diaspora

lovely. i've been eating here since before they made over half of the menu dedicated to sushi. i really miss the selection they had for authentic korean food.

the women who work here are really nice. thefoodis good proportions and tastes excellent. i've been continuing to eat here for the past couple years.

i'll start this review by saying i don't have much experience with korean food, but diaspora overall seemed pretty average and nothing more. i ordered the udon bowl with tiger roll (tempura fish with crab meat) lunch special for $8.95. the tiger roll was okay but nothing especially impressive. the udon soup had good flavor, but being just a bowl of noodles with pretty flavorful broth was not that satisfying. both dishes were decent, but getting a basic 4 piece sushi roll and a small bowl of noodles for $8.95 isn't really a "special" in my book. overall thefoodwas decent, but personally i would definitely want to try other korean places or go to other restaurants on high street before coming to diaspora again.

excellent. i know i've posted before, but i've probably visited ten times since then. the place is great. the waitress (owner?) always recognizes us and thefoodarrives quickly--hot and delicious (or in the case of sushi, fresh and tight).
try the tofu appetizer. i don't even like tofu (or didn't) but the texture, mouth feel, of this dish is outstanding. delicate and warm on the inside, crispy and a bit salty on the outside . . . yum!
i think it's a good sign when the clientele of an asian joint is mixed western/asian. it's accessible and comfortable for americans but authentic for asians looking for a taste of home.


-----10 jul, 2012-----

i really like it. we tried this place once, and i was so blown away that i figured it must be a fluke. now we've been there three times, and i can easily say this is our favorite sushi place (well, at this price point. if you want transcendence, then go to kihachi, but of course, then you pay kihachi prices, rightly so). if you just want excellent sushi at a great price, come here. best spicy tuna ever. to me, spicy tuna rolls are a litmus test at japanese restaurants, kind of like soup at american restaurants. if it's good, that speaks volumes.

thefoodis fresh, well prepared . . . and the service is incredibly solicitous, efficient. i'm sad that we didn't try the place sooner--it's on the osu campus and we didn't realize they had easy parking in the back.

love it!. my husband and i were regulars during our studies at osu. thefoodis wonderful and the service even better. the women working always made sure you had enough of what you wanted and helpful finding something new. all i wanted when i was pregnant with our son was their kimchi and broccoli salad. after our son was born and he was able to eat table foods the ladies would bring him soup and rice. the staff is wonderful and remember you! it has been hard to go to other korean places without the guilt of skipping something so wonderful! kid friendly!

...with avocado and tofu, and it was a perfect blend of sweet and savory. the best surprise? all this fresh, made-to-orderfoodcosts so little - in this case, about $5!

awesome food. i lived in korea for over a year ..and the koreanfoodat this restaurant is delicious.! the owner is super nice.
the atmosphere is more casual but its fun if you just want to hop in for a snack..and the prices are more reasonable then japanese oriental.

great!. i love korean food! if i could be re-born again, i would love to be a korean and eat my theoretical korean mom'sfoodall day long! theirfoodtastes just like a korean grandmother's home cooking! i had the lunch bento box with beef- bulgogi. it came with all these side korean dishes that were pretty tasty- esp the kimchee (and good kimchee is hard to find). the only thing was that they were missing a typical bean sprout salad with sesame oil vinegrette that usually comes with these sort of dishes. overall though, for korean food, it is awesome!

horrific sushi.. disclaimer: i have eaten some fantastic seafood while living on the west coast, and sushi is my favoritefoodever. however, i'm not a total snob - supermarket sushi will even satisfy my craving in a pinch, and i've had some comparatively excellent sushi elsewhere in columbus.

that said, the sushi at diaspora was a train wreck. the rice was too warm, too sweet, and too wet - i couldn't even pick the nigiri up with chopsticks without it falling apart. the salmon nigiri was badly sliced, so i ended up chewing on that stringy cartilage or whatever the white membrane in fish flesh is called. and finally, i asked for ikura (salmon roe) with a raw quail egg cracked up top (a common preparation; i have had no trouble ordering this elsewhere). instead, they brought me one order of ikura and one order of tamago (sweet egg omelette). nothing i ordered tasted very good at all.

the service was very good. the atmosphere was nothing special.

i understand that the owners of diaspora are korean, so i expect (and hope) that their koreanfoodis a couple orders of magnitude above their sushi. if you want to visit a korean/japanese place near campus, please, please walk a couple of blocks north and go to the japanese oriental restaurant instead.

i absolutely love the scenery at diaspora. very clean and fresh look. goodfoodtoo!