Kimchi House @ Koreana

I’ve been a patron of Koreana for years and was so happy when they returned. Mike and Emma are always incredibly welcoming, and that warmth hasn’t changed from the University City location to the Spring Garden location. The food consistently tastes fresh, and the chicken wings on my recent visits were absolutely perfect. I did order the spicy noodles my last couple of times and found them a bit bland, so that may have been on me for not asking for extra sauce. Overall, I’m still very happy to have Koreana back and will definitely continue supporting them.

This is one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to. I’ve been coming here since 2016, when the restaurant was in University City, and let me tell you, the food is great. The Dolsots and Lunchboxes are some of my favorites, but don’t sleep on their Jam Bong soup. The biggest surprise to me was their wings. I don’t know how Korean-style wings beat American ones, but Koreana has something special. Thank you to all who make it happen.

Tried out Koreana's Spring Garden location and came away impressed! The menu was varied with many interesting options, with decent prices and quick service for takeout. The food we tried was all delicious - the chicken lunch box and dumplings were particularly tasty. Definitely will be back.

If you’re craving Korean food, you have to check out this place. This is the old Koreana at University City! If you’re a Philly OG, you know it’s a gem. I always order the chicken wings here —they're amazing. The hot stone bowls (dolsot) are super tasty, and the squid noodles are a must-try. Plus, Mike and Emma, the friendly owners, make it feel like home. I recently brought some in for my office, and everyone loved it. A cozy gem that never disappoints!

Chicken wings and kimchi were so good! I’d recommend this place!

Delicious food, friendly service, quick turnaround time, and very fair prices. The dine-in setup is very casual — there is table service but you order/pay at the counter & self-serve water. There is a lot of natural light inside, a good view of the sidewalk to people-watch, and the two folks running the restaurant while I was there (possibly the owners) were phenomenally gracious hosts. There is a cold case of to-go snacks and drinks. The rice balls are a must try! Having tried the chicken galbi lunch box and the squid dolsot, I can enthusiastically recommend both, but the dolsot was truly the star of the show in my opinion. The combination of buttery squid, jammy egg, umami & spicy sauce, veggie mix, and that crispy caramelized rice at the bottom is just absolutely magical. This is an absolute gem of a restaurant.

I was really excited to try this place and ordered delivery since my hotel was nearby. I got the LA Galbi Dolsot and added kimchi and egg. Delivery was quick and the food arrived still warm, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, the vegetables and kimchi were missing from my order. Overall the flavors were good, but the missing items were disappointing.

It was my first time ever going to a Koreana place because my mom recommended it to me. The food here is really really good! The atmosphere was very nice. Like lively but cozy at the same time. There is a great variety of food to choose from. The people working there were so kind and patient. Thank you!! :D P.S. If you go to J.R. Masterman, this is really close by and I highly recommend it to eat with friends on half days or after clubs. It’s not as crowded as the other places too. (1st picture: homemade dumplings, 2nd & 3rd picture: cheeses stuffed tteokbokki)

Friendly owners and great food!! Will definitely come back for the kimbap and hospitality

I remember a few years ago, Koreana used to be located in university city. I was a regular there because their japchae was my comfort dish during my college days, until they moved away sadly. I didn't realize they moved to the north philly area until now, which was a nice surprise find! The owners are super friendly and very welcoming. My friend and I got their spicy chicken dolsot and japchae for comfort food. The chicken dolsot definitely had a spice punch, and the japchae is what I remember it to be - chewy noodles, stir fried on the sweeter wetter side, and with zucchini. Both were good The place itself is fairly small, with few inside seating - I think a lot of people come here for takeout. They also sell a variety of Asian snacks too, and onigiris for a nice grab and go! Service is fast, and you order up front. I'll come back again to get their jigae next time

We really love stopping in at Kimchi House Koreana! The owners and staff are always friendly, welcoming us in to get take-out or order in. The place is small but worth the wait for the food and opportunity to dine in. My little one enjoys their fried seaweed spring rolls and triangle kimbap with crab. We usually even get some to-go so she can have them for her lunch! The prices are very reasonable and the food is never without flavor or love poured into it - this place is worth supporting as a small business in the local Spring Garden area that we will keep coming back to!

