Dave C.
Yelp
Seoul ManDoo opened during (the first) peak Corona season, but man is it a dumpling breath of fresh air to the Denver Metro area. They serve delicious Korean dumplings (pronounced mahn-du, not MAN-do) with perfectly flavored fillings that would satisfy Korean food purists and adventurous American palates alike.
It's a small shop that specializes in doing one thing really well, more like what you'd see in New York or San Francisco compared to what we're used to seeing in Denver. I think that's a big part of the charm here. This is how many Asian restaurants are in cool cities around the world, and we finally have another one here! There are only a handful of tables, but in theory, in a regular world, they would turn over quickly because the food comes out quickly, hot, and shouldn't take any normal person more than 15-20 minutes to eat.
We had the four-piece giant mandoo combo, three of which came steamed (galbi, kimchee, meat) and one was fried (shrimp). They were all delicious and unique, but the shrimp with its fried exterior was the star of the show, and the galbi was a very close second. They're all delicious, and as a meal, these put a dim sum pork bun to shame. They're on a different level.
While service anywhere right now isn't normal, we were warmly greeted and walked through the menu. While I'm Korean and know what's going on, I loved that they walked my wife through the options too. It's a very not intimidating way to try Korean food that isn't BBQ. This is like quick serve Korean food, and man, is it good.
If Seoul ManDoo was in SF/NY/LA, there would be an hour wait to get in for these delicious dumplings. This is the kind of restaurant that we need more of in Denver, and especially because they're a new restaurant that opened during the worst possible time, I will absolutely be back to support them!