Sorabol

Ever since I was a teenager, the Korean place and the gyro place were my go-​to-​choices for cheap lunch at the E-​Ville Public Market. Sadly, no longer: The gyro place shuttered prior to the big remodel, and Sarabol is no longer good, nor a good value.
Strike 1: The server and chef don’t know the names of their own dishes:
I ordered Galbi and the server asked the chef «cuál es galbi ?». He responded and she started to serve me the Bulgogi. I had to correct her: «No, the ‘Short Ribs’ please».
Strike 2: They charge extra for everything they can get away with:
They asked whether i’d like broccoli or kimchi. I said yes and they warned me it’s $ 0.75 extra for both. The tiny plastic cup of kimchi appeared insufficient so I asked for extra kimchi. She didn’t even warn me this time, just gave me 1 more cup and then added another $ 0.95 to my tab. I still don’t understand how her math works. Meanwhile, when I got back to the office the kimchi was inedible. It was soggy and mushy, such that you could eat it with a straw. Yuck.
Strike 3: The beef short ribs were just okay. Super fatty and gristly. They clearly spent several hours stewing in the warming tray.
Total cost for lunch: $ 15.82.
Good Value? Not even close.
Will I be back? Not any time soon.

I wanted to try this place out. Seen it on passing a few times and it didn’t help the Marketplace food court is limited due to renovations. For something that is priced as it is, the Korean BBQ is really bland. Maybe I have high expectations. Also, the cashier asked if I wanted something to drink and I said Diet Coke. Then I went to grab the soda and she said she didn’t hear me and didn’t put it in my order. I wanted to pay for it but the minimum is $ 5 on the card. I just paid for my meal! They say first impressions are important, so it looks like I won’t be eating here again. I hope the renovations are finished so that other better restaurants can take its place.

I’m at the public market right now and I wish I can take back the last 10 minutes of my life. I ordered chicken and spicy pork with rice at this place and the rice was all mushed together like mochi and the spicy pork was inedible. The kids liked the bbq chicken though.

I read some of the reviews for this place and I have to say– this is a food court type place! ITS NOT A RESTAURANT!
My past 4 experiences are as follows:
1. Don’t order any extras: they’ll nickel and dime you to death. In Korean– «can I have» means add $ 2.
2. Easy on the wait. Even at the afternoon rush Public Market can get to be crazy, but this place is fast despite the oddly placed pole by the cashier area.
3. BBQ chicken is life. Get nothing else but this. Please.

I would never et here again! I normally come here every week and on day I ask for extra spoon of noodles as this time it was less than normal, then I ended up paying extra for that tiny amount of extra noodles, Really? So cheap! It’s all about the principle and I wouldn’t mind paying extra but for that tiny extra noodles and I was a loyal customer? Too bad? Cheap owner! Ugh!
One motet thing, the food is not fresh!
Look at all the reviews!!!

Just like some of the other reviews. It hurts the owners to actually give you decent sized portions. Multiple times they will scoop food onto the plate only to take a little back (and it wasn’t much to begin with). While in the end such behavior doesn’t effect the size of the portion by much, it just gives me the feeling they are there to save every penny and cut every corner.
I still went there because the taste was decent. But last time when I decided to pay extra for some extra meat, the owner got into a lengthy argument about how it will cost a lot more and that I should get a normal combo. Extremely annoying! She wouldn’t serve what I wanted.
Never returning back.

As I business owner, I don’ t like writing a very negative review but this place warrants it. I’m Vietnamese and am not totally a Korean foodie but this place sucks! I haven’t been here in a very long time (at least 3 years) and do remember that their spicy chicken used to be pretty decent. Here is my description of my dish:
–Chicken pieces were very small.
–Chicken was extremely dry and hard.
–Chicken was salty (ate all my rice with more than half of chicken left)
–Spicy chicken was not spicy (I may give them the benefit of the doubt because nothing is ever spicy enough for me)
–Rice was old and dry (one of my red flags for bad restaurants)
–Very, very little kimchi on the side.
–Total cost @ $ 10.13!
If you are craving for Korean food and are nearby the Public Market, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. TOTALLY not worth it! Trust me!

This place is over priced and the portions are a lot smaller than they used to be. The short ribs are small and over cooked. We are never coming back here again.

Bulgogi wasn’t too bad here. Little greasy, but to be expected in a food court. You get a ton of meat, then white rice and and vegetables. Huge portion for about $ 10 or so. Not the best Korean ever, but fine for lunch.

I don’t usually write yell reviews but…
They reuse the food here. The chicken they use for spicy bbq chicken is definitely a day old. It seems to me that they reuse the unsold food and cook them differently, like the spicy bbq. The spicy sauce coax the old meat and the juices soaks within to make it appear less dry. The prices are are also not justified due to the amount of food they give you.

To say I was disappointed was an understatment and I’m generally quite forgiving. Sorabol is located in a large food court with many international cuisines situated in small food stalls. After looking at all the other cuisine options with large portions (stalls next to Sorobol), I had similar expectations. Boy was I wrong.
I ordered the «large» and more expensive combo platter and what I got was one measly shortrib (even the server tried to pull the meat a bit to make it look more substantial over the tiny scoop of rice. I assumed they would give me multiple ribs since the one I got couldnt possibly quality as a rib, but he didn’t. Then he scooped some bbq chicken on the plate. It was one small scoop.
At this point, I was rationalizing that they must be planning on giving me lots of vegatables or side dishes to make up for the lack of the main entrée. To which the server then asked kimchi or vegatables. I chose the latter and he gave me two broccoli stems. Seriously? So, at that point, I was guessing that the entrée must be amazing for them to give so little and charge so much.
So when I finally sat down, I was still giving them the benefit of the doubt. I really wanted the food to taste amazing because I was hungry, but even in hunger, it tasted only mediocre and dry.
I was still trying to rationize the small portions throughout my meal: could renting the stall be too high? (No, because their competitors give way more and charge less). Could price of meat increased substantially during the last week? (No, their neighbors were slathering on piles of food).
So as patrons of the other stalls were gourging on food, I rationalized that I needed to go on a diet anyways… but felt ripped off by having to pay so much for it (it was almost twice as expensive).
Unfortunately, I can’t possibly justify going back to this stall with the wealth of so many other options.
Oh a side note, I asked for the teriyaki sauce to be put on the side and the server said they don’t do that. So I asked him to pour it in the corner of the plate… which he complied…

