I've been to a lot of kbbq places, but I think this is my favorite! The first time I went, you had to get up and pick your own banchan (side dishes), which I actually liked, because yo I got everything you wanted. When I came the second time, they just brought it to us. The bulgogi is always really flavorful and tender! Pork belly is always a fave! Really big location so there is always seating. read more

BBQ Garden - a table full of meats and vegetables - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

AYCE Korean buffet. There are two options. A standard option @ $32/ per person, and a deluxe @ $38/ per person. We chose the deluxe option with extra meat options such as short ribs. Meats were fresh and abundant. The sides were located at a buffet stand where you can pick and choose your preferences and quantity, as well as the fresh hot rice. The only disappointment was the lettuce wraps. Each piece had some mold on it. See pics. Service was good and very attentive by all 3 servers. They changed the plates in a timely matter and brought additional meats as needed. Location is convenient with a large parking lot. read more

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It feels fundamentally wrong to describe a KBBQ restaurant as palacial but it definitely felt that way. The restaurant was HUGE and divided into 3 sections - a party room, a buffet area, and a dining area. The number of grills and vents they had throughout was jaw dropping! SERVICE We came here on a Sunday around 11:30 - right when they opened and were seated immediately. We were the only diners until about 12. The service was friendly and efficient! They helped us start grilling the meat and promptly changed the grill pans as soon as they got too charred. It was also nice that the banchan were served buffet style, so that we could help ourselves to heaping amounts of kimchi, radishes, and fresh fruit. FOOD Sadly I did not take a picture of the updated menu. We went with the premium option ($38.95?) which allowed us to order kalbi, steak, and seafood. I was surprised to see that there were no restrictions on how many times you could order a particular meat (lots of places restrict kalbi orders). We definitely indulged in lots of marinated kalbi and marinated steak. The soondubu served at the buffet was exceedingly average - but the other banchan was delicious. Particularly the kimchi, which tasted better and fresher than most places. OTHER Each grill had an accompanying pull down vent - just like Korea! We were extremely grateful to not have to smell like KBBQ for an entire day. Bonus points for this! Overall, we really enjoyed our lunch here and would highly recommend it as a solid choice for AYCE KBBQ. Come hungry! read more

One of the best AYCE Korean BBQs. Great meat selections and plenty of side dishes to choose from. We've been here multiple times. This place won't disappoint. read more

Limited capacity actually works in your favor here during the pandemic. Servers are quicker to respond to you. It's nice that they still have the AYCE BBQ. When you are seated decide if you want the Standard AYCE or the Deluxe AYCE. Personally, I recommend going with the thinly sliced brisket (cha-dol-bah-gee/) to start off with. One of the perks of this is it's not too heavy. It's light so it's a nice way to wet your appetite a bit before you get into the more heavier meats like to pork belly (sahm-gyup-sahl/) or the rib (galbi/). It does help to have someone that speaks Korean for your table. Just like any other ethnic restaurant if you speak their language it makes it easier for them to communicate with thus improving the customer service. The server were nice enough to give me tips with what to watch out for when cooking certain meats. This is pretty helpful if you're new to the live bbq scene or simply inexperienced. It's part of that Korean hospitality. Makes me feel like I'm back at home. Feel free to use that "service" bell to call for your server. This is pretty common in different Korean restaurants. This is especially true if it gets quite loud in there. At the end of your meal they give you a refreshing slice of watermelon. It's pretty common to end a Korean meal with some fruit to aid in digestion. This is most likely the only Korean BBQ in the Chicagoland area that has this level of quality and service. I wish they had something like this in the city. Definitely worth the drive from the city. read more

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Honestly, I wasn't expecting much like I usually do with Korean restaurants, but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a new restaurant. The interior is spacious and clean. There's a daily special listed when you first enter the restaurant. Good for large groups. We ordered 1 serving of pork belly and galbi with fried dumplings. With the meat, the meal comes with Korean miso soup and bowl of rice. I thought the pork belly was okay. My mom said that it didn't smell so the pork belly received a seal of approval from her. Galbi was delicious. Fried dumplings were not bad. My grandma ordered Hambakgaas that I tried a bite of it. The meat was soft, and the overall taste was like a katsu. It was good and was a large portion size. I would recommend sharing it with a friend. I wouldn't mind coming back here with my family, and I would recommend this place to my friends as well. Just FYI, each table comes with a convenient call button so you don't have to track down your server. read more

