Antoya Korean BBQ — Restaurant in New York

This place was highly recommend and highly praised by a friend of mine, so when i had a NYC layover, i made sure to come and visit the place.

As soon as i approached the door, i was greeted by a friendly hostess that showed me right away to my table, she asked me if this was my first time eating here, where i'm from and she even showed me where the restroom is just in case i need to freshen up before eating.

i was very impressed with the decoration and it's not very smoky nor does it smell like smoke, not like the other KBBQ restaurants i've been too.

Within a minute of sitting down, i was approached and welcomed by two of the serving staff, Carl and Ace. They were very friendly and gave me a whole bottle of cold water (Which i needed, coz it was hot in NYC that day) and a complimentary Sangria (Which was amazing). I told them that this is my first time eating here and asked them for any recommendation. Carl got down to my eye level and told me everything that they offer and gave me his recommendation, since i was the only one, he recommended the Korean Chicken Wings for Appetizer, the Korean Pork Belly with the Egg Souffle and the Gyoza.

Within a minute of taking my order, Carl and Ace came back with a plethora of Korean side dishes. They brought me some Kimchi, Potato Salad, Anchovy Salad, Pickled Ferns, Pickled Radish,and some Pickled Spinach. Followed by the Chicken Wings, Gyoza ,the beautiful cut Pork Belly, the egg souffle and some rice. There was a LOT of food, i was very surprised and good thing that i didn't had anything to eat that day.

Carl then asked my how i like my pork belly (Crispy) and started to cook it. I wasn't really used to the serving stuff cooking it for me, cause usually other KBBQ just leaves the plate of meat to your table and leave. This whole time, Carl and Ace was talking to me and asking me questions and making me laugh and were just pure amazing, they were so much fun to be with and it just made my visit more special.

Carl made sure that my pork belly was perfectly crispy to my satisfaction and he even made sure that they were seasoned right. He gave me recommendations on what side dish to eat it with, at first i was hesitant to try the Anchovy Salad but with the Pork Belly, the kimchi and the radish, it was AMAZING!!!

The Korean Chicken Wings and Gyoza were perfect as well. The Chicken Wings was not too spicy and the Gyoza was cooked perfectly and partnered with the complimentary Korean Sangria just made it more perfect!!!!!

I walked in to this place, HUNGRY, HOT and TIRED from the all walking and walked out FULL, HAPPY and REFRESHED.

I definitely recommend this place to ANYONE....now, i know why my friend talks highly about this place and now i know why, this place deserves 10 STARS...NOT 5!!!!

CARL AND ACE, Both of you were amazing and hope to see you both again when i come back for a visit...Thank you for taking...

always a delight to come to Korea town located unofficially at the start of 32nd and 6th Ave. Back in the 90s, our family would have a fav restaurant that we would go to and bring relatives and friends. However, it closed about 10 years ago so we had to find new places to eat in that neighborhood. Lucky for us, we pretty much stick to the same menu and from past experience, we have enjoyed our meals. This time around, we decided on lunch at Antoya Korean BBQ. Actually, we did reserve only a few days ago so most if not all were either booked or didn't open till 5pm. And we had a choice here to either sit indoors or outdoor seating. We chose to reserve outdoor seating and when we got there, it was the right choice as indoor seating was packed and for the first 30 mins, we were the only ones outdoors (which they warmed up with personal heaters). The menu was available by scanning a barcode but it didn't load properly so waitress gave us a menu and mentioned that dinner was available all day weekends. We placed on one order of the Antoya Galbi which is marinated Korean traditional beef short rib, two orders of Bulgogi which is marinated sliced rib eye. We also got a side order of Beoseot Japchae which is stir-fried glass noodles with mixed vegetables. We were also eyeing the Nokdu Jeon which is a pancake but they didn't have the ingredient (scallion). As we were waiting for our order, I noticed that unlike other outdoor dining sheds, there were no cars on the street. Evidently, they had closed the entrance to 32nd and 6th and this made spacing of restaurants outdoor dining look much better with larger spaces. Appetizers came first and then our main course order. So, how was it? The appetizers were good, the meat was excellent, so juicy and tender. For the bulgogi, we actually thought initially, we had overorded, but we actually finished the meats. The Japchea was OK too. Had wanted to order desserts after a great meal but unfortunately, restaurant wasn't serving dessert. We did notice this of many restaurants during covid. All in all, I would recommend Antoya as a place for good Korean food. There are a lot more choices on the menu though as I mentioned previously, usually just stick to tried and tested and has...

Came in with a reservation for 4 people at 6:30 and it was full but didn't seem too packed. We grabbed a drink by the bar (standing room only) while we waiting for the last person in our party to arrive. I had the Betty Spritz (Prosecco, orange juice, grapefruit juice, and aprerol). The grapefruit made it a little too bitter. I tried my friend's Hugo Spritz (elderflower syrup, Prosecco, mint, and apple). Mint and apple sounds like a weird combo but it worked. The drink was really refreshing.

For food, we ordered everything to share. The best part of the meal was probably the banchan. They had this pink pickled cauliflower, and this spicy garlic shoots (?) that was just so good and it was unique - not something I had ever had at any other Korean restaurant. We had: -Japchae - standard, but good. A classic -Egg soufflé - this looked really good but the key word is looked. The texture was nice and fluffy but it tasted too smoky (or too much like bonito flakes?) for me -Saewoojang dup bap (marinated raw shrimp with tobiko and ikura) - I'm not sure how I felt about the shrimp but the tobiko was good. But again, $35 good? Probably not -BBQ set for 2 (prime rib eye, sliced prime short ribs, marinated cubed prime short rib). This was enough food for the four of us since we had also ordered the other dishes. It was good - the meat was tender, but was it worth the $125 price tag? That I don't know.

They cook the meat for you but after that, is pretty much where the service stops. They don't refill banchan or even water unless you ask them to. At one point, the waiter took the empty water pitcher and just never came back until we had to flag someone down. Also something to note, I saw a server drop some serving utensils on the floor and then proceed to put it back into the clean bin...

Overall, it was a pretty mediocre experience. Before you visit, I would recommend looking into a different spot. You're in K-town after all. You're not...