Playground

The wait staff was incredibly rude. I went down to see if there is anything on tap, and the server came to me and said «I won’t serve you,» without stating any reason why.

I went to this place right after dinner with friends to go do some private karaōke. I booked this place 2 weeks advance to have a secured spot at $ 30/​hr. which wasn’t bad, the only thing was that depending on the number of people your bringing, each person would have to spend a certain amount of money on either food or drinks, in my case, it was $ 25 a person. I totally misread that part so I thought I would put this info out. Had I known this info, I probably would’ve just had the dinner there and sing the night out.
Anyways, we arrived in and got a room towards the end of the hall upstairs and it was really nice! It had a table, plenty of room for 8 people, and a large selection of music to sing to. Once we found out about how much we needed to spend, we just started off ordering pitchers of drinks! Orders were done through a phone in the room and they would bring it up to you, which I thought that was really nice, like room service at a hotel. After 3 hours, our time was up and we have yet to finish on how much we needed to spend. So they accommodated us to a table downstairs and we basically ordered another dinner, lol.
Don’t get me wrong here, the food and drinks were actually really good but we were terribly full from dinner just a few hours ago, we just struggled just to eat some of it. We finally eaten just enough so that we can take the rest to go.
Overall, I really like this place. You can take out your friends here and have a great time! I would just recommend to just have dinner and drinks here and don’t make the same mistake as me! I would most certainly be back again with a little better planning, lol.

Zero stars would be more appropriate! A starred review would require me to actually have tried the food.
I completely agree with a reviewer few spots below about the restaurant not liking the general public.
My party of 8 showed up when the restaurant to get some dinner. The restaurant wasn’t too busy yet. Everything seems to go smoothly (order taken, drinks, etc.). First few plates of food come out in a timely manner and more people start showing up. An hour goes by and my meal hasn’t come out yet. I look around and see that most of the crowd that showed up after us have gotten all their food already. We ask the server where my last dish was and he said that they didn’t even start it yet. OVER AN HOUR LATER! This whole time he was standing at the bar area. Doesn’t even have the decency to inquire about the status of the order or stopping by to apologize for the inconvenience. I told him to cancel my order cause there’s no way I’m waiting (probably another hour) for my food while everyone sits around (my friends were finished at this point). The service here is appalling. Sprint Mobile has better service than these folks. This place is a joke.

I came here for a work event and it was great! They had a giant room that fit about 15 of us.
Their Mango Soju and Yogurt Soju were the best. We ordered a bunch of food and it was all pretty good for bar/​karaōke food. There is a spending minimum per person but we blew through that pretty easily.
We had a reservation about 2 weeks in advanced and has no issue. The manager was great about coordinating with me since their not open during the day.
I thought it was a bit on the pricier side in terms of drinks and food, but we all had a fun time!

This place was my least favorite karaōke bar. My friends and I were seated at 12:30 am and after 1 song, our host demanded us to order $ 30 each worth of food and alcohol (~$ 300). After our drinks arrived at 1:00am, the host gave us our 30 minute warning to leave. I was outraged. What kind of establishment serves alcohol and requests their guests to leave right away? That’s very irresponsible. If they wanted to kick us out after a few minutes of serving us, they shouldn’t have served my entire party alcohol.

Take you business, and money, elsewhere. AWFUL!!!
My sense is that they have some specific clientele they service. They clearly do not want, and do not like, the general public.
In short:
My party and I decided to drop in for a round of drinks one Sunday afternoon. Only one other couple was there.
He sat us and then took a cell phone call (non business?) at the bar, ignoring us while he talked. I waited a while, signaled a couple of times. When we finally got up to leave in exasperation after 25 minutes of waiting to order, he never moved or asked why.
In retrospect I realized he wanted us to leave (was the phone call even real?)
Do not risk your evening being ruined by these turkeys. Go elsewhere.

