Cafe Han River

Why did Han River close?!! I love this place. Their Kalbi deluxe is so good, and just the right amount, plus soup and kimchi too. I also have the chapchae fried rice, and it is amazing! I will miss the old couple who works here. They are so nice and cute!

Galbi galbi galbi.
Another ‘doh’ moment for me in not trying this place earlier. 3^rd year in Brookline, always passed by this place on the T @ St. Marys. I’ll be honest, it looks shady from the façade but definitely don’t let such a judgement deter you from trying any place ever because it’s usually the down to earth places IMO that are the best :)
Owned by a lovely Korean couple.
Think of Café Han River as a Korean stall at a food court. You place your order to the wife who is soft spoken. You situate yourself at one of the oddly decorated tables till she calls you up. The choice of table furniture is really odd… you’ll have to come for yourself to know what I mean. One step in here, you feel like you’ve walked into the 80’s with the low-​keyness and vintage feel of it all. You have sets of glass tables and then a long plastic table at the back if you’re bringing company. You’ll see the husband take charge of the grill while the wife compiles the rice, kimchi, and soup to your order.
They have ~10 different dishes they serve-​though it seems from Unilocal and based on take out orders and pick ups, galbi is what they’re famous for.
I asked the wife if the portion of the galbi deluxe was really big b/​c the word ‘deluxe’ made it sound overwhelming. There seems to be a regular galbi dish and a galbi deluxe because there’s 2 different pricings-​the price on the board is different than the menu on the counter. Since she was really soft spoken, I couldn’t hear what she said, but I gave the deluxe a try.
I recommend getting the deluxe if there is an option between deluxue and regular because given the amount of rice you get, you really need more galbi to down it all. Flavorful, not charred at all, with just amount of chewyness and a little fat– the husband did a great job. I’ll agree with other reviewers that the seaweed soup and very sparse kimchi and beansprouts were nothing to rave about but hey the focus is the galbi right? Came out around $ 16−17ish.
Watching those 2 working together to keep this place running and the low-​key-​homey atmosphere of this place made me really miss my grandparents. The wife said thank you as I left. As I waved and said bye, it made me all the more homesick not only for my grandparents but also my parents. I think it’s amazing how places can bring up such emotions to you.
All in all, I will come again to try more of their other things. Blessed to have this place instead of having to trek out to Allston for Korean food.

This is one of the best Korean restaurants I have ever been to. The Gal-​bi is off the hook, and Mr and Mrs Chung are delightful. The food is not cheap, but it is high quality and made from scratch. This is the ultimate mom and pop neighborhood place, and they are so kind to my little boy, who loves their chicken noodle soup. My husband loves the beef bulgogi! We adore this place for take out, and often see large groups of Koreans eating here too (not a bad sign).

solid solid homecooked korean food. It’s not like other korean food in the area that tastes like korean restaurant food. this place definitely tastes like food a korean grandmother would make. Tastes simpler, heartier, and frankly… less sodium. Comes on cheap styrofoam plates to add to the novelty of eating at your grandparents house.

The Simple, Not So Noisy and Modest Neighborhood Korean Restaurant
Are you looking for a simple neighborhood Korean restaurant in a nice and quiet community? If you said yes, this place has your answer. This place is at a great location in the nice and quiet community of Brookline. If you are also looking for a simple, quiet and subtle Korean lunch or dinner, this place might be a great choice.
This place is a «low-​tech» operational kitchen run by a Korean couple that’s about twenty or thirty years older than I am. Looking at them, my instincts were telling me that they have been working really hard, so you could have a «soft spot» for them. They may not be really nice, but they appear to be modest and definitely not rude, as long you are nice and polite to them. The place also has a very modest appearance.
The first time I came here, I had a simple Galbi dish. This is a Korean barbecue pork rib dish with a little spice in it. The meat was a little rough, but it was tasty and flavorful. With some of that good spicy sauce and some rice, and it was a moderately tasty meal.
Their bibimbap rice bowl dish has a nice homemade taste. Bibimbap is a rice bowl with some vegetables and a fried egg. I also ordered it with Galbi, and the quality of the meat has improved, especially the tenderness. Mixing the egg with the spicy sauce, vegetables, and the rice, and I got a simple and tasty rice bowl. It was probably not the best bibimbap I had, but it was sufficiently good and I got my stomach full.
As for other dishes, their japchae, which are these stir-​fried sweet potato noodles, are a fairly good choice. It is not high on my recommendations, unless you get some Korean barbecue meats to complement it. The kimchi portions are fairly small, but they are a fair complement to the dishes. They also serve some simple and satisfactory soup with your meal.
The prices are moderate, but not expensive. Expect to pay up to $ 15 for a good meal. If you do not want to spend $ 2 on drinks, there’s tea for $ 1.
Overall, if you are looking for a simple neighborhood Korean restaurant in the nice and quiet community of Brookline, this place is actually a good choice. It is not my primary choice for excellent Korean food in the somewhat decent state of Massachusetts, but I believe that this hard-​working couple can get the job done in a subtle way. It may not be the best Korean restaurant, but if you are looking for simplicity and modesty in a quiet neighborhood Korean restaurant, then this place is a pretty good choice.

