Bul

Highly recommend their ddong jip, o-​dari, and their fried chicken. The food is delicious and the ambiance is hip and fun. I enjoy their choice of music — not too loud but just enough balance between the chatter and jam. Their bar is great, would highly recommend their yogurt soju.

We rarely visit Adams Morgan as it’s about an hour drive for us. We chose this place because our favorite Ethiopian restaurant (Meskerem) closed last year, so it wasn’t an option. We read the Unilocal reviews and decided to give it a try.
Day/​Time of visit: ~3:30 on a Sunday afternoon.
Order:
+ Bibimbap ($ 12)
+ Grilled Pork Belly ($ 18)
+ Spicy Pork w/​Veggies ($ 18)
+ Short Ribs ($ 24)
They also brought kimchi and pickled radish to the table.
Food quality/​quantity: Solid A. We ate family style, so we all tried everything on the table. There were four really hungry adults in our party as we hadn’t had breakfast or lunch. There was plenty for all of us. Everyone in our party loved every single dish we got. We’ve been to Honey Pig and other Korean BBQ places, and while we enjoy those as a novelty, this was far superior.
Service: There were 2 – 3 other tables with guests at the time of our visit. Our service was prompt, helpful, and correct. No complaints. They got a very good tip. :)
Ambiance: From the outside, it looks like a dive, but inside, it’s quite warm and trendy and clean. It has old brick side walls mixed with modern fixtures. One of the dividing walls is painted as if it’s street art. Seems like a cool place to hang.
We all agree that it would be well worth the occasional trip to Adams Morgan to visit this place. We will be back.

Pretty happy with my experience here. We walked in fairly late on Friday night but since they close at 2 so it wasn’t an issue. Two of us were still a little hungry so we ended up getting the Spicy K.F.C. as well as the Haemul pajuhn (Seafood pancake.) The pahjun was pretty good, we got the small so it but between that and the chicken we were pretty satiated. Since we were eating Korean bar food we ended up drinking soju. They had a soju that was reportedly from North Korea, despite my reservations about its provenance the soju wasn’t bad. We had a couple of bottles of that before moving onto their apple flavored soju which was made in house and a lot smaller than the others. We ended up getting another bottle and as it turned out we ended up closing the place down.
Our server though was really cool with us staying around until everything else was cleaned up and we couldn’t stay there anymore. After having spent a few hours there and trying their food and drink I’m pretty happy with it and look forward to another visit.

I can’t stop dreaming of Bul’s bibimbap!
This poses a problem since I live no where near DC :(. This was my first time eating Korean food, so I really have nothing to compare my experience but I can definitely base this review on my love of food and pretty decent palate (if I do say so myself).
Came on a Sunday for lunch before heading out. The bartender was also our waiter, our bus boy etc. I’m not sure what his name was but he is from the Bronx and was fabulous. So friendly and quick despite the fact that it was a one man show. The inside of the restaurant is cool, it’s inviting yet modern.
I didn’t order a drink because a) I was driving b) I really didn’t see anything that tickled my fancy. I think they only have korean? chinese? japanese? (not sure) liquors, which is kind of a turn off to me. My husband had a japanese beer which was great.
Appetizers: Spring rolls: mediocre at best. I didn’t care for the texture or flavor of the outside of the roll. Popcorn chicken: YUM!!! Cripsy, all white meat (this is a selling point for me guys, I’m not a fan of finding chicken bits when I bite into chicken) and a great flavor.
The Star of the Show: BIBIMBAP god. Delicious. All the ingredients were super fresh and all over delicious. I could literally eat this everyday. It wasn’t heavy, it wasn’t greasy, the flavors were insane.
Long story short I was in love with this dish. I have actually spent countless hours researching on Unilocal to find a place on Long Island for comparable bibimbap… if anyone knows, help a lady out!

Great addition to Adams Morgan. I had been meaning to try this place for a while and I am glad I did.
As far as drinks go, soju is by the bottle, and just okay. I really enjoyed the warm sake, and that was just $ 5 per carafe. We got the fried squid legs for an appetizer, which were good, but not good enough for me to order again.
I ended up getting the bimbimbap for my entrée, and it was fantastic. The veggies were fresh and crispy, the bulgogi was tender and flavorful, the rice was warm, and the fried egg which was runny was a delightful topper. The flavored blended together perfectly, and was really enjoyable. I also heard that the project fried rice was phenomenal, but I didn’t have any of that.
So glad to have a great Korean place in the neighborhood. It’s not on the cheap side, but the food is good enough that it doesn’t matter

Ambience was ok. Very causal place to be. The food was good and everything came out fairly quickly. The place is pretty small but they’re two floors. Decent place to be if you’re just having a quick hangout with a small group of friends.
Other than that I don’t think it’s a good place for a big group of people

