Namsan - Korean restaurant

The ginseng chicken soup and beef short rib soup were both huge portions and delicious. They also have really delicious banchan. The owner was so sweet. When I told him I liked his seaweed side dish he packed more for me to take home with my portions. I was so touched. I hope more people support this restaurant!

This is a great mom & pop restaurant! It's mostly about delivery and takeout, but the ahjussi that seemed to be the owner/manager checked on me often as I ate in at one of the 3 tables. There must have been about 30 orders running through that door while I spent an hour eating there. They're very popular, obviously! The food was great and reasonably priced. I had mandu and rice cake soup (because LA was surprisingly cold), which was hardy and hot. It had a savory broth and was quite soothing. It also came with banchan. I also got a combo with tteokbokki and gimbap. And they were spot-on authentic and satisfying. I recommend this place for anyone and everyone!

I'm on a kimbap kick. I'm determined to go to all the restaurants that sell this fabulous treat in Korea Town. It was late, 9pm, so my choices were limited. I chose Namsan because it was one of the few places that was open and not too far. I've only tried the veggie burdock root kimbap. Unfortunately they usually put in some type of fish in it. The gentleman that helped me said there was no fish but there was crab and something that resembles a fish cracker. Neither of which I wanted. I just wanted all veggie and there was very little burdock root. Lesson learned, next time I will make sure that there is zero fish. The roll was okay. Not the best, not the worst.

first time trying them out. Food was decent. I recommend the duttpoki and Radish soup, quite good . Only critique abou the place might be that the menu was a bit overwhelming, seems like they try to offer TOO much , I had the thought they might just focus on their best dishes, narrow stuff down . They cater mainly toward delivery so when we ate there , we were literally the only customers there, which wasnt a bad thing in itself, but the atmosphere is naturally kind of , EH~ Also, dont get the Tempura, the breading is sub par.

One of the hidden koreatown gems for sure! We found this small restaurant during quarentine and we just fell in love with the food. We order from here at least twice a week. Last night was the first time we actually sat inside and the service is excellent 👌. I highly recommend "soft spicy tofu stew" " spicy cold noodles" and the "spicy beef stew" "the short ribs soup" "bean sprout soup" if you're looking for comforting korean food this is the spot!

It’s a no nonsense sort of place. Extensive menu, delicious food, and open pretty late at night. definitely recommend if you’re just looking for some tasty food late at night.

I visited this restaurant with 2 of my friends around 11pm after searching for a place that was still open. Lucky for us, Namsan is 24 hours. The food was amazing and it really felt like being invited over for dinner at a family friend’s house rather than eating at a restaurant. The staff was so incredibly sweet and took note of our dietary restrictions. The honey citron tea warmed up our cold bones and the fish cake soup warmed up our stomachs. Will definitely be back

First time here. Definitely I will be back. My fiancé and I had curry rice with pork belly, curry bulgogi beef and some dumplings as appetizers. They were absolutely delicious! The service was friendly, fast and helpful. The manager explained us what had each dish which was very helpful because we don’t know too much about korean food since we are peruvians. It was a great experience and I highly recommend this place. You will love it !

I've ordered from Namsan many times over the years via delivery apps, and I finally tried it in person recently because it was late, not much else was open, and I had always wanted to see Namsan in person. There wasn't much seating inside, but it was fine because there was only one other party aside from us. It seems like they're in full delivery app mode because they seem to utilize the seating area also as a storage area. The food was decent but nothing special...they have such an extensive boonsik style menu that this is to be expected. One pleasant surprise dining in person here is that they don't nickel and dime you to death with the banchan like they do on the delivery apps. Not sure if I'll be back in person, but Namsan is good option if you're looking for a restaurant that has an extensive menu and makes everything decently.

They left me a passive aggressive note on my food "It's a service" because I didn't tip the restaurant for takeout on Ubereats (I did tip the driver btw). They left the kimbap box wide open and stuck their hair in between the two slices. Gross. Will never order from here again. Threw out the whole order as well. I don't know what they did to the other items.

This place have always been in "mid" range restaurant for me. Usually order from delivery app. I ordered fish jo-rim ( kind of a marinated fish ) the other day and o boy. I can swear to you they must have used canned fish and taste was awful ( I'm sorry but it was VERY ) bad. Extremely upset b/c the dish was nearly $30 and it went literally into garbage. Not again !!

