Seoul Korean BBQ is a family owned and run restaurant. Who doesn't love those? Parents Tae and Kyung brought their family along with extraordinary cooking skills to the United States in 1998. The restaurant opened in 2000 and they are the first and only Korean BBQ restaurant in Burbank up to this day.
So if you've ever had Korean BBQ, you're probably thinking grills, unlimited meat and self cooking. Seoul Korean BBQ doesn't provide grills for you to cook your own meat, but that doesn't mean the meat they cook in their front kitchen isn't delicious.
I had a good feeling as soon as I walked in and could clearly see the kitchen right next to me. Second, the chefs were all Korean. It feel reassured when I can see what kind of process my food is going through before it lands in front of me on a plate. It's also reassuring to know that it's handled by people who have been eating the food they're cooking for me their whole lives.
The dining area has expanded since the restaurant first opened so there is a nice big area for seating. I was a little surprised when I got the menu that was one sided and had 10 pictures. There were a total of 10 items on the menu. Five of them are meat (BBQ) dishes. This includes kalbi, chicken, bulgogi, spicy pork and a combo with kalbi, chicken and bulgogi. For Korean BBQ virgins, kalbi is beef short ribs and bulgogi is thinly sliced beef rib eye steak. Meat dishes come with rice and vegetables (including kimchi). The other five dishes include traditional Korean rice, noodle and dumpling dishes.
My mom ordered Mandoo-Soup, which is Korean dumplings, but we were told that the chef who makes that was not in that day. It was disappointing that we couldn't eat that dish but at the same time it was also interesting to know that they had designated chefs for each dish. I definitely think this is a plus.
We ended up getting Bibimbap and Kalbi.
This place definitely deserves 4 stars for the quality and quantity of food. I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner.
The Bibimbap had fresh vegetables, salted nicely. The rice that came along with this dish (and also Kalbi) was the perfect sticky-ness. Rice can be hard to cook because often times, too much water was added and the individual grains of rice become too mushy.
The Kalbi was so tasty. Personally I'm a meat lover so I can be pretty critical of meats. This is the most tender Kalbi I've ever eaten. Usually when I order Kalbi, the meat can be a little bit tough. But the Kalbi here was perfect. It was soft but at the same time not undercooked. It was marinated very well also. The amount of meat that was given for the cost of $10.95 was a good amount. Back in Northern California, the same plate of meat would have cost me $18. Also, the rice that came with this was perfect and you could ask for refills on the veggies.
One thing that I wish Seoul Korean BBQ had is tofu stew. Most Korean restaurants I go to have this so it would be nice if they could add this to their menu.
If you've never had Korean BBQ, go to Seoul Korean BBQ and they will leave a good impression.
Like Korean food, too. Can feel the deliciousness from reading this paper. Very fun reading
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