Wife and I came to this restaurant on a busy Wednesday night with a mission in our mind: match making. We were enthusiastically helping one of my childhood friend to find a suitable girlfriend/ future wife to be. But as to why we ended up in a Korean restaurant in the middle of one of the busiest section of Manhattan, well I didn't know and I didn't care. The restaurant was only a mean to achieve an end. Hanbat was not a spacious Restaurant and the decorations resembled every other typical Korean restaurants, nothing outstanding. But once seated inside, we did find a couple of surprises that we liked and didn't. The first got to do with their menu; it got four types of languages: English, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, very convenient. Then there was the waiter that could speak fluent Chinese but so-so English. He was polite, funny, and caring or that was how so we first felt (more on this topic later). And finally, I was surprised how limited and how few those free appetizers this restaurant gave. We came with a full party of 6 people and the restaurant only gave us 6 tiny dishes of the usual kimchi, radish, fried zuchini...etc. These dishes only took a few bites to finish and while we engaged ourselves with conversation, we sat there hoping and waiting for the appetizers to be replenished. Of course like the saying "there aren't free lunches", soon we realized the truth and tried to handle the situation in a different way: by asking. Of the free appetizers we loved the sweet, sun-dried anchovies and the tempura styled zucchini. We had to ask twice for the waiter to bring the anchovies and that's only after a long delay. Then when we asked for another dish of the zucchini, the first pass-by waiter looked stupidly at us and said "what is a zucchini?". Fine, with patients, I explained further telling him to bring us the fried slices of the green melon looking dish in as simple English as possible. Well, it never worked and he just turned around and asked our original waiter to see what we wanted. Our Chinese speaking waiter answered with a terrific reply: "it is getting late, kitchen stopped serving the appetizers.". ARE YOU FU*ING SERIOUS? It was not even 8pm yet, and there were more customers pouring in. Just how cheap can you be? For this dinner, we ended up ordering the most typical and ordinary Korean foods: seafood pancakes - surprisingly good; spicy ricecakes - nothing special; fried dumplings - terrible fillings and the minced meats were overcooked, tofu casserole - average and they delivered without the rice and we had to ask for them to do so; giant seafood hotpot - good soup, but seafood within were so small in size, not worth the money; cold noodles in cold broth - chewy noodles, good balance of salt, refreshing. By the end, will this be a restaurant on my return list - NO WAY. read more

Love their food. Price is acceptably arranged ($$), staffs are nice and friendly. Will come back.

Came here with some new friends and had their japchae. It wasn't the best I've ever had, but the portion made up for it. Service was pretty good and the food came out quickly. I'm sure there are better Korean food places out there, but the nice part about this place is that it's a little bit outside of K-Town, so it's less crowded. read more

It is my favorite Korean restaurant in NYC. It is home cooking and the price is great! They serve all the basic Korean food. If going during lunch...go before 12pm. The lines can be long. read more

Man, this place has gone downhill. Been going here for good home-style Korean food for over 10 years. I don't know if my tastes have changed but my recent visit here in ordering the same usual dishes that I normally order just didn't taste right. I usually come here whenever I have my Korean cravings working in mid-town and devour everything because the food tasted so good. The last couple of times, everything just seemed bland and off-taste. The haemul pajun still is a solid choice and tasty. The rest of the panchan and dishes I ordered was just mediocre. I guess it's time to find another new favorite Korean place to satisfy the crave... read more

4 stars because the food was very good, but not incredible, Korean food. A very casual restaurant 3 blocks away from the hubbub of Koreatown. The hubby and I wanted to have a VDay dinner at the last minute on Valentine's Day and we had a hankering for Korean food. Instead of going to our usual spot - Madangsui - we decided to try Hanbat because I've heard many a good thing about their spicy tofu stew. We arrived a little before 8 and waited just 15 minutes. The place was bustling and the vibe was super casual - obviously a place where food is the primary attraction, not decor or any other trends. Prices are reasonable because the portions are huge! A rundown of what was ordered, scarfed down and ultimately packed up to bring home: - Soon Doo Boo Chi Gae - Spicy tofu stew with veggies and seafood. Came boiling in a mini cast iron pot. You can specify the spiciness level of the soup. I had BIG expectations for this dish which may have been my downfall. It WAS good, just not delicious. I expected the broth to be incredibly hearty and thick, it was actually pretty light. Other than that, the flavor was rich and a very generous amount of seafood was given. - Pajun - Seafood scallion pancake. It was just ok. I've had better in most other places. The consistency was too gummy/rubbery for lack of a better phrase. Would not order again. - Bok Eum Bab - Shrimp fried rice. The hubby ordered this because he is a fried rice fiend. And it was perfect! Again, very generous with the amount of shrimp in the rice and so so yummy. - Jap Chae - Why are we still ordering? The waitress should have told us this was perhaps too much in food already. Didn't matter anyway. We would have still ordered it. This was a goodie. Lots of veggies and meat in relation to noodles but that was definitely not a bad thing in this case. We would probably come back here - but most likely as part of a group to tackle the portions. read more

