Babo Jumak

The new renovations are beautiful, and the restaurant feels very clean and homey. The staff are kind and the banchan were all very good. We only got two dishes- the tteokbokki and the squid and pork bulgogi (more than enough for two people). Both dishes came quickly and steaming hot, and the tteokbokki was delicious with great flavor. The squid and pork bulgogi was good but we were very disappointed by how little bulgogi the dish had and felt it was not worth the price. Overall though, we had a good time and would come again to try other dishes.

Finally was able to try out the newly renovated Babo Jumek last night and was pleasantly surprised. The interior is fully renovated and looks very modern with Korean decor. We ordered 5 different dishes for 3 people because we wanted to try a variety of things. They do have a new menu so apologies for forgetting to take a picture of it. Ban Chan was solid. Nice little variety and everything tasted fresh albeit a tad salty. Ban Chan should be refreshing and not making me feel like I need rice to go along with each bite. This carried over to some of the dishes as well. Each dish executed the flavors really well but we wished they went a little lighter on the salt. We also felt like the portions for the meat entrees were a bit light compared to other places. We’re paying $30 for a Galbi entree and while it’s a premium dish, I do expect a little more than 2-3 strips. Despite so, it had good flavor and the right amount of sweetness. I personally would’ve wanted it charred a bit more. The spicy pork was also very tender and had a good spicy flavor that went really well as a ssam. While the seafood jeon had excellent flavor and texture, it a bit too oily and salty. The doen-jang was also extremely salty. I’m also not sure if I liked the chunky bits of onion in every bite. This was almost inedible for us. The yukkaejang and bibim naeng-myun were our favorite dishes. Which isn’t surprising because these did not taste overly salty to us. Overall, we spent a total of $150 including tip for the 3 of us and left full and happy despite a few complaints. I wonder if we could request them to go lighter on the salt next time? That, along with bigger meat portions, would make this a restaurant a 5/5 experience and I wouldn’t have to eat at any other Korean eatery other than Babo Jumak. Side note: Please consider adding Galbi-Jim to your menu! Galbi-Jim served in places such as Dae-Ho in SF or Sun Nuong Dan in Ktown are really popular and doing extremely well. I’d love to see a Korean restaurant in AZ bring this dish into their menu - it’ll blow the restaurant up if executed well!

Updated Review - Nov 2025: Everything has changed. The items we had are no longer on the menu. The seafood pancake was not crispy and broke apart easily. The squid and pork stir fry was not fresh. It will be a while before we give this place another try. Opening Review: My wife and I had the beef intestine hotpot, tripe appetizer and seafood pancake. Their side dishes were great and tasted like it was made there. The seafood pancake was crispy with fresh seafood. The dipping sauce was delicious with it. The tripe was a cold dish. It was refreshing and tasty. The beef intestine hot pot was great. The soup was flavorful. It came with kimchi and sukgat, our favorite vegetable. The intestine itself was clean! It's so hard to find places where it has cleaned intestine so its a treat. They offered rice with the main dish. Their servers seems inexperienced and inattentive. I wished they had the call buttons for service. I hope they improve. This is definitely the best Korean restaurant in town for homemade meals. Definitely coming back to try more dishes!

The decor and furniture looked beautiful and added to a great atmosphere. Banchan was tasty as were our entrees. My husband is Korean and he said all of the food was delicious. Our server was very attentive without being overbearing. Overall we had a great dinner and are excited to find a great Korean restaurant.

The food was good as well as the ambiance. We ordered the Short Rib Soup, it’s good and flavorable. We got the Samgyeopsal - Pork Belly and that was delicious! it was tender. The beef tartare was good as well, my only feedback is that when we tried it, there were bits and pieces that were still frozen. The ban ham is good and our server was very attentive of us. Would recommend to go.

An awesome Koreon spot. Food is tasty of course my favorite is the bibimbap. The sauce adds favors for a foodi

Our server was so kind in helping our big group of 6 people figure out the best items to order, and our food arrived within minutes! Highly recommend the tteokbokki, seafood pancake, and kimchi and meat fried rice.