This place is AWESOME! with a capitol AWE!
No seriously, I was hosting an event in the City and Karaōke was the nights entertainment. There are other karaōke spots but this one was in the heart of Japantown AKA KTown and it had some good reviews. When I first called they asked for a credit card to have on file in case I bail on the reservation. I’m nervous of giving out my CC because I’ve been victim of fraud before. So I hesitated and cancelled the reservation (this was about 3 weeks out from the actual date). Then as time got closer, I decided to give it a shot, so called back and of course my hesitation cost me because the time I wanted for the date was booked solid. :(Yeah, major fail.
I still scheduled a time slot and the owner Leo told me he would give me a call back if the time slot (9pm — 11pm) would be available. So I still setup a reservation for dinner down the street at YakiniQ which is an AYCE (All you can eat) KBBQ spot. At least I did that correctly.
Fast forward… I called a few days from the reservation date and spoke to Leo again and he told me the time slot was available! So I instantly booked it and told him how relieved I was. He later told me his wife owns the restaurant below, Ssisso, literally… right below playground! He said the food was amazing and that he could set me up with a reservation no problem. I had a great feeling about it and decided to go with my gut and told him to book the restaurant which DOESN’T have a 2 hour time cap like YakiniQ. I then called YakiniQ and cancelled. Funny thing is I guess someone forgot to write down I cancelled at YakiniQ because on the day of the reservation no one was showing up at the right location which was Ssisso. I was all by myself at first and was wondering where everyone was. Come to find out everyone was showing up to YakiniQ and the owner was pissed because he didn’t know I cancelled previously (which I did).
Everything finally came together and Leo even came down to the restaurant to introduce himself and shook my hand and let us all know that the karaōke room is waiting for us whenever we’re ready. Great Customer Service! The atmosphere was small and cozy and the drinks were great! The actual karaōke room was small but only because we had a party of 9 BUT we all were able to sit down and once the singing began no one even thought about it anymore. Next thing we knew the 2 hours were up and everyone walked away with great memories.
Our total Cost? … 9 people … x $ 30/​per hour at 2 hours … 15% gratuity … $ 180.00 of food/​drinks … plus tax … equals = $ 300.00 (not exact amount. it was around $ 304.00 and some change). Everyone paid $ 34.00 each. Not too shabby at all!
**Tips**
$ 30/​per hour
–If you reserve 2 hours like we did, then there is a minimum item (food and/​or drink) fee of $ 20 per person
–if you do 3 hours, then the minimum item (food and/​or drink) fee is $ 25 per person
— you can reserve 2 hours and add an additional hour at the end provided it hasn’t been reserved after you. So it’s a gamble. oh, and you would be charged extra of course.
2 hours is more than enough time for everyone to get their karaōke fix
$ 14 bucks for a bottle of Soju… so don’t worry about the $ 20 minimum item fee
NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINKS!
Ask for tambourines!
Me and a couple of my friends came back about an hour later because we were totally drunk and still hungry and ordered some of their delicious food (see pictures). Place is still awesome!
Thanks Leo! And Congrats again on your bundle of joy on the way. We will see you again for sure!

I came here for an early dinner on Saturday and it was mostly empty.
Ordered the seafood dukbokki w/​ramen — big bowl of seafood, dukbokki, and ramen
fried chicken — heavily sauced and yummy
bulgogi — meat tasted a bit chewy/​starchy
pork dumplings — skin is very thin and almost see through.
This place has a great atmosphere and I really loved the seafood dukbokki w/​ramen. Food is good depending on what you order, but it can be quite pricey.

Typical K-​bar selection and spread. Great space for larger groups. Value could be a little better, but you’re paying for the central location in J-​town and the late hour liability of serving alcohol. The food and drinks are nothing special, but definitely quench your thirst for soju or hunger for Korean bites.

Eat, drink and sing! So much fun. I went here with a group of ten (adults), got a private room for 2 hours. Great service, good song selection, and good times had by all. I didn’t have any of the food, but the selection was good. The service was impeccable. We were somewhat taken aback by how small the room was, but it worked out very well. I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.
Located in the heart of San Francisco and nestled between the colorful shops of Japantown, Playground is proud to be distinguished as the only full service restaurant, bar, plus private karaōke combination in the city since opening its doors in 2007.
Playground tries to create a relaxed and «playful» environment, where customers can dine, share a carafe of soju and belt a tune in one of the three exclusive karaōke rooms.
The extensive menu consists of traditional home-​style South Korean cuisine, while introducing an innovative twist to delicacies popularized by cart vendors found along the bustling streets of South Korea. Executive Chef Lee, having led a prominent bunch of notable Chinese and Korean fusion eateries over a span of 15 years, portrays a bold blend of Korean comfort soul food and Chinese inspired flavors in his dishes. Playground also offers a full bar, featuring a vast selection of premium liquor and leading Korean alcohol, including soju — a widely sought out Korean rice wine distilled in unique ways and an abundance of flavors.
Playground provides a versatile space that offers flexible dining experiences and event options for all occasions. The dining hall can accommodate groups of many sizes and our secluded VIP karaōke booths can hold anywhere between 6 to 50 guests.

