Hit this place during our trip to Chicago. Super food, atmosphere, and service. We were seated in 5 mins, but the people had a 45 min wait when we were leaving, so plan for it. Highly recommend - here are some photos. read more

See all

If you are looking for a good Korean BBQ here in Chicago, look no further!!!! The food was delicious!!!! My honey had the beef combo and I had the seafood tofu soup with allllll the delicious sides that came with her meal. They had all the perfect flavors, everything was great from start to finish. We had 1 Saki and two different types of beer and boy did those tho the job. GREAT please to eat! Hands down. As soon as you walk up them stairs you get a great big whiff of greatness aha The service, sooo they were extremely busy because it was a Saturday and it was evening time so they had Reservations on reservations!! But the sweet hostess managed to squeeze us in at that very moment and I'm so glad she did because we literally enjoyed every moment of it. This place is beautiful inside, seems crowded at first but once you've sat down hits really not and you have plenty of room to move around. Also, the seats are mini storages. Super cool cause I haven't seen that in another restaurant yet. Parking is easy! There is a lot. You have to pay but it Chicago!! You literally gotta pay every where you go. Adding another place to my list of bringing my family ahaha read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

This was a hearty portion and very well balanced with a little bit of everything. The sauce on the side really helped tie everything together. The service was slow because they get quite busy, especially later at night when everyone's coming in for a quick snack/meal. Overall it's decent, not a bad option if you're in the area. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went there after finding out that they had switched to an all-you-can-eat menu. The normal menu was my favorite kbbq in the city, so I was excited to try it out thinking that the bad reviews were being a little harsh. However, the quality of the food (especially the meat) is just like everyone is saying and the side dishes were very mediocre at best (although I still did enjoy their kimchi). The service was actually pretty good I thought, as there were many comments about experiencing bad service, but my issue was largely with the all you can eat being too expensive for the cost and not even including a drink. Overall I would seriously say skip the trouble and just go to the wicker park location for good kbbq read more

I think this is the first time anyone at a Korean bbq place explained to someone at my table how they are supposed to eat the meats. This place was really good in that you could choose an assortment of meats in a combo. The ban Chan selection was large but I was not happy to be charged an extra fee for more lettuce though. Overall pretty good. read more

See all

Lots of banchan, great meet options, and attentive service- what more can you ask for? I've been here before when the place was packed and there was only one waitress; the food was good, but the experience was a bit frustrating. Today was completely different. Wednesday lunch is the time to come. There were only 2 other tables, and the waitress (Maria) was absolutely wonderful. She grilled the meat efficiently and had it cooked and ready by the time I was done with the first dish. She anticipated the needs of each table and kept everyone's meals moving along. Will definitely be back! read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Marinated beef short rib before - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Every adult is required to order a meat dish and they charge you for any refills if the banchans $1.50 for each one. And they charge you if you want to refill the egg. Our waitress was nice but the hostess was very rude to all the customers that came in. Experience here was horrible and nothing like before. Would never come back. read more

Came here for thanksgiving lunch with my bf and a friend. Absolutely incredible experience for thanksgiving -very little people in the restaurant (probably because of the holiday tbh) Honestly, this is the first KBBQ place that I've been to where they actually cook for you -not sure if this was only because there weren't many people that day but it was great. In all my KBBQ experience, this was on the pricier side. The only down side I have to this was having to pay $1 to refill the sauces. Other than that, it was phenomenal. Next time I'm in the area, I'll definitely be back. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The service is worse than their food(which was pretty mid to begin with) . The servers give all their customers an attitude. I thought it was just us but everyone in the restaurant was getting mean looks from the waiters. I never wanted to leave a restaurant so fast in my life. Especially when I am trying to take my mom for early mothers day dinner. read more

