Chingu

This was a great spot to feed a large group of 12 for $25 each including tax and tip! The food itself was delicious and we tried so many menu options by splitting everything family style. The space was filled with really cute decorations and I loved the Soju bottle wall that casted a light green glow. The only issues we ran into were slow service and they messed up our order. However, the food quality is worth the wait and the slight mishap. Still highly recommend eating here!

Very disappointed, overpriced. Was originally very excited about this new Korean restaurant in San Mateo. However, after spending $60 per person post tax and fees, I feel like there are better choices in San Mateo with the same price. Tofu soup - it has plenty seafood inside, but tastes very mid. Korean fried chicken - probably my favorite along the 3, but the honey flavor is too sweet / heavy for me. Grilled wagyu: it is very hard to chew at the beginning, then it’s overcooked later. There’s no way for us to tell when is the right time to eat it, and no one came to help / explain. A waste of money. The store itself is pretty cute.

Cute spot for sharing small Korean plates with your chingu (friends :)). The atmosphere is quite nice and service is good. We got the bulgolgi stew, spicy pork, and chicken wings to share. I would say the stew was flavorful and the toppings were great but the meat quality was a bit lacking. The spicy pork was okay, pretty standard. The chicken wings were probably their best out of the three! Overall come for the vibes but don’t expect the absolute best Korean food.

New korean food restaurant at San Mateo downtown. We arrived before they opened. We got seated right away. It is interesting that it looks like they only have 2 copies of menus, and it is rotated among tables. We took photos of the menu. Menu is simple, and the dishes are similar dishes you find at korean restaurants. We placed our order, and the server didn't write it down and just memorized it. We ordered steam egg, bimbimbap, and kimchi tofu soup. The egg came in a reasonable time. It was good, but it looks like it is not as soft as it should be. The bancan is ok. They are not that special. We waited a while for our other orders. The bimbimbap is yummy. The kimchi tofu soup is good. It is not apicy. Overall, we enjoyed our dinner, but service needs to be improved. It seems the kitchen was overwhelmed. For our bimbimbap and tofu soup, we waited for more than an hour. There is an additional around $2 service charge on the bill.

We were super excited for a new place to get Korean food in downtown san Mateo. They’re currently doing a soft opening as they’re still figuring out a lot of kinks. However even considering the soft opening it left a lot to be desired. Service: They only had 1 person taking order, bringing food, providing to-go box, and handling the checks. As a result it was extremely slow, but we expected it. What we didn’t expect was waiting for over an hour for food. They were nice enough to give us 1 beer on the house, but had I known the wait for food would be this long I wouldn’t have come here Food: The food is below average across all the dishes. Starting with the banchan, the kimchi, potato and spinach were all extremely salty. Their kimchi jigae was equally as salty. What I found weird was even though we waited for over an hour for food, when they came out nothing was hot. The fried chicken was lukewarm, kimchi jigae could barely cook the raw egg with its heat (I’m used to it coming out bubbling but this didn’t even have steam). The fried chicken was also overcooked and a bit tough to chew. The buldak chicken was the only average dish of the night. Ambience was nice with good interior decor. They also open to midnight which is not common for most places in san Mateo. I would give it a few more weeks to sort things out. It’s definitely not ready to be at full capacity.

Actually horrendous Korean food. I’m writing this review as I’m sitting in the restaurant still. The sundubu jigae is just water with a block of tofu. I know this was by accident but the waiter also spilled it all over my bag and scarf.

They dishonestly charged me extra tip without asking, even though the poor service. They also charge credit card fee. Only got two banchan dishes—that’s the least I’ve ever had at a Korean spot. The fried calamari was weird, more like onion ring, and the tofu stew didn’t come with rice or a raw egg like the menu said. The only good thing is they’re open until midnight

Fun little place to enjoy some Korean food and soju! Staff is very friendly and the food is delicious. The restaurant is on the smaller side, so right now there can be a long wait depending on how busy it is.

The service I recieved from Aaron and Ryan was superb! The food was great and I woild definitely come back.

