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E-Pin Grill House
Categories: Restaurants Barbeque Restaurants Sushi Bars Barbeque, Sushi Bars
1533 Barrington StreetHalifax, NS B3J 1Z4
(902) 431-3839
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Has TV:
- No
12 reviews for E-Pin Grill House
12 reviews in English
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Review from Ben B.
Being a vegetarian, I don't typically get into the Korean barbecue action since it's mostly meat but when faced with a need for a fast feed, I figured I'd give E-Pin's sushi menu a whirl. They added it to their offerings including all-you-can-eat options for both lunch and dinner a few months ago but I always forget about them when I'm in a maki mood.
With about thirty minutes to get in and out, I let my server know I'd be a bit of a rush job and she took it all in stride. I was seated in a cozy corner table, she waited for me to make a quick decision on my order (Vegetarian Paradise roll and an Avocado roll - $5, $11.50 final bill), and off she went. She kept my water glass full and my sanity in tact by keeping me in the loop of my meal's status even though it only took about fifteen minutes to hit the table - still, much appreciated.
And the food? Actually really delicious! I never know what to expect when ordering sushi at a place that isn't purely a sushi bar but both rolls really impressed me! The Vegetarian Paradise was a tempura sweet potato with spicy mayo. That sort of thing is always a winner in my books but this one had a particularly great flavour to it. Now, the avocado roll was a bit risky - sometimes they show up as literally just avocado in a rice roll and it all becomes just a bit mushy. This one had the addition of some lettuce for some crunch and I believe a bit of a sauce to it as well. Much tastier than your average.
I also got a surprise bonus of a California roll that they made by mistake - kind of nice that they gave it to me instead of trashing it, but vegetarian status kept me from taking a bite. The server made sure I knew it was imitation crab but I think it was topped with roe.
Bonus note: it's gorgeous inside! Great space!
Not-so bonus but hilarious note: strangely loud country-pop crossover soundtrack. Korean and Japanese food with Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift? Not for everyone but I wasn't mad at it. -
Review from Erin P.
5/19/2012 1 photo
I'm not really sure where to start.
I guess I'll start by saying my friend and I had high hopes for this place. We really wanted to like it. But we didn't.
We came across a promotion we saw posted on their Facebook page and decided to take advantage: get a gift card (no expiry date) for 2 AYCE premier BBQ including 2 glasses of wine for only $50.
So, our reservation was made, telling the fellow we were going to come in to purchase the certificate then use it right away for our dinner that evening. He told us that would be fine.
We arrive for our evening and tell our server we'd like to purchase a certificate for our meal. We are then told that they are only for sale on Friday and Saturday but aren't able to be used until Sunday. I don't know about you but I don't see anywhere in that blurb about restrictions on usage dates. My friend explained to our server that we weren't told we couldn't use it until Sunday. I'm pretty sure I heard crickets chirping as she just stood there and stared at us. No apology. No attempt to assist two people who were unhappy before even seeing a menu. Nothing. We decided against purchasing a certificate, and decided to stay to try it anyway.
We selected our BBQ items which were brought to us quickly. Then we were on our own. No tips from our server as to how this whole thing works. Nothing.
Ok, so trying to make the best of the meal we got right to having fun cooking our own food. We also took advantage of the sushi options on the menu.
Our appetizers: the garlic broccoli was fairly good. The kimchi and sprout salad were kind of meh. And the honey garlic potato - just don't do it.
Our mains: the bulgogi wasn't as good as I was hoping. I've definitely had better from other locations. The coconut curry chicken was Ok, you could definitely taste both the coconut and the curry, which was nice. The squid, was rubbery and bland. The tofu went to mush. The haddock was just Ok. The sweet potato arrived raw and took forever to cook. The portobella mushrooms were small (don't let the photos on their site fool you). The eggplant wasn't anything to write home about. The pork belly was gnarly. If you're in to long, nasty looking strips of fat, then this would be a good option for you. And if you don't like garlic don't bother going: everything was doused in garlic. It was obscene really.
Oh, and the chicken wings: you get one per person. And the one you get looks like it came out of a box from M&M meats. Just a plain old deep fried, batter chicken wing.
The sushi: was decent. Compared to the rest of our meal it was quite good, but we've both definitely had better sushi from other restaurants.
And let's talk about the potential for cross contamination: we were each given a pair of tongs, and one pair of scissors to cut up the meat. So, the same pair of tongs used to put the raw meat on the grill are the same tongs used to take the meat off and the same ones used on the veggies - since we were each cooking for ourselves. I don't know about anyone else, but a round of e-coli or salmonella doesn't sound like a fun time to me.
