Bowld Korean Rice Bar in Albany
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Albany, Alameda County, California, US
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Site: http://www.bowldbbq.com/albany
- Monday:11AM–10PM
- Tuesday:11AM–10PM
- Wednesday:11AM–10PM
- Thursday:11AM–10PM
- Friday:11AM–11PM
- Saturday:11AM–11PM
- Sunday:11AM–10PM
in: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM
out: 12:00 PM
No pets
No parties
Smoking allowed
Additional rules
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COVID-19-related guidelines apply
Fire alarm
Carbon monoxide alarm
Security cameras
Safety rules
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Cancellation is free up to 5 days before
After 5 days, cancellation costs a 5% Fee
You can't cancel an ongoing event
Additional terms
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We got you covered
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Security cameras
Security patrols
Security alarms
Daily cleaning
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Daily cleaning personel
Cleaning tools
We take care of you
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24/24 concierge lodge
Direct phone liaison
Fire detection
Private entry
Swimming pool
Baby carriage
King size bed
Bathtub
Wi-Fi
Workspace
Television
Minibar
Air conditionning
Room service
Additional details
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This used to be one my favorite Korean restaurant, but I ate here too much, so I decided to give it a break. That break lasted several year. A few days ago, my friend decided to come here for dinner, and everything still taste like I remembered. Everything is still the same, including the tree in the middle and the wall decor. My only complain was that we stood by the entrance for like 10 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us, then it took another 10 for us to be seated. There was nobody in front of us in case you were wondering. However, if you look pass the wait time, this place is still one of the better Korean restaurants around area.
This Korean restaurant has a large menu specializing in building hot & cold rice bowls with many vegan options. I made sure I grabbed a takeout menu for future visits. The food was a good quantity, as well as being fresh and flavorful. I loved the multi grain rice. We all ordered individual bowls and had some appetizers to share. This was my 1st time trying a Korean beer, OB Premier, it was good. The staff was very friendly and welcoming.
Always great food and good service when I come here! It’s definitely more on the pricey side for a casual Korean restaurant, but I do think the high quality healthy ingredients that are in each dish reflect the price. The service is very friendly too, although they can get quite busy and overwhelmed during prime times. There was one incident where we ate here when it was quite empty and our water was never refilled, but the tables right next to us were constantly getting theirs refilled and had extra attention. Not sure what the case was that time!
What a great place. fun, trendy atmosphere, staff and crowd. Very tasty food. All the different types of Kim Chee were great. The seafood pancake appetizer was huge, extremely flavorful of ultra-fresh tasting seafood. I just wish the hot and spicy dishes were more hot and spicy.
*** Update****WOW! Rip Off , (new menu and NEW surprise $$$) I know things are getting expensive but this is ridiculous .. Some item goes up 35% (around) away too greedy***Sad day for the Bowl, good is a mess not like it used to.The fried chicken is nice and dried .The ginseng chicken the rice inside the chicken is not cooked enough still a bit b raw and the ginseng for some reason taste molded and is not even cooked enough.. hard...Complained to the waiter, Huh , no expression not even a sorry 😐 whats up with that... I know some restaurant are more Stingy they wont give you discount or remake food.. But at least acknowledge and apologies.Might not be back for a while...
This place has great food and even better for me, they have a number of gluten free items on the menu including pork belly bibimbap and salmon bibimbap served with lots of veggies. If you specify gluten free they will make sure the pickles/sides that come with your meal are gluten free and will provide GF soy sauce and hot sauce. Avoid the barley tea if youre gluten intolerant/celiac. This place is very popular at dinnertime and there can be a wait so its probably not great for big groups in a hurry. At lunchtime you will be seated right away.
Terrible restaurant, much worse than the others in this chain. Portions are 1/3 smaller than at the telegraph location, chicken is dry and potatoes are not cooked using the proper flour. Spicy rice cake portion was half the size served at the other locations. Servers did not bring table ware more than 10 minutes after food arrived. Water was not refilled until we flagged down servers. Noisy environment, we had to shout across the table to be heard. Do not eat here, it would be a mistake.
