O-Bok Korean Restaurant

i love the food and the restaurant but it need some traditional korean music in there. its to quiet. other then that its a great place. the wallpaper is nice too

Good local spot in Manoa for Korean food. Get there early cuz they close at 8PM.

This place is one of Manoa’s gems. I would always come here since I was a child. The restaurant is now under new management. However, the feel of the place and the food is all the same! My usual (that never changed for the past 25 years) is the meat jun. I also suggest one of their soups that’s miso-​based (Dean Jang Chee Ke) on a rainy or sick day. If you love meat jun, this is the place to go. There was only one place I feel that could match their quality (Youngs Kalbee in Aiea). Also, another change are the faces who serve you and a couple of their side dishes. I’m not complaining though… Great place that’s very homey. If you’re expecting a quick in and out, this isn’t the place. UNWIND AND GRIND!

Had some take-​out and fed about 7 of us. The meat jun and pancakes were delicious! Will go back for another lazy night when we don’t want to cook.

Went back based on the recent reviews — it’s as good as before, maybe better — we had the special, mandoo, meat jun. Just terrific. A special thanks to the owners for working so hard to bring back our favorite Korean restaurant.

Small and unassuming, this korean bbq joint serves a fresh, delicious meal at a good price. the bee bim bap was a generous portion with a bunch of different well-​prepared vegetables, egg, and very tender bbq beef. special (forgot the name) was also tasty. if you are hungry and in Manoa, definitely check this out.

The best Korean food! Meat jun is off the charts. The pancake is mouthwatering. And the soup… Wow, the soup!

Love love love the kalbi with side nori… the meat Jun is also great! With that said to me the best Korean food on Oahu

We walked in tonight, only one couple in the restaurant. Seemed kind of strange, since it was well after 6.
We self seated ourselves, since there was no one to welcome us in. I did shout out a greeting and got no response. In a few minutes we were met with menu’s and ice cold water. The lady kind of hovered over us, as if wanting to take our order right at that moment. After noticing we weren’t ready, she left us to ourselves.
After a few minutes she came back to get our order. Offering us hot tea, which we said we would like after the meal.
We ordered the following :
Kalbi plate– 2 pieces of big bone kalbi. It was flavorful, but a tad bit tough.
Meat juhn– 2 nice pieces that you cut up yourself. This was soft, juicy, and the egg coating was cooked perfectly. Delicious!
Beef mandoo– I appreciate having beef instead of the usual pork. Hand’s down one of my top 3 places to buy and eat mandoo. Fluffy and crisp wrapper, filled with great tasting beef and vegetable filling. Served piping hot. Mandoo heaven.
Came with 2 bowls of rice and assorted banchan, such as:
Kimchi daikon — well seasoned and fermented
Cabbage kimchi– this one wasn’t as seasoned, because it was freshly made. The should have let it ferment for a few day’s
Cucumber kimchi– this was good, but if they would have let it sit a couple of days more, would have made it great.
Seasoned bean sprouts– was tasty enough
Vegetable pancake– happy to see this offered, it was great paired with the gochujang spicy and sweet sauce
There was a shoyu pickled daikon and carrots– it was delicious.
Since there was hardly anyone in the restaurant, our food came out really quick.
As we were eating I overheard the lady asking the couple if they would like refills on their banchan. However, she never gave us that option. Which, I wish she did, because we would have gladly take her up on a few of them.
After finishing our meal, she bought us take out boxes for our leftovers. Along, with our tab. No hot tea, she must have thought a refill on our water was good enough. I could have asked, but the restaurant was getting a little busy.
Next time I visit, I’d like to try some of their soup. Of course, I’ll have to do a side order of mandoo and if I’m really selfish, I’ll have to order the meat juhn, too… I just can’t help myself sometimes. Believe me, if the food is really good I don’t mind eating leftovers.

Pretty simple… The meat jun is frickin Ono! Mandoo is on point! That’s my order every time I go here, which isn’t often enough! Lol
. and now im hungry!

Someone suggested I try O Bok. Pleasantly surprised. The mondoo is very good. It wasn’t overwhelmed by chives.
Also ordered lunch plate, the chicken was flavorful. The barbecue meat had mild light taste and was tender. In the area and want Korean worth a try.

The previous owner retired and sold. The new owner came in and had a terrible transition period and it was horrible…
O Bok is GREAT if not better than before! The cuts of meat are better, the preparation is better, the seat have been reupholstered and I am impressed.
IT IS WONDERFUL AGAIN!