Best meat jun I've found in the valley! Kimchi fried rice was tasty also. The kimchi pancake can use some work.

Loved the service and food though please note that their menu is much different than what is showing in Yelp photos. It seems like it may have changed names/ownership and they no longer have the same menu (I had gone for soondubu/tofu soup, but they no longer had it). I tried the soybean soup, seafood pancake, mandu, and hot bibimbap and they were all great. I also loved the amount of complimentary bon chon that they provided. The thing that stood out the most from all this is the freshness of their ingredients. I do not have the best taste for freshness, but it was obvious that they were using good ingredients which made the foods so good I also really loved the traditional Korean decor and table setup.

My new favorite Korean restaurant! Super authentic! We got the Japchae, bulgogi, and meat jun! The ban chan were all really good! I'm a little picky on kimchi - I think the kimchi could be a little more pungent but that's just my preference for kimchi. The japchae was the most delicious restaurant japchae I've ever had!!! The bulgogi was large and the meat jun was really tasty (although not as large of a portion as the bulgogi). The staff were absolutely swamped, but still attentive and friendly which I appreciated! Will definitely be back. I strongly recommend this place for anyone craving Korean food! I'm excited to go back and try more dishes! The overall ambiance is very cozy and comforting - like you're eating at a friend's house.

The service is absolutely wonderful. Price is a bit on the steeper side but they definitely make up for it with the atmosphere of the place. It is very cozy and lower warm lighting. The food is so good. The kimchi stew is so rich and flavorful- sweet, sour, and salty. The free Korean "appetizers" are so good too. The best I've ever had.

Wow! I have been craving some cold spicy Korean noodles and this place is one of the few that seems to serve it. I ordered takeout, the atmosphere is 10/10! It's so beyond cute, and the staff were so friendly. The food was packaged beautifully and was incredibly tasty. I cant wait to go back and sit down to really enjoy the space.

The place (formerly known as Ban Chan) was recently renovated and expanded. It looks much more modern inside now! The menu's changed a bit, but most of their popular dishes are still there. We come here whenever we're craving Meat Jun, a Hawaiian-Korean dish that's quite hard to find on the mainland. Everything we ordered was excellent, and the service was attentive. Also love that they stay open late!

Food was excellent. Felt like I was transported to Korea. Service was great. Highly recommended.

It was such a pleasure eating Korean food after really missing it for over a week! This is a 100% Korean-run restaurant with traditional dishes I have not seen in Toronto for a long time. I ordered a saellongtang which I haven't had in years. Spouse said his kimchi-jjigae was better than he gets at home. The panchan was fresh. The service was very pleasant and professional. The kalbi was an add-on and tasted delicious - tender and well-marinated. Only minor criticism is that the salleongtang was fattier than I generally like. The beef was well-cooked but a lot of added extra fat for flavour - some folks like it fattier. I would highly, highly recommend this Korean restaurant. I had a look at the hwae mul pajjeon (seafood pancake) someone ordered and it looked exceptional. They prepare traditional Korean dishes I have not seen in a long time in Toronto. Food is served piping hot.

They remodeled and WOW!!! Soft contemporary meets traditional Korea. What a beautiful restaurant!!! The food is still DELICIOUS and now the interior matches. The service is still great as well. I am soooo impressed by this restaurant. A+++++++ for everything. This place makes me so proud to be Korean. FINALLY, we have a Korean restaurant in AZ that REPRESENTS!!!

Very authentic Korean establishment with a varied menu. Had the meat jeon (not common although common in Korea), kimchi stew and mul naengmyeon (cold noodles). All were excellent, especially the cold noodles. Meat jeon was tender and well seasoned. Service was friendly and quick. Would recommend!

