Nomads Restaurant — Restaurant in Elk Grove Township

Go here if you want bad service, bad food and bad atmosphere. This used to be the old Bowl & BBQ Korean restaurant. B&B was a great restaurant. I should've listened to my intuition and never visited this place. We were in the area, in the mood for Korean food, and thought to myself, this new place might just be a name change.

Totally wrong. The first sign of bad things to come, was that an employee was scraping off tape from the front window of the new restaurant, pounding on it, then scratching off the tape using paint thinner.

Second bad sign was that it took over 10 minutes before someone came with a menu. And I truly mean A menu, only ONE menu for two people. No waters or drink orders taken. Then another 10 minute pause before the server returned to take our order. Had to order bottle water, since it seemed like no water was going to be served. Also ordered a green tea, which I got at the end of the meal since the server forgot. The tea was served in a cup with chipped edges on the rim.

We order the Korean kalbitang, as they were out of the suhletang. Got 2 meager morsels of kalbi, broth was watery, and the vegetables were sliced super thin. It's as if they watched Youtube really quickly on how to prepare kalbitang, and couldn't follow the recipe, so just fast forwared to the end of the video to try and match what kalbitang should look like.

For a "Korean" restaurant (or BBQ), they only offered TWO bonchons (Korean side dishes). Usually there are several small plates, or at the very least 5 different bonchon items. Totally unacceptable.

At this point, I just wanted to eat, pay, and leave. But of course, after completing our meal, the server was nowhere to be found. And once visible, I got frustrated and asked rather loudly for the check. Again, there was another pause of about 5 minutes.

Caveat Emptor. Buyer Beware. I should've Googled "Korean restaurants near me," right when I pulled into the parking lot and saw that Bowl & BBQ was no longer at this location. There are several other Korean restaurants in the area, and I would bet my house that they are 10x better...

Bowl & BBQ has earned 4 stars for a delightful dining experience.

The atmosphere of this restaurant had many characteristics of a homely environment: the small dining room, the delicious smell of food perfuming the air, and the style of the furnishings. I am a big fan of such an atmosphere, and I feel that those who have similar tastes will enjoy dining at this establishment.

The service of Bowl & BBQ is where I felt could be improved. I did not appreciate waiting for my order to be taken, and on the day of my visitation I noticed several customers also shared similar feelings. I can't fault the waiting staff for this at all, but it is also significant to note that the English spoken by the staff here bears very thick accentuation. I noticed several people couldn't understand their waiters, but in my opinion that makes the aura of authenticity a lot stronger, bolstering my hopes in the food.

The food was delightfully delicious. I asked for the beef bowl and was appropriately met with a clumsy array of bean sprouts, shredded carrots, seaweed strips, mushrooms, grilled beef and a raw egg arranged atop a bed of rice. I exercised caution as I mixed the food together, since the stone bowl was notably hot. But once the food cooled off and had a moment to acquaint itself with the heat, I had my first bite and it was pleasant. The dish needed a little salt, but overall it was a great dish with many flavors culminating together.

Although the restaurant is quite small, I cannot excuse it for the lackluster condition of the restroom. No soap in the dispenser and dirt all over the floor made me worry for my cleanliness.

With Bowl & BBQ excelling in some aspects and needing improvement in others, I'd say the 4 stars are rightfully earned. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to friends looking for delicious Korean BBQ at a...

Food is decent. Definitely unique for the area being one of the few authentic Mongolian restaurants around and the place is well decorated and clean enough. Actually has the potential for a great experience but the service is lacking. Waitress was a bit rude and not very attentive at all. Came in by myself and was polite didn’t ask a lot just ordered like normal and not once did she offer to explain a bit about the menu or check up when I ate and I was the only one in the building. And having been done with my food for quite a while the whole family was in the kitchen chatting away and prepping food which of course is totally fine but I had to walk up to pay up and the staff didn’t apologize for the wait but after like they couldn’t wait for me to leave. Kinda vibe I got was perhaps one of those places that unless you’re part of the community maybe kind...