Han Joo (한주) | Korean Barbecue, Authentic Korean food, Cold Noodle, Soju, Lunch — Restaurant in New York

At Han Joo — a longtime Flushing barbecue go-to located a couple minutes' walk from the Murray Hill Long Island Rail Road station — the specialty is samgyeopsal (pork belly), prepared on the crystal grills made (slightly) famous by Kristalbelli in Manhattan. They say a crystal grill renders the fat more proportionally, providing a superior char and a slight health benefit (we can confirm the char and are skeptical about the health claim).

Banchan is better than the average 32nd Street selection and includes pickled zucchini and jalapeños, cabbage kimchi, lotus root, marinated bean sprouts, steamed egg custard, fermented bean paste soup, a pile of palm-size blue crabs, soft tofu and potato salad will land on your table as soon as you place your order with the friendly servers who lack English skills but make up for this with speed and efficiency. During a recent visit, I was waited on by two extremely helpful women.

The dining room is well worn and quite transporting. Populated mostly by local Koreans, there's a sense of "check out the white guys" when entering the space as a white guy. But there are no hard feelings at Han Joo. Everybody is here for the pork, which arrives thickly cut and glistening for the grill. The green-tea marinated style is one of our favorites, but make sure to order some with just salt. There's an extreme porkiness with this product and it's best to try it unadulterated. Manhattan is king with beef, but the pork prince is here and at Hahm Ji Bach next door.

As tradition demands, the best way to close a barbecue feast is with a bowl of naengmyeon, a soup made from buckwheat noodles and served in a chilled broth of beef stock and dongchimi (radish water with kimchi). Make sure to toss in plenty of hot mustard and vinegar. A TV flickers overhead, playing the morning news in Seoul. If it weren't dark outside, you'd think...

I would never recommend this place to anyone and I will never go back. I ate cold noodles here. 20 mins later when I got home, I got sick. I had diarrhea and a stomachache. The next day I found small pink dots on my chest and shoulder area. I paid to get sick and gave them tips!!

Updated after reading "Response from the owner" This is ridiculous!! What kind of response is this? Did you think I made this up? Bring a medical certificate? Really? I'm sorry, but I don't have one because I didn't have to seek medical attention for these conditions. You are lucky that it was not that serious to see a doctor. I have my own medical certificate for you. Plz take a look at the picture I posted. You will see the rash, red dots on my skin which has gotten better now as well as the receipt from your restaurant. Too bad, I should have taken a picture of the watery poop too. You stated "the cold noodles are served immediately after boiling" What's the point? What about the broth ? Do you also cook/boil the broth in real time? I don't think so. How old is the broth? Do you maintain the broth at the proper temperature? It's my favorite food and I have enjoyed icy cold Korean cold noodles from many different restaurants without any issues. Your cold noodles weren't' icy cold. Oh and I don't have any...

We’ve been regulars at this Korean BBQ spot for a long time and have always appreciated the quality of the food and the generous, friendly service when dining as a couple. That’s why we were genuinely excited to bring our family here and share one of our favorite spots.

Unfortunately, this visit didn’t live up to our past experiences. The server, who we've seen many times before and who had always been pleasant, seemed noticeably less welcoming this time. Because we weren’t feeling very hungry, we ordered our usual amount—but the vibe quickly shifted. There were subtle, passive comments implying that because we were a bigger group, we should have ordered more. It made us feel uncomfortable and somewhat judged, which was surprising and disappointing.

The service overall felt less attentive than usual. Ban chan refills were given reluctantly, and we felt like we were being treated differently just for having more people at the table, even though our order was thoughtful and consistent with what we’ve enjoyed before. The food also didn’t seem quite as well-prepared—some of the side dishes felt rushed, and we had to handle all of the grilling ourselves with little staff support, which hadn’t been the case on previous visits.

We left feeling let down, especially since we had looked forward to showing this place to our family. Sadly, the inconsistency in food and service means we won’t be returning. Consistency matters, and this visit didn’t meet the standard we’d...