It’s been over a year (I’ve actually been eating here since 2010) and I just want to say that these two, «komo and komo-​bu» as I’d nickname them, still serve the best damn spicy pork kimchi dish I’ve EVER had. They’re still the same sweet couple and I still appreciate their hospitality and service.
Fact of the matter is, and this is aimed at the lower raters, this place IS NOT meant to contend with Yasu, Koreana, or Bonchon. It’s meant to serve quick and decently-​priced Korean food and not have you endure the K-​Pop and greater hustle of the larger restaurants. I understand if you’ve had one bad meal here, and we all have since their japchae is just ok but I’ve always liked their attempt with tteokbokki with mandu on the side. You just have to see it as a quick and easy fix for Korean and that’s the best thing to do.
Also, the sprouts and tofu are awesome. I don’t know what others are smoking.

as a Korean disappointed in the weak Korean restaurants in the Boston area…
this place has pretty good galbi. but they don’t give enough sides.
and no free water???
the place seems pretty cheap. they taped the power outlets on the walls to what i think is their attempt to stop customers from stealing their juice (or getting electrocuted).
i’d give 3.5 but galbi is good. so definitely come to this place for juicy-​full-​of-​fat-​dripping-​with-​oils Korean short ribs! just prepare to be thirsty (or pay for a beverage)

The food here is mediocre at best. The galbi was okay, but the serving sizes were minute. The order only came with like 3 slices of kimchi cabbage and 2 tablespoons of bean sprouts. The soup was also pretty nondescript. My friend’s bulgogi bowl was pretty bland as well. At least the couple at the counter were nice, althought it seemed like they couldn’t understand English that well.

I really wanted this place to be good because from the style of the restaurant (hole in the wall) and the cute couple who own/​work there. We ordered the signature beef short ribs and a fried rice special.
Ill start with the ribs. There were about eight short ribs that had decent flavor but mostly fat, so not very appetizing and probably totaling less than 2oz of meat (fat included). This was served on a bed of dried out white rice and some unappetizing spiced cabbage. Price $ 11.50.
Secondly the fried rice special was very lackluster. I know fried rice is not something most foodies would order at a place like this but we were hungry and usually a large portion is something you can count on when you order a fried rice dish. This was not true and the sides with the rice were the same as the ribs, soggy pea sprouts and soggy cabbage. The fried rice dish probably would have fit into a one cup measuring cup. Price $ 6.95
All said and done, we spent almost $ 20 with tax and being people who don’t usually finish our portions when we eat out, were still very hungry after we ate everything that was eatable on the plates. I’ve had more food that tasted better on a $ 7 Chinese lunch plate.

As much as I want this sweet couple to succeed, I really can’t honestly say that their food is spectacular. Their kimchi is just blah… It’s much worse than kimchi I buy from grocery stores. Idk maybe I expected more out of the old lady who looked like she can cook like my grandmother.
I’ve ordered a few times from them when I lived around the corner. Donkatsu was… okay. Hanmaru has way better donkatsu. Their ddeokbokki (spicy rice cake stir-​fry) was bad and small in portions. I can make better than that. Their stir-​fried spicy squid with noodles is the only reason I bumped the rating up to 4. I got so addicted to that stir-​fry that I only ordered that afterwards. It’s not that it’s really good after first taste, but it’s just mysteriously addictive. Just as mysterious as how this place survived over 10 years.
Anyways, expect this place to be like a Korean diner. Nothing fancy or super great. Some of their stuff may be addicting though.

The food is good, there’s no doubt about it. And I can appreciate the mom-​and-​pop vibe, especially coming from a small business family background myself.
Side dishes are skimpy though. For the same prices, you get more bang for your buck at Kayuga on Comm. Ave. But alas, if I gotta have my Korean fix and am too lazy to head to Allston, Han River is still a fine choice (pretty sure it’s the only option for Korean in Kenmore/​Brookline anyway).

