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| - VISUAL AESTHETIC: 3/5
The shopping center, Seoul Plaza, that Hwaro is located in is extremely compact, with very few parking spaces in comparison to the amount of businesses. It's a tight drive and I always see a consistent amount of cars parked out on the residing streets. All the restaurants and shops are quite small as well, and hold a small capacity of people. Hwaro is a decent size, but the waiting area which tends to always been packed, is much too small.
The interior is cute and offers the subtle image of old school Korea, with the banners and the tree planted in the middle along with the soju caps. However, it is nothing extravagant or extraordinary. I found the location of the bathroom to be strange as it felt as though it was in the center of the building rather than in the corner, but nothing too strange.
The first thing I saw when we were seated was the water containers on the table. This is not uncommon at Korean restaurants or even restaurants IN Korea, however what I found strange was the amount of grease and popped food on the exterior of the plastic container. That was absolutely disgusting to me. I understand it IS a Korean barbecue restaurant so there will be oil popping, but there shouldn't be anything dirty for the next customer.
Along the lines of cleanliness, the tables also were not wiped down properly. I understand Hwaro tends to be PACKED and busy, with a queue that can last more than an hour long, but again, tables should be cleaned for the next customer. The fact that there was still oil and food debris on my table was disgusting, and I felt sick from the sight of the leftovers on it.
The vent fans above the grills were equally as dirty, with oil and dust covering them all over. I felt I had lost my appetite just seeing the mess that was around the restaurant. Quick service can be sacrificed for cleanliness.
FOOD: 2/5
We ordered from the all-you-can-eat menu and were not impressed, in the least. It was honestly all quite mediocre? The bean sprout and green onion salad () was way too sweet, and we found that to be true with all the marinated meats as well. The rice was strangely put into the bowls? Where the amounts were varying - one contained rice to the brim while the other bowl looked as if half was scooped out. One of the items we ordered, the baby octopus, had an extremely small serving. I almost laughed when it was TWO pieces for one order, and only ONE order per person? The garlic that we had asked for was not cut or peeled well, with the brown tops still in tact and the skin still on the cloves.
SERVICE: 3/5
I came here on a couple different occasions, both of them on a whim, and was told to wait forty-five minutes. Instead of waiting, I left and went elsewhere. However, this occasion I came during a slow hour, around three o'clock in the afternoon or so? I waited a few minutes and we were seated almost immediately.
Our server was Hanchie and he was very friendly and nice, however lacked a bit of attentiveness. For ten minutes, we waited while waiters stood around. We watched another table's guests wave their arms around until it caught the attention of a server, so we attempted the same thing and finally managed to get their attention. But again, lack of attentiveness, because our grill wasn't turned on until I mentioned it (this was after the meat we ordered had arrived at our table).
The scissors at our table were so terrible that we could barely slice through the meat. Utensils should be checked ahead of time, and our server actually watched us struggle terribly with cutting but never bothered to ask if we needed it changed; we were the ones to request.
After the first round of meats, we needed to have the grill pan changed. This is probably a personal preference, but I found it quite gross to see that the grill pans were all pre-oiled and that they were put on trays that looked quite dirty (foot leftovers), while being wheeled around the restaurant. Mistakes happen but our server did a very poor job of changing our grill pans and ended up actually spilling sauce in my lap due to the clumsy job.
Besides the fact that our server was not very attentive, nor was he quick, he also managed to constantly put plates of meat down that allowed the contents of the plate to touch the (as mentioned above) dirty table.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE: 2/5
Honestly, I was excited to try Hwaro. There are so many raving reviews and I only heard good things from acquaintances. However, I found that the side dishes and meats were all way too sweet, were nothing special, and that the venue overall was not that clean. The servers were extremely friendly, but they were slow. I understand it was probably after lunch time, but that does not mean that service should be taken away from customers when it is not prime time. I will not be returning to Hwaro, KBBQ restaurants are a dime a dozen and I know a handful of better places in town.
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