The state of Korean food in Minneapolis
Minneapolis–St. Paul has a meaningful Korean and Korean-American community, supported by daily direct flights between MSP and Seoul–Incheon. But the restaurant scene has not scaled the way Ethiopian, Somali, or Hmong dining has in this city. You will not find blocks of Korean restaurants competing for your attention. Instead, you will find individual spots that punch well above their weight — a tofu stew house near campus that rivals anything in a coastal Koreatown, one serious Korean BBQ joint in Uptown, a chef-driven modern Korean restaurant in Northeast, and Korean fried chicken chains that have chosen Minneapolis as a Midwest beachhead. The Twin Cities' broader Korean food scene extends into St. Paul (Sole Café, Mirror of Korea on Snelling Avenue) and the suburbs (Shinhwa in Roseville), but this guide focuses on Minneapolis proper.
Korean Spots
4+
Price Range
$–$$
Best For
Tofu stew, bibimbap, student-friendly prices
Kimchi Tofu House
This tiny 24-seat spot on Oak Street is the closest thing Minneapolis has to a no-frills Korean stew house you would find in Seoul. The soondubu jjigae arrives violently bubbling in a stone pot, and it is legitimately great — silky tofu, deep chili heat, and a raw egg that cooks as you stir. The bibimbap in a hot stone bowl gets a perfect crust on the rice. Banchan is simple but fresh. The space is cramped, the wait can be real during lunch, and nobody is here for the ambiance. They are here because this is the most authentic Korean comfort food in Minneapolis, served without pretense at prices that respect your wallet. Cash-friendly, no reservations, just show up hungry.
Kbop Korean Bistro
The go-to fast-casual Korean spot for University of Minnesota students and staff, Kbop reopened in early 2026 after a brief closure and the Dinkytown faithful breathed a collective sigh of relief. The bibimbap bowls are customizable and generous, the bulgogi is well-marinated, and the japchae has the right chewy texture. Kpop videos play on screens, the vibe is upbeat, and you can eat well for under fifteen dollars. It is not trying to be a fine dining experience — it is trying to be a reliable, affordable Korean lunch, and it nails that. The lunch specials are the move if you are watching your budget.
Korea Restaurant
A bare-bones, self-serve Korean spot on Oak Street that feels like someone converted a small apartment into a restaurant. The menu is short, the decor is nonexistent, and the food is home-cooked in the best possible way. The kimchi jjigae has that deep, funky fermented flavor that only comes from properly aged kimchi. Portions are large and prices are low. Korea Restaurant is the kind of place that locals fiercely protect from too much attention — it operates on its own terms, with limited hours and a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. If you want polish, go elsewhere. If you want food that tastes like a Korean grandmother made it, sit down.
Bonchon Dinkytown
The Dinkytown outpost of the Korean fried chicken chain delivers exactly what you expect: shatteringly crispy double-fried chicken glazed in soy garlic or spicy sauce. The wings need about ten minutes because they fry to order, and the wait is worth it. Tteokbokki and japchae round out the menu if you want more than chicken. The space is modern and clean, popular with students grabbing late-night food. Bonchon is a chain, yes, but the Korean fried chicken technique — that impossibly thin, crackly crust — is the real deal. Pair the soy garlic wings with pickled radish and you have one of the best cheap meals in the neighborhood.
The scene: Stadium Village and Dinkytown form the densest Korean food corridor in Minneapolis, driven by the University of Minnesota’s large Korean and Korean-American student population. Within a few blocks you can get soulful tofu stew, quick bibimbap bowls, home-cooked kimchi jjigae, and crispy Korean fried chicken — all at student-friendly prices. This is not glamorous dining. It is the real thing, and it is where most Korean food lovers in Minneapolis start.
Explore Stadium Village→Korean Spots
1
Price Range
$$$
Best For
Modern Korean dining, date night, creative banchan
MINARI & The Pikok Lounge
MINARI is the most ambitious Korean-influenced restaurant Minneapolis has ever had. Chef Jeffery Watson transformed an abandoned supper club in Northeast into a striking space with bold red interiors, large windows, and cozy booths. The menu draws from Watson’s Korean heritage but bounces fearlessly between cultures — expect Korean banchan alongside dim sum served from a roaming cart, grilled specialties, and noodle dishes that defy easy categorization. The Star Tribune called it a rewriting of modern Korean dining in Minneapolis, and that is not hyperbole. The Pikok Lounge in the bar section adds a more casual, cocktail-forward option. This is destination dining, not a quick lunch. Make a reservation.