It is my supreme duty as «The Duke of the Magical Kingdom of O-​Bok» to finally write a review on…
O-​BOK KOREAN RESTAURANT!
Frankly, I’m not exactly sure how I was bestowed the honor of wearing the crown, I mean I’m not even Korean royalty! All I know is that I checked-​in the other day and BAM… «Duke of O-​Bok, the Magical Kingdom of O!» The responsibility! Hmm. Was it my check-​in or perhaps…
— I once dated a blonde Korean girl in High School. I mean are there really genetically blonde Asians out there? Maybe she was a descendant of the O-​Bok clan? Maybe?
— I once spoke «Japanese» to two cute young «Korean» ladies in San Francisco. I knew they were tourists, but for some odd reason I thought they were Japanese… So, I practiced my Conversational Japanese and BAM! Korean! Luckily I didn’t get knocked out! I was just trying to be friendly and ended like I was being FRESH! No can’t be this reason!
— I once went on a luncheon with my Unilocal lady friends, sadly none were Korean (I think), but I ate a ton of Kimchee, and later found out my low tolerance on this spicy Korean staple. I mean my ears turned red and I had the shakes like «Kim Jong-​Un» off lithium! Speaking of…
— I once watched a bootleg viewing of «The Interview»… The comedy about that chubby & weird supreme leader of North Korea. Who btw, is like a meaner looking Psy! It was a hilarious movie poking fun of Pug, but I’m sure this couldn’t be the reason on my Duke status! I mean «The Magical Kingdom of O.» is more from Korea, but South-​side, right? Speaking of…
— I once secretly danced «Gangnam Style!» It can’t be this reason because I definitely don’t have the moves like Psy! By the way… whatever happened to slick? Anyone know?
Or maybe, just maybe, I love a good plate of Korean BBQ! O-​Bok is located in Manoa Marketplace just a stones throw from my K-​castle, so I frequent the area, well quite frequently! So, I’ve been here more than a handful of times throughout the years, and many are correct that the owners are new, even though the restaurant has been here since whenever! Still very Korean, possibly relatives of the original, I mean I did ask once, but seemed like every question I asked was followed with a «Yes»… So, I really don’t know! I can tell you this… I really enjoy the lunch specials here! Especially the…
–THE O-​BOK SPECIAL: Kalbi, BBQ Chicken, Man-​Doo, Na Mui, Kim Chee, & Rice! ($ 11+)
–THE O-​BOK LUNCH: BBQ Beef & Chicken, Na Mui, Kim Chee, & Rice! ($ 9+)
–THE MEAT-​JUN PLATE: Beef breaded in egg batter, Na Mui, Kim Chee, & Rice! ($ 10+)
All plates come with a freshly brewed mug of hot tea, «Manoa» iced water and IMHO friendly Korean service! O-​Bok is casual and «family friendly», so it’s very comfortable. Restaurant is medium sized and different sized booths neatly lineup in rows with «Asianisque» décor on the walls! No, it’s not the best Korean restaurant nor the worst. I say COMFORT Korean food at pretty decent prices! Good and generous at pretty nice prices! Can’t go wrong! So yes, I recommend…
O-​BOK KOREAN RESTAURANT!
Ahhh! I know the reason! I have a not so secret crush on K-​Drama Starlet «Jeon Ji Hyu» aka «My Sassy Girl!» By Jun! That’s it! So, come on up to Manoa and hang-​it with the Duke of The Magical Kingdom of O-​Bok! I ain’t Ko-​rean, but I sure love me some Kalbi and Gangnam Style…
OVERALL GRADE: 4.0-STARS! (K-​Solid!)
Unilocal REVIEW #457/​500

We used to frequent O-​Bok a lot a few years back then when we had our third child, we haven’t been back because trying to squeeze into the booths with three wiggly kids under 10 was not my idea of fun. So my youngest is two now and we were hungry for O-​Bok. We decided to chance it and try to enjoy dinner there. We used to absolutely love it, from the laid back atmosphere, the quirky older man and the nice, but feisty woman and not to mention the food was so right on!
As soon as we walked in, I noticed that they changed out the booth upholstery and that instantly brightened up the place. It looks a lot cleaner. I didn’t see either the man or woman so I had a hunch they had changed ownership. The waitress was a cute local girl and there was a tall Korean man who held himself as an owner type. They were both very nice. Our usual was the Special and I was a little taken aback by the increase in price from 9.80 to 12.90 but hey, I understand economics so I ordered it anyway. When it came, it seemed smaller portioned than before but thankfully I can’t eat like I used to. Husband devoured it. The banchan was good. Nothing too spicy but the one thing missing was the flaky, chewy Taegu that they had before. Now I’m convinced there are new owners. When I got home, I read the other reviews and confirmed my suspicions about new ownership.
We will definitely be back. The new owners have some big shoes to fill and I’d like to give them a chance.

