Cocobang

One of my favorite restaurants in The City.
Their food and atmosphere isn’t posh by any means, but it is delicious and inviting. When you walk in, you’ll see a smallish dining area with loud Korean music and dance videos playing on screens on the wall. It’s a trendy feeling that somehow doesn’t feel alienating. I am not a fan of k-​pop by any means, but it’s a fun atmosphere for a night out with friends.
The food is what I would call ethnic fast food – akin to Indian chaat, Chinese dim sum, and Turkish gyros. My go-​to items are the bulgogi hotpot, the kimchi fried rice, the Korean sausage with silver noodle, and of course, the fried chicken two ways. That paired with some rice wine and soju makes for a wonderful evening event for me and my friends.
The service is great and super friendly. Although waiting times can be long, the servers/​hosts always come out to acknowledge you and even bring out menus so that you have something to do. Shout out to Chae for being an awesome dude!
This is my go-​to Korean spot in the city. I love the food, the atmosphere, and the service. They know my name and treat me warmly. I will keep coming back and recommend that you do too.

Came here after seeing Kygo at the Bill Graham Civic Center. Pretty popping late night spot.
Ordered corn cheese, spicy kimchi pancake, and kalbi. Corn cheese was legit, super cheesy. The pancake was average, could have let that go but when you the munchies you don’t care. The kalbi was on point tho. I killed the whole plate by myself… regrets were had the next day but it was super flavor. Small spot in union square but it was’t too packed when we got there around 1am.
I’m not familiar if there’s other korean food in downtown SF but this spot was decent. It has all your typical korean dishes. It’s not very big so I imagine there’s a line if you come later.

My wife and I love trying random places in the city. We felt like Korean food out of nowhere and wanted something warm or hot because of the cold weather lately. Hopped on Unilocal and found this place, so why not try it out!
Walked in and was able to be seated right away. They gave us a giant carafe of water and menus. The carafe was a good touch because we are water drinker extraordinaires. We sat and browsed the menu, but of course referred back to Unilocal.We ended up ordering the Spicy Tofu with beef, the sweet and spicy fried chicken, and seafood ramen.
There’s a big screen above the cash register area playing K pop videos and the music blaring. We sat closer to the front of the restaurant so the music wasn’t too loud. The seating is a little crammed so we were very close to some guys sitting by the window talking business and throwing gigantic numbers out about the new worth of social media companies… that’s how close we were. We asked for forks when the waiter brought out our food.
First the chicken came out. It was pretty good. For a half order they gave us about 6 big pieces with cabbage and dressing on the side of the plate. The chicken itself was flavored pretty well. The sweet sauce on top was a little too sweet but it was still good. We ate all of it. A MAJOR plus was that only one of the 6 or 7 chickens had bones the rest was boneless. Awesome! After about 10min more our main entrees came out. The spicy beef tofu had a really good flavor and came out in a small hot pot. Loved it. Good flavor and enough to make anyone full. The seafood ramen was just as good. Served in a real pot brought me back to my days of living cheap and eating ramen out of the pot I boiled it in… nostalgic. The seafood ramen had clams and muscles. They tasted good enough that I had to eat each one. There was also shrimp in there as well. The size of the pot was slightly bigger than the pot the tofu came in.
In the end we LOVED it. A bit noisy with the music blaring and the close proximity of the tables on the right side of the restaurant made it feel cozier than the booth seating on the left side of the restaurant.
We definitely would come back and recommend to people as a go to spot!

For SF, this is probably one of the best Korean spots. Everything I tried on the menu was very tasty (fried chicken, combo of spicy pork/​spicy beef short rib, kimchi fried rice, yogurt soju). I would definitely return.
On a busy night, be prepared for a wait. It’s a smallish restaurant so not a lot of space.

I came up to the city for a weekend getaway and my friends suggested we go here. So on my last night we headed to this little hole in the wall.
The first thing I notice was the size of the restaurant. It is pretty small; however, the food trumps its size.
Their chicken wings and bossam are everything! I enjoyed the fact that the wings were boneless, but still flavorful. As for the bossam, it is perfect medley of flavors and the pork hit the spot.
Also, shout out the David for the awesome service! He was very accommodating and helpful the whole time we were there.