Preface: Came here with low expectations based on Yelp rating (visiting family in Chicago). Only brought my family here due to the proximity to my sister's house. Even with low expectations, this place disappointed. 1. Understaffed on a Friday night and service was extremely slow. 2. Waitress was non-Korean and didn't understand dish names. You have to use the English descriptions ("Oh, the soy-bean soup?"). Even the non-korean bus boys in NJ/NY can speak basic korean and know all the dish names. 3. Most importantly, the meat quality is EXTREMELY poor. The premium cuts were the most disappointing. 4. The "soybean soup" was watery and tasted instant. The "Kimchi-soup" tastes like ketchup. 5. The only item not disappointing was the beer/soju tower. There was a large party at the table next to us. It was clear that this was their first experience with Korean food. I was compelled to tell them (in my broken Spanish) that this place should not represent Korean BBQ. There must be better options in Chicago. Save the Korean BBQ for NY/NJ/LA. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Poor quality meat. - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love Korean BBQ but Daebak Korean BBQ did not do it for me. First off, the hostess just grabbed our menus and walked to the table. Not telling us to follow her or anything. My cousin and I went for his birthday. After about 10 minutes we asked for menus and a waitress said they're a QR code on the beverage menus...nobody told us that. All the meats are cooked for you and let me tell you THERE IS A 2 MEAT MINIMUM. We weren't told this up front until after we ordered a few things. This would have been helpful if someone told us initially. I've never been here before and didn't get a chance to look at the menu before. In hindsight I did see in small print 2 meat minimum, but that was only written on the Korean BBQ pages. Very confusing. Expensive for the small portions you get. The meat was just alright to me. My biggest complaint is when we would say thank you or acknowledge the waitress, she would not respond and not look at us. That type of service is not ok. I wouldn't come back to this restaurant and would go elsewhere for Korean BBQ. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've never had this bad experience in my life! Their service is really bad and the food too. You shouldn't come to this place if you want to enjoy your day in Chicago Chinatown! read more

Your entire party has to be there before you can get seated. You get 1.5 hours to eat through your food. Our friend made reservation for the 8 of us. We were there early and our friends were late, so we had to wait for them to arrive before they seat us because once we sit, the clock ticks to dine for 1.5 hours. We love the idea of the seats where you can put your coats inside of it. Food was decent. We liked that our waiter cooked the meats for us! Thank you for that! The bonchons were okay. The japchae was very tasty. Overall we had a good time. We didn't smell too smokey and it is a lively atmosphere. We overheard if you dont make a reservation for party of 8, it can be a 50-60 min wait on a Sunday. They also do not validate parking in the Chinatown parking lot. read more

We love this place! Although the wait was pretty long but it's very worth the wait. The servers are very helpful in explaining how things work and they even help you with the bbq. We have been back to the same locations for 2-3 times whenever we stop by chicago. read more

