Insa — Restaurant in New York

Tangsuyuk: 4/5 My friend and I agreed this was the best out of all the dishes we ordered. The sauce had a nice balance of sweet and sour. Even though the meat was sitting in the sauce for a while, it did not get soggy and was very crispy. The portions in this restaurant are very small and do not reflect the steep prices so please be aware of that. There were about maybe 8 pieces in total and the dish is made with beef instead of pork. They also put slices of pineapple coated in red pepper flakes on top of the meat which is not authentic but my friend liked it. I however, felt that it was unnecessary. ($15)

Jjajangmyeon: (3/5) The noodles were nice and chewy but the flavor was boring. It just tasted like soy sauce and the portion didn’t even fill half of the bowl. When the server brought the dish, I couldn’t even see the noodles at first because there was such a small amount that it seemed like it was less than 1 serving. ($17)

Gyesal Naengmyeon: (2/5) The crab meat was not fresh and the texture was mushy. I thought there would be soup because the traditional dish has cold soup but the dish was NOT authentic at all. There was this white sauce that made the noodles taste perfumey which threw me off. I added some of the sesame oil they provided for the barbecue and that was able to neutralize the taste a bit. Again, the portion size was minuscule and not reflective of the price. ($18)

Pancetta Coreana: (0/5) This was the most disappointing dish we ordered. My friend wanted to try this meat for the barbecue portion of our meal so we decided to order it. When the server brought the food, I was stunned. The “pancetta” looked like THIN slices of BACON! We paid $25 for bacon! I expected decently thick slices but they were extremely thin like a piece of paper. And no surprise here… the portion was tiny too! There was one thin layer of “pancetta” laid out on a plate that was maybe 4 inches wide…long story short, we pretty much paid $25 for bacon. They claim to have smoked it for 10 days and that it’s sliced thinly because of the strong flavor but did not address the meager portions because there were less than 10 slices on the plate. If you want to serve Korean cuisine with a creative taste, then you should list the place under fusion cuisine, not just Korean Barbecue ($25).

Phony Negroni: I wanted to try an interesting drink so I ordered this but it tasted like fizzy medicine with a bitter aftertaste so it wasn’t to my liking. They said that the drink is supposed to be bitter which I understand. That’s why I said it wasn’t to my liking. ($9)

House-made Lemonade: It tasted like a plain lemonade. ($4)

Total Cost: $95.90

We split the bill so each person ended up paying $50+ after adding the tip.

Service: (2/5) Our server who took our order and grabbed the check seemed like he did not want to be there. The host seemed like that as well. I don’t blame them though because apparently all the servers split the tips? I’m not sure of this but it would explain why we had five servers to take our order, bring our dishes, cook the meat, and collect the plates. All the other servers seemed nice and enthusiastic though. Overall, the atmosphere was not the most welcoming.

They also offer karaoke but I would not recommend because they charge $80 PER HOUR and there were only two of us. For larger parties, they charge $180 PER HOUR. There are places that charge a quarter of that price so I would recommend going to karaoke elsewhere. They say that they charge by the hour instead of by person like other places but I’ve been to places that charged $25 for two hours and it was also a party of two… And when I asked the worker how much it would be, he said “For the two of you, it’s gonna be 80 an hour.”

Summary: This place is overpriced and the portions are minuscule. The food they serve is INAUTHENTIC and more similar to fushion cuisine. The taste was boring for the most part and my friend and I left unsatisfied. Lastly, this place is listed as Korean barbecue but if you want a more authentic experience, I would not...

