited about Seorabol especially after seeing some photos here on Unilocal.Had it been just us, we would have ordered sushi. But the folks we were with were into the Korean barbecue deal, so we went that route instead. It was pretty classic in terms of experience. The tables have the built-​in grills (ours was gas, but we heard there were charcoal ones too in the other room). They bring you a platter of raw meat and you grill it up. The array of sides that came to our table was impressive — some things I recognized and some I did not. A truly incredible array and the most vast that I have ever seen at a Korean barbecue place. We really enjoyed several of them. For meat, we ordered the bulgogi, which was very tasty and beautifully marinated. There was not much gristle on the meat, and I really thought it was worth it even though I think it was the most expensive option on the meat section of the menu. Then we also got the spicy pork, which was equally tasty. Despite appreciating the authenticity and the flavor of the food, I had some other issues that dragged my rating down to three stars.
–Tea served in clear plastic pitchers just seemed a little weird and cheap to me. I can’t imagine the tin kettles are that much more to buy. Seems like this place is plenty busy. They should be able to afford something better to serve tea in.
–We were never offered water or anything else to drink.
–Our meat was served by a young lady who put the bulgogi on the grill and helped sear it. Before we had eaten all of the beef, she moved the remaining beef to the sides of the grill and started the pork — we had raw pork touching our mostly cooked beef. It was not sanitary and it is a food safety hazard.
–The woman was also putting the tongs she was using back on the platter where the raw meat juices were sitting (and some not cooked meat) and then putting them back in the grill to turn our meat. Again — food safety!!! I stopped eating right there. I work for a food company, sorry. Not good.
–Then the woman just walked away in the middle of cooking our pork. We were left to finish on our own.
–The bathroom was disgusting, and there was a sign requesting that you put toilet paper (NOT feminine products, toilet paper) in the trash can. Really?

AMAZING. Definitely my go-​to Korean restaurant in the area. Don’t let the slightly higher prices deter you, this place is worth every penny. Here’s why:
1. The meats, especially their galbi (~$ 30/​serving), are marinated to perfection. The quality is premium.
2. I’ve never received so many banchans at any other Korean restaurants — and they were all delicious. They’re also happy to provide refills. The array is akin to a whole entrée.
3. Sign up/​subscribe on their website and get a free Korean pancake on the house! If the aforementioned doesn’t fill you, this will seal the deal.
4. Service is impeccable — despite language barriers with certain wait staff, they’re all so kind and eager to help. Meat was helped grilled by our waiter, and the BBQ hot plate was promptly replaced after each session.
5. They have a wide selection of options, including Korean hot pot, soondubu, noodles, sushi, etc. You’re guaranteed to find something you love.
We had the galbi, pork belly, and a seafood pancake (and a massive number of banchans) — then a cinnamon honey tea to finish our meal. The décor is tasteful, and atmosphere/​experience perfect for 1, 2, or a group!

The food was pretty good but the service was kinda slow. I think it was my table (there were three of us) and maybe two or three other tables at the place and they took a while to check in with us.
We did the basic kbbq and picked two of the cheapest options and we were all pretty full towards the end. Super yummy and it was like $ 15/​person for the three of us. They also gave us this dish that was on the house (I saw them give it to every table so don’t know how often they do this) and this cold cinnamon drink at the end. The service was super nice… just really slow. But I liked it and would definitely go again and more often if I wasn’t a poor broke college student.

Solid Korean BBQ. Lots of banchan. Meats are marinated a little more on the sweet side.
The samgyupsal is a bit chewy and boney and the bulgogi is okay. Their spicy kalbi is really good as is the normal kalbi. The carafes that they use for the yogurt soju is awesome ! It keeps the ice separate from the liquid, while keeping it cold. The sushi/​sashimi a la carte seems decently priced for what it is.
The buttons are oddly squishy and sticky. With that said, even with the buttons. getting their attention can sometime be a struggle. It gets busy on the weekends, so keep in mind that it’ll take them a bit of time to get to you.

This classic Korean BBQ restaurant offers a great variety of meat and Korean dishes for everyone to enjoy.
This restaurant have been here for years and many have grew up coming to this restaurant. This restaurant is good for friends families to enjoy a meal together. Their service is average but in Philly, it is one of the better Korean BBQ restaurants.
Their food isn’t the cheapest but you definitely go with a full stomach since many side dishes come out when you order BBQ.
Their marinated kalbi and sam gyub sal (pork belly) is classic meats you should definitely try. Their naeng myun (cold vermicelli noodles) and haemooltang (seafood stew) are also okay.
If you are in the mood for some grilled meat, this is a good place to go.