This place is the best! The BEST! Be prepared to wait because it’s small, but it’s the BEST!
Fried chicken thing, Kalbi, cheese corn, kimchee fried rice, mango soju, for 3 of us. The BEST!

Such a great hole in the wall Korean spot! I came here with my friends for some Korean one night because they’re actually VIP members with Cocobang. I let them do all the ordering and was so surprised at home HUGE all the portions were! The chicken wings were amazing, I even ate the shredded cabbage that came on the side to off set all the delicious flavor that was radiating from the chicken.
The platter with the Korean BBQ fixings with pork belly was absolutely necessary. We also washed everything down with a pitcher of Mango Soju which had just the right amount of juice and the right amount of alcohol.
I left feeling very satisfied, slightly buzzing and delighted that I got my Korean food fix! Although this location is a little out of the way for me, I would come here with my friends again to get my life. Korean food is my weakness!

It’s a tiny restaurant so we had to wait for more than half an hour to get a table. That’s fine. The food made it worth the wait. I had seafood soon-​dubu extra spicy and it was really spicy like I ordered. The serving was generous and I believe the rice was included in the order. Will come back for the fried chicken!

Coco bang will definitely be my go to place for Korean food! The kimchi fried rice, and the hot & tangy chicken are delicious!!! I also ordered the mango soju… very sweet and refreshing!

Posted out of a bar/​club at 2am and have a dying craving for korean food? Cocobang is your best bet. We ordered spicy cold noodles and a ½ spicy bulgogi + ½ short rib. We were seated in 15 minutes and quickly given water and side dishes. The waiter was patient in dealing with the rowdier folks of the group and made quick suggestions so that he could get the order to the kitchen.
All in all, the service is incredible but food is truly mediocre. But what more can you expect for a late-​night drunk fix of bulgogi.

Oh Man! Came here last night after some drinking and everything was so good. probably because of the alcohol I had already consumed plus more at Cocobang. Their peach soju was tasty. A bit on the sweet side but still pretty good. Food wise, we probably ordered almost the entire menu since we had 5 of us, but we did manage to finish it ALL!
We ordered — cheese corn, jap chae, clear clam soup, spicy tofu soup, bulgogi, spicy pork, kimchee fried rice, fried chicken with the hot and tangy sauce, and the seafood pancake. The things that stood out to me and I would definitely order again was the cheese corn (simple yet so delicious), the clear clam soup (so tasty and the fresh clams really did it for us) and the fried chicken (next time I think we want to try it without any sauce).

I came here late a night with a group of friends to sober up after drinking. I like how they’re opened late but the wait sucks since the restaurant is pretty small.
Food was was pretty good.
I would definitely come back again if I was in the area!

This place is wonderful and super delicious! I was really hungry when I ordered food that night, which was good because I was able to sample multiple tasty options. I ordered the spicy rice cakes with ramen, cheese corn, and the fried chicken wings. Everything was so tasty, and my mouth is watering as I think about it right now. The spicy rice cake dish was nicely flavored, and definitely had that kick from the spices but was not overpowering. The rice cakes were cooked perfectly: nice and soft, but still with a chewy bite. The wings were nicely fried and filled with great flavor! Cheese corn was good as always!
I was also very pleasantly surprised by how awesome the service was here! They really did their best to accommodate us, and this left me with a smile on my face! Someone was always there to attend to our needs, which was wonderful! They even pulled up an extra chair for my friends to put their bags and items because they say that our area was getting a bit crowded! Definitely going that extra mile to help their customers made a huge impression on my friends and me. Great service with fantastic food will definitely keep my coming back here for more! I am so looking forward to my next visit, and I encourage everyone to stop by here!