If youve never tried the kalguksu here you are seriously missing out. Although, I recommend getting it not spicy! The spice they use make it taste like ramen but usually the non spicy kalgulsi is sticky and delicious. They also have a wide variety of really good banchan or side dishes
Food is very good. But when you are paying the bill, you need to read carefully — they took a service charge and then put suggested tips in huge font, so in case you are not careful (like we weren’t) you end up paying twice, almost 50% in tax and tip. This is a horrible practice and needs to change.
Food was mighty tasty. Better than I expected. Plenty of food. 2 of us were able to share an appetizer and an entree happily w/ enough leftover for a light lunch for 1 the next day. Turned into a bargain for a pair of seniors who dont eat huge amounts. The bulgogi order was a huge load of meat.
Went in the other day and ordered some fried chicken, japchae, fried rice, kimbap and mandu. The food was okay and tasted fine. Would’ve been a four star experience if the fried rice wasn’t soggy like it was and the lettuce in the kimbap didn’t have that muddy taste when the lettuce isn’t properly washed.Overall, it was okay.
Wow what a place! Make reservations, they are overrun! And rightfully so: very authentic, tasteful, creative and well composed Korean cusine, big selection for all tastes, you can pick how spicy you want, I recommend not to go over medium thou, very friendly and fast staff. This was the best food we had in the Southwest during a seven weeks trip!
OMG I miss this place...loss of one star due to food equivalency eatting in vs out not the same. I asked for 1 extra steamed cabbage. He tells me they will have to charge...i just ordered one ra hundred dollars worth of food...I think sparing 1 extra cabbage will not break the bank.Positive of take out, amount of meat seems to be more.
Great service and great food. I wish this place was closer to Berkeley campus so I could come here all the time!The stone bowl Bibimbap is fantastic. The crunchy rice is like heaven. Great appetizers as well! The seafood pancake is awesome, it has noticeable chunks of seafood in it and the sauce it comes with is delicious. They give you plenty of the standard Korean side dishes as well. The fish cakes are by far my favorite.I was also feeling adventurous, so I ordered a Mango soju-tail. It was a delicious drink with just barely enough alcohol to feel it after drinking on an empty stomach.
Randomly tried this place and I was very pleased! The plates are tasty and healthy. The quality of the ingredients and the way theyre prepared is great. The service is attentive and fast. Definitely will come back.Around the table we tried The Works, which is a mixture of your protein of choose and all kinds of vegetables. Interestingly, they offer it hot (sizzling) or cold. Theyre both great!
We got some take out the other night. The food was excellent and ready when I arrived. Everything was all packaged up nicely to take home. For bibimbop they keep the rice and toppings separate. The only downside was that the salmon was a little charred, which we are not fans of. But everything else was delicious. Huge portions too. I turned my buckwheat soba bowl into three meals!The pick up experience was well designed for lockdown. They had a cup of disinfected pens for signing the credit card slip, and convenient markers on the floor. It was a very pleasant take out experience. Bowld is a great resource.
I arrived at just the right time and was seated immediately by a kind a smiling young host. I had just finished making my selection and my waiter came over right away to take my order.I has the Sizzling Works with Bulgogi and mixed grains, along with a side of Short Ribs. The food arrived very quickly, which sometimes can be a bad thing. However, the dish was absolutely delicious.The staff were all incredibly accommodating, courteous, and basically everything I would want in a dining experience.I HIGHLY recommend that you treat yourself to a lovely, enjoyable, and tasty dinner at Bowld. Be Bowld!
I love this place. You can get a vegan tofu stew bowl. They give you 6-8 little servings of seaweed, pickled items, spicy (but not too hot) tofu, kimchi. Yum - just thinking about the bowl and condiments makes me hungry. Service is good too. Of course they have fine meat dishes as well.
Not recommended for delivery. Thanks to Doordashs GPS tracking, I know that my food order was prepared and picked up from a different address (in Berkeley, not Albany) and it was prepackaged/microwaveable. It was definitely not prepared fresh to order. I want my money back!
