Hongdae Pocha Korean BBQ — Restaurant in Vancouver

I have lived in Vancouver all my life and have been a regular at Hongdae Pocha, visiting countless times over the years since it opened. My most recent experience, however, has left me disappointed, especially with the customer service, which has deteriorated significantly.

For those who are on time cruch, here is a summary of the experience. We were enjoying our time until this one particular server (with glasses to be exact to distinguish her) said we "stayed longer" and said with an attitude which made us feel like we were being karens to stay. They did not have a waitinglist and many vacant tables around us. We paid the bill which was $300 for 3 people and asked to finish the freshly opened bottle and they said yes. 2 minutes after, they cleared the table despite we still had food and drinks we were quickly working on to leave as they were kicking us out for no reason. Worst customer service I have ever experienced in Vancouver all my life. I recommend you save your money and go to other amazing places who would provide great service and do not ruin your night out.

On Sunday, February 16th, I visited the restaurant with friends to celebrate my birthday. I had been craving Korean BBQ and soju for months, as I had recently been unable to consume either due to medical reasons. This visit was meant to be a treat following my recovery. Upon arrival, we were seated, but there was no mention of a time limit. I decided to ask the server, a gentleman, who was polite and professional. He informed me that there was indeed a two-hour time limit but assured us that if there was no waiting list, we could stay longer. This was reassuring, and we proceeded to enjoy our meal, ordering plenty of food and drinks.

However, around 10:00 PM, a female server (with glasses and a bun), who appeared to be the oldest and possibly in charge, approached us. She informed us that we had been there for over four hours and that it was our last call. Surprised, I asked her if there was a waiting list, as I noticed several empty tables. She responded, “No, but you’ve stayed for over four hours, and this is what we do to everyone.” I was taken aback by her attitude and her response, especially since there were no waiting customers and many vacant tables. It felt as though we were being rushed out simply for the sake of enforcing a rule without any consideration for the actual circumstances.

However, shortly after we received our bill and paid, I asked if we could finish the bottle of soju we had just opened. The server confirmed that we could. To our dismay, only two minutes later, we saw her talking to another staff member, who rushed to our table and began clearing everything, including food that we were still eating. My friend, understandably upset, addressed the situation with the server, explaining that we had simply asked to finish the bottle, and there was no need to clear the table prematurely. Despite this, the staff member continued clearing. In addition to this happpening at our table, we saw them saying something to other tables and saw them leave as well! There was a big table of who seemed to be their "friends", assuming they want to kick everyone out to join them perhaps.

This experience, particularly the behavior of the female server, left a sour taste in what was supposed to be a celebratory evening. It was disappointing to see such a lack of customer care, especially given my long history as a regular at Hongdae Pocha. The initial server’s polite and accommodating manner was in stark contrast to the rude and dismissive attitude that followed, which is why I’m compelled to share this feedback.

I sincerely hope Hongdae Pocha will address the quality of its customer service moving forward. As a loyal customer, I expect better treatment, especially when there are no pressing reasons to rush customers out. I truly hope this was an isolated incident, but it will certainly affect my decision to return...

