Dokdo Restaurant

Is my food...moving? Oh my...This nondescript restaurant has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Why? They're known to offer some specialty fresh seafood, and they've been in business since the late eighties, catering to a mostly Korean clientele.I've visited many Korean restaurants on Long Point, and while small and unassuming, this place takes the cake for some of the most unique Korean offerings. Many of these specialty items happen to be raw and secured live in tanks, ensuring optimal freshness. Utilizing the larger private room, we were lucky enough to have a Korean speaking person and regular patron in our group ordering for us. She ordered the ganjang gejang--raw soy marinated crab, the raw flounder hoe, and the chopped and still wriggling octopus. Yes, you read that right. The writhing tentacles are certainly a sight to behold and not meant for the faint of heart. I definitely had to take my time chewing. The flounder hoe was delicious and light. The leftover bones and skin are made into a nice soup that is brought out once you're done consuming the flesh. The flesh of the raw crab was sweet and delicious. Certainly I will be back to try to more regular menu items and perhaps more specialty items. I definitely suggest coming with Korean speakers if you plan on having raw items, because I believe that portion of the menu is written only in Korean... The menu itself is not super descriptive in English, but I don't mind. It adds to the fun...Oh, and the kimchi is phenomenal.Definitely an authentic and hidden gem. I

We were lucky enough to have a Korean speaking person in our group of about 8-10 in a closed off room. That's always nice because we can kind of be as loud as we want w/o being too much of a disturbance to other patrons. I would highly suggest coming here with someone who can speak and or read Korean since the menu was intimidating for me, someone who only knows English. This place is authentic though, so that's the trade off.This is the first time I've ever eaten the raw octopus that's still moving. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The taste was w/e to me, so I think I was more intrigued with the experience which was a positive one. The raw flounder sashimi was ok. I guess there are other types of fish that I would prefer in sashimi form in terms of taste and texture since I'm a big sashimi lover. I really liked the raw crab marinated in soy. I wasn't expecting to eat this much raw food, but here I am and still alive. Of course we had some beer and a lot of soju to help keep the good conversations going and food overflowing.

Very hole in the wall vibe that you get from this restaurant. You can tell it's a very authentic korean restaurant because the sign of the restaurant is in korean. Some parts of the menu (like the sushi/sashimi) portion was all in korean, so we had to use our google translate app to scan and translate it for us. The sashimi were fish we weren't too familiar with though, so we opted to be more basic when we went. It's not your typical tuna and salmon, but they seem popular for their flounder sashimi. It's a small restaurant with few tables, but there was only one other person there when we went on a monday afternoon. The seafood pancake was one of the best ones I ever had. It was very crispy and they had lots of different types of seafood in it too (e.g., clams, squid). I came to try the raw marinated crabs. I like that here they give you the heads and the claws, so you basically get the whole crab. The only other place that has raw marinated crabs is bori and they only give you the body. They give you a seafood cracker, so you can crack the claws and get all the little pieces of meat out. The also give you gloves to eat this, so your hands won't get punctured by the crab shells. This was my first time having these crabs and I really liked the soy flavor. The flavor was very deeply marinated in the crab meat and I didn't expect regular blue crabs to have so much meat. When you squeeze the body of the crab, you can get a huge chunk of meat out. I thought it was cool how they gave us the heads, but I wasn't able to scoop out too much from it. It just had a lot of the marinade sitting in the head.

Authentic Korean!We came for the Soy Marinated Crabs and Live Octopus Sashimi. They were out of octopus (make sure to call ahead) but the crab was delish! We also got the jap chae which was kind of soupy. We were dubious bc we'd never had a soupy japchae, but to our surprise it was really good! We had a couple other dishes I can't remember, but overall we really enjoyed the food.Although we enjoyed our experience, I had to say it was a little intimidating. Certain items on the menu were strictly in Korean with no English translation. Also, the Korean lady serving us was curt with us seeming to be slightly annoyed whenever she spoke to us. I guess it's part of that authentic Asian charm lol.

This place is a must try, got the soy marinated crab, bibimbap and seafood pancake. The soy marinated crab is a must try, you get 3 whole crab for $25 which is pretty good! 9/10! The seafood pancake is a must try, it was crispy and so much seafood in it 10/10 and the bibimbap was good too 7/10. If you want some good Korean food come try here! Staff was also very friendly, service is 10/10.

At Dokdo Restaurant, I ventured to try their renowned raw marinated crab but left disappointed with the overall experience. The initial greeting was friendly, and the hole-in-the-wall vibes were evident, but a language barrier hindered communication as only Korean was spoken. We ordered the raw marinated crab and a soup, both of which were average and failed to stand out. The raw octopus was tempting but deemed too expensive at $40. The rice appeared aged, and the side items felt greasy and off. A peculiar incident occurred during payment when, opting for a cash tip, the waitress insisted on the predetermined tip options, creating an uncomfortable situation. In summary, Dokdo Restaurant fell short of expectations.

