Let me just say I came to this place to just try it out since it's new with low expectations and it's kbbq but it was also expensive vs other kbbq places I've been to. I ended the evening pretty surprised and with a happy tummy. To start with we ordered the seafood pancake for appetizer and got the large beef combo for my party of 7. The banchan came first, then the meat, then the salad, then seafood pancake last. Lol, normally appetizers come first. The beef combo we got B1 Marinated short rib, B2 Thin Sliced Brisket and B3 Prime Rib eye. And combo comes with steamed egg, corn in cheese on the outer ring of the grill and soup. The banchan (small sides) were pretty good. The marinated short ribs were tasty. The thin sliced brisket were really thin and dipped in the sauces was yummy. The rib eye was also good but over cooked will get dry. The thick seafood pancake was really crispy, I was surprised by it and with the sauce it was yum! The salad was ok. The rice was meh and dry. Service there is still a bit lacking but compared to past reviews it's gotten a bit better. Still had to ask waiter for more water and banchan 2-3 times but the waiter did come back several times to ask if we wanted more of anything and to see if everything was ok. Overall, if u just get a set of meat, and basically fill up on everything else your good! And I enjoyed wrapping up the meat in lettuce with the salad or the banchan. The sauce was tasty! read more

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They changed my receipt to give themselves a 40% tip.. good food, but shady AF.. I gotta be honest, the food is pretty good for Chicago and there aren't the greatest options in town, but after they pulled this stunt I will never go back. read more

Kinda pricy restaurant. Me and my husband ordered the Beef Combo which has the marinated boneless short ribs, thinly sliced brisket and prime rib eye. Also comes with a soup. Quality of meat was pretty good and fresh, just a little bit less than we thought. We ended up order another spicy seafood tofu soup because my hiss and was still hungry. Total came with $84. Eh.....very pricy. The reason I gave 4 stars is because the spicy seafood tofu soup was not good. Very lacking of flavor, not spicy at all. The two shrimps were not fresh kinda like weeks old and had been refrozen couple times. Other seafood was just garnish I didn't even know what they were. I'd tasted plenty of Korean spicy soup around North America and Asia, the soup here is the least taste. Tofu was suppose to be big pieces instead of broken mashed tiny bits. This soup doesn't worthy of $9.99. Service was above average. Adequate servers who really did their job. Best service is that customers get what they want even without asking. Our waitress did her job very well. Will come back again. This is the only decent Korean BBQ in Chinatown. read more

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Service attitude was really bad and they asked for 20% tips after all. The food was okay. read more

Stopped in for lunch with my husband's family we were visiting in Chicago. To get in was like a maze. We went to 2 fl as address indicates but door said to use downstairs wntrance. We went downstairs and couldn't find it and no one could tell us where it was. We found it after like 5 minutes of searching. Once you go in, you need to walk up a flight of stairs but once in the location is awesome with BBQ vents over the tables. Large screen tv's all over the establishment. We were seated right away and ordered bulgogi, spicy pork and an appetizer. We were there before 3pm and we're able to get lunch prices! $11.99 for huge lunch platter isn't bad at all. The food was absolutely delicious. Everyone was full. It was very tasty from the pork to the bulgogi to the rice cakes to the dumplings. Amazing! Highly recommend this place. Just give better directions to get in! read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

DONT COME HERE. YOU COULD PROBABLY GET SIMILARLY TASTY FOOD WITH LOWER PRICES AND GET SERVED WITH ACTUAL RESPECT. The food was fine but ridiculously overpriced considering the quantity. The services were horrible. We had a party of four and were told the wait would be 45-60 minutes. There were chairs right by the front desk and we were explicitly told that we couldn't sit inside and should wait outside. We came back about 50 minutes later and were told that a table would be ready in about 5 minutes. The same waitress told us to wait outside again. A few minutes later we received a text saying that a table was ready, but when we went up there was another group of four SITTING ON THE CHAIRS FROM WHICH WE WERE EXPLICITLY BANNED. Apparently they just entered the place and the lady who appears to be the hostess let them sit immediately. We showed the lady our text but she simply kept us waiting downstairs and shoved a plastic bag into my friend's hands who was holding a drink because the place doesn't allow foods and beverages from outside. I should also add that we saw empty tables in the place the entire time. We waited downstairs for a few more minutes before going up again, and the same waitress told us that the hostess said that we already canceled our table, which, of course, was a lie. Nice! We decided to wait for another five minutes for a new table because it was getting late. In sum, will never go back again:) read more