This is a family restaurant. I like to go there. Their food is delicious. Korean grandma is nice and friendly. They have traditional Korean style. This restaurant is clean and peaceful.

Nice neighborhood eatery. They have lots of food choices like ramen, bugolgi, chicken and more. I got the fish plate which came with rice and Cole slaw. I got the macaroni salad too which was interesting. Not the greatest taste but gets the job done.

Ya girl is on Day 5 of being sick as heck. I never used to get sick and now my old bones crumble at the sign of infection. Y'all may do a chicken noodle soup when sick, but I do sam gae tang. Koreans know best with this ginseng laced broth, filled with a chicken stuffed with rice, pine nuts and dates designed to not just be delicious but healing. Namsan's sam gae tang feels like a warm hug. All of their food does, actually. I grew up on the home cooking at my friend's homes and this tastes just like that. It really felt comforting when sick and was a huge portion for $19 - quite a bit cheaper than neighboring shops. I added on a couple of items because when I try a new place, I like a variety of options to bask in. 95 cents for their macaroni banchan? I was in and loved it. Gobbled that goodness up. Namsan has a really cute version of the lunch box from "Squid Game" filled with a ton of bap, a big fried egg, spam, seaweed, spinach, kimchi and some other goodies. This makes for a great lunch and really! Egg, Rice and Spam with seasonings is one of my most favorite comfort foods. If you are looking for more home-cooked style Korean food, Namsan will be perfect for you. Comfort food maximized with big portions and great prices. Plus I got a full copy of the Korea Times with my order to keep me on top of current events! Obsessed.

Do not go here. A total rip off and sly ownership. I ordered a seafood soup and they charged me a to go packaging fee ? An extra dollar ? I never got charged for packaging when I ordered to go. It looks like they are trying to charge anything they can. I felt like they were trying to take advantage of customers like me who wasn't aware of such bogus charges .

After trying any and all Korean restaurants' kimchi fried rice, I have come to a conclusion that their kimchi fried rice is the best in all of Koreatown. Their soondooboo chigae is out of this world. I order from them 2-3 times a week bc it's that good. The only thing I would do better on is maybe their variety of side dishes when you get delivery but their food is so good so that doesn't matter much to me.

DO NOT GET GINSENG CHICKEN!!!! 100% inedible Ginseng Chicken Soup arrived through Postmates. The ingredients are old/mature (not fresh) and overcooked. It was disgusting! Ingredients: 1/2 a super dry malnutritious chicken. 2 baby sized guttery abalones including guts. No dates found only skin Poorly overcooked rice stuffing. Broth is dirty dark and super oily. I wish Buil Samgye Tang in Koreatown was on Postmates/Ubereats. They are the best in town!

I always order from this place! One of my favorite Korean restaurants, they have a wide variety of dishes and are very authentic. Their kimchi jjigae (stew) is SO flavorful and they don't skimp out on the pork belly. You can tell it's home made, delicious. I've also gotten the kimchi jeyuk bokkeum (stir fried pork belly with tofu and kimchi) and it is awesome. The samgyetang and tteok mandu guk are also very good. They have Chinese Korean food as well like tangsuyuk (sweet and sour chicken) and even sesame balls which are like fried mochi filled with red bean :)

I LOVE THIS PLACE! everything on the menu i have got is an automatic 10/10. this is authentic Korean cuisine. I LOVEEE they allow you to adjust the level of spicy (someone like me gets "extra" spicy and they make it happen). These are some amazing plates to consider: 1. Kimchi Fried Rice 2. Korean Spicy Hot Wings 3. Sausage Stew 4. STIR-FRIED PORK BELLY (1000/10) 5. Kimbomp 6. Ton-Ka-Tsu w Rice 7. Spicy Pork Bulgogi 8. Seafood Soup (Spicy)

Wanted to eat Korean food and came across this place. Happy I stopped by with my boyfriend because the food was delicious! We ordered bulgogi, bulgogi kimbap, rice cakes, and cold noodles. Everything tasted great and the staff were very nice.

