Reviewing Kunjip: a Korean restaurant outside of San Francisco. 

Kunjip is one of many amazing Korean restaurants amidst the diverse culinary scene in the South Bay Area. With its high ratings and positive reviews, Kunjip often draws a queue of eager foodies waiting outside their restaurant. We visited on a Friday evening and patiently waited for about 20 minutes. I recommend arriving early or joining the waitlist on Yelp beforehand; that way, you can stay in your car to wait until your check-in time. The wait was well worth it!  

Homey, cozy vibes at Kunjip

The interior of Kunjip welcomed us with warm and modern lighting. The vibes were super homey and cozy, as the lively chatter of friend groups filled up the air. The service was fast and attentive, as we were immediately provided with menus and water, and the side dishes came shortly after ordering.

Try galbi-jjim with pumpkin – a unique house favorite

Their menu is small and concise, comprising a few different soups, beef, noodles, and braised short ribs. They are most well known for their galbi-jjim, which is a Korean braised short rib dish that is meant to be shared with 2-3 people. The meat is marinated in a slightly sweet, sticky, and smoky umami sauce. We ordered the Cheese Maeun Galbi-Jjim, which came with beef short ribs with their house-special spicy sauce, cheese, sweet pumpkin, carrot, broccoli, rice cake, sesame seeds, oil, and sliced egg. Of all the Korean restaurants I’ve been to, I’ve never seen sweet pumpkin added to a galbi-jjim; I loved the addition of it as it provided another different texture and flavor to our meal.

We also tried their Galbi Tang, a beef short rib soup with clear noodles, green onion, dried jujube, and sliced egg.

The soup was terrific; the clear noodles absorbed the beautifully blended flavors of the soup and beef short rib. I recommend their soups if you are looking for a lighter meal. If you are ready to splurge, I highly recommend trying their galbi-jjim. It’s a perfect dish to share, and it feels balanced as it includes vegetables like pumpkin, carrots, and broccoli.

Jumbo sized tteokbokki

The rice cakes (tteokbokki) were bigger and thicker than what you would typically see. Personally, I enjoy the smaller-sized rice cakes, but really, the only difference is the size; the jumbo rice cakes are still chewy and sweet as usual! The short rib was incredibly tender and easily broke apart from the bones. I ate every bite with some rice, as it helped soak up the delicious flavors from the sauce.

After finishing all the meat and vegetables, a lot of leftover sauce remained, which can still be eaten with rice – the highlight of this dish was the house-special sauce!  This was the perfect amount of food to satiate three people fully. 

Kunjip Final Review

Overall, my dining experience in Kunjip was fulfilling and super comforting! If you have never tried galbi-jjim, you must try it at least once. Though it falls a bit more on the expensive side of things, you can split it with friends because the serving is large and filling. Every time I get galbi-jjim, I leave the restaurant extremely full and with leftovers. This meal felt very comforting and homey, with everyone having an amazing time enjoying the delicious food together.