i've been on the hunt for some authentic korean food since i moved from California. Koreana…read moreliterally made me so happy, as I felt like I was transported back to restaurants of k-town LA. what we got: chadol (10/10 yums): such a huge portion and was super fresh. the cut of meat was a leaner part, so it wasn't as "melt in your mouth", but you could tell it's still a great cut of meat. samgyeopsal (10/10 yums): this was a thin cut of meat and had the perfect amount of fat to meat ratio. I usually don't prefer thinly sliced pork over thinly sliced beef, but at this place, I definitely did. it was just such a good cut of meat and paired really well with all the side dishes. mul naengmyeon (10/10 yums): i always find this a standard order at any kbbq restaurant, and it was great! the noodles were chewy and paired well with the broth. they give you a bunch of side dishes and on the weekends, they give a braised beef banchan which was AMAZING. be aware that for kbbq to be ordered, you must pick AT LEAST 2 cuts of meat. this comes with a soy bean paste soup (one per person), and ended up being a lot of food (we had leftovers). also, i noticed that some cuts of meat had fried rice served after (i'm guessing it's probably the marinated ones), so if that is something you're interested, be sure to ask! the service was great and they cooked the meat for us. honestly, i see myself going back pretty soon, as it genuinely made me feel back at home.

food: best freaking korean i've had in illinois, such a good meal, everything was authentic asf,…read morethe pork was delicious - i was already so full and couldn't stop eating it. the meat and drinks are all high quality. also got to try Korean tartare and it mogs any other. it was so smooth and the flavor is so good with the sesame oil. i will think about this night and meal for a long time service: the staff is insanely nice and treated us so well. came and helped with the bbq. the owner is the biggest chiller and started ripping shots with us. immense respect for him ambiance: feels like home. nothing else to say

Great authentic Korean food and dishes come out fast and piping hot. Amusingly we were warned when…read morewe arrived (8pm Friday night) that "kitchen closes 9 o'clock" We said - sure no problem Then at 8.45 sharp both our waiters come to the table and basically said the same thing which made us laugh with the straightforward honesty...." You go home now. Kitchen closed." Pretty much we were told to hurry up and finish and get the heck out and everyone was waiting for us to leave at 9pm sharp. It was so shocking that we just had to laugh - (what if I didn't WANT to go home ??) Anyway, besides that, we'd definitely return- we had the hot stone bibim bap and I had the silky tofu seafood hot pot which would have been better if it had "seafood" besides two tasty shrimp - I did ask and was told that there are mussels as well but maybe that's not in the Friday night hot pot. No mind. It was delicious- we shall return - at an earlier hour so we don't get kicked out to the kerb at closing

Came in for dinner with a party of 5 and we were seated right away! Food also came out super fast,…read moreand tasted great!

The food are good, especially the japchae, cooked perfectly with the chewy level, the taste and…read morecame out very hot. Meat were good. They changed the grilling plate a few times for us. Side dishes were good too. Place was cleaned and no smoky smell. Sure will come back again.

This place never misses, and every visit somehow gets better. We started with two appetizers that…read morecompletely stole the show, the A7 Tteokkochi, which is one of my all-time favorites. The rice cakes were perfectly crispy yet chewy, coated in a sticky, sweet-spicy sauce with deep, rich flavor that keeps you coming back for more. We also had the A1 pan-fried dumplings, golden and delicious, paired with a super tasty dipping sauce; simple, comforting, and done right. For BBQ, we chose Combo B for two, and wow. It comes with marinated prime beef short ribs, marinated ribeye, beef brisket, and sliced pork belly, and every single cut was unbelievably flavorful and tender. Paired with the dipping sauces, kimchi, steamed rice, and a side salad with Korean dressings, it felt like a perfectly balanced feast. You can truly taste the care and time put into the food. What really sets this place apart, though, is the experience. Every time we come in, it feels like family. Our waitress was amazingly helpful with suggestions, great conversation, and even assisted with cooking the meat, which made everything even more enjoyable. We also enjoyed some delicious, high-quality soju, which was the perfect complement to the meal. Even after moving an hour away, this spot is still worth the drive. Consistently incredible food, warm hospitality, and an atmosphere that keeps you coming back. Highly, highly recommend!

First I have to say the grandpa at this restaurant is super cute and funny!…read more The food was delicious. We started off with some non-marinated meat. We had Sang Gai Bi and the Heuk Sam Gyup Sal which was the pork belly. We loved them both. I personally like the beef over the pork but I would get both again. We also ordered a Yook Ke Jang, which was a spicy seasoned soup with shredded beef. It was not too salty or anything. It was just right! Lastly we ordered a marinated pork (forgot the name of it) and it was good, but I think we all preferred the non marinated meat better. Not sure if it's because we were already getting full at that time. Definitely recommend coming to this place. Charcoal bbq tastes so much better, although it can be a little harder to cook imo. ALL the small dishes were amazing...there isn't a small dish I didn't like. This is my new favorite kbbq spot!! This place is also super clean. The women's restroom was clean when I went as well and had everything you need...including spray for your clothes after bbq is done, which is a plus!

