Soo Bak Seoul Bowl

Soo Bak Seoul Bowl is a Korean bibimbap restaurant in Nob Hill on Hermosa. The venue has an industrial feel with concrete floors and metal chairs in a repurposed auto maintenance building with garage doors. The wood-topped tables warm the space up a bit, but the focus here is the food over the ambiance. Luckily they do the food really well so that isn’t an issue! Patrons order at the welcome station, after which they’re given a table number and can find whatever table suits them. There’s a station patrons can get their silverware and water; any other drinks will be delivered. They have both alcoholic and zero-proof drinks. You can see the food being cooked and prepped by the open kitchen staff while you wait. I got the Staff Pick bowl, one of eight of the specialty bibimbap bowls Soo Bak offers. The Staff Pick comes with “Fried Rice, Teriyaki Chicken, Sautéed Daikon, Carrots, Edamame, Asian Pickle Chips, Sesame Cabbage, Korean Red Pepper Sauce, and Sriracha.” I added the Sriracha Lime Crema from the Fire Bowl, which is another specialty bowl. The Staff Pick was delicious! I liked the mix of rice, meat, veggies, pickled veggies, and sauces. The sriracha wasn’t overwhelming or too hot and gave the bowl a small hint of heat and flavor without overpowering it. The sriracha lime crema was not hot, so adding it was another good flavor profile that complimented the bowl. The chicken was well cooked and juicy - no dryness or toughness whatever. It was the perfect ratio of ingredients that seemed to go together well. This was my first time trying Soo Bak as well as bibimbap, and I’m already excited to go back and try a different bowl. Besides the specialty bowls, patrons can build their own with choices of 19 toppings, 5 kimchi selections, 7 proteins (three of which are vegetarian), and 9 sauces. They have vegetarian and gluten free options labeled on the menu so it won’t be hard to make those specific bowls. If you’re in the mood for some Asian food in a casual setting, go check it out.

Amazing place. Everyone was friendly. They have gluten free options too and the green Chile cheese fries were amazing!