Five Senses (Koreatown) — Restaurant in New York

So I own a restaurant (diner) in Vermont and I am the cook. The only cook. And October is the busiest month of the year in Vermont (people love to look at trees and leaves…). October 2022 was our busiest month ever in 10 yrs of business. I was sick (AND working) for 3 weeks in October. I thought I might just die in my sleep. So on November 1st I got on the bus to NYC at 6am to take a 4 day BREAK. And I was still freaking sick. Getting better though. Finally headed in the right direction. But I knew I wanted some legit Korean food and some spicy Sundubu Chigae to help me along. My favorite hotel in NYC is just a few blocks from Koreatown. Which, you know, is CONVENIENT. (Highly recommend The Moxy Times Square!)

My bus arrived at Grand Central at 11:30 am. I grabbed a Lyft, checked in at The Moxy, dropped my bags, headed out to The Five Senses. I arrived at around 12:30pm. I was the only non Korean person there when I arrived. That’s how you KNOW food is going to be FIRE.

Five Senses is not a fancy place. They are going to impress you with the food, not the “trappings.” That being said, the vibe is lively and upbeat. Upbeat, fun, almost club music playing loud. You’re not coming to Five Senses for a quiet, peaceful meal. In addition to the music, the staff is going to roll up with a full, rattling cart to clear off tables. There is noise in this restaurant. Service may not be “fancy” but it is EXCELLENT. There is no shortage of staff here and they are all paying attention. As in I didn’t have to ask for the extra napkins I needed, they just appeared. I didn’t have to ask for my check at the end, it too just appeared at precisely the moment I wanted it.

The menu includes every Korean soup you might want and I am here to tell you that Korean soups are AMAZING. Particularly if you are congested at all or it’s cold out.

I ordered Kimchi Pajun and my Spicy, Seafood Sundubu Chigae. I LOVE Pajun and you need to come to a legit Korean restaurant to get it. I also ordered hot tea. You know you are in an actual, for real Korean restaurant when they serve you the Korean corn tea in a red plastic up. IYKYK

They started me out with 6 different Banchan. Banchan are the little, AMAZING, side dishes that are served with every proper Korean meal.

The Banchan at Five Sense are next level. Amazing, fresh, delicious, perfect. Mine included broccoli, bean sprouts, tofu, potatoes with syrup, spicy cucumber and kimchi. Everything was chock full of flavor and cooked perfectly: i.e., the broccoli had been steamed just enough so the color was vibrant and it still retained crunch. They are also bottomless. After I basically INHALED all 6 Banchan my waiter wanted to bring me more. I had to tell him “No” because I knew I was going to need to focus to eat my Pajun AND Sundubu Chigae. I was not wrong!

My Sundubu Chigae arrived before my pajun. But it was also BOILING in its bowl. So you must let it “rest” a bit if you don’t want to injure yourself. But it worked out perfectly because my Sundubu Chigae cooled to the perfect temperature while I was eating my kimchi pajun.

The Kimchi Pajun was, in a word, huge. It is served on what is basically a pizza peel. This pancake is BIG. I ate the entire thing. I probably should not stopped. But I couldn’t. So, so, so good. Dipping sauce so delicious I asked for a second little dish of it because it really elevates the pajun. Perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside, rich, satisfying, both in texture and in flavor.

The problems with something as incredibly delicious as this Kimchi Pajun is it’s hard to resist ordering AND it takes up a lot of space (inside you).

My Sundubu Chigae was FULL of seafood (clams, shrimp, prawn, squid, scallop) and silken tofu. So good. So filling and delicious and satisfying. I ate ALL of it.

I for real over ate. I was FULL FULL.

I only had to walk 5 blocks back to my hotel and I honestly doubted whether I could make it.

I did. And crawled directly into my bed and took The Most Glorious Nap!

Great Korean Food will heal what ails you.

Get yourself to...

I have been here plenty of times since my friends, sister and I love the kimchi fried rice and how open everything is. That said, I think today will be the last time I go there for a long time. It was around 1300 and it was a busy Sunday afternoon before Labor Day. There was a line inside but enough space that my sister and I should fit inside without getting in the way of people exiting. We get inside and wait patiently for the hostess to ask how many are in our party. Instead, some guy who we are guessing is the manager at this time and tells us to wait outside, as well as the Asian couple who was about to walk in. When we go outside and line up he doesn’t like where we are lined up and tells us to go to the side of the building and otherwise ignores us. He asks the Asian couple that came AFTER us how many are in their party but never asked us even though we are ahead of them. If you see that the line is long why do you as the manager stand all the way by the front of the line, where you can’t see who’s coming in, instead of standing near the entrance in order to direct people without making them feel like they’re stupid for trying to stand inside where they can be seen? Moreover, why do you as the manager think it’s okay to treat your customers as less important due to their race or because they look young? My sister and I are Hispanic and are often told we look young for our age. Even when there was space inside for us to stand he never came to tell us to come in or ask how many people are in our party. When the hostess finally saw us she asked and we were seated immediately. Also, you cannot buy soju unless it’s after 12 and everyone at your table is 21 and over. Our waitress never came to check back on us. You will see the bus boys more than you’ll ever see your waiter when you go here so make sure you order everything in one go. We weren’t even done with our food and they gave us the check without asking if we wanted anything else. I had taken a minute break from eating to put my credit card down and another waitress asked me if I was done when I still had about half my soup left. It felt like they were trying to kick us out of there. They won’t have to worry though since I won’t be back for a long time if ever. Two stars for food and bus...

Wao. I am never ever returning to this restaurant, especially with so many options around. I had been to this restaurant once before during lunch time and enjoyed their Galbitang, so tonight while I was in the area I was really excited to take my dad, uncle, and cousin there. It was a busy night, they didn’t even check our vaccination cards as they sat us down. They took a long time to even take our order, had to chase the server who kept ignoring us. I ordered the Galbitang which was fine. The seafood pancake and bibimbap were quite bland.

We ordered the LA Galbi and it was one of the most laughable and disappointing $40 dishes I have ever ordered, wish I had taken a picture of it - it was barely 7-8 pieces of bone with minimal meat and few tiny slices of beef - lots of onions to fill up the plate. Do not order this dish here.

So at the end, after such a sad experience, we get the bill. There were 3 options for tip starting at 18% and above, and a box for custom tip. I decide that the experience and food were so abysmal that it didn’t deserve the 18%, so I custom tip somewhere around 15%. The server takes the receipt, comes back to to the table, puts the receipt on the table, and INSISTS that I select one of the tips above 18% and leaves. I couldn’t believe it and stood up to clarify which she said to me “everyone selects one of the boxes of 18% and above.” At this point, I am furious and I say absolutely not, for the reasons above. And she lets it go. Why would you have a box for custom tip if you are not letting your customers decide how much you actually deserve? I should have just not tipped at all out of principle, tip is EARNED, not demanded. You EARN it by treating your customers with decency and respect. The only reason I tipped was because I know there are a lot of hardworking people in the kitchen working behind the scenes. So while you think that you can demand a higher tip from your customers even when you don’t deserve it, and while I know you will continue to get customers in this tourist area, let it be known that your food and service are not worth the money, and I am glad I now have a reason to try food at other places and take my hard earned money elsewhere where I will happily tip 18% and above when...