The Apron Korean Kitchen — Restaurant in Calgary

I am flabbergasted by the experience tonight. I read reviews and noticed that a lot of people mentioned that the service in this restaurant is horrible. So we went with that already in mind. We ordered several things and we were asking about the menu items and their spice levels because we have some people in our group that don't handle spice well. There was a few tteokbokkis on the menu and there was a spicy seafood one and a creamy regular one. We asked if we could get the seafood one less spicy: no. Ok? We then asked if we can order the creamy one with the added seafood: no. Alright.... We went with the creamy one. It was good but not a traditional tteokbokki. We then ordered a beef volcano which was gochuchang sauce and vegetables all mixed together with beef. It was extremely spicy and we asked if we could get some cream on the side to help with the spiciness to make it more rose sauce style. Waitress said she can't do that. And we asked why. She said she needs to ask the kitchen. We waited and she came back and said she can't bring any cream because unfortunately she can't charge us for it in any way.... We just asked if we can order a coffee and some cream on the side. She said they don't have coffee. We even asked to just pay for it as if it were a drink, she said she can't do that. They were being sooooo difficult. I've never had such a painful experience asking for accommodations in a restaurant. We weren't even asking for a big favour, literally just some 18% or literally whatever they have in the back, on the side, to help with the spiciness of the dish. It was very awkward and because of the poor customer service and lack of accommodations to better our experience, we won't be coming back. There's other way better Korean restaurants that are more than willing to please a customer when they have some intolerances...

Came here with my husband and 5 year old on a Saturday night. We ordered the beef tartare bibimbab and the braised pork back ribs in soy sauce glass noodles. I asked the server if the ribs and noodles dish was spicy, to which she responded "it is not spicy". The beef tartare bibimbab arrived first and was really good, but we didn't give much to our kid because it contained marinated raw beef. The pork ribs and noodles arrived shortly after and it is definitely a large portion (shareable for 2 adults). While the adults found it very good, unfortunately it was spicy (level 2.5 out of 5) with hot peppers all over the dish. My hangry 5 year old was upset because noodles are his favorite but his mouth was on fire. We asked the server for a bowl of white rice, explaining our child can't eat the ribs dish which is why I specifically asked if it was spicy. She seemed surprised it was spicy and I showed her all the peppers in the dish. Anyway, my husband and I enjoyed the food, but it was a bit of a poor experience due to the lack of product knowledge by the server, more training would...

I've been to The Apron more than five times—probably around ten—because I know the food is consistently good. I’ve even posted about it on Facebook Foodie YYC to share this great Korean spot with others!

However, during my last two visits, the quality has dipped a bit. In particular, the Apron Beef Tartare didn’t taste as fresh as usual, and it seems they’ve swapped the traditional pear/apple for cucumber, which just isn’t the same.

Service has always been the weakest point here—consistently a 2/10, whether the place is packed or nearly empty. We often have to wave someone down just to get water refills. On May 5th, the server forgot to properly submit our order, so we waited about an hour for the spicy chicken feet stew—pretty disappointing.

Still, I keep coming back because the food is genuinely great. Chef/owner, please consider putting more focus on service—your kitchen does amazing work, and it deserves to be matched by the...