Iron Age Korean Steakhouse — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I visited this korean bbq without realizing it was strictly an all you can eat experience; but when I entered I was open to the full experience and wanted to try it for myself. The hostess by the name of Serene lead me to a very dark, oversized table to the very back even though there was ample seating towards the front of the restaurant. I wasn't dressed down so I couldn't understand her reasoning for taking me to a dim and uninviting table right near the restrooms. I spoke up and asked to be seated by everyone else and she was happy to comply. I'm sorry but why is it that most restaurants lead single female diners all the way to the back by the least desirable parts of the restaurant? Anyway as I was seated I was told by my server Krismas that I may choose 3 types of meat at once and if I wanted more meat just to let her know. All the sides with the exception of a 🥗 salad and steamed 🥚 egg was brought out to me. Twenty five dollars includes all variety of side dishes and any meat you could want; but I wasn't offered all the sides so I asked for a few including the egg that I didn't have a chance to try during my second order of meat.

I knew I would be overwhelmed with too much food so I chose squid, shrimp and a soy fed steak. I was given 3 raw shrimp, a tiny portion of precooked squid to heat up on the grill and a generous sized steak. All the side dishes were delicious; but she didn't bring out a salad for me.

She placed the meats in the grill and told me she would return to check up on the meat. I turned the meats over and enjoyed every morsel. I chose one more meat dish as my final course and sampled the Hawaiian beef bulgogi which was incredibly tasty. Every meat I tried here was high grade quality and my server did a wonderful job of filling my empty sides. I did order a beverage and unfortunately was never offered a refill. In certain aspects I was impressed with the quality of ingredients; but what upset me was the fact that when I had a cup and a half of leftover bulgogi beef I really wanted to take the portion home to my pets. She explained no one may bring leftovers so instead of my beautiful pets having a snack this evening the good food and meats I could not finish was thrown into the trash.

I spent $35 including tip for a meal that was thrown away and a small glass of orange 🍊 soda without ice, a straw or a refill. I'm the one that had to ask politely for certain sides listed that I prepaid for so I feel like I spent a bit too much tonight but didn't get value for my money because I dined alone and couldn't possibly eat more.

This place is better suited for larger groups and families. I'd never recommend a single person dine here alone because it's a waste of money 💰 and food especially since you won't be allowed to take anything home you can't finish. If you dine alone you simply won't have the appetite for more than four different varieties of meats so it may not be a great value if you don't normally eat huge quantities of food all at once.

I always share my meals with my pets. This is the first time I wasn't allowed to bring them a small treat. In summary this restaurant serves excellent food but the service needs work. The staff is polite; but she never brought me all the sides all at once and didn't offer me a refill of water or soda.

For all these reasons it makes no sense for me to return because I can't eat too much food and I hate the fact that leftovers get thrown away. It's so wasteful to me. The economy is suffering right now and it kills me to see good food tossed away. This is an honest review from the standpoint of a single woman dining alone here. I'm not used to all you can eat buffets but for $25 refills on drinks and a dessert should be included; but it's not so to me it's a...

It was our first time there and we was trying to the enjoy the all you can eat spot for team bonding as we came for a big conference. We didn’t get the experience that we expected. The cooking plate grill is really small so it’s tough to cook for a big group. Would rather them suggested two tables and put them together so we could have two cooking grills instead of one. So it cook forever to cook food for a table of 8 people.

My first time ever in Chicago and first thing I ate there. Left a sour taste in my mouth. The host/ waiter didn’t help. Made the service the worst by being condescending to my team when it came to cooking the food. The scissors are weak and brittle so it was real tough to cut and cook the meats took forever. Learned the hard way about the chicken couldn’t even enjoy that too.

Extremely disappointing experience for our team’s first time at Iron Age.

We were in Chicago for a major conference and chose Iron Age Korean Steakhouse for a team bonding dinner. Unfortunately, it ended up being the worst dining experience of our trip — and for many of us, our first impression of Chicago food.

We had a group of 8 people, and instead of accommodating us properly, the staff seated us at a single table with only one small cooking grill. For an all-you-can-eat KBBQ spot, this made no sense. It took forever to cook enough food for everyone, and no one even suggested the obvious solution of using two connected tables to provide an extra grill.

On top of that, the host and waiter were condescending and unhelpful throughout the night. Instead of guiding us through the experience (which was new to some of us), they made it uncomfortable and frustrating. The scissors were weak and barely worked, making it incredibly difficult to cut the meats properly. Cooking the chicken especially was a struggle — and we learned the hard way that it’s not an easy or enjoyable process here.

All in all, the service was poor, the tools were inadequate, and the overall vibe left a sour taste in our mouths — literally and figuratively. Would not recommend for large groups or first-timers. Definitely expected better from a place with this much hype.

My goal was to showcase as one of the go to spots for a tourist to come visit this location. I would suggest that u stay away from...

the service was VERY POOR! If you are trying to go to Authentic Korean Restaurant, please dont go here. We went there last Dec 27 with my group of friends.. It’s 7 of us and we only have 1 grill! Insane! we requested if we could use 2 tables instead or atleast move to a table that has 2 grills but the manager named MONITA did not allow it. Aside from that, we waited for so long for our order to arrive, we ate all the meat we ordered previously and followed up for rhe meat and leaf lettuce we have requested, I was frustrated; then the manager MONITA came tld us that the LEAF LETTUCE IS STILL BEING CHOPPED LOL This is the first time we heard this from a Korean Restaurant, we were an avid fan of Korean Restaurant, and one thing is for sure, side dishes are always ready and available. MONITA even said that they are still cooking the japchae! but when they served it after 10mins of following up, its COLD! if they are still cooking it, it should be hot, isnt it?? Aside from that MONITA said that they cant serve the meat due to CROSS CONTAMINATION! Really, for real? Mind you, all of us have food handlers certificate, and 3 nurses on our table. If MONITA is worried about cross contamination, then they should give us multiple food tongs, sciccors and change grill every minute. So dumb! this MANAGER MONITA SHOULD GET ANOTHER TRAINING FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATE. This is All you can eat BBQ! Ofcourse, 100% All the food and meat get mixed up. MONITA, don’t make up any excuses because you gave us dumb excuses for your poor service. We applaud JIA for being patient with us and making us comfortable despite of everything. LET’S CHARGE IT TO EXPERIENCE. PLEASE FIND ANOTHER AUTHENTIC KOREAN RESTAURANT AND THEY NEED A NEW MANAGER NOT...