Oh yelp. I should have listened to you and not to Pete Wells. Fine. Meh. Ho-hum. Is that really what you want to say about the new, hotly anticipated Korean bbq in your neighborhood? Just a sad disappointment, mainly due to an utter lack of reality in portions for price. I'm fine with spending $30 for galbi, provided that it ends up being a heaping pile of glistening, chewy, sweet lusciousness. Remember steak-ums? That's what we got: 5 pieces of paper thin mystery meat tended by otherwise excellent waitstaff that burnt to a dry jerky like crisp by the time it was pulled from the grill. Too thin and barely enough for us each to have more than a tiny bite. The non-grilled pork belly dish was far more generous, EXCEPT for the sauce. This was a theme of the night...the grill squid and octopus seafood dish was served with about a tablespoon of sauce to split amongst 4 people. Why? Why not give enough to go around? If the protein is meant to serve a group where at least 2 of the 4 folks are fasting, why not at least give us enough sauce to make our minuscule bite exciting? In essence, it was just a piece of grilled squid, which again, given the quantity, we felt cheated having ordered. The banchan was much glorified in a few reviews and well, again, soooo disappointing. Nothing unique, but also nothing that felt particularly palate-pleasing or enlivening. I want my banchan to be a cozy welcome to a meal that promises nuanced, interesting flavors and dazzling piles of protein inviting you to dig in. This was not our experience at Insa. Sigh. Guess we'll need to continue to schelp to Koreatown or Flushing to get our K-BBQ fix. read more

Delicious Korean BBQ! They don't take reservations for parties less than 6, so I waited about an hour on a Friday night - very well worth it. I ordered the kkot deungshim (28 day dry aged ribeye) and bolsal (pork jowl). If you like buttery, fatty cuts, I highly recommend the bolsal. The items from the BBQ menu come with the traditional side dishes like kimchi and daikon, to name a few. They actually give you brown rice, instead of white, which I don't normally have with my KBBQ, but it complemented the meat very well. The meat was so juicy and flavorful with the perfect amount of that good grilled taste. I also appreciate the staff cooking the meat for us because sometimes I'm just too lazy to cook my own KBBQ. I'll definitely be coming back! read more

Insa - Korean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Popped in by accident and it was the best accidental fine ever ! Owners and staff were beyond friendly and accommodating, the food was spectacular. I can't wait to be able to utilize the karaoke rooms in the future. I'll surly be back! read more

Yelp so kindly erased my review of Insa 3 years ago, so I will keep my rewrite brief. Insa is a welcome oasis in the the giant Korean desert that South Brooklyn is. Sure more options have creeped up over the years but short of a cab ride to KTown you are not going to find more authentic and just plain satisfying Korean food than Insa. And there is certainly no other places in miles where you will find a dedicated banchan chef (these are the small insanely delicious little samples of food they give you when you sit down). Again since I already used up part of my life writing this review, I will cut to chase. Skip the traditional BBQ here (go to a place with real charcoal instead) and go straight to the Budae Jjigae (army base spam stew). It is truly one the best dishes I have had anywhere. Just the perfect combo of spicy heartiness that warms yours soul. For some idiotic reason they don't show on menu anymore but if you ask nicely they will make. While I realize Bibimbop is the pad Thai of Korean food they do a phenomenal job of it here. The cocktails and beer selection is always just right here and the service impeccable. Tip is included which makes group outings so much easier. read more

I mean you can reasonably expect to either get quantity or quality when going out to eat. This spot did not hit either one of those

