DAE GEE KOREAN BBQ — Restaurant in Denver

Giving 1 star for restaurant/service policy and quality of the food. The hostesses were attentive and polite.

I'm Korean born and raised in California. There are plenty of Korean restaurants all throughout, and the biggest thing Korean restaurants are known for are the COMPLIMENTARY side dishes. They may not always have the best flavors, but there's a certain expectation when visiting a Korean restaurant. Korean meals are ALWAYS served with a variety of side dishes. I'm visiting Denver for work and was craving some good ol Korean food so came by this place since I saw it on Guy Fieri's triple D.

My wife and I ordered some garlic wings and kimchi pancake since we've been hitting up the bars in the area and wanted to munch on some good ol Korean food.

The kimchi pancake was disappointing. The texture/crispyness and the dipping sauce was well made, but the kimchi pancake had NO actual kimchi in it. It was just made with the kimchi "juice" that the kimchi sits in to ferment/marinade. It's like ordering blueberry pancakes for breakfast and not having any actual blueberries in it.

The wings were cooked well but the garlic flavoring wasn't the best. The sauce was very liquids and salty, and actually not on the wings at all (you have to roll the wings in the sauce every bite). I'm used to garlic wings being cooked/tossed in the sauce.

And, the kicker, we came to a Korean restaurant for the side dishes but we weren't given any side dishes. We were told they aren't given with "appetizers" and only the entree. We had thought we were ordering the half order of the kimchi pancake for $8 (same cost as the appetizer), but were told after the fact that that option is only available for Togo. We spent a combined total on appetizers greater than the cost of an entree.

The waitresses were polite and I know they're just upholding the policy of the restaurant. But for Korean restaurants being known for their homey comfort food style, this place is not upholding the true tradition of a Korean restaurant at all. An overall disappointing experience for such a "popular" name in the area.

If you're in the area and craving Korean food, the pickings are slim. If you're not craving it or don't really know what to expect, I'd recommend...

I recently had a disappointing experience at Dae Gee, and I believe it's crucial to share my feedback through this one-star review. My party of 9 arrived at the restaurant around 7:40 pm, well within the posted closing time of 9 pm. However, our visit took an unexpected turn.

The individual who identified themselves as the "manager" at the time stopped us from entering further and explained an unusual policy. If we chose to sit down for dinner, we would only receive one round of food with no refills, all while being charged the full price for an all-you-can-eat dinner. This policy didn't seem fair, and I tried to discuss it with the manager. We were more than willing to pay the full price and leave a generous tip if we could enjoy our meal until the restaurant's posted closing time. Unfortunately, the manager remained firm in their decision, leading us to decide to leave.

I asked for contact information to express my concerns, and I was provided with a personal Gmail address. Unfortunately, my attempts to communicate via this address were unsuccessful. This lack of a professional communication channel was disappointing.

I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this establishment, and I strongly encourage the management to reconsider their posted hours, which appear to be somewhat misleading. It was disheartening to witness a similar experience as we were leaving when another party of 4 was informed of the same policy: full price for an all-you-can-eat dinner with only one round of food service, despite arriving with over an hour remaining until the posted closing time.

Dae Gee's concept is centered around a family-style meal with multiple rounds of their single-serving sides. However, their rigid policies and lack of flexibility left us feeling unsatisfied. While I've enjoyed dining at other Dae Gee locations with friends and family, this particular experience has led me to a firm decision. I will avoid this location at all costs and will go out of my way to visit their other locations with top-notch customer service. It's important for me to share this feedback in the hope that the restaurant can improve and provide a more customer-friendly experience in the future.

This happened on...

I was really craving some Korean bbq when we were visiting Denver and saw that this place was fairly close by to our Airbnb. There is a parking lot available, so you should have no problem finding a spot.

When my boyfriend and I walked in, we noticed we were the ONLY ones there on a Monday night. Albeit, it was about 6 pm, we kinda thought maybe some other people would roll around later on; but nope, we were literally the only ones there the entire time. Luckily, we were greeted quickly and sat down.

We had already decided to get the AYCE, so it was about $38 each person. The way they do AYCE was a little odd to me though. You don't really choose which meats you get, they kinda just give it to you all at once. Additionally, keep in mind that the galbee is only given ONCE. That was a bummer for me cause that's my favorite dish to get at Korean bbq. Anyway, the meat itself was okay, not really seasoned, and the only sauces they give you are the bbq sauces they have. They don't have ponzu, soy, etc. for other options. It was a bit odd to me, but I'm not sure if it's cause I'm used to being served differently in Houston? The sides, I hate to say, were probs the best part about this place. The cucumbers were tasty and crunchy, and the mashed potato was good too.

I guess I should start cherishing the Korean bbq spots at home more often cause this place was...