Probably the best Korean food I've ever eaten in my life. The clear mussel soup was absolutely…read moreamazing, Korean fried chicken was also amazing but the real stud in the dinner was the bulgogi. Went there with my 9 year old and partner and was very welcoming, had a bar vibe but also very relaxed and family friendly. Service was absolutely amazing, they have a call button at the table that you can push anytime you need anything but we never needed to because they were checking on us regularly. 10/10 overall and we will be going there quite often.

Korean snack food/ knight food place. They use hot pepper and onion well on many of their dishes…read moreadding good flavors. Soup menus are especially tasty - fish cake soup, clam soup, and so on.

Quite a surprise for me since the photos of this spot suggest that this is an obscure dive bar. But…read morethe food here is beyond passable bar food -- and is actually very good. The atmosphere here is definitely unique, unlike most restaurants, and even bars in the suburbs. Definitely great if you're someone who is into sports, comic books, and also likes to discover hidden gems. Service here is best described as prompt but sassy, but also something that can't be accurately described (in a good way) and just needs to be experienced in person. I'm not exactly sure if there's a menu, as the regulars seem to already know what to order - but this is something that can be researched online and is both bolder in flavor and more interesting than what you can typically find in a bar, or Korean restaurant. Kind of a fusion between familiar and tasty American bar food -- but with Korean influences to elevate the flavors. All the food I tried here shined both in texture and flavor. The seafood pancake had a great crisp on the outside and generous amounts of seafood inside. It was packed with tasty herbs and a slightly chewy texture that was still fantastic after I reheated it the next day. The Korean fried chicken used large wings and drumsticks, which really helped to provide more tender and moist meat than some local competitors. This was super crispy, possibly more crispy than similar options at Bonchon and CM chicken. A small warning for the spicy options, as this is a higher spiciness level than what many people may be used to with fried chicken. The kimchi fried rice has a great mix of egg, kimchi, and seasonings that create a delicious dish even for those who may not particularly care for the flavor profile of kimchi. Putting the flame torch to the egg and rice adds a good smokiness to the dish, and the mix of onion and egg really adds a lot of umami to the dish. Overall, this is a unique dining experience and worth a visit as the food is flavorful, inexpensive, and well executed. Especially worth a visit for anyone who likes bar food but wants something a bit higher quality and packed with flavors -- this is definitely not the menu you'd find at a traditional Korean spot.

June is absolutely amazing!!! I highly recommend this place. Food is amazing, service is fast, and…read moremusic is perfect. Do yourself a favor and pay June a visit pls!!!

The food was plentiful for our group of 5, we had the extras and the dips coming out as much as…read moreneeded. The karaoke room was perfect for us too and the glow in the dark vibe made it really fun!

Stop by for karaoke but end up having a couple drinks. Super friendly and helpful staffread more

Stopped by to eat while visiting from SoCal but already missing it…read more The food was great the ambience was great service was outstanding staff were all friendly. They have a little loft which would be great for get togethers and gatherings, wish there was a place like that here too. The cold noodles and galbi were really good haven't had such good noodles in a while which is very odd with all the options we have here in SoCal. Anways, these noodles really hit the spot. Even better if you have it with soju. :) It definitely will be my place to go back to when in the area and would recommend. Oh and almost forgot to mention the ramen bar that was absolutely legit, you people there are definitely spoiled we pay like $20 dollars for just the ramen and some toppings here, but to have it included in the ayce bbq that itself is a major plus.

Went here with friends and as soon as we arrived we were the only people in there. Ramen bar was…read morecool, much different from other kbbq spots. My main issue was the food and the quality. Every time I go for kbbq I base it off of the banchan before the meats. The banchan was disappointing as the quality was inconsistent especially with the kimchi. The rice was harder than a rock, and if you think about making a ssam wrap please try to stay away. I'm not sure if they even washed the lettuce prior but it was just nasty. The fish cakes were lacking in flavor and whatever sesame oil they provided does not taste like true sesame oil. I have to wonder if they have tried their own marinade/ preseasoned meats as all of them lacked salt. I'm rather disappointed in this spot as this had been on my go-to list for a while. Update: Do not go here if you want food poisoning!!! Do not eat the lettuce!

Summertime is a beautiful and authentic Japanese restaurant. We love that it is a smaller and more…read moreintimate setting. The staff is always super kind. We've yet to travel to Japan, but feel this would be a similar experience if you were to travel to the country. The menu has quite a few items in Japanese only. The server gave us a tip to use Google translate and you could take a picture of the menu and it will translate what they are serving that day. They're sashimi is massive!!!! You could tell the chef has a great connection with his fish supplier. We can't find anyone else that has the quality matched in this area for the size. We always return for the grilled mackerel. It's a crowd pleaser doesn't have a fishy aroma at all and it's cooked to perfection every single time. They also have karaoke right next door if you are looking for a fun night experience. We couldn't recommend this place enough.

The food is phenomenal and fresh! Everything we had was really good! The drink list is extensive! I…read morelove the sake they recommend.

