TaKorean Korean Taco Grill

I love Korean food so I was excited to see this place at Union Market. I had the rice and slaw bowl with bulgogi beef and the spicy kalbi chicken with their chimi sauce and it was just bad. There was nothing Korean about this meal, the beef wasn’t sweet and the chicken wasn’t spicy; there was no gimchee involved or any of the usual Korean sides — it was just a very bland meal and the sauce did little to improve it. They should rename this place «chipotle without beans» The first 2 stars are just because the servers were nice.

We decided to eat at TaKorean while at Union Market. I’ve had their tacos, which are delicious, but saw that they had rice and salad bowls on their menu. Just like other places that let you build your own bowl, you pick your base, protein, and toppings. I decided on the half and half (half rice and half slaw), with white rice, kale slaw, pork, soft boiled egg, and the works: sesame seeds, hot sauce, lime crema, and cilantro (they recommended we try everything).
The combination of flavors was so delicious. The pork was perfectly seasoned, the kale slaw was refreshing but packed with flavor and the toppings were on point. The soft boiled egg, while an extra charge, helped to balance the flavors. The bowl is surprisingly filling but we powered through and finished our bowls. Awesome food.

Korean meats and sauces meet slaws and mexican taco style.

Enjoyed a half slaw half rice bowl for a weekend lunch. Delicious pulled pork and whatever spices that make it Korean and amazing. I picked Kim chi style slaw but they have two others, one of which is kale and pretty tasty.
For meat selection they had chicken bulgogi pork tofu and the seasonal vegetable was Brussels sprouts which also looked quite scrumptious.
It is chipotle style but not as many choices or toppings. At the end you can get a tomato based salsa, sour cream, cilantro, and you can pay up for an avocado crema.
3 tacos or a bowl are 9.90 including tax.

We stopped by takorea because we thought that merging Mexican and Korean food was a fun and clever idea. On Tuesday, they have taco Tuesday — $ 2 for a taco (other days: a single Taco did $ 3.50 or 3 tacos for $ 9!) the line today was much shorter than the line their food truck has — so I definitely need to try this.
We ended up ordering three different types of tacos: pork and spice kale salad, bulgogi with kimchi salad and chicken and romaine salad. The corn tortillas were AMAZING and they didn’t have the crumble like texture most corn tortillas have. They were moderately fluffy like a flour tortilla and each taco was wrapped with two tortillas.
It’s hard to describe the flavor of each taco but Korean food has so much solid flavor. I would definitely say this place satisfies my cravings but it is not one of the places where I’d come back to. It’s definitely more of a one time thing. But I would definitely recommend giving it a shot!

I happened upon takorean by mistake and truly believe I found a gold mine. Nestled in the back on union market this little taco shop had be scarfing down tacos to the point where it hurt. This is my first and not my last experience with Korean tacos, and I’m so excited to embark on this journey.
I got the three taco deal (3 for 9 $ I believe) two with chicken one with steak. To top these deliciously seasoned meats you can pick from three different slaw, one was a romaine slaw, one kale, and one kimchi. Im a sissy so I got the romaine on my steak and kale on my chicken. then you pick your sauces, I tried the avocado lime (.30 cents extra per taco) on my steak and loved it, for the other two I had the sour cream lime (my autocorrect just changed ‘sour cream’ to ‘sorcery’, it must know how amazing the flavor was in my mouth) once you’ve picked your three fillings it all gets wrapped up in two layers of corn soft tacos. now Im usually a fan of flour tortillas but the texture of the corn hit the flavor combination just right in this case. And I love that they give you two in case one breaks down on the way from plate to mouth.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I was nearly licking the microscopic crumbs off my plate at the end of the meal when there were no more tacos left. It will be so tempting not get a takorean taco overtime I visit union market from here on out, I love trying new things but how could anything top this?

Came here with my boyfriend while visiting Union Market on a Saturday afternoon – the line was super long, which convinced us to hop on (weird how that works!).
It’s basically Korean rice bowls ordered and assembled in a Chipotle-​style line. An ingenious idea, but not really well executed. My boyfriend and I both got the ½ rice ½ slaw bowl with bulgogi ($ 1 extra), kimchi, and full toppings. I had brown rice and he had white, but both were undercooked and still hard. I wouldn’t recommend the ½ and ½ mix either – the heat of the rice and the coldness of the slaw don’t mix well. The bulgogi was good, but also just seemed a little off.
A great concept, but a little underwhelming. Hope they can pick up their game because I love the idea and see the potential!

TaKorean is a wonderful addition to Union Market. If I had to describe in laymens I’d say «it’s like a chipotle but tacos with an Asian twist» there’s always a line and the food is awesome.
I got the 3 tacos… had the two chicken and pork. I wanted to try all the slaws so I topped the chicken with kale slaw and the other romaine slaw. The third taco, pork, was topped with the coleslaw. Perfect pairing.
And just like chipotle, you can skip to soft tortillas and make it a bowl.
They too have great vegetarian options.
And COOKIES lol
Their cookies sell out fast, I managed to snag one of the last two of the day and my visit was at lunchtime.
Though I had a treat experience, this restaurant could not earn 5 star rating due to location.
I enjoyed visiting but don’t think I’d venture to Union Market too often tho.

Breakdown:
Good service
Fun atmosphere
Great food
This food was a very interested take from the norm. I heard a lot about it and gave it a go one busy Saturday morning. I tried the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ salad rice combo, but instead asked for it to be ⁹⁰⁄₁₀ (salad, rice), which was not a problem. I ordered the chicken with spicy kale, and ‘everything’ on it. Some may not like kale, but I suggest trying this spicy kale just once as its their popular slaw style. It is also important to note that having the slaw substituting most of the rice, it did not bog me down as I felt great for the rest of the day.