Good food - EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT PAYMENT Came to Insa recently with a party of six. We were seated a little after our reservation time and waited at the nice bar area for a bit. When we were ushered to the table I asked the bartender if he'd like me to close out and he told me they'd just move the drink to our table bill. I wanted to be sure he'd get the tip, but ok. All the food we ordered was good - sweet potato noodles, fried chicken, bibimbop (bulgogi and tofu), with the exception of the "veggie fritters" which were an oily mess. Our server was pleasant but she definitely oversold how much food we needed when we asked how many dishes to order. It took a while to get the check, but the restaurant was busy and we understood why the server was overwhelmed. After several attempts, we told another server we had a reservation for karoake and didn't want to lose the room, and we then got the dinner bill. As we were sorting out who owed what (two designated drivers in the group so we didn't want them to overpay), we were told to move to the private room and pay there. Not once or twice, but three times the server asked if we were ready to pay and I explained we were trying not to make our non-drinking friends overpay. I don't know if she thought six grown women were about to run out on a check (and a room we had for 2 hrs), but she then sent in a male employee who turned off the music, turned on the lights and gave us a new bill with automatic gratuity on it. We were all very embarrassed by this, but wanted to get some singing on, so we took the new bill and sorted it out. That incident really put a damper on things. There's a button in the karaoke room you're told to push if you want to order anything. In two hours we were able to get a server to come by twice. At least one of those times someone had to go out and flag someone down because no one responded to the call button. This was not a bunch of drunken college kids getting wild and wanting drinks every five minutes - but two rounds of drinks in 2 hrs? When they brought the bill for drinks we tried to split it two ways (didn't want to repeat the earlier incident and get a nasty attitude again) and we were told they couldn't run any credit cards already run that night. That seemed more than fishy so I just charged it all to my own card. In the end I wouldn't recommend Insa to anyone unless the service and payment issues are resolved. Our group was respectful and responsive to everyone there and we were made to feel like we were trying to sneak out somehow. read more

To be perfectly honest, you could probably find better Korean food and karaoke in k-town for cheaper, however, Insa was very accommodating. I came here for my friend's birthday dinner on a Wednesday night and the place was pretty much empty. They did not take reservations because it was only a group of six people. Some of our group was late so they sat us in the bar. The waiter was very attentive in answering all of our questions. Per his recommendation we ordered six items: fried rice cakes, seafood pancake,bibimbap,fried dumplings, chicken wings, and bulgolgi. Our whole group agreed the food was just okay and wasn't hitting. Maybe their barbecue is better? I did like that the rice cakes were kind of crispy unlike other Korean places. Also, I found it weird that didn't give any rice to eat with the side dishes which I thought was normal for Korean places. Their karaoke usually closes earlier but they still let us use it so that was great! read more

I hadn't been here since it first opened up and I am glad I gave this place another try after so long. I came in on Saturday a little after Insa opened for the day. We were able to be easily seated. We ordered the tteobbokki, Insa fried chicken (half), and kimchi jigae. The tteobbokki was pretty decent, but not amazing. The kimchi jigae was also good, but it lacked that spicy omphff at the end of each bite. The standout was the Insa fried chicken. The chicken was really crispy and the sauce was delicious. Definite a must order item. Overall, I am pleased I came here. The prices are a little bit higher than other places, but I will definitely come again to try the other items! read more

Recently visited Insa for an group dinner with about 12 people. Was able to make a somewhat last minute reservation for an early dinner slot. The food was good but overall I would say a bit too pricey. We ordered a ton of appetizers and plates and got 4 different orders of the bbq (beef short rib, ribeye, squid/octopus etc. some of the standouts were the seafood pancake, sweet potato japchae and the dumplings. The meat was good but not mind blowing The service was generally okay but one of our waitresses was a bit rude and short with us :( this was pretty unfortunately given we were celebrating a birthday and her attitude was rude and made people feel uncomfortable. I get that big groups are tricky, but you should be prepared to offer great service to all party sizes read more

