Critically Acclaimed Korean Restaurant Moves From Los Angeles to Aurora

Another Korean restaurant opened in Aurora earlier this month, which is not exactly a rare phenomenon these days. But this one's a little different — in more ways than one. Soban took over the space formerly occupied by K-Pub at 12101 East Iliff Avenue, bringing with it an impressive pedigree...

By Mark Antonation

May 27, 2016

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Another Korean restaurant opened in Aurora earlier this month, which is not exactly a rare phenomenon these days. But this one's a little different — in more ways than one. Soban took over the space formerly occupied by K-Pub, at 12101 East Iliff Avenue, bringing with it an impressive pedigree and a menu heavy on seafood.

The owners of Soban, Si Woo Yoo and Seong Yoon Ryu, recently moved to Colorado from Los Angeles, where they ran a restaurant of the same name. In 2011, restaurant critic Jonathan Gold praised a couple of Soban's dishes in a review in the L.A. Weekly, and then last year he placed it at number 21 in his list of the city's 101 best restaurants in the Los Angeles Times. Specifically mentioned were Soban's dazzling array of banchan appetizer plates, a black cod dish called eundaegu jorim and ganjang gejang, marinated raw crab. Landing on the list is no faint praise: In 2007, Gold was the first food critic to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Both of those dishes are on the new menu at Soban, along with a tight roster of other seafood selections separated into braised fish, grilled fish and spicy fish stews. The menu is written in English and Korean, and prices range from $10 to $35. Beer and wine are also available. Soban is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

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Mark Antonation is the former Westword Food & Drink Editor. In 2018, he was named Outstanding Media Professional by the Colorado Restaurant Association; he's now with the Colorado Restaurant Foundation.

Contact: Mark Antonation

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