Always order Sundubu/soft tofu stew and it's always consistent and amazing. The fish cake side dish is yummy and the soy sauce egg is amazing in everything. This time got some tteokbeoki with my order with some chewy noodles, so good. I don't understand the 3 star average they have, but to each their own. Always order delivery or pick up but never had a problem with the food or service. Broth on their soups are flavorful, creamy ramen is very yummy , even just getting a side of rice with ur stew tastes good. Simple , fast, local

LOVE THIS PLACE! I went for the first time yesterday with a small group and we all loved our food! The man who served us was super sweet and accommodated us very well! Their menu is expansive so you can definitely find something you like! I really enjoyed the squid kimbap and the donkatsu sandwich. Great place - will definitely be back :)

Great family Korean home cooking with a slight takeout emphasis. Simple strip mall digs at the corner of Normandie and 6th, a few tables exist inside for dining in. Big fans!

This hole in the wall restaurant is one of the best in Ktown. I came back because their food are affordable yet very tasty. I highly recommend the orange chicken and fried wings. My family was very impressed. I will definitely go back. The owners are very nice too. The lady was polite and very friendly.

I love the food here and order through Grubhub however the portions have gotten NOTICEABLY smaller- my soup today was only 3/4 full and the slice of cake I ordered is the tiniest saddest little slice of cake ever. They also used to include some banchan free of charge and now it looks like you have to pay for everything. They didnt give me utensils either.

Update, I came to visit LA and missed Korean food, I never had issues with the food before but I ordered the dumpling rice cake soup and it taste so weird and smell bad to me, I don't know what type of dumplings they put but I didn't like it at all, I couldn't finish it, they need to go back and make it the way they used to because this new dumplings taste gross and look like throw up. Sorry to be so detailed but even the mashed potato side dish I ordered tasted bad, I'm so disappointed because I was expecting some good comfort food, when I'm feeling down I like to have dumpling soup so I was just expecting the best , I hope they go back to the old recipe. I got some kimbap and it tasted fine so I'm glad, also got the "squid game meal" it tasted fine, I also got the slice of chocolate cake they have and it was also fine. Overall it was an okay meal. I was just really craving a good dumpling soup, so I was still left a little disappointed, they need to make it like they used to and it'll be fine.

Their food is always superior. This restaurant is meant for Koreans. All the 1 star reviews of this place? It's because the owner can't speak english fluently. This place has one of the best army stews of Koreatown and all of their dishes are superior. Always super busy with take-out and deliveries.

I've been coming here for months now, me and my boyfriends favorite late night snack and comfort food. The kimchi fried rice is AMAZING and the tteokbokki is delicious. The staff is super friendly, it's always the same people working, they're open late so I know they work very hard. They're always so welcoming and service is always fast. I love dining in, it's very cozy and I love all the side dishes they bring. Will continue coming here, one of my favorite spots in K-Town!

Great little small business/ hole in the wall. Very friendly wait staff. The space is very small but the food is good. The sides were simple and tasty. I ordered the combo plate with Kimbap and Ttokbokki. Reasonably priced. Would come back again

It's a no nonsense sort of place. Extensive menu, delicious food, and open pretty late at night. definitely recommend if you're just looking for some tasty food late at night.

The BOMB homestyle Korean cooking. Everything is so good. The portions are also super generous. And their packing for delivery is so thoughtful - they even put ice cubes in cold noodles, so they're perfectly chilled after a long delay. Love.

Solid homemade style Korean food. It's nothing fancy but they have a lot of choices and everything on the menu tastes just like how your grandma would make them -- good ol' homemade, comfort food.

There were foreign substances in the food I ate here. It was really shocking, and the foreign object was a wire tying a bread bag.

Ambiance: family style restaurant, almost no customers compared to other busy restaurants in the same plaza Service: very slow and impatient, we waited so long to get our food, they can't understand English very well, and the waitress made obviously mistake on the check twice, be very careful to check your bill before you pay Food: plenty choices from the menu, however, overall awful taste, don't come here to waste time Ban Chan - ** only few kinds, over salty Omelet w/Fried Rice - ** flavorless Steam Dumplings - ** beef, pork, chives, crushed tofu and squish, broken skin and tasted old Radish Soup - *** aka Moo-Kuk, sliced radish and small chunks of beef in round steak broth, simple ingredients but savory, a box of steamed rice and side dishes are included, average taste Price: inexpensive items, about $15 per person

Best Korean food I've ever had. The service was amazing and the staff was very attentive. Will definitely come again soon!