The good things it has going for it: the decor. I liked that the place didn't look like a kitchy Asian restaurant. I liked the color choices and the chair choices. It certainly looked like someone had put some thought into the appearance of the place. The bathroom was poorly lit, however. The nice decor is really the only reason I'm giving them a 2-star rating. And what the heck is up with all the security cameras everywhere? It felt a little awkward sitting there eating with several cameras watching you.
The service just wasn't there. It was clear the further in to the evening we got the more overwhelmed the 2 servers were with an almost full dining room. At one point the cooks were running food because the servers couldn't keep up.
Looking around at other diners no one seemed to be really having that fabulous of a time. The people dining next to us ran in to the same issue with the gift certificate situation as we did.
And one final point: their classic grill that apparently isn't available on Fridays or Saturdays actually IS available, even though it is noted everywhere that it is not. So, apparently their policies are open to interpretation.
I really wanted to like this place. I really did. And is has the potential to be a great dining option, but as it is now its really not worth the $27 per person. We both walked out having paid just under $50 each, and when you think about it there was no way we ate almost that much worth of food each.
Save your pennies and go elsewhere for Korean. This place just isn't worth it. -
Review from Lisa B.
Dartmouth, NS
12/11/2011
Two of us went to E-PIN for an impromtu dinner the other night. It was our first time experiencing Korean food, so I'm not sure if it is authentic but it was tasty. Our waitress was very helpful and took the time to explain the process of the grill and willing to answer any questions. We were the only table there for the first half of our meal and received excellent customer service.
How it works is there's a flat rate you pay if you want the regular or premium menu. We went with regular which had a decent selection. We tried a bit of all of the apetizers and then ordered then tried a bit of most of the meat.
Not being a huge meat eater, I was not really a fan of the raw meat arriving at the table and having to cook it ourselves. It was a fun, interactive date, but I enjoy my food already being cooked when it arrives. The food was good. Service was excellent, but I just feel that this is not really my thing. I would say it's worth going and experiencing the restaurant to see if its up your alley.Listed in: Good for Groups
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Review from Jennifer G.
Halifax, NS
2/6/2012
I am not a big fan of Korean BBQ but I really like their AYCE sushi! My coworker and I tried it last Friday noon. $15.99 for 30+ items including Nigiri, Maki, Handroll.... All of them are fresh and delicious. At the end of meal, we also got a free dessert (French Pancake which is only included in their dinner menu) because that was their first day of having this sushi menu. It is sooooo goood!! Hopefully this one will be consistantly good...
Listed in: AYCE Yeah
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Review from Sue A.
6/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
I know nothing about Korean bar-b-que/grilling so I'm not sure if E-PIN is authentic or not, but I do know they have grills and I left that place so full of delicious food I didn't have to eat for two days.
My husband, four-year-old daughter and I popped in last night for dinner. We had the casually chic dining room to ourselves. The décor alone is five stars. Sophisticated with a blue and brown colour palette and striking light fixtures that make it a stand out in the Halifax restaurant scene.
The menu had a list of mains as well as a couple of all-you-can-eat options, the basic ($19) and the premium ($26), the difference being a few more choices for meat and sides on the premium menu. My husband and I both choose the premium and the kind server let our four year old eat for free. Bonus points!!
The grilling part of the meal is provided by a strange little contraption seemingly powered by a Bunsen burner underneath the table. While some of the dishes are prepared in the kitchen, most including meat and vegetables are prepared by you on this little grill. I had my doubts that the "flames," some kind of actual fire, would be enough to cook the food, but I was proven wrong except in the case of corn on the cob which we finally had to request be cooked in the kitchen. All the meat cooked sufficiently on this contraption to dismiss any fears of undercooked meat.
Similar to sushi, the dishes are brought out in the order they are prepared. Like the menu said, the meal was truly all you can eat. Highlights included nicely salted edamame, a terrific vegetable pancake, and the meat. All of the meat we ordered, black pepper steak, pork belly, bulgogi, a not overly spicy coconut, and the teriyaki chicken came in generous portions and was delicious. I ate mine wrapped in a lettuce leaf. Our server also thoughtfully brought a few other items we hadn't ordered for us to try out.
Our server was very helpful, providing explanations of the food and how to cook it although many of the other staff were noticeably on the phone a lot during our meal.
I will say the grilling experience means a longer, more lingering meal experience (that corn took about 45 minutes to get cooked), but for the price, this place had high-quality flavourful food. It's a great place to go with a gang of friends or family. Whether it's what is served in Korea, I don't know, but I'll be back for more. -
Review from Emily F.