I want everybody to know how skimpy they are with there food. And don’t ask for kimchee because even though it’s in little ready to go cups, they really do not want to give you any! Beware of the girl who puts your food together because she gives you the evil eye as she places 3 tiny pieces of eggplant in your veggie bowl! I remember way back when when the original Korean women who owned the place would pile on the Korean BBQ short ribs on your plate… now your lucky if you get 3 or 4 pieces! I do not recommend this place to anybody… the people are mean, the food comes up short… skip the place altogether!

This location is really inconsistent (Sorabol is a Korean chain). I’ve had 3-​star food from them before, but more times than not you’ll get something old and borderline inedible. I would stay away from this one. there are much better options at the Public Market.

Sorabol is located inside the Public Market, an international food court, in Emeryville. It is the Korean food option, and they serve pretty good food. They will offer you a sample of their chicken (it’s funny because the Japanese and Afghani place that neighbor it also compete with chicken samples).
The food is standard Korean food, japchae noodles, spicy chicken, beef options, spicy calamari, etc. If you order a 2 item combo you have to choose between veggie or kimchi. This is a bummer, since kimchi is usually offered for free at Korean places.
The people are hit or miss, some are nicer than others. The food is sometimes a 3, sometimes a 4. Stop by, and see what you think. Expect Korean food meets high school cafeteria lines, and be prepared to pay extra for kimchi.

This location has the gall, the audacity charging 75 cents for Kimchee! I’m never coming here-they’re skimpy on their serving portions!

Worst service and super expensive for the quantity they offer.
Got veggie bowl with 5 options. It was little bit of rice and meager quantity of other veggies for $ 8.75.
Also the servers are very rude, I was deciding on options and sge didnt help so I choose one. As soon as I was done, she rudely rushed to counter as if it was my mistake.
Never going there again.

What I ate: Vegetable rice bowl with spicy chicken
Visit date: October 30, 2013
First time? Yes
Rice bowl? Yes, please. Sorabol is good for a quick meal. You can even try a sample of the meats before you commit to a whole bowl. The vegetable bowl comes with rice or rice with japchae (glass noodles); I recommend the rice/​japchae combination. You can pick up to five «vegetables» (in quotations because tofu and fish cake are also options) from their veggie bar, and add your choice of meat. It’s a good sized meal and they don’t skimp on meat or veggies.
My bowl had mushrooms, seaweed salad, marinated shredded carrots, bean sprouts, kimchee, spicy chicken, rice, and japchae. All that was missing was a fried egg. The salty, spicy, and sweet flavors blended well together. It’s a bit pricy for a rice bowl, but generally Korean marinated meats are expensive, so Sorabol is definitely a less expensive alternative to a Korean BBQ joint.

The last time I had Sorabol was at San Francisco Westfield Centre. There’s a possibility that they aren’t related either. In any case, they both have the same name and business format.
Sorabol is one of the vendors that has been at the Public Market Emeryville for years. You’ll often find lines forming here during rush hours. You basically pick the items you want with your favorite staple like rice or noodles plus your preferred item. If you opt for ribs as an item you only get one piece. Ridiculous right? Also you get kim chee upon request only. Food is OK, but missing the fire and the quality as their equivalent competitors.
I’d say they are probably top dog for Asian cuisine at the market, excluding Indian. I’ll give them that much. However, it’s nothing to make noise about.

For $ 7 – 8 a bowl, you’d hope to get a little more food. And the food is just okay. Not super-​flavorful. The kimchi tasted old and dry. We don’t mind going here just because the tables and eating environment are very kid-​friendly (read: you don’t feel bad when your kid dances around the table and drops food on the floor).
But, if this was its own restaurant, we probably wouldn’t be drawn to it for its own food.

EEEEKKKK!!!
UnilocalER ALERT– AVOID LIKE THE BUBONIC PLAGUE!
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Among the Absolute Worst in this
HORRID
NIGHTMARE OF A SO-​CALLED INTERNATIONAL MARKET!
You have F’IN «GOTS» to be kidding me!
It should be called
«THE INTERNATIONAL LEFT-​OVER CRAP-​HOLE OF THE GALAXY»!
(Please refer to Emeryville Market review)
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Easily among the worst Pseudo– Korean food I have had anywhere! I threw MOST of the $ 15+ worth of «Food» away. I tried to eat here, threw it away, then the next door Afghan place, where I then threw away there horrid left over $ 10 lamb shank, & finally ate decently at the Burger place!
The owner was RUDE & OBNOXIOUS… could be from the North of their country… Hmmmm!!!
Home of «Screw U iLL»
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— Crap compared to the many Korean BBQ in Hawaii and elsewhere.
— Way Overpriced.
— Crappy tough overdone meat.
— Crappy sides.
— Extra crappy sides cost me yet another $ 5, complete with
a GLARE from the OWNER!
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Please note that I had tried several places in this Market & found that only the Burger place place was good… very sad…
The Thai place was also OK, but limited.
Please NOTE: I was staying at the next door Hyatt and was desperate at times… and tried many a place at this crap hole left over market!