Some of Koreatown's best restaurants have closed since March, but I have a feeling Namsan is here to stay. It's not an especially great Korean restaurant, but the food is fine, and it had the delivery game figured out pre-Covid, long before the competition had to figure out how to convert their business models from dine-in to contact-free. The menu is large and varied, so Namsan is a good option if you want a Korean restaurant that offers something for everyone. I think I've tried the dak dori tang and spicy galbi jjim and both were decent. What I don't particularly enjoy is Namsan's litany of extra charges. You have to pay for banchan and if you want to get the glass noodles in your dak dori tang in a separate container from the stew so it doesn't turn to glue, that costs an extra $3 (and that's before whatever app you're using adds its own fees). I get that this is a tough time for restaurants, though, and I do think Namsan is an easy enough go-to for delivery Korean food. I suspect and hope it's doing well.

Ordered their soft tofu stew to go. The food was ready early and the staff were kind and precarious when they handed me my order. I had a tough and long ride home but my food stayed in place and most importantly- there were no spilled. The soup was still pretty hot after my half hour ride. They included a bowl of rice and I ordered some sides to enjoy Tofu Stew- very delicious. there was a generous amount of tofu there and the soup wasn't too heavy but filled with flavor. it was very satisfying to eat with the rice and sides Mashed potato- pretty good! i wish the texture was chunky/ thicker but i still ended up licking the whole container LOL kimchi- delishhhh. i threw this in my soup to add extra flavor fish cakes- cut in thin, long pieces which complimented the way i ate my meal i'd definitely order again! this was a lot of delicious food and keeps the cravings alive

The shrimp tempura still had all the skin and head on it...it was really a waste because you had to eat the tempura off first, that way you don't choke on the skin. My guy had to ask them to take it back coz I wasn't used to eating the skin, they said that was the normal way to eat it. He even pleaded with them and said I wasn't even Korean. They did not exchange it. It's a good mom and pops restaurant but not for non-natives.

We ordered at 9:02 so lost the option of our first pick on postmarked. This place turned out surprisingly okay though - the food was enjoyable but did skimp a bit on the protein. But it was fair considering the price point. The side dishes were also decent - kimchi is older and more fermented. We really enjoyed the chewy noodle with spicy sauce, and some other pork belly stir fry that my boyfriend ordered. People are complaining about having to pay for side dishes but it helps eliminate food waste - you just get what you pay for. The pricing is also lower here, prob to account for that, compared to other places...

Hands down, the BEST (Korean food) I've had!! We typically can't find authentic food like this where I'm from in central California so I was thrilled when I found this place on a current trip. They serve all the sides that you could ever want too! Roasted garlic? Seaweed salad? Rice tea for dessert?! Yes please!! I will absolutely revisit this place next week when I'm back in town!!!

Okay this might be a super gross post but expect the runs after you eat this. Literally a few mins after eating kimchi fried rice I had to run to the bathroom. I'm not sure if it was the rice or the side dishes. Honestly, it looked and taste great but I wasn't looking forward to the bathroom.

Was craving some homestyle Korean food a while back so I ordered for pick up from here. I ordered the arrowroot noodle salad with bulgogi, the spicy seafood soup and the tripe. I ordered a bunch of different banchan and that was arguably my favorite part. The arrowroot noodle salad was super tasty and the bulgogi had great flavor, if not the best quality meat. The spicy seafood soup had good flavor to the broth, but most of the seafood inside tasted like it had been previously frozen and wasn't super fresh. I was not a fan of the tripe dish at all. I also had the stir fried squid and pork belly, which was fine but could've been spicier. For dessert, I ordered the sesame balls, which were super tasty. Not overly sweet and crispy on the outside but still chewy, if a bit greasy. I wish I could give this place a 3.5. The folks working here were super friendly and the food was ready pretty quickly. Prices were decent and the portions were generous. It's in a small plaza so there were a couple parking spots available for take away, but I'm sure if it was for dine in, parking would be a challenge.