Nice cozy Korean place in San Mateo. Food: chicken wings are a must. We got half/half spicy and sweet. Sauce is amazing and fried perfectly. Tofu soup was okay and I've had better. Ambiance: service is very attentive. Street parking, but it's on the outer edges of downtown so was t too difficult to find parking

The food is pretty bad. The kalbi short ribs were super tiny pieces and no depth of flavor only sweet. The fried chicken wings were dinky and itsy bitsy for the price. The only thing saving the meal was the army stew. Hard to mess this up but at least it was kinda filling. Only 6-7 tables and high tables by window. More of a place to just get a drink rather than dinner. Service was good.

The price is steep for the amount of food you get. There's also very little banchans, only bean sprouts and kimchi in a tiny dish. Service was great, staff were very friendly. Food was okay, we tried the army stew, fried chicken and galbi. Nothing really stood out, food wasn't bad but just not memorable. Street parking only.

Wow this place is such a vibe! So happy my friend showed us this spot because I want to come back asap. I love the decor and how casual it is. We opted to get some snacks and drinks before dinner. We gazed at the menu and you can definitely eat a full on dinner or lunch here. -chicken skins: 5/5, this was sooooo good. So crispy and tasty. It came with mayo as the dipping sauce. I wish it came with vinegar because that's what I'm used to but it was still good. -honey butter almond makgeolli: 4/5, first time having this and I was surprised at how sweet it was! Such a delicious pairing with the chicken skin. -makgeolli: 4.5/5, I liked the flavor of this more than the honey butter but I'm glad I got to try both! So delicious Coming here for a snack makes me really excited to come again to try their other meals. Will definitely be coming back again

Food: We ordered the grilled pork ssam ($37) and it was served on a big hot plate with melted cheese, kimchi, bean sprouts and onions. It was good for 2 people. We also ordered the tteokbokki ($19) which was a big portion to share as well. Their food options are mostly to pair with drinks and yapping with friends. Service: There was only one person serving that evening and he was pretty efficient with taking care of all the tables. Ambiance: The restaurant is small and dark, in a good way. It's intimate and gives off a cool hip Seoul vibe. There is a big screen playing Korean videos on the repurposed metal container panels. Hot take: We stumbled across this spot because it was open late on a Tuesday. They're open until midnight on most days. We'd come back again.. with more friends and more Soju :)

San Mateo sorely needs more Korean options, and Chingu is the first Korean pub food entry into this space. We were the only ones there at opening on a weeknight, and then half an hour later, one other person came in to dine. In fact, the waitress said she was surprised to see us, and said that typically they only really fulfill takeout orders around that time. In an area where tons of Asians traverse, it's really surprising to see a lack of foot traffic for cuisine that's typically very popular in the bay. The place itself seats very little, and is dimly lit with K-pop playing on a projector. We were given crisp cold water with small metal cups to pour in along with complimentary banchan (small cuts of kimchi, bean sprouts, and broccoli). I unfortunately saw that the prices had risen from the last menu posted. I wanted the army stew because the dish is relatively cheaper here compared to other places. I pretty much never order this dish as I can make it at home for infinitely cheaper, but I was curious if it could change my mind. The army stew comes with a circular block of ramen, fresh tofu pieces, Vienna sausage, spam, kimchi, cabbage, zucchini, onion, braised soybeans, a few sprigs of enoki mushroom, and jalapeno slices. The soup looked more flavorful than it was; it tasted like a blander tofu soup base. I think there was just enough meat and tofu for two people, but not enough if you're a big meat eater. Additionally, there was too much cabbage filler, and the stew could have used more starch. The bowl is shallow enough for you to easily find ingredients within, and sits atop a portable burner that they light up for you. I didn't really enjoy my meal here, though the waitress was kind. I also was stressed out at the time, and being let down by the meal did not help. I don't think I'd return with how expensive it is or with the memory of the poor experience.

