Bab Korean Bistro Brookline

The food here is absolutely delicious, especially the jajangmyeon and the cheesy tteokbokki. The side dishes are fresh and full of flavor too. Plus, the staff is extremely friendly, enthusiastic, and welcoming.

I have recently visited Bab Korean Bistro at Brookline and I absolutely loved it. The ambiance is cozy and inviting, perfect for a casual dinner or catching up with friends or colleagues. As a vegetarian, I really appreciate the variety of veggie-friendly options on the menu. The vegetarian Jeon (Korean Style Pancake) and vegetarian Dolsot BIBIM BAB option (1) was delicious and packed with fresh, well-seasoned vegetables. The staff is friendly and attentive, and they’re happy to accommodate dietary preferences. I highly recommend Bab Korean Bistro for anyone looking for tasty Korean food with great vegetarian choices!

I delivered Samgyupsal(pork belly) Korean BBQ, and it was the worst Samgyupsal I’ve ever get in this country. These guys barbecued samgyupsal as if it were bacon, resulting in meat that was almost burnt, overly tough, and difficult to eat due to overcooking. This is definitely not Korean-style BBQ. I could barely eat a few pieces before giving up and leaving the rest untouched. I don’t know how they prepare other dishes, but when it comes to grilling samgyeopsal, it’s a complete failure (0/10). If they continue cooking it this way, they should not label it as “Korean cuisine.” I was truly disappointed. Never order samgyeopsal here under any circumstances.

Saw a picture of Tangsu yuk and had to try it. Tried few other dishes and they were authentic with flavors on point, but somewhat lacking .. Pork tangsu yuk $28 came with tangsu sauce poured over already, but quickly became dry and very hard, perhaps too much starch in their batter. Tangsu sauce was good. Jjajang myeon $14 Jjajang sauce flavor was good but again drier than typical jjajang sauce and left noodles not moist even after sauce was mixed in. Tteok bokki $14 Thoroughly enjoyed! Full flavor and just right amount of spicy kick. Seating was like the wood church pew chairs, hard as rock , so uncomfortable. Vibe seemed perfect for solo diners to come and enjoy comfort foods.

We had a positive overall experience with the service at this establishment. While we did encounter a lengthy wait and found it challenging to secure a table in the past. The server was well-acquainted with the menu and provided helpful suggestions. Although the food was generally satisfactory, the Korean pancakes fell short of our expectations, lacking the desired crispiness and having a thicker flavor profile than anticipated for restaurant-style pancakes. Despite this, the attentive service and helpful staff contribute to a generally enjoyable dining experience, though we may explore other Korean options for a more tailored culinary experience in the future.

Came by for brunch today, and the food was delicious. I had the kimchi jigae, and the soup was very flavorful and not too spicy and/or salty. The perfect combination of everything inside the kimchi jigae. The seafood pancake could be a tad more crispy, as it was slightly soggy. The japchae was good, and the mandu 🥟 was good. Overall, I'll come back to try other food.

Delicious Korean Food at Bap! I recently tried Bap, and it was fantastic! The jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) was so tasty, and the fried chicken was crispy and flavorful. But the scallion kimchi pancakes were the real highlight - super crispy and packed with flavor. The staff was friendly and made the experience even better. If you're looking for great Korean food, Bap is the place to go!

Compared to other many other Korean restaurants (in the US and Korea) the beef bulgogi was ok/pretty average; not too special but pretty tender. The portion was also very large. However the chicken bibimbap was bland and flavorless. The chicken was boiled, dry snd unseasoned, just like the rice. There was no sesame oil on the egg, rice, or vegetables, which is a staple in bibimbap. Ttukbaegi bulgogi soup was flavorful and had a good assortment of vegetables, noodles and rice cakes (over cooked, but may be due to takeout). The mul nangmyeon was very watery. Even if the ice in the soup melted because we got takeout, it was watery to a point where there was almost no flavor (regardless, the ice should have been made out of soup rather than water). The only source of flavor came from the vegetable toppings (cucumber and radish). The banchan (side dishes) were very small and included pickled radish, kimchi, and boiled broccoli. The rice was very stale and resembled cheap takeout rice rather than the type of rice typically served in Korean restaurants. Overall, the soup and beef were pretty good, the nangmyeon was bland (may be due to takeout) and the bibimbap was bland. 2.5/5

Absolutely solid korean. The banchan was on point - very very good kimchi, namul and radish. The steamed mandus are delicious. The ganjang KFC was too sweet for my liking but cooked perfectly. The spicy pork bulgogi was amazing and the portion was huge. My dining companion had stone pot bibim bap. It was served nice and hot so it crisped up the rice as he stirred it which is his ideal. He said a lot of places dont heat the stone pot hot enough. Theres a good amount of seating... its not the most comfortable but its still fine. The service was friendly and attentive. Highly recommended.

