Beverly Soon Tofu Restaurant
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
34 reviews
Neighborhood: Culver City
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83 Reviews for Beverly Soon Tofu Restaurant
We cheated on BCD and we were disappointed. Sigh.
The soup was pretty flavorless overall and just tasted "spicy." I ordered the vegetable soon tofu, which came with only one type of mushrooms, onion, and zucchini.
However, extra 0.5 star for actually ASKING us if we wanted more ban chan BEFORE WE ASKED!! Amazing! Perhaps it was this abnormal occurrence, along with the "A" rating, that led to this somewhat lacking Korean restaurant experience haha.
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Good stuff. The tofu soup dishes are so varied and so filling. While so many of the soon tofu places are very good, this is my personal favorite. I feel like the ingredients are fresher and the side dishes are few but very well made.
The bad? The entire restaurant is about the size of a to go box and the seats are about as comfortable as a middle airline seat between two fat men. Whoever said this place is wheelchair accesible needs to go buy a tape measure. Are you kidding??
To go. Take it to go.
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Beverly Soft Tofu is the BEST of the BEST soft tofu restaurants.
The BEST soft tofu restaurant in CALIFORNIA, hands down.
This place hits the spot, hard. I would give this place 10 stars if I could.
Soft Tofu is my favorite food and trust me, I have probably tried more than 25 tofu restaurants in CA.
Enough said.
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my first "official" yelp review? had to be Beverly Soon Tofu in KoreaTown. the place where i first discovered that spicy goodness and kept coming back to it. have tried soon tofu at several restaurants, and in different cities but no place does it like Beverly's.
the location and seating are cozy, and the folks are very friendly ... they know how much i love that spicy cucumber, yummy.
i consider myself an adventurous eater, always looking for variety, but at this place it's all about the spicy mushroom soon tofu, washing it down with some soju, the bimbap is also quite excellent.
This is currently the highest ranked tofu place on ktownlove.com. Great little Korean place, variety of combo's with tofu, lots of side dishes, the tofu is itself is really good. The "medium spicey" can get a little spicey for the average Korean, so if you don't grow up eating this stuff, you might want to humble yourself and go for the "less spicey". I've had "spicey" seafood tofu the other night and it was delish~ Finished the whole thing. Would def'ly go there again.
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heard so much good stuff about this place, so my friends and I had to try it out.
The banchan was pretty good~ i remember that
the seating, kind of cramped but its cozy and not bad, you dont really mind it
the food, now the only other soon dubu that i had in ktown is bcd, so i thought this place would blow it away, however after eating it, man i kinda didn't like it that much, there wasn't as much flavor to me, i dunno, it was still pretty good soon dubu, but i think i much prefer eating at bcd, i probably wont eat here again
but on a side note, the person that was sitting next to me was the oldest brother from the show ''Macolm In the Middle", i was like whoa, that guy looks familiar, and the owner came up to me and told me he eats there a lot
so maybe if you eat there you will get to see him? heh
Beverly Soon Tofu has a very homey feeling. Their food, service and decor all make you feel warm. Their tofu is silky smooth and the broth is so flavorful. BBQ is equally good. Love this place!
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Beverly's can be hit or miss, in a real big way. Sometimes you show up and everything--the banchan, the soon tofu, the bibimbap, and the galbi--is firing on all cylinders. You leave with a very full tummy, a stick of flavorful gum, and you're loaded from all the soju you just drank.
Sometimes you go and surprise! You've just eaten a pound of MSG. I took a friend there for his birthday and he got so bright red in the face that I thought he was going to pass out. Not cool at all. He was drinking barley tea by the barrel because he was so thirsty. I felt terrible for him.
Since then, I haven't gone back. I need to know about more reliable soon joints! My belly is pleading with you!
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I've never been disappointed here! The soondubu and kalbi combo is a smashing hit! Their soondubus are pretty typical, but their soy bean paste soondubu is better than I've had at most tofu houses. They also serve bibimbap. Lastly, I love the decor. The tree stump benches are adorable!
Hints:
* Beware of the spicy chicken...last time I ordered it, it was pretty dry.
* Make sure you make time for parking. Or valet for $2.