The scene: Northeast Minneapolis is better known for breweries and pizza than Korean food, but MINARI has single-handedly put it on the map. This is the spot when you want Korean flavors elevated into something more polished and experimental — a chef-driven restaurant that takes Korean cooking seriously as fine dining. It is one restaurant, not a corridor, but it is a significant one. The Pikok Lounge next door is worth a visit on its own for cocktails and lighter bites.
Explore St. Anthony West→Korean Spots
3
Price Range
$$–$$$
Best For
Korean BBQ, Korean fried chicken, Lake Street corridor
Hoban Korean BBQ
The only proper tabletop Korean BBQ experience in Minneapolis, and it has been holding it down in Uptown since 2016. You grill your own bulgogi, samgyeopsal, and marinated short ribs over built-in grills while banchan dishes crowd the table. The all-you-can-eat option is the way to go if you are serious about eating. The space is modern and sleek, the ventilation handles the smoke well, and the staff will help you grill if you are new to it. Hoban is not cheap, but for the full Korean BBQ ritual — the sizzling meat, the lettuce wraps, the ssamjang, the parade of side dishes — there is nowhere else in the city that does it. Open Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays.
bb.q Chicken
The Minneapolis outpost of the massive Korean fried chicken chain (bb.q stands for “best of the best quality”) opened on West Lake Street and brought a different style of Korean fried chicken to town. Where Bonchon is all about the crackly thin crust, bb.q leans into juicier, slightly thicker breading with bold sauce options. The golden original is excellent, and the tteokbokki and kimchi fried rice round out a proper Korean fried chicken meal. The space is casual and order-at-the-counter, built for takeout as much as dine-in. If you are comparing Korean fried chicken spots in Minneapolis — and you should — bb.q is essential homework.
Bonchon Uptown
The Lake Street Bonchon location serves the same excellent Korean fried chicken as the Dinkytown spot but in a slightly larger space with more of a sit-down restaurant feel. The soy garlic wings remain the star, but the bibimbap and Korean tacos are solid if you want variety. The Uptown location tends to draw a more mixed crowd than the student-heavy Dinkytown branch — date nights, families, and fried chicken pilgrims from across the metro. It is a chain, but it is a chain that does one thing exceptionally well, and that thing is double-fried chicken with a crust that shatters like glass.
The scene: The Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue corridors in Uptown and Whittier give you the full Korean fried chicken and BBQ experience. Hoban is the anchor — the only legit tabletop Korean BBQ in Minneapolis proper — and the two fried chicken spots on Lake Street mean you can do a proper taste comparison without driving across town. This is where you come when you want the social, communal side of Korean food: grilling meat with friends, sharing fried chicken and beer, wrapping bulgogi in lettuce leaves.
Explore South Uptown→Korean Spots
1
Price Range
$
Best For
Korean groceries, pantry staples, prepared banchan
United Noodles
Not a restaurant in the traditional sense, but United Noodles on East 24th Street is essential to the Korean food conversation in Minneapolis. This massive Asian grocery store — open since 1972 — has one of the best Korean grocery sections in the state: shelves of gochujang and doenjang, multiple kimchi varieties, frozen mandu, tteok for tteokbokki, Korean instant noodles by the dozen, and all the banchan ingredients you need to cook Korean food at home. The deli counter offers prepared food during lunch hours. If you cook Korean food in Minneapolis, you shop here. It is also the place to pick up soju, Korean beer, and snacks you cannot find anywhere else in the city.
The scene: United Noodles is not a Korean restaurant corridor, but it is the backbone of home Korean cooking in Minneapolis. The store’s Korean section is deep enough that Korean expats and Korean-American families drive from across the metro to shop here. If you have eaten at Kimchi Tofu House or Hoban and want to try making kimchi jjigae or bulgogi at home, this is where your pantry starts. The deli and the neighboring Ono Hawaiian Plates add prepared food options to the trip.
Explore Powderhorn Park→A note on what we left out
This guide covers Minneapolis proper. The Twin Cities Korean food scene is bigger than one city — Sole Café and Mirror of Korea on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul are both excellent traditional Korean restaurants with decades of history. Shinhwa Korean Steakhouse in Roseville offers premium tabletop BBQ with Wagyu options. K ChiMac in Richfield does solid Korean fried chicken just south of the city line. And the Asia Mall food court in Eden Prairie has Korean stalls worth the drive. If you are willing to cross city lines, the Korean food options expand significantly. We also did not include Pizzeria Lola's Korean BBQ pizza — it is excellent, but it is pizza, not Korean food.
Keep exploring Minneapolis food
Korean food is one piece of a remarkably diverse Minneapolis dining scene shaped by immigrant communities from around the world. Explore our neighborhood food rankings or find more affordable international eats across the city.