Zzan

My usual go-​to Korean restaurant is 707, but I’ve walked past Zzan many times and wanted to try it. There was a 10 minute wait on a Saturday at 8:30 — not bad.
For food, we ordered a few appetizers — veggie dumplings, and the french fries. The veggie dumplings didn’t taste like any recognizable veggies I’ve ever had, and more like mystery meat. The french fries were actually the highlight of the meal, which is crazy because I only ordered these because I came here with some Americans who really just wanted to have some American style food. They were steak fries that were well seasoned and deep fried. For dinner I ordered the veggie japchae. They made it with beef which was pretty disappointing, but I ate it anyway. It was OK, but a bit dry. All the food came out pretty fast, but getting someone’s attention to order, pay, and so on took ages.

I was in SF for a business trip and ate here 3 times over 4 days. So it is pretty good. If you are w a crowd suggest Army Stew, chicken wings, gal Bi and bul go gi were spot on. Had two of their soups, reminded me of my mom’s cooking. Which was a good thing. Having tried several Korean restaurants near by, this one is far the best! It was loud, I asked them to turn the videos down and I think they did? Don’t know it was still loud.

With a futuristic «Blade Runner”-esque atmosphere, Zzan is an interesting restaurant that probably resembles a Korean pub with its constant stream of largely-​projected K-​pop MVs on the wall. Perhaps that was why my parent were taken aback initially at this décor that was clearly targeted to youngsters — blame me for not researching too thoroughly. Thankfully, because of my ignorance and stubbornness to stay, I discovered this delicious Korean restaurant in the Union Square area!
The menu is brief but straightforward: you want bibimap, KFC, or stir-​fry? Then you’ll easily find it on here! Despite its futuristic décor, you can find your favorite classic Korean dishes.
Although the price was a bit higher than I would like — about $ 12 per entrée on average, I was surprised by the portions: the bibimap was generously sized and the KFC order came with so many large pieces! The tofu soup was disappointingly small but I was too happy with the rest of the meal to care. As impressive as the portions, the bibimap was particularly delicious and the taste even differed between a seafood bibimap and a pork bibimap! I am usually indifferent about Korean cuisine because of my frequent disappointments with other places, but few restaurants like Zzan always reminded me to give this cuisine another chance.
While the décor was probably not geared toward family dining, it’s not necessarily a hindrance. With the portion considered, the price was rather reasonable, but the deliciousness of the food certainly is worth it! If you are looking for a delicious Korean meal around Union Square, Zzan is it.
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tl;dr version:
1) Futuristic K-​pop themed restaurant
2) Reasonably priced, generously portioned, delicious food!

They skimp on the meat in the dishes.
We got the kim chi friend rice with spam and you can barely taste or find any spam. This was also the same case for the beef tofu soup.
The chicken wings were also saucy, but the chicken itself was a lot more difficult to pull off the bones. In addition, the meat was dry.
Gave it a try, but Cocobang or 707 would be better options.

Why is this so loud?!? Mind you there was about 4 separate parties here.
Came here for a late dinner with the bad because cocobang was too crowded.
Place is small.
We got the cheese corn– looked way better in pictures, and it tasted like it was cooked hours ago and put back in the microwave when we ordered it.
Spicy chicken karage– good amount of spice and good crunchy texture
Fried rice omelet with spam– I wish they used more egg for the actual omelet but overall I enjoyed this
We sat towards the back and it was so hard to get our servers attention. We noticed she was at the table behind us DRINKING with probably some regulars or people that work there?
This really annoyed us. She would quickly walk past us it was hard to get her attention.
Don’t see myself coming back as none of the food was to die for.

Zaan is a pretty cool place that has a video project of music videos. The inside is kind of dark and lit up with florescent lights. There’s enough tables inside to fit around 20 people. It’s good for large parties also since the tables can be pushed together for larger parties.
== Food ==
The bulgogi was pretty good. The beef was a bit too chewy though. The rice I got was overcooked. The side dishes were pretty standard. Kimchi, pickled something, fish cakes, some greens, and some white clear stuff.
== Service ==
Food came out pretty fast and the service is pretty good.
== Overall ==
Pretty good place to grab some Korean food. The atmosphere is the biggest selling point of this place.

The best korean food in SF!
its one of me and my husband’s favorite places to drink and eat! and we are always so happy with the food and kind services there.
they have mostly everything from Korean meals to drinks & snacks, everything on the menu is delicious but our favorite is cheese bul dak (spicy grilled chicken) Must try!
I also highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to have a great experience by awesome proud staff!