This is my favorite spot to grab a drink and some good food in JTown.
There are a handful of Korean drinking spots that I frequent for my soju and fried chicken fix, but these guys do it the best. The food portions are generous and every dish I’ve tried here has been on point. Get the fried chicken, cheese corn and la-bokki.They have a full bar with really good bottle prices, for the nights when soju just doesn’t cut it. I’m proud to say that I’ve never left this place even remotely sober, or without having a great time with my friends. And that’s exactly why I come here. Well, also for the Girl’s Generation music videos. Good times.

Bulgogi Cheese Fries calling out some soju and beer to come play @ PLAYGROUND. The best place in SF to enjoy good company and good Korean food with drinks. Kpop music is up to date in this place! Service is always great.

This is a long over due review! My boyfriend and I have been coming to this spot for over 2 years and the service, atmosphere, hospitality, and food is always exceptional! Leo treats us like family every time we come in which makes this place different from the rest. We’ve celebrated our birthdays here, easily accommodating large groups of 15 – 20 people. Love love love this place! Fun place to eat good, enjoy drinks and listened to good music!
Recommended dishes:
— Kanpoong Chicken
deep fried chicken battered in a sweet and spicy garlic sauce (must try!!)
— beef short ribs
— potsticker salad,
!!
If I could give it more stars I would!

This review is for the karaōke. I generally go to Pandora, but I wanted to try something new. Unfortunately, this was a bad experience. The room we were put in was very small with half a ceiling, so when people were staying they would hit their head on it. The books with songs were completely sticky and smelt as if someone had puked on them. They also don’t play the music videos during the song which is something Pandora does and I enjoy.
On top of that, the service was terrible. They were extremely slow to place «phone» orders so people had to go downstairs to the bar. They told someone in my party that the bottle service was cheaper than ordering individual drinks which it wasn’t. They also included tip, which would be okay but they never served us. Overall, we will be going back to Pandora.

Playground is such a guilty pleasure!
Who doesn’t love private karaōke and Korean food?
The bar owner is so friendly and the staff is so attentive. Prices are great.
Just know that when you come here, things are going to get weird. Everything in the private rooms is covered in plastic wrap (in theory) to protect from the stickiness that ensues but honestly, everything is always sticky. You kind of just have to get past it and once you do its a total blast here!

Messed up my order and took forever to remake it. The remade version didnt really sound like the menu item either. It says buckwheat noodles but it looked like a very thin version of Jap jae or glass noodles. Also very vinegary for my tastes.
Ended up just getting kalbi, which was a bit bland AND still had to pay for the dish they messed up on.
The waiters were nice but the experience I had here sucks.
Friends got sausage plate, Jajangmyeon, some spicy noodle broth, and another noodle dish [not remembering them atm]. some tasted ok but recalled that the Jajangmyeon noodles tasted a bit overcooked

My softball team comes here after our games. Get the fried chicken with the spicy sauce on the side, the steamed egg is always a favorite and the cheesy corn! Nom nom nom.
Is this place known for their great service? Or their super clean establishment? No, but it’s a bar restaurant that has decent bar food.

OVERALL RECOMMENDATION (⁵⁄₅):
this place is 100% bae.
definitely come here for breakfast, lunch, dinner, post-​hangover, pre-​hangover, wedding, bridal shower, baby shower, reunion, whatever. literally best place ever.
SERVICE (⁵⁄₅):
Hands down best service 5ever. I came around 2am on a Saturday. I ordered to-​go and then changed my order, and the manager just said, «You can have the order you cancelled too. on the house.» He really took care of my friends and me, super considerate, and got us water too.
FOOD (⁴⁄₅):
Korean chicken wings were pretty bomb.
bring all your friends plus their mama’s and their baby mama’s. this place is hella spacious and accommodating.

HAPPY HOUR NOTE: It’s only Monday to Thursday 5−7PM, no happy hour Friday to Sunday!
It was pretty empty around 6pm on a Friday but slowly picked up during the time we were there. Service is friendly once you get it– we stood around awkwardly for awhile before the waiter sat us down. Overall though, the staff here is nice after you get their attention.
Food is decent. All entrees come with side dishes (including cheese corn! I’ve never had this as a complimentary banchan before, but I deeply enjoyed it). Portions are HUGE! My friend and I could have easily shared one entrée but we ordered two and both had leftovers to take home. A small yogurt soju is good enough for a total of 10 decent shots.
Solid spot!

Review is for the food and not the karaōke or bar.
Always had a good experience here and I haven’t found a place that gives you cheese corn as part of the bonchon. Super good cheese corn too!!! We always ask for extra orders once done. I would also recommend the homemade black bean noodle sauce and the seafood pancake!
They play a lot of Korean music videos which are fun to watch. Sporting events are also usually displayed on some of the 4 tvs in the main restaurant area.