Introducing someone to Korean food for the first time on their birthday. It was a quiet Wednesday evening. Friendly service. Food came out a little weird, but I guess as it was ready--the japchae came out first without its partner in the combo Galbi, then something like 15 mins later the pork bulgogi comes out, then 9 mins later the Galbi. But whatever things happen. Food tastes great. Hot. Nothing that has just been waiting under a heat lamp so we're happy. The Galbi was the winner. The glaze, the tenderness, the quality--all great. Not too fatty so that was special too. The fajita style veggies with both meats were also great--fresh, not overdone, not charred. The pork bulgogi was a bit gritty, the sauce/ seasoning just seemed a bit too separate and not complimentary to one another. Still good, but the texture seemed off from how the dish normally comes. Also a surprising portion. Bigger than I thought it would be so we appreciated that as well. The japchae glass noodles surprised me with their powerful great flavor. Great texture, great chew, great balance of veggies and noodles. The veggie sides were also great. Would have loved a little more kimchi but for my partner's first time eating Korean food--she LOVED kimchi immediately! Thank you for not using just bland big batch kimchi from generic store vats. It was crisp and very well flavored.

I think of this place when I just want to eat reliable average Korean food. The place is open later than other restaurants and I think that the food is dependable where it isn't amazing but it is worth the price. The dishes we had weren't truly authentic in the way it was made, but it was still good to eat! I really liked the scallion pancake because it was crispy and chewy. The service here is really efficient and the employees are hard workers, along with being friendly. The place itself has a good amount of tables for people to eat and usually doesn't have a line/waitlist. I wouldn't come here if I wanted true Korean food but it is definitely not bad at all if you never tried Korean food!

I think this place needs to be a little bit more non-Korean friendly...I ordered the non-spicy cheese tteokboki through Uber eats. I expected a plate of tteokboki with red sauce and cheese; this is what the photo on Uber eats showed. Instead I got the tteokboki in a soup. I didn't know that I was going to get it in a soup. It was a completely different dish from what was shown in the picture on Uber eats, and it was also in bad packaging so it was spilling everywhere. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even take a photo, just sort of took a few bites and then dumped the whole thing in the trash...I tried to get it out of the trash to get a photo for a review and I posted it here. As you can see, there is no red sauce to be seen, just a yellow-white soup. Maybe to a Korean it would be obvious that non-spicy tteokboki would come in a soup, but to me it wasn't and I feel as though I was fooled by the pic on Uber Eats.

Good portions and friendly, homey environment. I enjoyed the food but it was not mind blowing. We got the tang soo pork, japchae, and seafood pancake. The menu has some Chinese-Korean items that others might not carry if you're looking for that, but missing some of the other items I usually look for like kimbap. They only have 4 different things for the banchan - it would be nice to have more. Otherwise, can be tricky at times to find parking around there if all the meters are full. We came on a Saturday night and our party of 4 was seated immediately. Other random note: the floor was oddly sticky and there were lots of mosquitos or fruit flies flying around.

Was a little disappointed this time around, though I was particularly excited after my prior experience. The appetizer, a seafood pajeon (fried scallion pancake), seemed mostly rice flour, with minimal seafood flavor and minimal scallion flavor (or scallions). The texture was spot on and crispy though. The bulgogi dish had meat that was too sweet, and some bits were a bit too tough or dry. It's also odd that it didn't come with rice (I think the menu notes this as such, but it definitely needs rice to go with it). The flavors needed more complexity. The Dweaji Sundae Gukbab was listed without some crucial information; ingredients on menu were listed as "Bone soup with pork meat & Korean sausage" but what emerged was a significant amount of pork intestine, and less meat itself. The vegetable japchae was the strongest of them all, though there needed to be less onion and more of other types of vegetables. The cellophane noodle was well textured and held it's heat well, making it a really nice comfort food.

