Soju Cafe - Richmond

We got there right when they opened on a Saturday and they were completely unprepared.... a ton of ingredients weren't ready/prepared (i.e rice and noodles which are the bases for their most popular menu items), ingredients were missing from our final orders, some things were prepared incorrectly, etc. And the person at the register, who I think was the manager, was checking people out with a baby on his hip. That said, it seemed like a one time problem that they couldn't have prepared for(sounded like a cook bailed on work early that morning) and from what I've heard, service isn't usually that bad and everything is usually prepared fresh and ready to go. They also were very apologetic and accommodating to all the issues we pointed out. In terms of food quality, it's the best fast casual restaurant I've been to in a long time. I was new to this style and was blown away by all the new flavor combos. It's a great deal for the amount of food and the quality of ingredients. I will definitely be going back soon!

I fell asleep in front of the store. So it was more like Zzzzzzzzzzzzaam. This Korean Fusion place is a lot more American that it is Korean... It doesn't really do it for me, but the service is really nice. Also, they didn't have any bubble tea when I was here which is the main reason I came in but I heard that they will be having it soon enough.

When I visit a new city one of the first things I do is look if they have Korean Mexican food (one of my favorite fusions but so hard to find! . I was stoked to find Zzaam and it was on the way from the airport to my hotel. The previous reviews and pictures looked delicious and I planned to order the kimchee burrito with bulgogi. This was my first stop once I got to Virginia and I wished I hadn't stopped at all. It was so disappointing! I ordered the kimchee burrito and asked for the bulgogi only to find out they no longer serve it. The tortilla was cold and falling apart to the point that I had to ask for a bowl and just dump the remains in there to actually eat it. The filling was bland and you definitely need to add one of the sauces to it. Also the eggs were just sitting out which I found unsanitary. I ended up walking over to a nearby chipotle after because I was so unsatisfied.

Bibimbap is one of my favorite types of fast(ish food, so I was really hoping I 'd like Zzaam. Food: We each got a rice bowl and split an order of tacos. (I 'm not sure the restaurant actually refers to it as bibimbap at all, just rice bowl. They had a special Hot Stone Bowl (dolsot special which we got which entails putting the contents all in a hot ceramic bowl. My bowl had spicy pork, Zzaam sauce, bean sprouts, lime, cucumber, jalapenos, and onion with an egg on top. My fiancee had chicken, edamame, carrots, and bean sprouts. So, it was good enough. For some reason, I didn 't really feel strongly one way or another towards it. The toppings were good and the bowl was definitely hot. I didn 't really get the sizzling I wanted out of it, but we ate outside so the sound may have been absorbed into the atmosphere a little. The rice seemed a little bit soft to me and the bowl as a whole just didn 't wow me. The tacos just ended up being essentially soggy tortillas with fillings, not that they were bad, but I likely wouldn 't order them again. There are also noodle bowl options and other configurations of bowls on their menu that I would try should I return. Cost: Affordable. I don 't recall how much the stone bowl specials were we had, but the normal bowls I think are in the $8 ballpark. Service: It 's possible that either the stone bowls are a new offering, or the employee that served us was, but he had to go ask other coworkers what the stone bowl was and where to find them. Everyone was nice enough though. Atmosphere: I will say, the patio is nice if you wanted to eat outside. There was a guitar performer there which in my opinion was a little loud, but after he left it was nice. The inside feels Chipotle esque, which isn 't a bad thing either. There is also a dedicated parking lot, which is cool and not super common in Carytown. Overall: I wasn 't particularly impressed with Zzaam. It wasn 't bad and I would eat there again, but I feel like even compared to other RVA Bibimbap places like Gogi it 's a little underwhelming. There are places like KTown that aren 't too far away that have a little more authentic Korean food that stand out more as well, if you wanted Korean food. It 's possible that it was an offday, but I don 't find myself in Carytown enough where I feel like I 'd eat here again. I 'd give it a 3.5.

We went to Richmond looking for some Korean cuisine and we came upon this place. Located in Carytown, RVA which is a pretty area to visit and look around in. Apparently, this is like a Chipotle style Korean restaurant with options such as rice and noodle bowls with a variety of assorted vegetables. They also offer burritos and tacos. We ordered the beef bulgogi rice bowl and the Korean street ramen. The bulgogi rice bowl was okay but nothing special. It wasn't as hot as I'd like to be as well. The assortment of vegetables and special sauces you can add was a the bright spot for this place as they seemed fresh and unique. We got the Zzamn sauce with the bowl. The Korean street ramen had a very beefy flavor and it came out piping hot . It came with a side of rice and kimchi. I honestly wish they added more vegetables as it only came with an egg some onions and a bit of carrots. Other then that it was a solid bowl of ramen. This is a fast casual place to eat and if you want some better korean food you should look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a quick but good Korean bite to eat, come to this place.