Don't get me wrong. The food is pretty good and the servers are pretty nice. The reason why I am giving it a three star is because I feel like the food portion is small and the prices are high (compared to what I'd be paying at like Cho Sun Ok) and I don't appreciate that they tell us we only have 90 minutes to eat. I feel like if the place is not AYCE, there should be no restrictions on time. read more

It was my family's first time trying Korean BBQ in this style and we loved it! We had AMPLE food, and enjoyed the overall experience. As we had never dined in this style before, we had asked the waitstaff his recommendations for ordering food, wondering if the large 4 person pork combo would feed our party of 5 + 1 child. He suggested we order an appetizer or two as well. We had way too much food! There wasn't much guidance on what to order and how the process works so I gave 4 stars. We definitely over ordered and spent a decent penny but it was DELICIOUS. I would recommend to anyone wanting to give it a try! read more

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Came here for dinner with my family, no complaints. The food was yummy, we ordered so much I'm not sure where to start. - Oxbone soup: can't really mess this up. Not really a table favorite, but I enjoyed it. - soondubu: pretty good! It was completely gone - spicy chicke (buldak): lots of onions, wish they had more chicken in there for the price The kbbq was so good. I love that they have cheese and corn on the sides on the grill. Their did dishes were also good. We ordered a meat combo, but we had to order more meat for all of us. But honestly we should've just gotten another combo because it was cheaper. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Over priced for mediocre food. I was really looking forward to this place. You don't see bbq place that uses the round grill w all the dipping in Chicago, I've only had it in Korea and in LA. I had bulgogi w a friend for lunch. We ordered 2 bulgogi and japchae. There was so little meat that we had to order another one and it was the same size. What duh!!!! I don't know if it was bec it was lunch time but after spending $75 for lunch (3 bulgogi and japcahe) we left hungry. Not going back. read more

I was surprised to see a Korean bbq place right in the middle of Chinatown. I decided to give this restaurant a try with a couple of friends.. the high ratings on Yelp helped us make our decision quickly! We ordered the combination (pork) with beef stew. Part of the grill had this egg dish and the other half had corn with cheese.. also came with a bunch of delicious side dishes! Highly recommended! Would definitely come back! The word 'Daebak' means awesome in Korean.. and this restaurant truly was awesome!! ! read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I need to preface my review with the fact that Korean food is my favorite food, I'm korean and Ive frequented LA a lot in my past and have eaten in Korea town there over 100 times. I'd like to think I know my korean food. I've read some of the reviews on this place and some of these people need to get slapped for deducting stars - complaining about decor (korean bbq is not about decor it's strictly about the food), height proportion of tables to chairs and comfortability (go to Korea and sit on the floor with no leg room), the amount of fat on the pork belly (it's pork belly)...go to Gyu kaku if you're looking for "Asian bbq according to American standards." Like why are we looking for every little reason to complain and not talk about how satisfying the food was, the experience and how amazing it is that this place now exists in Chicago? I might as well tell you about how my chopstick didn't break perfectly into two equal pieces so they should offer the non disposable ones.. Btw I have no affiliation to this place and stumbled upon it on google. This place is the closest to an LA style korean bbq we have here in Chicago. It's not your hole in the wall old school chosunok which is my other favorite korean spot. Also this one of the few places if not the only korean BBQ spot where they cook your food for you at the table and you don't smell like bbq after you leave because of the air ventilation system they have. Now, to the food - we (3 of us) ordered the dinner for 4 for $89.99 which includes 4 different meats and kimchi jigae - absolutely a bargain. The beef was so tender, the pork was perfect, the soup was money and the banchan was lit. The ggakdugee and kimchi were fire. The pamoocheem is the best in the city. The haemulpajeon wasn't that great though and the japchae was decent. Btw- you should never rate a korean restaurant based on service because bad service according to American standards is how we roll. We grew up witnessing our dad's waving their arms and yelling across the restaurant for more rice and kimchi with no humility. With that said, service here is great. You just need to wave your hand like it's kindergarten and command attention sometimes - this works at all korean restaurants people. Anyway, go here. This is my new go to spot for korean. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Exceeded expectations. Not sure if this is a popular thing in Chicago but I'm glad we found this place. Unlike an hibachi, our food was prepared at our table for two and not a group of strangers. Every table had a burner in the middle and the chef brings over whatever you select from the menu and prepares it right at the table. While the meal is being prepared, there is a section for eggs, mushrooms and cheese and corn that cook off to the side. We had at least a dozen accompaniments to pair with our meat. The staff was very attentive and made sure everything was cooked to perfection. All and all everything was good. I would have given them 5 stars but before we were seated they told us we were limited to 90 minutes to enjoy our experience. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I'm from Seattle and we need a Daebak KBBQ on the west coast! They'd make a lot of money, I swear! Everything from the atmosphere, food and service was great! My friends and I were visiting Chicago for the BTS concert earlier this month. We enjoyed ourselves and the service! I've never tried flavored Soju and the peach flavor is a must!! The only thing I would complain about is that the restrooms accommodate one person at a time but then again once you're in the bathroom you kinda get lost in taking selfies in the restroom with the wall that's been plastered with an abundance of BTS, GOT7 and other male kpop group photos lol. But yes, as I've stated please open up a spot in Seattle! read more