My father took me here for the first time when I was in jr. high school. Before BCD and Sogongdong. So I have a special bias for this place. These days, when I am "home" in LA to visit I often do go to BCD especially late at night after some bar hopping, but I will only take special people with me to Beverly. It is the the O.G. soon dooboo place in LA.
"Crazy Korean Tree Stump!" -That's what my pal Jason says when he wants to go to this place.
So this was the first Korean place I tried in Korea town, so I figured I shouldn't settle and tried some more. No need, now I am a believer in Beverly Soon (Not near Beverly).
I'm always too full from the fixins to finish my bowl, so I end up taking it home. Jason is a die hard bi bim bap fan, but my fav thing was the chicken barbecue.
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After months of hearing that Beverly Soon Tofu was THE place to go for soon du bu, I went here on a Sunday afternoon with high hopes. The place is small and quaintly decorated with old school wooden tables, ceilings, etc. I ordered the kimchi soon dubu (I base the qualities of soon dubu restaurants by the kimchi soon dubu cuz it's my favorite in the world. :) ). We also got the bulgogi bbq to accompany our dubus.
Honestly, the soon dubu was not flavorful. I couldn't taste the kimchi in my soon dubu at all. Needless to say, I was super disappointed. The rest of my group also agreed that their soon dubus were not flavorful (seafood soondubu and another kimchi soon dubu). We also ordered bulgog and it tasted different from other korean restaurants. This one tasted very, very sweet created for the western palate. I didn't really mind it.
To end this review, this place is just ok...considering that there are so many other better and tasty tofu houses in koreatown, I would not recommend this place for soon dubu.
*Pictures posted*
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This place is really good. Ive been coming here forever. I have never had a bad experience here. The side dishes are great. They also have the greatest combos. My favorite is the combination soon tofu and bibimbap. I have tried other places but I keep coming back here. The owner Beverly is very nice and greets you with a smile. My family and friends love this place. We come here about 3-4 times a month.
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let's make it clear that I am not here to contend the quality, diversity and volume in k-food restaurants in LA. I'll be the 1st to admit that it's better in LA...however, there are at least two tofu houses that I know of on Telegraph in Oakland that do soon du boo better than this place.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Say what you will about the cabin-like oak wood table decor, but I would never judge a restaurant by its aesthetics. My (white) boyfriend and I go here every week to get our soon dubu fix, and it is worth every penny, albeit it is only $14 for a soon dubu+ spicy chicken bulgogi combo! I love the kimchi soondubu, this place is the only place in Ktown that makes soondubu with the heat to light your mouth on fire, just the way I like it. And the dak bulgogi is spicy, all breast meat, and perfect in quantity. The banchan is great too, a perfect variety of kong namul, gamja, tofu, cucumbers, kimchee, and mul kimchee! We've tried almost every restaurant in Ktown searching for the perfect soondubu, and here you will find it.
everyone told me how great this place is. i tried it.
ummmm...
my favorite is still the bcd on wilshire. this place is ok. i know 12 other hole in the wall soon tofu places that are around this level. from the old timers, i hear it used to be super good years ago. now... its just food court soon tofu.
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Tried this place on a recommendation, and I must say it was good. The soon tofu-meat combos are a real steal!
The soon tofu is really thick and hearty, full of flavor.
Mid way thru dinner, the msg kicked in! MSG overload, and I felt like I wanted to pass out, and had to stop eating...=(
Will I come back? Not sure. MSG makes me frickin drowsy n feel like crap!
At least they serve beer n wine!
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i wasn't crazy about the spicy chicken 'cause it wasn't spicy.
however, the soon dooboo (soon tofu) had thickness to it that i haven't experienced in other restaurants. i ordered the seafood soon dooboo.
the galbi i got as the combo was pretty delectable. on the sweet side.
i liked the homely atmosphere.
Aaah! The battle of the Soon Dubu... Been going to So Kong Dong across the street since college and have been completely loyal to that place whenever I get hit with the cravings.
Cold and rainy... thought some spicy tofu soup would hit the spot this afternoon. We were headed toward So Kong Dong when I pointed out that I'd never been to Beverly. We flipped a B and valeted at their tiny $1.50 parking lot. Thought it would be fun to compare the two soups from both places. Plus, EJ insisted that Beverly's was much better.