The dishes were so so good. We will be back again, the waiter is so kind anyway. We got the most delicious Korean foods here.
— Clean.
— Good price.
— Great foods.

Ok I’m writing this review based on reading some negative things. That didnt speak to my experience at all. Though they seemed overwhelmed a bit, the staff was friendly and accommodating and apologetic and checked in multiple times.
I ordered assorted seafood with noodle (togo) and whole octopus stirfry (stay). Both were delicious, flavorful and portion size matched the price. Ban chon was very good. Rice and noodles were fresh.
You have a choice of cocobang and 707 in the immediate area and i would easily choose Zzan. Cocobang was good but not memorable (save for the long wait) and my one experience at 707 was unfriendly, overpriced and bulgogi was near-​beef jerky dry. Seriously, it felt like the leftover bulgogi from the grill. I will say their seafood pancake was good.
I don’t go to restaurants twice unless I had an exceptional experience. I’ve been to Zzan twice in two days and will likely order again in the next couple days.

This place has a similar ambiance to 707 Sutter; both have dimmed lighting, huge projector playing K-​POP music videos and similar menus.
However, Zzan is a lot smaller and has better side dishes. I was surprised that they didn’t give us kimchi in our banchan so we asked for it and they have it to us.
I ordered the Seafood Tofu Soup and I thought it lacked in flavor meanwhile, my bf’s Tofu Soup w/​Pork had little to no flavor.
Also ordered the spicy rice cakes and we both thought the sauce was too sweet compared to other places.

Pro Tip: Order the Korean chicken wings. They are amaaaaaaaazing!
After a long flight to San Francisco I came here with a friend to grab some late night grub. The interior is super casual and a bit divey but being hypnotized by K-​Pop videos makes everything disappear in the background. We ordered some shochu which was very reasonable at $ 13 a carafe along with an array of dishes such as the Korean chicken wings, kim chee fried rice and spicy chewy noodles. Earnestly all I need after a hard day are those chicken wings and a big bowl of rice. A word to the wise, don’t get all your dishes spicy because I think you need the contrast of plain and spicy or else your entire meal starts tasting like one big mess. Banchan was not the best I’ve ever had, but I did enjoy the radishes which were served with those amazing chicken wings.

Another just A-​OK Kpopish restaurant to go with Cocobang and 707 Sutter. They have a decent lunch menu with different options like lunch boxes with bulgoki, chicken, spicy pork and short ribs.
I had the army stew for $ 11.95 and it was small for the price. It had instant ramen noodles, spam, hot dog and kimchi. The broth was just ok not spicy at all. The side dishes were only 5, kimchi, fishcake, bean sprouts, japchae and carrotts marinaded in soy sauce/​vinegar. They were all on the bland side.
The food took a long time to come out and the male server acknowedged it and apologized. It wasn’t even busy at 12:30 pm with 3 other tables that recieved most of their food already. If the food takes 30 minutes to come out I expect it to be good but it was just ok.
He did give 10% off the bill which was a nice gesture. Service was not the greatest, he brought the banchan out to a lady that arrived after us a lot quicker than he did for us and checked up on other tables but failed to come to our table. Perhaps, he felt bad it took so long.
3.5 stars at best but if in area, rather go to 707 or Coco.

You’re go to late night Korean mini bar!
Basic Korean dishes, condiments aren’t a lot but it will do.
Came here mainly just for the soju but the cheese corn and pigs feet are worth a try! Will be back on my late nights in the city.

Drool over the menu, curse everyone and their mothers while you wait forever for the food, then forgive them all over again when the food arrives.
On a Saturday night here once my partner and I waited an hour after ordering before the food arrived. It was completely unacceptable. At the same time, the soup they make here is my lifeblood. I’m so conflicted about this restaurant. I don’t know how authentically Korean this food is, but I want to try everything on the menu.
—- Small Plates —-
Steamed Egg Custard: 3 stars
The egg was a bit coarse. I prefer a silkier texture, like Chinese egg tofu.
—- Soup —-
Beef Brisket Soup: 5 stars
It’s like everything you could possibly want in a soup.
Dumpling Soup: 4 stars
Pork dumplings and tender beef brisket in an eggy soup.
—- BBQ Hot Plates —-
Pork Belly: 3 stars
On the dry side.
Spicy Pork BBQ: 4 stars
Delicious tender BBQ pork, but you’ll be disappointed if you wanted something spicy.
—- Stir-​Fried —-
Combination Pancake: 4.5 stars
Kimchi and seafood. So yummy.