I ended up at O-​Bok in Manoa for my first time to avoid the zipmobile debacle. Our party of three fit nicely in the booth style seating. Besides the nice booth seating, the atmosphere is pretty simple and what you would normally see in a small mom n pops place. The place was clean, so that was a good impression. We were lucky to have just beat the crowd that followed.
Our food came out fast unlike other tables that still didn’t have their food when we left. I felt lucky about that. The food was good. I’m told it’s better now than before. Korean food is my favorite and I would say this place is average for the price. The spicy pork I ordered had no hint of spicy, but it tasted good. Rice was a little soggy. Portions are slightly on the light side (of Korean places), but good enough for me. All in all my O-​Bok dinner did the trick. I sure had a hard time staying awake on my snail ride back to Mililani. I would return. Thumbs up!

The owners are different now so things have been tweaked a little. I got the O-​bok special and a side of meat jun. It comes with a little less sides than before and the meat jun sauce is a little sweeter than before. I would’ve given it a 5 star but it’s not the O-​bok from before. Still a great place to eat and there’s something about the hot tea… I love it!

Nothing to not like this place. Good kalbi. Even better Meat jun. Fresh banchan. Clean. Reasonable prices.

I had the special plate which included kalbi, chicken and mandoo. The kalbi was excellent. It was the type with the large bone. Portions not as large as other Korean restaurants but definitely enough. I also like the barley tea which was different but good.

This place has been around forever. One of the last few remaining mainstays of Manoa Marketplace, I remember going as a little kid and eating tofu soup, cooked and served by the Mom and Pop owners.
Fast forward to today, not sure who owns it anymore. On my last visit I didn’t see them but the service was still great as well as the home cooked kind of Korean food.
My friends and I walked in about 10 minutes before closing time and we asked if it was still alright and they surprisingly didn’t turn us away. Our food came out hot and prompt and we were literally in there for less than a hour and still felt like we’d had been there awhile. The portions were actually quite large so there was a need for take out. Awesome, cause now you have lunch for the next day lol.
Parking of course is ample since it’s in the Manoa Marketplace. I’ve seen this place get really crowded before around dinner time so best to come early or late if you wanna miss the crowd.

Conveniently located in Manoa Marketplace and not crowded at all during lunch time, or at least on the weekday we went. There was only one waiter who wasn’t all that smiley, but he waited patiently while we repeatedly flipped through the menu and took forever to decide what to get.
We ended up ordering…
1) meat jun plate– very delicious and almost (but not quite) like my Korean grandma’s,
2) combo plate with BBQ chicken, meat and panchan (ie cabbage and something else) — didn’t try it but boyfriend said it was only ok.
However, the bf did like the meat jun. Meat jun = winner! Coming back for the meat jun (and to try other items) for sure!

O-​BOK is A-​OK.
Seeking to try a new Korean place, my friend and I ventured to O-​Bok Restaurant on a recent weekend.
LOCATION: Manoa Marketplace. Ist floor near the area where the farmers market is staged.
SETTING: Seating is comprised of booths holding parties of 2 – 4, respectively. Wall paper seems a bit outdated. A ode to the 70’s perhaps.
FOOD:
1. O-​Bok Special Plate: Kal Bi, Chicken, Mandoo, and Rice. Of all the items included in the special, my friend found his favorite to be the Kal-​bi. He thought the portion size for the price point was very reasonable.
2. Meat Jun plate. Served with a side of rice. Sauce container right on the table. I thought the meat jun was just ok. Not bad but not great either. Nothing to write home about. Portion size was just ok too. If it weren’t for the multiple banchan plates served, I would have been more hungry at the end of the meal.
3. Banchan: This was just ok as well. And like a chameleon, the seemingly generous portions are camouflaged as plenty since it is served on multiple small plates.
SERVICE: Alright. There was only 1 server for the entire restaurant since it wasn’t too busy when we arrived. He was friendly for the most part, allowed us some time to look over the menu, and asked if we had any questions.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s OK at O-​BOK.

Went to O-​Bok last week with some friends. Small restaurant in Manoa, but very happy we gave it a try. From reading other reviews, I feel fortunate that we received very good service. In fact, the owner stopped by and chatted with us for a bit.
The food was very tasty. We enjoyed the Meat Jun, Kalbi Ribs, BBQ chicken and Spicy Pork. We shared our meals so everyone got to taste each dish. Enjoyed the side dishes as well. Gotta admit that their sweet and spicy sauce is awesome. Heck, I put it on just about everything, sine it was that good.