**3.5 stars, rounded up**
There’s not a lot of restaurants that are open past 11pm on week days near the Mission, trying to find a late night Korean restaurant is even harder.
Don’t fret, my fellow soju lovers — Cocobang opens til late, really late!
Sun-​Thurs from 5:30pm to 2am, Fri– Sat from 5:30pm to 4am. Daebak!
Cocobang’s kitchen is a one-​woman show. This cute ahjummonie is badass. Regardless of how packed they are with drunken patrons, the food still comes out fast and hot.
I’ve been here 3 times so far, and have never waited longer than 10 – 15 mins each time.
Or maybe I just didn’t notice the wait because there’s always cute korean kpop-​like waiters running around, lol.
Banchan flavors are spot on and plentiful. The kimchi has just the right amount of sourness and spice to it.
I can’t tell you anything about their mixed soju drinks ($ 12.95), since we only drink Chamisul Soju ($ 10.95) straight out the bottle. None of that frufru shet.
The full menu is extensive. They even have dried file fish and cuttlefish as anju (Korean equivalent to the all-​American beer nuts).
Warning: Pics may be a bit blurry due to excessive soju drinking. Chee hoo!
FRIED CHICKEN ($ 9 for ¹⁄₁; $ 15-​$ 17 for whole bird):
1) Regular/​KFC: Thin crust with a distinctive crunch thanks to a coating of corn starch. This was our favorite.
2) Hot & Tangy/​Yangnyeom: Tossed in a sweet vinegary spicy gochujang sauce.
3) Garlic Sweet Sauce
4) Green Onion/​Padak: Glazed in a sweet soy mustard sauce and covered in a mound of spring onions.
We got the combination of the regular fried chicken and the spicy yangnyeom one.
The regular KFC was a clear winner of the two. The sauced up chicken was too soggy and the sauce itself just tasted overly sweet.
GALBI ($ 15.95):
The marinated beef short ribs were tender and flavorful.
— Price was a bit stiff for just just 2 pieces (which they cut up to make 6 pieces).
Kimchi Fried Rice ($ 10.95):
I wasn’t a fan of this, as it was too sweet for my taste. I couldn’t taste the kimchi, too much sweet gochujang and ketchup. The slices of hot dog in it was also flavorless and overpowered by the sauce.
FRIED MANDOO ($ 7.95 for 6 pc):
There’s a good amount of pork in their small mandoo, with just the right amount of glass noodles and tofu. Clean flavors and tasty. But hella pricey for $ 8…
KIMCHI JEON ($ 11.95):
This pancake was thick and filling. Was a bit worried when it arrived looking like thick pita bread, but surprisingly it tasted pretty good. You get a mouthful of ripe kimchi in every bite.
CHICKEN CUTLET ($ 12.95):
I wasn’t impressed with their version of chicken katsu. It was thin and a bit dry. Their sweet «special sauce» tasted like it was ketchup-​based.
SPICY TOFU SOUP ($ 10.95):
Choice of protein– Seafood, beef, pork, kimchi or vegetable.
Choice of level of spiciness– Mild, medium, spicy or extra spicy.
— This bubbling earthenware of goodness hits the spot after a long night of partying.
The broth could use more depth in flavor, perhaps more kelp and dried anchovies when boiling the broth? But the silken tofu just melts in your mouth. My tummy (and poor liver) were quite happy.
SPICY PORK ($ 12.95):
It’s a nice change to find thinly sliced pork butt/​shoulder being used instead of the thicker pork belly. What you end up with is just tender bites of lean porky goodness.
BEEF BULGOGI ($ 14.95):
Grilled marinated sliced beef. Simple, delicious and goes well with just a hot bowl of rice.
— You can combine any 2 sizzling bbq for $ 16.95. We decided to also get the SPICY PORK & BEEF BULGOGI combo.
Overall, just a good late night place to get your Korean food fix .The food is good and the service is excellent.

The food is way better than 707. I was always particularly dissatisfied with the soups at 707 and I think I’ve now found a good alternative for whenever I’m near Powell. In the past, I always found myself at 707 because they have a lot more space which makes it better for groups. But considering that both restaurants are in the same area, and the wait for Cocobang was alright, I’ll be choosing Cocobang next time I’m craving Korean food.
Not only was the food significantly better than 707, but the service was also exceptional here. Our waiter brought over an extra chair for our bags without us even asking! He also switched out our plates extremely quickly to make more room on the table for us. Throughout our meal we never had to ask for anything or wave him down because he was always one step ahead of us.
This also reminds me of a random time I was craving cheese ddukboki which is not on their menu. I ended up asking one of the staff here if they would be able to add cheese to this dish anyways and they kindly put in the request for me, no judgment. Within a few minutes, I had a huge togo box of cheese ddukboki at no extra charge. I think it’s safe to say that the service at Cocobang exceeds expectations.
Lastly, it’s kinda sketch, but pay in cash to get 10% off!