I went here with my boyfriend last night. When we were seated, we were inexplicably asked to change seats (because another group came in and they needed to shove extra tables together). It ended up fine because it was cooler temperature-​wise where we were reseated. Food: delicious and quite authentic, from the red-​hot veggie soondubu to the bibimbap in the stone black bowl.
The only thing missing from the soondubu was the raw egg to crack in, and the cabbage was a tad underdone (it was raw-​crunchy) but it cooked and softened over a few minutes.
My only menu thing I noticed online previously was that taiyaki is the Japanese word, but bbungoppang () is the correct Korean term for fish-​shaped pastry bread.
Other than that, all was delicious, and the spiciness level was perfect… quite delicious, and we will likely return again sometime :)

I came here for dinner with my sister and my boyfriend. It’s awesome to get a Korean bar in the NW area, I feel like there aren’t many options in the area! Everything we ordered was really delicious and service was great, but prices are high for a Korean place (at least in this LA girl’s opinion) – if it wasn’t a matter of convenience, I’d pick Annandale/​Centreville or even BonChon in Navy Yard over Bul, I feel like you could get a lot more for your $ there.
We had the KFC chicken with both the spicy and sweet sauces on the side, seafood tofu soup, an onion pancake, dukbokki, pork belly ssam, and a bibimbap bowl. Everything was really good and I would get any of it again in a heartbeat, except for the bibimbap, which just was kind of lacking and not very flavorful. I also felt like the proportions of veggie/​meat/​sauce/​rice in it were kind of off, it was dry.
Overall, great for the area, but a little pricey! I’ll probably be back with friends!

The Korean hype is real. Entertaining how people will overlook basic balance of flavors and accept everything being sweet. This bothers me because most Korean food is not sweet, it is not how real Korean cuisine is.
Korean tacos — A soggy mess is the nicest way to put it. These contraptions fell apart after the second bite and sat in there own sauce and craptastic iceberg lettuce.
Beef — bulgogi ³⁄₅. The sauce and the iceberg lettuce was the star of the dish. Not the beef. Unbalanced and tasted more sweet then beef.
Spicy pork ⁴⁄₅ — Well balanced. Good flavors and with another soggy soft taco. Just go light on the sauce and veggies, toast your shells and you will be golden. Unexperienced kitchen staff really shows here
Duk buk ki ⁴⁄₅. Close to being authentic and similar to what you will get off a street vendor. Well done, raise the spice level or have a spicy option.
Spicy chicken wings ³⁄₅. To be honest this is the reason why i came here and sadly they came up short. Medium grade chicken, thick panco shell. Just to sweet and the chicken inside was dry. Decent attempt but more of a Korean general soas chicken with sweet and spicy sauce.
Yogurt soju ⁵⁄₅. — expensive at 17 but it was mixed well and with a full bottle of soju
Overall decent experience with modern twists of Korean food but its hard to say, it was great.

So mediocre.
I went for dinner and was so disappointed. I had the fried squid legs and soy fried chicken. The fried squid legs were okay, but could have benefited from a dipping sauce other than the wasabi on the side. The soy fried chicken… the breading fell off, the sauce was overly salty, and I’m sad to say I’ve had better fried chicken at a fast food restaurant. For the food quality, the prices should have been much much lower.
Additionally, the service was horrible. The water glass were not completely filled and we had to ask the food runner to get refills. The waiter never checked on us except at the very end to ask if we wanted dessert. It was one of those meals when you think… what do you tip for no service at all?
The restaurant was really crowded… perhaps because of the small number of Korean restaurants in DC. But guys… there are better options. I suggest hitting another place up for your Korean food craving.

I am happily content with this restaurant :)
Great service, nice interior with a relaxed/​modern feel. The waitress was very accommodating for a group of 6 crazy people. I highly recommend making a reservation on opentable, but it didn’t seem super crazy busy on a saturday night (which was nice).
I recommend getting their kimchi dumplings $ 8 (fried), they were delicious, fragrant and crispy! I also really loved their bibimbap, which I usually never get in Korean restaurants but it was super good here. Two thumbs up. I haven’t tried their soft tofu soup yet, but the prices seemed pretty decent for Adams Morgan/​DC in general. I wouldn’t get their seafood spring rolls next time though, they were just too tiny & not worth the price. Also, their fried chicken, definitely go for spicy instead of soy sauce, the soy sauce was a bit too salty and the spicy really wasn’t that spicy. I’d probably not order the fried chicken again tho, it was a little underwhelming. I also absolutely loved their seafood pancake. It was so good!!! Chewy, not crispy — just the way I like it.
All in all, I think there’s more on the menu for me to order and I’d definitely come again.