I didn't know this place existed until a friend decided this was the spot for her birthday this…read moreyear. It is definitely not the sort of place that you'd expect to see as essentially the Holiday Inn restaurant. While we didn't get any food, the drinks were great! I had two margaritas, a standard and a because everyone else was doing it I got their spicy jalapeño margarita (there's an actual name for it but I can't remember what it was). It was really good, and it was actually a bit spicy which was nice. They aren't light with the alcohol either, so although the drinks aren't inexpensive I also didn't feel cheated. Would you expect a nightclub in the suburbs--especially Des Plaines? I wouldn't have, but then there's Ostras. They have a DJ playing every weekend (on Saturdays, at least), and they provide a salsa dancing lesson every Saturday at 9:30 p.m. There was quite a crowd there so it seems to be a popular place.

We got reservations for this place at 630PM on a Saturday evening. When we got there, there was…read moreplenty of tables. A "Please Wait to be Seated" sign greeted us and wait we did. We stood at the front with absolutely no acknowledgement from any of the staff including the bartenders. There is a front counter it seems, but no one was there. After five minutes of standing, and yes, it was 5-min, as the World Cup was on and that game clock doesn't stop. 5-minutes might not sound long, but when you're standing in the front, its a long time. We finally got greeted by their understaffed people, and were seated in the back. Obviously no reservation needed, as they didn't even ask. After about another 5-minutes, we got paper menus. By this time, we scanned the QR code that was on the table, to see the menu, and we were already ready to order. Sadly, I wish I did look at the paper menu, because apparently the online menu was different. There was a gumbo on the paper menu apparently. There's pictures of it on their TV monitors, showcasing their food, but I didn't see it on the online menu. We go the oysters, which surprisingly no one got sick from. Chicken fajitas were OK, and the rainbow roll sushi was OK too. The service really was bad... I would not come back again. BATHROOM REVIEW: Located in between the back room and bar area, the bathrooms were surprisingly pleasant. No poop splatters or pee stains on the toilet and urinals. They keep their bathrooms clean. Sit or squat? Sit.

Gathered for our monthly Chew Crew dinner…read more We enjoyed the corn with cheese, beef bulgigi, another beef dish but can't remember what it was called (with beans, sprouts),the fried chicken, which was delicious and crunchy, and finished up with a delicious take on halo halo which had strawberry shaved ice and a ton of toppings. We were celebrating a birthday and they brought the birthday boy a Moon pie with chocolate sauce and a sparkler. It was very sweet of them to l celebrate with us. A couple of folks in our party had a few drinks. They also said those were good. It said karaoke, but no one was doing karaoke and we were so busy eating, we forgot to ask about it. Service was very good. The wait staff checked in on us often. I really loved that the tables had a little drawer that had all the utensils and napkins that we would need throughout the dinner. Fun place to have a dinner with friends.

We came on a Sunday evening for an early dinner with a large group (~20 people) and squeezed into…read more~4 tables. The restaurant was much smaller than I expected and filled up quickly. Our group shared the following: popcorn chicken, stir-fried chicken gizzards, fried eggs with Spam, corn cheese, truffle French fries, seafood pancake, bossam (pork belly, shrimp paste, lettuce wrap), rose tteokbokki, steamed egg souffle with cheese, spam and kimchi fried rice, station noodles (beef broth, veggies), and strawberry bingsoo. My favorite of the night was the rose tteokbokki. The tteokbokki was perfectly chewy and I enjoyed the flavor of the sauce. The popcorn chicken was also good and paired well with the sauce it came with. The bossam was on the dry side and the seafood pancake was pretty standard. The fries were good but wouldn't pay $10 for a basket of fries if we came back next time. The corn cheese was also good but the plate was small. There was a call button at each table which was convenient. Food came out individually as it was ready instead of all at once which was to be expected for our party size.

First time trying the Nomads restaurant. Was not too busy on a Saturday night, though they did…read morehave several tables reserved when we got there. No wait to get a table for us fortunately. There was a UFC fight night apparently so that was playing on a projection on a wall. Made for good dining entertainment while we waited for our food. The restaurant is gorgeous, decorated with what looks like articficle wheat stalks. I really wanted to try several dishes but it was just my family. We ordered the giant meat platter which was fantastic variety. A good choice in my book, we came away with leftovers as my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Thought overall it was decent value. It originally started bc I saw they had lamb chops, but I wanted more than just an entree worth of lamb chops...so before you know it I am starting a ribeye, chicken wings, fries, grilled vegetables, cheese filled burger patties, wok seared noodles, dumplings. And then my eyes peered at the other tables and their dishes, everyone had a pillowy fried dough bite dipped in cream. Oh yes. Get me some of that tooo. Yeah do good meal, great if I brought maybe another 6 persons to take it down. But we enjoyed the leftovers and the memories the next day. Yum. Loved it.

Nomads is located in a dinky plaza. It's easy to miss, so pay attention. The interior is spacious…read moreand is decorated with neutral colors and has a nomadic feel. The menu mostly has Uzbek dishes with a few random items. One of the dishes we wanted which had steak, chicken and salmon was unavailable because the grill wasn't working, so we got our usual Uzbek dishes that we've had at several other restaurants: plov and boso lagman. The plov was pretty good. Decent amount of meat and the rice was cooked perfectly. However, the meat was more dry than other places because it was less fatty. It was tender, though. The boso lagman was excellent. Very flavorful broth, and the noodles were cooked perfectly. Most places go too al dente with their rice and noodles. Good meat and veggies, too. Service was friendly and pricing was fair.