Hana Garden — Restaurant in Sparks

For those who know what authentic Korean food is, this is it. It may not be upscale and have those cool bbq pits in the middle of the table, but this is really good, authentic solid Korean food, and I've been to both Korea and Koreatown in LA. The restaurant has a very basic, cafe appearance which you'll see a lot of in Koreatown. Korean food is the 'it' food now in LA, replacing Thai and sushi. The most expensive item on the menu was the kalbi dinner at $9 and bulgogi dinner at $8. This means, you can order a whole bunch of $6 and $7 meals to make a big buffet.

They don't have alcohol right now, but they said they were getting it soon. A Korean restaurant without alcohol is like an Irish bar without alcohol. The best way to tell if a Korean restaurant is the real deal is the kimchee. It shouldn't taste like crisp cabbage with hot peppers. It should taste like pungent, fermented, soft cabbage with hot peppers and garlic. This place has good kim chee, albeit they need more than a small dish and some radish kim chee too, but I never asked.

They also have a lot more Korean dishes than Seoul Restaurant on S Virginia which is not really authentic Korean, more like the PF Chang version of Korean food. Seoul Restaurant also has ramen, udon, and sushi and Chinese food hitting all Asian bases. Hana has a few non-Korean Asian dishes too. The service was quick and attentive. You'll notice the water tastes different, and it's because it has a hint of barley which is actually pretty refreshing. Kalbi is served different ways in Korea, often it's a slab of meat attached to a big bone. In Koreatown in LA they slice the rib bone sideways and leave three or four bones in a strip of beef. Here, it's all cut up for you, but it's tasty and moist none-the-less. It's also fun to watch the Korean TV in the back. And there were plenty of Koreans there when I went, so you know it was a good place. If you walk into a Chinese restaurant and there are no Asians, you might want to walk out of...

I recommend this place if you're looking for good flavor and a filling meal without breaking the bank, or if you've never eaten Korean food before. Most of their menu lists authentic Korean dishes, so it's easy to find something you haven't eaten before.

I ordered the bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated beef with vegetables) and a korean beer (Hite) for a total of $12 before tip. The bulgogi came with white rice and three sides: Sprouted beans, fish strips in sauce, and kimchi.

For some ratings: The atmosphere is 3/5 - definitely not bad looking but not a fancy place either. If the waitress I had represents all of the workers there, I'd rate the staff at 4/5. She was friendly, communicated effectively, and best of all: The only gnat in the place picked me as a target and wouldn't leave me alone. It was too fast for me to kill - but she got it in mid-air, with one hand, on her first try! Flavor: For this, the food I ordered gets a 3.5/5 from me. It's not amazing, but it's good. I plan to come back and sample some other dishes. Portion size: 4.5/5. Plenty of food without so much that you're guaranteed to take some home. Variety: 4/5. The menu has a large variety of dishes, specials, appetizers, and desserts. There are also 4 foreign alcoholic beverages: A Korean beer, a Japanese beer, a Korean whiskey, and a Japanese liquor. Value: 4/5. From a restaurant perspective, the prices here are a little low for the amount and quality of the food. Not low enough to be a steal, but good enough to not be concerned about the cost of eating out here every...

It appears that this is the only all Korean food restaurant in the Reno vicinity. My lunch choice on my visit was Kalbi (short ribs). They were tender and had a very good taste. The main downside with the meal was the lack of vegetable side dishes. In the Bay Area whenever you eat Korean food you could easily get 12-18 side dishes at once, and for a similar price. I was disappointed that Korean soup was not served. Instead Japanese miso was the soup I got. If you are expecting free Korean barley tea then all you are getting is a green tea bag that comes with a charge. The service was good but the waitress could have used extra help. She was taking orders, bringing food to tables and working the cashier all by herself. When I saw that I knew that service was going to be compromised. Like she was not taking orders on a first come first serve basis. She took the order of the guy who came after me and she took my order ahead of the people who got there before me. I also took notice of something the waitress did. As she was cleaning the tables she was very careful with the untouched leftover pickles. She didn't want to put the dirty dishes on top of them. It made me wonder what she was going to do with them afterwards. Overall I consider the quality of food good. I you are craving for some no thrills Korean food then this is your place. Especially when there is no other Korean restaurant in the Reno area. I would say this place is more suited...