I hit up Daebak Korean BBQ with a good friend of mine on a Saturday at 6pm. The wait was 90 minutes and we waited every bit of that 90 minutes. They do take reservations, but we were told that parties as small as ours they don't take reservations for. Well after waiting 90 minutes to eat and smelling all the delicious food being cooked my stomach was screaming at me to feed it. While we were waiting we looked at the menu and determined what we wanted to order so when we were seated we placed our order within 3.15 seconds. Everything we had we absolutely loved and half way through our meal I was texting my other friends telling them that we need to come here ASAP because the food was that good. What we had: A2 - Seafood Pancakes (4 stars) A8 - Spicy Chicken, Vegetable & Mozzarella (6 stars!!) B1 - Marinated Boneless Short Rib (5 stars) C1 - Premium Seared Pork Belly Daebak Korean BBQ is a must try spot! 5 stars for sure. read more

DAEBAK in Korean means AWESOME and this place is simply just that! The decor and ambience are a lot like what you see in Korea. Stainless steel tables and ban Chan bowls, really nice touch! If you're doing BBQ, I suggest going w/ Brisket. And if you get bored, try the pork belly and drink some soju. After a few bottles, you might think you're somewhere in Kang-Nam. Soups are good here too. Try kalbi-tang or yuk-gae-jang - great hangover soup! read more

This was my first time trying LA style Korean BBQ in Chicago, thanks to Daebak. We ordered the beef combo set, cheese buldak, and mul neng myun. Beef combo comes with a variety of side dishes, choice of kimchi or soybean soup, and 3 types of beef. It was impressive. The cheese buldak was also delicious. It could have used more cooking however I felt the gochujang paste was not soaked through the chicken enough. The mul neng myun was good, however, came way too early (usually eaten AFTER the meats). It was still good and refreshing. The beef quality was good. We were full by the time we finished two meats. Portion is very generous. This place would be perfect for a large group hangout. I would come back to try their pork combo menu next time! All in all, very satisfying meal and service. read more

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I went to the "soft open" and ordered bibimbop and pan seared mandu. They were both delicious. Fresh ingredients and made well. You do have to order kimchi and sides separately. They share the location with a place that sells drinks. You order there separately. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Bibimbop (make for a vegetarian) - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here with a group of 6, we ordered a large beef combo and a small pork combo. Each combo came with 3 meats and soup as well as cheesy corn and steamed egg that get cooked on the sides of the grill. Of course you get rice and lots of banchan as well! This was just the right amount of food for us, there was no meat left over and we were all stuffed. The inside of the restaurant is clean and modern looking and K-Pop music videos were playing on large screens. I felt the staff was very friendly and attentive whenever we needed something. The meat was all delicious and split between the 6 of us it was about $30 per person, a good value for how much food we ate. The ventilation was good too, we didn't smell smoky when we left. This may be my new destination for Korean BBQ when I visit Chicago! read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been to Daebak a number of times now. While in LA there are many versions of KBBQ similar to Daebak, this is the only one in Chicago that I know of. I'm referring to the type of KBBQ where servers will grill the meat for you and there is steamed egg and cheese corn on the side of the grill that cooks while you eat. They have a fairly good selection of banchan including kimchi, daikon, pumpkin, sweet black bean, fish cake, seaweed, and bean sprouts, and zucchini. Each time I've come I've always ordered a combo. The food is definitely more than enough for the 2 or 4 people that is recommended. In the future I look forward to ordering off their a la carte menu. Service was fast and efficient each time. Glad to have a place like this for KBBQ in Chicago. read more

Mm I love kbbq. The service is very attentive, and I love that they grill for you! Great side dishes, meat is good quality, and the marinated meats are my favorite ones. I even enjoy the k pop playing. Kimchi tofu soup is tasty. The table next to us had a fish cakes dish that looked really good, and I'll have to try it next time. read more

The food was great environment was fun they played K-pop music and I would most definitely recommend this place to anyone read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It was a good experience but the fact the food had no seasoning left much to be desired!

