Dori Korean Restaurant in Commack: First bites

Dori Korean Restaurant makes its home in the peaked-roof Commack building that’s hosted a long line of Korean predecessors, the most recent being Ko Gu Ryo. This latest occupant also has a few Korean-Chinese dishes on its menu.

Dori's interior is stylishly spare and modernistic. More important, on a recent visit, the food made a positive impression. The meal kicked off with a generous banchan, a gratis array of traditional small plates that, here, included pickled vegetables, cold noodles, even egg salad and grilled fish.

A seafood pajun, or pancake  ($9.95), studded with scallions, clams, squid and shrimp, proved highly comforting. So, too, did beef japchae ($14.95), glass noodles stir fried with beef and vegetables. Hot stone (dolsot)  bibimbap ($10.95) featured rice, vegetables and bulgoki (thinly sliced beef), topped with an egg and presented in a superheated stone pot. While the rice achieved the desired degree of crispness, the egg was overcooked, as was the beef.  Still, with spicy red bean paste mixed in, the whole added up to good eating.

Dori Korean Restaurant is at 1087 Jericho Tpke,  Commack, 631-543-3355, dorirestaurant.com