They don't make'em like this much more. With charcoals, I mean…read more There's got to be extra steps to get permission for indoor charcoal cooking, so I get it. But meat just tastes better bbq'd on charcoal, y'na mean? It honestly had been a decade and a half since I went to a proper charcoal KBBQ, so this was super exciting for me. The place had an old facade that was reminiscent of the "old days" for me. Not to say it was run down or anything, but everything from the floorplan to the old tables with charcoal pit installed tables reminded me of the KBBQ era of the 90's and beyond. Loved it! My family went inside way past lunch hour, so the place had cleared out and owners seemed to have been having lunch. The two gentlemen eho greeted us gave out father and son energy, but I couldn't be sure. There was a life sized photo of the oldtimer in a marathon getup hanging on one side of the shop entrance, which he explained was taken a decade ago. I could tell he would have been around my father's age, but seemed super healthy. A pleasant man for sure! It may not necesaarily be a good thing for owners, but I love it when there aren't too many patrons around, because it means that I'll get all the attention I need from them, when I need. It was certainly the case here. They were super attentive when we needed something. To be fair, we knew exactly what we wanted, so it wasn't like we needed to call them every 5 minutes, but it certainly was easy to get their attention when I needed another bottle of beer. :-D My family of three order two servings of marinated galbi, contemplating on whether or not to order my wife's favorite pork belly. In the end, we were too full and were glad we stopped with only two servings. We'll just have to come back to try other meat later. This is ALWAYS a dilemma for my family. All three of us each have our favorites, but none of us can eat a whole serving. We usually end up going with my daughter's favorite every time, unless my wife and I are out by ourselves, which these days is not as often as I'd like. We'll just have to wait a couple more years for her to graduate.. Galbi (short ribs) was GREAT! Not much else to say about it, other than the fact that any meat will taste better when grilled on charcoal. With so many other KBBQs around town with more "hip" and "modern" atmosphere, I don't know how well New Seoul is doing these days, but I certainly hope they do enough business to continue to be around. More and more Korean restaurants are moving away from their traditional way of doing things in order to cater to American audiences. They may not be huge changes, but these subtle changes make people like me and my wife a bit sad because it eats away a little bit of our nostalgia each time we experience some. I hate to sound like an old man about it, but I guess it falls to people like myself to continue to support more of the traditional places like these over the young ones. Anyway, based on just the marinated galbi my family had, I must give them 5 stars!

From the outside, this is a very non-assuming restaurant located in a small plaza with a strip of…read moreother establishments. I was looking for a restaurant near Ikea, and this place came up in my searches. It did not dissapoint. I think the bi bim bap and the naengmyeon are 2 of the most worth dishes to order here. The food portions are very large and you get a real bang for your buck. The meal came with a good variety of korean side dishes: kimchi, tofu, beansprouts, cucumbers. The seafood pancake is delicious. I'd love to order it again. However, for $18, it's a bit expensive for me conpared to other seafood pancakes I've had. Service is great too. Our servers were very attentive. It was a good dining experience. The only thing is the decor is very strange. It's clean and tidy but some of the decor adds a strange ambiance. Makes it memorable.

This is a great spot for lunch. Authentic korean cuisine. Lunch specials. Friendly staff. Tasty…read moredishes. What else can you ask for?

The food was amazing!!! I got B1 and the portion was huge. It came with a cabbage salad and soup…read more The whole restaurant has a super relaxing homey vibe. I'm definitely coming back here again!

Last minute decision to go to Goo Goo Ma for dinner one night. I had a taste for a stone bowl dish,…read moreso ordered the DoleSote Bibimbop. Goo Goo Ma seems to have one person who works there who takes the order, cooks the food, and takes payment, He's very nice and helpful if you have questions about the food. They seem to do a lot of business but there were only a few people eating there. There was a steady stream of people coming for take out. They do have plenty of tables for people to dine in, though. They cook to order so after about ten minutes, my dinner was up. You get a very generous portion of food. There are three sides - kimchee, salad, and soup. All were great. But the main course, the DoleSote Bibimbop was delicious. The bowl is large - filled with rice, vegetables, and chicken. It was prepared very well - the stone bowl is very hot so the rice touching the bowl gets crispy, adding to the texture of the meal. In fact, it is sizzling when it's served. All in all, it was a nice experience and a wonderful meal.

