The best Korean restaurants in Sydney

What is it? A tiny, modern family-run Korean diner in Surry Hills.

Why we love it: Sang by Mabasa is the second venue for chef Son and his family, who are all involved in the business. The original Mabasa clocked up eight years in Balmain before they moved to Surry Hills, with chef Son’s wife Jin Sun Son joining him in the kitchen, son Kenny Son on front of house, and Kenny’s wife Youmee Jeon handling the pickling, desserts and graphic design. The aim was to modernise a lot of traditional Korean fare, but not by fusing it with other culinary traditions. It’s still authentically Korean, but the presentation is styled with the Instagram generation in mind.

Time Out tip: There’s a ripper set menu available at night for $85 per person – go for that.

Address: 98 Fitzroy St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Expect to pay: Lunch $17-$25, dinner minimum spend of $55 per person, excluding drinks

What is it? An Elizabeth Street gem serving home-style Korean food. One of Sydney’s best cheap eats, Kood is also one of our fave spots for lunch.

Why we love it: There are plenty of reasons we love Kood, starting with the fact that you can get a traditional, tasty Korean feed for under twenty bucks. Mary, the owner and chef, makes everything fresh in front of you. She’ll load up your plate with whatever you want – delicious bulgogi, bouncy japchae, leafy greens and kimchi – and you can eat in or take it to go. At lunchtime, there’s usually a snake of people out the door, but don’t worry – it moves quickly.

Time Out tip: Whatever you do, be sure to order the spicy pork. Vivid red from chilli powder, the pork is cooked with soy sauce, Korean salt, onions, shallots and cabbage. It has a kick from the chilli and a beautiful, fruity sweetness from cooked-down apple and pea. It’s seriously good.

Address: 414 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Expect to pay: $15–$20 for a main

What is it? A family-run diner known for its incredible soups and home-style Korean eats. It has a popular sibling restaurant in Strathfield.

Why we love it: People flock to both venues for the signature oxtail soup. The pièce de résistance is the deeply flavoured, cream-coloured broth, simmered for hours in bubbling, witch-like cauldrons at the front of the venue. People say it’s one of the best soups in Sydney – so if it’s your first time, go for that. We're also fans of the massive, crisp seafood pancake, dotted with octopus and prawns, and brightened by a delicious dipping sauce made from sweet vinegar, mirin and soy.

Time Out tip: There’s plenty of soju and cold beer in the fridge, but you can also BYO wine for $5 per person.

Address: 39-41 Goulburn St, Haymarket NSW 2000

Expect to pay: $20–$40 for a main

What is it? A fun, upbeat CBD restaurant remixing the flavours of Korea, Japan and China, from the Bentley boys – the masterminds behind leading Sydney venues Bentley, Monopole, Brasserie 1930 and Eleven Barrack.

Why we love it: Leading King Clarence is talented head chef Khanh Nguyen, who previously spearheaded the kitchens at Melbourne’s award-winning Aru and Sunda. He brings fun and finesse to King Clarence in equal measure, and the food here is as exciting as it is comforting.

Our favourite dish is the wood-roasted pork belly ssam, served with perilla, lettuce, radicchio and witlof leaves, plus small bowls of kimchi, confit garlic, creamy oyster sauce and chilli sauce. It’s a flavour and texture explosion: crunchy, salty, fresh, creamy, fatty, sweet, fiery and sour – and absolutely delicious.

Time Out tip: You also gotta order the Nigella Lawson–approved fish-finger bao – Nguyen's playful spin on a Macca’s Filet-O-Fish. You’ve probably seen it all over your Instagram, and thankfully, it delivers.

Address: 171 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000

Expect to pay: $25+ starters, $40+ mains

What is it? The Mandoo is an authentic hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Think less than 20 seats (all of them fighting for what space they have), a tiny menu of dumplings and noodles, and an oddly serene open kitchen demonstrating the art of shaping dumplings and pulling noodles by hand.

Why we love it: The dumplings are massive, silky and filled to the max (often with pork, potentially with kimchi, too) while the noodles are either plunged into ice and topped with kimchi and egg, or served in a delicious beef-bone or seafood broth.

Time Out tip: As for the cold soup, it’s not for everyone. But if you’re feeling the winter wilt and need a pick-me-up – it might be unconventional – but it sure does wake you the hell up.

Address: 12A The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135

Expect to pay: $20-30

What is it? One of the first – and still one of the best – Korean fried chicken joints in Sydney.

Why we love it: The fried chicken is the best of its kind in Sydney – consistently juicy, generously seasoned with all the spicy, garlicky saucy flavours without being drenched, and coated in a medium-thick batter that’s never starchy or flaccid.

Time Out tip: Deciding what, if anything, to have with it is a bit tricker. The menu features almost ten pages of chaos: hot pots, noodles, Chinese-Korean, Western fusion (why not try a carbonara soup with rice cakes?), RSL meals, bibimbaps, spicy red-sauce stir-fries and old-school Korean soups. The most reliable bets are the pancakes and the pork-bone hot pot.

Address: 19 Morwick St, Strathfield NSW 2135

Expect to pay: $20-$40

What is it? A sleek and moody CBD diner run by wife-and-husband team Illa Kim and Daero Lee.