I was so excited to finally have some Korean barbecue, it had been months since I have had any. I'm originally from California and had been looking forever to find a new Korean barbecue place, and when I came across this restaurant I felt like this was the closest place I could find to back home. So, when the friendly Hostess greeted me I was uber excited to be there. But, then the waitress came and that's where it all went downhill. I told her I wanted to use the grill in front of me and that I would like some bulgogi and we briefly discussed what other food could be put on the grill, and we came to the conclusion of me ordering the bulgogi she then placed my order, what took like it seemed forever to get to me. It turned out that they don't serve bulgogi Raw, it is cooked and is served to you that way. I was highly disappointed due to the fact that the only reason I went there was to use the grill to cook meat and have the total experience. This was something I told the hostess in excitement and my waitress. It quite frankly seems to me that the waitress just was not even really paying attention to anything I was saying and when my food got to me it turns out I was right. She, asked me if I would like a drink and I agreed that yes I would like another drink. After waiting 15 minutes with no drink to arrive, she then returned to me and said, "are we done, would you like your receipt?" I couldn't help but look at her dumbfounded and think to myself, you haven't even checked on me at all! Now, that you see I'm done with my food, now you ask if I want to drink then when I say I do you don't even bring it, it seemed at the time she was avoiding me after I got my meal. Knowing that it wasn't the way I had originally requested it, and when she did bring me my food, and it came to me cook and I asked her why. She tried telling me that she told me I couldn't cook it on the grill, that was a complete lie. It's one thing to be served the wrong food, it's another thing for the waitress to then try to put it on you, that was absolutely not okay! Then you asked me for a drink and disappear again, finally you ask me for my receipt and act as if everything was okay. The lack of common sense that she used, really ruined my whole experience; for one having Korean barbecue for the first time in New York and two at this individual location. Then when I get my receipt not being advised that there is already a service fee that is going to be attached, the first thing I told my waitress when I sat down was that this was my first time eating Korean BBQ in New York and being at this restaurant, one would think she would have as a waitress, advise me of all of the ins and outs within their establishment from food to how they serve two prices. But, no none of this was even considered for my service. That infuriated me, because the service was one non-existent and two her communication was non-existent, so therefore requiring me to give a service fee for service that was not properly rendered, quite frankly was ridiculous. I will never come to this establishment again and since I have been here, I have had people ask me about it and I tell them that it is their choice if they want to go or not, but I would never recommend it to anyone. The Ambiance was nice and to know that they had karaoke in the back was nice as well, but that didn't make up for the lack of customer service. The hostess could tell I was upset and tried to apologize as I walked out, but that was not her responsibility, I could see she was making a last-ditch effort to salvage what had gone South due to the waitress, the hostess had even said she could talk to the chef for me but once again that was not her...

Insa (인사) means to say hello or to greet in Korean. But I do think they are playing with the homophone of Inssa (인싸) which is a short version of "insider", essentially a slang used for "you are in the know" or "you're part of the inner circle". Insa is not your traditional Korean bbq, not because of the food, but because choose to be vibrant, more casual, and filled with young energy. Fabulous time is guaranteed, especially with a large group of friends. Heck, they even have karaoke machines in the back!

Insa would be categorized as progressive or "fusion" Korean bbq. They have been optimized for large groups of people coming together for grilling meat and enjoying drinks (like soju). In these typical Korean outings (whether with friends or colleagues after work), it always tends to be a large group and you want to maxmize the happiness of everyone, sitting close together, sharing the grill in the middle, and also being a bit noisy and rowdy. This Korean eat-out and drink culture is well represented in the layout of the dining room - communal grills done in a classy way. Yes there are booths for smaller groups but you clearly can see what they are going for.

Insa also has a separate bar where you can't grill but they will bring out food for you. This area took me as a surprise making me even think whether it was part of the same joint. It is a proper bar, almost Thai feeling, but super functional and provides a different type of drinking experience.

Now in any Korean bbq, you must nail the meat. And Insa absolutely hits it out of the park. Their galbi was soft and tender, not too sweet nor salty. This shows that they were confident with their quality of meat. And literally it melts in your mouth. The pork belly too was quite well balanced - both in thickness and the amount of fat. Insa really pays a lot of attention to the quality of meat.

But then, you start bringing out the side dishes and my god, this is where Insa starts to be opinionated and shows off. The mandu - fried dumplings - is done in a very homely way. Almost street food style and they are great. The pajeon pancake too was another departure from the tradition - crunchy and filling. Everything was declicious.

And of course, you must bring in the drinks. We had everything from cocktails to flavored soju - my god they go down fast - and beer. Our group had a fabulous time, being gregarious, enjoying the meat and food, while shouting gunbae!

Insa hits it out of the part in so many ways, especially when you look at it from the overall experience. They are the modern manifestation of Korean bbq combined with drinking culture. Koreans love groups. And Insa is THE place for group fun. If it is your night of get-together with those you haven't met in a while, and when the mode is "the more the merrier", head over to Insa Brooklyn. And you shall become a inssa 인싸.

As a Korean descendent, I personally want to thank the founder of Insa for his/her creation. Will return...