Lighthouse Tofu

by Anna Y.

I have been dying to go to this place. My friend invited me, so I jumped at the chance to eat here. This place is known for their soondubus.  I got the pork and beef one, because I do not like seafood.  You also choose your own spiciness level.  I like mild (2),  It is just one above white... which does not have any spiciness.  It has meat.... soft tofu.... and mild broth. PERFECT.  They also give you a egg to crack into the stone bowl... which is too cool.  I like interactive meals.  I was glad there were no mystery things in my soup.The meal comes banchan (korean side dishes).... I think there were only 4, which is fine because you do not need it a lot with this meal..  It also comes with moolkimchi or cold radish soup.  They also bring you a bowl with some rice in it that has been toasted.  They poor water into and it makes a nice tea that a lot of people like.  The next table got ojingobokum, or spicy stir fried octopus/squid.  It looked good.  The other table next to us ordered bulgogi (stirfried beef).  This is the best soondubu that I have ever had.  I might even try medium spicy next time.  Koreans love spicy food that makes them sweat and temporarily numb their mouths in pain. :)  hehe  WARNING: If you cannot handle spicy food, then please go with mild.  You can work your way up from there.  This place has been here for a while.   In Annandale, places come and go.  The good ones stay for a reason.  On a side note, I wish there were some more good American restaurants in Annandale. :(

by Stephen T.

Consistently good soondubu, and excellent galbi.  The menu here is very efficient, which is the first sign they know what they are doing.Their soondubu menu is generally very good, but their galbi is fantastic.  Its one of the few places in Annandale where you can order galbi in small portions, pre-cooked, and at a decent price without having to order for two.They make their rice in a hot stone pot, and they serve it with barley tea and the scolded rice (Noo-Rung-Ji).  Which is a refreshing complement to the rest of the meal.

by Kevin L.

How can one go wrong with boiling, bubbling pot of stewed tofu and veggies, seafood, and/or meat?  It's a recipe for yumminess, no matter how to slice it!As with many Korean joints, this place is pretty much no-frills.  They sit you down, bring out the many plates of ban chan (although the variety wasn't quite as impressive as Ye Chon's), take your order, then come back with steaming pots of scrumptious soon du bu.I made our crew try the hae mul pa jun (seafood pancake), which is my favorite Korean dish, but wasn't impressed.  Not bad, just not great.  I can't take away any stars for it, though, because when you come to Lighthouse, you come for the soon du bu, or else you're just being plain silly.  Why would you go to a Brazilian steakhouse for tea and crumpets, right?!Especially since I'm still getting over some kind of respiratory bug, delicious stewy goodness was exactly what I needed, and Lighthouse definitely exceeded my expectations.  I'll be back for more!

by Brian S.

Annandale, Va. is the K-town of D.C. Metro, filled with many Korean restaurants, shops, karaoke and bakeries and Lighthouse Tofu stands out as one of the popular restaurants. There is no menu, only a plastic photo stand on each table. Pretty much everyone knows why they're here: for the SOON DUBU , a soft, fresh tofu that is the basis of a hot tasty stew that can be flavored with a variety of seafood or meat. The service is routine, like any other korean restaurants: First come the small dishes, or banchan : fresh unfermented kimchi, spicy cucumber pickle, bean sprouts, etc. You also get a bowl of a chilled clear kimchi broth with a little pickled cabbage floating on top, which is fabulous. A large steamy stone bowl of rice is provided for the table and two bowls per diner: One bowlful is served immediately for the meal, while the remaining rice, still in the bowl, is covered with hot barley tea and left to soften for the end of the meal. The stews are ordered by level of heat: "white" (or unspiced), mild, medium, spicy and "spicy spicy." The choices for flavorings are seafood (oysters, clams and shrimp), seafood and beef, oysters alone, mushrooms, beef and kimchi, pork and beef, just beef or vegetable. The hot stew is accompanied by a raw egg, which is to be broken over the hot broth. The clientele is overwhelmingly asians all shapes sizes and all ages: geeks and girlfriends, parents of young kids, guys' night out, girls' night out and grandpas with knee high socks, employed unemployed. Soon Dubu is perfect on a chilly day. All this excitement for $10 + Tip. Enjoy your Soon Dubu today. =)

by Lee T.

I used to eat here all the time when I lived in VA, I get every thing spicy spicy spicy. They also serve it white (not spicy).The tofu soups are great with rice, sometimes if I am starving, I get the squid stir fry noodles. Eat here, lunch, dinner, it's all good!

by Nancy T.

I walked out of this place rubbing my stuffed tummy and moaning "Oh my god." The group of people on their way in laughed and said, "That must be a good sign." I replied, "Yes, yes it is!" (It's also a sign that I can't control myself at Korean restaurants, but let's not go there.)Amaaaaazing. Deliiiiicious. Ok, you have to wait 10-15 minutes for your soup to cool down before you can taste it, but that'll give you time to eat up the yummy banchan. I really liked the sweet sour sliced cucumbers and the little garlic slices with daikon in chili paste. The kimchee was a little tough, but that's my only criticism. I've had better banchan elsewhere, but I didn't mind because I really wanted to leave room for the soup. At this point in my review I must digress and ask the question: Can we get all the restaurants in the US to replace boring old iced tea with the iced roasted barley tea (aka boricha) they serve at Korean restaurants? PLEASE? It's so much better tasting, more refreshing, caffeine free and doesn't need sugar at all. You will go through glasses of this stuff trying to cool your mouth after a spoonful from the bubbling cauldron o' soup. My favorite is the kimchee stew (with kimchee, beef and soft tofu). The seafood is also good. I get it spicy (4th of 5 heat levels), but I think I will try spicy spicy (the hottest) because I like pain and because I can take it, baby. Just kidding. It's not that hot at all. The temperature heat is much harder to tolerate than the spicy heat. I hope I never live in a city that doesn't have Korean food. ::love::

by Jackson K.