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Have to say, compared to iron age and other places bbq garden has the best meats. Not fatty or thick. The service is usually quick and very helpful when not too packed but even when it's packed they do a good job. Love the small section of side dishes you can grab. read more

We didn't opt for all-you-can-eat, because I am on straight diet. Without knowing how big is the portion and whether it's good or not, (because the price of one dish is $3x), we first ordered the beef short rib, the waitress wasn't too pleased with the one order, I explained that we would order another dish after finishing this one. We already planned to order this and that if it's good. After a while, another waitress came to our table and told us that we couldn't cook the meat on our table, because we ordered only one meat. They will cook for us. Since we came in wanted to cook ourselves, we asked to cancel and order something else. She said we couldn't cancel because they are already cooking. The thing is no one told us we were not allowed to cook on the table if ordered only one meat. We could have ordered more if they told us. Ok, doesn't matter, didn't want to make a big deal as we just want to eat Korean BBQ. And then the cooked beef short rib arrived, the edges of the meat were mostly burnt till black and hard. If it wasn't covered by the onion and mushroom, It wouldn't look like a plate of food at all. While I was eating, the couple on the table next to us were eating AUCE, I saw the waitress put the whole plate of meat on the bbq grill. Is this restaurant trying to feed customer like a pig?? May be they should first learn how to enjoy the food before serving others. Not all customers like to eat like a pig and just fill up the stomach. Bad attitude, bad service, bad experience, the quantity and quality of the short rib wasn't worth the price. We went to another Korean restaurant a block away, they were nice and attentive. This one really don't worth a star at all! read more

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***3.5 stars*** I came here on a weekend for dinner with a few friends and we were seated right away. It was pretty busy but the restaurant is very spacious. We ordered the beef combo ($99.99) for the three of us which came with a seafood pancake and four different types of meats. It was a lot of food for us and it would be the perfect amount for four people. The marinated galbi was probably my favorite. The meat was good but I would still say Pro Samgyubsal is still my favorite KBBQ place in this area. read more

FOOD We ordered the standard AYCE. We got brisket, pork belly (not marinated), and beef bulgogi. Everything was good. I think next time we'll get the marinated pork belly instead. All together, it came out to 116.13 SERVICE / AMBIANCE Me (asian) and my two (black) friends came in around 7pm. We were seated right away and were in there for maybe 30 minutes. It was my friend's first time eating at a Korean BBQ restaurant. The staff had no problem explaining everything to us However, after we were done eating, my friends had pulled me aside to say that they felt a little uncomfortable eating there. My friend said that he felt like the staff was staring at him when he got up to go to the buffet. And that he felt rushed to eat. Thinking back on it, were they being attentive for the right reasons? I had no problem with the staff but I do worry about my friends. read more

This was my first time trying KBBQ, so I wasn't sure how it worked or how much it was going to be. I had a bit of price shock when I saw that for 2 people it was about $80 (after tax, automatic tip, and the additional tip we added) so be prepared for that. Otherwise, it was such a good experience. The wait staff was super attentive. It helped that we were the only ones there lol, but if you do opt to dine in, they have a large space so it's easy to be socially distant. The brisket was incredible. We also got steak, which was ok. It was all you can eat, but make sure you eat everything you order. They do charge extra if you order too much and leave food. read more

BBQ Garden - Brisket - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

Pretty good! We tried premium all you can eat. I think it was 39.99 per person which included marinated galbi. It was really good. Thinly sliced brisket was pretty good. Spicy pork ribs were good. Non marinated steak wasn't that good. Marinated galbi was excellent. Soon tofu soup was good which was included in the all you can eat list. Side dishes were ok and enjoyed vegetable mixes. We were the first customer of the day so when we walked in, service was very good. read more

BBQ Garden - Lunch with family - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

