Hanjan South — Restaurant in Edmonton

I used to come to this restaurant all the time when they first opened. Unfortunately over the last couple of years their service and food quality has gone down dramatically. In the beginning this place was the place to be at. The food was great, the service was phenomenal, the atmosphere was great and fun. My friends and I used to regularly book our birthdays here. As the years went by, the staff changed and the quality of the food became terrible. Which is the reason we stopped coming and exploring other Korean restaurants in the area. You would think they would read their recent reviews from loyal customers and want to change their mistakes but that doesn't seem to be the case. There are sooooo many Korean restaurants nearby that they should be worried their business can get affected.

My husband and I decided to give Hanjan another try this past saturday after so long of not coming. I regretted we even tried to give this place another try. First of, it was not busy when we walked in and one server was attending to the 3-4 tables there. We were not greeted when we walked in, the server just simply looked at us and looked away. It took him about 2 mins to come to us and tell us to go sit wherever we wanted. We decided to pick a booth near the windows. The restaurant as a whole was cold but it was even colder near the windows. The place needs to remodel because it's a little out dated now and not as fun as it used to be when it first opened. The chairs are super uncomfortable to sit on and are rock solid you just want to get out as soon as you are done. The benches they have with the cushions are sooo deflated and not comfortable either. When the server came to take our order we specified what dishes we wanted to come out first and what we wanted afterwards. The server was not really paying attention to a single word we said and just nodded his head and walked away. The wait to even get our drinks was incredibly long for no reason as the server was just wandering around and lingering around the bar area doing nothing. The table that came in after us got their drinks and starters before us. Shortly after we received our starter pickled tray with the chopsticks and NO forks like requested at the beginning. Still no drinks at this point. We called for the server and a girl came with our starter food AND main food all together. We had to mention for a third time that we did not receive the drinks we ordered and no fork to even eat with. At that point we were getting attitude from the server as if we were just inconveniencing her. At no time during our visit were we rude to any of the staff there when we had every right to be.

We we received the food, the corn cheese was terrible. The cheese was not properly melted and it was so chunky and thick. The bulgogi we ordered was asked to be made WELL DONE and it came out pretty raw and clumpy. The vegetables in that dish were rock hard and tasted incredibly stale… it was gross. To top it off, the cutlery was absolutely disgusting (which is why I ask for a lemon to DISINFECT the forks and chopsticks). We didn't finish our food and did not pack anything to go. Unfortunately, the whole experience was an absolute waste of our time and money.

Overall, this was definitely our last time coming to Hanjan as the disappointment from years prior just got even worse. They need to properly train their staff on customer service, get a better dishwasher for all their dishes there, do a deep clean of their washrooms as it is sooooo filthy in there and have the cooks really put effort/pride in the food they make and serve to their customers to make them come back wanting more. Not sure if the management/ownership has changed, but how they were operating in the beginning was amazing and the staff was one of the main reasons why we kept coming back over...

Have heard great things about this place and decided to finally try it today. Which was both a blessing and a curse.

To start with the good, this place looked really nice, very friendly servers, and I love the idea of the call button that some restaurants are starting to use; it allows me to not get disturbed but call when I actually need something. The food was amazing, we couldn't decide so we went with bimbimbap, a half order of galbi, and half order of grilled pork belly. Everything was top notch amazing and probably my new favourite place when craving Korean. We were nestled on the second floor at the lone table by the stairs where we could over look the whole restaurant and be tucked away without being disturbed.

Now for the bad, which prevents this from being a 5 star experience. It is LOUD, extremely loud. I imagine going on a week day or during the afternoon presents a different crowd, as it seemed to be a lot of young excited party goers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I felt more like I was eating at a night club than I was at a restaurant with how loud it was in there, everyone's voice resonating on the walls and onto the raw steel ceiling just made things seemingly unreasonably loud. I would suggest this restaurant invest in some sound reduction foam to place along the high walls and ceiling to lower the excess volume and allowing guests to hear each other easier and not having to shout. There are some closed in booths that I probably would have preferred to sit in to drown out the noise.

While this place seems like a young trendy place with good food. It seems more of a place to go for drinks and food with friends than to take a date or family on the weekend. I will definitely be back, however during the afternoon.

And yes. I really do feel like an old man now complaining about youngins making...

Hanjan: A Mixed Experience with Delicious Food Hanjan offers a dining experience with both commendable aspects and areas for improvement. While the food truly shines, some service and environmental factors detracted from an otherwise pleasant evening.

Upon arrival, the staff at Hanjan were notably friendly and welcoming, creating a positive initial impression. However, as the meal progressed, a slight disorganization became apparent, with different staff members attending to our table. This led to some confusion regarding requests and instructions. A particular point of disappointment arose when we had specifically asked a server not to mention bill splitting, as we intended to cover the meal for a special guest. Unfortunately, this instruction was not followed, and the guest became hesitant to order more expensive dishes, which was a letdown given our intentions.

The seating arrangement also presented a challenge. Our table by the window was uncomfortably hot, making the dining experience less enjoyable than it could have been. It would have been preferable to be seated in a cooler area, perhaps upstairs, if available. Furthermore, the process of splitting the bills at the end of the meal was not handled accurately, adding to the overall disappointment.

Despite these service and environmental issues, the highlight of our visit was undoubtedly the food. Every dish we ordered was delicious, well-prepared, and truly satisfying. The quality of the cuisine at Hanjan is certainly a strong draw and a reason to consider returning.

In conclusion, Hanjan offers excellent food that genuinely impresses. However, improvements in staff coordination, adherence to guest requests, and attention to dining comfort (especially regarding temperature) would significantly enhance the overall...