Bbq short rib — ³⁄₅
Bbq short rib spicy — ³⁄₅
Fried chicken — ⁴⁄₅
Fried chicken tangy — ⁴⁄₅
Seafood pancake — ³⁄₅
Overall, «I’m a fan.» Definitely better than 707.

Great Korean food at a reasonable price! Good for late night food cravings.
Ordered the seafood tofu stew, seafood pancake, and the jap chae and loved everything. Everything tasted like pretty typical Korean food but especially liked the seafood pancake. Good portions and the right amount of crispness. Only complaint is that the small dishes has very little variety. They only gave us 3 little dishes for 3 people and we had to kept asking for refills. The service was a little slow but that’s because they only had 1 waiter and 1 guy at the cashier.
Overall good food and open till late! Heard the yogurt soju hear is great as well but didn’t get to try it this time.

2^nd visit to Cocobang and its awesome.
It’s a tiny shop with very limited seating. We had to wait approximately 20mins before we were seated and its just two to us. It was dinner time around 630pm. We noticed two tables of guests where there when we were waiting to be seated and even after we paid the bill, there were still there. It’s lovely to hang with friends over good food and drinks, but I can’t imagine how the business survive with the limited turnover of their tables.
Anyway, we ordered glass noodles, fried chicken, spicy pork tofu soup and a strawberry soju.
By the time we were seated we were really hungry, thankfully food came swiftly. They served Korean appeitizers, not the best and from what I last recalled, the portion is much smaller now. The glass noodle was fantastic and so was the spicy pork tofu. The fried chicken which supposedly was one of their key highlight wasn’t that great. The last visit, I tried another version of the flavored chicken and they were good.
Love the strawberry soju. Taste almost like drinking a strawberry soda but highly potent one. With Est to have 20% alcohol content, you find your heart racing and all warmed up if you down them too quickly.
Overall, we enjoyed our meal apart from the disappointing fried chickens. Will come back next time I’m around the city and craving for Korean food.

Not very good.
My bibimbap was cold, devoid of flavor, and the cook who prepared my dish tortured the fried egg on top as it was terribly overcooked. Granted, we descended upon Cocobang very late, but that’s still no excuse for them to put out a product that isn’t up to standard. The waitstaff seemed only concerned about getting us out of there as soon as possible so they could close. My dining companions weren’t overly thrilled with their selections, either.
I did enjoy the little complimentary side salad with thousand island dressing, but that was hardly what I was there for. Overall, an extremely disappointing experience.

After watching the Warriors game at a nearby bar, we were hungry! Stopped by Wednesday, May 27^th around 10pm. The wait wasn’t too bad. I think we waited around 15 – 20 minutes before we got seated.
*Army soup: kimchi hotpot with sausages and ham ($ 13.95 small)
This comes with ramen in it as well. Not really my favorite Korean dish as it normally has a bunch of other ingredients that makes the soup thick, but Coco bang’s rendition was lighter which was nice.
*Spicy tofu soup: seafood, spicy ($ 10.95)
Not spicy enough for me and could have used a little more seafood, but had good flavor. Very comforting.
*Beef short rib bbq ($ 15.95)
I was surprised by how inexpensive this was as I normally pay $ 20+ for kalbi. Tasty, but I’ve had better kalbi elsewhere. Still a solid dish.
*Braised pork feet ($ 14.95)
I love jok bal. This was probably my favorite dish of the night!
We also got a 1.6 liter of OB ($ 12.95). Can’t have a meal without a drink right?
The one thing I wish I also ordered were the chicken wings! I love wings, so I’m surprised it didn’t occur to me to get them. I guess a little too much drinking will do that to you. Next time!