Legend has it that tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors lived by eating raw meat and…read moredrinking blood. One day, lightning struck a tree, causing a massive forest fire that killed many animals. Our ancestors then discovered that cooked meat tasted much better than raw meat. This is why roast meat has always been regarded as an important part of the human diet. Today I gathered with friends and chose this barbecue restaurant. It's located north of Redmond, with a prominent sign and plenty of parking. Ambiance: The decor is creative, but it feels quite contradictory. Barbecue is inherently a very "Jianghu" (lively, rough-and-tumble) kind of thing, yet the restaurant leans toward an artistic, literary style. When I used to run my own restaurant, I followed a principle: avoid anything unrelated to the core dining experience. Seeing many books on the shelves here, I understand they're trying to bridge Jianghu and artistry -- but it clearly feels out of place. That said, the place is very clean, and the stickers/decorations are festive. Service: My high rating for this restaurant is largely based on the service. After we sat down, we were given free appetizers -- braised peanuts, which tasted great. The staff training is very professional, whether it's taking orders, making recommendations, attending to us during the meal, or checking on tables and refilling water. All excellent. Taste: Jianghu-style cuisine is characterized by boldness, satisfaction, and not sweating the small details. We ordered spicy hot pot (Malatang), spicy hot pot skewers, grilled beef, lamb, chicken gizzards, oysters, and many other items. First, the Malatang and spicy skewers tasted almost identical, so it felt like eating the same thing. The grilled skewers were just average -- neither good nor bad. The oysters were very tasty. However, the shrimp in the spicy skewers were very unfresh, which was disappointing. "By the way, the prices at 'Friendship Skewers' are anything but friendly -- I think it's quite overpriced overall."

When we were in Portland, we dined in a similar restaurant only to made us realize Friendship BBQ…read morehas been in Seattle all along. We drove pass by it a lit if time and we finally tried it since we lived the similar restaurant in Pirtland and we were not disappointed at all. The skewers came with variety if flavor, not just the same seasoning for all. The variety if skewers were all also very interesting and amazing. Service is very attentive and skewers came out in waves which is perfect. Super recommend this restaurant if you love skewers.

We've been getting fried chicken from Sodam for about 4 years now. We usually get half golden and…read morehalf mild yangnyeom. Chicken has been consistently super crunchy and warm inside. I personally love their mild yangnyeom sauce; it's sweet and spicy. Service was a bit slow when we ate in. There's plenty of seating both inside and out.

The service here was OK, neither of the employees seemed to be interested in being there…read more We ordered at the same time, but our meals came out at very different times. My husband and son received their chicken dishes first. About 10 minutes later, my chicken sandwich arrived, and it took another 20 minutes for my daughter's meal to come out. When we asked about the delay, we didn't get any explanation other than "they're working on it". By the time her food arrived, the rest of us were nearly finished eating. She ended up snacking on our plates because she was hungry & tired of waiting. We ultimately had to take her meal to go. The food itself was decent (except the chicken sandwich - don't get that, it's DRY!!), but the experience wasn't great overall, and I wouldn't return.

My brother took me here when I was visiting Washington! He said it was his favorite place and loved…read morecoming here for his birthday. The meat was SO tasty - We couldn't stop ordering the wagyu. After what we thought was our last plate, we ordered one more.. then ordered one more! LOL It was just irresistible! The service was fast, and there was plenty of seating when we arrived for early dinner. I was told they had changed management, so would have to definitely check it out the next time I've ever back up here!

Celebrated my partners bday dinner here and I was not disappointed! The vibe and experience was…read moreamazing. The food was delicious too! We had the angus set, the only thing I'm a little disappointed is the portion. It might seem a lot on the video or picture but a lot of them were bite size so they go by pretty fast. Enough for 2 people but definitely not more than that. But overall this was a fun experience!

Such a great experience all around, from the top tier service to the fresh and delicious food. We…read moregot the SOTTUKKEONG BBQ SET, which was definitely filling for 2 people. Yes, it's a lot more pricier here than at other places but the difference is in the meat quality. I also like that they grill our food for us, so we can focus on eating without worrying about the meat burning. Banchan was delicious, love that we get purple rice, and I'm obsessed with the egg soufflé! Will definitely come back and highly recommend!

