Smile Restaurant

This is a small cozy place where you can enjoy family time with friends.
The owners are so friendly and hospitable.
I really like tokbokki with ramen and tokbokki with chicken
The restaurant is so quiet and i really like that.
Recommend this

The restaurant was like a traditional korean restaurant. the owner was so sweet and most of all the food was great! I will definitely come back. The portion size for a little too big for me and my mom but I am still going to be coming back
I ordered dukbokki and tray noodle.
the dukbokki was very good despised the fact that it was a little spicy but that doesnt really matter because it was very good
the tray noodle was excellent. it felt like spring is in my mouth lol. It isnt that spicy and has a very tiny little bit of sourness to it. This was my first time trying it and I know I will definitely crave for it once in a while

One of those lucky finds when trying a new place.
The food is one of the best authentic homemade food. Cooked by a korean middle age women while the husband served.
Pros:
1) cheap prices. Average dish price $ 7.99−8.99.
2) side dishes taste fresh and pure. No msg.
3) main foods are delicious and filling. The spicy ones are perfect for the spice level of koreans. Little bit more spicy for those who don’t generally have spicy food.
4) no strong food coma.
5) clean and cozy environment
6) kind servers
They have the main popular korean dishes. I want to go back and try the other foods.
Our meal price for 3 people= $ 28.05. We ordered 3 main dishes. See picture.

This is my favorite favorite place when I crave something not too heavy. I love the side dishes that they serve. Usually there’s only one or two customers when I’ve gone. The service is great and they’re always so nice and polite.

Very good service, small place, was empty when I ate there. Korean fried chicken and dukbokki is so so good. I high recommend getting both of them. The owner of the place is very nice; I would eat again.

This place is my go-​to Korean restaurant for nothing too heavy and nothing too light, just right in the middle. I’m honestly REALLY SURPRISED that this place is not that popular. this place is always empty every time I go– I’m the only customer there.
What I really like about this place is that their foods are MSG-​free and their dishes really taste like something your mom would cook for you at home. It tastes so authentic, calming, and the flavors aren’t TOO strong where you feel gross or too full afterwards.
The variety on there menu is a bit short, but I’d rather have that then have a menu overfilled with choices that are similar in taste.
Pricing is affordable and the service is nice. It’s owned by an older-​middle aged couple and, the wife cooks and the husband serves.
Anyways, I really love this place and this is the longest, most heartfelt post I made on Unilocal,so I’m serious!
Maybe not the best date spot, but a good place for a casual family meal or when you want to eat out alone.

I love the stir fried chicken and spicy rice cakes here! This place usually empty and I don’t know why because it’s my favorite Korean restaurant! The workers are very sweet and are generous with their side dishes.

I love this place! It is my favorite korean restaurant and i have been to many. I’ve been to korea five times and this is my little go-​to place for getting my korean food fix. It is one of the best bang for the buck restaurants I have found.
Food is always good, includes lots of delicious banchan and boricha, and portions are quite large in size. I typically order the hukyumsotang (goat stew), jaeyookbokum (stir fried pork), bokkumbap (fried rice), or the dwenjang chigae (miso stew). (You might find the names a little different on the menu. Going by memory).
It is owned by this cute little family that are quiet but friendly. The mother does the cooking, so the food has a bit of that korean motherly homemade taste, which I find special.
I am always shocked at how often I come here and find the place empty. It is seriously a gem, but not many people seem to know about it. Part of me likes it quiet, but I also would be heartbroken if the place went away, so that is why I am writing this review. Please give it a try. You might find it special like I do.

Nothing special. i was thr onlh person eating there with my sister for like 1 whole hour. Ok food. Ok service. ok price. Hate the strong medicine smell from next door…

Beat up strip mall. Sign is a bit simple, but inside is a nice family business. Food is good, homemade taste. Good portions, fresh panchan. Price is very fair. Overall, a nice gem, especially if you don’t live in Garden Grove.

Fresh banchan. Portions are massive for the price. Always leave feeling satisfied. Some things I’ve tried are the kimchi jigae, yang yum chicken, and dokatsu. My favorite dish is the kimchi jigae

Smile has a convenient location to where I live. They have photos of their menu on their front window which helped draw me in. They serve basic Korean dishes, including a lot of Korean comfort food. They serve a BIG variety of panchan! More than at other Korean restaurants. Despite what older reviews are saying, our panchan tasted fresh. I ordered naeng myun and my husband got fish katsu. I am convinced if Smile was located near a college or university they’d make a fortune.

