ONGGI — Restaurant in Washington

never have i felt more tension in the dinner room. it was like the plot of a movie. by the end, i genuinely had indigestion from the stress (or was it the lack of quality ingredients and the sodium rush?)

we were pleasantly surprised they had open seating for four in a private room on a saturday evening. that shouldve been a red flag the course menu is $115, and at first we were pleased by the welcome course — a yummy platter of dried korean ingredients like puffed rice dusted with matcha, candied ginger, and seaweed crackers, as well as a tasty drink. the assistant general manager explained the platter flavor profile and it SEEMED deeply intentional

then, they brought out the next course before we even finished the welcome. Please slow down #1. a salad (which was just basic), kabocha porridge (i enjoyed), and an asian pear soup (also enjoyed).

the next platter also came too quick. they kept kicking our umbrella, and bumping into our shoulders. please slow down #2. it was a “banchan platter” with 3 dumpling wrappers. mind you, there were only 2 platters even though we came as a group of 4. the ingredients were also not even noteworthy, nor as delicious as you can get compared to unlimited banchan from any mom and pop korean place. no cooking techniques even required

the seafood abalone dish was actually good. but they did not give us knives despite having a big piece of oyster mushroom. there was also inconsistency in the cleaning and clearing of plating

next came a plate of jeon, which also did not have any special ingredients nor creative spin. they only gave us one serving of dipping sauce, then when we asked for more, they gave us 3 total instead of 4…

they finally understood our requests to slow pacing #3. final savory course was bulgogi japchae which was too salty and squid kimchi that was too spicy. the texture of the squid was more like jelly, and the bulgogi was not even premium beef.

finally, dessert required no pastry chef — just fruit and a store-bought yakgwa (which the seever butchered the pronunciation of)

this was the first time i’ve had to get the manager. not going to lie i was shaking and nervy BUT, we gave our two cents (this restaurant would not survive in nyc. it fails compared to competitor shoto. the food was good (a white lie), but the service is NOT fine dining esque. even cordelia fishbar at half the price had much better service).

rushed pacing no clearing of plating bumping into us all the time lowkey perception that they hated us for being bratty LOL lack of explaining the menu

CONTROVERSIAL TAKE: servers at fine dining restaurants should at least be able to communicate proficiently in english. our head server also kept butchering the names of the dishes and did not offer any explanation of each dish. CLEARLY this “authentic” place (which tbf, they do use authentic ingredients that should be priced at 20% of this bill) is catering to non-koreans because the manager said she felt “insecure”

we failed to get a discount but at least we got a free meal for next time… if we even want to come back.

not mentioned to the manager:

the music outside turned to loud house music. THIS IS NOT SHOTO.

at one point, they simply left the water and tea in the room and the tea became cold. so we asked for more hot tea, which the server poured without keeping her hand on the lid, and basic laws of physics came into fruition and the lid dropped, splashing tea on us.

the bussers were kinda scary because they didnt speak english and kept standing outside the room like...

The food was delicious! Went by yesterday with my friend who got the "experience Korea" pre-fixed HanJeongSik menu, and I ordered a la carte. All the food was delicious - even the abalone, which I usually do not like, but they season and cut it up well.

Pros: If you're ordering from the "explore Korea" a la carte menu, I highly recommend the samgyeobsal. It's tender and the meat melts in your mouth, and the plum sauce is delicious. I also quite liked the dak galbi (spicy chicken with rice cakes). If you love pickles and/or kimchi, then I also recommend the jangajji. Speaking of which - I noticed they spelled it wrong on the menu. They have it as 짱이지 ("jjangaji" - but then they misspelled that too and put "jjangajji"), and it's supposed to be 장아찌 - or "jangajji." It's subtle but it's the difference between "pickled vegetables" and nonsensical words lol. The kimchi they use throughout their dishes is perfectly fermented and tasty.

The vibe is cute inside, with subtle Korean-Asian touches in decor. Seating is a little too close to each other for my taste but it's fine if you don't have anything salacious to talk about lol. Some of the tables have a "booth" side where the seat is a bench made up of Himalayan salt blocks, and it's heated. There's a seat cushion you can use as a barrier as well.

Cons: service was incredibly slow. For a 6-course menu (technically 7 because we got the add-on), it should not take 2+ hours, and at some point I feel like our server simply forgot about my a la carte dishes. The pacing was all off. We spent SO much time just waiting for our food. Our reservation was at 7:45pm and we didn't leave until about 10:10pm. At least some check-ins or a heads up about cook times would be appreciated. Waters were also rarely filled as our server almost never came by unless it was to deliver dishes. Not sure why they don't just leave the carafes at the table, as the cups are pretty small.

I would definitely come back here but perhaps will try at a less busy time, and/or hope we get a...

“A Contemporary Korean Restaurant Is Opening in Dupont Circle Onggi is named after the earthenware vessels used to serve many of the restaurant's dishes.

WRITTEN BY JANE GODINER | PUBLISHED ON MARCH 27, 2025 Washingtonion.com

Onggi. 2100 P St NW. When Tae “Tanya” Kim was working for the United States government as a Korean language instructor, she quickly found one easy way to excite and engage her class of adult students: food.

“It was easier to learn because they can relate to it,” she says. “I got into studying more of the history of it, and it just became something that I wanted to share with my community here.”

Her enthusiasm and curiosity, and that of her class, are what led her to establish Onggi, a modern Dupont circle oasis serving modern hansik, or Korean traditional food. While the restaurant is currently in its soft opening phase, it will officially open its doors for lunch, dinner, and happy hour on Tuesday, April 1.

Onggi, which is named after the earthenware vessels used to ferment, cook, and serve hansik, has three pillars to its menu: the first, a selection of lunch specials served with black bean tea, assorted banchan, jeon, and salad; the second, hanjeongsik, or multi-course meal, menus served with floral tea for the table; and the third, a menu of à-la-carte small bites and main meals available all day. Two private rooms, designed for Korean-style business lunches, will also be available for larger parties to reserve. If you ask Kim, there’s one thing on the menu that every Onggi guest should try: galbi, an addictively sweet and unctuous dish of marinated and grilled beef short ribs. You’ll find it on the all-day menu, served with three banchan, or in a lunch set with seasonal soup and your choice of side. Kim remembers galbi as a childhood treat— her mother would make it for her when she got straight A’s — and says that Onggi’s version delivers on the...