Definitely a whole in the wall. And I would consider this restaurant authentic. More authentic than Bellaire. I'm still getting used to Houston, but finding this spot after searching for Ganjang Gaejang for the longest time, I'm ridiculously happy! The ajummas are so sweet and adorable! Kept checking in on me and my friend and refilled our bonchons in a jiffy! Ugh. I love it here.The variety of food items they have, I swear, I'll keep coming back here.

Third time lucky, I took the edgier lines out of this review because someone really doesn't want this 5 star business to get this glowing 5 star review.Is it time to post this yet? Well damn where did my CLOCK GO?I can't even find my underwear, could wear a SOCK THOYou know, just like Flea and Anthony Kaedis, he's my Red HOT BROAnd then I can take them out for Korean at DOKDOBarbi is so hot like soup, she always makes the ROCK GROWMakes me so happy down below, makes my C*** GLOWAnd Kirk knew lots of aliens biblically, but who did SPOCK KNOW?Anyway, for homestyle Korean, you must go to DOKDO!WHAT!I absolutely love this little inconsistent Korean place, always delicious and rarely two servings the same.They're a lovely little affordable place with wonderful homestyle food. We get their spicy beef soup, and sometimes it's really really spicy, and sometimes it's nowhere near as spicy, and I don't mean anything negative by saying that.It depends on which trip, but it was always worth it. When it was way, way more spicy it was more worth it. Sometimes we love every bite and sometimes we don't love it as much.Some of the most unique and delicious and original homestyle home cooking of Korean food. Including all the soups that we love. Very inconsistent with the spice level, this little tiny restaurant represents the very best of what home-cooked Korean food can be.Nothing like your prototypical Korean restaurants, and every bit a wonderful little experience, which is very different every time.It has formally entered the rankings as one of the top five Korean places to eat food in all of Houston for us. It's very cheap as well and we highly recommend it to anybody.Yori Yori inside 99 Ranch nearby is my fave for soup, and Tofu Village is Chinatown's best, but here in Spring Branch, and if you want really home-cooking style, you won't get much better than Dokdo.And overall it's one of the best places we've been to for Korean, and one of the most family style Korean restaurants we've ever visited, so we can give it 5 stars, and deservedly so.We will so, so be back.Now we'll finish with Otis Redding.Sittin' in the mornin' sunI'll be sittin' when the evenin' comesWatching the soups roll inThen I put them all away again, yeahI'm sittin' on the Dokdo with BaeWatchin' the soups roll away, oohI'm just sittin' at the Dokdo with BaeWastin' timeI left my home in MontroseHeaded up the Spring Branch way'Cause I've had nothin' to live forIt look like nothin's gonna come my waySo I'm just gon' sittin' on the Dokdo with BaeWatchin' the soups steam all dayI'm sittin' at the Dokdo with BaeEating mine

Best Korean restaurant in town. This last time, I was here with a big group of 9 and we were seated in the private room. We got a bunch of stuff including chopped up octopus that was still moving. I didn't taste it but my husband did and said it was super delicious. My favorite dish here is the tofu soup. It's so flavorful compared to what you get at some other places where it's just bland no matter how spicy you specify.

Gahhh I did it! I ate LIVE octopus. Truly an experience with my fellow Yelpers. No bells and whistles here, and as authentic as it comes.This is a mom-and-pop place. Be patient. We had a large group and was seated in their "private" back room. If you plan on having a party of 6 or more, I highly recommend reservations or call ahead for seating availability.James' wife did most of the ordering for us. Keep in mind, live octopus is not available year-round. Call ahead to confirm. Here's what we ate (as much as I can remember):Seafood Pancake - Served warm and accompanied by a nice dipping sauce.Stir-fried Pork Skin - I don't hate it, but ya know pork skin has a slimy, chewy texture that I don't fancy. Stir-fried Octopus - Yums! A cooked, savory version.Live Octopus - For the bold and brave! Not bad. It was cut in bite sized pieces. I dipped it in some sauces. I would def do it again. Soy Marinated Raw Crabs - I enjoyed this dish very much. Bursting umami flavors. Flounder Sashimi - Fresh and well prepared. Flounder Soup - The rest of the flounder (from the sashimi) in a soup. The fish bones add a depth of flavor. This was served at the end with rice and banchan sides. Our server was kind and always said "thank you and you're welcome". We had a larger party, and I appreciate her tending to us when we rang the service button. The alcohol selection is very limited. Mostly soju and domestic beers. An unforgettable experience with amazing food and friends.