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Korean Bbq Restaurant Seoul
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu 5 pm - 10 pm
Fri-Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
13 reviews for Korean Bbq Restaurant Seoul
13 reviews in English
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Review from Garrick L.
12/28/2011
Oh man, where can I start? The Korean BBQ here was absolutely delicious. I was in the mood for some authentic bugolgi and korean style ribs, and this place satisfied my appetite perfectly! I ordered the all-you-can-eat buffet for $25, and I ended up eating more than I bargained for. Of course, the restaurant management prevents customers from ordering too much and wasting meat; they control this by placing a $10 charge for any leftover meat. Luckily for my group, we ended up eating every last riblet right down to the bone.
The atmosphere is a contemporary yet traditional Korean restaurant. Ironic, huh? They have cultural decorations hanging on the wall, but they also have the steel and chrome grills on the ceiling and glossed wooden tables that were surprisingly clean, considering the number of customers eating there and the oil that sprayed out of the grill.
We decided to grill our own meat, which was a fun experience. Our waitress basically brought over a generous plate of raw meat, and we used the tongs and scissors to cook our own food. A quick tip: wear clothing that you don't mind getting infused with the tasty aroma of Korean BBQ fumes. I wore an old jacket and a school shirt. Be prepared to smell like Bugolgi upon leaving the restaurant!!
The service was great, but nothing extraordinary. Our waitress was kind, but because there was a great deal of customers (the restaurant always has a steady flow!), she sometimes took a while to get our order. However, the waiters are always quick to change the metal grill on the table - this helps make cleaning off the black char a little bit easier.
Lastly, the food was above par. Before finding this restaurant, I had been craving Korean BBQ for a long time. Correction: I had been craving TASTY Korean BBQ for a long time. The BBQ restaurants in my neighborhood are overpriced and serve cardboard on plates. This place had filling food for a semi-decent priced. It isn't too realistic to expect to find a Korean BBQ restaurant that won't suck out your wallet. In my neighborhood, good food comes with a price.
I will most definitely come back to Seoul Korean BBQ Restaurant for more delicious Bugolgi, Kimchi, and Ribs. If only I had the bank to eat here every day!! This place is as good as it gets.
Now here's a knee slapper for you: this place probably serves the best SEOUL food in the entire city!! Ha! Ha!Listed in: Am I In Heaven??, Good for Groups
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Review from Julie H.
Calgary, AB
3/3/2012
Tasty interactive eating with ayce bbq. It's definitely fun for a group & a good value but we came out smelling like bbq. I think they definitely should get better ventilation.
My fave was the short ribs, rib eye & beef rib. They were fantastic on a lettuce leaf with a little bit of all the sides available. YUM!
I found the chicken dry and the fried pork and pork ribs pretty unappetizing. The pork belly was ok but I preferred it well done with most of the fat melted off. it tasted pretty good with the soybean past dip.
If ur not adverse to garlic ask for some on the side and pop a few on the grill, pretty tasty with the wrap.
All in all, not a bad place to eat unless you have after dinner plans where u don't want to smell like grilled meat. -
Review from Nyssa R.
7/15/2011
I wish I had written a first review of this place when I first came here, because it would definitely have gotten a four before. When I first started going there I was really impressed with the quality and size of the portions. They still have a lot of little extras that I definitely appreciate but aside from the kimchi and other little appetizers they give you at the beginning, the rest of the food, tea, atmosphere, service, have all degraded. Not to mention the prices have definitely went up to a point where it's just not worth it anymore here. It's still a fun experience but there are other Korean restaurants elsewhere, as other people have said.
When I first came, they gave generous amounts of meat in their jap chae and other dishes, now (I wish I had taken a picture) they give you probably less than 1 oz of meat and the dish has increased in price and is almost $17. Over the past two years I've noticed the tea getting more and more watery as well. I didn't want to believe it the first three or four times, but by the last time I went I realized that there wasn't any reason to come here anymore above other similar restaurants. The last time I went, the jap chae was almost all noodles and it tasted like they had been soaked in butter. It just didn't taste right. I just remember I used to look forward to the tea (it used to be SO good), and the generous portions for good prices. I'm not sure if they were losing money or what it was.
I don't think the beebimbap has ever been that great here even when I fell in love for the place, but I'm just really disappointed by how much their noodles degraded. Their soup used to be quite nice too but I haven't tried it recently so I can't comment if it's bad now. I would say from my last few experiences, don't waste money on the jap chae or ordering a la carte BBQ items (they don't give you much, and it can be pretty fatty). I think the group dinners are the best value for money but then you'll need at least 3 people to finish.
