Eating Out: Edo II | Danbury, CT

One of our favorite restaurants here in Danbury is the only Korean restaurant in the Greater Danbury area – Edo II.

Edo II is actually a Korean and Japanese restaurant. You can also go here for Japanese food, but we’ve never tried their Japanese food, so I can’t comment on that. Anyway, the husband-and-wife team of Jay and Jenny runs this place. Jay is pretty hard to miss. He’s the one who always welcomes us with a smile. He also makes the sushi and sashimi at the bar, while Jenny mans the kitchen. Every now and then, we see her out and about, but for the most part, she’s very elusive.

Before Edo II came along, we used to go to White Plains or Flushing in Queens for that delicious Korean fix. When Edo II finally opened, I felt mixed emotions, both dread and excitement. What if the Korean food they served was different from the ones we eat in Queens and White Plains? Thankfully, my fears were unfounded.

Upon entering Edo II, you are greeted by their sushi bar.

During our visit last Saturday, we sat in our usual booth and I snapped this picture. You can see Jay in this picture.

Anyway, we’ve got four go-to meals that we use as a standard of measurement when we try out a new Korean restaurant – dolsot bibimbap, yukgaejang, chapchae and bulgogi. In Edo II, our favorites are the first two from that list. We just share the two dishes.

Here’s the dolsot bibimbap. I took this picture before drizzling it with the spicy red sauce. In case you haven’t eaten this dish before, you push the egg to the side of the bowl. Since the bowl is heated, the egg will cook some more. Then you mix it all up together.

My favorite part of dolsot bibimbap is the burnt rice at the bottom of the heated stone bowl. So crispy!

Now here’s my hubby’s favorite Korean noodle soup: yukgaejang. Deliciously spicy!

During our recent visit, we had the following banchan (side dishes) – bean sprouts, celery, radish and radish kimchi. I wish they’d sell cabbage kimchi, so we don’t have to travel far for our kimchi supply!

When we were done eating, Jay suggested that I take a picture of the food. Or lack of it. Just look at the stone bowl. It’s like food was never there! Yeah, I’m proud to say that we really are such hearty eaters.

Before I forget, here’s another favorite soup – mandooguk (dumplings in beef broth). This is a milder soup than yukgaejang. I took this picture during a previous visit.

This is their spicy pork bento.

But as I said earlier, our favorites from Edo II are definitely yukgaejang and dolsot bibimbap. Just looking at the soup, you know it’s going to be spicy hot.

This plant was by the window sill. Not really close to where we were seated, but I noticed it on our way out.

Verdict: With Edo II in Danbury, we can finally eat the pajeon (Korean pancake), gobdol bibimbap, chapchae, yukgaejang, mandooguk and jaeyuk-gooi to our hearts’ content without traveling so far. Even if the site itself is fairly small, the tables are well-arranged, so it doesn’t feel cramped. However, If you want to eat and have private conversations, this isn’t the place for you. It’s fairly easy to overhear other people’s conversations.

Thankfully, the quality of their food is pretty consistent. With their very warm and friendly service and freshly-cooked Korean food, Edo II is definitely in our list of favorite Danbury restaurants. Now if only they offer galbi, samgyeopsal, godeungeo gui (I love Korean grilled mackerel!), galbitang, ddeokbokki, kimchi rice and omurice, I’d be very pleased.

Address:
Edo II Korean & Japanese Restaurant
32 Padanaram Road Danbury, CT 06811