First time at Union Market, first stop for food and it was so great! Loved the market and loved this place. They let me sample the slaws. The tofu was absolutely delicious!

Think of this like a Korean style Chipotle.
For a first timer, I did a good job choosing my meal:
Style — Half & Half Bowl (half rice, half slaw)
Protein — Dak Galbi (chicken)
Slaw — Romaine Slaw (Was told that either the Romain Slaw or Spiced Kale goes really well with chicken. Since the Spiced Kale has carrots, and I’m not a fan of carrots, I went with the Romaine Slaw).
Add Ons — Organic Soft Egg and Avocado Crema
Toppings — None. Totally forgot to add it.
My meal came up to roughly $ 12. I enjoyed it. Didn’t take long to order nor make. The guys behind the counter were patient with this indecisive soul. I’ll be back.

While hanging at Union Market satuday afternoon, I was dying for some TaKorean. It’s like Chipotle with a Korean/​Asian twist. Pick taco or bowl. Pick your protein, toppings and voila a tasty and rather healthy meal at a reasonable price. I got a half and half (half rice and half slaw) bowl with bulgogi beef, kimchi slaw, sesame seeds, sriracha, cilantro and avocado mayo. They also carry DC komboucha, I picked up in ginger. Delish and healthy meal. Perfect feel good fuel food post yoga. Rice bowl was delish. Fresh and tasty ingredients with great balance of spicy and sweet flavors. Definitely check them out in Union Market!

Decent food. Quite healthy as well. But not spectacular.
Lines can be long, but they’re quick. Tacos can be a bit dry. Teas are good.

Takorean is my go-​to favorite at Union Market, where the lunch options are truly fantastic and make picking a favorite very difficult indeed. Takorean’s spicy Bo Ssam pork shoulder + spicy kale slaw + Korean-​style salsa roja is unbeatable.
The line moves fast, so don’t be deterred.

I think this place deserves a 3.5 stars, if that were an option. It’s good food, not amazing, but good. I’ve had the bulgogi salad with romaine slaw, pork salad with kale slaw and guacamole cream, pork and chicken tacos. It’s a good meal, not a «take a bite and you’re in heaven» kind. The salads are $ 9, additional buck for guac cream. Tacos are $ 3.50 each or three for $ 9. My recommendation would be to try one taco and save room to graze more food at Union Market.
This place is crazy busy and the staff often seems overwhelmed. But they keep the line moving.

I give it 2 ½ stars.
Visited Union Market for lunch on Tuesday at 11 AM. My goal was «The BBQ Joint», but they were’nt ready to open until about 11:20 or so. I then decided to try Takorean. I passed on the tacos and did the bowl instead. My mistake. I had ½ rice and ½ lettuce w/​chicken, taco salsa and crema. It was fresh tasting, but lackluster in flavor. It was kinda ho-​hum overall. $ 9+tx, i should’ve done the tacos, maybe? Although i did have a DC Brau Pils at Red Apron. Delicious.
I should’ve waited for the BBQ.

I am a Korean food junkie.
The first two times I tried this place I wasn’t in love. The tacos weren’t my favorite. Union Market is around the corner from me so we went here to grab a quick bite. And as usually I wanted Korean food any way I could get. This time I tried the bowl.
I got a half and half bowl. White rice and Kale slaw. The kale slaw is not overpowering but has a nice subtle garlic soy type of sauce. The chicken is tender and has good flavor. I just wish there was a little more of a Korean kick to these tacos… a little to common.
Pretty good fusion type of spot.

I have tried many things here. At first, I was not a fan. Now that I know what to order I regularly crave Takorean and it is in my regular lunch rotation. Try this– Half and Half bowl with white rice and kale slaw, topped with their pork (the BEST meat they offer, bar none) and all of the toppings they offer (cilantro, sriracha, crema, and sesame seeds). You will not regret it.
Their Union Market location also has happy hour specials on beer– I think they are $ 4 beers which is certainly a deal in the Market.

You can order in sign language or spoken language here, either way TaKorean will feed you some fine kimchi slaw and slow-​cooked meat on tortillas or rice. Quite reasonable prices and do let them spritz the top liberally with Sriracha too! Great craft beer on tap too, I’m quite a fan.
On weekday lunches the wait has been quite short, only a handful of peeps ahead of me in line. I cannot even imagine the craziness on the weekend lol. And at lunch they knock $ 2 off the tacos, 3 for just $ 7. A beer is $ 6, recently pouring Flying Dog Gonzo porter which was a great match with the Ssam tacos. That long-​cooked pork was excellent, meltingly soft and tasty.
Vegetarian rating: 3 stars for the veg/​tofu option as an alternative protein to top your tacos or rice bowl, and of course the slaw is veg. The beer too :)

I visited TaKorean for lunch on a weekday. My friend and I had perused the other restaurant options within Union Market and landed on this one. It was my first time at Union Market and I wanted to make sure to get something delicious. And TaKorean certainly did not disappoint. I’ve had Korean BBQ tacos before (the infamous Kogi BBQ in Los Angeles and then the infamous Far East Taco Grille in DC) and have high standards for Korean tacos, but TaKorean definitely met my expectations.
I opted for the bowl instead of the tacos (same ingredients, but in bowl format, which gives you more bang for your buck, IMO). For $ 9, I got an amazing fusion of flavors. You have several topping options and I opted for the Bulgogi steak with sriracha sauce, lime crema, fresh cilantro, sesame seeds, and spicy kimchi style slaw. The flavor was amazing! I heard this restaurant started as a food truck, but I appreciated their food stand in Union Market.
There isn’t much seating near the restaurant stand, but we found some seats near the large windows at the front of Union Market.
5 big stars for TaKorean! You make Union Market proud.