The service has been about the same since I started. Nothing special. They make you pay at the front. I'm guessing now that they've gotten a popular name they feel it's OK to slack on the quality and quantity but hopefully they figure it out soon enough... its not like they are the only restaurant of this type in Calgary. -
Review from Guntram W.
Calgary, AB
1/26/2012
My wife, daughter and I along with another couple and their son had dinner here on the 21st of January and it will be our only visit ever. The Beef Bulgio was as chewy as it get and almost uneatable. The rest of the food was only marginally better. We reapeatedly ask for a bowl of hot water to warm up a baby bottle and finally gave up after an hour. The place seems popular and is well decorated. I would suggest to come here only for the ambiance as the food and the service is a disapointment.
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Review from Queenie M.
Calgary, AB
9/4/2010
Food: 2.5/5
Atmosphere: 2.5/5
Service: 3/5
Overall experience: 2.5/5
(1- Terrible; 3- decent; 5- Fantastic)
eh....I dunno why people keep coming here for Korean food. It is a OK Korean restaurant but I've had better Korean food elsewhere (like Sura's, Koreana, or Dae Jang Geum). Usually with greater quantity, comes with decreased quality and Seoul is a definite representation of that.
I've come here a couple times with my friends and they usually like to get Seoul's BBQ combination for around $69 for 2-3 people and increases with more people. The portion of meat is quite big and unless all 3 people have big appetites you will not be able to finish. Their combos are usually enough to feed what they recommend plus 1-2 people.
Their BBQ combination comes with rice; side dishes (kimchi, pickled daikon radish, bean sprouts, lovely honey-garlic glazed potatoes, and sometimes deep fried tofu); Japchae (Korean glass noodles); smoked salmon coleslaw/salad with a creamy fruity tasting dressing; a shrimp, tofu and zucchini soup; seafood pancake; shrimp, mussels, squid, and a variety of meats (pork, chicken, beef, short ribs) that can be cooked by the kitchen or yourself.
The combos are nice to get for large groups and when you want to try a little bit of everything but the overall taste and quality of the food is underwhelming, bland, and just not very good. The seafood pancake can be very salty at times, soggy, and too doughy; the dressing on their coleslaw/salad is a little off and unusual tasting. The taste of the meat can be a hit and miss, but I usually find it a miss with it tasting very bland. The marinade on the bulgogi chicken and pork is very pasty and chalky and doesn't have that unique strong chili taste associated with bulgogi. The only thing I found consistent and delicious from the BBQ combos is the japchae.
The rest of their menu is quite big, a little overwhelming for me. I've tried the Bibimbap (rice mixed with meat, vegetables, an egg, and chili pepper paste) which was bland and soggy; their Kimchi soup (spicy) had a bit of a kick but was watered down and lacked the development of a deep and rich soup base; their Yook Gae Jang (spicy beef and vegetable soup with noodles) was decent; and their seafood hotpot was kind of disappointing- just a bunch of unseasoned seafood boiled in a broth and is definitely not worth the price.
The food comes out in a very reasonably quick time, but the actual service suffers especially on busy nights (usually the weekend) where the servers would forget to refill your tea pot or side dishes. The place is ver big and because im kind of OCD i find the lack in matching teapots and plates annoying. Expect to come out smelling like bbq because there is a lack of ventilation and everything becomes hazy.
Overall, the food at Seoul is OKAY but I would highly recommend you go elsewhere in Calgary like Koreana (further down Macleod Trail) or Sura's for more authentic Korean flavours. If it's your first time trying Korean, Seoul is definitely a bad representation of it. The only good thing going for this place is that it's big and can hold a lot of large groups, and you are able to get large portions of meat with the BBQ combos. However, like I mentioned, although the food comes out quick and there are large portions, the quality often suffers. Definitely, skip this place and save your tastebuds! -
Review from dinah g.
Calgary, AB
3/21/2010 8 photos
Wow talk about amazing Korean food. The place must have over 60 tables and on Friday night it was packed. A good ethnic restaurant is amazing when you see people from its ethnic community in it. Believe me there were not only Koreans here but also tons of Filipinos, Viets and Chinese.
We had a great BBQ combination for 2 to 3 people that cost 69 dollars and the value of this is amazing as we ate over 16 dishes. I am not too familiar with Korean food so it was like travelling to another country. First of all the place is really nice, very open and has high ceilings and great colors. The furniture is modern and there are separated areas so you feel like you are in separate rooms.
You have the option of cooking the meal at your table and because none of us although Asian knew how to cook Korean food we choose the cooked option.
