Spicy kimchee...yes! So many places serve bland kimchee…read more Love the atmosphere and good food. I had mandu and chapchae. Will have to come back to try more dishes before my vacation ends.

I didn't expect to get Korean ramyeon so excellent in Argentina. The bulgogi beef was super tender…read more The broth was dense and savory. The noodles were thick and chewy. This place is excellent .

Walked in and saw two customer eating. The restaurant person came over and said they are closing…read more We were there at 2pm & sign said 3pm closing. And that they don't accept credit card. Then walked away. So much for a hardy Korean food.

A revisit to Bi Won, more or less on the border of Recoleta and Congreso areas, a place I first…read morereviewed on my blog about 30 seconds after I arrived in BA a decade ago. Absolutely nothing has changed. No, really, nothing. The ambiance is exactly as it has always been, perhaps, at best, mildly spruced up, but more just enough to not quite let it go to seed. I'm pretty sure the same waiters are working as have always been. The menu is identical other than pricing - okay, there's a change - dinner for two will now run you around 4-500 pesos with tip, still eminently reasonable for the food, which is as solid, authentic, and tasty as it was ten years ago - we obviously shared the ban chan dishes, and the waiter even brought more different ones when he saw how much we enjoyed; and then pork dumpling soup (manduguk), and a gobdol bibimbap in the piping hot stone bowl. It saves a trip to bajo Flores or Floresta to get a fix on Korean flavors - which does not negate that there are plenty of spots out there with more delicious and more authentic food. Bi Won gets a more touristy crowd, but on most of my visits, the tourists have been Korean, looking for a taste of something familiar amidst the plethora of parrillas in the city.

Very good! The bulgogi, kimchee, and moochee moochim was a little on the sweet side but was still…read morequite delicious when we added denjang to the amazing and deliciously prepared bossam. The pindeduk was extra crispy and delicious as well! Service was impeccable the ambiance was delightful and clean. Would go back anytime! It is deemed "old Korea town" but I would say it's the Real Korea flavor.

Korean food, how I've missed you. As someone who used to live in a town where 50% of residents were…read morenative born Koreans, Una Cancion Coreana made me feel right at home. It's a bit off the beaten path, in a small Korean area in the barrio of Flores. It took me about 45 minutes to arrive from where I live (Recoleta) but the commute was definitely worth it! A lovely, clean and modern atmosphere and friendly staff greets you as you walk in the door. The restaurant seems small, but there are several rooms for larger groups, so don't fret if the front of the restaurant seems very busy. The menu is diverse and has all the Korean staples. Being a vegetarian, my go-to is always veggie bibimbap. If you have any questions, the waitstaff is very helpful. Our server was fluent in English as well as Spanish and Korean - impressive! The bibmbap was just what I thought it would be. Amazingly fresh, great flavors, and a taste of home (Fort Lee, NJ) Prices are reasonable considering any "exotic" food here is always more on the expensive side. The authenticity is there as well, so if you're used to Korean food, you know what you're getting. I'm so happy I got to try Korean food in Buenos Aires. Even though it's a long trip for me, I might be making another visit back to Una Cancion soon.

Literally meaning "In Yu's house", this is apparently one of the older Korean BBQ restaurants in…read moretown. It's a little fancier than the other places we've been, and, a little pricier (at 380 pesos/person plus beverages). At the same time, the service is better, and much more attentive than any of the other spots we've been (setting aside the occasional flirtatious waiter). Although they were never full, they got close to it, and they'd advised me when I contacted them that they don't take walk-in diners, it's reservation only. Big array of ban chan. High quality, no doubt. Fewer sort of "side dishes" - there were some scallion pancakes, some deep-fried stuffed zucchini, and a soup, and that was about it. More variety in the meat selection for the grill, with shortribs, hanger steak, pork belly, some tripas (both small and large intestines - something I've not seen anywhere else), and calamari tentacles. There was also an odd sort of egg mixture in one of the little troughs where the cooking grease runs off, and we were show to mix in the raw, frozen corn off to the side there, and let it cook by virtue of the hot grease dripping into it. Kind of comes out like a sweet corn pudding that I don't want to eat again. Overall, nice space, friendly and attentive service, and good food. It doesn't supplant my top three for Korean BBQ, but it is good, and might be the only daytime Korean BBQ spot over in the Floresta Koreatown (which, in response to the other review already posted here, isn't particularly dangerous, even at night - I might not wander the streets, but just to go to a restaurant, it's fine).

I haven't had Korean BBQ for 2 months. I was desperate. They said this restaurant is in a dangerous…read moreneighborhood. "DO NOT go there at night!" I went during the afternoon with a friend. I arrived at 3pm. They looked closed. I knocked. The owner said hello. He then opened the restaurant for us. We were the only 2 in the whole place. Boy am I glad I went. The meats were plentiful. The banchans were delicious. My stomach was crying out in joy. What a hidden gem in the roughest parts of BA. Go there and eat. But don't go at night.

