Samwon Restaurant - Lakewood (WA)

5 /5 Leila Blue Aram-Panahi: A cozy hole in the wall spot full of warmth, good food, and beautiful plant life. Service was friendly, and our server took care to make sure he fully understood our order and got everything just right. Our Korean food came out quickly and it was all delicious! Pleasantly surprised by this little gem.

2 /5 Bobby Choi: Its a restaurant that offers a typical teriyaki menu along with a variety of traditional Korean dishes. The menu is so extensive that instead of feeling like a place specialized in one type of dish, it seems more like a place where any customer can find something they like. Since I was there, I ordered a mix of four different dishes: from the typical teriyaki menu item, chicken yakisoba, to traditional Korean dishes like hot spicy beef soup with vegetable and even soondae only plate (Korean blood sausage). After trying the food, I found that the flavors were a bit different from what I had expected. The taste reminded me of Korean home-cooked meals--rustic, but not without flavor. The fried rice was slightly sweet, but not in a natural way from the rice itself; it seemed like something had been added, which didnt suit my taste. The soondae was disappointing and didnt taste good. The hot spicy beef soup with vegetable didnt have a deep broth flavor, but it was well-seasoned and not too spicy. The chicken yakisoba was well-seasoned but lacked the smoky, grilled taste I was hoping for. As its a teriyaki restaurant, they only serve three kinds of kimchi as side dishes, and even then, only if you order Korean food (they didnt serve it with the teriyaki items like chicken yakisoba or fried rice, and not even with the soondae). The owner himself does the serving, and even when there arent many customers, the food takes some time to come out. He does give a heads-up if a particular dish will take a long time to prepare. Here is more information: - Food: Below average with limited side dishes (three types of kimchi for certain menu items). - Price: Average (slightly cheaper than other Korean restaurants in this area but similar to Korean Mart food court prices). - Service: Slightly below average, as the owners struggle to manage all the customers orders during busy hours. - Ambiance: This is a somewhat divey restaurant and flies (mentioned other peoples review as well). Parking: The restaurant has its own parking lot (free of charge).

3 /5 Paul Davis: The daeji bulgogi was amazing. The teriyaki was dry. The garlic chicken was bland. The service was great and had a pleasant atmosphere. Prices were reasonable

5 /5 Chris Rakunas: Despite the few translations for the Korean items, this was a great place! The owner guided me to the #15 (see photo) which was a pleasantly spicy broth with mostly veggies and some meat. It was very filling. Dont wear a white shirt if you order this soup! But do come hungry and ready to be full