New Gangnam BBQ IV — Restaurant in Shoreline

Epic failure. Stay away from their soups!

We decided to visit this place on a Saturday for lunch. Right away, we were asked in a very thick accent (guy was from South of the border) what menu we wanted. We couldn't understand him at all, so I asked him to repeat. We were able to finally intuit that you can choose BBQ or order off a standard Korean style menu. Place seemed clean, but as soon as I saw that it was an all-you-can eat joint, I understood right away that quality may be low. However, we drove there to check it out, based on a recommendation, so we chose the "regular menu." It turns out that the COVID scamdemic allowed this place to raise their LA (lateral axis cut) kalbi+rice dish to $35, which is absolutely insane. The prices were more for any other meat dish. Well, it was freezing outside, so soup sounded great.

A typical Korean restaurant that serves Soft Tofu Soup (Soon DuBu) usually has the sense and pride to incorporate a very healthy portion of vegetables along with whatever protein option you choose, in a rich broth base. NOT HERE. What we both got was a clear base of brownish broth with some tiny sprinkled-in choppings of zucchini, a FEW tiny pieces of onion, and tiny chopped-up chunks of meat. I could not believe what I was seeing... and tasting was a whole different issue... No egg, no green onions, no mushrooms, and the broth tasted like it may have been scooped out of a urinal, and the beef tendonus and crunchy... but since my friend was a newbie, I was not going to ruin the meal with any negativity, as at least the soup was hot. I did let him know later that this place is a colossal failure compared to places just down the street.

As for the service, we had the same latino guy serve us... He only came by at the end to ask how things were, and he never refilled our waters or the $4 plain iced tea. The old man delivering the food seemed to actually be Korean but said nothing to us.

The side dishes are also typically a point of pride for Korean restaurants, and in this case, they tasted old and over-spiced, especially the kimchi and spicy radish. If you know anything about fermented foods, there is a point were something has soured past its prime, especially with these two items. I felt that I was eating slightly rotten kimchi/radish, and that's saying something coming from a veteran eater of these foods.

At any rate, later that day, I had a very upset stomach in addition to what amounted to 5 hours of disgusting gutter farts that made your eyes water. I guess this was my dessert.

Moral of the story: avoid this place if you want to sustain your health, and NEVER take Korean restaurant advice from a...

New Gangnam BBQ IV (the 4th location of the New Gangnam BBQs) is a pretty good place to get value KBBQ in the greater north Seattle area but comes with the caveat that everything is self-service. The meats were good quality and all the banchan side dishes were to my liking. There is different price tiers of AYCE depending on what cuts of meat you want. You can get AYCE kbbq for as cheap as $25/person. They also do al la carte menu items and combo sets as well.

Food My friends and I came to do the lowest tier AYCE ($30) since it included the OG staples for us: beef brisket and pork belly. In addition to those cuts, we also tried the marinated bulgogi. Overall, the meat qualities were decent and did not have excessive amounts of fat. The bulgogi marinade wasn't too salty. The $30 AYCE option also comes with other meats such as pork, chicken, octopus, shrimp, or squid (did not try though). The meats are all self-service and you must go get whichever ones you want. Note that the pre-portioned into bowls that can be found in the fridge but you can grab as many as you'd like. The banchan side dishes were also all self-service as well. There is a variety of banchans available and they were all pretty good. There are non-traditional side dishes as well such as pot stickers, tempura, and eggrolls but these were just okay and seemed like they were out of a frozen package. There is a small area for sauces that are all self-service as well. There will be your typical brisket sauce or salt & pepper in sesame oil available. There are a ton of other non-traditional sauces as well though, such as yami yami sauce.

Atmosphere There are primarily booth seating that will seat about 4 people comfortably with a grill built into the table. There are some tables with regular chairs as well. The interior looks good compared to some other kbbq places that I have been to and was clean. The noise level was not very loud during lunch time on the weekend. Casual.

Pricing Pricing was pretty good for the AYCE menu and not overly expensive compared to other hot pot places. See my pictures associated with review for price tiers. There is open bar for sauces and appetizers so you can get as much as you want. Quality was good for what I paid.

Service For AYCE everything is self-service when it comes to getting your food (banchan side dishes to meats). Surprisingly, water is not self-service. The server and staff were nice and helpful.

Other Plenty of parking at the restaurant on a Saturday lunch. The entrance is located on the upper half of...

Update from July 2024 - really changed in a disappointing way. The prices have gone up and the AYCE options are just okay. They made a buffet bar for cuts and I think buying the cheapest AYCE options is best. The more expensive options have more exclusive meats that really aren't that much more worth it. They gate Kalbi under the most expensive option. Banchan reaaaaallly went downhill. They used to have a wide variety but now it's average kimchi and mass produced pre prepared foods (spring rolls, green seaweed salad, etc.) I'm most sad about the brisket sauce becoming a sickly sweet watery teriyaki sauce :( place is okay but I don't recommend it to my friends anymore. Corn cheese had no sugar or cinnamon. I have taken down the photos of the previous visits.

Update: I think they changed owners or something because the restaurant name is no long SanMaru, but it's now an AYCE spot! $30-40 per person for really good cuts. The beef belly was definitely our favorite, it was sooooo fatty and meaty. The kalbi was on point. Literally so impressed by the high quality cuts at this place. The banchan really tastes a step up from your regular Korean restaurant. High recommend going, I suggest 4-5 plates for 2 people. We got 6 and weren't able to finish our last plate.

Really good kbbq for the Seattle area! I went at a busier time (noon on a Saturday) and there was little to no wait. I was really blown away by the food! We got the C1 combo with the marinated ribeye, which was perfect for 2 people. Everything was so delicious and marbled. The marinated short rib here is bomb. The sauces are very good and they provide an excellent salad that works as ssam for your fattier meats. The corn cheese was SO good! It was buttery, browned to crispy edges, and cinnamon-y. The staff were very quick and everything came out rapidly. For the amount of food we ate, it was ~50 per person, which is such a good price. They also have great cold noodles it seems, since I saw bowls after bowls brought out the kitchen. Will have to...