Color

It's impossible not to smile when entering Color, a Korean restaurant on Harvard Ave. in Allston. The exterior "looks like an old TV shop," says my trusty dining companion, Ben. The interior is an explosion of bright colors, and the waitresses wear ruffly pink aprons that bring to mind I Love Lucy, except that our waitress had an apron that said "miao" with a picture of a cat on it. Lucy would be jealous...maybe.

We appeared to be the only non-Koreans in there - a hopeful indicator of the quality of the food. A large birthday party was taking place, filling up about half of the restaurant, and the rest of the tables were also occupied.

The menu was pretty large (and perhaps unsurprisingly, colorful) with "Korean-style" next to every item, just in case you didn't know it was a Korean restaurant. On the dessert section, whoever typed up the menu forgot to add "Korean-style," so it was handwritten in. The bottom of the menu reminds customers that Color is never open on Sundays because "it is the Lord's Day!"

While waiting for our food, we drank tea in glasses and shared a green apple bubble tea. I have an irrational love of tea served in a glass. It makes me giddy, and I don't know why. The bubble tea was also great - very refreshing. Grain bubble tea was also listed on the menu, and out of curiosity, I might order that one next time.

We ordered spicy fried dumplings as an appetizer, and I'm happy to report that they were, in fact, spicy. They were drenched in a thick, BBQ-ish sauce that burned long after each bite. They were served with a pile of what I think was coleslaw.

We were also given a flavorful soup and four banchan, including kimchi, bean sprouts, and an omelette-y thing. (If you know the Korean names of any of these items, feel free to leave a comment. I know next to nothing about Korean food, but I'd like to learn.)



Ben ordered fried chicken with a chili-garlic sauce and he barely made it through half of the mountain of chicken. It was delicious, but it was a huge portion. The sauce was nice - a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet.

I ordered what I order nine times out of ten at Korean restaurants - bulgogi. This one was nice and light (well, as light as a plate full of beef can be). My only complaint is that they mixed in mushrooms, and as you may have read in my Bangkok Bistro post, I am an extreme mushroom hater. The good news is that I probably accidentally ate a few and didn't notice because the dish was so well-made.

Although my lunchtime loyalties lie with Damoah due to the amazing bento boxes, next time I need a dinnertime Korean food fix, I'll definitely be returning to Color. It seemed like everyone else was a regular there, because our waitress asked as we were leaving if we had been there before. When we said no, she responded "I didn't think so...I didn't recognize you."

Oooh, I almost forgot the best part - they gave us Dumdums with the bill :) If the bright colors, ruffly aprons, and delicious, filling food don't cheer you up, a lollipop will!

Address: 166 Harvard Ave, Allston (near Harvard Ave stop on the Green Line B)

Phone: (617) 787-5656

What do other bloggers think? Check out:

Boston Chomps: Color Restaurant Review - Korean Food and Fun Decor