SGD DUBU SO GONG DONG TOFU & KOREAN BBQ (Glenveiw) — Restaurant in Northfield Township

So... I went to this place based on the rave reviews. Maybe I went on a off day? From the start, I did not have a great impression of this place. After parking my car, I made my way towards the restaurant. I noticed that there was a guy in uniform smoking. So I had to inhale smoke as an appetizer before setting foot into the restaurant. And after I passed, he hacked up a lougie and spit it out. Delightful start to a meal.

The interior seemed very clean and inviting, there weren't too many people in the place so I asked to sit next to the window but was seated near the darker bathroom corner. (Why???) Well I thought, who cares as long as the food is good I'll be happy. I ordered the dumpling soon tofu and while the taste was okay, it was incredibly salty. I had to keep adding water into the soup. The best part of the meal was the part where they poured hot water into the left over rice. The entirety of the meal was pretty underwhelming.

Oh, one more thing - everyone seems to get really good service but I was a little rushed by the servers. I'm not sure if there are servers assigned to tables because each time someone came by it was a different person. The servers act like they're really nice but looked like they didn't really want to be there. I noticed that some of them would disappear for smoke breaks and come in smelling like smoke too.

I was pretty disappointed in this location, maybe next time I'll try the one...

Update 6/27/2018 Today it was dirty and the servers were not nice or attentive at all. Some of the banchan was very nasty. The dishes and cups are not clean at all. We even were sitting closer towards the kitchen and yet the service was even worse than when we sat near the windows. When you have a dol-soht (stone bowl) rice with your soondooboo and have your rice moved into your soondooboo, servers are supposed to pour water into the stone bowl with the remaining rice in there. Our servers did not even come over to our table to do that even after we tried to flag them over like 6 times. The food does not taste good anymore. It was not like this before as the servers were nice when I wrote my original review. Now it seems that a new ownership took over, fired all the nice and attentive people in the staff, and replaced them with rude and inattentive people. 0 stars for this!!!!

Original old review It very well may be of atrocity when it comes to finding a parking spot. The service can be a hit or miss depending on where you sit. Over by the windows can mean not as much attention as you should get, but tables in the middle of the room or towards the inner wall or kitchen tend to get very good service. I would not recommend things other than soondooboo (순두부) here, but if you want 순두부, you definitely want to come here for that. That is what this...

I have been a loyal customer of this place for several years, frequently bringing my family and friends to enjoy food and hospitality. However, I wanted to share a disappointing experience from my last visit. A few months ago, I brought my sister-in-law, who was visiting from another country, to this restaurant. Our meal cost just under $100, and when it was time to pay, she insisted on covering the bill with cash. We left $120 and told the waiter to keep the change as a tip. However, the waiter returned with the change and the receipt. I reminded them again that they could keep the change, and they took the money. But shortly after, the waiter came back again, questioning why we didn’t tip more. When I responded, they mentioned that customers usually tip more than that.

This interaction made me feel extremely uncomfortable, especially in front of my sister-in-law and other guests. While I have always appreciated the food and atmosphere at this restaurant, this experience felt unprofessional and disrespectful. I hope your staff will manage gratuities in a more professional manner in the future.

I have always enjoyed dining at this restaurant, but after this experience, I’m unsure if I will...