I was really excited to try a new Korean pub in the downtown San Mateo area. However, the food did not meet my expectations. We ordered: -corn cheese: literally zero flavor besides a bunch of cheese and not enough corn to ratio. -fishcake soup: this was just okay but some of the fishcakes were not fully cooked and were hard to chew. -chicken wings: again, just ok. Crispy enough to be called Korean bbq chicken but nothing special. -egg soufflé: so bland...never been so disappointed with one of my favorite dishes that's actually super easy to make. -honey butter makkoli: tastes like juice and honestly way too sweet for my palate. Service was great and brought us what we asked for. However, the food could definitely use some work. I love Korean style pub food but this place did not satisfy my cravings.

I got the Korean street food plus drinks to-go! They had the new honey-butter-almond flavored makkuli (HBAF) too! Whaaaaaaat!!! We definitely will be stopping by again to hang out with the food fresh and hot along with these drinks straight from Korea. What I also realize is that this setup is great for having the night-life feel without the actual drawbacks of being outside with the bugs and the wind and the cold and randos. The buldak chicken was a hit once again, and I was able to get the cheese pull even at home since I got takeout this time.

This is a chill place to catch up with friends, grab a few drinks, and eat. Our table loved the grilled pork ssam, the half and half Korean fried chicken, the chicken skin, and the honey butter makgeolli. The raw marinated shrimp was delicious and most people were surprised that they liked it. I would skip on their raw marinated crab. It was hard to break and you end up feeling like you wasted food

This meal really reminded me of a lot of meals I've had in KTown LA, it was so much fun to visit a spot that served such a large variety of Korean bar food after a while. I came with a group of 4 and we ordered the half and half Korean chicken wings, spicy pork belly, tteokbokki, and bulgogi beef stew. This was plenty of food for us, and my favorite by far was the bulgogi beef stew. The dish was served on a burner so it stayed fresh and hot for the entire meal- the meat was so tender and flavorful and came with such a large variety and quantity of veggies, tofu, and glass noodles. The spicy pork was also quite good, and I was very pleasantly surprised by how the pork belly wasn't super fatty. I wish that there had been more rice cakes and/or veggies in the tteokbokki, as the large plate we got was mostly sauce. The restaurant has a fun vibe and is pretty dark inside, it seems that most people came to drink + eat simultaneously, so it can get a bit loud inside. Our server was super friendly and energetic and did a great job of checking in on us and recommending which and how many dishes to order.

Bar food / comfort food vibes. First time I came here with friends and ordered food family style. We came around when they first opened. Not very busy. Service was good. FOOD: 2x Korean tofu soup, fried chicken, and wagyu ssam, bibimbap. For 4 ppl, it was not a lot of food. The food is okay...Tofu soup was sooo spicy. Wagyu ssam was good but not a lot of meat. Fried chicken was good and so was the bibimbap. Second time I came here, they were busier. Came with 2 friends (3 total) and ordered family style again. FOOD: We ordered the kimchi fried rice, steamed egg, fried chicken and perilla pan cake. Kimchi fried rice, steamed egg and fried chicken were good, but typical. The perilla one was kinda weird...they gave it to us with ketchup. Service was quick and decent. Overall, okay, but not very outstanding for what we paid. Maybe I'm not ordered the right things? Or maybe this place is better for drinking?

Guys, this place is priceyyy. One pro is that they are open until midnight Banchans only 3. kimchi, pickled daikon, broccoli. Seafood Soondubu $19 medium spicy here is more like mild. never had enoki and shiitake in my seafood dubu before. not complaining but just want to mention it. the flavor was okay. Bibimbap $25 that's right. $25 for a bibimbap! I thought oh it better be stone pot. She said it is and we got it on a stone plate. Never seen this plating for bibimbap before. Also, lettuce in place of spinach is just not the same. Don't recommend. The bibimbap sauce is also more gochujang and less beany and sweet. Wings $19 Honey soy sauce - this was good. Soju $15 for a bottle of flavored soju. for that price, I assumed it was the big jug.

The Sundubu jjigae was closer to water than soup. They gave us a raw egg presumably to crack in it but the soup came out too cold to feasibly cook it. The japchae was okay but the beef has a grainy texture to it. Interesting ambiance though.

