Brian S.
Yelp
3.4 stars: I liked a lot about Kbop Bistro, but I would also like to see them improve a few shortcomings too. Overall, this restaurant has a fun Korean atmosphere reminiscent of K-Town in LA, a wide range of Korean dishes (not just the standard Bi Bim Bop fare many places in MN do), and fast service. However, the drinks are really lacking, and even for someone who likes spicy food, the dishes were, overall, way too hot.
We ordered the #27 YukGaeJang soup, the #11 spicy pork, and the #4 DukBokki.
We really liked the DukBokki; it was just as good as the ones we have had in K-Town in LA and in Seoul (although there was no egg in this one). The rice cakes were perfectly cooked, and the flavors were all there. This is a must get.
The YukGaeJang soup and the #11 spicy pork were, however, way, way too spicy (and the spicy pork was sort of oddly prepared).
I've had a TON of spicy pork in Korean restaurants from the Bay Area and LA all the way to Seoul and Pyongyang, and it's definitely one of my all-time favorite dishes from any cuisine. However, I was not a big fan of Kbop's version of this dish. To begin, the gochujang flavor that is so prominent in this dish everywhere else was really weak and understated in Kbop's version. On the other hand, there were way, way too many hot chilis and jalapenos in the dish. This combination made the dish super, super spicy (on par with Sri Lankan food), but also not super flavorful, and I didn't really care for it as a result.
My wife also thought that her YukGaeJang was a bit on the spicy side, but otherwise, had a nice soup flavor for a cold day.
The banchan dishes were all pretty yummy: we especially liked the fish cake and potatoes.
Finally, the drink options here are really, really lacking. You basically get a choice between pepsi products and water. There's no hot barley/rice tea (or any hot tea), no Korean style soft drinks, and certainly no Hite, Cass, Soju, or other Korean alcoholic beverages. This came as a big surprise, since beverages play such a big role at many Korean restaurants/meals.
All in all, this is probably one of the better Korean restaurants in the Twin Cities, but if you are used to getting you fix at a real Korean restaurant in California or Korea, you'll likely be a bit disappointed here. This place is somewhat new, and I hope they continue to improve, especially by turning down the heat a bit and adding some more drink options.