A reasonable selection of food at a good quality for a moderate price. My ever changing diet though seems to affect my appetite. I would have probably enjoyed a salad more than the bibimbap. But the pork belly meat was good.I stayed away from most of the little side dishes because they had detectable amounts of sesame oil.
Oh yeah, that was great. And the pricing was good as well. I save five stars for super fancy restaurants but really five stars for the perfect little thing. Its just right. Excellent service. All the dishes were tasty. It worked out very well to take a vegan there and I could still get my tasty meat,
We met with friends at this place for dinner. This spot was recommended to us by a friend. Well, it was a winning. The crew welcomed us with a smile and we had a great feeling. The meal was tasty. We loved this place a lot and we will definitely return to this restaurant. Warmly recommended.
My wife and I eat at Bowld on Solano often. We find it really good. All food is fresh and well prepared, the wait staff is friendly and attentive, and the menu is varied but not overwhelming. If you have questions about the food, such as, how are you supposed to eat this?, the wait staff will gladly help. Offerings are authentic Korean as far as I can see, based on my few business trips to that country.
I LOVE this place! The restaurant has a very cute interior, ample dining space, and our servers were very friendly and attentive!Now the food... The seafood pancakes were AMAZING! The consistency is really soft and fluffy, very impressive compared to seafood pancakes Ive tried at other places. A must-try in my opinion. I also tried the sizzling bibimbap, and it came with a lot of fresh vegetables (I really liked the sprouts and mushrooms, which arent as common in most bibimbap dishes). And who doesnt love sizzling rice? The side dishes that came with our entrees werent as impressive, but the rest of the food more than made up for it.Finally, they have shaved ice! It comes in a HUGE bowl thats great for sharing, and has a big variety of fruit on top. Yummm.All in all, I think I found my new favorite Korean restaurant!
Love this place. The food is beautifully presented and delicious. Love the tiny plates of adorable pickles and vegetables that get served with all meals. My favorite is the hot stone bowl with multigrain rice and salmon. Or the soft tofu stew. And the chap chae. Everything! Service is always great too -- everyone is cheerful and lively.
Since moving to the Bay Area, one thing I find myself missing a lot is @koreatown Korean fried chicken.@vons_chicken is one that really satisfies my cravings. After trying all of their flavors we recommend getting their Soy Garlic! The flavor is umami and sweet and dangerously addicting.
Definitely a great place to come in with friends because the food is filling and the side dishes are unlimited. I ordered the kimchi fried rice.I didnt realize how big it was, so I would definitely share the dish next time but it was one of the best I have had. My friends ordered the pork belly bibimbap, which they really liked too.They were understaffed that night, but our waiter served us quickly and was very helpful. I definitely want to come back and try their soju next time.
Bowld offers a good variety of dishes, and also vegetarian options. We usually get the vegetable pancake, veggie jhap chae noodles, grilled salmon, and glazed potatoes which is enough to share when you factor in the small vegetable dishes that come with each order. I especially love their hot barley tea.
This place seems to constantly be packed, and for good reason! The rice bowls feel like a dining adventure, particularly if you get the Sizzling Works. Heres the deal: the rice in the bottom of the bowl keeps on cooking, creating a delicious, crispy rice shell for the rest of the ingredients of your bowl. Worth the extra 2 bucks? Yes. Very much yes.Id recommend the spicy pork in particular. It comes with the normal assortment of kimchee, all of which was delicious.
I come here often with my dad! Two weeks ago, I came here with my coworker. Usually, I order the spicy ramen but this time, I ended up getting The Works (cold) because it was a really hot day. I wish there was Mul Nnangmyun on the menu but thats okay! I always enjoy coming here.
Even though it advertises itself as being accessible, this is pretty authentic Korean food; they just make it accessible by putting only accessible things on the menu, not by diluting the food. Obviously their bibimbaps are great, but I also personally like their spicy ramens.