I asked for extra spicy tofu soup and got it, some places don't deliver on extra spicy, but they did. Aaron who helped me was attentive and kind. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone dropping by to grab a quick bite to eat.

Came in after work for some happy hour. I really enjoyed the Korean fried chicken both the spicy and the sweet. The egg soufflé was huge! Bigger than expected and was pretty tasty too. Soju is of course on the menu, but I really enjoyed the sweet Sikhye instead. Thank you!

This is truly a hidden gem in San Mateo! Immaculate vibes and top notch service. You can really tell that Chingu's owner put in a lot of effort in the interior designs (also my water cups were never empty lol) Came here after a gathering to get some soju and some late night snacks. They have every flavor of soju imaginable! They also sell the "hangover cure" flavor mix ins for the plain soju which was super fun! They give us banchans even tho we didn't order any food. The staff were super nice and attentive. We ended up ordering the fried chicken skin and it's just so crispy and delicious (very unique) Definitely will be coming back for some late night craving and try some Korean comfort foods!

Really enjoyed the vibe at Chingu, from the bottle shelves to the K-pop TV. The food we ordered didn't turn out to be very impressive. The Japchae was quite greasy and the rice noodles were all broken short. Tteokbokki was unnaturally spicy. Fried chicken wings were too saucy. We visit on a Saturday night and everyone here seems to be having a great time. We might come another time to try some other menu items.

I'm so glad San Mateo now has a Korean restaurant open late at night, whereas everything else closes before 9pm! Finally a late night go-to. When we came in it was fairly empty, it was only us and another couple eating the exact same order as us (lol). We ordered the corn cheese, rabokki w/ cheese, and sundubu. No alcohol as we were tired but would love to come back for drinks with friends. Everything was super affordable and came out quickly! The only real thing I would suggest working on is the service - if it was good I would have warranted a solid 5 stars. Like I said there were only two active tables the night we came but we could barely get ahold of our waitress, she was short and cute but very aloof. It took a long time for us to order and a long time for us to pay. But when we were leaving a nice guy with a mask on asked us if everything was okay and told us that he was grateful we came. That was the best part!

San Mateo sorely needed a place like this. Open late, good food and alcohol for reasonable prices, and great vibes all around. Our group of 9 had a great time at dinner, the team at Chingu is awesome and really took care of us! Bottles of soju are around $15 and they have lots of flavors to try. Corn cheese - more cheese than corn!! Make sure you have your lactaid handy :D Chicken buldak - this was my favorite dish. Chicken is so juicy and flavorful and great with the onions and cheese on the side. Pork ssam - this comes out on a burner with veggies and cheese. The pork is cooked maybe a touch more than what we preferred, and didn't help that it kept cooking over the burner Army stew - comes out on a burner with tons of goodies. Flavorful and hearty. Bibimbap - solid option Bulgogi fries - another favorite of our group. Meaty, cheesy, and savory. Will definitely be back!

My friends and I still frequent Chingu a little too often, and my 5 star rating remains the same, but now that I've tried pretty much everything on the menu, I have to say that the bibimbap is my FAVORITE thing on the menu. Bulgogi fries a very close second. The menu just refers to it as "bibimbap" but it's actually dolsot bibimbap so it will come served in a stone plate so you get all the crispy rice goodness at the bottom. I'm a sauce girl, so I though the tiny cup of sauce on the side was not going to be enough to mix in, but it actually was! Super flavorful, packed full of veggies, and also don't skimp on the meat. Hosting parties: A friend of mine actually had her birthday here once and we had a wonderful time. She booked dinner for about 22 people, so they pulled together about half of all the tables into two seating arrangements. They placed buckets of soju on the tables as well. We still got to enjoy the loud and vibrant atmosphere with all the other diners who were there for a normal Thursday night dinner too, but no one seemed annoyed that a large group of ~20 was being rambunctious. Staff were very accommodating to our birthday decorations and even let us keep the cake we brought in the fridge AND cut/served it for us when the time came!

