Arirang Korean BBQ Mill Creek — Restaurant in Mill Creek

TLDR; a server argued with me that it was my fault she spilled oil on my pants and didn't offer any apology, and gave me attitude

I've eaten here a few times, and usually the service is good but tonight I had a bad experience. I'm not sure when they started doing this, but they added a paper film to the grill. This is probably because they wanted an easier time cleaning the grills afterwards. We ordered Bulgogi and wanted to have the paper replaced, so a server came by to replace it.

When she arrived, she said, "excuse me" so we scooted over so she could reach the paper, and even though me moved over she kept exclaiming for us to move over. We moved out of the way for her to reach over and grab the paper, but she instead grabbed a new grill top rather than just replacing the paper.

She didn't shake the grill to remove any excess oil, and instead she just carried the grill over me and she got oil on my pants. Oil stains can be a pain to remove, so I went to speak with a manager but she said there wasn't a manager on the floor that night and that she was in charge. I don't understand how that business practice works, because there's no one to manage the floor.

In a customer service environment, you would assume that the server would've been apologetic and try to make amends but instead she argued with me that it was my fault my pants got dirty. She said normally people get out of the way for the grills to be changed, but I've never been to another location that made guests get up from their meal to make space. Even if that were the case and I did get out of my seat for her, she would've spilled oil on my seat which I would have sat in and been in the same predicament.

She wasn't a new employee either. You'd think that someone who has changed those grills multiple times would know that it's going to drip, and would make some kind of effort to keep it from doing so. She could have brought a rag, placed a tray or plate underneath the grill, or even wiped it up even a little bit while it was still on our table before lifting it. She just straight up picked it up while it was still sticky and wet from Bulgogi sauce.

I was hoping that she would offer the meal for free, but instead with a snarky attitude asked if I wanted dry cleaning. I should've said yes but I just wanted to get the stain out as soon as possible so my girlfriend and I paid for our dinner and left.

I normally have a good experience coming here, and although WUJU BBQ is closer to my apartment I make the drive over to Arirang because it's better quality. I am never coming back here again. The servers tonight were not helpful to the people at the table, and when they mess up and cause a problem they do not make any effort or seem at all apologetic. They seem tired and upset that they work there, and I hate to think that they treat other people the same way that they treated me.

I'm not upset that I didn't get a free meal. I am upset that the server didn't care that she messed up and instead of offering any solution she just gave me an attitude. Moving forward I hope that they have a better business model that allows for a manager to be on the floor at all times, and I hope they train their servers to have better...

Stopped by for early dinner around 4 or 4:30 so unsurprisingly, it was empty. However, staff were still welcoming and attentive, providing fantastic service. This location matches with the Lynnwood one pretty well, they both have their niche pros and cons. I've only gone to the Lynnwood one before so this was my first experience here and was pretty enlightening.

Menus look the same as well as the prices, but rating here is definitely higher for various reasons. The side dishes here are much better and simply have a flavor. The mashed potatoes for example, are actually mashed and smooth rather than some strange solid mumble jumble over at Lynnwood. Fish cakes have a much stronger flavor too. However, recently Lynnwood placed a big rice cooker at the side dish station so it's easier to refill (though sanitation may be hit or miss). Over here, you still have to ask for more rice but it'll likely be cleaner.

This location definitely prides itself more on the service and has employees who will actually check in. Lynnwood seems to have opted for more self service with employees only coming to provide meat and change grills. With that note, however, employees here don't go out of their way to change your grill, you still have to explicitly ask (other KBBQ restaurants are better at this).

Meat selection is probably the most important factor when choosing either location though. Or a KBBQ spot in general. Price or value may be higher for some, but this is one of the cheaper KBBQ spots and it's expected to be lower quality. Pork belly here is sliced in much thinner pieces than Lynnwood which means it does cook a bit faster. Presentation of meat was also better but it's all frozen anyways so pretty irrelevant. Lastly, the brisket here was 50/50 where some pieces were tender and juicy while others were extremely dry. The latter was the biggest reason for...

Decent AYCE (all-you-can-eat) Korean BBQ with a buffet style banchan (veggies/side dishes) and sauce bar.

I’ve had KBBQ at Arirang in Lynnwood, but this location felt more modern and more up to date. Parking is easy to find as it is located in a strip mall area. There’s definitely more tables, so getting in shouldn’t be a problem. The grills have a built in fan, so you don’t leave smelling too bad :) they have 3 tiers of unlimited meat and other a la carte items, but I recommend the meat. The first tier will have all your basics and I think is more than enough unless you want some more specialty meat. It comes with chicken, pork, and beef bulgogi, as well as brisket and pork belly. Pork belly and brisket tasted a little dry. I enjoyed the chicken and pork bulgogi the most, as they had the most marinated flavor. The bulgogi comes in a halves of a plate but the brisket comes in a full plate, so be careful when ordering that. There did not seem to be a time limit or restriction on how many times you could order, but you’ll probably feel full quickly :) Getting sides and sauces are all self service, so the servers only bring you orders or the meat. The banchan bar has all the basics like kimchi, radish, lettuce, and even things like pasta salad and miso soup. You also get a side of rice, but make sure to save room for the meat. You will be a charged a $5 surcharge if you have a lot of leftovers, so be mindful. The restaurant seems a little understaffed as there were only what looked like 3 servers for the whole place. You had to pay at the front too since no one could come by the table. Overall a pleasant experience and I felt I got my money’s worth for KBBQ. Worth a try if you’re hungry and...