Service was excellent! We went to lunch at 1 PM on a Sunday. Ordered kimchi jigae, soondobu, seafood pancake, and bibimbap. My sister and I felt the kimchi jigae was a bit too salty. But I like how the kimchi was shredded. They give a lot for the bibimbap. This location was an old warehouse but renovated to look modern and ambience felt very comfortable. The windows on the roof (skylights) were perfectly placed. Atmosphere was beautiful. The place being a warehouse makes it very spacious, great for parties. It has a lounge/bar section in a different part of the restaurant. And it has private karaoke rooms in the back. Overall I wouldn't come back for the food but would definitely come for happy hour, or to host a party. read more

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This review is strictly for the karaoke and bar area. Originally my friends and I came here 8pm for karaoke. But they were booked until 11:30pm. We thought about going somewhere else but the only other karaoke place we can think of in Brooklyn was in sunset area. Luckily, 20 minutes later, we were told that there was a cancellation for 9:30pm. So my friends and I sat down at the bar for appetizers and drinks. The drinks and food were reasonable priced. An hour later, we were escorted to one of the karaoke rooms. They have 5 rooms towards the back of the restaurant. What I love about this place is the price. I'm so used to doing karaoke in Ktown, the price for this place was fresh of breath air. For 10 people, it was a flat rate of $60 per hour. We stayed two hours which was $15 after tip and tax for each person. There was a button in the room that you press whenever you need a servant. They only had English songs but the music was up-to-date. All the servants were friendly and attentive. read more

Insa - Korean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This is my favorite karaoke spot in NYC now that Pulse is closing. It's only $60 for 2 hours in a private room, so if you have a big group it's really cheap, and there's no minimum order for drinks. The song selection is decent, the controls are intuitive, and the bathrooms are clean, numerous, and easy to find. There's an adjoining restaurant that I must admit I've never actually eaten at, although my Korean housemate tells me the Korean BBQ there is solid. Also, there's a comfortable bar with nice cocktails where you can wait if you're not ready to get a room yet. The service has always been great here and they have good prices and good product. I'm actually rather surprised the place isn't more crowded. Perhaps I've just never been there at peak traffic. read more

Wasn't bad but I thought it was over priced. The meats were relatively small portioned and staff seemed unfamiliar with the process of the KBBQ (its cool though, I think they were new). Highlight was definitely the dry age beef, that was excellent. I also tried the blood sausage and panchetta which were both okay, but for the price I was hoping for either more in flavor or more in quantity. They have a full kitchen, so maybe next time it'd be best to stick to the prepared food vs. the kbbq. read more

This was my first Korean BBQ experience...and I really enjoyed it! The cafeteria style wooden benches and dim lighting were very modern and cute. Our server was very sweet and she made some recommendations since it was our first time eating Korean BBQ. Overall, it was a little bit pricey but I knew that before going in so it wasn't an issue. We got here at 6pm on a Tuesday and it was completely empty. By 7pm, the after work crowd had arrived and the place was packed. If we had come at 7pm, we definitely would have had to wait, so you may want to make a reservation if you're planning to come after 7pm. Also- There are karaoke rooms in the back and it was pretty lively for a Tuesday night. The karaoke prices are so reasonable that I want to come back just for that... everyone looked like they were having a great time. read more

I've had the pleasure of hanging out at Insa twice now. The first time was for a company party in which all of the food and karaoke was paid for. My second visit was with a group of friends and all I could remember was "wow $$$". This place can get to be kind of expensive but in the end both of my experiences were unforgettable. The important highlights for me are the fried chicken is amazing! So good that I plan on just sitting at the bar soon and ordered fried chicken. The drinks were strong! I can't give the specifics of the drinks I ordered but I did have an epic hangover the next day. The place was super crowded on a Friday evening but that made for a very fun vibe. The karaoke is fun! You get a private room. There are small rooms for smaller groups and a larger room that can fit a larger group of people. On both of my visits I've never had a problem with the service. The server have been knowledgeable, youthful, and kind. Overall, I'll definitely be back would recommend it to others. read more

The food is overpriced for what you actually get and the service sucks. They add a 20% "admin fee" to the bill which is fine, I usually always tip 20% anyway but this did not deserve that much. The karaoke rooms looked fun but I wouldn't be hurrying back read more

