Stopped in to Palilgu last week for a drink and an app when it was super cold outside, and my group was waiting for our table at Ramen Wasabi. Because of how busy it was we were directed to the waiting area, which to be clear is another table (so why we couldn't just order from here, I couldn't tell you). Soon enough, we were taken to the bar to sit as others left and ordered drinks and a round of eggrolls. We actually were going to order more apps, but the eggrolls took close to an hour to come out, so we didn't bother - however, they were pretty tasty! I also had a Makku Passionfruit, which is a type of fermented rice wine, and it was really good. You can really taste the fermentation, which I actually enjoy. The host was really great with us, and the interior is very cute, date night/drinks and apps vibes with low lighting and an intimate feel. I would like to come back for an actual meal. read more

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We stopped by here after an omakase dinner for a night cap and the cocktails were very good! We sat at the bar and Arturo took care of us. My hubby got the Perilla Last Word and I got the Garuso Boulevard, which was a bourbon cocktail with persimmon liqueur, figs and honey date tea. Mine was so good! It brought me back to when I drank those honey tea/chrysanthemum juice boxes when I was young. Very nostalgic. We were too full to try their food menu but we want to come back to try it for sure. Logan Square has so many hidden gems and this Paligu definitely one of them. Check them out! read more

Palilgu - Perilla Last Word and Garuso Boulevard - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was not disappointed nor satisfied with dinner. Our server was friendly but I feel like she was a little awkward (but who isn't a little awkward) it kinda just threw me off of my normal preset dialogue. It's like when you ask someone "how are you" and you kinda just expects them to say "good". The dark vibes inside were good. :) read more

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The Korean food here is well executed and delicious! However the portions are quite small and pricey compared to more traditional Korean restaurants I've been to. On the plus side the menu and servers are super approachable and not intimidating. The decor is modern and clean. It's a great Korean spot for the area! I tried the kimchi fried rice, hamachi carpaccio, spicy squid stir fry and the seafood pancake. No complaints, just decent food shared with lovely friends. read more

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A disappointing return visit to Paliligu, we loved it the first time. On a Saturday evening at 6.30pm, everything we tried to order was 86'd, early on a Saturday evening. The waiter never told us that anything was off the menu, so we ordered bulgogi sliders - "we're out". Ok, can we have spring rolls - "we're out". Ok, please come back in a minute while we figure out something else. Waiter returns later. How about hot stone bibimbap? - "we're out". We ended up eating a burger and fries, hardly the Korean meal we had expected. A very disappointing experience. read more

Good people and good food but ran extremely inefficiently. We went to the new location last month and it was popping- great ambiance. However, other than the ambiance and the taste of food, we had issues with service and logistics. Our server was nice but it took us over 30 minutes to get her attention to be able to order drinks- and that's because we went up to her after waiting for 30 min. More than half of the item in the menu was not available- bulgogi (bulgogi goes into most of the rice and soup options and those r all not available as a result) , broccoli, steak tartare, fries.... The list goes on. Then we asked if they can do kimchi fried rice with spicy pork instead of bulgogi and the substitution was declined. We had a similar experience in my previous visit- when my friend who was pregnant asked if the egg can be fully cooked in her dish, that request was also declined. By the time we got our food, it was already 9:30pm. We came into the restaurant for our 7:30 reservation on time so it took them over 2 hours to bring us food. There was no apology. We all thought the food and drinks tasted good but the frustration with the wait made it difficult to enjoy the food. This was probably the craziest wait / out of stock experience Ive ever had at a restaurant and my group felt the same way. It's unfortunate. read more

Tried this new spot for a Friday date night. I was intrigued by the concept as the restaurant is run by the same people as Ramen Wasabi which is right next door. We made a 8pm reservation and the place was packed. The space was like a dark hallway with mostly booths. It was dim and the interior was dark. The service was average, it did not go above & beyond but it got the job done. One qualm I had was flat metal chopsticks, the worse of the chopsticks in my opinion because the grip is off. We ordered the soon dubu, half fried chicken, & wagyu burger to share between 2. The $16 burger with no fries was moist, rare, & the fatty wagyu was delicious with the sauce but felt like some pizzazz was missing. The fried chicken was crisp but felt small & wasn't exceptional on its own. It needed the sauces to help liven up the experience. The soon dubu was spicy & yummy but small for the price. The korean taste was there but the price did make you question the portion. With inflation & not sure where all the ingredients are sourced from to make the prices what it is but would still rather get these classics from Hmart where the meals feel heartier & worth the money. read more