We came in here because we wanted to try a restaurant away from our go-to places in K-town on 33rd. This was our second time here. First time a few years ago, we came because of a Groupon deal and was not impressed by the food. This time was worse. We ordered the seafood pajeon, salted fish w soondubu, and mango. Almost everything tasted terrible. The pajeon was brown and dry. Severely overlooked and rubbery. The salted fish was overlooked and dry as a bone also. Soondubu was too spicy but I won't count that against them. The only thing semi-decent was the mandoo. It was tasteless but edible with soy sauce. When we complained to the waiter, he hesitated for a long time, talked to the cashier and never came back. I am not one to make a scene so I did not press for a refund. We left half of the food uneaten and asked for the check. Guess what? Nothing was done about our complaint. I under tipped $3 on the $50 bill and left, extremely disappointed. Will never come back to this place again. Would have given them 3 stars if they had actually given us a credit. They don't care that we did not like the food. They made us feel like I was the bad guy for having the audacity to complain. With so many wonderful places to eat 2 blocks away, why on earth would anyone come here to eat dry, tasteless food from annoyed waiters? read more

San Francisco (where I live) has a couple good Korean restaurants, but none of them have anything on my auntie's good cooking. So other than the requisite visit to Brothers when friends are in town, I don't indulge much at home. When traveling to NY or LA, I always make sure to stop in for my Korean food fix. My friend Gary suggested this place so we met there. The prices were ultra reasonable, but banchan dishes limited. Still, I always end up overeating and this instance was no exception. There isn't anything terribly outstanding, great or not great... its just a solid, competent restaurant. read more

Stumbled across Hanbat while walking through midtown. Looked pretty good and we were not disappointed. Bi bim bob was outstanding as were all the 'sides' brought out ahead of time. Very affordable. I'd go back. read more

Have been here twice with my girlfriend who is a vegetarian and we plan on keep coming back. Food is great, good atmosphere, and helpful servers. Only downfall is that when thy are busy, the servers can forget about you, so you have to just watch out for that, but they are busy for a reason. Highly suggest Hanbat. read more

The best place for Korean lunch! I love the pajun (the vinegar/soy dipping sauce that come with it is sooo good) and the combination fried rice. And all the dishes come with the mini apps that I love getting w/ Korean meals. The nice sliced oranges are a nice touch at the end when they give you your bill. read more

Love this place!! I only get 1 thing but it appears that most people come for the same. A MUST is the Gob Dol Bibimbap. It is quite a large portion so I usually have plenty to take home with me. My intention is always to eat it that night or the next day, but that never happens. It is gone before the work day is over. Great service, great food. Just be sure to go before 1230. It tends to get very crowded around then. read more

Great little Korean restaurant with good service. We shared the mandu, which tasted like how my Korean mother-in-laws makes it, amazing!! I had the bim bim bob that was delicious with the yummy crispy rice. My hubby ordered the galbi, which came out just how we like it and my daughter ordered the raymun noodles. The banchan kimchee took my husband back home like his mom makes it along with other side dishes he had missed! We're glad we stumbled across this place! read more

The food is good but the Yukhoe (raw beef) tastes just like frozen beef.. I know it's not fresh.

The worst Korean restaurant I have been too. The bi bim bap in hot pot is terrible. You can't even distinguish the meat. It all tastes to burned rice and slimy seaweed read more

A GEM. the sol luhng tang is the best I've had in the city. They clearly love their food dearly and tenderly. The panchan was amazing. A very beautiful dining experience for us. read more

Stayed at the Hilton Inn during the spring and this restaurant was very close. We took take-out twice and the food was great. We've been to many Korean restaurants in the LA and San Francisco area and this food is comparable. Price is decent. Open 24 hours so can't beat that for a late night craving. read more

It tis what it is. Decent Korean food. I like the Seafood Hot Pot. Always ordered when we go summer or winter. Decent service, a little cramped for larger groups, but what do you expect it's in Manhattan. I live in LA-LA land now, so this is a definite stop when I am in town. I miss NYC where life doesn't end at 10:00P.M. read more

