Restaurant Review: From the Seoul

elsa yeung
by Elsa Yeung

From the Seoul opened in Dartmouth at the beginning of this month after relocating from a smaller New Bedford location and holy cow, is it good. As a self-proclaimed Asian-food snob (I grew up eating my mom’s home-cooked Chinese food), I will say that it may be the best, most authentic Asian food in the area.

From the Seoul offers Korean food in an informal setting at very reasonable prices. Most dishes are accompanied with kimchi, a spicy dish of pickled napa cabbage that is served cold, but will nevertheless set your tongue on fire. You also get an assortment of other small side dishes of pickled vegetables that include cucumber, bean sprouts, and green onions.

Bibimbap From the Seoul Dartmouth MA
Bibimbap with all the fixin’s.

The bulgogi ($9.95) is a dish with universal appeal – thinly sliced beef marinated in a sweet, almost tangy soy sauce served with rice, similar to teriyaki. The beef comes on a sizzling plate that ensures your bulgogi experience is piping hot. If you’re not too lazy to pick out bones from your meat, the galbi ($10.95) is a similarly marinated dish of tasty, grilled beef short ribs, just slightly charred enough to have that satisfying barbecue taste to it. Both dishes come lightly dusted with sesame seeds, with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms thrown in for good measure.

Bibimbap is a dish with a name that makes you feel ridiculous saying it, but it is well worth any mortification it may cause. For an amazing $6.95, you get a giant bowl of rice topped with bean sprouts, sliced shitake mushrooms, spinach, sliced squash, topped with a sunny-side-up egg (and they don’t skimp on any of the above). Stir it all up with a dollop of the spicy-sweet sauce it comes with and dig in. The whole thing comes in the traditional hot stone bowl that, if you’re lucky, slightly toasts the rice at the bottom so that you get an occasional crunch as you tuck into the monster. When you’re done, wash it down with the clear, brothy miso soup that accompanies the dish.

Side dishes at From the Seoul Korean Dartmouth MA
Meals come with an assortment of pickled vegetables to share.

I mentioned that the kimchi will set ablaze your mouth, and it’s not the only thing at From the Seoul that will do this. The sundubu jjigae is a masochistic seafood and tofu stew that will make your eyes water and leave you begging for more because it HURTS SO GOOD.  Yet the spiciness does not overpower the rich flavor of the broth. The stew itself could use a little more seafood (mine came with 2 shrimp, some squid, and a couple of things that got lost in the mix), but is overall very tasty. The kitchen will also accommodate requests to make any dish less spicy (the manager actually came out to ask me how I liked it), since everything is made fresh when you order it, but you’ll be missing out on the fiery kick that Korean food is famous for.

If you’ve got picky kids or if you’re a really huge food wimp, you will be glad to know that there is a steak sandwich and a chicken sandwich (each $4.95) on the menu that you can even have with fries.  Each is done with a slight Korean twist, but is still tame enough for those whiny about eating their vegetables.

From the Seoul is exactly the kick in the butt that Asian cuisine in New Bedford area needed. The food is fresh, full of flavor, and beats the snot out of that soggy old chow mein you’ve been settling for.

From the Seoul is located at:

Address: 127 Faunce Corner Rd, Dartmouth, MA 02747 (where Piezoni’s used to be)
Phone: (774) 328-9344

Hours:

Monday – Thursday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00 am – 1:00 am

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