There's no menu. It's an "all you can eat" kind of setup, but no buffet - they just start bringing…read moreyou stuff once you sit down and keep going until you stop - and you can ask for "refills" on any dishes that you like. First up, the usual array of dishes of ban chan arrived first. A nice selection, our favorites were the just barely poached octopus with chili sauce (really mild though), and the chili tripe (also very mild). Disappointingly, not a spicy dish in the mix, and no kimchi. But then we saw a Korean family arrive and they got a much bigger array, including kimchi and other dishes. We flagged down our waiter and asked, and he sort of mumbled a bit (he's actually quite charming and speaks flawless English with a clipped British accent) about not thinking we'd want that stuff but then promised to get it for us. Despite asking again a bit later on, we never did get the spicy dishes. More small dishes showed up, with decent dumplings, some really good grilled fish, tofu, and a few others. We continued to munch away happily. I should also note, we were happy to find something besides the ubiquitous selection of Quilmes and Stella Artois beers, with Tsing-tao on the menu (why not a good Korean beer? I know they have them in Koreatown, or at least used to, so they should be available). A single small pancake for wrapping things up arrived - a little surprising that we didn't get one apiece, but so be it. And, rice finally arrived on the table. At about the same time the first of the items for grilling showed up. A bit earlier our waiter had brought a small basket of hot coals which he placed under the grill element and then turned on the gas, which I guess keeps the coals hot, but seems a strange mix to me - maybe it's always that way at Korean bbqs, I never noticed. Here we got frozen slices of pork belly and frozen shrimp. It's fine, by the way, that they're frozen, it's actually kind of common - you drop them straight onto the grill and cook them to your tastes. The pork belly was good. The shrimp were freezer burned and pretty tasteless. Really good, plump oysters drizzled with a slightly sweet chili sauce were brought to the table - I could have just sat there and eaten those. Delicious! As we'd finished off the pork belly and shrimp, our next grilling selection arrived. Marinated shaved beef, differently marinated pork, and squid tentacles garnished the plate, and we tossed them all on to get them cooking. The octopus were the best, but all were good. A plate of lettuce leaves was on the side for wrapping, along with various dipping sauces. I think we'd have appreciated, at some point, a little info on what we were being served, but for the most part, service was wordless unless we asked questions. And finishing off the meal with two different soups, a really excellent seafood broth, and a good, but less spectacular, meat broth filled with greens.

A culinary adventure. I'm still trying to figure out just what the Hell I ate. Did I like it? Hell…read moreyes. It was, without a doubt, absolutely ravaging. Do I know what I was? No clue whatsoever. Mineral? Vegetal? Animal? Beats me. But I had a great time, saw things that seemed to have been snatched straight out of Middle Earth, and felt like Indiana Jones in the scene from Temple Of Doom. In other words, it was cinematic.

I do like Namu. The menu is very limited, 14 items only, appetizers and principle plates included…read more For the Palermo neighborhood, the comida coreana is good. The food could be spicier, with a better selection of side dishes (banchan), and slightly larger portions of some items. The better Korean food requires a bus ride or 2 from this area, 45-55 minutes usually, to 1 of the two Korea towns in Buenos Aires.

About two weeks ago I was alerted by a friend to the imminent opening of a new spot in the heart of…read morePalermo, Namu, José Cabrera 5600, corner of Fitz Roy, taking over the spot abandoned by Roy Bar, a sort of dive craft beer bar (is that an oxymoron?) that offered up burgers and wraps. Although I'm not overly fond of reviewing spots when they first open, as everyone needs time to get their act together, I thought I'd give it a try, and then decide whether to hold off and give them a couple of weeks, or go ahead. Obviously, I've decided to go ahead. Pretty room, with an interesting "garden" ceiling (I think it's all plastic plants, but some of them look real, maybe it's a mix?). The menu is relatively short, with just five appetizers and eight main courses available. They do cover a nice range of different types of dishes. Of course, dumplings are my litmus test at most Asian restaurants, and the gun-mandu were delicate, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. Even with only five of them, they're a far better deal at 170 pesos than last week's round of eight mediocre ones for 180 pesos at the "fast food" Dumpling House. Interestingly, unlike any other Korean restaurant I've been to, they don't put banchan on the table at the beginning of the meal. They're only served with the main courses, and, different dishes get a different number of (and presumably selection of) side dishes. I ordered up the daeji-bulgogi, spicy marinated pork, stir-fried, and served with rice. Again, unusual in the presentation, normally this would come with a side of lettuce leaves and some pickled vegetables to create wraps. But, it was absolutely delicious as is, I just missed that fresh crunch of the lettuce. 380 pesos. I'd also asked for extra picante, and someone came out of the kitchen to let me know that because of the marinating process, it was a set level of spicy (pretty mild, as it turned out, despite the three chili symbol next to it on the menu), but they were happy to bring me a little side dish of gochujang chili paste to add to my tongue's content. The banchan - very good, and nicely spicy kimchi, quite good pickled daikon, and just okay stewed eggplant and marinated tofu. Overall, love the space, excellent service. Both dishes I tried were absolutely delicious. By comparison to either Koreatown, and for portions that are a bit smaller than you'd find out there, it's a bit pricey, but for the heart of Palermo, it's actually a quite reasonable meal for the quality. And, they take debit/credit cards (Visa only), something almost non-existent in either Koreatown. I will definitely be back for more! Highly recommended.