I’ve been here multiple times and most of the times I’ve visited I was very happy. Food was great and the service was as well. I would say that this was one of my favourite places to have the pork belly and drink. I invited my friends who have never been here after telling them how great this place was and in the end I ended up being embarrassed and quite upset with the whole experience. From the time we arrived things started going wrong. We arrived around 6pm and already they said there was a waiting list 2 people ahead of us and we would have to wait about 15-20mins. No problem. 30mins later we’re still waiting and when we asked again we were told it would be another 30-40mins before we would be seated. Fine no problem. After waiting for so long outside it got cold and the entrance area was clear so we stood inside to wait while we warmed up but then the server came over and said we needed to wait outside. When we said it’s cold outside and can we wait in here for a few mins to warm up we were told no because the manager said so. Wasn’t happy but fine whatever we waited outside. But one thing we noticed was that there was empty seats on the second floor quite a few. And while waiting outside 4 tables of customers had finished and were gone. Again more empty tables. And yet they were making us wait outside in the cold. Makes matters worse it started to rain as well. And no we’re not allowed to wait inside. Finally after waiting over a hour they led us in and surprise surprise they sat us down on the empty table on the second floor that was available an hour before. That no one had occupied during the whole time we were forced to wait outside. Not happy but I thought it’s ok. Food was good before and worth the wait. Things looked slightly better when the server came over. She was cheerful and very nice. I thought this would be the turning point where our bad experience from before would get better. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Well, at least not completely better. The server, she was great can't complain, very cheerful and polite. She explained to us that because they were short staffed they weren't able to seat us right away, which we were fine with. Not too happy but we understood. After placing our order the food came out pretty quick which was a small blessing as we were cold and trying to warm up. But then the meat came out. I ordered the fresh pork belly like I always do but there must have been a mix up which is ok it can happen. I told the server and asked if we could stop the second half and change it to the fresh meat instead of the frozen one. she said she would go tell the kitchen staff and get back to us. She came back a few mins later and said that the manager said no. because it was already ready and they refused to take back a mistake that was made by them. in the end its the same difference but instead of getting what we ordered and expected we got something different. Again overall the quality and taste was still good but their service except that one really cheerful server the overall experience left a bad taste. My friends that I was excited to bring here weren't too impressed and with all the negatives, didn't say anything bad to me but clearly they were disappointed, said they wouldn't be coming back and I for one have to agree. As much as I liked this place in the end the overall horrible experience just ruined it for me. hopefully they do something about this manager who doesn't seem to know how to manage, or schedule enough people to be working to cover for a long weekend, or to rectify their mistakes.

Pictures are mixed. Starting from most recent to when I was...

I’ve been here several times ever since they opened having lived in Van for almost all my life, but I had the worst experience there last night due to unprofessional and dismissive services from the lady server (relatively older) with glasses and a bun.

First for context, we were there for my friend’s bday and right when we were ordering everything we asked if they had the time limit because it is the weekend. They didnt inform us first, we asked so we can just stay and drink here and not hop around if there wasnt a limit. We’ve stayed long nights here before on weekends when they didnt have a waitlist so we were just confirming. The guy server (male servers were all okay honestly) said there is, but if it isn’t busy and ppl arent waiting you can stay longer.

So we stayed and had our bbq and food and kept ordering more drinks rather than moving to another place because no one said anything. Like the staff said nothing up til this point so we’re assuming its fine. Then after around 10 pm, this lady server abruptly comes up. Mind you, her attitude was already a concern before cuz she made us wait like 15 min or longer for a pop, water, another drink and then had that “oh” impression and just brushed it off like it’s a no big deal and dropped them off later. So she suddenly comes up, says we have to do last call for drinks. So we asked “oh okay, is there a wait list started?” Cuz we saw clear tables and other ppl leaving anyway. Then she was like “oh no, but you know you’ve been here the whole 4 and half rights now. So this is how we do it for all tables” okay so you ask tables to leave when there are no ppl waiting so you can just clear tables? Huh..? She made it sound as if we were asked to leave before but insisted on staying and they did us a favor by “letting us” stay that long. Umm nobody said anything so thank you for letting us order more drinks and stay longer. It isnt like we were sitting on a pitcher of beer for four hours l. Between three of us, after tips, the bill was almost 300 dollars and we were planning to keep on ordering more drinks and food.

So we were like okay..? And then just asked for the bill and LOL she ran back with bill and the machine. And so we asked cuz we already had the bottle of soju just open before this happened, “we can finish our drinks and go right?” And she was like of course! Then walked away. Then the best part comes because in like two minutes this other female server runs up and suddenly wants to clear plates as if we needed to get out now. We literally just paid and said we were just going finish the open bottle that we paid for but they apparently cant wait to clean the table while we’re there. So we just had to make the complain of their horrible services. Then we asked for the server in glasses because I think this lady server was just asked to clear plates by that other server. Then she was like “oh whats wrong” and she kept on apologizing on behalf and that other rude server that ruined it for us never showed her face, or met our eyes.

Anyways thanks for ruining our friend’s bday, making us feel like Karens, and we will do you guys a favor and never go back. I was noticing you guys were getting a lot slower at nights (like half empty on Sat nights too) and I think I see why. The servers dont want you to stay longer. Oh one last thing, on the other side of the floor, there was this huge, very loud group of ppl who seemed to be friends with the waitresses. I guess they wanted to focus their attention there and make other tables leave because we saw more tables...