Han Bul restaurant, Santa Rosa, California – Koreafornian Cooking

Sonoma County is well known internationally for its wine and craft beers. But the No. 1 restaurant option that locals found lacking in that part of California Wine Country is Korean BBQ.  To fix that deficiency has been a two-plus-year journey for restauranteur Han Soh. 

After a round of by-invitation-only soft openings in November–December 2018, local Korean BBQ fans had to wait more than six months as restauranteur Han Soh quietly navigated various building and health inspections, which were delayed as several residential neighborhoods which were destroyed in the Tubbs Fire of 2017 are rebuilding, stretching Sonoma County building and health inspectors very thin.  

During that time, Soh began offering some Korean restaurant favorites through the GrubHub carry out menu of his long establish Japanese restaurant Haku Sushi  before opening Han Bul to its patiently awaiting public. 

Han Bul had its official soft opening on July 18, 2019.  About a month later, on August 15, 2019 (also National Liberation Day in South Korea), it opened to the public for dinner service.  And just before Thanksgiving, Han Bul added lunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “most days.”

Han said the crew is working to hiring enough staff to be able to offer lunch service every day they’re open. That’s been tough for a number of California restaurateurs, amid record-low unemployment. The joblessness rate in Sonoma County was 2.4% in November, about 1 percentage point below the state and national averages, according to the California Employment Development Department.

Each Korean BBQ table at HanBul includes an infrared grill with fans. That means no charcoal briquettes. You won’t walk out smelling like a campfire, but your clothes may smell like grilled kalbi. 

How does one grill Korean BBQ for an authentic taste? “Korean meat tends to be grilled to well-done. Koreans don’t find medium rare or rare meat appealing,” Han said.

Though Koreans traditionally prefer their BBQ well-done, the beauty of a Korean BBQ restaurant is you can grill it to your way. But if you prefer to leave it to the experts, one of Han Bul’s waitstaff will grill your choice of protein (beef, pork or seafood) to your liking.  

In October 2019, DH and I brought a friend to celebrate our return to Sonoma County after we evacuated our home — twice — during the Kincade Fire. We ordered the beef BBQ combo for three people ($109). Though that seems steep, for $36 a person you get four cuts of meat (in our case, short rib, sliced brisket, prime rib and LA short rib), dozens of different banchan (side dishes), doenjang soup (Korean miso soup), vegetable pajeon (savory pancake), custard-like steamed egg, and rice.

Korean BBQ is cooked and served family style, so everyone in your group needs to reach an agreement on what type of protein (beef, pork or seafood) will end up on the grill. 

It’s fun to introduce people to Korean food. Answering their questions about the dizzying array of banchan options and explaining the wonder of Korean chopsticks brings joy to both the student and the teacher. 

Taking West Coast patrons on an exploration of the bevy of banchan bounty available in East Coast restaurants has been a passion for Han. All of Han Bul’s banchan dishes are made in house with locally sourced vegetables. That means that you may not see the same banchan spread twice. Your server will explain each item. If you have a favorite banchan item, ask for it.

One of my favorite Han Bul banchan are the Korean steamed eggs. Called “gyeran jjim” in Korean, gyeran jjim is a steamed custard dish with the texture of silken tofu. It’s usually made with either anchovy broth, dashima or vegetable broth.  It’s not a common served in Korean restaurants in the States. The only other Korean restaurant I visited in the states that included gyeran jjim as part of their banchan omakase was at Seoul Garden in St. Louis, Missouri, which I visited over 8 years ago. 

When I go out for Korean BBQ, I almost always order makgeoli, which is a Korean rice beer. It bears some similarities to a cloudy sake drink called doburoku. Makgeolli is served in plastic bottles and boasts an alcohol content of 6%-8%, which is similar to beer and less than a glass of wine. Its often semi-sweet flavor profile plays well with bold Korean BBQ marinades as well as the spicier kimchi offerings on the banchan plate. 

If you prefer beer, Han Bul has a selection of Korean (Cass, Hite and Kloud) and Japanese (Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin) brands. Being in Wine Country, the restaurant also offers a selection of Northern California brands.

Pairing bold Korean dishes with wine has been a challenge sommeliers and chefs have been pursuing as the Korean wave has rolled ashore in the States in the past decade.

Han Bul Korean BBQ

522 Seventh St., Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Hours: 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–9:30 p.m., 6 days a week, closed Tuesdays

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Published by Tammy Quackenbush

I’m the editor for Koreafornian Cooking. I also write for ZenKimchi Food Journal and a former feature writer for Yonhap News Agency, both in South Korea. My forte is developing Korean and Korean fusion recipes, writing articles on the Korean food scene in the San Francisco Bay Area and commenting on Korean food culture. View all posts by Tammy Quackenbush