See all

Daebak in Chinatown provided an excellent experience for a night out with friendly/fast service, tasty food, and a warm/inviting atmosphere for diners of all ages. We came in with a larger group so we decided to make a reservation ahead of time, which was super easy to do through opentable.com. We headed upstairs into the spacious dining area and were immediately seated at our table. The table we were seated at had a combination of booth seating and stool seating. The atmosphere was warm, friendly, and filled with the conversation of surrounding diners as well as the sound of K-Pop playing from the restaurant's speakers - a nice touch for creating that fun atmosphere for diners. Our waitress introduced herself and explained how the menu worked, giving us some recommendations for meal selections based on the number of people we had. We decided on ordering one of the Daebak Combos, which gives you 3 entrée options and a large soup (2 entrée meats are selected for you, and then you get an option for the 3rd). We ordered the beef combo: Marinated Boneless Short Rib, Thin Sliced Brisket, and then we selected the Seasoned Prime Boneless Short Rib. For the soup, we decided on the Kimchi soup. We also ordered Bulgogi with Vermicelli Noodles, and some Pan Fried Dumplings. All of the food we received was delicious, cooked in front of us by our friendly waitress, and was served with a lot of banchan (traditional vegetable Korean side dishes) from the restaurant. We also ordered the soju beer tower, which was a fun novelty for the table. All-in-all, it cost $60 per person for our group of 6, with a mandatory 20% gratuity (applied to all parties of 6 or more). By the end of our meal, everyone was full and really enjoyed themselves. The experience gets a well-deserved 5/5 stars, and we will definitely be back soon! read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Restaurant - Interior - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I rate the food we ordered as overpriced and average quality (at best). I would not recommend any friends to this restaurant especially for takeout service. I am Korean and have eaten Korean food all my life at home and restaurants in all major cities during my travels such as NYC, Philly, Atlanta, Vegas, and LA. (-) you must order your food downstairs as takeout if you're not ordering any grilled meats at the table. (-) downstairs takeout service does not include any banchan (side dishes that are normally included) (-) I paid $49.06 for two soups and one seafood pancake app and no banchan = overpriced and average quality at best. (-) seafood pancake was doughy and barely any seafood in it. Just terrible really. (-) no complimentary water or tea (most other Korean restaurants provide this) downstairs. Lame. (-) soups come in typical plastic soup containers and are not friendly to actually eating it on-site. Very lame. We initially went upstairs. There was only one other table occupied. We proceeded to order and was informed we needed to move downstairs if we are not ordering any table grilled meats. I asked if everything else was the same downstairs; waiter replied yes, everything is the same except it'll come in takeout containers and we can dine downstairs if we wanted. No drinks and no banchan would have been worth mentioning, which is a significant difference in my opinion. If we knew this, I would've opted to stay upstairs, order grilled meat and receive the standard full service/banchan you typically receive at most Korean restaurants. Even your cheap H-Mart cafeteria style Korean food joints give you silverware, a few banchan and water/tea at nearly half the price and similar or better quality (for what we ordered), which is really sad. If we return and try their grilled meats, I will revisit this review and update it accordingly. I hope this review helps others from experiencing the same! read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Spicy beef soup ($13), spicy short rib soup ($16), & seafood pancake ($15). $49 for this and no banchan/side dishes is overpriced. - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went here after a fun Saturday evening exploring Chinatown. Cool interior that's modern with decor that pays homage to different K-Pop bands. We ordered the beef combo, which included 3 different types of beef that our server grilled for us on our table. We also enjoyed cheesy corn, steamed egg, and onions surrounding the grill. To pair with the meat, our server brought us a TON of side dishes which are always my favorite part of Korean bbq. The best ones were the kimichi, seaweed, and chili paste. The food also came with lettuce, and our served showed us how you could make a lettuce-wrap type bite with the lettuce, rice, meat, sprouts, onion, etc. While not part of the bbq per say, the beef combo also came with a stew and we chose the kimchi stew. UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING. Probably my favorite part of the meal. I also got 2 sojus (grapefruit and lychee) which made the dinner extra great! :) Only rating this 4/5 because the service was a bit rushed, and it was hard to hear our server explain some of the dishes. With that being said, it was a Saturday night so the place was understandably busy. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Beef combo - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I came here for my birthday with a large group. The meat and side dishes were all delicious and fresh. However I feel like the portion sizes were slightly small for what we were paying. Great service! read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Combo - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ehhh, I've had better KBBQ experiences in Chicago with better quality/tasting meat. I feel like because of the convenience of location, people gravitate towards this place (they recently opened up a Daebak in Lincoln Park though). It was a rainy Sunday afternoon, and there were 4 of us total. We ordered a 3-4 person combo which I'd say relatively filled us all up, although normally I can eat more so I don't think I would have been as contently full if I wasn't already actually a little on the full side. Our server wasn't overtly friendly to us, not was he rude or anything... he was just.. there. He forget to grab my request for chili paste which was kind of annoying since the food kept cooking and I wanted it. I didn't get it towards the end. Actually, it was technically chili paste, but was actually Gochujang. I was hoping for chili paste instead. I really did like the spicy chicken mozzarella dish that we ordered on the side though. I've never had something like that at a Korean restaurant and everyone at the table loved it. Oh, our server also forgot to bring out the Kimchu stew and we had to ask for it even though it was included in our combo. Lastly, the ambiance was ok. They were having issues with the internet connection I think because the YouTube videos playing Kpop kept buffering and the music would then stop for 5 seconds, then play, then stop, and it was kind of killing the vibe. I don't know, personally, I'd still rather go to Iron Age in Wicker Park for the food, AYCE price, experience, and vibes. There's other better KBBQ options, but you have to go north or northwest outside the city essentially. read more