I'm a big fan of sundubu jigae and Palilgu has one of the best I've had in Chicago although nontraditional. The soup is thicker than what I'm used to (almost like a mapo tofu consistency or like a curry) but it is still packing with flavor, heat and pork. Palilgu doesn't serve banchan (side dishes like kimchi, bean sprouts and fish cakes) with your meal which is a bummer, but I still enjoyed my meal and the service was good. I would recommend Palilgu for those looking for a date night spot, but may not be what you are looking for if you are searching for a more traditional Korean meal. My friends also ordered the vegetable bibimbap and cheese burger with fries, which they enjoyed. We chuckled though at the size of the water cups. Our waiter had to refill 5-10 times due to how small they were and there were a few times where we were waiting for more water. read more

Palilgu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Really good new restaurant in the Fulton market area! I didn't know this place existed until my friends invited me for a night out. The menu is extensive, with so many things TJ choose from we ended up taking the recs from our waitress. The seafood pancake was so delicious as well as the kimchi fried rice. The fried chicken was also good but a few pieces barely had meat on them or were kind of dry. Definitely great comfort food, a little on the pricier side. read more

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We were walking by to head to a different restaurant for a quick week night dinner. So glad we decided to stop at Palilgu and check out the menu! The food was incredible with amazing flavors. Our favorites were the pork bossam and half chicken! The cocktails were amazing as well! Highly recommend for a cozy date night spot. read more

Palilgu - Half chicken and Bossam - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was really looking forward to trying this place but was really underwhelmed with the dishes unfortunately. Prices are pretty high for the portion sizes, which would've been fine if the dishes tasted spectacular -- unfortunately wasn't the case here, there was nothing really special to any of the dishes we had. I think the dining experience just got off to an immediate bad start when the first dish, the seafood pancake, arrived with hair on it. I understand it's an unfortunate mistake but still not the best way to start the meal read more

Palilgu - Spicy squid - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Best fried chicken in Chicago! Amazing food and atmosphere. Everything on the menu is delicious even the cocktails. Great place and friendly service. read more

They may have been working out opening kinks in some of these previous reviews but when we went on a Friday night it was a fantastic experience. Service was attentive and available, we had reservations and were sat immediately (granted the restaurant was pretty empty), and ambiance was great. They were out of only a few things (food and drink) but the waitress was up front about it. While the food is high priced the portions are huge! Highly recommend going as a group and sharing things. Defs recommend the KFC, the sot baps, japchae and sliders. The sauces across the board were great. A lot of places in chicago lately prioritize ambiance while the food is very disappointing - I wouldn't say this was the best Korean food but it was definitely all tasty and overall a nice occasion out. read more

Palilgu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here with a group of 4 and we actually ordered quite a few things pictured. The portion sizes were a lot smaller than expected and frankly we were only full from the rice. The food itself was pretty good, but it just didn't seem like good value for the quality of food we were getting :/ read more

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i normally don't like posting bad reviews unless they're constructive - and i see the potential here, which is why i'm sharing my experience !! vibes & service are great, but it's the food that was really subpar. the bossam we ordered was NOT bossam meat - it was super dry and hard to chew. the presentation and sides were on point though, so i give it a 1/10. the steak tartare was very salty (too much sauce) but with less sauce, i think it'd be good! especially paired with the rice crackers. we didn't even get a chance to try the fried chicken (apparently one of their most popular dishes) because it took 40-50+ minutes - so we canceled our order and left tldr: do not recommend but i see potential what we ordered: - pork-belly bossam - steak tartare read more

Palilgu - steak tartare - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Beautiful dining space with awesome indoor/outdoor seating during warmer days. Stopped by and were seated right away no resys. Ordered a bunch of small plates for the table and everything was a hit. The wings were for sure a fave, can never go wrong with KFC. Hamachi crudo was solid. Seafood and scallion pancake was delish. The bossam is great for groups. Would honestly skip the tteokppoki next time. And I'm definitely coming back to try the burger next time!!! read more

