Geonbae Korean Barbecue Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

Disappointing experience.

Ordered a doenjang jjigae, which we know to be non-spicy based on our trips to Korea. Based on what we saw from the lunch menu, there was no indication that it was spicy (no icons or ingredients to suggest that). Got that specifically for my mother, because she has a medical condition which causes her mouth to hurt when she eats spicy food.

When it arrived, there was a thick layer of red liquid top which looked like chilli. We enquired about it, and had asked for a switch since it was spicy. Here is where everything went downhill, these were the responses of the chef (presumably the owner as well): He argued that the main menu indicates that the soup is spicy. But we already stated that we ordered from the lunch menu, which failed to state that it was spicy. He went on to insist that while the lunch menu did not say it was spicy, it didn’t state it was non-spicy either. This was outright rude. If your menu failed to state something, then take responsibility for it as a business owner. Things went out of hand when he insisted that we did not ask any of the staff if the dish was spicy, and that traditionally it is supposed to be spicy (which isn’t what Google says). This further reinforces the super rude service, do not ever shift the blame to customers. Especially when the fault lies with the business owner, where the lunch menu had failed to indicate which were spicy dishes. It is ridiculous to expect customers to ask about every single dish on the lunch menu.

All in, it was a very disappointing experience because we had a very legitimate medical reason for requesting for the switch. It was not as if we asked for it because we suddenly changed out minds. Yet the chef/owner insisted that we paid for the portion of the soup because it was already cooked, and there was no way to make a switch - we would have to order another dish if we wanted something non-spicy.

We were forced to take the spicy stew as it had been cooked, and it would have been billed to us. Yet, it was left in the kitchen and we had to ask for it to be served to us several times after the conversation. And no, the staff weren’t busy because we were the only ones in the restaurant at that time.

Ultimately, there was no apology issued. Neither was there any ownership taken on the lunch menu being lacking in information. Extremely unprofessional - this is not how you run a business.

The food was average, but service...

Went there for a casual dinner with my family, but unfortunately have to give a 1 star experience overall. I do not normally leave negative reviews but had such a bad experience here. First, there was a hair in the food which i thought is a bit unhygienic. Second, the side dish were very little for the 5 of us. There were only 3 side dish and each of them is only like 1 tablespoon. I went to a lot of kbbq places and we always got a decent portion of the side dishes as it’s a normal “tradition” for kbbq places, and you can ask for more kimchi refill (within reasonable amount) if you want more. So I personally feel that the restaurant is very stingy in giving the side dish, considering there were 5 adults and they only gave 1 tablespoon for each side dish (3 side dish in total). They also did not allow refill when my sister asked for it. I thought it was weird so I questioned another employee about it and after he went back and gave us a refill but when we checked the bill later they actually charge us $8 for that refill (which we were not informed) . Also the chicken was very meh compared to all korean fried chicken that I have tried. Nothing special with the meat quality as well compared to other kbbq restaurants. I asked for a sesame oil and salt for me to dip my grilled meat on and they only gave me so little (about half a teaspoon) The only thing that gave an extra star making it a 2 star is because one of the employee was quite funny. But overall, personally, I would not go back to...

Made a booking for 2 on a Saturday - 7pm. I booked a couple days in advance. On the night it wasn’t too busy, but starting to pick up with customers and groups.

It’s a little more on the expensive side when it comes to KBBQ but you’ll definitely get full! We ordered the set menu - variety set. For starters we selected the chicken mahn doo and spicy tteokbokki. For BBQ we picked the Ganjang Samgyupsal and the Beef Bulgogi. We also ordered a side of corn cheese. We took the fried chicken (part of the set menu) for takeaway as we were just so full!

The mahn doo were fried to perfection - crunchy and crispy. The spicy tteokbokki definitely packed a punch but was a great side dish - filling as it’s rice cake. The meats we selected were marinated well. Flavourful. We opted to cook them ourselves and the bbq top heated up pretty quickly compared to some other places we’ve been to - especially when it’s not using coals. Corn cheese was great - not watery/milky in any way and good to share between 2.

It took a while for things to start coming out but once it did, we got full so quickly. Staff were really friendly. Able to accommodate our requests.

Overall it was a good evening. There aren’t many KBBQ places around me so it’s nice to know we can go to Geonbae which isn’t too far away. I’ll be back to try their...