What a hidden gem. This is what a home cooked meal feels like! We went with a big group and got to try a lot of dishes on the menu: seafood pancake, naengmyeon, bibim naengmyeon, kimchi tofu soup, tteokbokki, and mixed plate of bulgogi and pork belly. The ban chan was good here of course, living up to its name. Our favorite entrees were the seafood pancake and pork belly! We felt that the bulgogi was a tad bit dry. Overall very solid and authentic Korean restaurant with big hearty portions. Prices were standard but it was worth it for how full we ended up being!

The sides served lives up to the name! We went over for dinner. Got seated quickly! The space has a home kitchen vibe. Simple and feel good. We got Kimche Jigae, Seafood pancake and Bibimbap. The banchan here was a hit. So many variety. Our favorite was shredded Raddish pickle, eggplant, and kimchi! The Kimchi in the stew was too sour for our taste and the broth was very watery! It came with free rice. It had big chunks of pork, but didn't care for the taste of the meat as it did not feel fresh. Next, the seafood pancake was good but bit oily for our taste. The size was huge. Next the Bibimbap was better than the rest. We have had better Korean food, 3 stars for the customer service, portion, and Banchan. Not sure if we will be going back!

Came back to this spot, and was so happy to see how busy they were. My partner got the Naengmyeon + bulgogi combo (~$18 as of 01/2025) and I got the kimchi stew (~$15). I think for the best bang for your buck, the combo is the way to go. There is a deceptively large amount of noodles in the bowl. However, if you are not a fan of cold, vinegary broths, it'll be best to skip this. I liked the kimchi stew, but felt it was a bit salty, so I couldn't fully savour it. We also got the seafood pancakes, and that was MASSIVE. It was $18 for the entire thing, and it was very yummy. I saw a lot of people order a BBQ wrap set for their tables, so I really want to try that next time.

My go-to Korean restaurant in the valley. Good for two people large groups, I've always had good experiences here after ordering like half the menu at this point.

After reading a Phoenix Times review about this place, we came here tonight after running with Aravaipa. The article reports that you shouldn't order some of your go to Korean dishes here and really give their authentic grandma country cooking a try. We ordered the pork belly and kimchi stew, the steamed cod and acorn jelly salad. The stew was very interesting and the woman who served us brought over a small stove to finish cooking the stew and prior to turning on the stove, cut up the big pieces of fermented cabbage right before our eyes. Soup was fairly sour and tasty. Pork belly was good, but that's not how I like it cooked. I like pork belly caramelized and very very tender. Lots of tofu, so that was great, I love tofu. Steamed cod was also interesting, it was very red when it came to the table and doused in hot pepper sauce. I was able only to eat one piece because a little too spicy for me. My favorite was the acorn jelly salad. I loved it and I will come back just to eat this! It reminds me of a Chinese dish I love, but cannot get out here. This will be excellent when it is so hot outside outside and I'll have the cold buckwheat noodles too when I come back! Overall, a very nice experience and I'll definitely be back to try their other standouts. There was a lot of Korean spoken in the restaurant and I guess it made me really want to visit South Korea at some point to experience the food and culture firsthand.

Great authentic Korean spot! I absolutely demolished my kimchi stew - it was so good! My boyfriend loved his bibimbap as well. Good variety of side dishes. Our fave side dish was the soy sauce potatoes of course. Service was good. Plenty of parking. Good amount of seating inside. Their hot pot dishes look great - would love to try those with a bigger group. Overall a solid choice for a casual dinner with friends or family!

Everything is delicious, all dishes including the side dishes are amazing. Very authentic Korean food with great flavors. Service is fast and I even get to meet the chef. Restaurant is nice and cozy, plenty of seating areas. This restaurant opens late till 10:30pm as well. Great place to grab some late night snacks. I will definitely come back again.