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Palilgu is beautiful upscale Korean restaurant in Fulton Market. I was immediately drawn to the calming modest interior and was quite excited to try their fare, however I was slightly disappointed as I felt that the team missed the mark on rather uncrunchy Palilgu wings which is the feature Korean fried chicken is best known for. While the pork bossam tastes like an earthy home cooked entree that's been stewed for many hours, I personally felt the price point set me up for higher expectation of the dish with larger portion size and more of an oomph factor. read more

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A more upscale take on a Korean gastropub offering classics like seafood pancake and soon dubu jjigae- both of which were really good and I'd recommend. Cocktails were so-so. I had high hopes for the melona colada and queen of tears, but I couldn't really taste anything other than straight alcohol. The place itself is clean and aesthetic with great service overall, but it's hard to justify the high price for the portion of food that you get compared to other Korean gastropubs. Nonetheless, it's still a great addition to the Fulton Market area and worth trying out for the experience. read more

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a place that serves solid staples! none of it is life changing but they have better japchae than say kimchipop. I also don't know of another place in the city you can go to to get bossam that isn't a super long drive or $$$. I also feel like for the location (West loop) the prices are pretty reasonable. the service started out great (dishes came out super fast, people kept coming up to tell us about future plans for the restaurant) but then towards the end it was almost impossible to flag someone down. read more

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Palilgu was a very highly anticipated restaurant for us since we live in the area. We were so surprised but excited to see a Korean restaurant pop up in Fulton. Being from the bay, we really miss do miss Asian food. Not a lot of places here hit the same so our expectations were not high at all going in. First thought about the restaurant itself is that it looks modernized but in a homey way. It leans more to the smaller size with about 8 tables inside; however, there is a small bar area and an outdoor patio. For starters, we shared the tteokbokki. I feel like some places put too much gochujang in their tteokbokki that it tastes powdery. Not here though -- the rice cakes had perfect texture and it had a nice kick. Nothing unique though. For our mains, we shared the miso sablefish and the galbi jim. Given the restaurant is fairly new, there wasn't many pictures to go off of so we were blindly ordering and hoping for the best. Our hope was that the miso sablefish would taste like the miso cod skewers from Sushisamba at the Venetian. A big stretch since those are honestly out of this world.. but I can confidently say the dish was executed so beautifully. Not only was the presentation so upscale but the fish itself was so creamy and the black miso flavor was vibrant and meshed so well with the radish. I do feel there should be more radish as it helps pull all the flavors in together. The miso sablefish definitely is the core of my high rating. Now our hope for the galbi jim was that it would be similar to a restaurant in the bay called Daeho, which makes honestly the most phenomenal galbi jim ever. Though I do have a few critics on Palilgu's dish, overall, I think it tasted good. When it came out, my initial thought was wow it looks kinda sad. For the price point, I was shocked it was the size of a tofu soup bowl. On the topic of presentation, understand that the dish is simmered for a long time so that the meat can become very tender and slide off the bone but to present the dish with the bones just floating was strange and ruined the presentation. Also, it just looked so flat being all one which could easily fixed with some garnish.. cilantro or green onion would help make it pop. Now onto the dish itself.. the carrots were overcooked and soggy and honestly there was not enough for the amount of broth that was given. There is also some mini potatoes but that felt short too. I feel like the potatoes should be at least cut in half so that they can soak up the delicious broth. Speaking of the broth, I don't know why this dish wouldn't come with a side of rice. Seems so wasteful for the broth. As for the short rib, it was tender and flavorful but a little on the fatty side. Overall, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we ended up enjoying our meal and experience; however, there are just some few improvement areas. The portion size is quite small for the price point. I understand this is Fulton Market and we don't mind paying but it is steeper than surrounding restaurants and even the Bay Area. Other than that, our server, Jonathan, was very sweet and attentive throughout. Because Palilgu is so closeby, we probably will be back but maybe after improvements are made with more patrons sharing their opinions. read more