Wow, capitalism sings a sad song. Booked a reservation for 12 people for a holiday party for 12/11/19 (confirmed on 11/14/19), we had some of our team from California flying out just for the party. They called me on the night of 11/25/19 at 9:15PM probably hoping I wouldn't answer, to tell me they had someone who wanted to do a buyout of the entire restaurant so they had to cancel our reservation. As a fellow business owner, I can't imagine a worse example of customer service. The worst part is that I found out from a friend that it was their company that did the buy-out and I know that they requested to do the buy-out the day that they canceled my reservation. Meaning a better opportunity came along and the restaurant decided it was a better fiscal decision to screw over all the other reservation holders so they could make a couple of extra bucks. #sad read more

I've never been to a bar where they shame you for drinking. I pay my tab and always tip but still consistently get an attitude for drinking. Not sure what they strive for - a group that drinks seltzer? yes the drinks are great and there aren't many karaoke options in Brooklyn but the shaming has to end. if you don't want people drinking become a music library. I'd love to come and just listen to your tunes while I sip seltzer. read more

One of the top 5 or so restaurants in Brooklyn, and the best Korean. Delivery or in house are both phenomenal. Best dishes are the rice cakes, the udon noodles with the gochujang and squid, the fried chicken, and anything off the bbq. When we get delivery, i always get an extra 1/2 pint of their gochujang to cook with. At $5, it is a ridiculous value, better than anything you can get at most grocery stores for a lower price. read more

Very cool decor, like a Korean sauna. Service staff were attentive and friendly. Food was absolutely delicious - the best seafood scallion pancakes I've ever had. The grilled marinated short rib was also very good. Fun for groups of friends, with very long tables. read more

Been here twice so far. Definitely not "traditional" Korean bbq, but I do like the little twists. The service is great, food is decent and overall a great atmosphere. Very open space. read more

We came with a party of four last Tuesday and it was absolutely delicious: I had a very refreshing cocktail to start, I believe it's called Eastern Lights. The bulgogi and brisket were delicious, as was the jap chae and tartare, and we got a vegetable side of yu choy, which is like if bok choy and broccoli rabe mated. If you like greens, this is a must-get. The ban chan was great as well. I've read a lot of complaints on here about the price and service. It is not cheap, true, but the pricing is on their website and their menu, there's no hidden surprise. If it's more than you wish to spend, cool, there are many places in K-town that will work for you. As for our experience service-wise, our server was very pleasant and attentive, and the gentleman running the food is exceptionally sweet. I have a serious allergy to certain types of shellfish and he was so helpful in pointing out what I needed to avoid and in taking care of us in general. We will definitely be back. read more

I have a question: does this restaurant always add 20% tip to your bill? I mean, I always tip more than 20% so it's not a problem for me but just curious if I'm the only one got this *special* treatment or not (we were a party of three.) Review: food is good. Not too special for the price. read more

First of all they took a long time to bring the meat to the table. Second of all i think it would've been nice if the waitress would've told me that the fried rice was spicy. What if I was allergic to spices ? I been other Japanese restaurants so I have an idea of how the food is. read more

Not particularly great Korean food,some things are okay and some just not acceptable (wilted browned lettuce for Ssam, jesus). but the kicker is the really awful service. The waitress was indifferent at best, but mainly non existent or completely dismissive (one entree we had to ask about twice before it came after most of us were finished). In any case, mediocre, expensive Korean with crappy service doesn't lend itself to recommend. Had I seen the mixed low reviews before would definitely have skipped it, poor reviews fully confirmed. Skip it. read more

