Seoul Korean BBQ & Hotpot — Restaurant in Charlottesville

They have the right idea going on for this to be one of the top spots in Cville. We were already lacking a decent hot pot option and, until Bulpan opens, we didn’t exactly have an authentic Korean BBQ place(where the grilling is on the table). Also, a robot that brings “most” tables their bubble tea? Why not, that’s trendy. But that’s where the fun ends.. and take this from someone who’s very familiar with A. Their sister restaurant in Richmond, B. Traditional hot pot restaurants in other towns, and C. Legit Korean owned bbq spots also in other towns. I’ve come here for both lunch and dinner and every experience was different. Depending on your server, you may or may not get “reminded” you have a 90min limit to eat. The shorter male server(often seen training the new servers) realized during one of my visits that my friend and I wanted to relax and catch up with each other over some grub, and he made it clear he wasn’t having that. This goes for larger parties too. Imagine a group of people trying this out for the first time. If everyone ordered up to 5 items to eat with either the hot pot or the grill each time, you’d have a whole lot of plates, bowls, and confusion. You must self serve as well. Some things take longer to cook than others in the hot pot and you must watch the meat. This is assuming the server doesn’t crank your grill too high. We’ve had fire burst in our faces here. So take that into account when you have plans to chitchat with the people at your table. If you’re novice, you may be paying more attention to the food instead. The more practice you have cooking up your own food, the better the overall experience. The sauce bar is decent, but make sure the plates are actually clean. Next thing, I haven’t had a visit where my order wasn’t wrong or missed. All the servers do is press on their iPad what you want and the runners bring it out to your table. Yet, so often, they bring the wrong things or you just don’t get what you want. It’s particularly irritating when you pay the dinner price, yet don’t get to enjoy the dishes that make it worthwhile. All in all, try it out and see for yourself. I know people who love this for the sake of AYCE. I also know some people who won’t return. I’ll only go when I have the craving for hotpot since Bulpan will...

Disappointed by this Korean BBQ restaurant. Disappointed by this experience.

I have waited so long for a Korean BBQ restaurant and this experience was underwhelming. For starters, on the phone, we called to make a reservation because their Instagram told us to and the restaurant told us we didn’t need one. When we got there for lunch, the place was packed and we should have definitely placed that reservation. We took our queue number and waited and waited, but the thing is they won’t tell you there’s a table ready unless you are literally in the eyesight of the reception people. They forgot about us and let people who go to the place after to have our spot. When we came up, they asked for our names again and time when we reserved. Once we finally sat down, the menu was super confusing. The staff here seemed so untrained and disorganized and doesn’t really know or care what they are doing. They forgot some of our orders, our water… The food is mediocre. The soup for the hotpot was under-seasoned and bland. There was a true confusion when it came to which meat was for the hotpot and which for the BBQ grill. Oh, and be aware that they don’t automatically change the grill plate even if its dark and burnt as a crisp. No one came to attend to us. As for the bill, BE AWARE that a tip of 18% will be automatically placed onto the bill even if we literally did everything ourselves. On Saturday and Sunday, they do dinner-only menu which NO ONE told us so we didn’t choose the dinner-only food on the menu. Just keep in mind. I would go once for the experience but never a second time. Maybe when they change and...

As a half Asian my self I’ve been here many times and I decided to look at the reviews and shocked by how many people claim the food isn’t good, or the service is bad, atmosphere isn’t nice or the price is too high. I have been to several Korean BBQ places in and out of the United States and this has got to be my favorite one because of the fair price/the food quality/the atmosphere being a nice vibe/the service being attentive to restocking my food and drinks. I don’t think people should leave reviews if they have only been to one or two KBBQ spots because this one is fire for the price. I’ve had cheaper KBBQ in the Philippines but it wasn’t as tasty as this nor did it have a chill environment. Just know if you go to Seoul you need to cook your own food (part of the experience) So if people are getting sick I imagine it’s because they don’t know how to cook! I’ve never gotten sick here and I leave here super full thanks to it being an all you can eat! Lunch price is definitely cheaper but dinner has more meat options so look out for that. Sometimes I visit the bar after a long day at work (As I own my own food business) the bartender Rock is amazing . I always get my drink in a timely fashion and it’s a show watching him bust out other peoples drink as I sip on mine watching the big screen TVs they have playing sports behind him. The vibe at this restaurant is very chill with lots of Neon which I love. All in all this is a place to come with your friends or on a date it’s super fun teaching new people the Korean BBQ etiquette as it in itself is a whole experience to be learned that is fun...