Bewon — Restaurant in Ann Arbor

This is our second time coming to Bewon since the new ownership, and just as before, we had a wonderful experience! The first thing we noticed upon entering was the clean and bright atmosphere. With the new renovations and quiet music, my husband described it as calm, minimalist, and peaceful. We were warmly greeted by staff who are some of the kindest you'll meet.

My husband ordered the bibimbap with beef. I ordered the soon tofu jjigae. We ordered soy garlic chicken and japchae with tofu for our young kids. My children are sometimes unwilling to try new foods, but to our delight, they devoured the chicken and japchae with tofu and kept asking for more. I had to try some and agreed that it was very delicious! The chicken was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The japchae with tofu was flavorful!

My husband enjoyed his bibimbap. I didn't try it, but I remember how tender and flavorful the beef was from our last visit, plus the veggies tasted freshly prepared. I don't know how to cook Korean food myself (though my mom was a Korean chef) and the soon tofu jjigae was so comforting and tasted like home.

After visiting Bewon, I decided to read what others were saying and was surprised by some of the negative reviews on here. I think a lot of negative reviewers are forgetting that this restaurant is just starting out and there is a new chef so there are bound to be some changes.

One reviewer complained about the digital menus taking up space, but we appreciated how it made ordering easier, especially with young children. For example, at one point our kids wanted extra drinks in the middle of our meal, and it was so easy to put in that order right then and there. No flagging down staff, no long wait. The same reviewer said that they don't give you a bottle of gochujang sauce but since covid we found that a lot of restaurants serve sauces in individual cups (cleaner and more sanitary than those sticky shared bottles). Besides, why is it hard to simply ask for more gochujang? I'm sure the staff would be more than happy to bring it to you.

Speaking of wait time, everything came out quickly, even though the restaurant was busy. From the counter, you can partially see what's going on behind the scenes, and both times we visited, we noticed the chef was hard at work, preparing and cooking food fresh to order, and he does it so skillfully and quickly (so no, the food is not simply reheated and assembled as one reviewer speculated).

Someone gave 1 star for having to order from a digital menu and not being offered anything to drink but water, but how is that a fair review? There are paper menus available at Bewon if you prefer (which I sometimes prefer, too). Not being offered anything to drink but water? I wonder if they were expecting free tea, but that's something complimentary and shouldn't be expected. Or perhaps the person missed the entire drinks section on the menu? They offer sweet rice punch, cinnamon punch, Milkis (which my kids were big fans of), and soft drinks.

Anyhow, I hope people will give Bewon a try. Just as the former owners had their own bumps along the way when they first started out, they became a beloved restaurant over the years. From what we've experienced so far with the new ownership of Bewon, it is very promising, and we wish good luck and much success to Bewon's new restaurant...

(Update 9/5 – Second visit after new management takeover)

I decided to give this place another try since some of the old menu items have started making a comeback. This time I ordered the seafood pancake, galbi tang, and soon tofu jigae. Still no wooguhji galbi tang on the menu, but seeing familiar dishes gave me a bit of hope.

I was surprised when the seafood pancake showed up in a pizza box. Honestly, it didn’t look very appetizing—it seemed like it was missing enough flour/starch—but it turned out to be delicious. The galbi tang tasted very close to how it used to, no complaints there (though if I’m nitpicking, I wish it was served a little hotter). The soon tofu jigae was actually better than before, which was a nice surprise.

Because of these returning dishes, I’m bumping up my overall rating. Now please—bring back the wooguhji galbi tang 🙏🏽!

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First time trying the new menu during their soft opening. I’ve been a loyal Bewon fan since moving to Ann Arbor from Asia five years ago. Their galbi tang and wooguji galbi tang were my go-to comfort dishes—I’ve tried them at many restaurants in and outside Michigan, and Bewon’s were truly the best. It’s disappointing to see those dishes disappear with the change in ownership and renovation.

This time I ordered bulgogi and spicy beef stew. The food was fine but nothing stood out. On the positive side, the renovated space feels cleaner and more modern, and the staff were warm and personable.

Overall, I’d hesitate to return for the new menu unless some of the beloved classics (like jajangmyeon, seafood pancake, and galbi tang) make...

Visited few times under new ownership, prior to that, haven't been to Bewon in over 20 years lol...

New owner changed the menu, a lot less items then before, banchan is down to 3 items and they serve the food on a tray. The trays take up a lot of space, if you order two items, it takes up the entire table space... if you order a shareable item, you need to rearrange your tray.

First, credit to the new owner for updating the interior. It's more brighter then before, new tables and chairs. Everything has been simplified, from the menu to ordering from the table and while you can't pay using the kiosk, you can pay by scanning the QR code after you get your check.

As for the food, I've tried the chicken mayo bowl, spicy pork, yukgaejang, bulgogi and sweet & spicy chicken. Out of these, spicy pork was my favorite. Was it the best I had, no, I had better, but it was decent and it hit the spot.

The yukgaejang was too salty, could have used more meat and veggies. The chicken could been fried twice before being served, it lacked that crunchiness that I was expecting.

It's two person operations, so service can be bit slow. Not sure about the weekdays, but on the weekends, they have additional staff to help out.

I prefer the old style of service, where the side items are brought to your table, along with your main dish, etc. I know, change is hard, should be used to their new system, it's how it's done at most places...