Ha Ahn Korean Restaurant

Ha Ahn is a small, family-run Korean restaurant in the same AsiaTown strip mall as Superior Pho. They serve homestyle Korean dishes as well as sushi. Just like with Superior Pho, I highly recommend parking in the parking lot behind the strip mall and entering through the entrance in the back. There are only a few parking spots available on Superior. The easiest way to access it is to pull onto E. 31st Street from Superior (No. 1 Pho is on the other side of E. 31st and Superior), but you can also access it from E. 30th. Just remember that E. 31st is a one-way street.

Hot barley tea is available upon request. It is served in a brass kettle. The barley tea has a unique nutty flavor and slightly sweet taste. The barley is roasted and brewed and has great health benefits and is beneficial for your skin.

Each meal starts with a half-dozen complimentary banchan (traditional Korean small plates) such as house-made kimchi, fermented bean sprouts, a fermented cucumber salad, and fermented fish cakes. The banchan are always fun and varied. You can order more for another $4.

It is one of the few Korean restaurants in Cleveland that serve what they call “Mool Nangmyun” (Mul Naengmyun or 물냉면) which is an icy cold noodle soup made with buckwheat noodles. My friend K. loves it and we went there to fulfill her craving. She gave me a taste, and I really enjoyed it. It was tasty. Cold soup isn’t usually my thing, but I can see enjoying this on a hot summer day.

I have ordered either the Dolsot Bibimbap (served in a hot stone bowl) or sushi when I have eaten there. It’s a fun place for a quick meal before a show at PlayhouseSquare. Bibimbap features marinated beef, assorted vegetables, and gochujang sauce piled atop a bed of rice. Dolsot bibimbap comes out in the hot stone bowl with all of the fillings piled in sections and topped with a fried egg. The idea is to stir it all together and enjoy the crispy cooked rice that forms along the walls and bottom of the hot stone bowl.

Korean Kimbap (seaweed rolls) have a sweeter nutty flavor that is distinctly Korean, so I was nervous when I ordered sushi here the first time. I had no reason to be nervous. The sushi here tastes just like sushi at a Japanese restaurant. The rice used in many Korean dishes is a short grain sweet rice, which is the “stickiest” variety of rice consumed in Korea. The glycemic index of this rice is very high. The different flavor also obviously comes from the fillings in the seaweed roll. Kimbap uses marinated beef bulgogi and assorted vegetables. They are very tasty and among my favorite items here.

The Japanese sushi rolls here listed in the Sushi section of the menu are the standard fish and fillings you can find at other sushi restaurants. The quality is always fresh, and the rolls are tight. I have ordered both nigiri and large rolls here and have been very pleased every time.

Ha Ahn is open every day but Sunday for lunch from 11 to 2:30 and then for dinner from 4:30 to 8. It’s open from 11 to 8 on Saturday. I try to go at off-hours to ensure I can get a seat/table. It’s really small and only has about 8 tables. There are benches in the hallway where you can sit and wait for a table.

Contact info:

Ha Ahn Korean Restaurant
3030 Superior Avenue E
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 664-1152