The food was pretty solid however the service was sadly a letdown. When we first arrived, we stood at the entry way for a few minutes and weren't really acknowledged by any staff. When we got seated, another party was sat next to us 5 minutes after and they were attended to first (took their order, food brought out first, etc) I just felt that was a little off putting. For food we ordered the army stew and Korean fried chicken. The portions are generous so I think it's perfect for hanging out with friends/big groups! The tables are pretty small so it did take up a lot of room. The place is suppose to be like a Korean pub so it's definitely lively and loud! The army stew had lots of toppings and even some I'm not used to seeing such as bacon and jalapeños. The KFC was so good! Very crispy and sticky -- both flavors left a good impression. Between the hot & spicy and the soy sauce glaze flavor, the soy sauce glaze is my favorite. Didn't really see our server much throughout the night and it was hard to flag her down when she was mostly in the back. It's slightly pricier than other Korean restaurants I've tried but the portions balance it all out. We also had an issue with paying, we told our server we were ready to pay and she said she'd be right back with the bill but she never came. So we walked up to the front and then another server helped us check out. Overall, good food, just disappointing service :(

Very disappointed, overpriced. Was originally very excited about this new Korean restaurant in San Mateo. However, after spending $60 per person post tax and fees, I feel like there are better choices in San Mateo with the same price. Tofu soup - it has plenty seafood inside, but tastes very mid. Korean fried chicken - probably my favorite along the 3, but the honey flavor is too sweet / heavy for me. Grilled wagyu: it is very hard to chew at the beginning, then it's overcooked later. There's no way for us to tell when is the right time to eat it, and no one came to help / explain. A waste of money. The store itself is pretty cute.

Not the best experience to start off with but luckily it was saved by some pretty good food. We showed up right at their listed opening time but the restaurant wasn't actually opened. We called and asked if they were open right now and they said yes even though they weren't. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes past their opening time until we eventually got in. We were served pretty quickly and our mood was lifted after seeing how good the food looked. The fries used in the bulgogi fries were very fresh and crunchy and mixed super well with the soft bulgogi that was topped with sauces that complemented the dish nicely. Very flavorful and a great side for the main dish we had which was the pork belly ssam. It was actually my first time trying this and I was pleasantly surprised. Such a fun way to consume food especially with all the delicious toppings that came on the hot plate. Everything worked so well together with the pork belly being at the center of it all. I absolutely love cheese and I thought it was great that both dishes incorporated fresh melted cheese. Overall, would suggest going here, just not right at opening which is what brought my rating down. The food is very solid though and wouldn't mind having it again.

Army Stew - it was decent, nothing special about it. The portion was fair, but for the price, I expected more in terms of flavor and ingredients - 3/5 Cheese Corn - just okay. Nothing special, and honestly, the portion size for the price felt like robbery - 3/5 Service was one of the better aspects of the experience. Despite the place being busy, the staff remained friendly and attentive. - 4/5 Ambiance - Loud. If you're into a noisy atmosphere, you might enjoy it. If not, it can be overwhelming - 2/5 Overall - 3/5. The food is alright but overpriced for what you get. The portions lean on the smaller side, and the noise level can be a dealbreaker unless you're with a lively group. It works if you're with friends who are in the mood for a loud, casual dining experience, but I wouldn't go out of my way to return.

Great place for a late night meal! The army stew really hit the spot after a night of drinking. The soup was very flavorful. The rice plate was also so good. The portions are also VERY big, we ended up having a lot of leftover stew. The service was very nice! The waitress even pushed together two tables for us even though there was only two of us because the table was full with the big dishes lol. The inside is very trendy and I've never been to Korea but I imagine it's the same vibe and aesthetic!

Authentic Korean food, in an Industrial themed restaurant! The walls are decorated with an ocean shipping container. I highly recommend the following: jap chae (glass noodles with beef), soon dobu (tofu soup), egg soufflé (steam eggs, Korean style).

Very cool hole-in-the-wall tucked away in central San Mateo, great for dinner, late night snack, or drinks with friends. Recs: - Japchae (9/10): This hit. Super yummy, though portion size was on the smaller side. - Rice drink (8/10): Forgot the name but this non-alcoholic rice drink was really unique and tasty. Would recommend trying. - Steamed egg souffle (7.5/10): Huge, comfort food, good for sharing, though a bit salty. Would come back if I'm in the area!

