A new restaurant in Chantilly is working to make Korean food more approachable to curious foodies.
KoBo Korean Kitchen has seen a steady flow of customers since opening on Oct. 28, and it hasn’t just been the locals who are familiar with the cuisine, co-owner Chloe Jungae Lee told FFXnow.
The neighborhood and its diverse clientele are big reasons why the new restaurant chose to open up in Chantilly’s Greenbriar Town Center, which isn’t as dense with Korean dining options as other parts of Fairfax County like Annandale or the shopping centers further west on Route 50.
“I like to introduce Korean food to different types of people,” Lee said.
The restaurant embraces a fast-casual concept — akin to “Chipotle-style Korean,” as Lee described it — offering customized bowls, burritos and ramen dishes with traditional Korean ingredients.
With a bowl, for example, diners choose between three different types of rice, including kimchi fried rice, and salad as a base. Bulgogi, as well as soy sauce and salt-and-pepper-seasoned meats, are among the protein options, while possible toppings include gochujang, ssamjang mayo and other sauce options.
KoBo also offers more traditional foods as side dishes, including tteokbokki (rice cakes), tteokkochi (rice cake skewers) and so-tteok-so-tteok (rice cake and sausage skewers).
Customers place their orders at the counter, allowing KoBo to ensure that meals are made to order. The restaurant features nearly two dozen seats inside to host diners.
Lee and her husband, co-owner Brandon Lee, are no strangers to the restaurant business: the pair are behind local eatery PokeHub, which opened its first location in Reston in 2017 .
With that experience under their belt, the Lees are hoping KoBo is one of the first to capitalize on the popular commodity of Korean barbecue and present it in a new, quicker concept.
“This is not cheap Korean food. It’s really nice food,” Lee said, vouching for the restaurant’s approach.
Located at 13005-L Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, KoBo is open most days from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The restaurant closes 30 minutes earlier on Sundays.
