Chicago Galbi House — Restaurant in Buffalo Grove

Update Aug 21st: We were so pleased with the authenticity of Chicago Galbi House, we went back the very next day.

This time we tried Gamjatang, a spicy pork bone stew with cabbage, and the Yukhwa (Beef tartar) Bibimbop. Both were great and made my husband want to come back next weekend for his birthday lunch.

Let me just say this too, for those who may not know really good Korean food, most of these dishes in Korea come from specialty restaurants- you don’t find a lot that have this kind of variety. They do one thing, exceptionally well. So, for this restaurant to operate with this variety at this level of authenticity and quality is very rare. 👏

We’ll see you this weekend! 🥳

————————————————————- We have been talking about trying this restaurant for a while, but my Korean husband is perpetually doubtful of Korean restaurants here in the US.

Happy to say that he was as impressed as I was. We shared the Cold Noodles (Naengmyeon) and the Beef Deonjang. Both were excellent.

The Naengmyeon broth was well balanced, bright and light. You don’t even need the vinegar or wasabi mustard, as it stands beautifully on its own.

The deonjang reminded me of my favorites in Korea, not watered down or oversimplified.

The banchan is incredible, no cheap bowls of cucumber with some red pepper flake tossed in it like you see in other places, but authentic sides of eggplant, gochu, mook (acorn jelly) and kimchi.

My husband and I smiled as we peered around the restaurant to see that I was the only non-Asian in the place, but I share that as it also speaks to the authenticity and quality of the food and service.

Be proud of the amazing depth, complexity, and earthiness of Korean food and let the western pallet develop an understanding and appreciate for it, rather than gentrifying some of the world’s best flavors to suit everyone. Thank you for being true to what we hoped for! 🙌

We will definitely be back and are excited to have found a new regular weekend spot for...

Right off the bat, this is definitely the best new Korean BBQ place! I had been going to a lot of new restaurants recently and while many were nice, none had the wow factor for how good all the dishes tasted. While this does not have charcoal (I understand it is difficult to get a license for this these days) the meat was tender and marinated to perfection. It was a lighter marinade than most other places, which we actually liked better. Some of the meat were types you don't normally see at Korean BBQ - lamb, for instance. Again, everything was great - we were especially blown away by the marinated chicken! This is the one place in Chicagoland that would still be highly rated compared to the best in Seoul or Busan. We were there on Saturday, but will be going again tomorrow.

I just read some other reviews after going there 3 times in so many weeks (and about to dine there again tonight). I wish there was some way to reply to some of the negative comments, but here I go: Lights are too bright. I understand the western dining scene with muted lighting that make a place more cozy and romantic. However, I would daresay that the lighting for restuarants (and especially houses) in Korea is much more bright... although I am not a big fan of the common fluorescent (or bright white LED lights). I would say that Koreans like to see what they are eating :) Poor service. Ah, I wish that the staff had explained the button at each table. Most every restaurant in Korea had these small buzzers - you just call for service when you need it... no need to wait forever to catch the eye of a waiter, nor call loudly across the dining area. One place in Seoul I went to had the niftiest of them all - it had 3 buttons: one for soju, one for beer, and the last (and largest) button for general. That way they had the drinks keep coming very efficiently, which I...

My wife and I were very excited to see a new Korean restaurant open near us. We both agreed the restaurant smelled and looked amazing as we both love Korean cuisine. The appetizers came quickly and our waiter was very attentive.

Unfortunately, once the main dishes came out that’s when my hopes quickly diminished. I ordered the Beef garlic pasta and my wife ordered the Bibimbap. Immediately after the first bite I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy the dish. The pasta was not al dente. It was more like Spaghetti all'Assassina which is fried in a pan much like risotto. I could tell the pasta was fried in the same pan as the beef. Not only because of the rendered fat from the beef pooling at the bottom of my plate. But the texture of the pasta was very coarse. Not the smooth oiled texture one is used to with other pasta dishes. The beef portion was also considerably light and the lack of garish on top also made it look the same as it tasted ‘underwhelming’ to say the least. My wife’s Bibimbap on the other hand merely lacked sufficient seasoning. It looked great but the taste did not follow. I will say the unlimited small appetizers were a big hit with us. I was impressed with how good everything tasted in that department.

In my humble opinion, I truly believe that Galbi House has a lot of potential. With such an amazing staff and décor they can be a great hot spot for Korean food in our community. But in order to make that happen the quality in taste for the food...