Boyfriend came here a few times and since we were nearby I suggested we eat here.
The décor is über cute! The owner is really nice but their daughter doesn’t say anything. A bit rude? YES.
Ordered the yool mool noodles and kimchi fried rice.
First off, their side dishes are horrible. Horribly bland.
Kimchi fried rice: wasn’t too bad. It needed more spice in it. For the price it isn’t worth it. I believe it’s $ 7.49. I was craving a rice dish and this is the only thing that sounded good.
Yool mool noodles: OMGGG WARNING DO NOT ORDER. This dish is HORRIBLE. Tasted like a bowl of melted candy. Hella sweet and nothing like yool mool broth. The boyfriend thought the kimchi in it was spoiled but I think it was just really old not spoiled.
After we were done the boyfriend now knew why he didn’t come back to this place. It’s that bad.
I told him if he suggested eating here again then he must hate me lol. i’m not sure if we just came on an off day, but i’m very skeptical on returning.

I used to go here for kimbap which they don’t sell anymore. today is the first time I actually sat down and ate in the resturant though. It’s a small place but it feels very comfortable. The waiters are very nice especially the old man that works there. All of my friends ordered the same thing which was fried fish thing with rice it came with miso soup and lots of sides. You also get a free glass of water. At the end he gave us this soothing rice juice it tasted really nice. There wasn’t alot of things on the menu but the service and food were delicious. I would give this place 1000 stars if I could. :(I want to go back already. oh also there was a basket full of dum dum pops at the cash register you can get after you eat. T_​_​_​T This is probably the best service I ever received from an asian food place. I want to go back already…

Every time I come in this restaurant, it’s relatively empty and I always wondered why. The food here is really good and reasonably priced and the customer service is amazing. They pay attention to your needs but aren’t overly smothering. They will refill your drinks and side dishes with a smile.
My favorite is the Fried Chicken tossed in a sweet, tangy, salty, spicy, garlic sauce. A close second is the Pork Katsu, which is flavorful, yet perfectly crispy, and they give you a HUGE portion.
On other occasions, I’ve also had the Spicy Pan Fried chicken which is pretty good. The chicken is in a spicy sauce with fish cakes, rice cakes, and other goodies. I think Thuy T. who posted earlier might have gotten the round, chewy rice cakes mixed up with the flat fish cakes.
Overall, the food is affordable, with large portions, and very good with even better service. I hope the next time I go in, there are more customers, so the cute husband and wife duo can stay in business.

I went here because I was feeling like eating something korean and this place had good reviews. Maybe I didn’t order the correct stuff but I thought it was okay.
I had my order togo and ordered the Pan Fried Spicy Chicken and the fried rice with egg on top.
When they gave me the food I was like WHOA this is a LOT of food!
I ordered the Pan Fried Spicy chicken because the guy said it come with fish cake too. I LOVE FISH CAKE! so I ordered it. I was very disappointed that it wasn’t the type of fish cake I expected. It was round, chewy and had a moochi texture. Very plain but with the sauce it was okay. Chicken was in small chunky pieces. Overall, it was okay. I wouldn’t say I would crave it.
The Fried Rice with Egg on top was plain. There was no meat on it and was lacking flavor.
Don’t get me wrong, the workers here is super nice, they give you a lots of food and side dishes. Maybe next time I should try the stew that everyone is writing about. I wouldn’t mind giving this place another try.

I stumbled onto this restaurant one day when the udon place inside Han nam supermarket was closed for the day for an odd reason, but boy what a find! It’s located left of the Hannam Chain market, immediately adjacent to the billards place. I’ve been to this restaurant three times so far and tried three different dishes and they were all very good to great. I recommend the jjol myun and jang ban gook soo. Daing good. The menu is not expansive, but that’s probably why their food items are so good; can’t be good at cooking everything and anything. Also they provide the standard 4 – 5 side dish fare, but they were all very tasty. It’s operated by a friendly family which is another plus. Service is very good and prices are great too; they consistently refill your cold barley tea (water) and your side dishes. Also the décor is not fancy, but the place is very clean and tidy. Try it out when you are in garden grove, where there is no lack of restaurants but a dearth of good ones. Perfect for quick lunches. This one’s a hidden gem, I hope they stay in business for a long time.

This family operated, home-​like restaurant is ironically located next to billiards 2000. Eating here with my brother and my mother strangely felt like we were intruding upon this Korean family’s home. At one point the family sat down at an adjacent table together to have their own dinner.
The food was very good though. The beef stew tasted very healthy. Their fried chicken was also very good; it was crispy with a sweet garlic sauce. It could have been spicier though. The prices were very reasonable.

Next to the Hannam Supermarket. My #1 favorite Korean restaurant, Si Gol, used to be here, but unfortunately they’re gone, but replaced by another small and very nice family run Korean restaurant.