Decent Korean food. My boyfriend got the beef bibimbap and it's filling. I got the gopchang sundubu jigae, it was fine, I didn't know it came with white rice on the side already so I got extra and ended up not finishing the whole thing lol. Just wish the jigae had more pork intestines in it because that's I was so excited about trying but overall good pickup/ takeout experience

I've had this place bookmarked for the longest time and finally went to the Brookline location. The server was friendly and brought out the banchan pretty quickly. My favorite thing about korean restaurants is when they bring out the banchan. My friend and I ordered the Cheese Tteokbokki, Seafood Soondubu Jjigae, and the Grilled Mackerel. The Tteokbokki came out first with the other dishes following it. I wanted to like the Tteokbokki and Mackerel so badly, but it was not for me. It was super fishy tasting and not in a good way. The Tteokbokki was even a lil off tasting after chewing it. However, my friend did like her Soondubu Jjigae. Maybe it was an off night for them, but I don't think I would come back.

The galbi was so good! However, we got a plate of noodles and it fully tasted like dishwasher soap. It was very offputting. We mentioned it to the waiter who obliged and got us a new, non-soapy noodle dish. still felt a bit weird after that

many good things to say about bab korean bistro! first off, their delivery speed is unmatched. it only took maybe 20 minutes from sending my order in to arrive in my hands. very impressive! i'm also very happy about the numerous vegetarian options. so many of their dishes were customizable which makes it really easy to make sure you get something you'd love. the noodles were really good except i noticed that they were gummy at the sides and bottom like multiple melted gummy worms. i tried to separate them the best i could but to no avail. the dish did come with a little dish of sides to garnish your noodles and i was pleasantly surprised! it was packaged separately. speaking of packaging --. the takeaway container was HUGE! most places keep to the same plastic tray with lid, but not BAB korean bistro!

Ordered Beef Soondubu for pick up! Food was ready in about 12 minutes after my order was placed, service was good, and restaurant smelled like good food as well! I typically order jjambong when ordering Korean food, but was craving tofu soup today. The portion size (a quart) was decent for the price. The flavor itself was decent. There was a decent amount of beef and it was tender. I believe there were some cucumber or maybe crunchy zucchini that was in the soup which was a bit different than what I'm used to, but everything worked together nicely. It also came with three side dishes (kimchi, radish, and bean sprouts) which were appreciated. The serving size was enough for two meals for me. I would definitely be interested in trying other dishes from this place!

The best thing on the menu by far is the cream jjampong!! It is absolutely delicious. At first, I was a little afraid the cream would be heavy and thick, but they do a really excellent job of making it both lightly spicy and creamy. The tteokbokki is pretty good, its nice if you are craving it, but it's not mind blowing. I do really like the Tangsu Yuk, and have gone back to get it. Its a sweet and sour sauce, and goes great with a bowl of rice. Service is very nice here, they are attentive and they come out with the food quickly. The restaurant ambiance in general is good for bringing a group of friends-- I will usually eat here with a group of 2-6, but you could easily bring more.

Had an overnight stay at Dana Farber and decided to do some local Korean takeout. Ordered the Naeng Myun(No Rice) Chilled Chewy Buckwheat Noodle with Beef brisket & Apple & Vegetable & Boiled Egg & Chilled broth. Our kids have had it before and recommended that we try it. It is different, even for us who are adventurous. Not in terms of flavors or ingredients but the entire combination. Pears, steak, cucumbers, noodles..in a chilled broth. Sounds like a trainwreck but it works! It was enjoyable and worth the experience

We came here as our first meal in Boston for the weekend. I ordered the Agu Maeuntang, or spicy monkfish and vegetables, while my friend had Tofu Bibimbap on a stone pot. The soup consisted of mostly onion slices as vegetables, and the broth itself was above average salty, but it still went well with rice. Service was a bit inconsistent; I waited for several minutes while my friend's food already arrived. But I liked the interior decor of the restaurant (paper koi fish on the walls).

Surprised it was so disappointing... Two stars because the servers were nice. But the food and the environment - some of the worst Korean food I've had. The restaurant itself at first glance looks fine but as we sat there we were disturbed by countless fruit flies. Better than real flies I guess but they have a problem. I thought it was the same fly bothering me but then I looked against the wall and counted 10 in my corner. What we ordered: Soy sauce Tteok Bokki: now, I know the traditional one is with a spicy sauce but my bf wanted a not spicy version. So maybe this dish doesn't really exist in Korea but we imagined this very differently. This is basically piping hot sugar water rice cakes. It's SO sweet and inedible. Beef bulgogi: this is a scam to be calling it Korean grilled meat because it is not grilled. This was about $25 for a plate of beef with no flavor. I'm pretty sure it's the same beef as the one in my soondubu too. Beef soondubu: while the flavor was ok, it did not come out bubbling as it typically does in a stone bowl. That means it didn't really cook the raw egg that they crack on top. Really really disappointed in the whole experience and will probably never come back. I could cook it better than this.

