Sonamu combines traditional Korean fare and modern Dubai décor in a simmering cooking pot. Part of Asiana Hotel's collection of restaurants, it's a brilliant venue to get dolled up for. Sonamu offers you a chance to step out of your comfort zone and give your knees a workout with its floor seating options. Dripping with bonsais and lambent lanterns, it's the perfect place for anything from date night to sampling a new dining destination with your foodie friends.
Good to know: Make sure you've got its weekly Korean BBQ nights penciled down on your calendar. Sonamu hosts it every Tuesday and Saturday!
MenuPages.ae recommends: Bulgogi and the chocolate fondant.
Whether you're in the mood to munch through a bowl of hellishly hot kimchi while waiting for your entrée or chill out with some chopsticks at a sushi bar, Sobahn is the place for you. If that mid-morning meeting sliced your lunch hour in half, grab a speedy business lunch with a Korean twist here. Sobahn is family friendly and guarentees to wow every single member of the family with its tabletop Korean BBQ show. The menu is a mix of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese eats.
Good to know: Lap up some fresh air and balmy evening vibes at Sobahn's outdoor terrace.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Sobahn's hot pots, Kimchi Jeon, and Maguro.
Koreana is Al Barsha's answer to Korean cravings – where the fried eggs are always Instagram ready and the indoor plants always promising to bring you good luck. The menu features various beloved Korean dishes, and Japanese ones too, in case you're not feeling the Korean vibe. If you're only looking to sample the food, dive into a bento box. Hit up the pancake section of the menu if today's cheat day from the gym or if you're looking to massively indulge.
Good to know: Make sure you know where you're headed before you hit the highway.
While easy to spot from SZR, driving up to Koreana's location in Al Barsha can be tricky.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Green onion pancakes and the braised mackerel bento box.
Housed in Business Bay's W Hotel, Namu serves up Korean food with glamorous views on the side. Located on the hotel's 31st floor, sway to Namu's live music while enjoying its modern take on Korean cooking. If you're looking for both dinner and a show, tune into any one of its four live cooking stations and watch the chef bring your dinner to life. If Korean cuisine doesn't tickle your tastebuds, check out Namu's diverse Japanese menu instead. Namu is veggie-friendly too, with its menu offering vegetarian tempura, garden vegetable sushi, fresh salads, and green rice dishes.
Good to know: Namu offers a business lunch deal starting at 79 dirhams per diner.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Miso cod and the grilled wagyu shortribs steamed buns.
If it's on Dubai's official tourism website, it's a pretty big deal. Located in Karama, Seoul Garden Restaurant aims to win your heart with nothing but its authentic Korean cooking. What the restaurant lacks in décor, it more than compensates for with its extensive menu. You can either opt for your food to be cooked in the kitchen or grilled right at your table. If you've spent the evening wandering through Karama's alleys, fuel up at the kitschy Seoul Garden Restaurant.
Good to know: Forget about lemonade and try the Pomegranate Vinegar-ade for 10 dirhams!
MenuPages.ae recommends: Mapo tofu and the Dubu Kimchi.
South Korea and fried chicken go together like bread and butter. Like peanuts and pints, crispy fried chicken and bottles of beer are a typical scene in Korean pubs. Taking this nationally loved snack and putting a healthy spin on it, KPOP Chicken is dishing out earthy goodness at its JLT eatery. It's not a one-trick pony, though. The restaurant's menu features other Korean delights like bulgogi, bibimbap, and dubbab. It's even gone the extra mile and accommodated its veggie friends by offering up tofu steaks, spring rolls, and veggie dumplings.
Good to know: If you like KPOP Chicken, you'll love Okura – its Japanese sibling restaurant.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Korean fried chicken dishes, tofu steak, and Bibimbap.
Mannaland promises to remind you of your childhood kitchen with its authentic Korean home cooking. Spreading its influence across two emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the restaurant offers a combination of simple comfort food and elaborate dishes. You can choose to either tuck into a 150 dirham bowl of premium Korean ingredients traditionally prepared for royals or a humble bowl of freshly cooked noodles in a black bean sauce. If you're a die-hard Korean foodie and want to prove it to the world, you can order an entire kilogram of kimchi for just 40 dirhams!
Good to know: Love Mannaland's food so much, you want to wake up to it every day? Sign up for a cooking class with the restaurant and master the chef's culinary secrets.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Galbi Gui and Bokumbap.
This restaurant is usually bustling with bubbling hot pots, a combination of Korean and expat diners, and the sound of snapping wooden chopsticks. While not gentle on the eyes, the décor is purely functional with the spotlight focused on the food. The Sky offers national classics like kimchi fried rice and grilled beef ribs. It's been serving up steaming bowls of bone broth ages before the hipster joints in Dubai latched onto the recipe and made it a culinary trend.
Good to know: The clue's in the name – you can complement your meal with a drink at The Sky.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Oyster pancakes and the Banquet noodles.
While the rest of Dubai goes trekking to Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall on the weekends, those in the know zoom straight over to Al Ghurair Center in Deira for a bite of Korean goodness. Shogun serves up a quirky slice of its national culture with paintings of Korean sceneries, Far East Asian wooden accents, and a loaded Asian menu. It checks all the boxes for a good Korean restaurant – kickass kimchi (check), Korean BBQ (check), and exotic meat dishes (check).
Good to know: If your Korean cuisine loving friends dragged you here but you're not into the food, you can check out Shogun's diverse Japanese and Thai menu instead.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Kimchi sushi and the grilled eggplant.
Take your chopstick skills for a spin at Kung in what was once Tecom, now rebranded as Barsha Heights. Indulge in Korean classics while you sit cross-legged on the wooden floor. If you're obsessed with karaoke, set the microphone on fire in any one of Kung's eight private karaoke rooms. If your favorite bar's closed its doors for the night, but you're still on the hunt for post-pub fun, head over to Kung for a spot of Korean grub and bash out a karaoke session too!
Good to know: Post-pubbers and night owls, Kung's doors are open until 2AM every day.
MenuPages.ae recommends: Chicken ganjung and the signature kimchi.
