Ilbunjee #1, Sunnyvale

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Ilbunjee #1 2325 El Camino Real Suite 103 Santa Clara, CA 95050 (408) 241-9658

Why did we dine here? – Ilbunjee #1 is a Korean BBQ restaurant in the Santa Clara Koreatown district. We find the best Korean in the San Francisco area right here. LA still eclipses our offerings though.

It is located a couple doors down from restaurant Gooyi Gooyi. We were trying to dine at Chungdam, but their wait was too long, so we decided to try this Korean restaurant.
This is a typical small family run casual joint with ordinary decor. Lots of Korean locals were dining.

Insider Tip – Expect to smell like BBQ after a meal.

Cuisine – Korean BBQ
Location – Santa Clara
Opened – 2007

Service – Ilbunjee #1 is a typical drop and go place where you need to flag the server down. Food comes out fairly fast.
Verdict – Ilbunjee #1 serves up quality BBQ. This is not a fancy spot like Jang Su Jang, it is a local dive. Lots of options and fun to be had for those into Korean BBQ. Portion sizes are hearty.

Be sure to hit the Hankook Supermarket, its about 5 minutes away and sells all sorts of fun ethnic items.

Other Korean restaurants we like nearby: Gooyi Gooyi – To Bang – Kunjip

Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Maybe.

Ilbunjee #1 Signature Dishes – BBQ Beef, Pork Belly

Ilbunjee #1’s Menu is pretty straightforward, lots of different items to cook on your table’s BBQ. Beef to Pork to Seafood. They do have several sauteed dishes and fried rices in a stone pot.

Ilbunjee #1 Food Picks:

Banchan included a simple salad, fish cake soup, 5 assorted items, lettuce to eat the meat, triangle shaped rice cakes with fish in the middle. Not as extensive as some other places in Los Angeles.

No Hormone & Antibiotic Pork Belly ($23.99) The sign on the wall indicated it was Berkshire Heritage Kurobuta pork. Boy this pork belly looked like it was 98% fat before cooking. Luckily a lot of the grease got cooked away. Nice pork flavor and not too much fat in the cooked product.

#1 Beef Combo with Rib Eye, Sliced Brisket, and Short Ribs ($49.99 for Two) was a ton of meat. A good sized thin rib eye steak, several pieces of beef brisket, plus some boneless short ribs. All the meat were of very good quality, marbled, and were eaten quickly.

OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None

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