Halifax, NS
4/4/2012
My husband and I are unfamiliar with authentic Korean barbeque, however, we arrived at E-Pin with an open mind and left disappointed. We went at lunch time on Friday and were the only customers there for the duration of our meal. We had noticed signs in the window adveritsing new owners and a new menu and it seemed to us the new part was simply a full sushi menu added to the traditional Korean fare. We chose the barbeque, which was offered on an all you can eat basis for $19.99 each. We were charged extra for our non-alcoholic drinks. We marked off a sheet as you would for dim sum, choosing three appetizers and three grill items from the list of perhaps 15 or 20, being told that we could try other things and order more later on in the meal. We didn't receive a lot of instruction from our server in general who spent a lot of time sitting at another table with one of the cooks. The salads were great but the grill took forever to heat up, and choosing pork as one of the grill items landed us a plate with at least 3/4 lb of green bacon/pork belly which cooked up slow and grey over our barely warm grill, taking almost 20 minutes before being ready to consume. Not wanting to waste food, we did an admirable job with the completely unseasoned pork before trying some beef, and just as the grill was starting to get hot... the server removed it with tongs and replaced it with a cold grill - cold - and we had to wait another 20 minutes for it to heat up again. The 'sweet onion' was simply sliced raw onion with no marinade and the tofu was soft rather than firm, so that it broke and fell through the grill. As I say, the salads had a great flavour with lots of spice, but all the grill items were plain and raw and I was left with the feeling of having tried to heat raw meat and veggies straight out of the fridge in an Easy-Bake-Oven. Maybe next time I'll get the all you can eat sushi, except they have rules about charging for anything you leave behind. And I already have my Halifax sushi faves who do such a great job - - maybe I won't go back.
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Review from Mary-Eleanor W.
Halifax, NS
6/9/2011
E-PIN was an awesome experience! Although I am clearly an adult (by age only), I still enjoy playing with my food. This restaurant had a great mix of experimentation, spice and 'playfulness' to entice me back. First of all, our waiter was great. Very attentive and gave us 'newbies' the run-down after seating us at our choice of table (I love it when waiters give me options). So E-PIN now offers an all-you-can-eat option for any time throughout the day. You can either get regular or premium all-you-can eat options - $18 or $25. I'd say stick to the mains. I have a HUGE appetite and ordered the spicy pork entree - plenty of food to keep me satisfied! Each entree comes with six small sides, which were all deliciously spicy and some more mild. The kimchi was delicious as were the sweet potatoe noodles, bean sprouts, spicy cucumbers...and the list goes on.
After explaining all of our sides while neatly lining them up one by one, he fired up the grill. After telling us how long to cook the meat on each side, he then left us to our own devices. Here were our two options for consumption (as we saw them): We could either wrap up our concoctions of meat and sides in a lettuce leaf or mix everything together on the plate and have at 'er. We chose option A and man was it messy (back to the point of playing with your food), but if you don't mind getting a little dirty it's not a big deal.That said, this place is NOT a first-date option. Our waiter concurred.
Overall, a wonderfully delicious experience at E-PIN and I'll absolutely be visiting again. -
Review from Nick B.
Halifax, NS
1/17/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Thanks to Groupon letting me know this place existed, I set out with my wife and a friend for dinner on Friday night. E-PIN is to the best of my knowledge the first Korean BBQ in Halifax, and it's a novel experience. At your table you have an electric grill, and the point of the experience is to cook at the table, turning dinner into a longer, slower, more social experience. It's quite enjoyable.
The setting is also very nice, the design is slick and modern, but comfortable.
Overall, I was impressed, with a few minor reservations that I'll note here with the hope they change. The menu is not overly cluttered, we chose a combination meal for three, essentially, the table was filled for us with short ribs, teriyaki chicken, some beef, and a wide assortment of side dishes like Kimchi, potatoes, a couple of salads, and so on. These sides are replenished as you like, though we did have to actually ask which probably shouldn't happen, a little proactivity is appreciated. Also included is a choice of appetizers (edamame, gyoza-like dumplings, or miso soup) and a choice of dessert (several cheesecake options or green tea ice cream)
The thing that rather annoyed me is that it wasn't until the end of the meal that someone got the idea to bring us some knives as trying to split up ribs with chopsticks and a spoon isn't particularly effective. Mea culpa, however, we didn't actually think to ask either.
Wine list was impressive, no indication if you can bring your own wine, but if not there's ample options, including a very nice Argentine Malbec/Shiraz blend that I can't seem to figure out where they buy, as well as sake/soju, and a few beers.
Dinner for three including two Sapporos and a glass of wine worked out to around $160. Not unreasonable for what we got. -
Review from Blake H.
Halifax, NS
7/29/2011
Would that I could award negative stars...
One of two things have gone horribly wrong at E-Pin: either the owners have absolutely no idea how to properly prepare and serve Korean barbecue, or they do know how and are simply too lazy to bother even trying to do it right.
The problems with E-Pin are obvious even before entering the restaurant. As expected at a "Korean Barbecue", the menu posted outside is in two languages. Unfortunately, neither of these is Korean. Upon entering and further exploring the English and Chinese menu, one finds the very problematic drinks menu. This menu offers a number of imported beers and spirits, all of which originate in Japan.