Put away those sundresses and get your stretchy pants out — it’s time for good Korean food in DC.
I am always a little hesitant to review Korean restaurants because 1) my mom cooks the best Korean food in the world and every restaurant’s food really pales in comparison 2) I don’t eat much of it in the first place because it’s so heavy for me… I know, what kind of a Korean am I? Nonetheless, I found it quite shameful that we don’t have more great Korean restaurants in D.C. What’s a girl without a car to do?
Enter Bul. It’s kind of like a Korean pojangmacha, which is like a tent-​makeshift restaurant that is quite common in Korea. The tables and seats are all dark wood. The décor is minimal.
The drink menu boasts the best of Korea — Korean soju and makgeolli (both types of rice liquor) and Korean bokboonja (Korean wine). My friend and I partook in the rice lager of Japan (forgot the name) which pairs very nicely with all the spicy Korean food. HOWEVER, I was very jealous of the watermelon soju drink, in which apparently the soju is served in an actual watermelon. While I am not a fan of soju, I would definitely try this for an instagrammable picture the next time I visit.
We shared a seafood soondooboo (tofu spicy stew in a stone pot) and a bulgogi dolsot (mixed vegetables and marinated beef in a cast iron pot). The seafood soondooboo had a great kick to it, the kind of kick that will make you cough if you inhale the soup because of the chili pepper flakes but also cleanses your palette and warms up your core. I did miss the runny egg, though, to coat the soup with extra creaminess. In addition, the bulgogi dolsot had too much emphasis on the shitake mushrooms and very scant bulgogi. However, the seasoning was just right — not too salty but full of umami flavor — that I was appeased.
Finally, I judge a Korean restaurant by how upset my stomach feels afterward. I was thankfully content and full the rest of the night and until lunch time the next day.
Overall, a great addition to Adams Morgan and to DC. One star off because of the absence of the runny egg and the scant bulgogi as well as the lack of wine (except for Korean wine, which I find to be far too sweet). But I would recommend Bul for your Korean cuisine cravings.

Been here on two separate occasions — one with a small party and one with a huge party. I loved both occasions but BULieve it or naht, I really think this place is great for larger parties because you get to try everythang!
In terms of the food, here’s what I would suggest:
Kimchi Pancake — oh baby this is a great appetizer and is not as heavy as other pancakes I’ve had before! Slight kimchi taste but lots of BULtiful flavor a.
The spicy KFC (half size is good enough for a big group) is not even that spicy and just has a great kick of flavor that’ll make you lick the whole plate.
The bibimbap or bulgogi dolsot if you want it in a hot pot is a great rice mixture, but wish they had more veggies in it, but still great!
The grilled pork belly accompanied with kimchi and veggies is just divine! Pair this with your bibimbap and you can’t complain!
For drinking, we had the yogurt soju — pretty standard and the watermelon soju. The watermelon was delicious and entertaining to scoop from! Just kept channeling my inner Beyoncé or BULonce just kidding and danced all night after a few drinks of this one! Or maybe that was the few beers I had earlier, but anyhow BUL is a great establishment and can’t wait to keep going there more!

Ugh, Bul. You are unbelieveaBUL.
FOOD — So, so good. I’ve been craving Bibimbap for days and my entire dinner here just hit the spot! My recommendation for a dinner of 3 – 5 people:
+ Bibimbap ($ 12) or Bulgogi dolsot ($ 14)
+ Grilled Pork Belly ($ 18) or Short Ribs ($ 24)
+ Spicy KFC ($ 13 for ½ size)
+ Appetizer — not recommending the potato shrimp, which wasn’t bad not not worth $ 5. Get a pancake coz those looked bomb. Squid Legs ($ 6) are good too!
+ SOJU! $ 17 for yogurt soju = yummy.
Overall, the above cost about $ 22pp which I found to be fair for a night out. Couldn’t do this every night, but it surely was worth it.
AMBIANCE — Really enjoyable. Hip and unpretentious. I’d say this is a gem in AdMo. I love love the brick wall.
SERVICE — The staff was awesome and accommodating, especially given the ruckus our table caused the whole evening. Brownie points as well for the free watermelon soju! :)
For our group of 12 last night, Bul surely delivered. I’d come here again with friends, on a date, with my parents, etc. Two thumbs up, Bul.

DC definitely needs more authentic Asian food for those who cannot drive out to VA & MD suburbs. Too bad Yoon Ha’s Kitchen is only open for lunch during weekdays. BUL is your typical DC new restaurant: overpriced, trendy but unoriginal décor (think Toki Underground & Daikaya), shorter menu with a decent alcohol selection.
Appetizers: Dukbokki & spicy popcorn chicken were definitely the worst. Both lacked flavor and the rice cakes weren’t even chewy. The popcorn chicken actually didnt really taste much like chicken… The steamed egg stew and odeng soup were both solid, great for chilly days! The portions are reasonable, you can probably just order a few of these to share and forgo the big dishes.
Entrée: The beef short ribs were overcooked and extra chewy, but flavor was on point. Also for $ 24, I expect to get more than just 3 pieces of lettuce… consider its a kalbi ssam. The pork belly entrée & fried rice were definitely the best overall. But seriously, even for DC this place is OVERPRICED. You get about half the amount of meat and that fried rice was not in a big bowl. Street-​style foods but clearly not street prices.
The food came out quite fast and the service was friendly. Overall, a welcome addition to the district.