Kimchi Garden - Berkeley

Typical Korean food with homey diner vibes but nothing extremely memorable. It does satisfy any cravings you have for Korean food though, like tteokbokki, KFC, kimbap, bibimbap, soodubu... The flavor is mediocre. It is close to the units/campus! Been here way more times than I could count for the comfort and familiarity.

I say this with the caveat of not being extremely well versed in Korean food I really enjoyed the spicy tteokbokki! Asides from the food, this is a cozy restaurant that’s good for groups of friends or family. Fun environment on a busy street BUT don’t be dissuaded from coming alone because there’s plenty of space and comfort to do so as well.

The food is good, the only downside is that there is no bathroom.

Kimchi Garden was a great experience. Zero contact.. order at kiosk..choose dine in or take out..enjoy. We shared the Kimchi fried rice and beef Kimbap (Gimbap). Both menu items were delicious and flavorful. Great atmosphere. Very clean and comfortable. We really enjoyed the Kpop music the was playing in the dining area..it was the cherry on top and completed our dining experience. Kimchi Garden is one of our new MUST stops when in the Bay Area.

By no means is Kimchi Garden a good Korean restaurant, but for what it is (a restaurant that satisfies your Korean-craving in a pinch) it's definitely decent. Your food comes out in no more than 15 minutes after ordering online, and the self-service water and utensils optimize the efficient and timely dining experience. We ordered the veg kimbap which was good! The vegetables inside the kimbap were pedestrian and nothing to write home about, but the rice was seasoned very well. The bibimbap was also very good, but it's hard to mess up Bibimbap just as long as a hot stone bowl is used as the vessel to serve it in. Recently, Dessert Cafe opened up inside Kimchi Garden which is probably their sister establishment? I assume the owner converted the extra space to a pseudo-Mochinut. The Mochi donuts were pretty meh. They were a bit too dense for a Mochi donut and the glaze on the tiramisu was cakey and cloyingly sweet. The first few bites of the cold donuts were fine, but as me and my boyfriend chowed further, it gradually become more unpleasant.