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This place is a bit more style than substance unfortunately. First I will say the atmosphere is super nice and you can have an intimate meal here. Bibimbop advertised as having "classic banchan" should have classic banchan on the side. There was no kimchi, no pickled radish, nothing. The bulgogi beef used was advertised as wagyu, but came out thickly cut, chewy and sinewy. $26 is overpriced for what you get. The Tteokbokki is good, it's a nice shareable portion for 2. The cheese corn is decent. The seafood and scallion pancake is fine also, probably little overfilled with scallion but still tasty. Overall, there's better Korean food in the area for better value. read more

I am blown away by how good this restaurant was. This was an unplanned late night dinner pop in and it was amazing! I'm a pescatarian and usually don't do well with Korean food but this place had so many options for me and it was actually sooo good! In addition, the music was so fun and the service was phenomenal. Ari was the best server I've ever had. She was not only so down to earth but gave the BEST recommendations. I can't wait to return! read more

Walked in on a Saturday and they were offering their revamped brunch menu in addition to their main menu - i loved the space and the staff was so friendly and welcoming. They were super accommodating, allowing us to sit in the front of the restaurant where the sliding windows were open with our pup - they also brought out a water bowl for her, super nice! The main menu seemed pretty well-rounded but we ordered off their brunch menu. We got the tteokpokki, chicken sandwich, fries and the spicy pork bento box. I loved their drink menu and it was super cute to find some of the cocktails named after some great Korean dramas - i'm excited to come back to try them. The wait for the food took a little long despite there only being about 4 tables. The fries were super addicting! It comes with a spicy mayo sauce. The tteokpokki was also good, nothing too special and a little small, but i loved the spice level and the rice cakes were cooked perfectly. The spicy pork bento box was huge! It comes with so much - side salad, rice, soup and banchan (side dishes). My only pick with the spicy pork is that I wished it was charred! It was good but lacked depth. The one item that everyone needs to try and i'm looking forward to coming back for is the chicken sandwich - this thing was the bomb!!! The bun was so soft and bouncy, the chicken was tender and juicy and the sweet and spicy sauce was superb!!! I'm looking forward to coming back to try items off the main menu. read more

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I knew what I was getting into when my friend wanted to try this place out but it did somewhat surprised me after trying a few dishes. We were a party of 3 and ordered seafood pancake, bossam, and an order of the fried chicken. The seafood pancake came out basically half the size of what you would get at an authentic Korean restaurant and at a higher price. This place definitely didn't skimp on the amounts of seafood you would want to see on a pancake. The pancake was crispy whether you bite into it from the middle or crust part. I couldn't justify the price for the portion size of it, but the seafood and crispiness were spot on. The bossam was such a disappointment. I think it's probably one of the worst I've had in Chicago. The pork was super bland and even though it's supposed to be "pork belly" kind of meat I didn't taste any fatness in my mouth when chewing it. The meat tasted more lean/tough even though just looking at the ratio it's kind of 50/50. You REALLY need the side dishes when eating this bossam to give it some sort of a taste for each bite. There were 10 pieces of bossam for $22... pretty steep in my opinion for something below average, but it's in line with WL pricing. The fried chicken BLEW MY MIND! I posted pictures on IG for this place and everyone asked about the fried chicken. I told them only come here for the fried chicken then you can basically pay the bill and go somewhere else for dinner. The juiciness of the white meat for this fried chicken had me speechless. I went from "wow, this seafood pancake is good, but the price though...." to "wow this bossam is so bad I need round 2 dinner somewhere else" to "WOW I NEED TO COME BACK FOR MORE OF THIS FRIED CHICKEN." I used to be a dark meat kind of gal, but then I started eating white meat a few years ago to see which place can make chicken breast basically taste smooth/tender/juice like dark meat. No joke, this place was able to knock it out of the ballpark which is why I'm giving it 3 stars. My friends were telling me to stop lying to people about how this place is good. I'm like listen, this restaurant is definitely not worth the hype at all, but I have to give them credits for serving such amazing fried chicken. Will I come back for a full dinner experience here? Nope! But, will I come back for a quick appetizer aka fried chicken? HECK YEAH! read more

