Seoul Sister is a counter-service restaurant in Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney. One of two lunch and dinner options in Parkside Market, the restaurant offers Korean food served in rice, noodle or salad bowls. A Magic Key discount is offered. In this post, we’ll review Seoul Sister including our thoughts on the food, value and atmosphere.

Seoul Sister and several tenants sit inside of Parkside Market. There’s a small food hall vibe to the building, with the two restaurants, a coffee shop and an upstairs bar. The downstairs seating area in Parkside Market feels more like a mall food court, albeit much nicer. Guests can order at the counters of their dining location and then get a tracker so that the food will be delivered to the table.

The same process can happen upstairs but guests can also order from up there with the wait staff. Upstairs seating is quieter and having a full service staff makes the experience nicer. Of course the downside is that the experience will then include adding a tip to the cost of whatever you order.

I covered Parkside Market’s atmosphere in detail on our GG’s Chicken Shop (Seoul Sister’s neighboring counter) review so I won’t dive in as deep this time. Instead, let’s focus on the reception that Parkside Market has received from the Disney fan community. The general opinion on the place as a whole seems to be mixed. I believe any negative reaction comes down to one thing – price. Honestly, that negativity is warranted. These counter-service spots have table-service prices and that’s unfortunate because Parkside Market otherwise fills a hole in Downtown Disney.

The seating, especially upstairs, in Parkside Market is one of the only hang out spots that the whole entertainment area has. One of the patio decks is clearly set up for people to come work at, which is a wonderful touch. Downtown Disney has nowhere else for people to just relax, outside of the grassy (turf) area right outside of the building. Having a place to come relax, grab a bite to eat or drink and just sit for a while was sorely needed. That Parkside Market does this in a fun, inviting way is enough reason for me to praise it. I love the Palm Springs 60’s aesthetic and think the deck seating is especially well done. If the bar wasn’t slightly hidden by being upstairs, I think it’d be one of the most popular places in the area. Even with the high prices, I’m glad this place exists and it improves Downtown Disney.

Moving onto Seoul Sister specifically, here’s a look at the menu. The restaurant was started by Executive Chef Kelly Kim and serves a fast casual play on bibimbap. There’s a selection of different meats or tofu to top the bowls and then guests select a base – rice, Japchae noodles or salad. Along with that, dumplings and a few specialty drinks are on the menu.

Here are those specialty drinks – Korean Yuja Lemonade and Matcha Iced Tea. We liked both of these quite a bit! The tea is not sweetened but stayed away from being bitter. It was very refreshing. The same could be said for the lemonade, which was on the sweeter side but had a nice balance between that and the tartness. We like both of these drinks more than anything we’ve tried at the connected coffee shop and will be back for these. They are each $5.

Here are the dumplings ($8) which we both enjoyed as much as anything we’ve tried at Parkside Market. These are fried beef and vegetable filled, the bulgogi flavor added a nice sweetness. I also loved the pan fry on these, as they were crisp but not overcooked. This is a really good snack option and one we’ll be back for many times.

Moving onto the bowls, this is the Beef & Egg ($19) option. This includes Bulgogi Beef, Carrots, Kale, Egg, Sesame Oil, and a Spicy Gochu Seoul Sauce that’s served on the side. We opted for a noodle base on this one. As you can see, the toppings are aplenty! The Sesame Oil on top was a nice dressing if the spicy sauce isn’t your thing. It wasn’t Melissa’s thing but I liked it quite a bit, as the flavor outlasted the spice. My one complaint with this is that the Bulgogi Beef was a little chewy. It wasn’t enough to distract from the flavor though, which was sweet and savory.

I liked the Beef & Egg option but preferred the Chicken ($18) just slightly. The toppings were just slightly different, including Garlic Chicken, Carrots, Broccoli, Green Onions, Furikake, and a sweet Soy Sauce. We had rice at the base of this one, which I preferred as I found the noodles a little bland. The Garlic Chicken was juicy and flavorful, similar to what you’d find in Teriyaki Chicken. The sweet Soy Sauce was more sweet than salty and augmented the bowl overall. I like both of the bowls although I wouldn’t say they’re a step up from other fast casual rice bowl places, especially in LA.

Overall, we came away impressed with Seoul Sister and glad that there are some healthier, quick options in Downtown Disney. That, along with the atmosphere, was sorely needed. With that said, the price is pretty high relative to what you’re getting. You could find similar items out in the real world, away from the Disneyland bubble for probably $5 less. There’s not a great value here but it does fill a need with good, but not great, food.

Rating – 8/10

Have you tried Seoul Sister? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments! Planning a trip to Disneyland? Check out our Planning Guide here. This site has you covered for Disneyland discount tickets! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!