Amazing Thai tea! Very friendly and welcoming staff. Comfortable atmosphere. (the mangoade is really good!!!)

Visiting the area, we wanted to have some Korean food. It's a small shop with a few tables & chairs. Seemed like it is mostly a carry out kind of place and family run. We saw dolsot bibimbap online but it was not on the menu handed to us. So we ordered one, along with couple of other dishes. Overall, solid effort, authentic in taste. It was a cooler day but the broken a/c was a bit of a challenge to eat through.

Very kind staff + gave me a free desert when my order glitched on the kiosk. The dumplings were the highlight here!

This was a very unexpected and pleasant surprise. My experience with Korean food in Philadelphia over the many years visiting here ranges from mid to god-awful, the very few exceptions around North Philly notwithstanding. I was craving some jjigae for lunch and decided to give this place a try. Boy, was I glad I did. It's definitely more of a takeout place with the seating area pretty small. Definitely not for bringing a large group of people. The several items I ordered were all on point. Definitely will come back to try other items as well.

The food and service was amazing!! I had a vegetarian soup with veggie dumplings. It came hot and fresh.

Finally got the opportunity to try this place! The couple up front who takes your orders (might be the owners?) are so nice and friendly. The man took a lot of time to explain to us what was on the menu and made some recommendations. It was honestly hard to decide what to eat because so many of the menu options looked so good! I ended up getting the chicken Dolsot and I really enjoyed it. It had a good amount of spice to it and was very flavorful. Would definitely come back to try more things on the menu!

Room was small but comfy. Ordering is done at the front desk. After scouring the menu, ordered the Jam Bong Noodle Soup, Triangle Kimbab, and a drink. They were all mediocre. The spicy dishes weren't spicy. If asked for additional spiciness, they just add bland hot sauce. My flavor profile (south asian - tangy, spicy) probably didn't match them. I didn't taste anything special that I couldn't buy at a store. At least their service was prompt.

I really wanted to like this place, but the food fell short in too many areas. To start, my boyfriend ordered the Spam Musabi. In the picture, it contains fried rice and fried Spam. His had plain white rice and boiled Spam. It was lacking in seasoning. He was also disappointed with the Chicken Galbi. It didn't look chicken, and he said the texture was not like the grilled chicken it was supposed to be. Many pieces were gelatinous and most of it was not eaten. He did enjoy the sauce though. We also tried the tteokbokki rice cakes. I've never had that dish before, so I'm not sure how it compares to other places, but we didn't love it, and I was surprised that the fish cakes were paper thin. Again, good flavor in the sauce though. I ordered the shrimp dolsot for my main dish. The flavor was good, but it was over-sauced. While I've only ever gotten dolsot while eating in at a restaurant, I still expected the rice would've been cooked in the stone pot for the crispy factor; that was not the case. I'm also used to more vegetables and was disappointed that my egg wasn't runny. In summary, sauces were good, but sadly, this is probably a once and done for me. There are better places for Korean food in the city.

As a Korean, I am so glad that Koreana opened another location in Philadelphia because they make the best Korean food in Center City. I ordered Yukgae jang (육개장) which is a soup made with gochujang and beef. The broth is similar to soon dubu jjigae if you're familiar with it, but more rich from the beef added to it. It was a very delicious yukgae jang to eat on a cold day. It contained onions, scallions, and lots of bean sprouts. I also ordered a bulgogi rice bowl (served in a dolsot). It was also very good! I wish the bulgogi had more marinate drizzled on it. Gochujang was served on the side so that you can add whatever amount of spice you like! The sunny side up egg on top was great too. The store has a fast casual vibe, so you pay upfront and then you can sit down. The owners were polite as well. They also provide a service where you can buy kimchi and some homemade banchans/side dishes along with Korean snacks and drinks that you can take home. I'm excited to see more Korean food in Philly!