The bf and I have been a regulars at Han River for about 3 years now. This place is a little hole in the wall run by the cutest Korean couple ever! They do all the cooking, work the regester, etc… and always have smile on their faces.
When I was studying abroad in South America this summer, the food I missed most was the Calamari from Han River… boy did I CRAVE it! It is a stirfry of squid and veggies simmered in a spicy chili sauce… let me tell you I could drink this sauce. The Boku Soba and Ramens are all top notch. Tastes like how I would imagine homade Korean to taste.
The beef bulgogi is also excellent. Boyfriend won’t order anything else.
Not sure why all the bad reviews… this place is not meant to be scene, trendy, or hip, so quit it snobs! This is your Korean mom’s home cooking, and it blows my mind time after time.

Even after 11 years, same taste, same great couple, same quality of. Kalbi — great!

I stopped by because it’s the closest Korean place from where I live. It’s tiny, like walking into someone’s apartment with a kitchen in the back. The mom and pop who run the place are nice and cute — I was happy to give them my patronage.
The food was ok, my bibimbop was kind of cold and for $ 12, portion sizes were on the small side. The beef bulgogi was fantastic though — sweet and flavorful. Overall, a good place to get a quick Korean fix but for the price, I probably will head over to Misono Grill at Packard’s Corner more often.

I can say that I’m not a Korean food connoisseur, but at the same time, I’ve eaten plenty of it. HR’s galbi is so freaking good it makes me melt inside just a little and give myself a well-​deserved pat on the back for going out of my way to grab lunch here. I always get the combo, with the noodles, soup, rice, kimchi, etc., because the interplay of flavors is more fun than just one flavor alone, even if that flavor is a sumptuous galbi.
I love that the place is completely unpretentious, not aiming for Asian chic whatsoever, and at the same time, also not aiming for underground-​cool Allston Asian. Mom and pop are a cute pair, and I want them to succeed, to not have to work too hard, to have a comfortable retirement, to have hard-​working, loving, well-​educated grandchildren… Hehe. I sort of feel like I should take my tray to the back and do some chores to help out, you know, do my part… But I digress. Clearly, I like the homey ambience. But mostly, I want them to keep up this tasty gig to satisfy my periodic Korean fix!

I got the galbi and the chicken wings here for takeout the other day and it was delicious!
I’m not Korean bbq connoisseur, but I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The short ribs were tender and savory. And the wings were crispy with a sweet coating on the outside.
Overall, tasty, filling, and good for the price.

I am definitely a fan of this place!
I’ve been craving galbi for multiple months now, and have been meaning to get some whenever I’m in NY with little success! I was in the Brookline area, whipped out Unilocal,and found this gem! It’s a tiny neighborhood establishment — it looks to be mostly takeout orders. Run by a sweet mom and pop, they had more tables and seats than I expected. Four 2 tops and one 5 top. It’s a «serve yourself» — so you place your order at the counter, and they let you know when you should grab your tray of food when it’s ready.
I felt like I was back in Korea grabbing lunch at the employee cafeteria for a minute when my food finally came out! A tray with a plate heaped full of rice and galbi with two banchan’s on the side — mung beans and kimchee. And a bowl of miyukgook (seaweed soup)!
I promptly SCALDED my tounge and throat with the miyukgook (h*ly cr*ap that was HOT). My mouth and throat stung throughout the entire meal. But it wasn’t even an option to stop eating. That galbi was SO GOOD! Tender and marinated perfectly, grilled to a perfect medium well, fatty and just oh oh oh so tender! So I soldiered through the pain and ate to my hearts content!
I will definitely be back when in the area… I wish I lived closer!

Their gal-​bi is good! And their kim chi chigae is OK — not like something to write home about. But I like how the place is clean and simple. Price is very reasonable too.
It’s not a place for a large party, but there are a couple of tables for small groups.
Interestingly enough, there’s a small ice-​cream vending box on the side. I’ll have to keep that in mind for the summer time.

Best galbi… ever. Tender short ribs well-​marinated and flame grilled while you wait. Other dishes – meh. I come here at least twice a month to satisfy any meat cravings.

I love this place! I first ate here in 2005 when I came up to visit a friend in Boston. We were going to another Korean place, but they were too expensive for our poor college budgets. We went to Han River instead.
Now that I live here, I go here all the time. I’m half Korean, and the Mom and Pop who run this place remind me of family. I want to hug them whenever I come in. The food is delicious — the bulgoki is my favorite. It is almost as tasty as my mom’s.
You get a lot of food for such little money. This place may be small, but the food makes up for it. You bus your own table, and they only take cash.