Hansung BBQ — Restaurant in Santa Clara

A Korean BBQ joint that uses actual wood charcoal cannot go wrong. You have the primary element that makes any meat and grilling great. Yet, Hansung fails to completely mesmerize. And the reason is the meat.

Let's start with the atmosphere. It's somewhat like a hybrid between a night club, a dungeon, reeking of burnt coal. You feel like you're going to get cancer the moment you step in. Good scent though. Who doesn't like grilled meat?

Next, the service. Like any decent Korean BBQ, the server swings by, grills the meat, and cuts it up for you. No qualms here. The lady was friendly. My only issue is she kept on not getting us soy sauce. I can see that they have soy sauce as it appears in other food. But she somehow couldn't bring us a bit on the side.

Now let's talk about the meat. First, no matter what you do, you must use fresh, high quality beef. The Hansung galbi was the only saving grace but with thinly sliced rib meat marinated in soy and sugar, you really can't go wrong here. So again, galbi was great. The wagyu ribeye. Definitely avoid. This was tough as a cardboard sponge. There is no way this was a wagyu-grade ribeye, let alone being fresh. And they don't marinate it at all, which means they are banking on completely the meat to be flavorful. A complete fail and waste of money here. Finally we also had the gopchang, the small intestines. Comes again, completely unmarinated... and this is really tough to pull off as the intestines are tough, unflavorful, etc. All they had to do is marinate it with their galbi sauce but again, they seem to not really be tasting their own food.

Hansung is a disappointment in many aspects. And they're not that cheap either. Unless you are coming to get hammered here with soju and need a bit of protein on the side, I don't think I'll be...

I don't usually post a rating unless the food/service experience is exceptional or the opposite. Unfortunately, this one is on the opposite side, a horrific one. Bottom line, I will never come here again nor will I recommend it to anybody. My experience here will be the topic of all the conversations with everyone I know. I reserved a room for a large group of 15, confirmed 3 times and I was assured I have the room. But we were seated in the general seating area. Their explanation was that there was a miscommunication. I was puzzled because I confirmed the same day but I thought it could happen. I ordered 10 portions of marinated beef short ribs and some other dishes and the servers grilled the meat at our table. The cooked meat I was given tasted sour. I thought it was just me. But soon after, more than half of the group said the meat tasted sour. I notified the server and the owner but they claimed that the meat is fresh and that we're being overly sensitive. They brought out another batch of meat for us to try but the it was the same. The meat was definitely bad and not sellable. The owner should've known, but even if she wasn't aware, she should've been more attentive to the customers claim that their food might be bad. But rather, she decided to ignore our feedback and walked away. I have invited my closest friends and family but the dinner was ruined. I felt terribly embarrassed to have chosen such a horrific place for what had to be the happiest night. We left half the meat but I paid the full price including the tip. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this restaurant to anyone! You may be...

My kids liked the Korean BBQ there, so we've been there a few times over the past month.

Overall, the food is not bad but the quantity is small. The small side plates are average.

Expect to pay about $40-50 per BBQ order. If you don't meet the 2 BBQ order they are a bit rude and tell you to sit at the standard tables but still charge you the same rate. And they'll belittle you as if you've entered the wrong restaurant to eat.

The best thing about this place is the cooking of meat over hot coals. It does give the meats a better flavor.

The Service however is one of the worst I've ever experienced. To give them the benefit of doubt I waited to write the review only after I've gone there 3 times. The Korean serving ladies are not friendly let alone not very helpful. When you ask for anything it was almost as if it's too tedious. My funny moment occured when I asked for a bowl of the complimentary salad that doesn't have hot spices. The server's answer was "salad is only little spicy, kids ok.". So she ended up refusing to bring a salad without hot spices.

Hey, as an Asian American I'm tolerant of bad service but I feel the ladies here are something else. They remind me of the servers that will spit in your drink or put bugs in your food kind of angry. This is ironic since I find that most older Asian service ladies are generally pleasant and friendly, especially towards customers with children.

Needless to say we're not going back anymore.

I'd rather take my $200 and spend it somewhere else. Somewhere that will appreciate...