I have to say, I was Bowld away with the quality and selection here...LOL.From a So. Cal comparison, there are a lot on the menu here. (i.e. BBQ, Dotsot Bimbimbap, Soondobu, mondoo, noodle soups, pancakes).We ordered a few things here:The spicy chicken wings- tangy and sweet, not spicy at all. Solid appetizerBeef BBQ and Spicy Pork BBQ- At $14 each, I thought it was a little expensive. The spicy pork bbq is way better the the bbq beef. Again, not spicy enough for me but you can tell it had been premarinated and served over a bed of cabbage and onions. The bean sauce and the cabbage served on the side doesnt seem to go hand in hand in my opinion but the mixed grain rice was a nice touch as a choice.Veggie Jhap Chae-At $6, this was a great side dish and the kids seem to love it. You dont taste the heavy vinegar or the sesame oil on this this like elsewhere. Oh, yes I would say this place is kid friendly. They will give smaller metal tumblers to the kids and the kids have their own utensils and bowls.Seafood pancakes $8, this is a MUST GET. The kids loved it! What kid doesnt like pancakes? Shrimp, calamari, and mussels pancakes. I think there were about 8 wedges with a soy based dipping sauce. Solid dish, better than the ones here in So. Cal.Rice Cake Stew - $10 and we added $2 for dumplings. The dumplings tasted like veggie dumplings while the rice cakes were soft and chewy, nice texture. Very simple dish and very homey..Service here is very good. I did notice it was all guys serving and helping here but they were attentive enough to always refill the water and the barley tea. Price here compared to So. Cal is a little more expensive but there are more competition down here. I do think they changed the menu a bit to cater to the locals since theres no IN YOUR FACE spicyness in any of the dishes. If I go again, I would request extra spicy , that goes for all you Asian folks.
This place is very good but for the first time I felt uncomfortable by one of the servers whom I never seen. I ordered for my boyfriend and I a seafood pancake, and 2 hot sizzling bowls, one with beef and the other short rib. The first thing I told the server was We are going to have a seafood pancake and 2 sizzling hot bowls and both with mixed grain and different meats.Ill stick with water and he will have a coke I felt like he heard me and repeated the order so quick and walked away. I looked at my boyfriend confused and I assumed he got the order for the both of us. Next thing you know We get the seafood pancake and my boyfriend shortly after received his hot bowl. He had said to enjoy, and I told my boyfriend what about mine? maybe they are bringing it right now. I waited and nothing. My boyfriend waited for me to, to eat and asked the server if my food was on its way. One of the females went to go check and had apologized and said it wasnt in order and they were putting the order right away. I was ok with waiting especially my boyfriend who says the bowls are too hot anyway to eat right away. As we are waiting the server comes to our table and confronts us and tell us I didnt order that and I looked at him and honestly didnt know what to say because obviously my boyfriend was the witness and my boyfriend looked at me, and my boyfriend said in other words what he is saying its our fault. Shortly after they gave my boyfriend the coca cola he had ordered (AFTER we got the seafood pancake and 1 of the hot bowls). And then I received my hot bowl. At this point I felt really bothered and couldnt even enjoy my food. We received the check and we thought oh maybe they wont charge the soda or perhaps a small discount but nothing. I love coming here but this isnt the first time. The other time I went with my friend and had also ordered the seafood pancake and never got it (but the table next to us did). We thought oh, maybe they didnt get the other or they forgot, no biggie. We were full of the bowls and we receive the bill and were charged for it yet after hearing the girls next to us say they didnt order this and once they got their bill they had said oh wow! they didnt even charged us and walked away so quick before us. We realized they gave them our plate and charged us. This situation was handled correctly because they actually gave us a card saying they owed us a seafood pancake but this experience with this new server was not the best. Please dont make us feel at fault, there is no professionalism in that especially working with people and being a server and especially because I didnt give any attitude but said it was okay. I love the food here and would give it 5 stars but that server needs to work on his attitude.