Every plate soon just came flowing out, everything was so fresh and well presented, let me outline our meal. First you get the appetizers, the kim chee, spicy daikon, mackeral in tomato sauce and collard greens and lettuce. I found alot of this too spicy but nonetheless I tried it anyways, and I used the lettuce kind of like a taco to eat everything.
Radish and green pepper with sweet and sour garlic sauce, soy weed soup , seafood pancake or bulgogi japche, stir fried noodles with marinated beef, marinated beef rib, marinated beef bulgogi, marinated chicken bulgogi, marinated spicy pork bulgogi, marinated short ribs, mussels, prawns and squid.
Overall an amazing price for so much food, I would definitely go back again. -
Review from Tuvshin U.
Calgary, AB
6/29/2010
great Korean Food. Always full of people. My beef is that their food portion is becoming smaller - soups in particular.
Would definitely come back, but wish they kept the original size of their dishes. -
Review from Linda C.
10/29/2010
Went for lunch with the family. Basically ordered the basics in the lunch specials, bibimbap, Kalbi, Bulgogi. Everything was ok, nothing really to complain about except that the place is LARGE and the servers seemed to be walking long distances from the kitchen and around so it makes the service a little slow at times. It's the closest Korean restaurant to me so I would stop by for convenience sake. My first time having Korean meal in Calgary so I'm interested to see what other restaurants are out there.
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Review from C T.
Calgary, AB
Updated - 5/10/2009
Took my mum for Mother's Day Lunch Celebrations at Seoul. The restaurant was quite full. We decided to have the 4-5 persons BBQ meal. We also decided to cook the meal ourselves. You have the option of having the kitchen cook the meal for you. Once the BBQ is on, the exhaust vents are on full force. Still you do smell a bit like the BBQ when you leave, be forewarned.
The salmon salad, the side dishes (kim chee, spicy daikon, mackerel in tomato sauce, collard greens), the soup, hot bean paste, fresh garlic, onion and the basket of romaine lettuce came out. Then, the platter of raw bulgogi beef, pork, chicken, beef short ribs, beef ribs, prawns, squid, mussels and mushrooms. Covered hot metal bowls of rice were then served. The waitress placed some of the raw food on the bbq and it's such a neat experience! The bbq grill is changed throughout the meal the moment it's coated with charbroiled bits. A pair of tongs and a large pair of scissors were given to help us cook the food. The scissors was useful in cutting up the cooked meat after. Let me tell you the food was well received by all! We love Seoul's BBQ!
The service was impeccable. Very watchful and observant. Always asked if we wanted more side dishes. I think we had side dishes brought round 4 times!! No charge for extra side dishes.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/11/2009 First to Review
Great food at Seoul! Had lunch there today. Ordered dolsot bibimbap (rice, beef, veges, fried egg… Read more »
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Review from Koz T.
Calgary, AB
12/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
Stopped in here today based on what I had read on Yelp. On the one hand, you won't go home hungry. We were stuffed when we went home. On the other hand, the food was nothing special and the tea was mediocre. At this price point, don't skimp on the tea! The ribs were good and the actual BBQ items were decent. All of the sides were poor though, pickled everything. I don't regret going but I likely won't be back.
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Review from Starsia E.
Calgary, AB
4/11/2011
It's fun to get to cook your own food and catch up with friends but you use the same tongs to put raw chicken on the grill as you do to take off any cooked food. I'm always worry when it's no big deal to share the same tongs with raw meat as the cooked stuff you are about to ingest. The sushi is on par with most average restaurants and the Korean BBQ actually tastes pretty good except for the danger involved with eating it. The service can be snail slow and I suggest ordering two drinks at once because you will sit a long time without a refill otherwise. I don't go here often but overall it's not that bad. Definitely not my first choice though. If they fix the raw meat tong sharing I will consider trying it more.
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Review from diane c.
Calgary, AB
12/27/2010 1 Check-in Here
Great food, fun to cook yourself or have them cook for you. Stinkaroo is how you'll smell at the end of the night but well worth it.
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Review from M S.
7/3/2010
We found out about this via Yelp. You grill your meat tableside, or the kitchen will cook it for you. They recently started an all you can eat selection, and we went with that and opted for tableside cooking. Sliced rib eye, shredded pork, marinated rib eye, and pork belly. The traditional Korean accompaniments, including kimchee, spicy tofu, green beans, and Korean radishes. It was fun, and the food was outstanding. The servers zip around the restaurant, constantly checking on you, changing out the grill top so that you don't get a burned taste on the food, refreshing the sides, and generally paying attention to be sure you have a good experience. One tipoff that this was a good Korean restaurant, most everyone dining there was Korean! A fun, different experience.