I've always loved coming here ever since my friend took me there. Of the quality and price in the city for Korean food. Hanbat is definitely the place to go to. I love their soondobu chigae and seafood pajun. Service is good, and waiters are friendly. read more

I'm Korean. I have been to Han Bat, mostly for lunch, more than 30 times. 'Nough said. read more

I had a really bad experience with it. I ordered a delivery and they misdelivered my order. I called to ask for exchange but the restaurant did not apologize but simply shouted at me "what do you want!!" I waited for 20 mins for a delivery guy to exchange food but nobody showed up. So I called them again to only hear "It's not my mistake!!" Poor service and food was terrible. read more

The food was good, staff were nice accept one lady(she looks young). Price is farely good compare to the food or a little high.($$)

Whenever I'm in K-town, choosing a good restaurant is a conundrum. I'm not a Korean cuisine expert, so I just blindly choose whatever's in close proximity to where I'm standing in K-town. I've eaten at Hanbat a few times, most recently on a Sunday evening after karaoke at Duet 35. The restaurant was quiet and not too busy, so my friends and I appreciated that. We shared the seafood pancake, and it tasted very good and crispy. Yum! Three of us in our group ordered the seafood/tofu soup. It was good and the perfect remedy for the cold I caught because of the the a/c at Duet 35. Sorry, I can never remember the name of Korean dishes.The other 2 in our group ordered bimbimbaps. My favorite part of eat eating Korean food are the complimentary side dishes. These were good, but I wish we got more during our visit. read more

The best part of Han Bat is that it is reasonably priced but for some reason their food lost its flavor, almost completely, during the recent years. I took so many people there but now I don't dare any longer..Some of the appetizers/side dishes are not as fresh or authentic or flavorful at all, most of the time kimchi comes smelling terribly probably because it has been sitting in the heat of the kitchen for too long, it started to go really bad. I stick with bibimbab (for the fried rice) or seafood pancake but..quite mediocre, I would say, overall. Service is 4 star, food 2.5, overall 3 star. read more

The bulgogi consisted of little scraps of meat. If it was 'sliced beef,' it was sliced with a baseball bat. It also left a not-so-great film in my mouth. Napa cabbage kimchi was nice. read more

Highly recommend this place as everything was freshly cooked. I am not a fan over overly chewy octopus, but the spicy dish was amazing. The seafood pancake was nice and crisp with chewy center. I'd like to try the soups and other dishes, one of the better places in Ktown that is quiet and not overly crowded, although has a nice clientele that is old school. read more

Lived in Korea... born and raised on Korean food... most homey comfort food without the bells and whistles... one of my favorite places to frequent, especially when I'm craving home style cooking. The Gobdol Bibimbap is honestly one of the best I've had in North America. If the reader tries it, look carefully at the vegetables. It has generous amounts of various vegetables and roots that are sliced carefully in small pieces. Other Korean Restaurants, in order to save costs, would limit the variety and quantity of the vegetables as well as forgo the slicing. Hanbat for some reason has maintained their fidelity in preserving the integrity of this dish for the past years. It's this attention to detail that makes me smile =) I love taking my non-asian friends here and telling them this little tid-bit. Another secret: when ordering the dish, ask them to make the temperature a little hotter than usual. The heat in the stone pot will caramelize the rice that is in contact with the stone and provide a crunchy texture (when you mix the dish make sure you scrap the rice off the stone or the rice will burn). The crunchy rice is technically another type of snack/dish called "New-Loom-Ji" (ask your Korean friends and they can elaborate). The other dishes here are great too. The Sul-Lung-Tang is really good too (it reminds me of Gahn Mi Oak back in the 90s and early 2000s before it went downhill). After reading other reviews, I will say that the "ban-chan" (aka the side dishes) are not as numerous as other competitors, but rest assured... what they lack in quantity they excel in quality. In terms of the strength in taste, the restaurant refrains from MSG and excess salt very much like how my mother and my grandmothers would with their cooking. If you like your food drowned in excess salt, MSG, and oils, then your taste buds will not appreciate this restaurant. If you enjoy subtle tastes and textures brought about by quality ingredients and attention to detail, then this restaurant's for you. read more

Very friendly service and nice atmosphere. Food was good but nothing too special. Would recommend as a no frills, authentic Korean dining.

this is my favorite korean restaurant in nyc. i HIGHLY recommend the pajun seafood pancake -the best i've ever had. perfectly crisp on the outside and delicious the whole way through. it's around $16 but HUGE. definitely get it to share! i also really like all the stews here, as well as the bimbimbap. read more

