| rev:text
| - Sariwon is actually my favourite Korean BBQ restaurant in the GTA, so I was pretty surprised to see that it doesn't have very good reviews. After reading about people's complaints, I think I get why.
The first time I was here, a few Korean friends took me here and showed me the ropes of how to eat proper Korean BBQ. Don't come here if you want to gorge yourself in meat - that would probably wreck your wallet. You have to eat piece with care - wrap it in lettuce, add some of the soybean paste, and then add a little bit of rice. If you'd like, add a bit of garlic and/or jalapeños for extra spice. You have to eat the meats that way if you want to fill your stomach, just eating the meats alone will not fill you up.
The quality of their dishes are generally quite good. Their meat in particular is some of the best I've ever had. The only one that is marinated is the one that explicitly says "marinated" kalbi (probably my favourite), the rest of the meats aren't and it's not supposed to be. That's how you eat Korean BBQ. Korean Grill House is not proper Korean BBQ, so don't expect your meat to be drenched in sauce.
It is quite pricy, I spent about $35 per person for their marinated kalbi, and you must order a minimum of two. Why? Because they give you quite a bit of stuff along with the meats - lettuce, salad, 6 side dishes, soy bean soup, and a small cinnamon drink at the end as a dessert. If you're not full but don't want to spend more money, just ask for more side dishes and keep eating that along with your meat - you should be ingesting your daily intake of vegetables anyway.
Now I do see that service is a problem. Had I not come initially with friends, I would've been confused as to how I'm supposed to eat everything, and the servers are not all that patient in explaining what to do (partly because of their English proficiency). The service seems to be less attentive when the manager/owner is not there - usually they cook everything for you if they're on top of the service, but if they're busy or lazy, they just put the meat on the grill for you and expect you to do the rest, so you might be sitting there wondering when the meat is done. If they leave you alone, just cook the meat on each side until you don't see any more pink, then cut it into bite sized pieces with the scissors they give you.
I came here yesterday on a Sunday night and I was a bit annoyed that instead of serving one of just two tables in the restaurant, they were busy feeding themselves and making their own kbbq - at least it's nice to know that they're willing to eat their own food too. There is a button by each table that you can press to get their attention - but don't expect them to come smiling and willing to help, they're just not that friendly (minus the manager who's always greeting customers with a smile and asking how the food was).
I would've given them 5 stars if the service yesterday was a bit more attentive, oh and they started charging for extra lettuce - which makes no sense with the premium price you're already paying. Nevertheless, if you are here on the right day with proper staffing, it will feel more like a 5-star experience, and the food is always consistently good - that's what's brought me back here many times over the past 7 years. Just don't be so nit picky about the service, and eat the food the way they're meant to be eaten and you should have a great meal.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)