This is what i would say a more upscale/pricier korean restaurant in the area (more only for…read morespecial occasions). I have dined twice (both in the non KBBQ side) so can only speak to that. My first time, we came with another couple and ordered 6 dishes. My favorite part about this place is the rotating banchan that is unique and house made - different each time we came. My favorite dish both times were the cold noodles - refreshing and really tasty. They had solid seafood pancake and I really liked the soondobu also. Kalbi was OK and portion was pretty small. The second time we came also early on a weeknight and had a very long wait because they seem to be understaffed even though there was plenty of seating. Besides the wait (understandable, they did warn us), I would say the biggest disappointment was getting one of the combos. It seemed like a "good" deal (seems like it's meant for 3 people) but turns out, the dishes are even smaller than the already small dishes; for example, the stir fried squid was 90% vegetables, and they only provided 2 fried dumplings even though the portion does come with 3 bowls of rice so it is difficult to split. I would stick with just ordering what we want on the menu next time. A splurge, but decent place to take guests/entertain overall.

I'd give it a solid 3.5 Place is a super small probably old…read moredive bar, couple tables and a long bar top. She loves bbq places and wanted to try another one. So between two places this one won. By the looks they probably have a ton of to go orders or single guys having a beer and bbq at the bar top. She's loves baked beans and they weren't her favorite here. The habanero Mac salad was very well taken by everyone at the table. The plates for 1 they have gives great a pile of meat, fries, hand made and little crispy and Mac n cheese, which was good. We had pork, brisket and ribs at the table. All of which was smoked fairly well. The brisket was good and tender. Pork was a tiny bit dry but the homemade bbq sauces made for it. And the spare ribs were cooked well, they were good for spare ribs but I generally prefer a baby back. Overall the service was stoic, he was spot on with everything but looked as if he was busy with a lot of other stuff throughout the restaurant as well. It's a solid place for bbq, so if you're a bbq fan give it a try. Def a solid lunch spot if you and a couple guys were looking for a place to stop.

We had a great experience with Gabriel's Fire delivery. The food was mainly delicious and the…read moredelivery service was speedy. We ordered brisket, pulled pork, collards, mac n cheese, and gumbo. The meats were the absolute highlight. The brisket was phenomenal--very tender, fatty, and ultra smoky. Others in our group felt similarly about the pork. We got the Kansas City sauce and, while it wasn't the best I've ever had, it absolutely avoided the common pitfall of being cloyingly sweet. They promise that it isn't too sweet on their menu, and they're right. For BBQ meat, I think Gabriel's Fire is up there among the top offerings in the area. The sides were less great. The collards were divisive in our group. I liked the initial hit of vinegar and the oh-so-subtle kick in the aftertaste. But others found them bland. I will say I appreciated that they at least appeared to be vegetarian/pork-less. The gumbo was quite bad in my estimation. Its only flavor was the roux and salt, and its texture was unsettlingly uniform. The Mac and cheese wasn't bad; very plain but inoffensive. The fries were immensely greasy, borderline burned, but soggy. The only one of these I'd consider ordering again is the greens. They also have no options for any kind of bread--no rolls, no cornbread, nothing of the sort. Maybe it's unfair to judge a restaurant on what the don't serve, but this felt like something that made the meal feel unbalanced. There is a lot of intense BBQ snobbery in Seattle, with many claiming that we don't have any good options here. I disagree, and my credentials are having done a lot of eating in the South (AR & TX mainly). Gabriel's Fire is good BBQ. We are so happy to have it nearby and look forward to returning.