Came here a couple times after late nights at origin. Food is pretty average and the banchan is subpar. Every time I went there, maybe cuz it was late, the service was quite slow.
I wouldn’t come here during normal dinner/​lunch unless you have no option.

Aaaaand redemption!
I was hesitant to ever step foot in here from my previous experience but I figured 5+ years the service had to have improved right?
We called at the last minute to reserve a table for 14 and luckily they had room for us. It was a super tight fit and chairs were limited however they did their best to fit us all in.
The service was great this time around. They were very accommodating and they’re seriously some hard working people. And it’s not so easy with drunkies asking for everything.
Heads up Henny lovers, they have Priv! Score!!!

The staff took great care of us, bringing food and libations as we wailed and warbled for three hours.
The musical selection includes American and Asian pop and rock. El Condor Paso was in there, a nice random song by Simon and Garfunkel.
A few fave songs weren’t in there, and the remote gave us a little trouble.
Overall, a great time for a group.

Came here on a Monday evening for happy hour which runs from 5−7pm and the place was empty but perfect for my work colleagues and I to socialize. Once 6:57pm hit, we made sure to order extra soju. Tried the pineapple, lycée, yogurt, and strawberry sojus. Lycée seemed to be the most popular one and boy, does soju’s effects really creep up on you when you think you’re drinking the Korean equivalent to Capri Suns.
To satisfy our alcohol munchies, we ordered rice cake stew, chicken poppers, fried rice, and calamari to satisfy 8 hangry people.
Service was attentive and friendly. By the time check came, I couldn’t do math but luckily one of us was sober enough to yell at me that tip was included.

Drink your tea and honey before you come to this SUPER FUN place to croon your favorite power ballad, duet, or rap song!
This was my first time going to a karaōke place and singing karaōke! I’m so happy that my first experience was here because I had such a great time.
As soon as I arrived, I was greeted and taken care of by one of the workers. Hands down, throughout the entire night he provided great customer service.
I went here with a friend and reserved a private room since we didn’t want to sing in public. The room was spacious and ventilated. The best part was the sound system! I felt like we were the stars of our own concert. They set up everything for us from the songbooks, mics, and table for food and drinks. If you need anything, there’s a phone in the room to call for service. There’s no need to leave the room to ask for anything.
Soju and beer are not the only alcoholic beverages served here. That’s a plus! The bar has plenty of bottles to choose from.
The food is YUM! The servings are a good portion and flavorful. Order the japchae, seafood pancake, and crispy sweet garlic shrimp. Mmm mmmm good.
I’ll definitely be back!

Bouncers at the front do bag checks and even made me open my water bottle to sniff the contents. lol that’s a first.
For food we ordered the rice cake with ramen which was not spicy enough and too watery. The consistency of the rice cake was good but the ramen was too soggy. The corn cheese is just nasty I don’t even know how to describe it but you do get it for free with an order of an entrée. It looked like corn completely immersed in a sea of white lard… not very appetizing. The other free appetizers include kimchi, pickled radish, bean sprouts, and the yellow daikon. Those were pretty good. We also got mango soju which was pretty strong.
The food is pretty expensive but service is good and fast. It’s a pretty good place to chill with friends and enjoy a night of drinking if you like korean food or like karaōke because they also have private rooms for that where there is a minimum price of food you have to order. My friends and I just sat at the long tables in the public space and didn’t really want to sing. The bathrooms are decently clean which is an important thing if you’re drinking a lot.

Hilarious stuff. So, right as you walk upstairs, you’re greeted by bouncers who are already drunk. They’ll slur their speech and laugh as they ask you if you’re 21. Then, they’ll let you in and continue to drink outside. You’re going to get all the Korean staples here — OB, Cass, fried everything (zucchini, croquettes, KFC, fries, chicken tenders), soup and stews, cheese on everything, and there’s absolutely no line to any of this. Well, I mean, it was 1am in Japantown, but in LA, that’s when the parties get started and people start coming out to eat.
I feel bad in that my friends got drunk and sloppy, but they should expect that for the place they’re at. Portions are quite large, and prices are decent. Service is excellent, and the food comes out really quickly, so hit up some Chamisul fresh and flick off that cap while you’re drinking and eating and playing games. Their KFC, by the way, is pretty damn good and crunchy while still being soft. Seasoning is perfect as well. Oh, and you get a little bit of banchan (kimchi, sprouts, mu) with your meal. I just wish they had the LA prices that I’m used to when I’m out late and craving some KFC and delicious fried Korean goodness.