Food used to be better here but i still like it because our 2 favorite go-to dishes are very consistent. Tangsu-Yuk is amazing every time- crispy and fresh and the sweet/sour sauce is perfect! Jjajangmyeon is always good too! I add a bit of salt. Plenty of noodles and sauce. Soondubu broth really lacked flavor and salt- i remember it being better in the past. The Spicy pork bulgogi used to be sooo good here but this time it seriously lacked flavor and the pork pieces were chopped up into super tiny little bits which is weird. It used to be a saucier dish, this time it was almost dry no sauce. Also doesn't come with rice which is fine so you have to order rice separately. Service is generally good, they are always kind, but last time the servers ditched all the customers after they served the food, and started socializing and eating their own dinner at the front table. We waited forever and they never came back. My friend had to go over and interrupt them and ask them for the bill and takeout boxes. We've come here since the end of 2018 and it was sooo good back then! I think some of the chefs may have changed since then which makes sense but hopefully they revive some of the dishes that have since gone downhill.

Came in and waited for 20 minutes like they said. Not sure if we needed a reservation because they kept asking if we had one. Overall, the server is really nice and I love the combo options. Jajangmyeon with fried pork is the best combo! I know some restaurants sell them individually so this is my first time going to a restaurant that puts them together. The jajangmyeon was 7/10, I feel like I've had better and it didn't feel as flavorful. The tteokbokki was 10/10, really enjoy the glass noodles in there. Usually you don't get that in many restaurant and this was by far so tasty and chewy to perfection. Very neat place to stop by for lunch or dinner. I'd definitely go here again.

I ordered the beef soondubu for takeout. The way they packed the meal was great. It was a very big portion with banchan (side dishes) and rice included with the meal. Pickup was easy as well. However, the soondubu itself was only okay. It was strangely sweet (it tastes as though bulgogi meat was stirred into the broth) despite soondubu being a very spicy and savory dish. There were plenty of pieces of meat and vegetables which was great, but I couldn't get past the fact that the soup didn't taste close to how it should. Sweet isn't a flavor I would expect from soondubu, so I was disappointed that it tasted so different from what I was looking for. Otherwise, the service, portions, and price for the meal was good. If you're going to order from here I would recommend getting something other than the soondubu.

It's a cute restaurant. The seafood pancake was ok. The sauce was awesome. But I had a big problem with the soups. Kalbi tang and soon tofu. First in the kalbi tang, it shouldnt be bland and have some weird after taste. It should be popping you in the mouth with spice and flavor. Your mouth should be making enjoyable noises from the flow and flavor pouring and swirling. Nothing. And the soup had no substance. Barely any veggies, not a lot of meat pieces. And the worst part is that the meat pieces, which should be short rib, tasted like liver!! Yo, forreal? You know how easily you can ruin a soup??? Then I realized that was the weird aftertaste! Not happy. Soon tofu. It wasn't a soup. It was so thick! If I wanted to throw my rice in there, I couldn't!! It wouldn't sink into the soup, it would have just stayed on the top! No sinking!!! What is up with that? And the tofu was not soft. It needs to be silky soft. And it was not. No good.

I wanted to try a new Korean restaurant tonight and landed at BAB KOREAN BISTRO. From the Yelp reviews and photos, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed! I called and asked if they were taking reservations and the lovely hostess was able to give me one for 8pm. I got there like 20 mins early thinking there will be traffic. Asked the hostess if we can be seated early, she said yes of course and said give them 10 mins. As we were waiting, probably 2-3 parties came after us. For some odd reason they were all seated before me... I tried to not let that bother me so we actually waited 20 mins until being seated (8pm) lol FOOD REVIEW! The food was really good! We ordered the spicy pork bulgogi, LA short ribs , and Cheese Tteokbokki. I must say, the cheese tteokbokki is probably the best one I've had in awhile... the short ribs was well flavored. The portion was reasonable for the price $27. The spicy pork bulgogi was a little dry and warm when it came out... the hot skillet was hot but the top pile of meat was warm . Probably wasn't stir well enough but it was still good ! Definitely will come back to try their other dishes!

