Paldo Restaurant — Restaurant in Quezon City

I wanted to share my experience during our recent visit to the Podium branch, as it was our first time dining there. I had been looking forward to it after watching numerous videos about your restaurant, especially since it was our first experience at a fine dining Korean establishment. I was curious to see how you would elevate familiar Korean home-cooked dishes.

Upon entering, we found the atmosphere cozy and inviting. The staff greeted us warmly and guided us to our seats. Initially, the ambiance felt sophisticated due to the spacious interior. However, as more patrons arrived, the noise level increased significantly, causing sounds to echo throughout the space.

We started our meal with the Doenjang Jjigae, which we often enjoy at home on weekends. We also wanted to try the veggie wrap (I apologize for forgetting its name) but were surprised to learn that a minimum order of two was required. When we planned to order one pork and one fish, the waiter informed us that we could only select one variety. This left us feeling confused about the menu options. After reviewing the menu again, we ordered a noodle dish with clams (the name escapes me) and the Salmon Bibimbap, which we were told would take 20 to 25 minutes to prepare.

The Doenjang Jjigae, accompanied by three mini side dishes—string beans, japchae, and fermented cucumber—arrived after 22 minutes. My husband’s noodles with clams followed shortly after. However, I didn’t notice that my Salmon Bibimbap was taking longer until my husband made a follow-up inquiry. It eventually arrived over 30 minutes after we ordered.

When I began mixing the sauce with the rice, I noticed that it wasn’t warm enough to absorb the sauce properly. As a result, my meal was cold by the time I started eating. We inquired whether your version of bibimbap was typically served cold. In my experience at other restaurants, bibimbap is often served in a hot stone pot to keep the rice warm and ensure it absorbs the flavors. Unfortunately, I found the dish to be quite ordinary, which was disappointing given my high expectations.

The server apologized and retrieved my dish, but I began to worry that I would have to wait an additional 25 minutes for a replacement. Ultimately, I decided to cancel my order as I had lost my appetite due to the long wait. The server acknowledged my decision and apologized again, but I felt a lack of sincerity in their demeanor.

While waiting for the bill, the server offered me a packed bibimbap on the house, which I appreciated but ultimately declined. I came to experience the dining atmosphere, and taking it home would have felt like an ordinary takeout meal.

Sadly, I would rate our experience a 1 out of 10. The food was not appetizing and felt very average compared to other Korean restaurants serving authentic dishes. Leaving the restaurant feeling disappointed is not an experience I want to repeat. I specifically looked forward to enjoying the Doenjang Jjigae, but even the beef in the soup was quite tough.

It’s unfortunate that we encountered these issues. I hope that our experience is not reflective of your usual standards. However, since it was our first visit, I doubt we will return. We love dining out and have a strong appreciation for Korean cuisine, which is why I found the dishes to be rather ordinary.

I believe you can do better. In addition to investing in your food, I encourage you to invest in training your staff to provide excellent...

We booked our reservation for Valentine’s in advance to make sure that we get to experience the newly opened restaurant in the area. Initially, we wanted to have our dinner at 7:30PM but figured we can arrive early so we asked Ms Ruvy if we move our reservation at 7PM. Due to heavy traffic, we arrived at around 8:15PM. My husband and I were welcomed by Ms Ruvy, saying the VIP Room is still occupied but the customers are already done eating and are set to ask for their bill soon. Since we were late for our reservation, we thought it was okay for us to wait for a little bit outside. Ms Ruvy insisted for us to be seated comfortably inside while waiting so we agreed. We thought it was only going to be a 5-10mins wait. A couple of servers approached us asking for our orders even if we already communicated this with our reservation. After around 20 minutes, we were told that the customers occupying the VIP room didn’t want to be disturbed and didn’t want to leave yet even though servers are already clearing out the table (walk-in customers were informed about our reservation when they arrived at 6PM). We were offered to occupy another table (for 6pax~) instead but we strongly refused since we prefer the VIP room. This is our first Valentine’s as a married couple and we wanted it to be more special so we waited a little bit more patiently. Forty minutes in, we still didn’t hear anything from any of the servers or manager/s. We had to call them and ask for update. Only apologies were given to us saying they cannot shoo away the customers. After an hour, we were informed that customers from other VIP rooms have already requested their bills and are set to leave anytime soon. But they didn’t give us the timing. Imagine waiting for AN HOUR, clueless on when you will be seated. We called the manager to cancel our table and expressed our disappointment on how they handled us. They apologized but still unaware on when they can provide a decent room for us. Ms Ruvy ran after us carrying loot bags (which we refused again) as compensation for what happened. We left famished and mad.

We expected more from a fine dining restaurant in terms of handling these kinds of scenarios. Yes, we could have accepted the other table offered to us but note that we booked a reservation IN ADVANCE so we can SECURE a good table/room. A highly anticipated visit turned into one of the most horrible restaurant experiences ever. I hope this feedback will help them improve...

Food: Got the surasang set, the individual sets of appetizers served were delicious. One of the food served for the surasang set did not match what was in the menu when celebrities went there specifically the roasted fish. The samgyupsal was of better quality compared to your unlisamgyup restaurants. The bulgogi was a disappointment, the beef was thinly sliced as if to hide the cheap quality of it which still showed in how it tasted. Come with an empty stomach as there is so much food. Surprisingly, no dessert for such an extensive course.

Service: Requested to serve the items in sets of 4 as we were 16, confirmed by a wait staff but was not followed due to space issues (got 3 sets with 6, 5 and 5 distribution). Samgyupsal was served in just 2 sets which further confused us. I have requested 2 tables of 8 or 4 tables of 4 but was given 1 long table of 16 considering I have reserved 2 weeks in advance and gave a downpayment 5 days prior to said dining date. The wait time from the appetizers to the course set with banchan was too long (around 10 minutes), considering the banchan which were not refillable are cold dishes. Failed to serve individually dished items to some of the people in my group specifically the bulgogi shabushabu thing they have and was decided to pack them for takeout. They should have given each individual a small plate aside from the rice bowl for them to put food debris on like fishbones and rib bones. They claimed to have a mother's day special of some type of complimentary edible flower salad for reservations that day, it never came.

Place: Place needs ventilation or exhausts to avoid the smell of the samgyup and bulgogi from sticking on your clothes. And to think that these were not even cooked on our tables. Or at least offer a spray that can at least mask or remove the smell.

Overall: Food started great and went downhill from there as the service went on. Portion sizes and pacing needs to be fixed probably by serving main courses like the chicken and ribs individually. In trying to maximize their capacity, their service suffers and the overall experience becomes disappointing. Would I return? Probably not unless they fix issues I had...