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This is our 4th time coming here for Korean BBQ, and getting worse over time. The quality of the meat is not worth $29 per person. Today was beyond disappointed with the empty soup station, and the ice cream machine wasn't working. I don't recall the last few times I came with a party of 4 that we had to pay mandatory tips of 18%. I don't mind paying tips when they do the cooking when time permits. Even with the mandatory tips, we usually gave more for the job well done. The restaurant wasn't busy today. The entire time we were there, the server only changed the grill and placed orders. We have to call the waitress for more water, which is a bad sign for services. read more

BBQ Garden - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

I used to teach at a Chicago university with a lot of Korean-Americans students, I lived in the neighborhood which was very Korean. Now I live in a city without a good Korean restaurant, and I've spent a good portion of the Pandemic binge watching Korean movies, television shows, K-pop Tik-Toks (I prefer first wave K-Pop), and reading translated Korean sociology. Loving Korean culture in a town without Korean food is akin to feeding a starving dog a rubber bone. I call this condition, hypoKoreanfoodism, and BBQ Garden is the cure. Everyone else in this spacious restaurant was Korean or Korean-American. There was safe spacing, it's very clean (Korean clean if you know what I mean), you can see the open kitchen and everyone is masked with frequent handwashing. Service is excellent in the Korean way, no obsequious American waiter palaver. Instead they are attentive, prompt, and available by call button. The younger staff are respectful of their elders (like me), the older woman bluntly warned me not to overeat just like a character out of my favorite Hometown Cha Cha Cha. The array of sides is generous, varied, and quickly replenished when emptied. It's "all-you-can-eat," but you can't really eat all of one main meat serving. The meat or fish for the grill is marinated perfectly and the grills themselves are kept shiny clean. The decor is nicer than any Korean barbeque (did you know barbeque is a Taino word?) I've been to, and I'm fascinated by the periscope-like high efficiency exhaust fans. At $30 per person, prices are comparable to other Korean barbeque places but this is better quality. They play Korean popular music. There's another Korean restaurant in this same strip mall, and it looks like a Korean run Chinese place, and a Korean run Japanese place, and maybe half a dozen other businesses that might all be Korean run. I'll never know because when I come here, I'm heading straight for BBQ Garden. Well worth a 70 mile drive. Do you live closer than Milwaukee? Then what the heck are you waiting for? read more

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This place is incredible, they have two all you care to eat options depending on the kind of meat you want. You just pick the meat you want and you head to grab some sides which include noodles, veggies, rice, kimchi, and so many other dishes. Then you cook your meat choices on the grill on the table. Service was great, they were attentive and changed the grill top as needed while making sure we were always cooking something appropriately. It is a very relaxed fun place to go with family or friends, kids under 4 are free. read more

BBQ Garden - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

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Time to put your summer bod away because it's bulking season, folks! Whether you're looking to bulk up for ~gains~ or just wanna put on the extra calories to stay warm, this is a good place to start. I came for the AYCE. Let's start with the banchan, which you can load up on for an unlimited amount of times. If you're a seasoned AYCE aficionado, you know this is just a mere distraction. Now, I'm not saying sides aren't part of the experience, but if you're paying upwards of $25, you gotta keep your eyes on the prize: the grilled stuff. Among 4 adults, 4 rounds were sufficient (14 dishes total including the corn w/ cheese and the steamed egg). I honestly can't even tell you what my favorite was because after a while they just start tasting the same, or maybe just because I was too busy grilling to even notice. Yes, some were tastier than others. I would recommend the beef short ribs and the bulgogi. The service was fast and friendly. Two ladies catered to us and made sure that the grill plates were changed in between rounds. They even helped us cook and cut up meats when needed. Looking to bring a huge group or host a huge party? This place is massive and probably can accommodate. While dining there, I noticed the other half of the restaurant that wasn't being utilized and it looked like it could easily fit at least 100 people! read more

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Came here after multiple recommendations from friends in the area and we were not disappointed. The food was good quality, the service was decent (even though they were very busy), and pricing wasn't bad. The banchan buffet was my favorite part! We will be coming back! read more

Walked in on a Sunday afternoon with a party of 3. Seated in minutes and was introduced to the banchan buffet. Ordered our first round of meat and was surprised by the quantity and quality. We had brisket, samgyupsal, and bulgogi. On our second round, we opted to just get brisket and was presented with a mountain load of it (arguably even larger portion than the first round). A plus is that they play Kpop and have great service. read more