The interior is just as dismal, maybe a bit more homey than So Kong Dong's across the street... we were serviced with terrific banchans straight away (I much prefer So Kong Dong's banchan a million times more, though) However, I can't get over the stainless steel bowl Beverly's serve the iced barley tea in. I ordered the Mushroom Soon Dubu and EJ got the Seafood Combo Soon Dubu, both extra spicy. We also shared the barbecue kalbi and squid. The Soon Dubu served here is pretty fantastic and the broth had a plethora of seasonings, stock and so much substance. Lots of umph. Many, many chunks of assorted mushrooms made it very filling. Completely hit the spot!
Both the kalbi and squid barbecues were nicely marinated and very tender. Now how would I compare the tofu soup to So Kong Dong... I sincerely appreciate both, but my heart will always belong to So Kong Dong, where I had to give the place a well deserved 5 Stars.
http://www.yelp.com/us...
Beverly's is a very close second for me.
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damn. that's some good soondubu. AND you can combo it up with some kalbi and be sweaty AND greasy. lovely. i like.
only negative- them dam benches. i totally pinched my finger between 2 benches. good thing i was softened up by the food and the soju.
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When I am craving soon tofu (which is rare to never), I like going here for a few reasons.
There is plenty of ban-chan and the portions are big. The main reason is that this is the closest to home-cooking that I have found in a restaurant. However, the home-cooking taste can vary - some meals were excellent and some were not very good.
However, when I'm feeling that itch, I get my kicks here. Hmmm..I'll have to ask them for no MSG next time and see what happens.
The bulgogi was a poor cut of meat, the spicy chicken breast was previously frozen, the small dishes were overly sweetened (I love sweets, too..) Kimchi tastes better from the jars at the market.
The tofu itself (spicy) was fine but the accompanying ingredients (clams, beef, shrimp) were frozen, small(shrimp) or poor quality (frozen or small).
It is OK if you're in the area, but why not go across the street to So Kong Dong where the ingredients are fresher, larger, and more plentiful, and taste better (yes, subjective)...
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The flavor of the soup is better than BCD in my opinion. My favorite is the seafood soon tofu, spicy.
I don't eat much korean food, but I checked Yelp reviews before going to this one and I was very satisfied. The service was great and the lady there was so friendly in helping a non-korean out for the first time eating at a korean restaurant. I had no idea what anything was or how to eat it and even though there were only two servers at the time she took time out to show us what goes with everything.
I ordered the Bulgogi(?) with the mushroom tofu which was extrodinary, I must go back.
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I don't understand why this place deserves more than 3 stars at best! I've had better tofu. Their soup is thick with no taste. The soup looks red but not spicy enough. I was truly dissapointed with their tofu. Their table is so small that my arm just kept hitting the person next to me. And I'm tiny !!!! Don't waste your money by coming here if you want good tofu.
Met up with Kolbe, Mike, Slicky, Tim, and Buro before we decided to head out to the L.A. Auto show.
I decided on picking the Bibimbop and seafood soon tofu combo. Banchan was decent as I waited for my food. Bibimbop was huge served in a metal bowl with an egg. It was really good as this was my 2 time having Bibimbop. Soontofu I picked was medium spicy, I'm a weaksauce, and it wasn't even medium to me. *shrug* I enjoyed drinking out of the metal bowls instead of cups. The seats are like tree stumps and the overall decor is decent.
I don't get why we HAVE TO valet, but $1.50, can't really complain. Food was about $17 for combo with tax and tip. Not too bad. I wouldn't mind coming again!
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I love Bibimbop!! I aint going to lie about it. I love Tofu too, but something the food or its name. Maybe it's catchy? The Bibim bops? Is that what i'm trying say? That I want it to bop..
Went in, and all I know is Bibimbop. So I said, One Bibimbop please, Oppa. I lied, I didnt say Oppa. It just catches on as I went on here. I guess it's because the way you have to mix it first before grubbing on me got me all excited. It gave me the feeling I'm cooking my own food and eating my own cooked meal. Is that why?! Look at me, I got the oil and red sauce, put in the meat, carrot, egg, veggies, etc. and I mixed them. I mixed, I stirred, I grubbed and I owned it. I know it!! It's the satifsying feeling you get when you are done eating. It has the tingling feeling in the tummy, like I'm in love?