The worst service I've ever received, only one other person in the restaurant. Server came to the table once the entire time, provided refill on banchan and other request to the other party and I was completely ignored. I lost my appetite from the complete disrespect and treatment from this establishment

I've eaten here so often with my friends and alone...what's wrong with eating at a restaurant alone??? nothing of course! meats are really good, and the side dish potatoes are indulgent and the pickled radishes. And I found out theres karaoke rooms? holy cannoli. Portions has been consistent everytime i've gone to eat for dinner. 10/10 WILL be coming back. Adam Nguyen Copyright 2024 - All Rights Reserved.

The food there is always so good! We had Jaden as our server and he was always checking in and very nice! Definitely made our experience much better. The place has been renovated so it is super upgraded and nice. Thanks again Jaden (:

Ban Chan 2909 S Dobson Rd, Mesa, AZ 85202 I had a lovely lunch date with my scary sister today. It's been such an exciting time for her as her daughter gave birth on July 5th, and she's back from Korea We decided to try out Ban Chan, and although I initially thought there was a change in ownership because the service was horrible. The service from the waitress could have been more welcoming, I might consider trying out Hodori next time for better service I value my hard-earned money too much to not have a positive dining experience, but I still left a generous 20% tip as I appreciate supporting small businesses.

Such a great place! I was craving some korean food so badly one day, and although I'm not a person to dine by themself, I had to have my ban chan. I was greeted by the friendly lady up front, and she was super kind! The food is great, the environment is cute. It's almost always packed when I come here, a true testament to this gem of a place.

Great food. It seemed authentic because there was item only found here not at other restaurants, like the spicy cold noodle, the ox taul soup. I really like the spicy cold noodle. Very friendly owner. The ox tail soup needs a lot of salt but fyi, shocking news, you actually have to season it yourself! I didn't know it until the end though. Once it was seasoned, it was rather good.

Have driven by several times and was interested in trying Korean food. Our waiter hooked us up and we tried a couple different dishes. It was fantastic. No more lousy Chinese food for me. Ive been back twice in two weeks and am sampling the whole menu. My favourite so far is a spicy seafood pot. The place has to be legit because its full of Korean families celebrating birthdays etc. Ive seen young couples on dates too which is always a good sign. Im not huge in writing reviews but will do so if a place is really good which this is.

Spicy galbi Jim was really good. Portion size was huge. It'll at least feed two hungry adults. We had leftovers to take home. The rice cakes in this dish was nice surprise too. Although this dish is traditionally sweet, it wasn't overly sweet which was perfect for me. The bibim nengmyun was way too spicy. Looked like they added way too much pepper flakes. Otherwise, it was decent. The side dish was as expected. The best was the cold soy sauce pork. Very tender and delish. Overall, enjoyable lunch. Highly recommend.

Ban Chan is a very authentic and traditional Korean restaurant located in Mesa! Our first experience there did not disappoint. You are brought out some small snacks to eat while you wait for your meal, which is a touch I always enjoy at restaurants. Their Kimchi is one of the best I have had! The spicy pork dish was phenomenal and you ate the pork in fresh lettuce leafs, with a few of the on side condiments on top. The Pork Hock (feet) were boiled, and in my opinion, didn't hold enough flavor. However, when some condiments were added the Hock tasted great and was tender. Such a great visit and very affordable!

Food was delicious! My grandma took all her grandchildren for dinner and we ordered a whole bunch of items on the menu, especially the ones on the wall Service was good. It wasn't that busy for 7pm and we got seated right away. There were 2-3 other tables that were occupied after we had our food out the table Ambiance, it was quiet but for us, we had a baby on our end and he was quite cranky and sleepy lol but overall it was pretty quiet and everyone else talked among themselves The food came out fast too. Next time I will try the rice wine but I couldn't tonight for I had class the next day