As someone who doesn't write Yelp reviews very often, I had to come on here to recommend against coming here if you wanted a Korean BBQ fix. However, I can say that my server was wonderful. He would check up on our table even though he had other tables to take care of and when he was busy he made sure someone else was grilling our meat for us. That being said, my experience with the food here was subpar. As someone who LOVES Korean food and Korean bbq ,everything here was pretty much a complete disappointment. The seafood pancake we had barely had any seafood in it, it was pretty much just batter and scallions and rather burnt as well. The pork belly was not the usual thick cuts I'm used to at places like Jongro, Kang Ho Dong, etc. and looked pretty much like what your average piece of bacon would look like. To make it worse the 3 pathetic slices we were given cost $29! Absolutely absurd. The beef brisket was nothing special and the quality of it barely seemed better then any AYCE bbq place. The kalbi was the star of the dinner because the marinade made it taste a lot better then the other meats we had, but again would be lackluster compared to any of my regular korean bbq joints. Overall, I will not be returning. High prices for a quantity and quality of meat that does not match the cost, there are better options elsewhere. read more

Must admit I'm Korean bbq addict lol , love the decor and that they cook it for you :) . The meat selection wasn't very long but was limited to only yummy selection read more

Singing, drinking, eating! Had a wonderful karaoke night. Service was amazing, food came out promptly. Food was very tasty. Will come back.

This was chosen by me and group of work friends for a down town after work one night to blow off steam of the stressful day. It was a fun easygoing night had by all. The staff was courteous, the service was above par and excellent. The Karaoke rooms were not messy, the staff works hard to keep them really clean and sanitary and it shows  - it was clean and it was a just really great place that we could hang out for a little while and laugh.   The food was delicious - I would definitely recommend the Banchan, Fried Chicken and the Marinated short ribs. Yes, this can get pricey because you are having a good time and you are enjoying happy hour so I am not going to lie - it is going to be a night out to spend out, but for a great night out for with great people every so often. It is a fantastic escape from work stress place that I highly recommend will definitely be back again keep my karaoke room ready read more

The Insa Fried Chicken is insane!!! My boyfriend and I love this place. Great atmosphere inside. Very accommodating amid COVID. Quick preparation and same quality food. read more

This is so awful I'm not even waiting to leave Insa to write this. Have you ever watched a snail cross the street? Service is even slower. They'll rush you though, so hurry up and cook that meat they haven't brought you yet. We had to cancel part of order because "we need the table." 13 minutes. That's how long it takes to receive a scotch neat. You know, a drink that is a quick pour of one thing in a glass. Someone else at my table waited longer. My table isn't half a mile from the bar. Booked a karaoke room. Getting alcohol was a 45 minute wait. We ordered bottles and a pitcher. Over an hour later, pitcher still isn't here. Btw: kbbq is a communal dining experience but they only take 4 cards per table and aren't totally sure where the nearest atm is. Make sure y'all have venmo I guess? Where is my negative star option? read more

The food was ok, if a little overpriced. When you get the bill, you find theres an "administrative fee" that they say is 20 percent but is really 22 percent because ( even though they print the receipt as if the fee is not taxed, it is) Thats nonsense.if you want a no tipping restaurant, include it in the prices. They also wont take more than 4 credit cards... for no specific reason. All of this is completely unacceptable. I dont know who came up with this but ill never spend another dime here. read more

What Park Slope/Gowanus needed was good Korean barbeque. Add on karaoke and I am sure people are lining up around the block to try this place out. I have to admit: I am a sucker for Korean barbeque and soju. Typically, we would have to go to K-town in Manhattan or Queens to get some good Korean food. I had high hopes that Insa would be the calling for Brooklyn. Although Insa did satisfy the need for Korean barbeque, it did not satiate my cravings. Insa had the fundamental Korean dishes that we wanted - japchae, bimbimbop, mandoo dumplings, spicy rice cakes, various meats/seafood to grill on. The food was good but I would say some of these dishes have a modern take on the traditional Korean foods (e.g., Rice cakes had a drizzle of hot sauce and was crunchy). As Insa is still new, several kinks that they could work on: (1) Wait time - For a party of 6, we were told that it would take 1.5 - 2 hours. After 2.25 hours and not hearing from the restaurant, we went back to check on our status. After waiting a bit more, they were finally able to get us a table. (2) Air ventilation - The restaurant was smoky mostly due to poor air ventilation as there are no air vents above the grills. (3) Service - We did not know who our server was. There were several servers that delivered food or helped out at our table. This resulted in lack of accountability as we would ask servers for extra lettuce, hot sauce, or another drink and nothing would be delivered. We didn't check out the karaoke because they were booked out for the night. For future reference, book the room well in advance. read more

