Myung Dong Tofu House

Staff is completely untrained. I called to place an order for pick-​up. A employee picked up and put me on hold for 5 minutes. I hung up and called back. The employee then picked up the phone and hung up on me. I called back several times and this happened over and over till they just left the phone off the hook… (I’m listening to the restaurant ambiance as I write this). Service inside the restaurant is about the same (still inattentive, but polite at least).

My husband and I like this place better than Organic Tofu House which is the other Korean restaurant in Ridgewood. There are more menu options here and I find the tofu soup to be consistently good. The seafood pancake here is also better than Organic Tofu. You receive a small complimentary fried whole fish with your meal which is tasty just be careful about the bones! The place is spacious and clean and service has always been great.

As usual in Ridgewood trying to find parking is hit and miss. It is directly across from metered parking lot as well as metered street parking, if you are fortunate to find an empty spot. This is a new restaurant so when we visited it was empty, only had 2 other tables with patrons so no waiting, seated us quickly and our choice we to sit.
A typical Korean restaurant offerring tons of small dishes as appetizers as well as battered deep fried fish (careful, whole fish without head but plenty of bones). Service was very good once we got over some minor language issue trying to confirm that a menu item didn’t contain any shrimp product.
We order the fried dumplings and the seafood pancake as appetizers. The pan fried dumplings was nothing to scream home about but the pancakes was tasty. I ordered the bibimbap, served in a very hot clay pot with a raw egg, beef and tons of veggies. It was perfect as the rice from the heat became crispy which is the whole reason why one would get bibimbap. It could have more beef to my taste but still very tasty. It is served with a hot sauce which you should take it easy if you can’t handle spicy food.
We will will back to try their other menu items but will be back just for the bibimbap alone.

Went in for lunch last week. It was opened about a month ago. Inside is spacious and clean. I ordered Bibimbap with beef in a hot stone bowl, which is ok. The kimchi served was not fresh, which was a little disappointing. That’s an important factor I judge a Korean restaurant. I may come back again to try the spicy tofu soup.

I enjoy the food and service, this is a great addition to Ridgewood especially for a solid, satisfying, good-​value dinner like the delicious hot-​stone bowl served after miso soup and assorted plates of condiments for 12.99. I can see coming here frequently and at some point the menu may seem a bit small. I’ve seen lots of different things come out of the kitchen, so I think you just need to ask. This storefront restaurant is in the location of Wa Lobster House, in case you wonder about the décor on one wall that features a photo mural and lobster trap buoys.

The food here is significantly better than the other tofu house in Ridgewood. They give you rice in stone pots and the tofu soup contains a lot more ingredients (meat/​seafood depending on what you order). The side dishes are very good as well! The only thing that I was annoyed with was when they charged my family $ 2.50 for a cup of tea each when we had thought it was free (like water). Many Korean restaurants will give you hot water/​tea especially during colder months. My family and I thought that this was also the case when the waiter asked «would you like hot tea or cold water?» And when we told them you should have told us the teas would be charged her only response was that it was on the menu.

We decided to give this new place a try even though we already love the Organic Tofu House in Ridgewood. Comparison is inevitable. While I’m really glad we tried it, I think the other one has a slight edge for several reasons.
–menu here is limited– basic tofu stews, bibimbap, not as many other dishes
–a little pricier here– maybe trying to cover the rent in downtown Ridgewood
–no parking lot
I will say the seafood pancake was great. Lots of «stuff» in it. Also had a good variety in banchan although we were here for dinner and have only been to OTH for lunch. Bulgogi was tasty but a little salty. Bibimbap wasn’t as flavorful as others I’ve had. The server was nice and although we didn’t try it there was an extensive tea menu.
It’s definitely worth trying and hope to see it improve!

Stopped in for an early dinner, and the food was delicious! Highly recommend the bulgogi and jap chae. The bibimbap with sauce is also tasty. (Must eat with sauce!) The banchan is abundant, fresh and delicious, too. They have just opened, so I think they are still making adjustments, but on the whole, it is a delightful and welcoming place. The owner and staff are very warm and generous persons. Definitely worth stopping in!