It's mother day and what an absolutely awful experience I had with my son. The servers were extremely rude and didn't care about anything, even left with snide remarks. Unfortunately the food is almost as bad as the service. The meat is unedible, you could chew it for hours and is impossible to eat but they will still charge you extra if u can't eat it. Don't bother wasting your money here, there are so many better spots nearby at a more affordable price. The menu is very limited and by the end of it they ended up charging me more than it should have been. Absolute shady place. read more

Visited here for the first time tonight. The entire experience was awful. The girl who id image is either a hostess or server tried to turn us away a 9:01pm because they stopped seating at 9:00pm... Their closing time wasn't until 10pm that night. She rolled her eyes and allowed us in. Which I regret her letting us in. The food was in between really bland, and really salty. On top of that they charge for every banchan refill. This place's standards are on the floor. I don't encourage people who love true Korean BBQ to eat here. Incredibly awful, paid almost 100 for subpar food. Don't waste your time. read more

Service is good. But everything costs money there. The food portion is very small. The charge for refilling Banchan and hot barley tea. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Beef combo set - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

We ordered small beef combo. That was enough for 3 of us. You get rice, soup, and all the sides. I do like their sides. They grilled the beef for us. The beef was tender. The marinate beef was tender and good flavor, not too salty or sweet. I had better Korean bbq in LA and Oregon, I usually do all you can eat. read more

See all

This is my favorite Korean BBQ spot for a large group. It's a little hard to find, so keep in mind that it's on the second floor but you enter on the first floor. I recommend making a reservation for a group of four or more. I've gone here on several occasions, two times with groups of 10 or larger. they've been great about accommodating everything that we need and providing excellent service. The food is really good. There aren't a ton of alcohol options, so keep that in mind, but if you like soju and beer, you'll be fine. I pretty much always order the japchae, seafood and kimchi pancakes, and the combos for grilling. This all works really well for sharing in a group. If you have a group, the meat combos are definitely the way to go. They're a better deal. And get ready, yes you can fully expect K-pop to be blaring and the related music videos to be shown on screens throughout your entire visit. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Mission accomplished! These are the remnants. - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

An alright Korean spot in Chinatown. I thought the quality of the food was pretty good, but it definitely feels like a rushed experienced. My friend and I went in around 6pm on Friday night, and it was not busy at all with plenty of open spots. It seemed like the waitstaff wanted to quickly get us in and out which I thought was odd since I considered it a less authentic KBBQ experience. The side dishes were plenty and all pretty good. We got a seaweed salad, potato salad, cucumbers, marinated onions, and radishes to name a few. We also got a kimchee soup which I thought was decent. The soup was a little bit spicy and included kimchee, some beef cubes, and tofu. Not too flavorful, so probably not worth a reorder. We ordered two meats as well, which I thought were good quality and one of the waitstaff cooked it for us. All in all, I thought the food was good, but the cost was definitely steep. For 2 meats and soup, we paid $99 total. I think that the KBBQ spots on the northern side of the city offer a more authentic experience for a cheaper cost. read more

See all

They don't have ayce but trust, the bbq was amazing! The service was also very fast, they actually come grill the meat for you. The restaurant is located upstairs and is always busy. It's very similar to baekjeong. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Meat - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Best KBBQ in Chicago. Love all the sides and the staff cook the meat. It's not all you can eat but the quality and flavor beats everything. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The experience is absolutely really cool, the ambiance is nice and everything is fresh. I gave it a 4 stars is because I wish the servers would explain how you eat everything or what everything is especially if it's your first time read more

See all

Absolutely lovely. Ordered the seafood pancake to start, and it was perfectly crisp and flavorful. The kimchi soondobu jiggae was wonderful, too--definitely spicier than the stated spice level though. Hit the spot 3000% read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Pork Kimchi Soup - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Having dinner upstairs at Daebak is a wonderful experience. They explain the style of eating and model the tradition of eating Korean bbq. Downstairs is horrible service, unfriendly and not inviting. I have a tip. Say that you want drinks and street food so that u can dine in downstairs. Your welcome read more