Very surprised by how much we enjoyed our dinner here this weekend. The kimchi pancake is definitely a stand out and a must order for future visits. It's high-quality batter and light flavors surpass some of our favorite Korean places in Allston. I loved the chewy noodles from the jajjangmyun too. The prices are so reasonable for the quality of food and service. They have such an extensive menu that even if your party is super picky, you can find something for everyone. We also got the deep fried mandu which are HUGE and super filling. We rarely eat beef dumplings so we found the flavors really interesting. Another highlight of this place that's a miss in other places is the dipping sauce for both the pancake and dumplings. I was obsessed with how the sauce had a nice acidity and umami flavor to it. They also serve soju/alcohol and had such a casual and fun vibe without compromising the dining experience so please check them out if you are in the area.

I really liked the array of dishes that I tried. Spicy Pork Dolsot Bibim Bab was great - like fried rice but with spicy sauce and in a sizzling stone that created some crispy rice around the edges. I also loved the taste and texture of the glass noodles in the Japchae. The PA Jeon was a thicker version of the scallion pancake I know and it was nice since it was a more robust appetizer.

BAB Korean Bistro is a Korean restaurant located at 1374 Beacon Street in Brookline, Ma. I have had BAB Korean Bistro on my bucket list for a long time now and finally had the opportunity to try it. I was thoroughly surprised by how delicious all of the food was and now I am looking forward to when they open their second location in Malden. For appetizer, we ordered the ganjang chicken wing. It was soy garlic flavored and was crispy and delicious. I wished there was more of a batter to it. My husband was craving Korean cold noodles so he ordered the mul naeng myeon. This noodle soup dish is served in an icy cold broth and the noodles are thin and chewy. You can order a spicy version also. The noodles are usually topped with cucumbers, pickled radish, boiled beef, and egg. It makes for a great summertime dish. We also ordered the jjajang and tangsu yuk combo. Both are Korean/Chinese dishes. Jjajang is a black bean noodle dish and BAB's version was delicious! The noodle was thick and had a great chewy texture while the black bean sauce was flavorful. Probably one of the best I have had in Boston. Tangsu yuk is sweet and sour battered pork and BAB does this dish well also. The meat was juicy and tender while the outside was crispy and well coated in the sweet and sour sauce. Jjamppong is a Korean noodle soup with a red spicy seafood or pork-based broth. I placed an order for jokbal but the waiter heard Jjamppong instead. I was skeptical at first but to my surprise, I ended up liking this noodle soup very much. The broth flavor was so rich and flavorful. The noodle was chewy and soaked up all the broth. We opted for outdoor dining instead of indoor dining. The restaurant interior is beautiful but nothing beats the outdoor seating on a beautiful sunny day. Beacon street is pretty busy so expect cars constantly driving by and passerby walking along the sidewalk. The customer service we received during our dining experience was prompt and hospitable. I thought the food came out at a steady pace. I recommend ordering from the combos menu as you get to try multiple popular dishes. I can't wait for them to open up in Malden so I can visit more often and try more of their dishes. See my pictures.

Located in the Brookline/Allston/Brighton area is BAB Korean Bistro. They have indoor and outdoor dining with a good lighting and open dining room for the interior. Decent amount of authentic food selections to choose from. We ordered the cold noodles, which were very good and delicious, especially on a hot summer day. We had the rice cakes with cheese, which wasn't too spicy. Additionally, we ordered the Jia Jiang Mian and that was not good. We ordered with pork and it really onion had onions and the sauce was way too salty. The service was mediorce.

Another bad choice with 50 different menu items, who knows which few of them do they actually make and are not from a can. It was unfortunately even worse than usual at this place because the vegetables were very noticably and extremely old; I no longer have any expectations for quality for allegedly korean food around Boston but having health or sanitation concern is a different problem.

Last month, my friends and I had dinner at this Korean restaurant. We sat in their semi-covered outdoor patio. The chairs were not the most comfortable but we were able to deal with it. We ordered deep fried mandu, ganjang chicken, haemul pajeon, L.A. galbi, galbi tang, and jjajang myeon. The mandu dumplings had beef and pork in it and were very crispy. The haemul pajeon was a crispy pancake with assorted seafood and scallions and also very tasty. The ganjang chicken were wings glazed in a sweet soy sauce. They were also very crispy and delicious. The galbi portion was pretty generious and the galbi was very juicy. The meat was not chewy at all. The galbi tang was actually surprisingly good. It was steamed galbi in a clear broth. The broth was peppery and great to gulp down on a cold night. The Jjajang Myeon was a noodle dish stir-fried with black bean sauce, veggies and pork. The noodles were good but there was not a lot of pork inside the dish. Rather, it had too much zucchini which I'm not a fan of. Overall, the food was really good but some of the tea cups and dishes were a bit dirty when we got them. I think their cleaning might need to kick up a little notch.

