Nak Won — Restaurant in Beaverton

Nak Won is a great value. My family of four feasted on banchan, steamed pot stickers (jjin mandu), kimchi jjigae, steamed rice, lettuce chards and ssamjang, and a platter of meat — pork belly (samgyeopsal), beef (bulgogi), and beef franken ribs (galbi). We ate so much we chose to skip dinner altogether. All for around $60.

Rule #1 — Arrive early. The place is popular and, predictably, packed. There’s a three-hour window for lunch (11:30-2:30) and a three-and-a-half hour window for dinner (5:00-8:30), except for Fridays and Saturdays, when the restaurant closes at 8 p.m. Wander in during the last half hour at your own risk. In that last half hour, the kitchen is backed up with orders and the menu options narrow. Don’t blame the restaurant. Blame yourself for arriving late.

Rule #2 — Play the field. Explore the menu and order a dish or two outside your comfort zone. You will be rewarded. Ordered beef bulgogi last time? Try the soondubu jjigae, a soft tofu soup with meat and vegetables served boiling hot. Our family eyed dishes delivered to surrounding tables and made notes for our next visit.

Rule #3 — Bring friends. Korean BBQ and comfort food play well to a communal table and Nak Won’s atmosphere is no exception. You’ll quickly find there’s plenty to share with your guests, whether you ladle soup, slide along small bowls of banchan, or serve sizzling hot meat from your table grill.

Quibble #1 — The steamed pot stickers was the only dish to disappoint. I knew I should have ordered a green onion pancake. Though, I recovered when I ordered a large bottle of Hite beer to share with my wife as we deliriously chewed on BBQ meats.

Quibble #2 — Banchan is free and refillable, although I didn’t care for either the spicy bean sprouts or the fish cake. The potato salad is authentic to Asian cultures (I ate a similar recipe in Japan), but might come across as relatively flavorless to palates tuned to spicier variations.

Quibble #3 — Finally, some more adventurous Korean BBQ meat choices aren’t on the menu but those listed at Nak...

I came here for a friend’s birthday and we came in about closing time which was a little bit bad on our part but we ended up getting seated in around 10 minutes which is really nice since the place is pretty packed. So I really haven’t had too much Asian food in the area since moving here from the bay area and it was so nice just to have that. They also really cute K-pop videos all over the walls which is really nice because I’m a huge fan of Kpop.

Food: We got the black bean noodles which I really liked actually because they had a lot in quantity and also a really really good savory sauce. You have to make sure that you cut the noodles though because it will make a mess if you get it on you. We also got the short ribs which was juicy but a bit hard to chew. The bulgogi was also amazingly juicy!

Service: The food came really quickly and the funny part was that it was somebody’s birthday on our party and we told the guy at front desk that we wanted to sing for him but he said he couldn’t sing. We were sad but then as we were leaving the same guy actually played the happy birthday music on speaker which is just so cute and such a thoughtful gesture.

This place is pretty casual since it’s a barbecue place so you can come with your family whenever and I would probably come again because it is just so good and you can’t really get this much meat in one...

First and foremost, the review by Beyond Reflections Edge is a complete fabrication and mistatement of fact. I witnessed the entire episode. The police were called and they almost arrested the loud woman for her antics. I don't know the details, but I saw the restaurant owner offer to refund their money,and the woman precipitated the entire event.

Secondly and more importantly, NakWon is one of the best Korean restaurants in Portland. I say this with the experience of living in Korea for 8 years. I lived on economy and ate Korean food 3 (or more) times a day. Nakwon would be a famous restaurant if it was in Korea with a hugely loyal crowd.

The dishes are straight out of classic Korean cuisine. I love the Stone Bowl RIce&Mixed Veggies (dole SOTE BEE-beem-bop), the noodle dishes and the wonderful filling soups like the fermented bean paste soup. (Dwen jAHng Chee Gay). And comparitively less expensive than other K-food restaurants I have eaten at in Portland.

But the treat in Korea, is kalbi or ribs. Marinated in sesame oil, soy, garic and cooked on a tabletop grill, takes me right back to my years in Seoul and Pusan. When my Korean friends visit me, this is where I take them. When they visit me, this is where they take me....