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Start a Top 5 for KoreanEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Phoenix New Times and PHOENIX Magazine. Updated July 2026.
Hodori · Phoenix
Called the grande dame of the Phoenix Korean scene, Hodori remains as tasty and comforting as ever and works as an all-purpose destination for soulful homestyle cooking: kimchi, seafood pajeon, cold noodles, barbecue, and shared platters. It is the kind of long-running spot the rest of the Valley's Korean restaurants measure themselves against.
Smoking Tiger Korean BBQ · Mesa
Smoking Tiger, on South Gilbert Road in Mesa, skips the all-you-can-eat model in favor of quality cuts, with owner Sean Soohun Kim spending close to $2,500 a case on prime Wagyu. Galbi short ribs and bulgogi ribeye headline the grill, backed by five-spice beef belly and beef tartare.
The Stone Korean Tofu House · Mesa
Owners Don Kim and Cookie Sohn make their own tofu and build the Mesa menu around it, slipping house-made tofu into bubbling soups and enormous cooked-at-the-table hot pots. They also fry thick tofu cakes in sesame oil until the outside turns crisp.
Yumee Katsu · Mesa
Chef-owner Danny Jeong runs this modern Korean fusion spot in Mesa, which grew out of a tiny stall in the Asiana Market food court. It leans into playful mashups drawing on Japanese, Italian, and American cooking, with signatures like kimchi-bacon fries and kimchi pasta.