*** In Short ***Tasty Korean food served up in a clean, semi-modern venue by ultra friendly staff.*** In Depth ***While the original plan was to stuff ourselves with Swedish meatballs at the end of our IKEA shopping, we somehow ended up out here instead, because my friends boyfriend wanted their KFC. And, hey, I dont regret that decision one bit. Tried their:* Banchan - Decent. Not as wide an array as you might get elsewhere, with about 8-10 options (with refills), and nothing particularly standout.* Kimchi Fried Rice - Delicious. Hefty serving, great flavor, and not too salty, which is often a problem at other places.* KFC - Having opted for the kimchi fried rice, there was no way I wanted to order an entire fried chicken, so I opted for the smaller wings variety. And, oh good lord, these were probably among the tastiest KFC wings Ive had in the Bay. Fried just right, nice and crispy, with just the right amount of seasoning and flavor. I just might have to go full chicken next time around!As an added perk, the place is pretty clean and modern, rather than the dingy dark hole in the wall authentic Asian restaurants that Im used to.***Accessibility Info***Venue - Accessible! Plenty of space between tables, and the tables themselves are your standard height ones.Bathroom - Accessible as well, if I recall correctly.
4.4 (199 comments)
Review №1
2021-11-12Lovely panchang (side dishes)! I ordered the spicy beef stew that comes with bean sprouts, shredded beef brisket, egg and glass noodles. This is a very traditional Korean dish that doesn’t seem to be very popular in the West Coast. If you want sample something new, try this dish!The soup is nicely flavored, very good portion. The beef brisket is a little bit on the dry side, but overall a solid dish! The side dishes are amazing! I love the fermented spicy tofu and the radish salad.You should definitely give this restaurant a try! Probably one of the best Korean restaurants In Berkeley.
Review №2
2022-02-27The food is always so delicious. I love the staff, theyre all so great. The spicy ramen is my favorite, so tasty.
Review №3
2022-04-24Excellent … vegetarian options(!) bibimbap, kimchi fried rice and the pancakes. Loved the sides they serve on the table too!
Review №4
2021-11-15I was there with my wife. The food was terrific and very fresh . We ordered SOFT TOFU STEW (Soondooboo). With zucchini, onion, enoki mushroom and scallions. Served spicy, mild or non-spicy.OVER THE GRILL (BBQ). THINLY-SLICED BEEF (Bulgogi). And finally ordered to go : KIMCHI STEWJ11111n Available with beef, pork or vegetarian.With beef, tofu, glass noodles, onions and sliced rice cakes.
Review №5
2022-06-19This is a nice spot! Lots of good spicy Korean comfort foods. Everything Ive tried here has been up to standard, and sometimes when the mood strikes, Ill go out of my way to come here for the Spicy Rice Cakes.
Review №6
2021-06-07Ive ordered from delivery several times and it was a treat to dine in! Super friendly, and definitely being covid-19 safe! I had the miso ramen, my hubby had Bibimbop. We were chopstick fighting over the last potsticker too! If you look aty ramen youll see I won😻 And the prices are more than reasonable for the massive portions they provide!
Review №7
2022-06-05Outstanding service! The staff never hesitated to fix the problem so quickly and now I dont even remember what the issue was.
Review №8
2022-06-03I wanna claim beforehand: I offered to help solving the delivery problem happened to us by using my own time contacting Doordash. I have verified there was no miscommunication and therefore their purpose is not to get their financial loss for preparing the food back. They just don’t respect others.Back to the business, the one star is for they take customers as scapegoat and outlet when a dishonest Doordasher took their food without delivering it. Talked in a rude way.I was patient enough and waited on the phone for any explanation about why it’s inconvenient to prepare another order, too. (Apparently, a new order cannot happen to be assigned to the same Dasher.) They offered nothing but kept talking combatively and hang up the phone without finishing our talk.Glad to know their manners from remote. I will never go to their physical address for dining.
Review №9
2021-04-09The name says it all “Bowl” please make sure you get the Sizzling Hot Bibibomp. It is the best bibibomp I have had so far. The ingredients were so fresh and it was packed with a lot of flavor. You can dine in now or you can eat outdoors they have 3 tables outside.
Review №10
2022-03-30The best Best Bibimbop in the Bay. I’ve spent the last month sampling Korean BBQ Bibimboo in the East Bay, South Bay, North Bay and Peninsula. Flavor profiles are insanely solid, even the purple cabbage! Twice as much as others and worth every penny!Every bite damn good~