Point is, it was a 10 bucks well spent and it was one of the best endings I received in awhile..
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Why is everyone so excited about this place? Does it really deserve the 4.5 stars that everyone has given it? I don't think so...
First off, the side dishes were mediocre, other places gives you a large variety of side dishes, this place only gave us 2 kimchis, 1 bean sprout, 1 cucumber, and a tiny tofu dish per person. Where's the raw kimchi squid or clams? or how about a bean paste cake? It was all very bland.
As for the tofu, I ordered the seafood tofu, the menu mentioned it'll have clam, mussel, oyster, and shrimp... long and behold, there was exactly one of each, um... what's the deal there? Also, I ordered medium spicy soup. To me medium spicy by real Korean standard is fairly spicy, but the medium spicy at Beverly was something that a 2 year old baby can handle.
The squid and bulgolgi were good, but nothing to boast about... plus when the server was cutting up my squid with the scissors, she dropped the best part of the squid on the floor, kept quiet, and didn't make an attempt to replace it at all! Boo to them!
I think they may be appealing themselves to the non-Asian demographic with the non-spicy tofu and boring side dishes, but then that's only my opinion... I think next time I'll trot across the street to give So Kong Dong a try. I was very disappointed here, only reason I gave them a 2 star is because they were clean.
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i love MSG. it does great things for my hair, sex drive, and digestive system. and it pairs so nicely with hot spicy tofu. that's why i eat here.
the first time i came here, i got the kimchi beef soon tofu and thought it was one of the best ones that i've tasted. the second time, i brought a friend from out of town, and got a bowling bowl of spicy MSG-flavored stew. it was horrible! and what's worse is that i was continually blowing smoke about how GREAT this place was, only to have it stab me in the back with it's chopsticks.
boohoohoo. my korean pride hates being hurt. (and so does my sex drive)
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I think it might be just the day when I went. The price was so busy, all our barbecued food was burnt, soon tofu was made without soup stock, and the service was really rude. The waitress actually yelled at us asking us who ordered what.
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Ummm...awesome seafood sundubu and kalbi at a great price?!? Amazing. The bibimbap looked good too. Wish we could have ordered some japchae. I almost got into a fist fight with a Korean couple over a parking spot, but my friends convinced me to back down. All's well that ends well, right? Will come back here when I return to LA.
Mini Review: Food VG-EX. Service: Fair-Good (for Korean Rest) Alcohol: YES and very cold!
We dined at So Kong Dong across the street last week and here at Beverly to compare. I ordered the pork kimchee soon dubu and got the seafood kimchee instead. So I didn't send it back, but it wasn't what I ordered. But I sat right next to the refrigerator with all the booze 5*!
Service was friendly and with my tofu I ordered the combo with bulgoggi and it was good, but nowhere close to Suhrabal or Soot Bull Jeep and for $16 for the combo dish, it is a very good price.
We had a group of 12 which is the max size for the whole middle table. So if you want to bring in a group, 12 is the number and you should call to reserve the table if a party that size.
To be honest, I preferred So Kong Dong's tofu, but perhaps that's because I didn't get what I ordered. Also SKD is a little bit larger. But SKD doesn't serve booze nor allow us to bring it in, so that's about the only con to SKD.
The star dish was the grilled squid! It was cooked to perfection and it was a nice size, not the small bait size squids. I wished I'd ordered it as I kept asking my fellow diner who did order it for another bite.
Not your average soon tofu place. Why? They MAKE their own tofu here.
Yes, they have a rival, that makes their own tofu also, and it's across the street. Their ban chan (Korean side dishes. Usually consisted of kim chi, etc) is different there, and it's not as good. That's based on personal taste.
The bulgogi (literal translation is, "fire beef". Not to be confused with spice, but cooked over fire), is really unique here. I heard it's made in an old, traditional style. I just think it's their own style =P.