All I can express is sadness at the new iteration that is ayce. This was once my favorite kbbq outside of Korea. It was a treasure and a pleasure to dine here. Unfortunately the new quality is a disgrace to the art it once was. The food was bland. The meat was difficult to eat. The sides were extremely underwhelming. I moved away two months ago and this was my goodbye Chicago meal. I came back today and can only express disappointment. I will not be back. They ruined the art they had perfected. I understand the need to meet customers where they're at in the current economy. I just wish it didn't come at the cost of quality. read more

Another great meal. We came in 2019 and it's still good. Pricey but we only eat here when we're in town on vacation. We'll be back. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

First of all their food was good(the meat portion was very small)and the atmosphere was okay. We were a party of three, so we got our bills and paid but the waiter(male) came and told us we need to tip(mind you tip was not mandatory since we are not up to 5). We already went above our budget initially and we told the waiter that we were sorry that we wish to tip but we don't have much on us to be able to tip. The waiter faced me and said I'm a nurse that how can I be broke( I'm a nursing student and was on scrub cos we were coming from school). My friend offered to give some certain amount to tip since the embarrassment was getting out hand, the waiter said she should keep it that we need the money more than him since we are broke and also said if we come back again they were not going to render any service to us. lol it was wildddd read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Pros: It's was good, the Korean hotdog was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. There was plenty of seating. It was pretty quick service as well. Cons: Parking but it's given, I would just use an app as it's better to find parking especially when China town is busy. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

I've been here twice - it wasn't very impressive the first time, but the food tasted really good in our most recent visit! Glad to had a yummy Sunday with our out-of-town friend, who is a huge fan of Korean BBQ. Among three of us, we shared a small beef combo, a small pork combo, and a tons of side dishes. All food was delicious with big portions and we were so stuffed afterwards. Service was excellent - the staff cooked for us and all meat tasted perfect. The vent got most of the smoke out of the way, which was a huge plus as the smell sticks to you in many other BBQ places in Chicago. Given the location, and quality of food and service, I'd be coming back very soon for another delish experience. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

They switched to AYCE which for the price was very good! Meats were all seasoned and all the sides make this a great value.

My husband and I went to Daebak for the first time over the weekend. We came in between lunch and dinner so it wasn't very busy and were seated right away! First, the server was amazing. The waiter who cooked our food was very attentive and timed cooking our different cuts perfectly so that we weren't sitting there waiting for more food. We got the beef combo for two as well as the seafood pancake. We really liked the pancake and all the cuts of meats were ok. There was also a good variety of banchan and I enjoyed them. The biggest downside to this place is value. For the combo and pancake, we paid $100 and honestly it wasn't a lot of food for two people. The quality of the meat also wasn't worth $100, which is OK if only we got more. Personally I wouldn't recommend this place. Food and service is good but not worth the bang for your buck. read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - Menu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

It was my first time at this place recently and it was SO FREAKING GOOD. Most places you do the cooking which can be fun, but I loved that they did ALL THE COOKING. It's more on the pricey side for the typical Korean BBQ but so worth it! The ambiance is nice, and I love how modern the place is. Staff was super on top of it Get the kimchi soup cause HOLY SMACK read more

Daebak Korean BBQ - The Pork Kimchi Soup was flame! - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

KPOP fans everywhere, rejoice! What a neat fun place in Chinatown! They had videos playing and a collage of pictures reminiscent of a teenage bedroom wall showcasing a bunch of artists. Food was average. The plain wings could have used a little more seasoning - they were cooked properly but needed something. They were good. The sauce covered soy wings had a hint of hoisin sauce I think I could taste. The soon hari apple drink was super sweet and tasty. We loved the themed decor here. Come for the experience. They have 2 floors of seating. read more

See all

I came here again the weekend I attended the BTS concert at the Soldier Stadium. We had to wait about 30 mins for a table. Every restaurant was super packed in Chinatown. Our waiter Chason was absolutely amazing! He cooked for us and was really quick with every meat we got even on a busy day. This experience made me feel like I'm right at home. I felt like I was actually in Korea eating delicious BBQ foods~ I would continue to return to this restaurant every time I visit Chicago! Highly recommend to everyone who visits Chicago or even locals who haven't been here yet! You won't regret it! ^_^ read more

See all