Asian Kitchen Korean Cuisine — Restaurant in University City

It has actually been a while since I gave a restaurant such a low rating! And I can tell you that for the most part, I did not have a terrible experience here. However, my three-star rating is pertaining to some of the displeasure I did experience while there. I'll start with the interior of the establishment.

Overall, the interior of the restaurant was fairly clean. I think that that particular restaurant has been there for many years. Hence the appearance of a great deal of wear and tear and shoddy-looking furniture. The floors were not dirty in appearance, nor did I see food or crumbs or any kind of debris.

Yet, what you'll see in my photos is that the men's restroom was kind of bad! It wasn't bad because I saw body fluids and other matter anywhere. That was not really the issue. The issue was that the men's restroom was so cluttered with "junk" and random stuff, making it look messy and unsightly. I realize that such a restaurant is not a five-star experience, nor is it meant to be that. But, nonetheless, I would still expect and hope that the owners of this place might take their presentation more seriously.

Additionally, the young lady who was our server was not very friendly or welcoming. She seemed to come to our table, for a split-second, to see what we needed or wanted. Then she promptly "ran away," almost as fast as she got there! Why would this be the case? I can't really tell you. I can tell you that she was wearing a mask, and that perhaps she was a bit unnerved to be working at all, given these days in the endemic. But, if this is the case, that she was nervous or uncomfortable in the restaurant, why would she be working??? She certainly didn't have anything to worry about where I'm concerned, because I'm fully vaxxed and boosted.

Finally, the food was not bad! The bulgogi-type dish I shared with a friend of mine was tasty! My only gripe about the dish was that I believe we had a beef rendition of the bulgogi, and some of the slices were a bit tough and rubbery. That's simply because those would have been the cheaper parts of the beef! I was disheartened by those moments. I literally was chewing those bits and spitting them out in a napkin and rolling it up. I realize some people like chewing on fat; I am not one of them. The only time fat is edible, in my book, is when it's fried and crispy.

In closing, I understand that this review might seem a bit mixed. If it does, that's because my experience was mixed. This is one of the few times I will say that I'm confident I probably won't eat at this restaurant again. I generally don't say such things. You can comb through my series of restaurant reviews and/or hotel stays, and you'll see that I rarely cite that I won't return to an establishment. In this case, I'm pretty confident I won't go back.

Do you think they care? Neh...They've been there for however many years they have been there, and I don't see them changing anytime soon. So, go there and form your...

Don't go here - they need to work on customer service. Main points: Overpriced, slow service, argumentative with customers. My friend and I came in for their lunch service, the place was pretty empty when we arrived but then picked up after we were seated. Given it is Easter Sunday so I figured the service may be a little slow. I also always assume with mom and pop operations that they may have only one chef. I go in understanding this, however, the wait here is VERY LONG. We sat for over 30 minutes with just water, they didn't even bring kimchi or broccoli (some kind of side that doesn't take long to assemble. At first, the waitress (maybe owner?) was friendly enough. However, after we asked how long the wait would be (waiting 45 minutes at this point) she gave my friend a lot of attitude. Then when everything arrived it came at once, appetizer, main course everything (we only ordered one appetizer and two soups). The appetizer and my friends soup was pretty good, however they messed up my order. It was a soup (having worked in a kitchen) I assume they have soup base waiting and then pile ingredients per order. I asked the waitress to come over and politely let her know that the soup was not what I ordered. She then began to explain how it was my mistake (I didn't read the menu correctly). Everytime I tried to speak she interrupted me. Finally, feeling uncomfortable I told her never mind. Please just take the soup back, I won't have it at all. She then tried to insist that I just eat and pick out the ingredients I don't want with a spoon. I had to tell her several times that I just won't have the soup. She didn't apologize, or offer to make me another. She just took it back annoyed. When I went to pay I ask if them removed the soup from the bill. She just looked at me annoyed and said "no". No explanations, no apologies. Just horrible customer service. I could understand this response if I ordered something extremely pricey or something that would be hard to replace but this was a SOUP. You should never argue with your customers regardless. The customer is always right. I'll never come back here again. Be careful if you come, at the Asian Kitchen the customer is...

This is the second time my family has gone and the first time was great. This time, however, it was terrible.

First, we arrive, and we had to wait outside in the cold rain for them to open even though it said on Google that they were open (which made us confused.) Once we were let in, the woman is the only server at this restaurant didn’t even greet us. She had a negative attitude the ENTIRE time we were there. She would slam and toss our silverware and plates every single time. We would be courteous and thank her every time but she would ignore us. We got the impression that she just didn’t like us because we weren’t white Americans. (We’re Mexican & speak Spanish) She would make rude side glances and when she was forced to service us, she would do it hastily and half-assed to be done with it.

The reason we think she didn’t like us for not being white Americans was because half way into our food service, a group of white Americans came in and she was immediately delighted to see them. She was giving them the absolute best service she could provide. Smiling at them & etc. Some other customers came in and she did the same.

We however were ostracized. And we aren’t the type of people to assume others are racist but how can you explain that? We hated our experience here so much so that we refused to tip her. And we are not the type to do that btw. We always tip well. I tried being kind to her by saying goodbye and wishing her a great evening and she didn’t even react or say anything. Just gave me a stank face.

What kind of business treats their customers this way? We chose to come here and chose to spend our hard earned money. We drove almost 40 minutes to come here too. That woman needs some serious training because that behavior unacceptable.

Aside from that experience, the food was great and well seasoned. I’m not sure we will be back but if we do, it’s not because a rude woman is going to stop us from...