Had dinner at Seorabol a few months ago. The food was okay but nothing exceptional. One thing I usually love about Korean food is the vivid flavours, but a lot of the food we had here seemed on the bland and boring side.
1. Soondobu tofu stew with clams, squid, shrimp — not bad, but not super flavourful.
2. Korean seafood pancake was crispy, nice. This was free with a coupon.
3. BBQ Spicy galbi — this was disappointing. Meat was very thin, not succulent, not very flavourful at all.
4. BBQ Pork belly — plain in terms of flavour, chewy and tough in terms of texture. I wouldn’t get this again.
5. Ban chan (side dishes) — there was a nice variety of dishes, some were interesting and different from the usual.
6. Sweet cinnamon tea was given at the end of the meal — very sweet and refreshing.
Service was very friendly. My only issue is that the waiter misrepresented the serving sizes as being smaller than they are, so that we ordered way more food than needed.
Between 2 – 3 stars. Food-​wise, I’ve experienced better (2 stars) but not so far in Philly, so this might be a 3 star spot in Philly.

This place is so good that I have no other choice but to give it a 5! The service phenomenal and the food is fresh and delicious. I love love LOVE how many side dishes they give you! The server was on par and gave us the seafood pancake on the house!

I love the Korean vodka named Soju! Me and my boyfriend had sashimi boat regular with spicy soups. The food was a lot with banchans. The service was very good. No wonder why seorabol is always busy and thousand people are dying to get there!

I moved from los angeles 3 years ago and found philly Korean restaurants just did not cut it. But, this place became my go-​to Korean place because of the meat quality, side dishes, and random free stuff. Their soups were below average and over-​priced but I can’t make any better in my own kitchen so I was grateful I at least had access. Sushi options were also great.
But, after today, I must say I am severely disappointed with their service. I spent $ 35 on a soup and kalbi entrée (which by the way should only cost $ 15 in any other Korean restaurant). Instead, our order came out with cheap-​o bulgogi. When I asked the server if this was kalbi, she hesitated, and then confirmed that it was kalbi. HOW CHEAP! I looked over at 2 other tables who ordered the same items, and the plates were CLEARLY was not the same! As a regular of this restaurant AND someone who has been raised on Korean food, I think it’s absolutely pathetic that they are trying to trick someone just to save a couple dollars so they don’t have to correct their mistake.
There are new Korean restaurants popping around the city nowadays. If they are going to treat their customers like idiots it’s time to find a new place.

Best. Korean. Food. Period.
I’ve been here more times than I’ve «Checked In» and I can’t believe I still haven’t written a review for this place! The food here is fantastic and they have so much to offer on their menu. I think that’s why I keep coming back and why I keep bringing all my friends and family here… you just can’t go wrong. I’ve tried their BBQ, their noodles, tofu stews, soups, sushi… and so much more. Everything has been delicious. And I have to say, surprisingly, their sashimi is some of the freshest and tastiest fish I’ve eaten in all of Philly. I also love how they give you a ton of side dishes (banchan) and it’s always a good variety and mix each time I go. When I’m in the mood for something a little different, I love their beef intestine hot pot… OMG so good and spicy! And let’s not forget their seafood pancake appetizer… yum!
They get pretty crowded but I’ve never had to wait longer than 15 mins or so. If possible and available, I recommend sitting in the outside dining room for BBQ. The outside dining room tables use charcoal/​briquettes for their grill whereas the «inside» (more like side rooms) dining tables have electric (infrared?) grills. It’s still tastes good either way, but I prefer the charcoal taste. The service is always quick and friendly and always helpful when I have questions. Ever since I started coming here, I haven’t gone anywhere else for Korean BBQ.
The restaurant is a little out of the way but it’s very worth the trip. They have plenty of parking outside in their lot and can accommodate larger groups inside. If you’re looking for a good Korean BBQ place with a variety of other Korean foods, this place is a must try!

I love this place.
Went on a double date and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We wanted to try something new and different and this was everything we could have wanted and more. The service was wonderful and our waiter guided us through the menu and gave us wonderful recommendations.
The food was overwhelming in quantity and quality. The combinations of all the different flavors was extremely memorable and I love that we were cooking the food ourselves as it was an unexpected addition to a fun evening. From the steak, to chicken and fish. it was all DELICIOUS. I love that the main dishes come with a ton of different sides to cook/​eat with. it really adds to the entire experience.
Finally, we ended with their signature cinnamon dessert tea and WOW… I can’t get that out of my head. My taste buds never felt so alive!
I highly recommend this place to everyone!!!