Lighthouse Tofu: A Korean Restaurant That Sets the Bar High!

Louis and I have visited Lighthouse Tofu several times. This is partly because we went in April and forgot. to turn on our mics! We had great footage but no audio.

We went back to re-shoot. So, you will notice some “costume changes” at various points! It did however, allow us to sample a greater variety of food.

We visited Lighthouse for the first time midway through our introduction to Korean food. We had a good feel for the food, but still a lot to learn. What we experienced was, at the time, our favorite. Since then we have discovered some restaurants that give it a run for its money, but it remains a fav.

First of all, Lighthouse Tofu has serious banchan game! You get a lot of great little dishes and their kimchi is among the best in Annandale. One item we particularly enjoyed was a cold broth reminiscent of kimchi but with a lighter more delicate flavor. It had cabbage in it too.

The seafood pancake, haemul-pajeon at Lighthouse is also among the very best. We have 5 criteria on which we grade the seafood pancake. They are, thickness, crispiness, amount of seafood, flavor, and the inclusion of a dipping sauce. The seafood pancake at Lighthouse Tofu scores highly all counts!

One of our favorite dishes is the galbi. This is thinly sliced short ribs, marinated and cooked like a steak. It has a caramelized flavor with the classic Asian traits of hitting every taste-bud, sweet, salty, earthy, etc. This dish alone is worth a visit.

This series covers traditional Korean food, and leaves Korean BBQ for another time. KBBQ is more popular and far more accessible. The galbi is the closest dish we have eaten to what one orders at Korean Barbecue.

The name Lighthouse Tofu conjures up the image of a health food or vegetarian restaurant. Tofu in the US is primarily used as a meat substitute; but here it is simply an important ingredient. It’s a good one too because of its ability to soak up the flavor of the dish it is in. So you will see tofu in dishes that also have meat and seafood. This soup was literally boiling when it arrived at the table! We cracked a raw egg into it and stirred to thicken the soup. It was hearty and had a robust flavor.

The next time we went (this time with mics turned on) we tried a stir-fried noodle dish with baby octopus. I recognize not everyone will want to eat a baby octopus. it’s way more personal than a simple ring of calamari, this actually looks like a, well, baby octopus. The noodles it is served with would be fantastic with or without the octopus. They are handmade, and thick enough to be a bit chewy! They also hold the great sauce well. We really enjoyed the entire dish.

In all, Lighthouse Tofu is a very approachable place for people new to Korean food., It is also very popular with Koreans! Thank you!t certainly lends credibility. We saw extended families, young people on an afternoon out, and even what looked like dates.