Wow! Gluten free options, YES! The japche was so flavorful, with a beautiful array of fresh vegetables...I only wish I wasn't so full! The kimchi fried rice was outstanding, but the Tofu soup was HEAVENLY! It's very spicy, and very flavorful! The service was excellent, very accommodating at lunch, and the restaurant is very clean! Even the other guests, the regulars, perhaps, were lovely! We can't wait to come back!

I ordered the jjajang myeon combo with kkanpung gi while my friend ordered the cream jjampong with tangsu yuk. The jjajang myeon tasted alright, but I felt like the ratio between the sauce to noodles was not even, so I ended up with a lot of leftover sauce and toppings near the end. I tried a bit of my friend's cream jjampong and found it pretty yummy. There was subtle spiciness and creaminess to the broth, and it did not taste overwhelming. My friend's major complaint regarding the dish was the excessive number of onions present in the dish. The kkangpung gi was overly spicy, which deterred me from enjoying the dish. On the other hand, the sauce for the tangsu yuk was yummy. I was disappointed by the lack of meat present in the dish though. The breading, although nice and crispy, was overwhelmingly thick in comparison to the amount of meat present in this dish. Considering how much you had to pay for the combo to get the additional meat dishes, I felt like I was being cheated out of my money. The portions of each dish were nice, and we left the restaurant feeling pretty full, even having leftover meat to bring back. Overall, the food was alright, but I would only come back for the cream jjampong as that is not a dish I can find anywhere else in Boston.

We arrived at around 2pm on Sunday and were struck by the beautiful traditional decor as we entered the restaurant. There are plenty of tables around to accommodate bigger parties, and a single-person restroom each for females and males in the back. We ordered the spicy pork bulgogi, which was not very spicy but very good. The portion was so large we had a lot leftover to bring home. Our favorite order was the bibim naengmyun, which was, again, not that spicy but still tasted authentic. It paired very well with the pork bulgogi. We were disappointed in some of the side dishes that seemed a bit bland and not seasoned enough (i.e. bean sprouts), and this may just be my personal preference as I regularly cook Korean food and grew up my entire life eating Korean food. For me, the budae jjigae was a bit of a disappointment-- we felt like there weren't enough sausages (2-3pieces?) inside and the whole soup overall seemed to lack depth. The kimchi used in the budae jjigae broth is the soul of the soup, and my guess is that it just wasn't the best tasting kimchi (my personal opinion since everyone has a different taste for how they like their kimchi). A very satisfying meal overall, and the total for the 3 orders came out to be around $59.

The best place in Boston for solid Korean and Korean-Chinese food. Jjampong is a huuuuge portion for $16 and can be multiple meals; they give a lot of seafood and use thick yellow noodles which I love. Toppoki is a value meal as it is only $13 and can also be multiple meals. I love that they put wide glass noodles in and the rice cakes are very chewy. Naengmyeon (Korean cold noodles) also big portion tho they don't keep well, very flavorful and lots of topping. Not pictured but I also rotate through the beef bulgogi stew and jajangmyeon. You cant be disappointed by these dishes! Also their side dishes (banchan) are solid.

Was in the area and wanted to get some Korean food, this was the only place that had outdoor dining and was pretty spread out. We got the Japchae: too salty Seoullung tang: the perfect bone broth! Jokbal: texture and flavor were amazing! Try the spicy soybean paste Jjajang myeon: great taste with good noodles Tangsu yuk: big pieces of meat with a great sauce, would've preferred the sauce in the side Overall food was great and love the outdoor spots!

Overall: The restaurant is nice and casual if you're just passing by, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here. Maybe I ordered the wrong things, but that should have to compromise the quality and experience for the customer. Food: Mul Naeng Myun with L.A Galbi combo - Please just skip on this. You can get better instant naeng myuns from H-mart that are half the price and so much tastier. The icy broth the mulnaengmyun came in was so watery and flavorless even when I asked for the traditional ingredients to season it with. It made my whole experience suck because I didn't enjoy what I ate at all (I did finish it though because we never waste here!). However, the LA galbi is good with no complaints. Tangsu Yuk - I would skip on this too. Although it was super crispy, after a few bites we realized that every single piece had absolutely little to no meat. Sorry, I don't think I just paid for fried batter. Jjambong - I tried both their creamy and regular jjambong and they're pretty good. Not "go out of my way" good but does the job and satisfies the cravings.

