I really wanted to like this place, so I feel bad I can't give it more stars. Honestly, 3 is a stretch, but I so badly want this place to be good that I might even give it another try. I was introduced to their food at the Devour food festival this year. Their kimchee tostada and ramen broth was on point, so I had high expectations coming here. Sadly, it didn't make the mark. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I'm guessing the place was just having a bad night. First round of drinks came out quickly, but once the place filled up, service got shaky. We waited for a pretty long time and when food came out, we were served way before our friends' plates arrived.
It wasn't all bad, my bonal negroni was perfect- nicely balanced with a big ice cube (which I love).
The dump truck salad was a nice mix of veggies and tepary beans (which you never see on menus- nice touch!). Unfortunately, the soy-citrus salad was lacking both soy and citrus flavoring. It just tasted like the salad was tossed in oil.
We ordered the mushroom lettuce wraps, but were given the pork belly instead. The waiter apologized and eventually brought us the right order. The slices of mushroom were covered in a very thick soy glaze. The sunamono salad was good, but there wasn't much of it. The lettuce we were meant to wrap it in was actually gross- brown on the edges and wilted- the kind I would throw straight into the compost pile at home. Fail.
We ordered the tantanmen ramen bowl The fried tofu balls, which we ordered to replace the ground pork was the best part. It came with a few mustard greens and bamboo shoots. The promised soft egg was missing- boo. I did not like the flavor of the broth and didn't want more than one bite. This is definitely not the same broth they served at the food festival.
I would have given up on this place completely, despite the fab cocktail, but our server made me want to rethink that decision. After my girlfriend (who weirdly loves the color yellow, dogs, and North Korea) commented how much she loved the poster of Kim Jong-un hanging in the bathroom, he gave her one. Super nice gesture... and it was a a cool poster.
Would definitely return for a negroni on the patio, but not sure on the food.