My bf and I came around 11:30 PM and we were seated immediately. The restaurant is pretty small inside and was quite loud with very big tables and loud music in the back. The interior is really cool though with all the soju bottles on the wall. We ordered the bulgogi fries, doenjang soup, and fish cake soup. The bulgogi fries came out really hot and were crispy. However, I think it was a bit too sweet for me and I wish it had more of a savory flavor to it. As for the soups, the fish cake soup was definitely the star for me. The fish cakes were nice and bouncy and it came with a really nice sauce to dip it in. The soup was also very comforting since it was a cold day. As for the doenjang soup, this was good but was a bit too spicy for my taste buds. It did come with lots of meat and tofu in it which I appreciated. Overall, I think this a nice late-night Korean spot to go to and have drinks and food with friends! I will definitely be coming back to try some of the other stuff on the menu.

Very convenient hours, open late compared to other places around! Good place to come with a big group and the vibe is catered towards family style appetizers and entres to share with the table. I really enjoyed the bulgogi fries & cheese corn (you can never go wrong with this!), but this isn't something I would crave on the daily. Cute and trendy with the soju wall and would recommend to go here for some good korean food!

Ive been here twice and every time- its been a great experience Chingu has very tasty food and perfect for a late night snack + drinks The servers are soo friendly Definitely highly recommended Shout out to Aaron, Edward, Alice and Jeanine*

Great food, good flavors. Classic korean comfort food. Place was a little small inside and service was a tad slow.

Bulgogi fries!! Super tasty, nicely dressed. Cheesy, meaty, very good. Crispy fries. Would get again, it was a hit at the table. Army stew was good, getting hotter as it cooks down. We forgot to turn off the burner so it kept reducing down into a thick sauce lol. Lots of goodies in there, good flavor. Tasty banchan. The vibe inside is kind of dim and industrial. Kpop videos playing on the tv. Cool, open late.

Heard about this place from my friend and was really excited to try. My friends and I ordered the army stew, bulgogi fries and grilled pork belly Ssam. I enjoyed the army stew a lot and the pork belly was really good but a little pricey for what we got. I also liked the bulgogi fries but the fries were soggy. I wish the staff was more inviting. The women who was helping was a little moody and not as attentive. But overall I like this place in downtown San Mateo. There are no place like this here and it opens till very late at night!

Order: * Korean Fried Chicken (Honey Soy and Sweet Spicy) * Sundubu Jigae with Pork * Soy Marinated Shrimps Pros: * Hip K-pop bar lounge vibe, but comfortable for all ages. Friendly and helpful service. * Marinated shrimps were on point - I would get them again. * Both the honey soy and sweet spicy were delicious (although slightly overcooked). The sweet spicy is definitely spicy, but simultaneously with a deep, well rounded flavor. * Sundubu didn't have a spice level option, but it was also right on point. Cons: * Back to the chicken, although I still enjoyed it, it was overcooked because the exterior was a bit too hard and the interior not as moist as it could be. Comments: * I plan to go back for the food, service, and vibe. I'm also not aware of any other spot in the area that offers the same menu and vibe. With that said, I'm knocking it down for the overcooked chicken.

Seems this spot opened recently so I might have to go back after they've been open a while to see if the wrinkles are ironed out. I really wanted this to be my new favorite but the service, food, and ambiance fell short. I had to ask for everything and felt bad having to flag down the server but they didn't come by except to deliver the food (which comes out in courses instead of all at once). The drink was forgotten (had to ask for that too) and it seemed they haven't gotten used to the normal cadence; maybe they were short staffed or still working through training. The food was ok, more of a take on traditional dishes. Black pepper was more prominent in the kimchi fried rice, which I'd never had before. The bibimbap's ingredients were also non-standard (it is a dish meant to be made from leftovers so maybe that is their take). Japchae was good - all the stars go to that. It's more bar than restaurant but all the hard surfaces bounce around the sound that it's challenging to have a conversation even when you're sitting next to someone.

