Wooga — Restaurant in Fort Lee

I returned to this place in January 2021 after going a couple times pre-covid (i.e. before March 2020). Finally getting around to writing this review lol.

Let me preface this by saying that pre covid, before ownership changed to what it currently is, this place was one of the best kbbq places in the tristate area. This was for a number of reasons - decent service, good side dishes, nice presentation of the meat, etc. But by far the biggest reason I think it was so great was because the quality of the meat was just different from other restaurants. There wasn't anything specific that was obviously different but when you tasted it you knew. It was some combination of juiciness, tenderness, and perhaps some subtle flavor differences. I believe at the time, the meat was top quality. I had been to this restaurant 3 - 4 times within the span of several months and it was like this every time. Consistency in taste for small business restaurants is pretty rare so I find this pretty laudable.

Since then, I believe ownership changed and while most things look more or less the same e.g. side dishes, meat presentation, sauces, etc., I believe the most important thing, the meat, changed significantly for the worst. It's hard to say specifically why but it's some combination of tenderness, juiciness, and taste. This place is actually still pretty competitive with surrounding kbbq restaurants and is therefore fairly average as far as the meat is concerned. However, the taste of the meat is definitely worse than it once was under previous management. As someone who has never worked in food, I would hazard a guess that it has something to do with meat sourcing in terms of quality and freshness.

One other thing that's probably less important but that I didn't like seeing was that the menu expanded significantly to offer pretty random dishes unrelated to meat. This doesn't really inspire a lot of confidence in their quality as a kbbq restaurant since it hints at a lack of focus. This is just my personal opinion. At one point, this place was my go to kbbq restaurant but it no longer is, which is unfortunate since nothing else can really take the place of what it once was.

SO, here's what I would personally recommend. Reposition yourself as a higher end, highly focused meat restaurant. Focus on whatever you have to do to provide high quality meat and side dishes. Cut some unnecessary dishes from the menu. Raise prices for the meat if you have to. Then I believe this would become a place where if customers are willing to pay slightly above market prices, there's really no reason to look anywhere else.

Perhaps the drop in taste I noticed was due to covid difficulties though. I'll head back one of these days to see if it has...

Context: I’m not a local in Fort Lee. But I’ve been around the KBBQ scene for much of my life especially living in NYC and having a Korean partner. My partner and I visited this place 4x in total, of which the previous three were so excellent both of us would’ve placed this establishment as THE #1 KBBQ spot in the area (inclusive of Ktown, Flushing, etc). On our 4th visit today, we’re disappointed to say we no longer feel the same. In fact, we’re not sure if we’d be able to even recommend this at all.

Food: What was typically excellent quality, seasoned cuts (you didn’t need any sauces at all) with staff paying attention to every single detail has turned into subpar meats that were either over or undercooked. The tiger prawn (previously absolutely buttery and tender) was over cooked and tough. We ordered the Beef combo for two cooked medium rare which included tenderloin (also overcooked and chewy), hanger (which was undercooked and chewy), the skirt (this was acceptable but at this point we were a bit upset at the experience), and the marinated short rib (which used to be my absolute favorite but was not marinated long enough and lost its sweet flavor).

What was the most concerning was the steamed egg, steamed in a clay pot so overused that pieces of the polish entered the egg. When flagged with staff, they immediately replaced it given the health concern but we didn’t hear an apology.

STAFF: Overall the staff were polite, friendly, and accommodating. Certainly more training may be needed as they tended to skip the details like removing the meat to a bowl or your plate to prevent overcooking, removing spices like rosemary from the grill to prevent burnt smells or flavors from mixing between meats, being careful to ensure food is carefully placed onto the grill instead of it falling on the table when cooking. We also had to remind the staff of our drinks when they forgot our coke.

We really really really want to like this establishment. Especially when all our previous experiences were so excellent. However whether due to inflation, lack of staff, or other things - it’s made the establishment feel like it’s chosen to cut corners - especially when commanding such high prices. We left the restaurant with an $180 bill (beef combo for two + shrimp + cold noodles) feeling disappointed. Perhaps we will try again in the future but for now, we’re taking a break from what was our favorite...

I made 5pm reservation for a Valentine’s day dinner as me and my boyfriend decided to jazz up our romantic dinner with fun Korean BBQ.

I called them in the morning to see if we can change time from 5pm to 6pm. They couldn’t find my name on the list, not a big of deal, I was glad to call them and made sure to put my name down. Their 6pm slot was full and I couldn't change the time.

When we arrived, even before we were completely seated, a server asked us what we want to order, I was still wearing my winter coat. I told him that we saw the menu before we came and mentioned one of the menu. My boyfriend asked him if we can have a minute to see the menu before order and the waiter walked away.

My boyfriend almost wanted to leave, that’s how unfriendly he was. We didn’t feel welcomed at all, he didn’t greet or say hello to us.

A minute after, he came back with a beef platter that I mentioned and when we said we hadn’t made an order yet(and nor he didn’t confirm), he asked us back if we want him to take it back then.

I mean, we were gonna eventually order it but we just didn’t like he’s was so pushy for no reason. He seems like he has somewhere he has to go and I literally had to grab him or stare him to order, also we never asked for drinks, oh well, he actually never complete taking an order.

We said we are taking it, and the server started to putting meats on the grill without saying anything.

The worst romantic dinner ever, we never enjoy eating, feeling exhausted and rushed. There were 2 more tables besides us at 5:30pm and I have no clue why he wouldn’t even bother to explain what’s on the grill.

This guy made other little mistakes taking and brining orders incorrectly.

The other person came and asked us how are we doing and if we want to move on another meat(from the beef platter). At this point our expectation to this place was so low and we just wanted to know what we are eating.

The only reason I liked this dinner because I was with someone I love so much, meat was good but the service downgraded everything, and I will gladly share my experience if anyone asked about this place to me.

Visit this place if you don’t care about service but food, however, if you take dinner with your date or any dinner with special occasion as a whole experience, consider...