First time visiting and overall a good experience. Prices were reasonable and portions fair. Service was friendly and I liked that most tables had some privacy with dividers. We ordered the Army Pot which was spicier than expected, but still enjoyable. Side dishes were okay, and the kimchi pancake was a bit salty for my taste. A nice touch was being served both water and tea pitchers right away. Descent spot for Korean food in Ottawa. read more

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Looking for a great hot dish I did some research and saw some favorable reviews (but mixed from high to low). I landed on Alirang Korean. Ordered an Asahi Super Dry and an order of Beoseot Bulgogi. The beer was super cold, and the Bulgogi came sizzling hot (with a cup of rice and three side bowls) side bowls were toasted sesame flavoured bean sprouts, sweet sauce on turnip, and kimchi). The Bulgogi was not as flavourful as I've had at other establishments. But otherwise it enjoyed. Servers are not very personable. No greeting, just ask how many, seat me in a booth with menu and a slip of paper to write my choice on. 20 minutes later had to wave at them to comeback to take the slip. Btw, at the Merrivale location don't take the first booth, the door is inches behind your bench and everytime the door opens you are blasted with cold air. One other interesting thing to note. My bill didn't seem to be correct. I noticed it was a little higher than I expected, but I tipped 20% and left. I was only given the transaction record. The bulgogi on their menu is $15.95 (as per website), I am pretty sure the beer was $7.95. That totals $23.90. But my bill was $34.92 before tip. $41.90 after tip. So, something happened. But I guess it's my fault for not bringing it up while there. read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Beoseot Bulgogi and side dishes - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Haven't been back to Alirang in a while and it seems to have gone downhill. We got the seafood pancake, tangsuyuk, galbitang, pork kimchi jjigae, bulgogi and ojingeo bokum/spicy squid. - galbitang was very beefy with a good amount of tender beef ribs. - ojingeo bokum had a good amount of heat and the squid was cooked perfectly. - Seafood pancake was greasy but not crispy and the flour wasn't mixed evenly with pockets of doughy flour. - Bulgogi was standard. - Tangsuyuk was freshly fried but the crisp didn't hold up to the end of the meal and the sauce was a ginger forward and leaned more Chinese than Korean - Pork kimchi jjigae - lacked a depth of flavour, maybe the anchovy stock base?, and had tomato flavour in it which wasn't terrible but definitely not expected. Also, I didn't realize the restaurant is run by Chinese folks now. Not sure if it always has been but that to me explains why some of the dishes seemed to have some familiar chinese flavours. Service was quite slow and we had to actually make an effort in flagging down our server. Washrooms are quite dirty and the odour made its way into the dining room area. read more

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The service is decent, they give you both water and a large jug of hot barely tea. The bibimbap is a decent size as well as the seafood pancake. Overall, tasty Korean food when you're craving it! Comes with a few side dishes where you can ask for refills. Service can be a bit slow sometimes. There is free parking here! read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Seafood pancake - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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Cute restaurant, clean and great service! Servers are so kind :) We had the tofu bibimbap which was delicious, fresh, and sizzling hot! We also had the tteokbokki (rice cake with Korean hot sauce), was super fresh and very spicy. They also served our meal with homemade kimchi that was amazing, Korean potatoes that you just can't get enough of and bean sprouts with I think sesame oil, all so so good. Highly recommend. They don't take reservations and it's always busy, read more