You will never leave this place unhappy - best kbbq spot in town, in the middle of chinatown. The servers are also polite and attentive to their tables. Great soju flavor list, with a soju tower as well! We always order the Beef Combo+B3+Pork Belly+Bulgogi (at the end because it's sweet). The combo comes with kimchi stew that hits me in the right places. The side dishes covers all the bases for a traditional Korean meal. A phenomenal experience overall, and will keep on coming back. The owner is a sweet Korean lady who built it all by herself, major props to her. The restaurant itself is beautifully set up and very clean. Plus you can grab boba tea or a korean corndog downstairs when you're done! She also sells korean fried chicken there too! read more

Food, service, and price was great overall. Came here after finishing the Chicago marathon and left here super super happy. Our waitress was really nice and the overall service was top notch. The food was great - with plenty of appetizers made available to you. The daepak for 2 was more than enough food for two people but we still ordered a seafood pancake too (which was great too). No complaints and will def come back again! read more

It was amazing! From the host to the table to the service and the food! Everything was as expected. The place is modern and open, the food is delicious and prepared for you and everyone is really helpful always! I had the soji peach and that was the cherry on top!!!! read more

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I called them on 11/16 at around 6:30 p.m. knowing it was kinda too late for a reservation but the person said if we come in we can get a table for our party of 8 by 8:00 p.m. and on. We took a chance went over there by 7:30 p.m. put my name down and was told to wait 40 minutes for a table. When I got there put my name down and waited the place was so busy the owners and manager was kinda annoyed we were standing in their way because the place is small for waiting. I didn't want to leave and come back because I didn't want to lose our chance for a table. So we wait out the 49 minutes. Some dude walks in ask the hostess if such and such was working here and he had a big party too. He knew someone and got a table for his party before us. So I go over to the hostesses right away and asked how much longer for a wait? She goes 40 minutes. Wow 40 minutes on top of 40 minutes. I told her immediately take our names off the list. Honestly felt like they were punishing us for not having a reservation. Fine, I don't need them we went to Ming hin where they seated our party right away and our tummies were full! Not gonna visit this restaurant for at least til I forget about this type of service!! And it's ashamed I like their food. read more

Went here yesterday for the first time and this was what we ordered: The Pork Combo which has the Premium Seared Pork Belly (C1), the Premium Pork Bowl (C2) and the Thinly Sliced Pork Belly Marinated with Special Chili Sauce (C4). I liked the C1 and C2 and the C4 was just okay [but I wouldn't order this again]. The Pork Belly wasn't very thick or big like other places I've been to and you only get about 4 oz of meat when you ordered the small combo. I think it was about $54.99 for the order. We also ordered another side of Marinated Boneless Short Ribs. This was very flavorful and quite good. I believe it was $29.99 for 10oz of meat they say. I liked that they give you individual soybean paste and the sesame oil salt dipping sauce and the egg with the corn and cheese were amazing! However, their soup that comes with the combo was very bland and not spicy at all. Another con about this place is that it's gas grilled and not charcoal. I gave it a 4 stars because the service was awesome! The girl tend to us the whole time and this is the first place where I've gone to that they cook the food for us instead of is cooking our own food. read more

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Favorite Korean bbq joint in Chicago! (Coming from an ATLien with kbbq options out the wazoo) Starting off with the pancake. Some Kbbq joints have deflated sad pancakes but indeed Daebak serves them fat and delicious. Beef combo is the way to go! Pretty standard nice cuts of beef through and through. My favorite is the cheese corn and egg on the side of the grill. Even though this place isnt AYCE, I left feeling satisfied but no meat sweats. Highly recommend! read more

Food is horrible manager don't want to do discounts I still feel starving meat it's not cooked at all food not salted horrible service and experience read more