For a pocha(korean pub) this place isn't bad. For the vibes i give it a 7/10 For the food i give it like a 5.5/10 Nice ambience to the place, small, loud, kpop music playing, great for drinking! Tables are relatively small and the platings are kind of big so be careful of how much food you order! We got the fried chicken gizzards and the Wagyu ssam! Chicken gizzards 4/5 Good portion and really tasty. Came with fried gizzards and fried garlic and a sesame oil to dip. Tasty but It was just a bit on the saltier side though. Wagyu Ssam 2/5, rated super low despite on how it looks. Plating was great but its portion was quite small. Maybe about 8 pieces of beef. A lot of lettuce though. Just didn't feel right paying almost $50 for this. However their ssamjang was great! Amazing dipping sauce, perfect balance between savory and slightly sweet. Overall, i'd come back, try out other things. It's a great place to hangout over drinks, might update my review after i try their other foods.

I'd give it 3.5 stars, if we had great service from the start it would've been 4 stars but it tainted the experience. Came here for dinner and it's not a place to go to if you want to chat/be able to hear the person across from you because it's one of those Korean bar-like places where they play K-pop loud and project the music videos on the wall. It was clean and had a cool bookshelf of soju bottles as decor. Service was horrendous until we moved to a different table. At first we had this younger girl as our server and you could tell she was not happy to be there. She wasn't attentive and never came up to us, every time we needed something we had to get up out of our seats to talk to her. We ended up switching from the bar tables to the shorter tables because the guests in our party needed back rests and the bar stools had none. But after we moved we got a great server. It was this young guy and he was super attentive. He asked us about refills on our sides pretty often, drink refills and all that without being flagged down. Food itself was not bad, definitely not traditional ssam it was probably made this way to appeal to more people but it wasn't terrible. I shared it with my boyfriend and he really liked it but he's also never had ssam. I thought it was mid.

SO FUN!! Ordered the veg bibimbap and it was perfection. Lovely drinks, Korean music and an overall chill, relaxed and easy atmosphere. Not dark and moody like most bars this place feels young, lighthearted and takes their Korean food and drink seriously. Open till midnight too and Service was good! Highly recommend this tiny little versatile pub bringing the Asian pub scene to San Mateo.

Came on a weekday night and was hesitant due to the mixed review but was glad to give this place a try! Place is clean, welcoming and is definitely a nice restaurant/pocha/bar add to the San Mateo DT area. It's not too loud to allow conversation. We got some appetizers like Korean fried chicken, soufflé steamed egg and for main entree the kimchi fried rice and pork ssam. It was all very delicious and fresh. The banchan was nice and the staff were attentive to replenish it and were nice to check on how our food were without interrupting all the time. I would recommend to give this place a try or chance for new business to grow! Would try and come again on a weekend to have a place to chill with friends with some nice soju!:) Add live karaoke and it will be so fun!

Was in the area and looked up this spot and found that it was new and in their soft opening. It's tucked in downtown San Mateo and is mostly street parking, so could be fairly busy on weekend evenings. The place is narrow, quite small but the ambiance gives what a typical late night Korean spot gives. We luckily were able to get seated right away! Service was fairly quick and friendly. They had banchan but they didn't offer everything because it seems they ran out of kimchi. We ordered the Korean fried chicken wings, steamed egg, and a veggie tofu soup. Everything is definitely shareable! It was quite delicious. I say my favorite was the wings. The tofu soup was good, but I don't think it had enough spice to my liking. They didn't have options to change the spice level. The steamed egg proportion was a lot!! This is definitely a great spot to check out with a group! They have kpop going on in the background, and the food is meant for sharing. It's a nice spot to check out!

We loved the fried chicken gizzards, soy chicken wings. Korean style fries, grilled pork belly and the soju options are amazing! This is a great place for bar snacks and drinks.

This is one of the few places that's still open very late at night. I came here around 11PM wanting to look for some nice decent food as a midnight snack. They're a Korean pub/resturant, playing Korean music with the music MV playing on a big screen. Their service, was a little slow, they only had 2 waiters, while the resturant was full of people, with more people waiting. Their food was pretty decent, like standarized Korean food. The egg in the picture, was pretty good in my opinion. A small little place to grab food late night.