A Tuesday lunch for five found us as a lucky sole customers. It's a bright place with a low soundtrack of modern sounds, with a sea of attractive paper fish swimming along its long wall. We had: a veg japchae bulgoki beef galbi grilled and a seaweed salad The meat is served hot, grilled in the kitchen. The beef was very good, until the short ribs arrived and knocked it out of the park. Get that. The detailed menus meat and tofu soups, rice bowls, and endless other proper options-- await an assured next visit. Kudos to our pleasant waitperson.

Very good food and service. BAB Korean bistro is very close to our hotel and we decided to give it a go because my daughter who lives in the Boston area wanted to try it. We ordered the Japjae, with beef which was excellent (could have done with less onions though). The spicy squid was extremely flavorful and had a nice kick. The pork Bulgogi was also very good. All in all an excellent Korean restaurant -- worth a visit.

The Insider name for this place is "No Rice." The food seems to be day-old. Otherwise, okay.

I came here during the summer and was seated outside. The restaurant is very cute, with nice decoration and ambience especially during the warmer months because of street seating. We ordered the seafood pancake: a little too thick which caused it to be soggy and dense, wasn't a big fan. Pork dumplings were solid, but those are always something that can't be messed up. Spicy pork bulgogi was not spicy at all to my taste and a little too sweet for me but still yummy. The jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) was what I was looking forward to the most, but was a bit disappointed because it wasn't as flavorful as I expected, but the noodles and sauced were cooked well. My favorite dish we got was the japchae, the noodles were chewy and seasoned well. The menu is a tad bit pricier than I expected, but portions are a good size. BAB Korean Bistro is a decent spot to a get a fix of Korean food if you are in the area.

Great spot for nearby Korean food! They have one of the comfort entrees which is the chicken soup with rice! All the food is great quality and tasty! I recommend!

BAB is one of my very favorite restaurants in Brookline and I consider it essential eating. The food is delicious, I totally recommend the dolsot bibimbap, it's my favorite. Also, the seafood scallion pancakes are delicious! But everything is awesome. The staff are very friendly and helpful if you have any questions or are unfamiliar with Korean food, and the restaurant itself is very clean, comfortable, and pretty. Totally check it out!!

Enjoyed a dinner at BAB. Great location next to the T and nice space inside. I haven't had much Korean food but went with some friends who knew what they were doing. We had beef bulgogi and veggie bibimbab. Both very tasty and paired well with the light Korean lager. Would try again!

I came once before and it was a solid 5 star. This visit felt like such a nickel and dimed experience. They charged $2 for white rice with an order of kalbi. We ordered mul neangmyun and they didn't bring mustard or vinegar initially and when they did, it came in the tiniest of dishes. Bring me the bottle, I like it sour, don't judge me. The food itself still deserves a 5 and I'll keep that rating, but really disappointed in the service portion.

I stumbled into BAB, parched from my morning of conquering pickle ball; within seconds, I had a glimmering glass of ice water directly in front of me. Following the swift delivery of life-giving liquid, we perused the menu in search of delicious sustenance. Our table ordered three bowls of dolsat bibim bab and one bowl of sundubu, as well as some appetizers, which, to our delight, arrived soon after ordering. The food was absolutely to die for! The scallion pancake was ROBUST and filled with thicc scallions. The tteok-bokki was exquisite. One member of our group is a registered wimp who cannot take any spice; BAB gleefully acquiesced to reducing the spice level. The service perhaps was even better than the food! One member of the group is a bit of a klutz and dropped her napkin, her sauce dish, and finally her ever so slippery chopsticks. Before we could even pick them up, the waitress was at our side new chopsticks in hand. Between the satisfactory company and the exemplary food and service, we left BAB today with stomachs full, thirsts quenched, ready to embark on our next adventure.

Don't even want to give them 1 star. How can they have a cockroach in the food?? Is the restaurant not sanitized? This situation is ridiculous and so traumatized to me.

It's not exactly subtle food, but when your tongue wants to be pulverized with garlic and gochujang sauce, come here. Hearty portions, consistent quality. You won't even feel the bitter cold walking back out into the winter night, and you didn't break the bank for a warm belly either.

