Choi's

***Impeccable Service, Delicious Food, Highly Recommend***I cannot stress how much this place is a must visit. First, the ambience was amazing with a great playlist of Korean music. I was impressed by the service and our server was very friendly and knowledgeable. We almost ordered every single dish off the menu. The crispy chicken and mandu didn't get a photoshoot because we ate it so quick! Overall I would highly recommend making reservations and checking this place out. You can't go wrong with any of their dishes in my opinion. They really made my friend's birthday memorable and the little birthday treat at the end was chef's kiss.

First, let me just this place absolutely amazing service. The aesthetics give a very upscale and modern vibe. The service was amazing and I would not be able to give any recommendations on how to improve.Essentially when I was invited to eat out here by a colleague I was expecting it to be like Korean BBQ, but to my surprise it was not. We ordered various dishes on the menu which turned out amazing. Majority of these dishes are instagram worthy.With it being so aesthetically pleasing, my experience is that it probably isn't going to taste as good as it looks, but I was wrong. There's a wide variety of flavors on these dishes.Lastly, the drinks are great. Signature beer at the restaurant very crisp! Tip: There is a parking structure nearby on 12th that allows you to park there for an approximate 2 hours just have it verified by the restaurant.

A perfect spot to stop by before a Padres game, which is what I did for my first visit, Choi's is a described as modern korean cuisine which in my mind sounded more like Asian fusion. Read on to find out my conclusions. This is truly a great spot right across the street from Petco in a promenade it shares with other restaurants and Park 12 apartments. I also saw they have free 2-hour parking in the retail garage which is a plus. Their outdoor patio area is particularly nice and great for people-watching and their inside area has a classy modern vibe. Today in particular they had live music inside. Lucky for us we can during what I suppose is their happy hour with a special menu with $8 drinks and some tacos listed. Upon reviewing the full menu they did have some pretty good Korean dishes and delicious sounding cocktails (mostly soju based). What I ended up ordering was the $8 afterhours cocktail made with soju and raspberry as well as the Somaek (soju and beer) also $8. The bao taco sounded interesting so I ordered the chili shrimp one, although the price of $10 seemed a little steep for 1 taco. Although it was unique and quite delicious with a crispy bao bun and a little kick. The other dish ordered was the pork belly bossam which was basically a lettuce wrap. The pork belly was quite tasty and the sauce had a nice spicy flavor although I would have liked a little more options on the plate to fill the lettuce with. Lastly, the service staff was friendly but I get the feeling that they are relatively new and still trying to get then hang of things. Overall I very much enjoyed the experience.

I swear someone here is taking notes from The Bear! My partner and I had an incredible anniversary dinner tonight at Choi's, and I was so impressed I had to write a review immediately. We ordered the banchan salad and two large plates and shared everything family-style:Banchan Salad: 8/10. Fresh and crunchy, with a good amount of acidity. We're actually not big fans of the texture of raw kale, but the crispy fried onions added an even stronger crunch and created enough contrast in texture that made both components work very well together. Korean Crispy Chicken: 10/10. Perfectly crispy and crunchy skin with tender moist meat inside! Also what a unique idea to add avocado to this. The bed of avocado mash was so creamy you'd think it would tip the scale into too heavy and fatty a dish, but the yuzu base and extra squeezes of lemon balanced it out well. Galbi Bowl: 9/10. We mixed everything together to make a kimchi fried rice. The short rib pieces were so tender! I'm still drooling. Only critique is that I did not taste any truffle flavor. The two large plates were more than enough food for two people. I really wanted to try the basque cheesecake but the huge portions left no room in my belly for dessert.Service was great. The waitstaff were very attentive with water refills, taking finished plates/glasses from our table, and helping us locate the restrooms. My napkin fell off my lap at some point during dinner, and someone came to pick it up immediately and offer me a replacement. I also loved the special touches they added for our dinner, including the personalized card on the table, complimentary soju cocktails, and a pretty red rose!To the business manager and/or owner, if I were to offer only a couple ideas to take your already great restaurant to the next level, I would suggest resetting the table (ie wiping down the table, replacing dishes and silverware) between courses. Another small detail, I wished our interaction with our server who brought us our food felt less rushed and that he took more time to explain each dish and its ingredients. Parking was free and simple enough to find. There's a parking garage behind the restaurant on 12th Ave. Prices were reasonable, especially for an elevated Korean fine-dining experience serving food with high quality ingredients and generous portions.I highly recommend Choi's for celebrations or just a casual night out to eat some great Korean food. They truly go above and beyond to give you an amazing dining experience. I haven't even finished digesting this meal, but I'm already looking forward to the next time we're back LOL- I still want that cheesecake!!