Bad Korean food I have ever had.
I ordered plain fried chicken ($ 1 extra for the sauce) and it was very bland no taste at all.

Random Saturday night shenanigans and we ended up here because we wanted dduk bbok ki and kkampunggi (spicy rice cakes and korean fried wings).
Somehow between 3 girls we had 2 things of flavored soju, some kind of raspberry wine as well and this was well after taking shots and having drinks at 3 other places previously.
Needless to say we were having a good time. I love how they have korean and american music playing with their music videos projected on the wall.
Let’s talk food though: Banchan: pretty good and they kept coming out as we were munching on them. They also have REAL kkamppungi (korean chicken wings) rather than the cut up pieces of chicken they have at other places. The amount of wings was ridiculous! They were perfectly seasoned and crunchy, came out piping hot! We also got ddukbokki which was good too– little different with a little more sweetness than usual which was perfecto.
Drinks: Strawberry soju was bomb. Yogurt soju was to me– okay. They tend to blend their flavored sojus which is different than what I’m used to in ktown in LA, but I’m not hating on it. Makes sure that it’s extra cold. ;) It made it harder to shoot, which I guess was a good thing or else I would’ve been further gone quicker. I do like the flavored soju they do here only because it’s a little less sweet than usual. This is a good thing as I don’t like overly sweet.
Service: 100% Andy oppa’s the best. :)

New Korean on the block. Clearly they are still working some kinks out. With 707 and Cocobang around the corner, they will have to step up their game to win in the competition. Place is big, a little smaller than 707, but twice the size of Coco. Pretty big menu with happy hour drinks on tap. Like the others, K-​pop music videos are projected onto the wall for your dining entertainment.
Ordered:
Spicy pork noodle: Good flavoring, nothing spectacular.
Soon do bu: The initial soup was burnt. It came boiling and the bowl was popping from the tray. The taste was over powered by the charred burnt taste… I wasn’t about to spend $ 13 on uneaten soup. We had to send it back and the waitress was very apologetic. Our burnt soup was replaced by a new one and she even gave us a new egg to drop in. Unfortunately, for me the flavor was a bit lacking. My favorite tofu soup in the area still has to be from 707.
They have a pretty reasonable lunch menu that I have yet to try. The place is promising, hopefully with time things will improve!

I came here for lunch one weekend with my girlfriends. We were the only table for quite awhile.
Atmosphere was nice, Korean music was playing constantly, place was clean, waitstaff was friendly and attentive.
Food was mostly great! Good banchan and soondubu & soybean paste stew. Ordered the seafood pajeon as an appetizer– was completely uncooked in the entire middle so that was really disappointing especially since we were the only table there.
Will wait awhile and try them again later once they’ve been open longer.

Really excited to see a new Korean spot pop up in the Lower Nob Hill Area!
The 2 other places I usually go to are Jin Mi or 707 Sutter. Jin Mi can be hard to get to since it’s in a pretty rough neck of the TL, and 707 can get really busy.
Zzan provides the trendy fun atmosphere of 707, and they have the food to back them up.
Be greeted by dark walls which highlight the K-​pop music videos playing on the screen. Energetic servers quickly come by to take your order and poor beer.
So far I’ve tried their Jap Chae, tofu soup, and Hot Stone Bibimbap.
When I told them I was vegetarian, they even made sure to swap out the side dishes to make sure they were all veggie-​friendly. A small touch I really appreciated.
Everything is cooked well, served hot, and really spicy-​just the way I like it.
It is open super late as well, 2am on most nights.
The times I’ve been here, every table is filled, but the wait isn’t too bad.
This is now one of my favorite new spots in town!

Finally a good Korean restaurant in San Francisco.
Great Kimchee with plenty of flavor and just the right amount of heat.
The Good:
Bulgogi BBQ — Excellent
Corn with cheese — Wasn’t expecting too much but it was great
Stone Bowl Bibim Bap — Excellent
Spicy Clear Noodle — Excellent
Chicken Skewers — Succulent tasty thigh meet — excellent
Grilled Asparagus and Bacon — Excellent
The No So Good:
Steamed Korean Sausage — Did not like this. Not enough flavor in the meat, too much fat, which all doesn’t turn out so well when steamed.
This is my new favorite Korean restaurant in the downtown San Francisco area.