If any restaurant knows how to package food well for delivery, it has to be BAB Korean Bistro. I ordered 2 noodle dishes (bokkeum jjajang and bibim naeng myeon) and steamed mandu, and everything was packed with care. The restaurant uses very sturdy containers, and on top of that they put the containers inside bags to prevent them from leaking. They gave me a few side dishes with my order and those were packed neatly into a small container, where each side dish was separated from the rest using cupcake holders. Sure, all the packaging might not be the most eco-friendly, but I was happy that I didn't have to clean up a messy spill in a delivery bag before eating, and honestly the bags/containers are such good quality I plan to reuse them anyway. The food itself was incredible and I would definitely order from here again: $9 steamed mandu: the mandu had a lot of filling and were cooked nicely so that the wrapper held its shape. They seasoned the filling well, and the dipping sauce they included was awesome too. I only wish the mandu were bigger or they included more in the order... I felt that $9 for 5 dumplings was a bit on the expensive side. $13 bokkeum jjajang: nice and chewy noodles with so many vegetables! The sauce was flavorful but not overpowering, and had a faint smokiness to it. There was definitely more vegetable than pork in the noodles. $14 bibim naeng myeon: my favorite out of the three. The noodles came with a lot of toppings: a pile of pickled cucumbers, even more pickled radish, a few slices of apple, two slices of beef, and half a boiled egg. They packed the broth and two sauces separately. I thought they also packed some vinegar, but after opening the container and not feeling my nose sting, I realized that the restaurant had packed ice cubes that melted during the delivery! The noodles were stuck together at first but after some time in the broth/sauces and some coaxing with chopsticks, they separated well. The noodles were super chewy and the dish was very flavorful while still feeling light and refreshing.

Food was not fresh or good!! Don't go there. They need to change the chef. The food was a waste of calories!!

My friends and I had dinner in their outdoor patio and we enjoyed it so much that we also recently got take out from here as well. Given the pandemic we are more comfortable eating outdoors. I appreciated having the option of dining on their cute outdoor "patio" where they decorated with little Korean (and American) flags and greenery. We've enjoyed their Korean pancake (pa jeon), dolsot beef bibimbap, Japchae & Beef Bulgogi, chicken buns, and mandu guk. All were consistently yummy dishes. Unlike at other restaurants where the dishes may be a bit too greasy, BAB produces delicious and light, but generously portioned, fare. We will be back again, especially because they provide pan chan (Korean side dishes) with take out orders also!! [insert Korean finger heart here].

Everything was great! Most especially their pork bulgogi! Like wow! I've never had such bulgogi that had a lot of flavor! Will definitely come back and suggest it to my friends!

After moving from Allston (where Korean food was a plenty), I was so happy that Brookline got a decent - and all encompassing - Korean joint! BAB came rolling into Brookline with a menu full of noodles, meat, and an incredibly stew/soup-heavy menu. The last of all of them, they have soup and stew offerings I haven't seen at a lot of places. I've tried a variety of dishes and despite it not being a Seoul Soulongtang or Kaju Tofu, BAB holds its own and I'm glad to have them in Coolidge Corner. Meal as always starts with banchan. BAB's banchan is basic: broccoli/veggies, kimchi, daikon, & bean sprouts - but they refill it as much as you request it. A11 KKANPUNG MANU: Fried mandu doused in a sweet & spicy sauce. A MUST-TRY APP. The sauce is amazing and the dumplings are crispy - although they would be crispier if the sauce came on the side as a dip versus pre-sauced. A17 SPICY TTEOKBOKI: My first good tteokbokki! Sauce is perfect, rice cakes cooked to perfection and comes with a hardboiled egg. It's tasty! M13 LA GALBI WITH MUL NAENGMYUN: La Galbi good - smaller portion with the combo but Mul Naengmyun terrible. Overly sour ... not vinegar good sour ... like a little too sour and not right. KS8 GOPCHANG SOONDUBU: Tofu soup with pork intestine - really good, my first time having it and BAB did not skimp on the intestine! Savory, spicy, and full of tofu, veggies, & the beloved intestine! M4 SPICY PORK BULGOGI: All right, the meats in soups - great - this dish ... not so great. Not even close to what I would consider acceptable. Very dry, tough, and overcooked - not saucy enough. Weird that the Galbi was good but this was not great.

Ordered Galbi and Bibim naengmyun combo, gabi was delicious and naemyun needed little wasabi and vinegar but it was all good. Definitely a good spot for Korean food in Brookline.

We drive 40 minutes from Central MA to get our Korean food fix here. The food is SO GOOD. We used to come here often in the pre-covid days and the staff was always friendly and the service quick. They've adapted to take out extremely well and the food is still hot 40 minutes later. Recently, I ordered the budae jjigae and cheese tteokbokki (pictured). The meal came with incredibly fresh and delicious sides. The budae jjigae transported well, the noodles weren't too soft and the soup didn't get totally absorbed as some may. The cheese tteokbokki was super cheesy and the rice cakes were perfect. We love their tteokbokki sauce the most. Would recommend this place over and over again. It's worth the drive for us!