Came here to try it out with my family (who loves korean bbq). They have both AYCE and non-AYCE…read moreoptions, though we opted for the all you can eat. They had plenty of seating and we were able to fit our group of 6 into a booth. While they only have one grill per table, when the fire is turned on, it is really high so things cook so quickly! They have a couple of different tiers of options, but my family loves galbi so we opted for the premium tier ($45). The mid tier (I believe $35) you can go serve yourself all of the meat, but the premium meats are brought out. We tried galbi, ribeye and scallops from the premium menu, which were all tasty (the galbi pieces were large and marinated well, ribeye was nice and red, and scallops while small, came in the shell). Most of the sides and meats are self service which is also nice. They have many different side dishes (including cheese corn!), different pickled veggies, garlic, lettuce, sauces, and the meats and some seafood like shrimp and squid were self serve including a nice cold meat refrigerator for the thin slices such as brisket and belly. They even have a hot bar that I didn't try with various fried foods. They also had oranges, and my favorite - a self serve soft serve ice cream station! Yum! There were also yogurt drinks at the end. It is a lovely place that I think it is mom and pop - we had a sweet lady as our server and she was nothing but smiles. Things can get busy so it took some time for our premium meats to come out but no worries as there were plenty of self serve things to eat while we were waiting. This is my favorite KBBQ place in the Lynnwood/Shoreline area so far, so will definitely be back!

Ingredients are fresh, food is decent…read more Just be ready if you're going to ask questions, because they will make you think you're stupid. Since it is essentially self serve, the remaining service provided is rated 2/5 stars for me. Price is expensive - I got the premium set which is no different from pretty much any other set, so I just wasted a bunch of money. Will I come here again? Probably not.

Really friendly place, had the FIFA game on. Dog friendly as well. Had the hefeweizen and it was…read moregreat. Ate at the taco truck in the next parking lot over and it was good. Outside and inside seating.

I live in the Lake City neighborhood and as much as we would like to patron Hell Bent Brewery on…read moreLake City Way, we can't. Hell Bent has "Concerts" at their location on Lake City. We live 3 blocks away. So you'd think, that for Sure the Noise wouldn't be a problem. Right? But When ever they have a "Concert" (mind you this is a small brewery with a parking lot which have bands play on weekends.These bands play outside, so that not only their patrons inside the bar can hear, but that their Parking Lot (filled with patrons) can hear the music as well. And this goes on for 5hrs. We live on 33rd, and every time they have a concert, they not only play for the Bar, but they play to the entire community!!! I Love Music!! But I can't love This Music! Most of the bands are bad, but the ones that are good are still ruined by how loud they choose to play the music! It's one thing to listen to good music, but it's a totally different animal to have a Car sitting outside your house blasting Ghetto Punk Rock. (Wouldn't even matter if the music was good! If we didn't pay for it, why should we be forced to listen to it in our own house!!) We shouldn't have to struggle trying to listen to and watch our tv without subtitles, and not being able to do so because the Bar 3 blocks away has decided to hold a Concert for their small venue like a stadium!! T hat is a little bit A lot Too Much!!! Soo, Dear Hellbent From the Lake City Community: We hope you get over yourselves soon, because your "Joy" is disrupting the entire Lake City Community!! Same as those Preachers dressed in purple shouting over a megaphone and speakers on the corner of Lake City and 130th who had the entire neighborhood calling 911, because it was soo intrusive. And what's funny is that You Guys called 911 about them too. (You told us) When you live 3 blocks away from a bar and it sounds like you're in the front row, there's something wrong there. Why should an entire community pay for your lack of effort in your Sound Department? Seems to me that it's You guys who should curb your sound rather than expecting the entire community to curb our routines in our own homes....just saying. I know, I sound like a Karen. And Maybe I am, but in this instance, we pay too much to live in a home that sounds like we live above a dive bar who take payment from a small handful of people at the Cost of an entire Community. Where is Our Cut?? Seems like We Pay More than You Hellbent!! What do We Get Out Of Your Gains?? Sent by an Irked and Concerned Citizen.

Ate with the family of my best friend from bootcamp and they got this as their takeout because it…read morewas near the Airbnb that they were staying at for graduation season. Pretty yummy bulgogi burrito! I just wish that it had more vegetables, which is something that I never thought that I would say. Good touch with the jalapeños being off to the side because it may be too spicy for some people. Spicy mayo sauce to the side was also a good call. But, I wish more vegetables inside the bulgogi burrito :( do not know what else to say because I was not in the restaurant myself as I was driving to see them in Seattle from Tacoma area

This place is a hidden gem. I've been here twice now. The first time I got the spicy pork burrito…read moreand it was top tier. This time I tried the bulgogi burrito and it was delicious as well. The milkshakes are great and the employees are very friendly and good people. It's a great stop on the way into the office, the portions are big and the food is delicious with fair prices you can't ask for more.