The service in Korean places is horrible, if you don't know what you're doing. They never dote on you, unless you call them over. A simple loud "excuse me", or a "yogi yuh" (means "over here"), will suffice. Oh yeah, it's not rude to yell it out. Non-Koreans think the servers ignore them, but they just come over, if you call.
They start you off, with some slices of their tofu. It's garnished with sesame oil, soy sauce, and some sea weed. It's cold, and refreshing. The water here isn't brown. It's a cold Korean tea called "bori cha". It has a subtle flavor to it, and it's meant to be that way.
Don't except anything like BCD. That place is a McDonalds, compared to this place.
Small seating capacity, and the price is a bit above average. Good thing the food reciprocates, and it reciprocates generously.
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Way too "ethnic" tasting. It's really grimey. I got kimchi-beef spicy, it did not taste like what soon-du-bu should taste like~ clean, refined, and balanced. What's good is they give you a lot of meet, but I did not like it because it was too thick, like porridge, and it felt way too...grimey.
Absolutely amazing Korean food. Their speciality, obviously, is tofu soup... spicy, bubbling hot, and depending on what you order, either veggies, beef/pork, or seafood. Get the seafood tofu soup if it doesn't scare you (shrimp heads and all), and at least "medium" on the spicy scale. Definitely going back again.
It's all about expectation management. I wasn't expecting ambience, I wasn't expecting five star service, and I wasn't expecting presentation. I was pleasantly surprised however.
We ended up waiting about 15 minutes and after we were seated, our orders were quickly taken. The sides came out. The kim chi was quite spicy. Surprisingly, they even served the water kim chi which was quite a treat given that none of the Korean restaurants serve it in Ann Arbor.
The sides were quite good. We had four people and two of us ordered combos and shared the "side" dishes of BBQ chicken and kalbi. For a place that specializes in tofu stew, the chicken and beef were delicious, marinated perfectly.
We finished and it ended up being $15/person. Cheap as hell for LA. I'm now in love with K-town, or at least, Beverly Soon Tofu. I'll be eating here again (during my next LA visit).
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This one is the bomb! Can I still say that? Well, I said it.
Beverly soon tofu is OG when it comes to serving up soon-dooboo. They started the craze in k-Town, right? It's been a while since I've been there. I always remember the crazy-ass tables and benches made out of some weirdly shaped varnished wood. Expect a warm welcome if you're Korean. I'm half Korean, so they just skimp on some of the sides to get back at me. I kid!
This place is great. I always search for hole-in-the wall places in Ktown (not that Chosun Galbi isn't great... but not for a random tuesday meal, ya know? ) . Love the location and the informal valet guy. THe food is outstanding. Best tofu soup, and the little side dishes are always excellent, fresh, and refilled instantly. Great prices and fantastic grilled squid and ribs. I'd knock half a star for the decor - piles of korean newspaper and posters on the wall could be axed ... but honestly, I come here for the food, not the view.
Hands down this is the best soon dubu place I've been too. All my friends and family who I bring here fall in love with their hearty and flavorful tofu soup.
One of my Korean friends absolutely detests this place and claims it is not real soon dubu, but places like sokongdong across the street and BCD are the real deal. BCD is ok, but sokongdong's broth is just too sweet for my taste. I've had soon dubu in Korea, but nothing satisfies my palate more than Beverly.
The kalbi and spicy squid is also very delicious and tender. The panchang (side dishes) are also very good. I like the bean sprouts and picked cucumbers.
I wish there were more locations because the seating is a bit small and comfortable. It can be crowded at times. Parking in the lot and on the street sucks too, but it's LA, so what can you do.
After having So Kong Dong, I had to try Beverly Soon Tofu too! Perhaps it was b/c I got it take out that day, but I don't think so. The soup was good, but I'm not sure it was worth all the hype. I got the combination soon dubu, but instead of the ingredients complementing each other, it tasted like some ingredients (seafood esp) were too overpowering. I ordered the Kal-bi side and they were okay, what I would expect from a soon dubu house. They have other grilled menu options and I did notice the cooler full of soju and Korean beer. I would recommend this place for a casual night out w/friends, but I'll be sticking to So Kong Dong for my regular soon dubu fixes.
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