Nice array of ban chan, as well as great shortribs. Unlike many of the places we've tried, here the…read moremeat comes already cooked - there's a big parrilla out in a rear courtyard and someone out there grilling up the ribs (most of the meat is already sliced off the bone), and it's served on a little tabletop grill with a few coals underneath to keep the meat hot. There's also a plate of perfectly cooked and delicious oxtail, some fried fish, fried chicken wings, and more, including probably the best soup we've had at one of these restaurants. The one thing we both agreed on that was that while there were perhaps a few fewer dishes than at some of the others, there wasn't a single misstep. Each and every dish fell somewhere between good and excellent. And, that more than justifies the slightly higher price of 350 pesos/person instead of the more typical 300. Put this one at the top of your list for Korean barbecue in town.

Taking over the spot recently vacated by the oil-infused kitchen of Tan's Food. A competing Korean…read morebarbecue spot to BBQ Town a couple of blocks away on Juramento, they certainly give each other a run for the money. This place definitely has the edge when it comes to variety and quantity of banchan and kimchi (with six varieties of the stuff mixed in there!). One of the fun things about Korean barbecue is the whole cook it yourself schtick. Here, that's not an option. A waiter does it for you - I can't imagine they can do that when the place is full, but we were the only folk there, and he wouldn't let us touch it. The meat is far more limited than the banchan selection with just slices of bacon, some beef shortrib meat, and some prawns. The latter were a bit mealy, the texture of having been deep frozen for way too long. The two red meats, however, were delicious, and we ordered another round. I like that they include tteok-bokki, the Korean rice cakes, though the sauce was a bit bland compared to the usual. And, two different clam and tofu soups, one "spicy" (not), and one not (also not). As best we could tell, they were identical soups other than the addition of a small amount of chili paste which did little more than color the broth. One other big plus in addition to the banchan array - of which we could have made a meal - is a three-tap selection of craft beer. On the other hand, we haven't been to BBQ Town in about two years, so they well may have added craft beer in too - it's all the rage the last couple of years. The all you can eat barbecue comes in at 950 pesos/person, plus beverages, or about $16, so figure on, with drinks and tip, around $20. Not a bad deal at all, and easier to get to for many folk than the ones in Flores or Floresta.

Really nice place. Great selection of fresh veggies to add to the shabu shabu. Plenty do nice meat…read moreand sauces too. Sweet servers and it's a fixed price for all you can eat. Love this place.

Downstairs, lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday, this is the spot to head to for shabu-shabu,…read moreJapanese hotpot. It's Korean owned, and some of the flavors are Korean influenced (mostly in the dipping sauces), and they consider themselves a Korean restaurant, though other than those dipping sauces and some gochugaru chili paste to mix into the broth if you want, there's little, if any, difference from classic Japanese shabu-shabu. Upstairs, at night, Tokyo Bar, which is not, as we surmised, a spot for Japanese and/or Korean folk to hang and drink expensive cocktails before or after their meal, but, according to the woman running the restaurant part, "a lot of young people being crazy and drinking too much, you don't want to go there". I have the feeling that despite sharing a building and an entrance, they're separately owned. But we're here for the one and only menu item, the shabu-shabu. In swift order, a pot of broth is placed on an induction burner and brought to a simmer. Our dipping sauces arrive, and plates of paper thin sliced meat (looks like top round, peceto, to me). But first you have to load up that broth with some flavor from the vegetable selection...you can make as many trips as you want and keep packing in more. And the beef is all-you-can-eat, and they just bring more as you finish off each plate. Plus bowls of really good udon noodles to add to the pot.... And then you get to the dipping - swish in some beef, grab some veggies and noodles, and off to your own bowl, with condiments to your own tastes. While the basic hotpot is 650 pesos per person, about $11 right now (and keep in mind, again, that's with free refills on everything), there's an option for shellfish if you like - at 400 pesos a plate for a mix of calamari, prawns, and mussels. We tried it, but honestly, I'd skip it - the quality of the seafood wasn't as high as the beef and vegetables - it all tasted a little frozen and mealy. Though it does add some nice flavor to the broth, have to admit. After you've eaten your fill of meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles, the tradition is that the waitstaff whisk away your pot of now very reduced broth, back to the kitchen, where rice, an egg, and sesame oil is added, and returned to your table, ready for an intensely flavored rice porridge finale. We asked if they'd be willing to let us film it, and the manager agreed and came over and prepared the porridge at the table for us! We ate it all! We'd go back again, happily. And it really is a steal - leave off the shellfish, and the only costs beyond the 650 peso base price are beverages (100 pesos for a 2 liter bottle of water that we shared) and tip.