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I've been to the Alirang downtown on Nelson St before and enjoyed it, so I was thrilled to see that they opened a second location on Merivale Rd where Dick's Dairy Dip used to be. I went there for dinner with my mom and we both loved it. We arrived within 30 minutes of opening so it wasn't too busy, but by the time we left, there was a lineup out the door. We were greeted right away and asked if we were doing the Korean BBQ or just ordering regular dishes. Since we said we were going to order regular dishes, we got a booth at the back without a grill in the table. Tables with grills are at the front of the restaurant. They brought us menus and a pitcher of complimentary tea. It was some sort of roasted tea, either corn or rice, I'm not too sure. The tea was good, but I was a bit disappointed that the hot tea was served in a plastic pitcher. I'm always concerned about hot beverages in plastic because of the potential of dangerous chemicals from the plastic leaching into the drink. Thankfully, the glasses they gave us were made of real glass. So I poured the hot tea into the glasses as soon as I could. We shared the Seafood Pancake ($12.95) to start. Then I got the Bulgogi Bibimbap ($13.95) and my mom got the Beef Bulgogi ($15.95). The Seafood Pancake was thinner than I'm used to, but still good. The only seafood I tasted was shrimp, so not sure if other seafood was in it. It also had onions and bell peppers. It was a bit too greasy for my liking, but still tasty. I really enjoyed my Bulgogi Bibimbap. It had lean and tender pieces of beef bulgogi, sliced shiitake mushrooms, julienned zucchini, carrots and potatoes, and a fried egg, all on top of a bed of rice. It was served in a hot stone bowl, so my meal stayed hot the whole time I was eating it. The accompanying hot sauce was also good. I added a bit to my bowl and it enhanced the flavour nicely. It's definitely one of the best bibimbaps I've had. My mom enjoyed her beef bulgogi, except she felt it was a tad too salty. Her dish was served on a hot stone plate. I noticed a lot of oil at the bottom of the plate, and my mom said that pieces of meat at the bottom of the pile were very oily. In addition to beef, there were also mushrooms and onions in the dish, and it came with a portion of white rice. They gave us 3 banchan dishes: bean sprouts, potatoes, and kimchi. I didn't have any bean sprouts because they contained sesame seeds, but I ate the other 2. The potatoes were deep fried then tossed in a sweet sauce, but were served cold. They were ok, but not something I would order. The kimchi was on the mild side, which I liked. It wasn't too pungent nor too spicy. Service was very courteous and friendly. They came to our table to take our order, and checked up on us once to see if we were enjoying our meal. There is a call button on the wall, if you need service, but we didn't have to use it. When you are done, you pay at the cash register. It's helpful to remember your table number (the sticker is on the corner of your table). If you pay cash you get a 10% discount. Overall, very tasty food, good service, and the restaurant is neat and clean looking. There is free parking along the front, side and behind the building. read more

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If you're in the mood for Korean food, look no further! Alirang has an amazing bulgogi bibimbap ($15.95) that satisfies the soul. Everything about it is perfect in my opinion - the marinade on the beef, the runny egg yoke, the rice, the kimchi and potatoes that come on the side - simply everything. To me, the portion size is pretty generous and I can easily eat two meals from this dish (or devour all of it if I'm super hungry). I've only tried the Merivale location and not the downtown one, but I can attest that the food is high quality and you pay for what you get! read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Bibimbap - so tasty! - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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This location of Alirang takes over the former Dick's. It is nicely redecorated with Asian frames and details. I went for lunch and found the place pretty full. I ordered the Gamgatang (pork stew) with potatoes. It came with three banchan (Korean sides) of bean sprouts in sesame oil, sweet potatoes and kimchi and a bowl of rice. There was lots of meat on the bones and the sides were the right complement. Korean tea is complimentary as well. Definitely a nice addition to the neighbourhood. The place is not huge but could seat a few medium size groups. read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Gamgatang - pork stew, served with rice, kimchi, sweet potatoes and sesame oil bean sprouts - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Noodles had a pool of oil. Felt very heavy. Also felt rushed. For asian food, it was horrible. There are better options in merivale.

One of my favourite places to go for Korean BBQ that isn't downtown. The Merivale location has been quite popular since it opened. Definitely try to get there before the lunch and dinner rush as the place can fill up quickly. The restaurant itself is quite small so groups bigger than 4 people can get quite a bit cozy at the tables, especially if some are doing the BBQ and some are ordering the regular dishes. The food is amazing and remind me of my days in South Korea. Everything from the kimchi pancakes to the spicy pork is delicious. My favourite dish is definitely their dolsot bipbimbap with bulgogi (beef and vegetables with rice in a stone bowl). They do take out and are usually really quick on getting everything prepped. I did a last minute order for a company lunch one morning and they had everything ready before noon. Everything was still piping hot and really tasty. The prices of each dish is definitely not as cheap as what you can get it in Korea, and can get pricey when you compare it to other local restaurants that are not downtown. But it is pretty standard pricing for a nice, non-shawarma/pho place to sit down and have dinner with friends. The staff are helpful though when they get busy, sometimes they get overwhelmed and they forget about you. Don't take offence and just try and flag them down when they pass if you need anything. All-in-all, always have a good experience when I go there. I would recommend it to anyone who would like a taste of authentic Korean food without having to fly half way across the world to get it. read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Dolsot bipbimbap - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Really disappointed as this place has good reviews. Service was bizarrely bad. To place an order you write your own order and take it to the front. We didn't know this and no one told us, so we sat there for several minutes before we figured it out. We never had anyone check in on us for the entire meal unless we waved our arms around. The dolsot bibimbap was fine. Not the best, but ok. The kalbi was just bad. The first time it came out, it wasn't fully cooked. After sending it back, it came back cooked, but still tasted bad. Fatty, not very flavorful, and the meat quality was poor. One piece was also much more cooked than the rest, making us think it was potentially a leftover from someone else. read more

