Seoul Garden Cary — Restaurant in Cary

Cleanliness - 4/5. Pro - The plates and utensils were clean as well as the napkins and the table we ate at. Bathrooms looked good and had an adequate amount of soap in each.

Con - The soy sauce dispenser could use a little wiping down. You'll see in the picture that at the bottom of my cup of water, there was a chunk of white food residue stuck inside. Pretty gross, as I had already taken several drinks before noticing it. The cups were also old, cloudy, cracked/splintered.

Price - 3/5. Pro - Cheaper options are available and filling. Large portions of food come along with free sides. Prices may be comparable to the demographic of the area (Cary aka "Rich Town").

Con - Korean BBQ heavily priced. You could say the quality and taste makes up for that. However it is my belief that the cut of meat isn't Grade A Filet Mignon so $22 seems a bit extreme for less than stellar ribeye. It is important to mention this is the kind of place you bring 3 - 5 people as the portions are large enough and often made to be shared (which accompanies the price and bill to be shared). A seafood egg and chive pancake for the appetizer was incredible. It comes as thick as your normal flour cake and about 10 inches in diameter. However at close to $14 dollars the price seemed a bit extreme. Our total:

2 waters One seafood pancake - $14 Ribeye Korean BBQ - $22 Tofu soup - $13 Tip - $9

Our lunch (just me and my wife) was $60. Very expensive.

Service - 5/5. Pro - We never went without water which was good. When I pointed out the dirty glass I'd been given, the elderly waitress couldn't have been more helpful at trying to rectify the situation. We were given extra Aro and kimchi (the free sides I mentioned).

Con - The elderly woman couldn't give us a couple of seconds to make up our minds. It was nice but bordered on aggravation. We said not twice, not four times...BUT 5 TIMES in less than five minutes that we needed more time to decide what we wanted to eat. One of those 5 times she had walked away for less than 30 seconds before coming back and asking again.

Quality 5/5. Pro - Overall, I would definitely come back. The portions were filling, the food was INCREDIBLE and authentic to Korean culture (for the most part)...and with only minor annoyances this stands out as a new local favorite spot.

Con - Cloudy, cracked and chipped plastic drink cups that look like leftovers from an abandoned Golden Corral back in 1990 - need to be replaced. Waitress needs to calm down and let you decide what you want to eat. And the prices could definitely come down a couple of bucks.

Great place!...

Worst service. The rudest waitress ever. This place needs better training. I’m from Korea and in the 32 years of life I’ve lived, I have never seen a waitress more rude. I know what a typical Korean service looks like. I’m very disappointed and angry about the way my party was treated. The waitress (or the owner) was very rude when we were ordering food. When we asked whether we could get “mild spicy” for kimchi tofu soup, she replied in a very condescending way: “don’t u know kimchi is spicy? We can’t do mild for kimchi tofu soup.” Also, when one of my friends was looking through the menu to decide what she wanted, she goes “order quickly” in a very rude manner. When I confronted her about it, she said, “were you scared I talked like that?” I was so angry but wanted to maintain my composure. And then, she said in a non-respectful way “I was just kidding” and gave me that look. Who talks to customers like that? Where is her manners? And she says “I was just kidding.” Moreover, the Korean grammar she used was extremely rude. She wasn’t using the respectful grammar as you would to a customer and was choosing the language as if she was talking to a little kid. This is very offensive in Korean culture especially when I’m 32 and she knows it. At the end, she forced the 18% tip on us by already including it in the bill. The worst experience ever and we will never be going back. I’m still very offended by the way I was treated. If the owners read this post, please make sure that specific waitress NEVER talks to any customers like that or treat them like little kids in the future. Very rude. Ruins the...

We went to Seoul Garden in Cary because we enjoyed the visit to their Raleigh location a couple of years ago. The place was busy and when we arrived, we were told it would be about a 5-10 minute wait to be seated. We had to wait 20 minutes to be seated. Then we had to flag the waiter down to get some water after about 10 minutes Then we had to wait another 10 to 15 minutes to flag down the waiter to order The food arrived relatively quickly, however, my mom noticed her dish was not what she ordered. We had to flag down the waiter and he said that was what she ordered. My mom tasted the dish and it was NOT what she ordered. Had to flag down the waiter and this time, he said "Oh yes, you are right, that is not what she ordered"

Then a remarkable thing happened -- He picked up the dish and delivered it to the next table.

How would you like to be the person receiving that dish after it's been on someone else's table?

That is a basic procedural problem!

I normally cut the restaurant a lot of slack, especially given the labor shortage and most restaurants are under staffed. I'll put up with slow service because I know they are doing their best, but there should be no excuse for giving someone food that's been touched by another customer.

The food was OK, not great. The buckwheat cold noodle was ok, not very strong flavor. Seafood pancake did not have a lot of seafood in it and the squid pieces were small. The beef dish was OK but a bit overcooked. The chicken dish was good but not as flavorful as...