Olle — Restaurant in New York

I recently visited this restaurant for the second time, with the hope of enjoying their Naengmyeon just as much as I did during my previous visit. However, I must say that my experience this time was extremely disappointing. If it were possible, I would give this place a zero-star rating.

Upon arriving with my party of two, we requested a seat and were initially placed at a table for four. Although there were a few empty tables available, we didn't mind moving to a smaller table when the server asked us to do so. After we placed our order, we patiently waited for our food to arrive. Unfortunately, we waited for a considerable amount of time, but there was no sign of our food or even the usual side dishes. To our surprise, a table that arrived after us received their food almost immediately.

As we observed, one of the people at that table seemed to be the owner, as they went into the kitchen to check on the order status. It was frustrating to see that despite arriving before that table, our order didn't seem to be given any priority. Eventually, our food arrived, but my fiancé received the wrong order. We informed the server about the mistake, and he assured us that my Naengmyeon would come out soon. However, even after discussing the issue with another server regarding my fiancé's order, no further explanation or clarification was provided, leaving us wondering about the delay. Moreover, my Naengmyeon, which was supposed to come out "soon," never arrived. We assumed that they might have wanted to bring both entrees together, but they should have informed us about their plan.

To add to the disappointment, when the server brought out four Naengmyeons, three of them were immediately taken to other tables, including the owner's table, while one was left sitting on the food tray. Unfortunately, that last one was mine. The overall experience felt disorganized and unprofessional. Additionally, the noodles in my dish were completely stuck together, requiring extra effort to separate them. Even then, they were not fully separated, which made my dining experience even worse.

Despite my initial excitement about returning to this restaurant, the overall quality of the food and service did not meet my expectations. When the server finally brought out my fiancé's food, I asked him for a refill of the side dish, specifically the Jeon. He brought back refilled side dishes, except for the Jeon. He mentioned that they were still preparing more and would bring it out to us when it was ready. Unfortunately, the Jeon never arrived, even after we finished our meal and waited for a while.

Throughout the experience, it seemed like the server was more attentive to the owner's friends' table rather than checking on us. When we had to raise our hand to get his attention, he simply came up to us and asked, "check?" Instead of inquiring about our dining experience or whether we received everything we requested, he seemed solely focused on presenting the bill, leaving us feeling disregarded as customers. The overall experience left much to be desired.

If this restaurant prioritizes customers based on friendships or connections, it is quite disheartening. As a paying customer, I expect fair and quality service, regardless of any personal affiliations. Unfortunately, based on this experience, I will not be returning to this place. I would advise others to consider alternatives with better service and a stronger focus on customer...

Admittedly, this was not our first choice but the two places we tried prior had a super long wait so we stumbled into here and were lucky enough to grab bar seats. The menu is fascinating, as there is a mix of very fairly priced options that seemed normal and then all of the sudden the prices for dishes jumps astronomically to the 60+ range for reasons that escape me-especially some of the meat options.

We started with the shiregi galbi, which is a short rib stew with soy-bean paste and perilla seed. This was quite nice and a hearty portion. It came with rice so we got the brown/purple rice, which added nice texture to the stew. The meat was ever-so much on the tougher side but not in a distracting way. I do recommend adding a bit of the ground pepper they offer, though.

While eating this, we gorged on some of the banchan. My favorites were the fish cake and scallion pancake. Shockingly, though, this may be the first time I've had kimchi where I actually went back for more (my own bias, admittedly)-which says a lot about the kimchi. And they don't shy away from refilling the banchan, which I appreciate.

We got the unyang bulgogi. This I felt like was a nice texture and was also a sizable portion-worth the $16.

Finally, we got the galbi-naengmyeon. The cold noodles were especially delicious and not overly spicy. I do believe they gave us the meal portion size, though, accidentally as they seemed to not realize we had ordered the combo which worked in our favor. The meat over the open flame I felt was delicious. You do have to dig a bit for the sauce but with the peppers and onions, this was overall a delicious dish.

I didn't care so much for the barley tea that comes standard so grabbed some tap water, which they were happy to provide. Service was efficient and helpful. The ambience was pretty hip and even at the bar area felt like a cool place to be. Ultimately, while we knew nothing of this place before entering, a great option to satisfy our craving for Korean cuisine...

Olle is one of my favourite go-to restaurants in the ktown area, and I've been more times than I can count. The restaurant is deceptively large, and it's usually pretty easy to get a last-minute reservation or walk-in for a table.

One of their well-known specialties is their naengmyeon, and rightfully so -- both the mul naengmyeon (regular) and bibim naengmyeon (spicy) are so delicious. I love how chewy the noodles are, and the cold broth is always super refreshing. The pickles and cucumbers are a nice touch (although I do remember when it used to come with a slice of pear / half an egg!).

The galbi jjim is also super popular - while it can be a bit salty at times, the meat is so tender and just falls apart when chewing. I always recommend getting the galbi naengmyeon combo, which I think is a much better value than ordering the full size galbi jjim, even when you add the side dishes.

I'm also a big fan of the soulongtang (rich and hearty broth that is perfect for a cold day) and the galbi tang (broth is so fragrant and a nice complement to the heavier galbi jjim).

Some other quick notes:

chueo tang: kind of a miss. the broth has a nice smell but it's just too thick/heavy and weighs down your palate really quickly.

bibimbap: solid dish but nothing particularly notable about it.

janchi gooksoo: I think this only comes as a side to the galbi jjim. I think it's pretty solid as a light contrast to the salty/savoury meat.

bossam: I like the how clean and refined the pork tasted (cooked really well, very tender), but I think it can be pricey for the portion size

The banchan are also always a hit -- I really love the rice cakes, fish cakes, and pancakes (?), but honestly they're all quite delicious. Price point can be a bit high depending on what you order, but it's nice in larger groups to be able to share (or get the combo like I suggested above! Perfect amount...