Kyung Sung Restaurant — Restaurant in Poquoson

I had been going here for over 30 years, my kids grew up going there and as adults they had continued going. We lived in Chesapeake (O still do)and would travel specifically to go to this restaurant. However the service has gone down and my last 2 instances left a bad taste in my mouth and as a family we have decided to stop patronizing this establishment. I will try and make it short and sweet.. I came over from Chesapeake this past September and ordered a dinner (my favorite gal bee, I usually will order gim bab and/or fried man doo also but since it was just me I decided not to). I paid with my cc and waited for my meal. When it was ready I asked for one of the hot paste that comes in a one ounce cup. The lady said its only free if you order an appetizer otherwise its 50 cents. I just spent almost $25 on one dinner and you couldn't give me one little condiment...I thought to myself. I would have paid had I not already paid and I didnt have any cash on me at the moment. But it really bothered me that she just didnt give me one and tell me next time it will be 50 cent. It was the principle of the thing. I was upset but I was still going to go back.

However the straw that brought the camels back... My daughter was in town visiting from Alexandria, VA and was leaving that evening. We decided to go to our favorite Korean restaurant. So my son came down from Richmond to met us at the restaurant as well. My daughter checked their website to make sure they were still open and if there were any stipulations with the covid. We get over there at 250pm. I go inside to get a table and wait for my kids to come in, the lady tells me the restaurant closes at 3pm until 4pm for cleaning and stops taking orders at 245pm, so I am 5 minutes too late. I walked out then my daughter goes in. She explains that we drove all the way out there to eat and there wasn't anything listed on their website about the closure. My daughter even asked if we could at least order take out. The lady told my daughter no and "I'm not going to keep going back and forth with you". My daughter said fine you lost a customer that has been coming for over 30 years and all the lady said was "ok". It sadness me to say....a long time tradition gone! ( my exhubby first took me there in 1983 when I came to visit him while I was still...

In the past year, we have ordered take out from here 3 times and it's just gotten increasingly worse.

Short Review Version: Wait time is ridiculous. Food is overpriced for the quality you receive. Food also seems to be inconsistent in quality (varying saltiness or seasoning). Slightly awkward atmosphere from how annoyed/tense the servers are (not their fault if they are overworked). After 3 strikes in the past year, they've struck out in my book. I'm looking for another go-to restaurant.

Long Review Version: I last ordered from here last week, and as usual their motto seems to be "give us a break, we are understaffed." I know staffing is an issue in restaurants nowadays, but because of this the atmosphere just seemed uncomfortable. It's like they were maybe overworked, didn't want to be there, seemed annoyed... it just wasn't pleasant. Not necessarily their fault (the servers) but it just makes things awkward.

The food... to put it simply, I feel like the quality does not match the pricing. We last ordered japchae, Korean veggie pancake, and my favorite, kimbap. The glass noodles in the japchae were overcooked and mushy. They also went really hard on the soy, but not enough sesame oil (in my opinion). For the pancake, it was just way too salty. It came with a soy dipping sauce, but I did not dare try to dip it in there with as much salt as there was in the pancake. And on top of that, it's 17 ish dollars for it. Batter, scallions, a few other veggies... it just doesn't add up to me. And the kimbap, it was just disappointing. Something so simple shouldn't be that hard to get. Normally when I eat kimbap, I expect there to be that hint of sesame oil (because it's in the rice) but this time I got nothing. The previous time I ordered it (before this past week), it was fine. That said, consistency seems to be an issue.

The last thing to note, I waited maybe 40 minutes for my food here. 40 minutes for overpriced food of unacceptable quality.

I am giving a 3 out of 5 stars because I don't think the food is unedible, it's just not what I want from my Korean food (especially at this price point). Also, I haven't tried everything so I can't give a full review on the restaurant. Currently looking for another Korean restaurant to...

I have been to Korean bbq restaurants before and this one is different because you have specific requirements in order to have the food cooked at the table. Basically you have to spend more. That was kind of disappointing, but when we saw some other table getting set up for the BBQ I’m kind of glad we didn’t follow through with it, because they had to cook for themselves when I’m used to them cooking at the table for us. But beside that, the food quality though more expensive, is excellent. We ordered the wonton soup which was delicious and we loved the flavor and the use of egg, which was a pleasant surprise. I would go back to order that again. Entrees were spicy beef bulgogi (it was not too spicy) and the beef ribs which came with rice and fried dumplings. They gave a small bowl of sides that we had to share which was also disappointing compared to other Korean bbq places. But the portions of the meat were good and the beef ribs were the best ribs I’ve had in a long time. Cooked to perfection and flavorful. I would go back just for those ribs again. Overall it was a good experience, the waitress was kind and patient explaining their menu to us. They do seem to have a short staffing issue (like most places these days) and it took a while to get our food but they did inform us that there would be a wait and apologized. The restaurant is nothing fancy if that’s what you are looking for, it’s very casual dining. I look forward to having the wonton soup and beef ribs again. If you are looking for an all you can eat, cook for you at your table style Korean bbq, this is not the place for you. But if you enjoy quality beef ribs and wonton soup definitely make it happen...