Do try the crab next; we only went once, and thought it was delish.
The only “problem” my friend and I had was that we could’ve easily eaten half of a second dinner after the galbi jim and the crab (and the tab wasn’t low). Quality is undeniable, but I’d love slightly bigger portions! (and, yes, we had refills of the panchan).
How big was the pot for the dolsot relative to the galbi jim (if you remember)? Maybe we’ll get that next time…
Yah, it was bone in. One of our servers used scissors to detach some of the meat and as @Chowseeker1999 wrote, some of the fat was trimmed beforehand leaving just the right amount and the tender beef.
@paranoidgarliclover Despite the different style of pots (one wide & shallow / one small & deep) I would say they were about the same with the dolsot probably being the more substantial meal. We had leftovers.
Side bar: One problem for me is I don’t like multiple dishes each with bold, competing flavors. I’m glad we ordered both because of the delicious factor. But the flavors in each are so complex and different. It would be nice to savor one and add another more complimentary dish, like the dolsot and a grilled fish or the galbi jjim and I’m not sure what.
Next time I’d like to get their haemul dubu jeon (seafood & tofu pancake) and definitely the soy marinated crab. 
So many things to try!
I was here Sunday night and we ordered the trio of crab, galbijjim, and black cod. I didn’t count the dishes, but looking back at these various panchan spreads ours might not have been as generous. I would have liked the lotus root and the black soybeans, as they are some of my favorites. I did like the pan fried tofu panchan, the soybean sprouts (ours weren’t dressed with gochugaru, though) and the shishito peppers, which were interesting because there was scant dried anchovies included, when they’re usually more plentiful. Still i love those peppers.
I had never had ganjang gaejang before, and that was mostly why i wanted to try soban. It was delicious, but i think after awhile the sticky texture started to lose its appeal. There were three of us but only two of us eating the crab, and i ate more than the other. I remember thinking that if there was one more person sharing, it would have seemed more of a treat. I loved the orange roe. I do not love the bitter tomalley and stuff that pools in the carapace. I thought the marinade would make that more appealing but the bitterness is just not for me.
The black cod was my favorite. The silky, rich texture of the fish itself, but also the way the flavors soak up into the radish. It was maybe a little too sweet though. The chewy tteok is great for that sauce. The galbi was good, quite tender, and i like that it had the ginkgo nuts that are traditional but often omitted.
We also ordered a kimchi chigae and i didn’t care for it. I said i thought it tasted like chef boyardee. It was too sweet and it was just weird.
If it were more summery i think i would find myself craving the crab again. I’d go back to soban to see what sort of panchan i get, and i guess i’ll have to try jun won to compare the black cod. This was a nice meal, though.
Chef Boyarchi
Those greens might have been kong sim chae / kangkung / water spinach / morning glory.
The ladies are so very sweet when little kids come visit especially when they liked fried anchovies and try the fish brains
Was it milt we just had in the awesome Daegu Tang?
Everything is so good here.
Can’t believe I haven’t been before but finally made it to Soban and had a fantastic meal.
Most of the panchan and some of the fermentation / prep jars
Galbi jjim
Haemul dubu jeon
Ojingeo dolsot (Squid fried rice)
We actually had lots of soccarat in our rice - I don’t know if something was done differently, but our server stirred the rice for a few seconds and then pushed and spread it out against the borders of the iron skillet (looked almost like a pie crust). We had crispy rice with every spoonful (you can see in the second photo) and in fact needed to scoop it off the skillet quickly because some of it was getting too burnt. I should have taken a pic of the “after”. Sorry @Chowseeker1999 you missed out on crispy rice on previous occasions but hopefully that helps a little!
I don’t have anything to add beyond what has already been said - the banchan, stewed galbi, and seafood pancake here were all awesome. the fried rice was a tad salty for my taste but the wife loved it.
Nice!
Hi @NYCtoLA,
So glad you finally made it out to Soban! 
Love their banchan; aren’t they lovely, and so much variety as well.
Thanks for the note on the Dolsot Bibimbap. Our server actually didn’t flatten / space out the rice to the edges like you described, and it was our first time ordering it at Soban, so we weren’t sure what was the preferred method at that restaurant so we left it in her hands. We’ll give it another try next time if our server doesn’t do what you described. 
Found another one
Finally made it here! Day 2 of eating after a successful Sei outing last night. I won’t have much to add here that hasn’t been covered. Seafood tofu pancake was a nice, lighter changeup from the more typical pancake. Galbi jim was so delicious, with tender chunks still with chew. That said, at $50, the meat felt a bit sparse… but I’ll accept quality over quantity here. The black cod was the star for us. Could not stop eating the potatoes, radishes, pumpkin after the fish was gone and my son and I were heaping spoonfuls of the sauce on rice. Some have complained about the sweetness but I thought it was perfect. My wife got the soybean paste stew which was fine and also the side of grilled cutlass, which I’ve gotten better versions of elsewhere. And of course the banchan was plentiful and special - i especially liked the one with chunks of king trumpet mushroom!
Overall, I’m not sure if we’ll be back. Sei for example is a meaningful premium over most pizza places, but for me, as a true pizza lover, it’s worth it. We tend to eat Korean a ton and while this was certainly elevated and a great meal, just not sure I’m willing to pay the premium. Although, that cod dish is mighty tasty!
Also, the dolsots I’d read so much about didn’t seem to be on the menu 
Give Jun Won Dak a try next time. Call to book the single table.
Sounds great. Just curious… Anywhere you’d recommend to get the braised cod and galbi jim in the South Bay?
