Chingu in San Mateo

New korean food restaurant at San Mateo downtown. We arrived before they opened. We got seated right away. It is interesting that it looks like they only have 2 copies of menus, and it is rotated among tables. We took photos of the menu. Menu is simple, and the dishes are similar dishes you find at korean restaurants. We placed our order, and the server didnt write it down and just memorized it. We ordered steam egg, bimbimbap, and kimchi tofu soup. The egg came in a reasonable time. It was good, but it looks like it is not as soft as it should be. The bancan is ok. They are not that special.We waited a while for our other orders. The bimbimbap is yummy. The kimchi tofu soup is good. It is not apicy. Overall, we enjoyed our dinner, but service needs to be improved. It seems the kitchen was overwhelmed. For our bimbimbap and tofu soup, we waited for more than an hour. There is an additional around $2 service charge on the bill.

We were super excited for a new place to get Korean food in downtown san Mateo. They’re currently doing a soft opening as they’re still figuring out a lot of kinks.However even considering the soft opening it left a lot to be desired.Service:They only had 1 person taking order, bringing food, providing to-go box, and handling the checks. As a result it was extremely slow, but we expected it. What we didn’t expect was waiting for over an hour for food. They were nice enough to give us 1 beer on the house, but had I known the wait for food would be this long I wouldn’t have come hereFood:The food is below average across all the dishes. Starting with the banchan, the kimchi, potato and spinach were all extremely salty. Their kimchi jigae was equally as salty.What I found weird was even though we waited for over an hour for food, when they came out nothing was hot. The fried chicken was lukewarm, kimchi jigae could barely cook the raw egg with its heat (I’m used to it coming out bubbling but this didn’t even have steam). The fried chicken was also overcooked and a bit tough to chew. The buldak chicken was the only average dish of the night.Ambience was nice with good interior decor. They also open to midnight which is not common for most places in san Mateo.I would give it a few more weeks to sort things out. It’s definitely not ready to be at full capacity.

Solid food for a late night spot in downtown San Mateo. Menu isnt the most extensive but they have solid options and its a great spot for some late night food. Came here with friends and vibes were great! They also let you write on finished soju bottles to put up on their soju wall which was a cute idea.

Fun little place to enjoy some Korean food and soju! Staff is very friendly and the food is delicious. The restaurant is on the smaller side, so right now there can be a long wait depending on how busy it is.

AMAZING NEW SPOT. Incredible food, service, drinks, environment. Got the bulgogi fries and some other clutch treats when I asked for recommendations from the staff. Perfect ambiance for a date, after work bites and drinks, dinner, and/or just drinks with friends. Prices are great for what you get. Perfect for all situations and cannot recommend enough

We went for the soft opening. The people that worked there were really nice, atmosphere great, and food delicious. The broth for the seafood stew was so much better than a lot of places around San Mateo. We will definitely go back.

Lovely addition to San Mateo; we need more places that are open late! I love that they have my favorite marinated stir fried potato banchan that is hard to find nowadays. Food was delicious and came out quickly, kind service and the vibes were immaculate✨

A cute place with solid food and generous portions – plus theyre open late! Our party of 5 shared 2 appetizers, bibimbap, and the ssam and we were stuffed. The bibimbap was my favorite and I wish I couldve tried one of their stews as well. Would definitely return if Im back in the area.

Late night eats!!!!!!! Been here twice now. Good staff and good food.

Meh. Came out of thee restaurant so to hair and cloth smelling like oil and fried food. Food is good, standard Korean if not a bit on oily side - but not worth the lingering smell