Somunnan Korean Restaurant

Located in a strip mall Somunnan Korean Restaurant is a hidden gem or hole in the wall. Very unassuming exterior but the inside has a decent amount of seating. My sister was craving Korean food and this place was close to the hotel she was staying at. They open at 10:30am. We arrived shortly after they opened so we had the restaurant to ourselves. Another patron arrived shortly after and while we were dining a few people came for take out orders. Their menu has plenty of traditional Korean dishes. It's walk-up counter ordering then they call out your order. We ordered a noodle dish (bibim naengmyun) and a soup dish (seoullantang). Both dishes were really tasty! Would've been nice to have a bit more noodles in the soup dish but the flavor more than made up for it. If you're in the area and you're craving Korean food, give Somunnan Korean Restaurant a try.

Warm atmosphere and great service. Order at the counter, grab your own banchan, and find a seat. Banchan was wonderfully flavorful and fresh. Kimche wasn't too fermented, still crunchy and complimented the hot soup well. Most flavorful fish cake banchan I've ever had! Gamjatang was a warm hug in a bowl. Served boiling hot with ample meat. I was surprised by the potatoes, bean sprouts, and greens a the bottom. Delicious and not overcooked. I ordered spicy which was hot with well balanced flavors, not overpowering heat. Anything notated on the menu with "must try" is phenomenal.

Wow, what a hidden gem in the Cerritos area for an authentic Korean food experience. Love the buffet style/serve yourself banchan! And you can tell, these side dishes were made in house because the flavors were unique to this place.We tried their galbi bbq (beef ribs) and I wanted to cry it was so good and flavorful. Absolutely the best beef ribs I've EVER had.Had to try their galbi tang soup as well and it was so comforting to eat.I will dream of their galbi bbq for days until I get to return and order it again though. No other galbi in LA can match theirs.

Came across this spot randomly in Cerritos and I'm so glad we ate here! They must have just opened when we walked in because we were the first ones inside.You pay at the cash register and they give you a plate for your banchan (the banchan is on the side of the register). Take what you can eat - They offer kimchi, tofu skin, bean sprout, danmuji, pickled cucumbers, mac and potato salad. Their potato salad is really creamy and delicious. My other favorite was their tofu skin - chewy and flavorful! Everything is self-serve - You can find cold and hot water and utensils near the register. When your food is ready they'll call you. When you're done, there's an area to drop off your tray.I got their Mul Nengmyeon ($15.50) which is a cold, buckwheat noodles served with cucumbers, radish and egg. It is very vinegary, which I loved and was looking forward to! My husband got their Ugeoji Galbi Tang ($19.99) which includes beef ribs, some noodles, bean sprout, napa cabbage, and served with rice. His beef based broth was clear and flavorful!There's a limited number of seats, but I don't think this is a spot where you sit and talk for two hours - More of a get food and then leave to get coffee two doors down type of place. Lol. I really want to go back and try their Tteok Galbi! That looked and smelled delicious!

Overall the food is very good and self service banchan bar is awesome. Items not always being available and some not being as incredible as I remember is te only thing keeping me from returning to 5 stars. Kalbi was a bit of a let down again as well, but other dishes were all very good, line the tofu soup and jajiangmien.

We got the cold noodles and it was really good! There was a blob of spiciness but surprisingly, it was not that spicy, very doable. The side dishes were also very good! Lots of variety, especially different pickles! Also, they had mash potatoes (not pictured, the worker refilled sides later haha) that was so good, so good that a kid had like at least 10 scoops on his side dish plate! Overall, would come again!!

Somunnan is a convenient quick serve counter service authentic Korean restaurant with an all you can eat panchan (side dish) bar. The format is great if you are pressed for time but still want a full authentic Korean meal. The variety of side dishes wasn't the greatest on the night I went but The ones they had were good. Particular shout out to the kimchi and mashed potatoes. The food came out relatively quickly and was made super fresh. It was high quality and very good. Would recommend the Dolsot bibimbap and you can add on an order of galbi for a discount from the regular menu price.

I love Korean food but I never heard of all you can eat self serve banchan/side dishes before so I had to come try it. It's definitely not like your typical restaurant where you get your order taken and have dishes brought out to you. This is more fast casual where you take a seat wherever you'd like and order and pay up front. While you wait for them to call out your number to pick up your food, you can go up and get yourself a small plate to choose whichever side dishes you want from the selection and grab a cup of water and utensils. The signs are very clearly written for you so that you know where things are. They have a good variety of mainstay side dishes from spicy fish cakes, kimchi, macaroni salad to potato salad and more. I had to load up since it was ayce. Their main menu also had a lot of good options to choose from so it was hard to choose because everything sounded good. I ended up getting a spicy pork dish that came with rice and miso soup and it came out pretty quickly. The spicy pork was delicious and drenched in sauce. They don't skimp on the portions either. I love that it comes with purple rice too rather than your average white rice. The miso was just okay in my opinion as I've had better before but I still appreciate having it as part of the set. Overall the main and side dishes were phenomenal tasting but I actually did not find myself going back for more side dishes simply because it was a lot of food. It might be better to come on an empty stomach to really be able to take advantage of the ayce side dishes. Once you're done though, you can ask for a takeout bag and box and then return your dishes and tray to the rack for them to take. The person at the counter was super nice and asked if we enjoyed our food which showed they cared about how their food was received. I would come back again to try their soups next time.

I love that they use long silverware and self serve side dishes because it feels like the no frills Korean restaurants we know serve good food. The sides are traditional, the flavors are clean and complex and the food comes piping hot.

I am not sure why this place has many good reviews, because my experience was very unpleasant. Today, I went here at late lunch time, and ordered Gamjatang which is their signature dish on the menu. The cashier lady was very unfriendly. It seems she is too tired to work. Self serving banchan(side dish) station was almost empty, but the staff didn't care, and didn't do make any refills. The Gamjatang was mediocre in taste, and it didn't have enough meat on the bones for $21. The young man who seems working as a manager was very upset, and scolding his co-workers for didn't set up pickled cucumber at side dish station. I felt very uncomfortable while I am having a meal. I think I wouldn't come back here.