Dokebi Bar and Grill — Restaurant in New York

TLDR; From a former manager/bartender/server/host & customer perspective-- Pretty disappointed. Shabu-shabu not worth it, small meat portion & bland, customer service turned bad. Ate PB&J sandwiches when we got home.

My bf and I had dinner and were disappointed in the small meat portion of the Shabu-Shabu. We've been to Shabu-Shabu places before and called in to see if this would be all you can eat/enough to feed 2 people. The host on the phone said that the meal could feed 2 large people or 3 small people, but the plate of meat was so small. We left hungry and ended up going home to eat PB&J sandwiches afterward. I'm 5'2 & 112 lbs and he is 5'9 & 145 lbs-- we eat pretty standard portions. I could have eaten the meat portion by myself. $52+tip for vegetable soup basically and salty banchan. We asked if the meat price could be taken off of the bill (never have felt the need to do this anywhere before), and were told no so we paid anyway.

As someone who works in the service industry and has managed restaurants, I was pretty kind to the wait staff and wanted to be understanding with the waiter and manager that were on duty, but I felt that that there was no real attempted resolution nor customer service. The manager offered us a drink, but we didn't want to drink that evening, so she just said "sorry I can't do anything for you unless you want a free drink, you would need to email the owners" (what is the point of having a manager on duty if not able to resolve customer issues?) and we paid for our meal regardless. The waiter came back evidently angrily, said nothing to us, and we still tipped him 15%. Our standard is 20-22%.

Usually wouldn't write a bad review, but this was the worst value of a meal I've had in NYC considering we went home to eat PB&Js. Only pros: good...

Bland Korean food if that’s even possible. Nice ambiance however service was so terrible we’ll never go back. Ordered unfiltered sake and saw waitress bringing the bottle then looking down and wiping the top off saying something about the amount of dust on the bottle. I’ve had this brand several times before and it is a white unfiltered sake. The sake inside the bottle was dirty yellow. Unfortunately I didn’t inspect the color or date printed on it until I took a few sips, started to get a headache from the nail polish remover taste. Unfiltered sake has a fresh, sweet slightly creamy taste, not acrid acetone taste. The date on the bottle was from 2019! 2 years ago. I brought the cap to the waitress to show how old the sake was and she brushed it off and said the manager said that sake doesn’t expire and told me I didn’t know what I was talking about. It’s friggin yellow!!! Unfiltered sake is white. She didn’t even apologize or offer a replacement drink on the house. I later read online unfiltered sake is only good for up to a year after manufacture date. Waitress gave us a bill with the expired sake on it and even after asking to take it off she gave us a hard time. Awful, awful service. Spend your money at a restaurant where they respect you as a...

This Korean BBQ spot in Williamsburg is FANTASTIC. Nice set-up, busy but not a deal breaker. Short wait of about 20 min which flew by ppl and food watching. Once my party of 5 were seated, the customary appetizers like kimchi and bean sprouts began. So did the suds. My only gripe with the whole night: the music was unanimously agreed to be too loud to carry any full table conversation and too dim to see your food/friends clearly. Maybe im just getting old, I dunno but I was hoarse from yell-speaking all night. We were in the back room.

Anyhow, the food. Oh my the food. Whether you're worldly in your palette or a little skittish in what you'll try, theres something AMAZING waiting for you here, trust me. Cook your own meat and veggies at the table BBQ pit, or go a little more authentic with a basic but hearty, spicy Bibeambop (phonetic) bowl. Choose beef, chicken tofu or pork, a fried egg, spicy sauce -gochujang- on the side, served in sizzling stone pot (be sure to request this option called dolsut style) filled with all kinds of veggie goodies and rice was perfect for last night's snow showers.

Take the L train from Manhattan while you still can! Get off at the first Brooklyn stop, Bedford ave. Walk your way to Korean Bbq delights in...