Cheap and pretty good soups.  Don't recommend getting spicy even though I like spicy food, it is way too hot.  Medium FTW.

by Frank H.Helen C.Vivian C.Peter V.Jeannette K.

Spicy tofu soup - probably doesn't sound that exciting for those who have never had it but tofu isn't tofurkey or any of that stuff that health nuts eat.  It's actually spicy flavorful and satisfying.It's really food that satisfies.  We also had sautéed spicy squid with vegetables and that was really good.  We usually get one soup and maybe a Korean savory fried pancake.  I like the seafood tofu soups.Anyhow you can't go wrong coming here and it's a good place to start if you've never tried Korean.I am a die-hard fan of Korean food. There is no other food that can make me cry (love the spicy) and comfort me all in one sitting. But that's what Lighthouse Tofu does for me.I've gotten the very, very spicy mushroom soondooboo the last couple of times I've been there and it hasn't been good for my digestive system, so I'm going to opt for the less spicy option next time. But I will say it's goooood -- lots of tofu, lots of mushrooms and just the yummy goodness of the broth.I love that they serve boricha (the barley tea) hot or cold with the meal and their side dishes are usually tasty. I'd say, though, in light of all the red in my bowl, I'd prefer to have a little less red in the side dishes (all but one had some serious spice in it last time).The other thing I love is the noorungji they serve (a bowl that contains burnt rice at the bottom is filled with barley tea and eaten later)! It's so warm and good, and a refreshing welcome after some seriously spicy food.Fast service and good food mean my taste buds appreciate Lighthouse Tofu a whole, whole lot. Yessss.Excellent Soon Du Bu, and I admire the simplicity of this place, when it comes to ordering food.  Ordering is easy.  Food arrives quickly and HOT.I wish I have one of these close to work.You're seated almost immediately after you arrive and are served with ice barley/buckwheat tea. Really good Soon Du Bu and Ojingobokum (the spicy octopus noodle). It's definitely a no-frills place and basically just good food. Their menu is the little place card on the table. I've been there twice and it's been great so far. I would definitely keep going.I love this place. My boyfriend and I share a Spicy Seafood Soon Doo Boo and it's just the perfect portion for both of us. Skip the rice and you'll be able to eat all the soondooboo by yourself. You'll leave full and happy.

by Ji K.

You go here for soon du bu and I rate this place 5 stars based on that.  The soon du bu could compete with the best in the country imo and by far the best one in the DC region.And yes service is very "korean".  You will HAVE to get the servers attention to get service.  All they will do is bring out the food and that's it unless you specifically ask for something else.  Don't even expect water refills unless you ask for it.  ;)I've tried two more dishes here.seafood pancake - very goodkalbi - average

by Jina k.

My sister took me here when I first moved down to VA area. She parked the car and said... 'this is it... lets go in side'. me: What? it looks like a happy ending massage parlor,.... a brothel.... no way. I'm not eating here. I'd rather eat Burger King across the street. There's no way this place is a restaurant... its dark, no windows, all you see is bricks. That was 4 years ago. Coming from Fort Lee, NJ-- Book Chang Dong and So Gong Dong (when it existed) was THE place to eat soft tofu soup. I nearly fainted when my sister took me to this place. Recently, I thought I was going to die if I didnt have some Soon Doo Boo. My 'white' friend suggested we come to this place. (o.0)  I hesitated, but if it was popular amongst the caucasians, this place must be well known -- so reluctantly, i gave it a try. Soon Doo Boo soup-- it was ok. one thing that bothered me was, they have lunch price and dinner price (dinner was more expensive)... But why? I asked the server why they charge more for dinner. And if they serve bigger bowl of soup for dinner.  She just said they were exactly the same and shrugged it off. To me it sounded ridiculous that they would charge more for dinner for the exact same food/portion..... (So not Korean!) Nak Jee sari (Baby Octopus with Udon noodles)-- was good. though they call it something quite different than what it actually is....  pajun-- was good. I like how they cook it a tad longer so that it's a bit crispy on the outside. Service--- was HORRIBLE. Usually at a Korean restaurant, you sit, order, eat  (ask the bus boy for more water), ask for check, and out the door. Here, I had to wait what seemed like forever for more water. I could no longer wait (I waited good 10  minutes) for the check, so I went up to the counter and paid. I would rank the service here the worst out of all of the Korean restaurants in Annandale. I probably would not return. Service was horrible, food was just OK, and the fact that they charge more for dinner really bothers me. Just charge the same price (either dinner or lunch price--pick one) if you're going to serve the same thing. Its unheard of in Korea... (I know.. this is USA)If you haven't tried Korean soft tofu soup, you should go try it. It's tasty whether you get it spicy or not, or even if you have it finished with soy sauce "sauce"...(I'm not sure if they have it there at Lighthouse).  If by any chance you are in the NY/NJ area, go try BCD on 32nd between 5th and B'way or the one in NJ (Main St).