Anju St. Pete - St. Petersburg

Heard about this spot and had to check it out. I ordered the K Town, which are Korean Street tots. It consists of crispy tater tots topped with beef bulgogi and melted mozzarella and provolone cheeses. It comes with griddled kimchi, which I got on the side because I can't handle spicy. It is usually drizzled with St. Pete heat sauce, which I also did not get, and garnished with crushed peanuts and scallions. It was delicious and full of flavor. The menu was a bit limited and they were out of some items. We came on a Saturday and it wasn't too busy. Only one waitress that night though.

I initially came across Anju at a food truck rally and loved their food! I was super excited that I saw they opened up a restaurant close by. My sister and I wanted to check it out for so long and finally made our way there. Unfortunately it was super disappointing and not what we expected at all. The restaurant itself did not seem like the creative food concept at all. This place used to be a bar and it looks like nothing has changed except the sign. It definitely did not feel like a restaurant at all and felt pretty awkward going in to grab dinner. I was hoping the food would be just as good as I remembered it on the food truck but a lot of the menu items were crossed off and only available on certain days. We ordered a bunch of dishes to taste a variety and it was terrible. The Korean corn dogs which was a special today looked delicious however the dough was not cooked all the way and I ended up eating biter raw dough. I asked a server if this was cheese or Raw dough and she said oh it looks like it's not cooked and took it off our bill no apology or anything. We also ordered the tater tots with the bulgogi and a fried egg on top. It was honestly just a mushy mess and the sauce had a weird taste. Did not taste like Korean food at all (not even Korean fusion). Overall it was not a good experience the food was below average the ambience was not there and the service was pretty bad. I think there was one server and one person cooking in the back it just did not feel like a restaurant or a place you would want to dine in again.

From food truck to a restaurant, very inspiring. Must be popular with their korean fusion dishes. However, the dishes to me just ok. Also k dog only on Wednesday and no pork belly on a Saturday? Oh well.

I was saddened to hear as I was finishing my meal that Anju might be going back to just being a food truck. Doesn't look like this brick mortar location is going to make it and that's a shame. I really enjoyed my meal here. Problem likely is that it was a Saturday night and the location is big, but it was empty. Probably didn't need to open a place that big and in this area. There are better places for restaurants then in the middle of nowhere on 16th st. Anyway, I'm glad I got here while they're still open. Ordered their pork belly baos, chicken egg rolls, and bap bowl. The bowl was the highlight, full of flavor. The egg rolls were solid just not the best I've had, and the same with the baos, though in fairness, they were delicious. Again, I've had better (hawkers, for example, or buya). However, in fairness, those others aren't fried (I don't think) and aren't Korean, so it probably isn't fair to compare. If you want something different for your Asian night and haven't had the chance to check out a Korean restaurant, give anju a try while you still can or just hunt down their food truck. You'll be happy and full that you did.

From the first bulgogi off their original food truck years before the pandemic to K-pops more bulgogi during he pandemic, this is a spot you want to remain open a neighborhood staple for decades to come. There has never been a bad experience with the food or the service here, nor when ANJU was still rolling on 4 wheels. Quality consistency are very hard to achieve harder to maintain. Skip the posh spots support the local spots that care about the community.