One of the few old school ayce Korean bbq left. Price is pretty decent even though they automatically add the service charge to your bill. We had a party of 5 and it came out to just over $200 for the basic ayce with a few sodas and some extras. Basic ayce is around $29 and next level is almost $40 but there are more choices. read more

Just walked out after 30 min- at this point I don't care about the money I spent I'm annoyed I can't get my 30 min back. Awkward encounter when I walked in with my parents- empty tables but a lot that needed to get cleaned. The male host (probably the owner) asks us to wait ten min so they can clean the surrounding tables. Another waitress comes by and tries to seat us. The male host and the waitress starts arguing loudly on whether we should be sat or not. Another waitress comes by to stop them from arguing in front of the customers. First Warning sign- should've left...but ultimately the waitress won and we got sat. Ordered the $24.99 special since there wasn't that much of a difference in each price range. Another waitress comes by and takes our order: as we're making our selection of meat she urges us to order only three at a time. She's worried our table would get too full. I argue back that we're fine and just want to order a couple of more. We know how these types of restaurants work. It'll be small portions and we wanted to accompany it with egg stew and corn cheese that's part of the option. Couldn't believe I had to argue to order my food. Side dishes- you go to the buffet style set up in the center of the restaurant. All the dishes were old- the noodles were hard, the kimbab rolls were all disheveled, the dukboki had a hard glaze on top- all the dishes were cold if they were supposed to be warm. The quality of meat. Awful. Don't need to go into details on why. Cheap meat- cheap texture and no taste. The seafood (shrimps, squids, octopus) all had a really bad fishy smell and chewy. We asked for our check right away and ended up at another restaurant for Round 2 of Father's day dinner. Poor service and awful selections and quality of meat. read more

My husband and I recently tried their lunch special for AYCE. The portions were generous and the quality of meat were fresh. Service was superb as usual and most importantly everything was clean. We will be coming back soon. This is definitely our favorite Korean restaurant. read more

BBQ Garden - Lunch menu - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

The highlight of this place is definitely the food, because service was just awful. I had a 7pm reservation, got there at 6:51pm and there was no one at the counter to check us in. I get it it was busy and the manager was running around too, but we didn't need the attitude he gave us when we asked about our reservation. Many people that also had a reservation were waiting . Anyways we got seated 40 minutes after our reservation. The attitude continued with the waiter. The manager might had told him to not treat us well because we had no attention from our server. We had to ask multiple times for our waters. Anyways the meats are good but the buffets selections aren't as fresh as you think. The food feels like it's been sitting there for hours and not changed. The ambience is nice and clean. But I will not be coming back after how we were treated by the staff. read more

A solid three stars probably more like 3.5 stars. This place is spacious. You help yourself to the banchan and there is a decent variety. There is also even dukboki, kimbap (which I must say was pretty good), cut up fruit, soon do boo, chop char, udon noodles, along with a variety of banchan. We opted for the standard kbbq grilling set and ordered the brisket, pork belly, bulgogi, squid and octopus. I thought the pork belly was better than all the meat choices. The bulgogi to me wasn't flavorful enough and the texture was a bit soft. Adults for the standard option are $24.99, kids 4-6yrs old are 75%off and kids 7-12yr old are 50% off. This place is nice to come to for the space and the variety of meats and buffet banchan area that includes other items other than just banchan too. read more

I LOVED the small banchan (Korean side dishes) buffet spread! I always feel bad having the server bring me more because I eat a hella load if it!! They also had a small section of hot food like Korean fried chicken, veggie fried rice, Korean sushi rolls(gimbop), ddobbotkki(korean spicy rice cakes, and japchae(glass noodles) also amazing spicy tofu soup. The hubby and I ordered the ayce and chose the middle tier. We tried the LA kalbi, bulgolgi, and 2 styles of pork belly. Everything was marinated well. But I still have to say hands down, the best marination I have ever had was at gyu kaku. However this place was good still. I just wish I did not go crazy on the sides because I got so full that I did not each as much bbq meat I wish it was nearby because I could sooo go for it again!!! read more

BBQ Garden - Ayce bbq and plethora of Korean sides - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