Having hit both east and west of Korea, but so far missed the actual country itself, I did not have high hopes for the food menu. Fortunately, this menu did offer true Korean fare, albeit the most basic and unexciting items that Korean barbecue has to offer. When I asked the wait staff whether certain other dishes were available, my question was met with confusion. Expecting wait staff in a Korean grill house to actually speak Korean might be a bit much, but expecting them to know the names of the dishes is not. If the wait staff in an Italian restaurant were bewildered by the exotic word "lasagna", that would be comparable to my experience at E-Pin.
After my utterly frustrating ordering experience, I fully expected the worst, and that is when E-Pin finally exceeded my expectations. Every item we ordered came to the table in the wrong order. As if this was not enough, the very last dish to arrive, a full twenty minutes after the first dish, was the rice. Rice is the base when eating Korean barbecue. Meat is eaten with it, and often laid on it to cool before eating. At E-Pin, rice appears to be served as a kind of bland, rapidly cooling, post-meal palate cleanser.
The true key to enjoying Korean barbecue, however, is the grill. Ideally this should be charcoal, or propane in a pinch. E-Pin's grills are electric, which is as far as possible from ideal but understandable given Canada's more stringent health and safety guidelines. Even an electric grill would have been acceptable, had it been changed or cleaned even once during our meal. Commonly the grill is changed two or three times to provide a clean surface to cook on. At E-Pin, however, it seems that grilling the second half of your meal on a rack so coated in black sludge that it forms a carcinogenic marinade is the order of the day.
My greatest problem with E-Pin is not that it will offend those of us who have had the great fortune to enjoy authentic Korean barbecue, but that diners who have not had the pleasure will assume that what E-Pin has to offer IS authentic Korean barbecue. I assure you, it is not. Not by a long shot.
Diners who are unfamiliar with Korean barbecue will likely leave E-Pin feeling dissatisfied. Diners like myself who are familiar, and who were ecstatic upon initially hearing about E-Pin will more likely feel either enraged, or simply embarrassed at having been the victims of this hideous practical joke of a restaurant. -
Review from Bessy N.
Halifax, NS
2/14/2011 1 photo
Menu: a typical Korean grill house menu which was nice to see. Bring me some bulgogi and kimchi and I'm a happy camper. My friend and I shared an order of bulgogi and spicy pork (both came with a variety of Korean side dishes) and it was more than plenty for the both of us.
Both dishes were marinated quite well, and came off the grill tasting delicious. The kimchi was one of the best kimchis I've had (+++).
My only 1 star comment would be that the food is not nearly as spicy as it should be. So note - spicy does not = spicy on their menu.
E-PIN really is more about the experience. Grilling your own food is fun and social - great for 2-4 people.
Decor: Now let's talk about the decor. I'm a sucker for contemporary design and this place has it. Gorgeous mahogany chairs with blue silk (ish) fabric, and light fixtures that are a delight to see.
Service: Meh. But not offensive.
Price: Well, a bit pricey so it's not an everyday affair.Listed in: Good for Groups
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Review from Evan M.
Halifax, NS
10/16/2011
Having lived in Seoul, South Korea for about 6 months, I felt it was necessary to finally indulge in the one thing I've been consistently craving since I returned home: Korean BBQ.
The restaurant was quiet, but very nicely decorated. Our first order of business was to order Soju, a drink which absolutely must be consumed when enjoying a Korean dinner. I was a little let down to see they didn't have Korean brand Soju, and what was listed on the menu was called "Japenese Sochu." Didn't end up ordering it, way too expensive, so can't comment on that.
We went with the Korean BBQ all you can eat menu, though I know there is a sushi variant and a possibility to order off both menus. To begin, the menu had 90% of what you're going to find in any BBQ joint in Korea - minus the more interesting cuisine (chicken hearts, rice noodle etc.) This is about as authentic as it is going to get in Eastern Canada. You even get the scissors to cut up the meat with. All my favourite dishes came, and they were delicious. The meat was fresh and good quality. The Kimchi was also very fresh, though could be spicier.
The staff is what especially made this experience delightful. Our server was extremely knowledgable, friendly, and made great recommendations on both food and drink (we had an excellent bottle of wine she recommended, which is atypical to drink with BBQ, but was a great choice). She obviously knew about and enjoyed the food she was serving. It was absolutely the best service I've received anywhere in Halifax.
The price, $19 for all you can eat, seems a little expensive. However, I may be quite biased as in Korea you can have a similar meal for about $6.
This place was nothing short of phenomenal and a great representation of what Korean food has to offer. Highly recommended. -
Review from Chris L.
Halifax, NS
4/24/2011
An authentic experience. I lived in South Korea for a year and this place does barbecue right. The meat is tender and full of flavour and the sides are great. My only complaint is the lack if Korean beer on the menu.
