Cafe Todahmgol
Forget Honey Pig. This is the best traditional Korean restaurant in town. And the most authentic. You won’t find English menus here nor English-speaking staff. You’ll have to make do with pointing at pictures. While most will get intimidated by that, the upside is that you get the most authentic Korean food you’ll ever get in the city. This is where Korean grandparents go when they can’t cook their own food. As such, you will hardly ever find Americans here. But while it’s perfectly okay to go to less traditional, less authentic Korean places which also serve good food, the experience and the taste of food here at Cafe Todahmgol is unsurpassed. At least, you won’t have to spend over a thousand dollars to go to Korea to get the same food.
There are no fancy cooking domes here. Instead, they use heavy iron trays that go on top of a table top gas stoves. Your server will take care of cooking everything for you. They have the best pork belly here. There aren’t paper-thin — they are thicker and bigger slices than everywhere else. The bulgogi (sirloin slices) are finger-licking good. They are thick, tender, and juicy, marinated with just the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
The banchan are non-traditional. You’ll see the common kimchi and other requisite ones but the authentic ones you’ll see nowhere else are: raw peppers and carrots in ice cubes, squid slices with spicy kimchi sauce, and the most exquisite egg soup I’ve ever had outside of Seoul. This soup is so fantastic, it’ll bring tears of joy to your eyes: warm, tasty broth infused with bubbly, creamy eggs. Aaah, I get weak on the knees just thinking about it.
The verdict
This is the best Korean restaurant. Period. You can’t get any more authentic than Cafe Todahmgol. Though the staff speaks no English, there’s one that do speak a few English words. They are all very friendly and will help you navigate through the extensive menu. As authentic as it is, smoking is permitted here. And that’s because most all Korean men do. But don’t let that disappoint you. The smell of the food drowns out all cigarette smoke smell. Most times.
Insider tip:
Not to confuse with the stall inside Super H Mart with the same name, this one’s sitting inside a plaza right next to Super H Gwinnett right next door to What The Pho.
The scoop:
Cafe Todahmgol
2442 Pleasant Hill Rd, Suite 3B,
Duluth, GA 30096
770-813-8202
Mon-Sat: 5PM-2AM
Sunday: 5PM-12Midnight
[tags]Cafe Todahmgol, Korean cuisine, pork belly, Pleasant Hill Rd., Duluth[tags]
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5 responses so far ↓
1 Gene // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:39 am
You’re killing me!
2 Chloe // Nov 7, 2008 at 4:51 pm
And your Wagyu steak from FIG made me salivate!
3 tanline // Nov 8, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Just tried this place based on your review. Great find! The Sam Gyeop Sal and Galbi were delicious. Service was great and our waitress spoke good English. Menu as stated was completely in Korean. They didn’t have Bulgogi though - just Galbi without bones tonight.
4 Regina // Nov 13, 2008 at 5:01 am
I’ve also eaten at this resturant. The food is as close to my mother’s Korean kitchen as it can possibly get. I’m glad that you enjoyed it. Great find!
5 Chloe // Nov 13, 2008 at 8:30 am
@tanline — you are brave! But the food is awesome!!!
@Regina — there were mostly 1st generation Koreans always eating here so I knew at once that this is as authentic as it gets. Plus menu in Korean? Nothing beats that! To say that this is as good as your mom’s cooking is testament enough!
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