I've been to this restaurant and had a pleasant experience. I called on New Years Eve to ensure they'll be open for an 8pm reservation for 4. We get there only to be told they're closing early and just took their last reservation. So PISSED AND EMBARRASSING IN FRONT OF MY FRIENDS! read more

Ok I will say that I reluctantly give this place 4 stars. The food def is very good and tasty and that is what bumped it up. We got the marinated short ribs which were good (have had better before though) and the pork with chili sauce which was amazing (def spicy). The reason I wanted to give it 3 stars was because of the price. It is very overpriced for what you get, esp the marinated short ribs a husband and I got 2 pieces of meat and it ends up being a 70 dollar meal. I used to love in SO CAL and there were all you can eat Koran BBQ places for like 30 bucks a person and here u get only 2 meats for that. Ends up being the same price but I would have liked to try more. There is this weird combo you can get where either u get beef or pork but u can't get both with the deal which I thought was a inflexible. My husband loves the rice paper to eat with the meat and they didn't have that here. They also pour egg onto the side of the grill and have it cool with the meat but I like to eat my egg with the meat and by the time it was done cooking, we were at the end of our meal. read more

This place was SUPERB! 10/10 would eat here again! We got the meat combos so it came with a BUNCH of side dishes and we enjoyed every bit of it! The staff was amazing and so patient bless them and they're so talented, especially our main person Chason! They taught us how to eat the grilled meat with pickled radish and micro greens wrapped in lettuce THE BEST! Please go here with your family and big group of friends it's an experience that needs to be felt read more

Worst KBBQ I've ever had. I've been here twice, once in spring 2017 and now at the end of 2018. It wasn't great the first time around, but I was surprised to see that my already low expectations were destroyed the second time around. At super premium prices, the quality of meat and flavor of their banchan is just awful. Tasteless without the freshness. I hope this store goes out of business. It's a disgrace to KBBQ and the location could be replaced with a much better restaurant. read more

The BEST place to go to in chicago for Korean BBQ. I'm a huge BTS fan and I loved the BTS decor in the bathroom. The staff is always friendly and so attentive to every need. I'm obsessed with the Kimchi soup and the beef selection I always go here and not once did they ever disappoint. With everything going on with Covid I felt safe because everything was spaced out, they always made sure to tell everyone to wear the masks whenever they encountered with the staff. Make sure to book a reservation because they have limited spacing due to Covid regulations! I love it here. read more

I found this Korean bbq spot in Chinatown to be absolutely fabulous! It was one of the only Korean bbq places where I could get a reservation, and we felt pretty safe eating indoors given that each table had its own ventilation when the grill is on! We ordered the beef special and it came with a ton of small side dishes, delicious soup, vegetables and rice. The staff cooked the beef for us and let us cook some ourselves. We enjoyed every bite and I would absolutely go back!! Felt very pandemic friendly, tables are far apart, and food was delicious! read more

I somehow came here again on my birthday with a Chinese friend (got a small beef combo). And it was a lot, lot more pleasant experience! Our waitress was so much better than the waiter last time; not only did she actually cook the meat for us but she was very attentive, re-supplying side dishes as needed. (She was a small Chinese person with glasses, hope she gets the recognition she deserves.) I guess in any restaurant experience there's randomness due to the choice of the server. But I have to bump up my evaluation to 4 stars based on my second visit! read more

This place is amazing!!! We went at lunch and had the pork combo. We got the small which they said was for two but could hVe fed 4! The pork was so tasty! There were also so many yummy sides. We got the kimchi stew (part of the combo), very yummy and slightly spicy. We also ordered the seafood pancake. It was full of yummy seafood and veggies. The interior was so nice and the grill tables were great. This is a great Korean option. I will be back! read more

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The Spicy Chicken Cheese Rice dish is my absolute favorite! Went with a group and you'll get an automatic gratuity added for a party of 6 or more. We also got different combos of meat which some were a bit blander. Besides that, overall, everything is tasty and flavorful and a great experience to share with a group of friends. If Daebak continues to keep this up, Daebak is here to stay. Wonderful service too! **Be prepared to open your wallet. read more

I would rate 0 definitely if there is an option for zero star. We dined here on February 27, 2021. Awful service, we made a reservation but we still waited an hour to sit. Charged 20% for tip without consent, saying the reason is we have 8 people on the party, but we sat on two separate tables. They gotta do a better job training the waiter and waitress, didn't respect the customer at all. read more