Great food, great Ambiente, great service. Here what we liked ranked:- Galbi Bowl: Juicy rich flavor beef. So good! Don't mix it! - Korean crispy chicken: nice sauce, nice crunch, juicy. It was great! A bit pricey. But good presentation and good taste. Personally I found cheaper versions like Don chicken slightly better though - Bulgogi Bao tacos: nice crisps outside. My cousin liked it. I found it ok- paper wrapped shrimp: nice crunch, airy, not too heavy. Sauce was a bit too standard. What we would skip:- pork belly bossam - scallops - mushroom arugula (was the worst dish) Dessert wise:Clear winner - the cheese cake. It was great! Ice cream was alright, would skip it.

I celebrated my birthday at Choi's and had a wonderful experience. Our group ordered the following:1) Bonchon Salad - Cucumber, Arugula, Kale, Sesame Seeds, Crispy Onions, Balsamic Vinaigrette2) Scallops on the Half Shell - Scallop Tataki on the Half Shell with Korean Chili Oil, Barrel-Aged Shoyu, Micro Cilantro, Sesame Seeds3) Pork Belly Bossam - Sous Vide Pork Belly served with Kimchi, Lettuce, Gochujang Sauce4) Galbi Bowl - Beef Short Ribs with Smoked Truffle Sea Salt, Green Onions, Kimchi, Sesame Seeds over Rice5) Hotteok with Vanilla Ice Cream - Pan-fried Pancake filled with Brown Sugar Syrup, topped with VanillaIce CreamThe Galbi bowl was the highlight for me. I was also very impressed with the Hotteok dessert, as I have a bit of a sweet tooth.The vibe in the restaurant is really exceptional, and it's situated right in the heart of downtown SD, near the baseball stadium. This is a relatively new restaurant, and I will be rooting for their continued success as they are really doing some exceptional things.

As a korean who grew up in LA and ate tons of home made korean food and LA restaurant food, this place is amazing! I highly recommend! I always get hesitant going to a fusion korean restaurant, but this place meet all my expectations. Come here! Everything is so good - food, drink and service!

We visited Choi's on a Tuesday night and were impressed by the high ceilings, industrial design, hanging green plants, and a striking bar with a chandelier. However, the food did not live up to expectations. The octopus was tender and well-seasoned, but the fried oyster mushrooms with arugula lacked a cohesive sauce or fragrant oil to tide the dish together, and the chili shrimp with pressed rice was neither crispy nor appetizing. The taco dish featured heavy, deep-fried bread that overwhelmed the stuffing, it needed some kind of fresh herbs to cut down the heaviness, and only the bossam stood out as decent. Cocktails were disappointingly watered down without flavor. Despite the friendly service and thoughtful touches like personalized name card, the dining experience ultimately fell short.

Let me preface this review by saying that I am not related to Chef Choi, although after eating here, I wish I was because it'd be pretty cool having someone who devised this menu for family parties. Anyway...I made reservations here to celebrate my 26th "coming to America" anniversary. I'm usually in my feels around this time especially since I haven't been back to Korea in all that time, and I seek out Korean food every year for this anniversary so I can get a taste of home. From making reservations online, this restaurant set itself apart by sending directions to parking and making it so easy for us to find the secure parking garage. When we arrived, we were led to our table which had the cutest handwritten place card on it. They also bring out a bag stand for folks with purses which is a super nice touch. They also brought us out welcomre soju cocktails which I unfortunately couldn't have more than a teeny taste of as I'm pregnant, but my husband was delighted. He said it tasted like a lemon sour candy. They did have a couple of nonalcoholic drinks though, and I enjoyed my Suwon Spritz thoroughly. Food-wise, we ordered the chili shrimp, pork mandu, Korean crispy chicken, and the bossam. The chili shrimp were absolutely delicious and had a nice kick to them. The mandu were pretty standard, so if you like fried things, this is a safe option. The Korean crispy chicken came out first, and it was actually a pretty huge portion. Neither of us were sure how the yuzu avocado mash would pair with it, but it paired surprisingly well. The bossam was cooked to perfection and I loved the added touch of them being fried on the outside for texture. I somehow also had room for dessert after all this and we had the hotteok which was sooo yummy. Now yes, there are other Korean restaurants up near Convoy and there are cheaper Korean restaurants, BUT as anyone who's tried cooking Korean food knows, it takes a lot of prep work and attention to detail. This is a modern Korean restaurant as well, so you won't get the same experience as you get at other Korean restaurants with the banchan and all that, but speaking as someone who is very picky about Korean food, I really enjoyed this upscale take on it, and it's about time there was a Korean restaurant that filled that upscale niche. I will definitely come here again and I'd love to bring friends here (if I had any lol). This is also just a me thing, but I can't remember having a meal this enjoyable since I've been pregnant because I've had some major appetite issues, and this place gave me some much-needed enjoyment from my food for the first time in 5 months. Epilogue: I ended up forgetting my jacket on the way out and they called me to let me know and we were able to turn around and retrieve it. Phenomenal customer service!

The best dumplings I've had outside of Asia. Unique and tasteful cocktails. The service from everyone was second to none! I'd recommend to anyone looking for a great dining experience!