BABIKYU — Restaurant in Berlin

Appetizers were tasty and nicely presented. Staff is very friendly and everybody is really committed. However service is yet quite chaotic and inefficient. We went on a weekend night which obviously is a busy night and the place was pretty much fully booked, both in- and outdoors. There seems to be no service manager who oversees what the deal is and that's presumably why all the waitresses - and there were quite a few of them - were running around permanently, taking orders on the fly from everyone... and then not deliver them at all or not in an appropriate time frame. Main course was okay but could have been actually good had the meat not been sliced way too thick / would they provide scissors to cut the meat with which in Korea is literally mandatory for table-grilling. Grill came late, rice came early so it was cold once the grill got to our table. Half the dips were mayo-based and the banchans were real small, like a teaspoon of each altogether on a single plate. Not that that is a huge problem it's just unlike anything else I have previously experienced at Korean restaurants where it's usually multiple little plates or bowls with more amount. To sum it up: it could have easily been a nice eat-out if just a couple of very basic things were taken care of more meticulously. It wasn't long into back-to-normal-mode after lockdown so I'll give them that too.

Two stars only for now, until...

My partner and I, arrived by 21:00 and it was not so full, we had a reservation to be safe as one must in Berlin, but there were definitely open tables which got occupied as the night advanced.

The staff was very welcoming and attentive, we got the menu and it wasn’t until we put it down that we were approached (something I like).

We order drinks, two soju shots, cola and a beer that I did not know. I guess my only critic observation, was that when I wanted to order that beer that I did not know, I asked the staff what kind of beer was it and he replied that “he doesn’t drinks alcohol therefore he doesn’t knows” haha, I got surprised by that answer. In this scenario I would have hoped at least for an answer like “let me ask the bar” or “I will find out for you”..

Food wise, for starters we got the classic edamame which was amazing, very well seasoned, if you are a fan of edamame get it ! We also got the Mandu (which are Korean version of gyosas) they were also very tasty.

For main we decided to order the Pork Belly BBQ, and it was so savory, with it comes many sauces and dips, rice, glass noodles, and vegetables…we were in Korean bbq heaven, the pork belly was cooked by the staff next to us. We mainly served on our plates from the cooking pan.

I want to add that the bbq was so good, that I barely used the sauces.

I look forward visiting...

As a Korean, I can say that it was the least authentic korean food I have ever had in my life. The menus were partially and incorrectly translated into Korean, a clear giveaway that the owners are not Korean. But I held back my skepticism as anybody can make good Korean food.

However, there were a lot of details that were just too confusing and inauthentic to call it Korean. This included the provision of a peanut butter sauce with the bibimbab (tasted like a gado gado). 6-8 different sauces for the meat that included chimichurri sauce, basil mayo, and sweet american barbecue sauce. The barbecue was also more of a wet meat stew, with glass noodles and an almost soupy result.

I actually didn’t mind the peanut sauce to the bibimbab, it was surprisingly good. But it’s not Korean food. The barbecue was a waste of money and the 6-8 sauces didn’t pair well at all (a maximalist approach rather than providing a few that can actually work with the flavors of the meat)

The restaurant should not claim to be an authentic Korean restaurant or try to give off that impression, just call it a fusion korean restaurant. If you want something that is more fusion in a nice environment as a group, babikyu is a good choice, however, it is not authentic...