Great mom n pop restaurant with super kind staff and tons of seating. Seems pretty family friendly! We ordered the seollongtang-oxbone knee soup, cold noodles with skate fish, and seafood pancake. The ox bone soup was delicious and the most meaty we've ever had it! Usually there are a few thin slices of beef at other places. Here the pieces are thicker and plentiful. I'm not sure if thick pieces are authentic but either way it was good. FYI, it doesn't come salted. They provide salt and pepper so you can adjust to your preference. The ban chan was plentiful and fresh. Delicious! One of them was made in house and we enjoyed it. The cold noodles with skate fish were OK. I think we've concluded we aren't into Korean style cold noodles so we won't get it again, too saucy for us. But doesn't mean we won't return to try other dishes! The skate fish was also really bony and hard to chew. Lastly, the seafood pancake had lots of seafood and green onion! Which was great. Some places don't put enough. It was slightly doughy/undercooked in the center but the sides were nice and crispy at least. Solid spot and we'll return to try other dishes - beats the wait at Hodori which we like but we are impatient lol

My go to when I want the best Korean BBQ! The service is great. When I walk In I feel like I'm visiting family! You cam feel the love and pride they have for their craft!

I keep returning to this one because it serves the most authentic Korean meals you can have in the Valley. My gripe is that AZ is lacking severely in the Korean food department, but this is one of the rare bright spots. Every dish and side dishes just taste right. It's not necessarily food I crave every Friday night, but Ban Chan is legit, wholesome, home-cooked Korean food at a reasonable price.

The food was amazing and came out very quickly! Very comfortable vibe, which I enjoy after a stressful day at work. I will definitely come back again soon, because the food was phenomenal and affordable for what they give you.

Overall rating: 4/5 Wait: 4/5 Arrival time: Sunday 1pm Food: 4/5 Order: bibimbap, spicy beef soup, kimchi pancake Service: 4/5 Price: 4/5 Worth it, would come back I visited ban chan on a Sunday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by the short wait time. The restaurant was clean and cozy, and the staff was friendly and attentive. I ordered the bibimbap, spicy beef soup, and kimchi pancake. The bibimbap was delicious and came with a variety of toppings. The spicy beef soup was rich and flavorful, but my wife thought it tasted too much like shin ramen broth. The kimchi pancake was crispy and spicy, and I liked it better than the one at hodori. The price was reasonable for the quality and quantity of food, but not cheap. I paid about $50 for two people, including tip. I think it was worth it, and I would come back again.

Hands down one of the best Korean restaurants I've been too! It's a mom and pop place which makes me feel at home. I love the designs they have inside. It's very unique. They have hand paintings of their menu which I thought was awesome! My hubby and I wanted galbi, bbq pork belly with the lettuce wrap. It also came with rice but we didn't bother to eat it. We loved the lettuce wrap instead. Omg it had so much flavor and it did not disappoint me one bit. The banchans (sides) were really good too! Kimchi and fish cakes were gone in seconds. Service was great! Everyone took care of us every time we needed someone to assist us. They even packed our leftovers for us and I didn't even ask them too. I will definitely be back and I will make this place my to go to when it comes to Korean food!

Our new go to Korean restaurant in Phoenix. This place is cozy and feels like you're walking into someone's home. The food is made with love; It tastes like home cooking, although I've never lived in a Korean home! We ordered seafood pancake, which was absolutely huge, could possibly serve four or five as an appetizer. The Kimchi stew had a deep Flavour. The Korean barbecue short trip was perfectly cooked and good quality meat. It was also a nice sized portion. Will definitely come back again.

Authentic Korean food. Everything was delicious. We are from Hawaii! So we are pretty snobby when in comes to ethnic dishes. Both my son in laws are Korean and they enjoyed it as well. Service was attentive, very polite and friendly. Highly recommend.

unassuming little space in a strip mall. authentic and delicious! i haven't stopped thinking about their kimchi pancake which is the most amazing thing ive ever tasted. i really loved the cold beef noodles. i live in northern az but recommend this place to people traveling down to the valley.

soy garlic is very very salty. And female (no glasses) employee is very rude. Not going there anymore.