We arrived in Japantown after 9 pm on a Sunday evening. I wouldn’t call that late in the civilized world, but just about every restaurant seemed to have closed their kitchen because SF is vastly inferior to NYC.*
But Playground was open. Generally speaking, experience has taught me that the best restaurants neither post photos of their food outside the restaurant, nor play Hellboy 2 on the TVs throughout, so my expectations were low.
Well, Playground blew those out of the water. Our waiter may have been high enough to go duck hunting with a rake, but he did a fine job. And from the banchan, to the bulgogi, to the kimchi fried rice, to the spicy seafood soup… the food was actually pretty damn good.
And the Kanpoong Chicken (this is an order of wings, FYI) was downright fantastic.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
*Come at me, bro.

Playground reminds me of the restaurants/​bars you would see walking around Seoul. Came here for dinner on Saturday 7 pm and did not have to wait. The place is dark with blue lighting and popular American or Korean music videos are blasting loudly on the television screens. It’s a fun place to go out with friends but don’t think it’s a nice traditional restaurant or anything.
There’s a ton of variety on the menu with some items that I rarely see in other Korean restaurants in the US but are popular in Seoul. They start you off with some banchan which I thought was okay. The most memorable one was the complimentary cheese corn they give you. It is dripping in creamy, cheesy sauce and I was surprised that I really loved the dish.
I ordered the kimchi fried rice with beef, vegetables, and a fried egg on top ($ 13). This Korean comfort food was exactly what I was craving and the serving size is LARGE — definitely more than enough for one person. Also ordered the deep fried chicken battered in a sweet & spicy garlic sauce ($ 17) which came with a pile of cole slaw. The chicken is perfectly cooked with DELICIOUS sauce. I highly recommend that dish.
Overall would come back here. Great service, food, and fun atmosphere!

Cheesy corn! Okay… there’s more to this place than just their delish cheesy corn…
Playground is a popular joint in Japantown in SF, frequented by young kiddos, yuppies, and young professionals. Pretty much Playground is where young adults come out to drink, have fun, and play.
Came here for dinner last night and just happened to be in time for happy hour. Happy hour includes half off soju cocktails and some bar food like fries and chicken wings. Because my friend and I came here for dinner, we didn’t order off the happy hour food items.
My friend and I shared an order of haemul pajeon and ddukboki off the regular menu, and ordered yogurt soju off the HH menu. All of the food was very tasty and hit the spot, especially when accompanied by some sweet delicious yogurt soju cocktail! Normally, soju cocktails are 13 $ for a small carafe and 26 $ for a large carafe, so coming for HH is a good deal since it’s half off. Dinner food items were kind of pricey, but then again most Korean restaurants in the Bay Area charge an arm and a leg for even the simplest of dishes!

All I wanted was to feel like I was back in Seoul again. I miss pocha-​hopping, while gorging on delicious anju (booze food). Playground has everything from traditional Bibimbap to the tasty snacks I miss so much from the food tents in Korea.
Happy hour runs from 5pm-​7pm. 50% off drinks and selected pupus/​anju.
–The happy hour food menu prices are quite reasonable, ranging from $ 4 to $ 10.
After my terrible experience at Udon Mugizo (see my previous review), I decided to drop by Playground for a little fun. It was my last night in town, I wasn’t going to let that Toaster Strudel chick and crappy udon bring me down.
Unsatisfied from my sad bowl of udon, I decided to order a bottle of CHAMISUL SOJU ($ 12, $ 6 during happy hour) and some munchies.
— We polished off 3 bottles of soju.
***If you buy 4 bottles of soju (or mixed soju drinks), the 5^th one is free! But you have to order it all at the same time.
OJINGEO TWIGIM/​FRIED SQUID TEMPURA (sm order $ 11.95, lg $ 14.95; $ 7.50 HH):
Meaty pieces of calamari in a light crunchy batter. This was the perfect snack to go along with my refreshing crisp soju.
COMPLIMENTARY BANCHAN:
You can always tell if Korean restaurant’s food is going to be good or bad, just based on how much effort is put into their banchan/​side dishes. This bar did not disappoint. You could tell that the banchan was made with love.
— We had a variety of veggies: bean sprouts, jangajji (pickled jalapenos and daikon) kimchi, danmuji and broccoli. The kimchi was my favorite. Just had the right amt of spice and ripeness.
— My vegetarian friend loved their broccoli, they gave us more upon request. The bartender eonni was super cool and friendly.
COMPLIMENTARY CHEESE CORN:
Their infamous crack corn. Not sure what is in it exactly, but it’s tasty. Canned corn, mayo and processed cheese never tasted so good! We couldn’t stop eating it!
Thanks Playground, you saved my would’ve-been crappy last night in SF. I’ll be back again, trust.