This spot is my favorite in my area. Everybody here is so nice and the food is great. I've eaten kbbq like over 1000 times and you can really tell which spot has good meat quality or not and this is it. Even the side dishes are super yummy! The pricing is inexpensive also between two people we had 2 orders of galbi a side of corn cheese and our bill was only $60 not bad at all and definitely worth it! read more

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Food was excellent . Service was excellent . Very clean . This was the first restaurant since covid that was close to normal . They has enough servers no shortage or wait . The wait staff is fast efficient. I hope the service continues to be excellent and clean . The food was very good all fresh meat and the side dishes was very good . The kimchi fried rice I would skip it was just OK . But everything else was yummy . The kalbie was very tender and flavor was just right . I would definitely go back . My new go to kalbie restaurant. read more

I really don't like going to AYCE Korean BBQ, but I wanted to try this place! Glad I did, it was very spacious and the wait staff was amazing, very friendly not like other Korean restaurants I go to! I would have given a 4 star but the meat wasn't as good even though there's lots of varieties! We had the standard AYCE $24.99 pp for adult and our 6 yrs old only paid $6.50! We had garlic and miso pork belly, beef brisket, marinated short ribs, squid, octopus, shrimp, bulgogi and steam eggs! The beef brisket was not tender and no flavor at all. My favorite was the marinated short ribs, so we order more of those on our second round! It was tender and very tasty! If you order their combo, you can't get the banchans yourself, but for the AYCE standard price, you can go and get all the banchans you want, believe me, there are plenty! I really like the chopchae, made just right! read more

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The restaurant has big space and the food is good. Will definitely comeback again. Staffs are nice and fast service read more

BBQ Garden - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

Foods are not worth it for $30/person. Waiter was bad ! They are add tips automatically so they don't care about clients Never come back ! read more

The selection is lovely. Deluxe is for those who have tried the basic and conventional Korean barbecue buffets. Then they have the standard which is a perfect for those who have yet to try it. I had my going away party before I go off to another state for school here. Baffled me how I couldn't have alcohol because I had one minor sitting with me in a group of six. Had they explained that it was bad under the law(if it is) and not just assumed that were a bunch of college students, I would've been fine with it. Perhaps I should've just had my 19 year old friend just sit a table away but that's not the point. One more thing, I do find it weird price wise why they would do 18% gratuity for parties of 6+ considering the location is not that citylike and more in the suburbs. 10% is more understandable but 18% gratuity is something that I would expect in the city where it's bustling. read more

The selection of sides were great, food came at a fair pace, and the foods great. Solid option, didn't disappoint

Ok, not gonna lie.. this place was VERY tasty.. I mean the meat was super good, the service was excellent. The ahjumas came around often to change your skillet, give you water, make sure you're ok on meat. It was definitely awesome service and great food. You can go get your own bonchon at the islands like a real buffet. Overall experience was amazing and the price was just right. Check it out read more

Let me tell you about this hidden gem. This ayce bbq place is a hidden wonder tucked in a strip mall in Niles. We were seated right away and provided our banchan and drinks. We left another place that smelled like dead cows just to come here. At BBQ garden you could smell the freshness in the air. The quality of the food we got was second to none. We had the banchan replaced in a timely manner and had enough time to eat in between refills. The owner, Kevin, was very pleasant and gave us great suggestions. The kimchi is made in house and has a nice spice to it. I can't say enough for the meat. It was fresh and I've worked as a butcher before so I can tell you a thing or two about quality. I'm a customer for life and will return again. Thank you again Kevin for the great suggestions! read more

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AYCE was good. You grab your own sides dishes and rice while they bring you the meat you ordered. read more

BBQ Garden - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

Finally got a chance to check out BBQ Garden from a recommendation by another Yelpster when I shared my frustration about how horrible Woori Village was. Just a few miles away with better quality & better service, you have BBQ Garden. A few things to be aware of is that they have 3 tiers of menu: Standard: $24.99 pp Deluxe: $29.99 pp Premium: $36.99 pp We went with the deluxe because why not. The quality of the meat is great! They even have hot food buffet line that you can grab extra food as well. We came with a party of 11 people with a reservation and they were able to accommodate our needs. They even helped us cook the food as well! We even had 2 bottle of soju on the house! It was great that they had tongue which is a rarity in most kbbq places I've been to. They even had corn & egg which can use a little more work to perfect it. One thing I would suggest for the sides is to add fish cakes because that is something that was missing. Overall, it was a great experience! read more