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My husband and I came for dinner tonight and had a delightful time. Our cocktails were great (I got the Garosu Boulevard and he got the Scarlet Heart) and the food hit right too! We split the Pork Belly Bossam, Fried Chicken, and Bibimbap - they were the perfect temp, perfect banchan, and perfect portion sizes. I'm happy we ignored the lesser ratings because this was a delicious meal beginning to end. read more

The food was hit or miss. One of the items wasn't available, and so we had two other choices. The japchae was good, but the seafood and scallion pancake was so overcooked. The calamari was so rubbery. read more

Nice addition to the area. Korean food is definitely lacking in West Loop and am glad this place is here! Its in the old Ramen Takeya spot but the same owners. I believe the wife is Japanese and Husband Korean. This duo also owns Ramen Wasabi! Our group of 4 sat at the bar as walk ins. We knew the place was new so wanted to drink and try a few dishes before we bopped around town. We ordered the Yukhwae (steak tartare), and Spicy squid bokkeum. The steak tartare was fine but nothing different than any other typical steak tartare. I had to dock a star for the Spicy squid bc it came out on a black iron plate but it did not come out sizzling hot. Its as if they cooked it, and only transferred it onto the cast plate when they should have cooked it a bit longer onto the plate. We also had to ask if they had kimchi. I did look around other tables to see if they served banchan (side dishes) but didn't see any go out. We each had a cocktail and I loved my Scarlet Heart cocktail. Service was great but a bit slow as they just recently opened, but everyone was friendly and very welcoming. Would be back to try the other dishes and drinks! It is a small spot so having reservations would come handy, or walk in right as they open! read more

This tiny portion of tteokbokki for 8 dollars sent me into orbit. Don't let the picture trick you into thinking it's sizable. It is not. read more

Palilgu - Tteokbokki - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Service was great. Food was great. Cocktails were great. The squid entree was my favorite, it had amazing flavor and spices. Also loved the seafood scallion pancake and the steak tartare. I thought the pork belly dish would be my favorite but the pork belly wasn't very flavorful and it was served with a bunch of different lettuce options, but it was best with the endive because of the crunch. Also would have been nice with a bread of some sort. read more

Palilgu - Squid - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Completely surprised by this new restaurant. The ambience was cool and cozy, wings were amazing, and soondubu jigae was rich and flavorful and not watery at all. My friends got a burger, bossam, and bibimbap and they all loved it! read more

Palilgu - Pork and kimchi soondubu jigae. Soooo good! - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

New Korean restaurant where Ramen Takeya used to be, and apparently run by the same people. I think we were there for the soft opening? We just sorta stumbled upon it while walking through West Loop, but I'm so happy we did. Service was very friendly and attentive and ambience was lovely. The food and drinks were super tasty, definitely plan on going back. My highlights would have to be the miso marinated sable, the seafood pancake, and ESPECIALLY the bossam. The people sitting next to us got the fried chicken, and it sounds like I'll have to try that next time. read more

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This place does not feel Asian at all but tries. First impression was terrible. The lady server/boss/manager or whatever she is seemed a bit bossy towards us and her own employees. She immediately gave us attitude and said "we close soon" with a rude demeanor and expression as if we are annoyed by our presence. I looked at my watch and it said 9pm. I asked what time do you guys close. The male employee said 10pm. She heard that I asked what time they closed and she gave us a smirk and walked away as if she didn't want us there. Place was not busy at all and about 25% filled with barely anyone inside. The way she was acting felt like I was at a Popeyes. No wonder no one came in but we gave it a shot. read more

This review is long overdue. I was here last week , We had no plans to stop here but after smelling everything we decided to sit down. We had our small dog with us and they allowed us to sit at a table that was just inside (the whole side of the restaurant was open so we were basically indoor/outdoor). Ari was our waitress and she was awesome. We couldn't really decide what to get, so we asked for her advice and she gave us suggestions for every single course. We got the rice cakes, the pear salad, the bulgogi stone bowl. Everything was sooo good . I even asked if they had hot tea and since they were out she went DOWN TO HER LOCKER AND GOT ME A TEA BAG FROM HER OWN PERSONAL STASH!!! And brought it out and served it with a side of honey and a lemon wedge. This place was awesome and the service was really good. I would highly recommend. They have so much stuff we also didn't get that looked really good. Will be back! read more