Mad for Galbi — Restaurant in Nolensville

I found myself in Nolensville a couple hours before my hockey game. Rather than eating the same mediocre fast food, I decided to treat myself to something a bit more tasty. The problem here was I was feeling a little nostalgic, probably because I talked to my mom the day before. I wanted Korean food.

Korea BBQ & Sushi is usually my go-to but I was already deep in the heart of Nolensville and I came across this place in my Google search. After reading a couple reviews, I decided to give it a shot.

Here's the thing, I didn't go here for Korean BBQ. Like I said before, I talked to my mother the day before and I wanted one of the comfort Korean dishes. A soup or stew.

I was pleasantly surprised on arrival and what's the saying about ethnic cuisine? You know it's good when the local ethnic people go there. I think the restaurant had 90% Korean patrons.

My waitress was nice and patient. She checked on me often and refilled my dishes of banchan. I ended up picking the jjamppong 짬뽕 for my entree. In Korean restaurant fashion, jjamppong is served in a humongous bowl, big enough to take a bath in. Chock full of seafood, I was pleasantly surprised that it had chunks of blue crab in it too! A nice balance of spice in a briny seafood broth, it hit the spot in a way comfort food only can. The only mistake is now I have to go play ice hockey and I'm hoping I don't pay the price for it.

As for the atmosphere, it's modern. You get traditional hole-in-the-wall Korean food in a relatively modernized setting (TVs, music, contemporary furniture) without all the tackiness. Even the staff were hip, young servers. The owner (or manager) was friendly too!

I'll definitely go back again before my next...

January, 2025. Unfortunately, after visiting this restaurant with a party of 12, I must edit my first review. The second visit was nothing like the first. The staff seemed surprised and annoyed that a party of 12 had arrived when they opened at 11:30 a.m. (even though I had reconfirmed the reservation a couple of days before). I reminded the staff we had some allergies (which was not an issue on my first visit but was met with indifference on this visit). The staff was not very educated on the menu offerings and the waitress was quick to ask us to place our order even before drinks were served. The food is good and it is a shame that the staff lost the hospitality part of working in a restaurant. Such a sham.

Summer 2024.Laila greeted us warmly when entered the restaurant and talked through the menu with us. She brought us a few tasters: kimchi, salad, fish cakes, eggplant and broccoli; followed with a soup broth; vegetable dosot, Jeyuk Gui, Japchae, Tonkatsu and a bottle of wine. The food was delicious and the...

Stopped in with a friend after work this week and had a wonderful time. Service was quick, but we talk too much and ended up there late. Great selection of Korean food, though I should have asked for a little spicier on the spicy items. We started with makgeolli and a seafood pancake. That seafood pancake was delicious! I had sat down wanting to order a kimchi pancake, but I didn't see one on the menu. I probably missed it. Seafood is my second favorite, though, and they did it well.

We ordered jeyok bokkeum (spicy pork) and ojingeo bokkeum (spicy squid) as our dishes. We shared both. I wish they'd been spicier, but they had great flavor. The meats were cooked properly and had the right chew. The sauces were delicious, and the rice was perfect to soak it all up!

There was also tons of food there, so we ended up with leftovers of everything that I'll enjoy this weekend!

Overall great value, too. We split the bill 50/50 and my portion with tip was about $50. I have enough leftover for 2 lunches (if I add some veg to the...