Good ambience with poor taste. I was really excited because it was really hard to find a Korean restaurant in Brooklyn. The interior was okay, they tried to give us a hint of Korean design with Brooklynish ambience. However, the overall quality of food was not satisfying. Frankly speaking, I may cook better Korean dishes than they do. Their balance within dishes was not that of Korean and the meat had no flavor. Furthermore, they preclude 20% tips to your bill after tax. To make it clear, you are going to pay more than 20% from your pretax bill as a mission. Service was okay but well, I was not sure if their service was that decent. read more

Restaurant temperature: 1 star Portion size of $43 "Beosut modem" mushroom plate: 1 star Ambiance of bar: 5 stars Ambiance of restaurant: 4 stars Crispiness of bibimbap: 1 star Japchae: 4 stars Mixed drinks: 4 stars Draft list: 5 stars Percent less likely you will be to pay $60 to do karaoke after you have to walk past the private rooms on the way to the restroom and hear that multi-generational Scandinavian table painfully trying to do Sinead: 90 Number of times you were waiting to use the restroom and two people simultaneously exited and you couldn't figure out if they were in the bathroom for sex or for drugs or for a good middle-of-the-winter heart-to-heart: 1 read more

Delicious food. Good service. The Karaoke room is nice and the sound system is great.

They don't get 1 star from me either but this is the minimum yelp gives any business so... First and foremost, this is a wanna be kbbq place to put it mildly. This is a half hearted attempt at korean cuisine. This is not a homemade style with the taste of korean mom's or grandmom's touch. I can't believe they are portraying themselves ever so proudly as a korean restaurant across social media platforms. This is like a get money quick and run scheme riding on kpop bandwagon because it is a popular trend among young and hip crowds. I'm ashamed to have known this restaurant and even suggest it to my friends to try this place since we all live in Brooklyn and sometimes don't feel like trekking to ktown in the city or to flushing for fine authentic and solid korean food. Their food sucks period. Idont care if covid19 puts a damper on business bottomeline but this sh*t is a borderline false advertising and wasteful of your money. Definitely one of the top worst restaurants i have ever been to in my life. It is a popular concept but poorly executed and good service doesn't make up for bad food. Please hire a proper korean cook/s to deserve my hard earned money. read more

Great atmosphere and staff! Wait was a bit longer than expected but the hostess provided us free drinks for the inconvenience which was really nice. One thing to note, there's an automatic 20% gratuity added regardless of the size of your party. The food was good as well nothing extremely memorable but a good experience nonetheless. We weren't particular fans of the drinks but they have a decent cocktail selection. read more

Very disappointed! We had a birthday party here and the service was poor. We had to ask several times for refills of beer and flagged down the waiter every time. For a 20% tip you would think the service would be better. I usually tip that much when I don't have to get the waiters attention every time I need something. If the food was amazing, I could forgive the service. There were tiny portions of side dishes, two cups of rice for 8 people. It was about $90 for two people and we left hungry. The short ribs were tough and chewy. Shrimp was standard. Never coming here again! read more

Definitely not worth the prices. The taste isn't up to par either. You're paying for the atmosphere and the convenience of not having to drive to ktown. The dumpings were bland. The steak tartar was one note only. Sesame oil! And the meats were under seasoned. I won't be going back here. Don't forget small portions. read more

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