BroKogi Korean Fusion Cuisine — Restaurant in Wausau

My girlfriend and I try to stop someplace new every time we go out for lunch. She suggested we try Korean which neither of us have ever had before. I thought the service was worth noting, the food was delicious, and the restaurant nicely decorated and clean.

The lady who took our order was very knowledgeable about the dishes they offer, how it compares to other dishes we might be used to (e.g. mandu is similar to dumplings at a Chinese restaurant), and skillfully articulated others.

Many other reviews suggest the service is bad because it is slow. While I agree, it took some time to get our food, I feel like this place is trying to get their footing. We learned this is the 2nd location (the first in Stevens Point). They wanted to offer a slightly different menu due to the fact that the kitchens are set up differently at each location (the Wausau location well equipped for soup but not fully suitable for other dishes). But they have learned/are learning over time what the Wausau crowd wants and plan to remodel/redesign the kitchen to suit the menu. I think it is important to be patient with new small local joints if we want them to succeed. If I thought it was a total flop, I'd say so. But I think this place has potential!

Since I haven't really had Korean food before, I was more worried that I would order something I couldn't eat. I like spicy food but scales can be different across cultures. I eat what our local Mexican restaurants say is #10 when it comes to the spice in my food. But that's jalapenos. I don't know what kind of spice is in Korean food. I landed on a dish that I saw on the Google Maps Menu that was not actually listed on the restaurant's menu. The lady said this could be found in some cases because they are actively updating their menu to suit the crowd as stated above. So I ordered the mandu for a starter knowing I'd be safe with "dumplings" if things didn't go my way. Then I went out on a limb and ordered Spicy Garlic Gangjeong ($17) which was AMAZING! "Boneless fried chicken and shrimp with a spicy sauce sauteed with garlic, scallions, and red bell pepper" that comes with a bowl of white rice (at diner's request) or a bowl of fried rice for a $3 charge. My friend ordered the Bibimbap ($15): "A signature Korean dish served as a bowl of warm rice topped with namul (seasoned vegetables), ground beef, and a fried egg. It was delivered to the table on a tray with a side of kimchi and a small bowl of miso soup. She thought the dish was good but she absolutely LOVED the soup!

I foresee this place doing well once they get established and know their customer base. I feel by then they'll have the place set up to serve their needs and employ more/enough friendly & helpful staff to ease the wait times from the kitchen and focus on table service. I'll...

Food: T'was alright. I've had authentic Korean food in Boston & this is not what I remembered. The food was not as great as I remembered. Bibimbap was mediocre. Pancakes were not very flavorful. Even the bountiful sides weren't as I liked so much about K-food. One might be disappointed if this is their first experience with Korean food.

Service: TERRIBLE! Walked in & was given a menu & was told we could sit anywhere. We weren't told that we would then need to go back up to order? As normal, we tried a multitude of dishes & it took a VERY long time to get our food. They "ran out of water" so we had to buy drinks. K-pop music playing on the wall. I do enjoy K-pop, but it was the same girl group over & over & over. Maybe the food would make it better! Well...you read that part already?! Didn't finish a single dish because it was actually...not good?! And I'm not picky! Went back up to get to-go boxes...had to go back up again, because she was more concerned about taking orders than giving me my boxes. They never came back to ask how the food was, nor if we needed anything.

Atmosphere: mix between fast-food & dine-in. Had a dine in feel with fast food service. Small sitting area.

Overall: Don't waste your time or money! There was so much hype with it coming to Wausau from Stevens Point. I'm very disappointed in ALL of it. I will not return in fear of it ruining my great memories of the actual, delicious & authentic Korean food I had on the East Coast. Nothing was worth it!...

I don't eat beef and rarely eat chicken. So that leaves pork, seafood, and vegetarian options for me. I'm also not familiar with Korean food. The girl taking orders and the manager(?) were super helpful and made me a to-go box of many things I could eat... and eat I did!

The spicy pork wasn't too spicy by my palate, but that's not saying much. I love the kind of spicy that makes my eyes water, so take that as you will. There were some items in the box I cannot comment on what they were, but I can say that they were all pretty yummy. The seafood pancake thing was my favorite. Without sauce, I can see others calling it bland, but with sauce, it was legit off-the-chain (GenZ, that means it was really good).

The service was amazing. Clear communication on what was and was not possible, and substitutions were provided for something they did not have. They hooked it up!

A previous reviewer was upset that their food had been sitting on the counter while they waited and suggested that the restaurant call out numbers when food is ready. It's obvious the owners read reviews because I was handed a buzzer that went off when my food was ready and was able to immediately pick up my hot food, which was packaged very nicely.

4/5☆ on food because there was no rice. I may change this to a 5/5 when I come back and experience the food with rice.

Try BroKogi! You just...