Ann Arbor eats Korean food across every register, from a chef-driven room in Kerrytown to counters selling fried chicken by the box. A large student population keeps the campus-side spots busy, and a growing set of barbecue rooms means you can grill at your own table most nights of the week. The catch is that these kitchens close early and stagger their days off more than most, so the wrong Tuesday drive can end at a dark door. Here are the Korean restaurants in Ann Arbor and the near suburbs worth your money, sorted by where you are and what you want, with hours verified in August 2026.
Miss Kim – the flagship, in Kerrytown
Miss Kim at 415 North 5th Avenue is the name to know first. Part of the Zingerman’s family of businesses, it is a modern, seasonal take on Korean cooking that leans on historic recipes and local produce, and it is the one to book when Korean food is the point of the evening rather than a quick dinner. Sitting in Kerrytown, it is walkable from the farmers market and downtown.
The one thing to plan around is the day off: Miss Kim is closed Tuesdays. It is open Monday 11:30am to 9pm, Wednesday and Thursday 11:30am to 9pm, Friday 11:30am to 9:30pm, Saturday 11am to 9:30pm, and Sunday 11:30am to 9pm. If you are thinking Tuesday, think again and aim for another night.
Kang’s – the campus classic on South University
Kang’s Korean Restaurant at 1327 South University Avenue is the homestyle standby that generations of students have leaned on. It is a small, no-fuss room a few steps from Central Campus, doing the bibimbap, bulgogi, and stone-bowl dishes that make a good cheap dinner, and it keeps simple, dependable hours: open every day 11am to 9pm. When you are near campus and want Korean without a plan, this is the default.
Arirang – homestyle on the northwest side
Arirang at 3135 Oak Valley Drive is the family-run sit-down option on the northwest side, off the campus track and worth the short drive. Its following is built on a full menu of classic Korean dishes rather than a single specialty, and it draws steady weeknight regulars. Arirang is open Monday through Friday 11am to 9:30pm and Saturday noon to 9:30pm, and it is closed Sundays. Make it a weekday or Saturday plan.
Korean barbecue at the table: Tomukun and Seoul Garden
If you want to grill at your own table, downtown and the south side each have a room for it.
Tomukun Korean BBQ at 505 East Liberty Street is the downtown choice, with tabletop grills in the middle of the restaurant district and one of the longest daily windows in town. It is open every day 11:30am to 10pm, which makes it a rare reliable late option among Korean kitchens here. Bring a group, order the marinated meats, and grill it yourself.
Seoul Garden at 3125 Boardwalk Drive covers the southeast side near I-94, and its menu runs both Korean and Japanese, so it suits a table that cannot agree between Korean barbecue and sushi. It is open Monday through Friday 11:30am to 10pm and Saturday and Sunday noon to 10pm, with a parking lot that beats hunting downtown.
KPOT – all-you-can-eat barbecue and hot pot in Ypsilanti
KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot at 3769 Carpenter Road, on the Ypsilanti and Pittsfield side, is the all-you-can-eat pick that pairs tabletop grilling with hot pot in the same sitting. It is the destination for a hungry group and a longer meal, and it keeps the latest hours on this list: Sunday through Thursday noon to 10:30pm, and Friday and Saturday noon to 11:30pm. Note that seating typically stops about an hour before close, so arrive with time to eat.
Ricewood – the Korean-Texan smokehouse
Ricewood at 1928 Packard Street is the one that bends the category: a Korean-Texan smokehouse serving brisket and smoked meats over rice with Korean sides. It has grown enough to add a second location at 245 North Maple Road, so both the Packard and the Maple Village side are covered. Plan around the days off – Ricewood is open Tuesday through Saturday 11am to 8pm and closed Monday and Sunday. This is a lunch-and-early-dinner spot, not a late one.
Korean fried chicken: bb.q Chicken and Kimchi Box
Two counters cover the double-fried, sauced Korean chicken that travels well and feeds a crowd.
bb.q Chicken at 322 South Maple Road, Suite 2B, is the Ann Arbor outpost of the Korean franchise, doing the crispy soy-garlic and spicy styles for pickup and delivery. The one quirk to watch is a weekday afternoon break: it is open Monday through Thursday 11am to 3:30pm and 4:30pm to 9pm, and Friday through Sunday 11am to 9pm, running straight through on weekends.
Kimchi Box at 1771 Plymouth Road serves the northeast side and the Plymouth Road corridor, with Korean fried chicken alongside bibimbap and kimbap for a quick, full meal. It is open Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 9:30pm, and Sunday 11:30am to 9pm.
Tomukun Noodle Bar – the pan-Asian sibling
Tomukun Noodle Bar shares the 505 East Liberty Street building with its barbecue sibling and runs the same every-day 11:30am to 10pm hours. It is a broader pan-Asian noodle bar rather than a strictly Korean kitchen, but it is the easy downtown move when part of your group wants ramen or a rice bowl instead of firing up the grill next door.
One more worth knowing
If you are on South University and Kang’s has a wait, Rich J.C. next door at 1313 South University is the other longtime student Korean spot in that block – a casual, cash-friendly room open Monday through Saturday until the evening and closed Sundays. It does not have a listing on this site yet, so call ahead to confirm the day.
A note on hours
Korean kitchens here close earlier and take more midweek days off than most restaurants in town, and several stop seating before their posted close. The hours above were verified in August 2026, but treat any single day as worth a quick call before you drive – especially for Miss Kim on Tuesdays, Arirang and Ricewood on Sundays, and Ricewood on Mondays.