Worse service, walked into this restaurant becuase it was across the street from our hotel, my mom was tired and didn't want to go out any more. The restaurant was empty, the cashier was yelling at one of the workers as we entered the other host was nice, we sat down and looked at the menu. They had a shift change and two younger males started working. We ordered our food, they brought out the appetizer plates and disappeared from the front of the restaurant yelling and joking around in the kitchen until our main entrees appeared. We had to request for more appetizers as we were completely out and no one was around, we emptied our waters and no one stopped by for the entire duration of our meal. Until one waiter came out to talk to another customer about the U.S. Open (it was on t.v.) we were able to wave him down for some more water and tea. Not only were they hard to find, they were also unfriendly when we requested for items, like refills on water. They did not want to be there and it showed. The workers were loud and not business like at all, it felt like they were college students hanging out more than waiters. With such poor service we tipped 12% and that was being generous for poor service; as we were getting ready to leave the waiter comes by and says "we recommend 18% tip"; I was dumbfounded...how can you feel entitled to receive a good tip when you didn't even do your job. If you want good service go elsewhere. Food was so-so, we ordered the Kalbi and cod stew. The cod was a little tough but the Kalbi was good. Do yourself a favor and skip this place altogether, there's a place next door that's korean check them out and let me know. read more

Mediocre Korean food. I was around the neighborhood and wanted to eat but then most places were not opened yet so I picked this place. It was a disappointment. The kalbi was not flavorful enough/a tad too sweet. The tofu soup was flavorless. The seafood was rubbery and not fresh (not that I was expecting fresh ingredients but it didn't seem good enough). The service was okay. They mainly make their $$$$$ off deliveries. Would not recommend unless you were desperate like me. read more

Original Korean food and test. In New York don't miss this place.

and may i add that you should also order the shrimp fried rice. i love this place, its not too much money, the service is okay and the food is good. i heart korean beer too. read more

ordered two things: seafood pancake + kalbi = $40. The banchans were decent but average - fish cakes, some green watercress kind of veggie, kimchi/radish, a pickled jalapeno + radish slices dish (LIKE!!). The seafood pancake was way too doughy.. it had a good amount of seafood, but the dough to seafood ratio was too much. The portion was also quite large. at least 16 pieces (small) pieces. My jaws hurt from chewing.. The restaurant cooks the kalbi in the kitchen and brings it out so no bbq smell on the clothes.. which is nice. It comes with one rice and there were probably 8 pieces. A bit charred on the sides but within acceptable range. One thing to note was my friend was late by 30 min and they had seated me before he had arrived and made no signs of rushing us during the meal. yay for nice restaurant staff! read more

Hanbat did not wow me. We ordered the seafood tofu soup and bibimbap in the hot stone pot during lunch hour. I really was just eating just to eat because I was hungry from traveling here and looking for parking and ended up finding no area to park in and ended up paying $21 to park at a garage for an hour. (This is midtown so subway transportation is best here because most blocks are commercial vehicles only fit weekdays). Again, the food was mediocre. I'd suggest going to 32nd St. a few blocks down and find a spot there for Korean food. read more

Deeelish!! My 12 year olds first experience with Korean BBQ and we both loved it. The beef was so tender and tasty. The shrimp fried rice had so many pieces of perfectly cooked shrimp! The service was fast and even though the place was packed. Thank you for a great experience!! read more

we eat cold noodles combo but galbi is just bone only and beef bulgogi like rubber like trash2 person pay $50.00 when we order ugegalbitang it isrest 10person pay $150.00 every time they food is bad read more

Came here at 2 am on a Thursday night. Solid Korean place! Seafood pancake was outstanding! Everything else was solid, as you'd expect from a solid Korean place. Got the Jaeyuk Bokum... delicious spicy pork! Yum! read more

Not impressed with this place at all. Got there and was seated immediately. However, we had to wait there for almost 15 minutes and then signal to the waiter for anyone to come over and take our order. After that, our food didn't come for almost another half an hour (i think they must have forgotten about us because my bibimpap was burnt on the bottom when it came out and the squid in my friend's dish was overcooked and tough). The panchan were okay, but the portions were skimpy and one of the kimchee dishes tasted as if it was starting to go bad. read more

I was glad to get a bite to eat here, since it was close to the hotel and it was open 24/7. We had their version of Chicken Teriyaki which was savory and very delicious and unlike standard Chinese food. Also tried their house fried rice which was also very tasty, read more