This is a small and unassuming place, but it is so good! I very rarely give 5-star reviews, but the service and the food here are both great. Mike the man at the front (I think he's the owner) is very nice, friendly, and helpful. You place your order up front fast-food style, but they do bring the food to your table. We ordered the Koreana wings, a Dolsot Bibimbap, a seafood Soon Du Bu (tofu), and the kimchi pancake. Everything was so good. We should have sat on the bench so we could put two tables together because there wasn't much room for all our food on the small table. This was our first time here, but we will definitely go back again and again, and we will try the larger location in Center City too. I'm originally from L.A. and miss all the good Korean food I had there. We just moved to Philadelphia in December and haven't had much Korean food in the city, but this was the definitely the best Korean food we've had here and the best meal I've had in a while.

Great food, served fresh and hot. Prepared nicely so recommended eating in. The family who owns the restaurant was nice as well.

Wow so gooooooood!!!! So happy we found it! Prices are not bad. Clean and owners are super nice!!

Don't get takeout from here! They package it so poorly. I got the jjambbong, and it spilled out through a large crack in the lid. How a crack like that is made is lost on me. Completely inedible - a lack of food safety for sure...

A great casual Korean spot in the spring garden! They have many lunch specials and lunch boxes, appetizers, noodles, rice, soup, and rice balls (to go). I personally really liked the flavors of the soup and was satisfied! A few tables are available for seating but can be filled up quickly. The cashier and other staff were very friendly as well!

This place is so delicious! The people there are very nice and accommodating. I would definitely recommend!

Food is great. Small seating area but try to eat in-house if you can; the hot stone bowls make the food even better.

The sweet couple who own this shop are the best! They are always so kind and make such delicious food. I live close by and find myself going multiple times a week just to grab the the Triangles with protein and rice and seaweed. The best light lunch option around Spring Garden. The entrees are also so yummy. My fav is the Bulgolgi Dolsot. Check out their weekend/Sunday combo specials--only available for pickup on their website but very worthwhile!

This place is authentic and absolutely great. The food came out quickly and hot. Ordered the bulgogi and soy garlic wings!

Just had some dol sot and it was delicious. I'm regretting not getting the seafood pancake. I'll 100% be back.

Cute little shop with decent Korean food and snacks. The portions were huge and food was tasty. The owners were super nice. Tried the galbi rice, bulgogi cup and spicy pork bento. All were decent, not the best I've ever had but I'll eat here again. The triangle kimbap was tasty and filling, had the kimchi and cheese.

The best Korean I've had. The chef brought out the food themselves, offered me some kimchi themselves (BEST kimchi). Home cooked vibes- you can taaste the love in the food. It's small but that's exactly how you want it to be in a place like this. Experience 10/10 - best Korean food I've had in Philly. I've made it my goal to try all the Dolsot bibimbap in Philly and this place is my absolute favorite. Also you must try the Soon DuBu, it's my new favorite soup. The owner came out and was so welcoming and friendly, they really make you feel at home here! The prices are great, I highly recommend this place!!

Ordered take out so never as good as eating in. The food was missing something. Flavors were mah. Just average sorry to say. Delivery experience was good.

I don't often review on yelp, however I felt the need to after getting takeout from here. I ordered 3 apps and wings, Korean pancake, pork dumplings and sando. All outstanding! I WILL order from here again.

Owners are wonderful and food is amazing. Always have great conversation with them. Cozy shop with traditional Korean dishes

Worst Korean food I've ever had. Rice was mush. Bulgogi was dry steakums and fat. Not much flavor. Kimbap was decent. I wouldn't order again.