We have come for lunch and dinner. Both experiences were good but not great. The lunch special options are good but portions are a bit small. The flavor is good though. We ordered galbi, bimbimbop and tofu soup. All tasted decent. The second time I came with my family and ordered Korean bbq. The portions were decent but quality is alright. Not too impressed. They give you lots of food if you order the combo. We couldn't finish the rice and soup. However, the service is pretty good for a Korean restaurant. Very friendly and attentive. I would certainly recommend it for lunch or big gatherings. This place is huge and offer good ambiance. read more

BBQ Garden - Beef combination - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

I didn't realize that this restaurant was in the same plaza as Omega. There was plentiful parking in the lot. I came here with 2 coworkers on a Sunday afternoon, around 11:45am and there were only 2 other tables. We picked the standard ayce which was $24.99/pp during the weekend. I noticed there was a $19.99/pp but that's for weekdays only. We ordered the pork belly, the chicken, the bulgogi, and shrimp. The meat came out fast and the server was very helpful in helping us cook the meat. Depending on your guests, this may be good or bad. My coworker personally liked grilling the meat herself but our server kept coming to flip the meat and to adjust the fire. I think the server finally got the point later on in the meal. We also wanted 2 separate tongs, one for 'raw meat' and one for 'cooked meat' and the server provided us with extra tongs. I was disappointed by the bulgogi but I think that's just a personal taste. My coworkers liked it. I'm just not a fan of bulgogi when having korean bbq (I prefer pork belly!). A couple things that I noticed was that the 'hot bar' wasn't available during the lunch hours. When we got our banchan (side dishes), I asked about the hot bar because I read it in a few reviews but the server said the hot bar is only available for the evening. Also, I personally like to have lots of veggies and lettuce with my korean bbq so I was slightly disappointed that they didn't provide those. We did get a small salad as part of our side though. So if you're looking to make some wraps, you'll be disappointed. The servers were very nice and attentive. We did ask for some rice later on and that came out quick. Our tea (barley I believe?) was refilled when it was low. Our banchans weren't as attentive but we didn't mind since we were too focused on the grilled meats. Another thing to look out for are the other non meat dishes included in the ayce option. We received a steamed egg even though we didn't order it (we kept it though cuz it looked good and it did taste good) and then later on in the meal we received another corn w/ cheese that we had ordered earlier and gotten already. We turned that away. Overall my experience so far was pretty good. I would definitely come back again and this time, during the dinner hours to check out how different the service would be and also for the hot bar. After our meal, we stopped by the wash room and I noticed it was clean and spacious. It always makes me happy to see a clean washroom. The interior of the restaurant was actually pretty big so I wonder how busy they get. One last thing I noticed, and it could be because it wasn't crazy busy was that when we left, my clothes didn't smell like bbq! This could be a combo of the slow lunch hours and the circular exhaust fan but I was very happy not smell the meats on me :) read more

BBQ Garden - pork belly and sides - Korean Near Me - Niles, Illinois

Highly recommend! This place is very spacious and my kids loved their Koi pond. Food was delicious and service was excellent. I will definitely be coming back very soon. read more

Great food and great service. This place is much better than the Iron Age in terms of food quality and the service

Came for the first time recently. I don't really write reviews like that so that's how you know this was bad. The server we had made it very clear we weren't really welcome. Within 5 minutes of sitting down we were approached 6+ times about what to order. Didn't wait long but when the food came it was tiny portions, certainly not worth 30$ per person. The worst part was the table beside us that seated a Korean pair got larger portions than we did while also ordering more. But wait, there's more: the older shorter woman kept coming over and starting our food for us before we were ready so I had to cook while trying to eat, when cooking the chicken she kept insisting it was done but the meat was still 100% raw. All this bad experience in a matter of 45 minutes when we're promised at most 2 hours to eat, it wasn't even busy, so there was no reason to rush. To put salt on the wound they charge 18% service for a pretty bad experience and waste of money. Definitely stay away from this place read more