I ordered tuna kimbap and marinated beef kimbap through Uber Eats. The food didn't satisfied me at all... I added extra tuna like they instructed. But there were very little amount of tuna were there. Somehow the food smelled so bad. Almost like they haven't cleaned their kitchen for a long time. Also from the marinated beef kimbap I couldn't see much beef in it. I'm not sure if they are specialized for some other food.., But over $20.00 for 2 orders of kimbap were not worth it.:-(

Like all hidden gems in LA Namsan is tucked away in a strip mall in ktown. Parking is rough but there is a valet parking attendant. So don't waste your time and stress. Unlike other spots Namsan doesn't focus on one dish in particular but offers a range of Korean comfort foods. We got the kimchi beef stew, short rib soup, braised short rib, spicy pork bulgogi and ddukbokki. The portion sizes here are HUGE. The soups are served in a 1 foot diameter metal bowl! Perfect for you to really get intimate and steaming your face in the rich deep Korean aromas! If this doesn't cure your hang over nothing will. The braised short ribs are soft tender fall off the bone all marinating in the sweet brown glaze of a sauce. Heaven. Also in the dish there are big soft disks that we thought were pineapples but turned out to be radishes. Nice gelatinous/fibery texture to soak up all of the sauce. Spicy pork bulgogi is served on top of a sizzling cast iron plate with a medley of onions and peppers. Spicy marignate and sweet onions yum ddukbokki nice soft rice and fish cakes in a sweet sauce with a subtle after burn. Comfort. Service is very comforting with a loving host who loved serving up smiles and laughs. She even gave us red bean sesame balls for dessert. We did go with a Korean speaker so that helped. Definitely a go to spot after a night of regret.

Best ttekbokki that I've had in a while! my boyfriend and I were not expecting such gracious portion sizes either!

This is one of my go-to for Korean food. Always fast service and great food! Have tried a variety of dishes and have never been disappointed. I highly recommend the soft tofu stew and short rib soup, two of my favorites here!

Service and food was great! Staff was very attentive to refilling our favorite ban chans and gave us extra rice for our leftovers. Even made alternations to a dish to accommodate for my vegetarian friend.

This place is so good!! It deserves more recognition than it gets. It really fulfilled my craving for authentic Korean food and you definitely get a good amount of food for the price! I ordered delivery and already expect small portions but they gave more than we were expecting!! Every bite was so good and we even tried something new and we loved it! I would definitely recommend if you want super yummy authentic Korean food~ (sorry no pics we ate it all haha)

It was my first time coming here and will definitely be back! The staff were very accommodating to our group and were attentive to the refill the bonchons that we finished. Food was really good and came out fast! We were the last table and they never once rushed us. I enjoyed the mom and pop feel for this place.

The great thing is they open 24 hours. But the food is just fine. You could come here if you are hungry 3am lol.

Good authentic Korean food--love this place! Friendly staff & they love to throw in some extras at no charge :)

Food is SO GOOD LOVE IT it's a wonderful very nice restaurant because the staff is very nice. The food is DA BOMB it is a gotta try, my personal favorite is the udon because the so has so much flavor and the noodles are super chewy but that's what makes it delicious!

every time I eat here, I'm super happy with the taste and price. the staff is really thoughtful and sweet. reminds me of hodori bc of the large menu!

I really like the korean spicy beef stew ,I been going there for a while and the people there seem real nice

I order consistently and I love it. I get the Organic Tofu Stew (great portion) and Kimibop, so so so tasty! Highly recommend.

First off, my friend wanted to eat at this place to bring back old memories. So we ended up coming here and got sat down quick. I should have checked the Yelp reviews but I didn't. I ended up ordering a seafood soup and friends got chicken and some other stuff. We were hungry and just wanted to eat. To get refills, it took awhile to get some service. But we were like whatever about it. I asked for the seafood soup to not be so spicy but the soup was extremely spicy and tasted like powder. Honestly, it was hard to eat. I had to buy to go boxes. They're not free here. Also, even if you ask if you can split the check and the lady says yes, she won't end up doing it. The point is everything was okay until I finished paying for the meal and the lady started asking for her tip. It caught me off guard. She was literally making a scene about it and forcing to give a tip. It was unnecessary. I was hesitant about writing this review but the service was not okay. Tips are earned not just given.

This place is my guilty pleasure when I'm wide awake at 3 AM and craving Korean food. I usually order delivery from them since it's convenient but I've also gone in a few times to order. Aside from the slight language barrier, the folks running the restaurant are super kind and really make sure they make the food exactly how you'd like it. My go-to is their chicken bulgogi. I can't eat super spicy foods a lot so I usually order mine with a note to make it mild and they always follow through while keeping the chicken just as delicious as it would be with the spice. They give pretty well sized portions that could be shared between two people if wanted. The chicken bulgogi also comes with a small side salad with a tasty, tangy dressing, a box of steamed rice, and a set of 5 banchan (side dishes). This is one of my go-to places and will continue to be! Bless their 24hr open hours!