Another Korean restaurant to rave over and it's so worth it. Chingu is one of the newest to grace downtown San Mateo and it's hard competition when you have Daeho nearby in a larger environment and a Yelp waitlist available, but Chingu offers a smaller space with K-Pop MVs being projected yet playing k-pop songs that do not match. Whatever, it's fine. I still saw BTS' Jin's face being projected in his new music video and the visuals during dinner was fantastic. My husband and I came by on a Friday night about 30 mins after opening and were able to snag a table before it got busy. It looks like a lot of people order the army stew here, but we instead opted for the corn cheese, kimchi fried rice, spicy pork belly, and bulgogi fries. The food came out a little slow at first, but they gave us banchan to snack on and it was good. Their non-alcoholic rice drink was also very good with the food and I'd highly recommend it. Service was on point - we never felt like we were forgotten or ignored. Overall, it was a very satisfying meal and I'd happily come back again when the occasion arises... just as long as my husband pays because Korean food isn't cheap.

Chingu means friends in Korean ( says Google, sorry if I'm wrong) I get why this place is call chingu, great place to hang out with friends and eat. For a party of 5 we got bulgogi fries, Corn cheese, grilled Pork Belly Ssam, bulgogi beef stew, and Ttoekboki ( with cheese for an additonal $3 fyi). That was the perfect amount for us, the orders were a lot bigger than we thought, saw a lot of people took home leftovers. The wait was about 45 mins after the first set of people sat down, so i would go early/ slightly later after opening or walk around downtown. Lots of families where there with young ones as well but it is a pretty small place. Would I go again? With my chingu yes!

Chill vibes and great service by the waiter tonight. Standard Korean fare, but was surprised that the menus were paper and sauce stained.

Chingu (which means "friend" in Korean) is a dark, moody restaurant / pocha bar tucked away in downtown San Mateo. It is not nearly as good as what you'd find in LA, but I'll take what I can get when it comes to Korean food in the peninsula, and would come back for that reason. My party of 4 came at 7:30pm on a busy Friday. As of May 2024, their waitlist is on a clipboard inside the restaurant at the back. Seated at 8pm. I wish there was a way for them to contact you by phone when your table is ready. FOOD: Overall, the portions are small "tapa" sizes, so be prepared to order multiple dishes to feel decently full. -- Complimentary banchan: Standard kimchi, beansprouts, and sautéed spinach tasted fine. The potatoes were salty and not good in my opinion. -- Bulgogi fries (4/5): Good, but wish it came with more! -- Grilled wagyu ssam (3/5): Sizzling meat slices, mushrooms, cabbage, onions, and a fat pile of mozzarella cheese are served on a hot iron wok balanced on a portable gas stove. Served with lettuce and perilla leaves. The meat was very under-seasoned, even with the gochujang dipping sauce. It desperately needs salt, or a stronger sauce (like ssamjang). -- Kimchi fried rice with spam (4/5): Tasty, but small portion. I wish the shredded cabbage that covered half the plate was dressed. -- Soondubu jigae with seafood (3.5/5): Flavorful and traditional-tasting, but the shrimp was overcooked and mushy. I will get beef, pork, or veggie version next time. Service was good! I look forward to trying more dishes next time.

Arrived around 6 PM on a Friday and was able to be sat immediately, the whole place was full by 6:30. It's a smaller space and there aren't that many tables, so would recommend coming with a smaller group. We got: Hongtae jiggae (mussel soup): my personal favorite, spicy and clear savory broth Stir-fried chicken gizzards: okay, the gizzards themselves are cut into small pieces, mixed with a lot of cabbage so it looks bigger Wagyu ssam: came with lots of sides and additions (mushrooms, cheese, cabbage, onions) Overall, the food is good and the portions are quite big, but still a bit pricey - everything is good for sharing!

Fun young loud ambience with Korean drink appetizers and foods. The service is good. Do need to go earlier to avoid busy times for settings. Great selection is sojus.