Why we love it: Soul Dining brings contemporary Seoul food to Sydney. Take one of their signature dishes, kingfish with kimchi water, for example. Here, fresh, clean slices of kingfish sit in water imbued with kimchi, before being topped with ribbons of white kimchi, radish and avocado. The bread course gets a modern Korean spin as well, resulting in bouncy, wine-fermented rice bread. Plus, the dining room is chic and modern – great for date night.

Time Out tip: The prawn tteokbokki is a must-order. Inspired by the street food dish, Soul Dining’s version includes a capsicum sambal, ’nduja and chunks of sweet Yamba prawn meat studded throughout, taking the humble plate to another level.

Address: 2/50 Carrington St, Sydney NSW 2000

Expect to pay: $20+ starters, $30+ mains

What is it? One of the best places in Sydney to get a decent haejanggook at an actual breakfast hour

Why we love it: Every drinking culture has hangover cures. In Korea, it’s haejanggook, a term that literally translates to ‘hangover soup’ and includes many recipes that range from spicy to heavy or spare. Ymone Haejanggook is the best place in Sydney to get a decent haejanggook at an actual breakfast hour.

Time Out tip: But if you’re in at night, even better. You can start the whole cycle over again with a hot pot, a sizzling plate of spicy intestines and a few bottles of soju.

Address: 30 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135

Expect to pay: $20-$40

What is it? Sunday Seoul was the name of a popular Korean magazine in its 1970s heyday. It’s also the name of a retro Korean bar and restaurant in Sydney, run by wife-and-husband duo Jiyoung ‘Victoria’ and Andy Han.

Why we love it: Walking into Sunday Seoul feels like you’ve stepped into South Korea’s capital – not a shopping mall in Chatswood. As well as being co-owner, Andy is the head chef. One of his signature dishes is the spicy tomato mussel stew with squid in a rich tomato sauce – and you can add pasta for an Italian twist.

Time Out tip: Try the minari pancake with dried shrimp. Made with the fragrant Korean herb, the pancake is golden, crisp and packed with umami flavour.

Address: Shop 2/7 Help St, Chatswood NSW 2067

Expect to pay: $25–$40

What is it? Matkim is a tiny omakase restaurant, welcoming just eight guests a night to enjoy multiple courses of innovative Korean cuisine.

Why we love it: Decked out in charcoal tones, this dark and moody spot features an open kitchen, so diners can take a seat at the chef's table and watch the action up close. The team is headed up by executive chef Jacob Lee (ex-Kobo, Soot, Tokki), who draws on his heritage in Korea’s Jeolla province – as well as his grandmother’s cooking – to craft a technique-driven, fire-powered menu. If you're keen to experience impressive Korean dishes and pick your jaw up off the floor, Matkim delivers.

Time Out tip: Opt for the Korean traditional drinks pairing for an authentic experience.

Address: 180 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

Expect to pay: $279 for a 15-course degustation

What is it? Ain’t no party like a banchan party – and this North Strathfield cheap eat does the Korean side dish thing like a champion.

Why we love it: What’s not to love about banchan, those free side dishes served in Korean restaurants? Myeong Dong in North Strathfield, however, steps things up a notch. It’s not just the number of banchan – at least a dozen seems to be standard – but the variety on rotation too. On any given day you’ll score cabbage kimchi, soy-marinated perilla leaves, mung bean jelly, soy bean sprouts, radish kimchi, fish cake slices, simmered lotus roots, stir-fried spinach and more. Each offers variations in crunch, saltiness, acidity and heat, perfect for alternate nibbling throughout your meal.

Time Out tip: If you’re in for an endless stream of side dishes that make the rest of the menu feel like a side quest, head over to Myeong Dong.

Address: 2/1 George St, North Strathfield NSW 2137

Expect to pay: $25-$40

What is it? Our favourite iteration of Sydney’s Korean-Chinese eateries.

Why we love it: Like the Korean-Chinese canon generally, Biwon’s charm is its unfussiness – servings are massive, good value and accessible. The restaurant is loud and often crowded, so be prepared to get shafted to the top floor where you need to order through an actual intercom.

Time Out tip: However you request it, the jajangmyeon (black bean noodle) and tangsuyuk (battered sweet-and-sour pork) both make it well worth visiting this hidden diner.

Address: 42 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135

Expect to pay: $20-$40

What is it? Korean cook-your-own with banchan of the gods on the side.

Why we love it: The banchan at 678 will land at lightning speed on your table as soon as you take a seat. All the staff in the vast, wood-lined space will rush about faster than you can catch them. When you do, though, order the pork belly and the marinated boneless short rib for your tabletop barbecue. But really, all the meat is fab here.

Time Out tip: It’s damn noisy, so don’t go here for a heart-to-heart. But for a good time with tasty eats city-side, we’re definitely on board.

Address: Level 1/396 Pitt St, Haymarket NSW 2000

Expect to pay: $30-$50

What is it? A legendary Korean barbecue restaurant with outposts in Campsie and Strathfield

Why we love it: Jang Ta Bal was open long before Korean barbecue exploded in Sydney, so it's been one of the most popular joints since the very beginning. It offers extremely good-quality meats and has a good-time vibe that’s akin to a well-sauced house party.

Time Out tip: If you’re after the same quality and range of meat and the same banchan but in a more relaxed setting, try JTB’s Campsie branch. It’s more familiar and homey; instead of loud music and loose customers, it’s table mat seating, simple timber furniture and a crowd made up mostly of Korean families.

Address: 19 Morwick St, Strathfield NSW 2135

Expect to pay: $24-$40