This place lived up to its name! Great variety of banchan. It came with some tteokboki and a bit more banchan than the other korean restaurants, which was a plus. I tried the spicy pork, and it was really good and definitely spicy. I always add the ssam, which is lettuce, and it comes with a small plate of ssamjang. The lettuce was a bit watery but not inconvenient for me. The food was great and the atmosphere was also great. It was relaxed and had a mom and pop feel. Came here for lunch and was attended very well. They had lunch specials on the board and serve alcohol as well. The lady was really sweet and nice. I definitely will return.

Since the owner took back this place, remodel looks great & it is back in business for great food & service. As always, never disappointed with the service & how tasty the food is. The ambiance is great with a little dimmed light at night with some music. Many selection of food/dishes to my liking. Today with a little bit of rain, I was craving the chicken feet with some soju & when asked what else is recommended, spicy pork was brought out. It was just right flavoring with just the right spicy. Perfect with soju! Would have been nice if rice ball is offered with the chicken feet. Love it!!!

Solid authentic korean food. Nothing spectacular, but with that said, this does the job to satisfy a crave. Bulgogi is marinated well, and makes me think of family gatherings growing up. So does the galbi. Not a ringing endorsement by any means, but there's a lot to be said for putting out quality equivalent to Korean moms. The banchan (also the restaurant's namesake) is very good, and hits all the marks for authenticity. The mul naengmyon (cold buckwheat noodle soup) could have been much better if more garnishments were used. The broth is stellar, and the noodles are chewy and spot on, but it's as if the kitchen just didn't feel like topping the dish with enough accessories. I'll come back if I want to knock out a good homestyle meal where I know the food will satisfy an itch. But, if I'm looking for a total experience, I might look elsewhere.

This place is incredible. We were seated right away, and service was fast. Very relaxing environment, and the food is SO GOOD. We can't wait to come back.

It has been awhile since I have been here. I have catered food from here in March and it was delicious. We brought our friend who has never tried Korean and tried to offer him silkworm pupa, but he was not brave enough. This restaurant has updated its space and still offers authentic and traditional dishes that are not always offered at other places. If you are feeling adventurous and would like to try a few new Korean dishes, then head over to this hidden gem named Ban Chan.

Seen this place on IG and been wanting to try it and glad I did. To begin on IG their name is Babojumakaz, it was sort of hard to find here on Yelp or Maps. I thought it was a new restaurant but it was actually already in my bookmarks lol. Btw every dish we had was tasty! Very authentic Korean food, there's even a grandma in the back making the food so you know it's good! The ban chan was soo tasty every one of them we asked for seconds. The service was awesome as well the place was packed and the 2 waitresses held it down. I'm curious to try the rest of the menu, I will definitely be returning.

Just tried this tonight for the first time. Everything was great! Loved the bulgogi. Rice was cooked perfectly. Sides were all delicious.

We had a large group in a private room. We had very good service, they checked back on a regular basis. The only negative was that each person ended up paying $44. If we had gone to Hodori for lunch, it would have been half that price.

Delicious food, quick and friendly service, homey atmosphere. The acorn jelly cold noodle soup (naengmyun) with the yul-mul kimchi is our favorite. We'll come here again and again.

Everything was amazing! We knew we were in the right spot when we looked around and realized that everyone else was Korean. If you know... you know. Our server was extremely nice and offered great suggestions. I was super impressed! Would I drive from deep West valley to visit again, absolutely

By far some of the best Korean food in AZ. We ordered a large variety of food to share with our large group and everything I tried was fantastic.

My absolute favorite Korean restaurant. I've been to Korea and grew up eating Korean and I can say this is the most authentic Korean food I've had in Arizona. (You can tell by eating their kimchi stew) They put so much time into every since dish including the free side dishes you get the beginning. I've tried most of the things on the menu so far but everything has been delicious. Whenever I'm feeling down, I love coming here to warm up my body and soul. It has a home-y feeling and the staff are extremely friendly too!

This is a fine place, good service and dishes you won't find in other Korean restaurants. generous side appetizer array given before the meal, too. A very special Korean menu.