Pretty good food for the prices listed! It doesnt beat other korean restaurants that i've been to, but it's something different to try. Note: their sides are a little different from what im used to! read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Topokki appetizer - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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Amazing food, perfectly cooked, great flavours. Tie for best dishes Kalbi, Bulgogi, Spicy Pork, Pork Bone Soup,& Fried Rice. read more

This is the (New) 2nd location in Ottawa that Alirang has located on Merivale Rd. The one downtown I LOVE but living in Barrhaven - it is quite the drive so I was pretty excited to have one closer to home. The downtown location? Always always has a line up and is packed. This location? Still a line up sometimes but not as bad. In terms of the restaurant itself it is much more spacious. Food? Still good. I have to say my first time here they just opened as I was expecting the same quality as the downtown location but it was lacking. However, the past few visits have improved so - Yes. It is still good. read more

As a Korean it's hard for me to write a negative review about a Korean restaurant, but this isn't really a Korean restaurant. The wait staff and cook are Chinese and the food doesn't taste Korean AT ALL! It's totally bland and flavourless, so I suspect they aren't using as many authentic ingredients to save money or they just don't know how to cook real Korean food. After going many times (it's the closest Korean restaurant to me), I just can't do it anymore. It's worth it to drive 15 minutes more into the city to eat better quality/real Korean food. Truthfully, I feel bad for non-Koreans who think this is legit and may think Korean food isn't that good because this place is actually that bad. Again, I feel bad saying this, but it's 100% true. I even brought my mom here once and she couldn't believe it. I really hope this review makes them prioritize taste and quality over saving a bit of money on ingredients and/or hire a Korean chef to train their current staff moving forward. read more

My first Alirang experience was the one downtown Ottawa so I was super excited when they opened one up closer to home on Merivale. The food is still as good and this location is large enough for larger groups. The menu is slightly different than the one downtown but my favourites are still on both menus and the menu still has variety. The service is good and they have free wifi. Alirang is still one my my favourite Korean hot spots. read more

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Yeah really good soup bowls here. I always get the seafood spicy tofu soup and the pork bone soup. Very good. I don't like their stone bowls here. The seafood pancake is just ok. read more

I went to this restaurant and the food was just ok but the server was good and attentive. I will not go back because the restaurant, particularly the bathroom, was filthy. It was a big turn off. read more

I normally go to the other alirang located in downtown ottawa, but this one also is good. They have a bbq on tables as well. The only problem I would mention is the smoke from bbq. They need to work on ventilation system, other than that everything looked perfect. They were quick to prepare the food and taking the order, it tasted delicious as always. read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Bulgogi and spring rolls for one!! - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

We checked out Alirang recently. It's not fancy, but the service is quick and courteous and you get to tuck into kimchi, bi bim bap, and appetizers, so what is not to like? read more

Just your standard Ottawa Korean food quality. Parking is easier to find than the dt location and the restaurant is also about 1.5x bigger. Service was pretty sub par. I found a piece of glass in my water (clear, sharp glass...How???) that I could have had down my throat if I was gulping the water. I told the waitress and she just kinda went oh oops sorry. I don't think I'll be going back as there are plenty of similar Korean places in town. read more

This is the best Korean restaurant I known in Ottawa. Love it! It is getting a little bit expensive, but the food here is totally worth it. The service are fairly good, he knows to check on you after you got your food. I would recommend my friends to try this place! read more

Alirang Korean Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

The best Korean food in mine and my kids opinion. So glad they opened a west end location, which I have yet to try, love the service at the Nelson Street location. Food is absolutely to die for...esp. the duck. And very affordable prices. If you're not satisfied, then you don't deserve to eat here. Much better food than those pretentious high priced restaurants. Eat here or miss out on one of life's pleasures. read more

I'm not well versed in Korean cuisine but I have been to some Korean restaurants. The food was good but lacking in some areas. The service was good we got our food in reasonable time. I don't have any recommendations for here so sorry. read more

Excellent food all around, especially love the Pork Korean BBQ :) If not busy, very quick turnaround on orders.

I love Korean food and it's rare that I find a Korean restaurant that I don't like. I've tried almost all of the Korean restaurants in Ottawa and I've definitely frequented Alirang on Nelson many times. So, when this location opened up, I was excited. The first time I went, I got my go-to, kalbi, and it was below mediocre. The flavoring was bland, the pieces had too much fat on it. This time when I went, I tried other items to give them another chance. I didn't like a single thing I ordered. Actually, the potatoes (which were part of the banchan) were good. The service was decent, but the food just didn't cut it. I'll likely never come back, at least not voluntarily. read more