Mesa is a hub for all kinds of Korean cuisine.
Ban Chan The Stone Tofu House Drunken Tiger
This pleasant little restaurant features excellent dishes such as spicy pan-fried octopus and squid, Korean-style pork belly (sam-gyeopsal), and monkfish stew (agujjim).
2909 S. Dobson Rd., Mesa
480-414-2525
Owners Don Kim and Cookie Sohn slip house-made tofu into bubbling soups and enormous, cooked-at-the-table hot pots, also frying fat rectangular cakes of it in sesame oil until they turn crisp. It’s heady but healthy, too.
1870 W. Main St., Mesa
480-361-0523, thestonetofuaz.com
Chef-owner Justin Park specializes in modern street-style Korean bar food. Under the gaze of Korean aeni octopi and other high-energy wall animations, you can acquaint yourself with sweet, slurp-alicious concoctions like a platter of mushroom-tender baby octopus and shaved pork in a spicy, ketchup-like gravy.
1954 S. Dobson Rd., Mesa
480-755-7555, drunkentigeraz.comThis article first appeared in the 2023 City Guide, published by PHOENIX magazine in November 2022.
Where to Eat: 3 Crave-Worthy Korean Eateries in the East Valley
Editorial StaffNovember 9, 2022
