So this one didn't come from any recommended lists, but simply spotting it on Google Maps. There…read morewere actually two restaurants listed at the same address, though one of them turned out to not exist - no idea how it got there, as it turns out that Heundae has been in this spot for 30+ years, making it not only one of the first Korean restaurants in Barrio Correa, but probably the longest running one still there.
Talking with the owner, she was recalling the days when they used to be filled to capacity, day and night, every day. Now, she only opens the space for private events, like this party of probably fifty people who booked a celebratory lunch. And when she has a private event, if it doesn't fill the space, she curtains off a section of the whole place (which could easily seat 200 people), and takes walk-in diners. We just happened to hit it lucky on one of our Sunday lunch outings to find it open. If you go, have a back up plan in case they're not open, or, give a call to see if they are.
When we arrived, we had to buzz to get in, and the waiter who came to the door proceeded to question us about whether or not we really wanted to come in. He wasn't Korean, and he tried to explain to us that this was "strange food, eaten by those kind of people", and "really, really expensive". He finally decided to open the gate, but immediately took us to the owner, and insisted we talk with her before sitting down. It took all of about 10 seconds of talking to her to find out that it was indeed, Korean barbecue, all you can eat (the waiter had insisted it was not, that it was all you can eat, but not grilled meat - as it turns out, because he was apparently thinking about steak and Argentines and his assumption of our expectations). In short order, he set up the hot plate, brought two kinds of beef, some barbecue pork, and some nibbles for while we started those off.
And, over the next 5-10 minutes, the rest of the ban chan showed up. All quite good, and it felt more traditional than some of the places we've been. There were no hotdog segments, or pickled beets, or steamed broccoli. Instead, some well seasoned dishes, including an excellent soup, great kimchi, and one of my favorites, spicy shiso leaves. (I think we've only encountered those one other place so far.) Meat portions are much more reasonable, and brought out for the actual number of people at the table. In the end, we ordered a small plate more of the barbecued pork, and another dish of the shiso leaves.
So, once you run the gauntlet of first, finding it open, and second, getting in the door and to a table, service is friendly, if a bit sporadic - I have to assume that that's simply because the couple of waiters are so tied up with handling the huge party that is the reason for the place even being open. But with regular visits from the owner, checking in on us, we were well taken care of. And, the least expensive of all the places we've been, the whole spread running only 280 pesos per person, including a 1.5 liter bottle of water for the table.