Great karaoke experience with over 25 people and the Agit Black team took great care of all of us…read morethe whole three hours. The appetizers were all flavorful and we had more than enough to enjoy. The haemul pajun (seafood pancake) was crispy and had generous amounts seafood in every bite. The sweet potato fries were surprisingly thin and crispy. And the budaejigae was delicious as well. Super clean rooms and facilities. Would definitely go again for quality of karaoke and food!

My husband and I went to Agit Black with some friends for dinner. We got a table right away but it…read morefilled up quickly on this Saturday night. We were seated in a private booth that once we had our food delivered, the servers forgot about us. I had to leave the booth and walk to the front desk and ask for our bill and take home boxes. We had the grilled beef bulgogi, the spicy pork bulgogi, and tonkatsu. The food was really good and we had enough to take home.

Hongdae is located in back area of Randhurst Village, near Mr Kimchee and the AMC Theatre. As of…read more2026, they have a Happy Hour from 4-6PM with 50% appetizers and drinks. We got there just in time and ordered a few appetizers, like the tuna tar-tare, edamame, and truffle tuna. The appetizers were on point. For our entrees, we got the beef bulgogi bento box, and the chicken karaage bento box. The bento box offered several things including salad, California rolls, potato croquette, and the main dish. Unfortunately, we were not fans of the bento box. The bulgogi was extremely dry, and pretty much sauce less, and the chicken karaage was dry as well. The sauce was very rich. Service was good, and the staff was very friendly. Maybe we ordered the wrong things, because the appetizers were great.

A movie and dinner night with roomies…read more The Devil Wears Prada 2--elegant, sharp, and absolutely worth the wait. Not a single moment missed. #thedevilwearsprada2 An evening that flowed effortlessly into dinner at Hong Dae Korean Bar and Grill in Mt. Prospect--where the ambiance, the food, and the company all understood the assignment. We were greeted by a very nice and polite lady and have us seated in a timely manner. Server was very good but a little meek. Food is very good and the price is moderate. A perfect way to end the day. #hongdaefood

Maybe I had too high of an expectation going in, but it was a slightly disappointing experience for…read moreme, unfortunately. Even as I'm writing this review, I'm struggling between two and three stars.. It's got the hole-in-the-wall traditional Korean look and feel to it that I usually love. The old, faded wallpapers, the run down tables and chairs, the stacked up supply boxes that are folded in all over the place, etc. I usually love these aesthetics. But at the end of the day, the food has to be good to make people like us imagine that the owners cared only about honing their crafts and serving good food to customers and they just didn't have anything else like updating the interior to be more modern in mind. Well, I don't think that was the case. Based on my research, this place must have been one of the better places a little while ago, for it belonged to many people's list for offering a few very specific items that stood out of the menu, mandoo (dumplings) being one of them. Mandoogook (dumpling soup) was introduced as a must-have because of their house-made mandoo. My family and I ordered a few different things from the menu including steamed mandoo appetizer. I honestly can't remember what I ordered for my main and all I can remember is that mandoo was disappointing. It not only wasn't as good as the hype, but some pieces contained bit of an "old ingredient" taste. This visit was only a few weeks ago, but I don't remember what else we ordered. In my book, not making an impression is just as bad as making a bad impression, if not worse. All I can say is that everything else was just average. Not good, not bad.. I did hear in passing, the owner speaking to someone perceived to be a regular patron that she's retiring in a week or two, and that the place has been sold to someone else. This explained the lack of enthusiasm and the drive to serve your customers good food. She must have put the good years behind her and ready to move on, and I happened to catch her at the tail end.. Either way, my experience was what my experience was. I didn't have a great meal and I must give it 3 stars for it. Maybe, just maybe I'll revisit once it's changed ownership. We'll see..

I was super sad I didn't like this place because it seems like a perfect place for comfort Korean…read morefood. It's a very nice homey vibe and comforting atmosphere. However the food we ordered was just okay. The japchae was good but nothing special and many other Korean places do it better. I really did not like the mul naemyeong. It was so bland with no flavor. It's usually one of my favorite dishes to get so I was very disappointed. I was also not a huge fan of the selection of Banchan. However the service was good and before our dishes came out we were served some nice and warm hot soup since it was storming outside.

We stopped by on the way to the airport and got the $29 AYCE lunch special, which served as a great…read morepost-wedding hangover meal. The meat quality was decent and what you'd expect for the price, but the sides were a bit mid. In hindsight, maybe we should've gone for one of the more premium sets, but we were exhausted and just wanted to eat. Some of my friends decided to keep the celebrations going with more drinking despite our upcoming flights, but I made sure to opt out LOL

My group had a really good experience here! The food quality and amount we ate felt worth it for…read moredinner. The service was quick and very attentive with offering refills, new grills, and asking us if we wanted to order more. The complimentary ramen bar was fun and easy to use. There wasn't a wait when we came around 8:30pm on a Saturday either. Highlights with the group were the KFC and corn cheese.