Don Don Lee Soondae

A place I will forever gatekeep.The place is small (about five tables) and is very much home style Korean food for very cheap price. A place that Korean grandmas and moms would like and not complain about if they just wanted classic Korean food. Sorry, but they don't have an english menu. So bring your friend who can speak/read Korean!Street parking only

I need to mention the cleanliness first. If you are like me, and gets grossed out seeing sticky condiment containers and utensils, this is your haven. They keep the table, utensils and condiment containers so clean, you will feel super comfortable. Never seen any restaurant that peovides the utensils in hot water to show how serious they are about sanitation. The soondae soup was legit and their banchans were soooo good too!!! The ladies were so friendly too so this will be my go to place for soon dae soup going forward.

Hole-in-the-wall spot!! My friend has been craving Soondae and she took me to her favorite place! Don Don Lee Soondae is small inside with around 4-5 tables. We ordered the Korean Sausage "Soondae" Plate and Steamed Dumplings. The plate comes with slices of blood sausage and boiled meats. The Soondae is made of pork blood, glass noodles, and glutinous rice. We got the medium blood sausage combo, but we asked if can only do the blood sausage only!The Banchan was delicious! The Steamed Dumplings are SUPER filling! It was definitely a great starter! The Soondae was super fresh and authentic! Remember to eat the Soondae with the pickled jalapenos and salt for dipping! Can't wait to come back for their Soondae plate!

hole-in-the-wall restaurant entrance from ardmore on the corner of 8th...pink racoon looking cartoon character...opens 6:30am with $10 korean soup breakfast specials until 10am...korean comfort food served...small restaurant with couple tables in a humble environment...taking a kong-guksoo (bean broth noodles) $15.50...an acquired taste for those who love the earthy flavors of the thick ground soybean broth...served cold with hint of salt...quite refreshing and good...others taking the dweji gukbap (pork soup with rice) $16.50...clean white flavorful broth loaded with pork...garnish with green onions and season as needed, but quite a hearty soup...soondae-guk (blood sausage soup) $16 is similar soup, but served with blood sausages on the side...soups were delicious and hearty...filling for an adult...while the location and atmosphere is quite humble, the food is traditional korean and soups are quite soothing...

I really really wanted to like this place bc hole in the wall spots are my jam. I got the soondae soup and I found it to be very porky (not in a good way). I also got a combo soondae and while the soondae itself is ok, the rest of the organ meats were pretty tough. The banchan they give you is bombbb though and their kimchi is perfect for gookbap. I'm not sure if I'd come back for another go considering there are so many other great gookbap options in ktown :( Also I tried making soondae bokkkeum with the leftover soondae and it was still so porky that I gave up eating it halfway. I absolutely love soondae so this was a travesty for me :(

This place is a very cute and cozy restaurant but don't let the visual fool you. The food was so good and staff were so wonderful. Even though they were busy, everyone was friendly and attentive. I ordered SoonDae (korean blood sausage) and GulJun (oyster pancake) food came out super fast. Every Banchan (side dishes) were delicious and put together very neatly. My favorite SoonDae place was closed so I chose this place thanks to yelp and I'm so glad I came by. SoonDae had No smell, wasn't dry at all and casing wasn't chewy.

The first time I passed it and didn't know it was a restaurant. This place was small and quant but it had the feeling that I was going to be served something special. And I ordered the suggested blood sausage combo (small) which is more than enough for 2 people to share and the Pollock soup that came hot and steamy. The service was very kind and generous. They treated you with the familiarity that you are interested in trying something new. And I was definitely surprised by how good it tasted. By far the best definition of a mom and pop Korean shop that's a hidden gem. Looking forward to coming back to try the food with friends

Such a hidden gem! Food and service all great.$10 for breakfast including soup, rice, and 6 side dishes is incredible. $12.99 for SoonDae soup was great as well. Grilled fish (GaJaMi) tasted great without any fish smell. They said they dried them on their own.Server was very attentive to check if we would need any side dishes, like she was reading my mind. They had a very welcoming ambiance, Juhng in Korean, that they really want to feed customers well with the highest care they show, even to strangers. I appreciate feeling that welcome from Korean restaurants, but not all Korean restaurants offer that welcoming feeling.Their open time 7am also helped a lot, as waiting until 9am to have breakfast starves me.It's a small restaurant with 4-5 tables. The chef and server made it so nice and warm.I took my spouse here for their birthday and ate there several times during my last visit to LA. I will definitely want to go back here next time I would be around. Please stay strong and have this business for a long time.

I was in the area for a consulate appointment and wanted authentic Korean food. It was pretty chilly after the rain so I thought I would get 순대국 (soondaeguk). Soondaeguk can be a little tricky - even from some famous soondaeguk places in Korea you may get this "pork smell/aftertaste" which turns you off. This place's soondaeguk didn't have that. It was clean and comforting, and hit the spot. It was just what I wanted for a chilly morning. All banchan dishes were good too.Most importantly, the ladies who tend the shop were so sweet and clean. The lady who served the food took care in putting banchan in each dish in a clean and delicate manner, which I really appreciated. Everything was served to me in a way that I felt I was cared for. She gave me space to enjoy the food but also checked if I needed more banchan dishes or anything else in a very sweet, nice, low-key way. I really really appreciated her service.The place was small, but very homey and clean. I definitely recommend this place for a nice, authentic Soondaeguk. This place made a two hour drive to the consulate worth it.

The soondae is good but. No more liver or stomach pieces on th side.. kinda like a burger with no fries.. isn't complete.