843 Korean BBQ & Sushi House — Restaurant in North Charleston

Overall I’d recommend this place but definitely plan to be there for 3 hours or more. We had a reservation at 6 and didnt leave until 9pm. I used to live in Korea and expected the evening to take some time as Korean bbq typically does but it lasted so long because the service, not the cooking of the food.

The service was very spotty. We waited 15 mins to order and then another 40 mins for our food after we ordered. When our server was at our table, she was excellent but we saw her very rarely and there was super long pauses before she’d check in with us again. I will say it was a Saturday night, it was busy, and she told us there were only 2 servers that night every time she did stop by our table. I felt bad for her. If she had more support, I think it would have been a better experience.

I also had to get up to find my own extra set of tongs so both sides of the table could cook their food. We sat for 20 mins without water several times. No shade their way but I do think they need to give their servers more support. They were doing their best but with as much money as we paid for the meal, you’d hope the service would be better. And had the service been better, I think we could have been out in 2 hours.

The food was great so that’s why the 4 stars. Very authentic and great portions. We ordered the gochujang pork belly , LA galbi, and bulgogi beef. The flavor on all were great but I’d only re-order the bulgogi beef. The pork belly was huge, took forever to cook, and was very chewy. We realized the heat wasn’t high enough but the server was no where to found to ask about turning it up. After further exploration of the table, we turned it up ourselves and then the pork belly cooked much faster. Initially it wasn’t getting crispy and it was hard to chew.

Our friends got the spicy chicken, bulgogi chicken, and shrimp. The spicy chicken and bulgogi chicken were great though they didn’t recommend the shrimp because they had to peel it themselves and it wasn’t ideal with the grill situation. All the banchan and appetizers were delicious. I couldn’t get enough of them but couldn’t order more banchan because of service.

I think I’ll go back in hopes that that was a one off night. I’ll updated if I end...

Was it the best Korean BBQ I ever had in my life? Not quite, but I still liked it. I grew up in Los Angeles, (the city with the highest concentration of Koreans outside of Korea) as the child of immigrant parents from Seoul, South Korea. We had KBBQ every birthday. Every picnic. Every camping trip. Every time something special happened.

The galbi (갈비) or bone-in rib eye was my favorite thing, though it is not surprisingly behind the higher costed all you can eat option. The pricing structure was kind of strange, and I felt self consicous about if/when I'd get charged for something. We ended up getting the a-la-carte, instead of the all you can eat, and that had different options as well. Took a moment to comprehend all of that. It really shouldn't be this complicated.

The banchan (반찬) side dishes, were fresh and tasty, just like what I was used to. Korean (and Asian) foods have such strong flavors that it is important ot alternate between the items. When these things fall short, it really hurts. It really makes a difference, and I'm thankful they did a good job here. I also appreciate that they offered mixed rice, which is calrose rice (sushi rice) mixed with wild rice, or black glutinous rice. It turns purple and tastes fine. More nutritious and fun I guess? While I was enjoying all of this, I was so happy and felt transported back to Los Angeles Koreatown. When I got outside and drove home on our bumpy, pothole filled roads, I realized I was back in the lowcountry again!

My wife got the stone bowl bibimbap (비빔밥), and while it was fine, it was really weird that there was shredded lettuce inside it. A lot of it. I was really puzzled. Is this something they do in Atlanta style Korean food? I know the cheese and corn is an Atlanta style KBBQ thing. Why would you put crisp, fresh chopped lettuce inside a hot stone bowl of piping hot rice? Just so you could wilt it and make it soggy on purpose? I have no idea.

They have a bar that is separate from the rest of the dining area, and I appreciate that it didn't get loud from loud music and the bar like some KBBQ places I went to in the past. In that way, I would say that it's great...

For a town with a lack of Korean BBQ options, this will fill that need without being anything extraordinary. The premium AYCE is worth it for the sides and additional meats you get, but the lack of typical banchan and rice is odd and unappreciated.

There were three dishes at the table when we sat down: an asparagus kimchi, a jalapeño and garlic radish mixture, and pickled radish. They were yummy and refillable.

Once we ordered the premium AYCE, our waiter automatically brought out one of each side so we could try everything, which we appreciated. The corn cheese was well-executed and exactly what you would expect. The japchae and gyoza were good. I didn't enjoy the spicy rice cake personally, but my husband did.

For meats, I would highly recommend the NY strip steak. It was my favorite of the entire meal. The LA galbi, beef bulgogi, and ribeye were good. The scallops were fine - it was more of a user error, as I had never cooked a scallop before. However, our waiter was very helpful in giving me tips when I asked, and even offered to help cook it for me (I should have taken him up on that)! The veggies were good - of course, it's tough to mess up a raw vegetable when the diners are cooking it to their own liking! The veggie bowl came with three pieces of asparagus, to large pieces of sweet potato, a mushroom cap, and a piece of pineapple. I wish the pineapple were available on its own as a dessert - that would have been the perfect ending! I'm sure they would have been able to accommodate that, but I forgot to ask.

I really wish there had been more options sauce-wise. There were only two offered at the table - a generic and mediocre sweet chili sauce, and sesame oil with salt and pepper. And again, it was very strange that there was not a larger selection of traditional sides, such as rice, kimchi, rice paper, etc. adding these few things to the table would have made a huge difference in our experience.

Overall, this was an enjoyable experience, but not the best Korean BBQ I've had - however, given the location, it...