Compared to Kong, I think Jong Kak feels brighter and more spacious. The food was pretty good too! The seafood casserole stew was packed with ingredients and super worth it for the price -- I'd give it an 8/10! All the side dishes (assortments) were really delicate and tasty too. We also ordered a tofu soup, and the portions were more than enough for two people (and one of us works out regularly, haha)! The service was friendly too -- overall, a really great experience! read more

Jong Kak - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Super solid Kbbq in Baltimore. The quality of the meat is super good here and the ban Chan they give is also on point. The restaurant itself has a good vibe and charm to it and the service is friendly and quick. Of note this is NOT all you can eat, but honestly the amount of food they give you you'll still be satisfied. The charcoal grill is also unique and something you won't really find elsewhere in the area- it adds a great flavor to all the food. Solid if you have a craving in the Baltimore area. read more

Jong Kak - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Hands down the best best korean food in dare I say the DMV? It's for sure the best BBQ, and I've been to Annadale and Ellicott City. Jong Kak is in the former Koreatown of Baltimore and has such a long history in the city. It serves a lot of MICA kids and stays open quite late and offers karaoke in the evenings. I believe it's only Friday and Saturday. I've been here a handful of times, and the staff is always super friendly, and they bring you yakult as an after dinner service. I came here recently on a random Friday for lunch and the kimchi pancake was so good, the first time I had it, it was lacking but it's always dependent on what kimchi you use. It's very traditional in the side dishes they bring you, and they will bring you lettuce for the bbq. They have a lot of Korean dishes you don't get in a lot of places, and for that I am so grateful. Their takeout is also solid, I've gotten it delivered a handful of times. The area can get a little sketchy, but always worth a visit if you're craving Karaoke (eat to get a discount on the hourly rate), BBQ or just a good Korean meal. read more

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Currently has sign for cease & assist on door when we called said it was due to their rating after inspection

Got the beef hot stone bibimbap. It was okay, met the typical standard for it. Nothing special, came out to around $22. read more

Jong Kak - Bulgogi Bi Bim Bap - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

I noticed it says here Jong Kak is closed. It is TEMPORARILY closed. If you contact them via their phone number, there is a voicemail they are saying they expect to be open sometime around mid October. I pray the idea this is actually and permanently closed does not affect their clientele. It is an excellent and authentic Korean fare! read more

Wasn't too sure about this place at first, but man o man... I enjoyed every part of the dining experience. read more

Jong Kak - Variety of sides - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Love this place! They offer Korean style BBQ or regular dining. The food was amazing! The service was great and it was a quiet Saturday so it was a nice atmosphere. The location can be tricky but totally worth it! read more

Jong Kak - Stone Bulgogi Bi Bim Bap - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Would never have come across this place if it had not been for a word of mouth recommendation. I've been here twice now, once for their regular menu and the last time for the bbq. The bbq is what I would recommend! Meats are marinated well and I really enjoyed the charcoal concept. Staff were fantastic and always around, keeping an eye on things. The kimchi pancake was a total hit! And a great portion. Would definitely get it again. The tteokbokki was a little different to what I'm used to. Their dish had a lot of curry and rice cakes - no scallions and very little fish cakes, which was disappointing. Overall great experience and reasonable prices. Would come back for the BBQ. read more

We came in for lunch on a weekday. They were few customers so we received much attention from the waiter. We ordered the unseasoned beef for the table grill. It came with more than a dozen tasty side dishes. Plus, we had dessert drink and fortune cookies. The large exhaust fan was kept off because there was no sauce on the meat (good to know if you want a more quiet eating experience in the intimate booths). read more

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The food,the service everything was excellent!!! Will definitely be going back. We had a couple mixed meats and all the kimchi was so good.especially the cucumber kimchi read more

Jong Kak - Wall - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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This a unique KBBQ experience in Baltimore! Unlike other kbbq, they use wood! We got the 1/2 combo set of different beefs 8/10 The banchan was more diverse and decent 8/10 The service and ambiance was a 10/10 They also gave us yogurt probiotic drinks at the end You do need to request the doenjang and lettuce leaves if you want them and wish I knew that we had to request them. They do still give the steamed egg(gyeranjjim) with the meal. If I had one wish it would be to have a bigger portion of sauce. Overall, a fun experience with good service! read more

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Korean bbq is one of my favorite foods and this place did not disappoint. All of the side dishes were great, we also got the steamed egg. The staff cook the meat for you. All of it tasted great. The kimchi pancake came with a nice sauce. read more

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We had a blast last night at Jong Kak. We wrote our name down and were told we could go upstairs to the bar to wait. We had strawberry soju and by the time we finished the bottle, a table was ready for us. You get to choose between BBQ or regular seating but we did BBQ. This was our first time being in a place where the grill is not flush against the table and heated from the bottom. They brought the charcoal and put it on the table, then started putting the meat on for us. We did combo 2 and the half portion for 2 people around with their boneless fried chicken. We got the banchan first before the meat and so many of them were right up my alley. The kimchi was very good as were the steamed eggs. We did end up asking for rice towards to end so we could finish up. We greatly appreciated the staff checking in on us and helping cook the meats. We will definitely be back especially for the karaoke that's upstairs and to try different things. We weren't disappointed at all and loved Jong Kak! read more

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I was craving jjajangmyeon which is why I stopped by here in the first place, and then visited a 2nd time w/ friends. seafood jjajangmyeon: 3.75/5 - normally I order plain jjajangmyeon but they didn't have a plain non-pork option so seafood it was kimchi jjigae 3/5 - slightly watery, I would have preferred a thicker more seasoned base read more

Probably one of the best Korean BBQ restaurants in the DMV and one of the few that uses charcoal for the grill. Makes a difference in t)3 flavor of the grilled meats vs. gas grill!!! read more

Went to this spot for Korean bbq a few weeks back with some friends. Two of us shared an order of one of the sets while the other ordered an a la carte entree with sides. The meat was well seasoned and incredible. Our server was extremely attentive and helpful in making suggestions while we placed our order. My only real gripe is that the location was quite chilly and smoky when we went. One of the bbq's caught fire while we were there which likely contributed to this. All in all, I found this spot to be affordable for the amount of food we received. I would go back! read more

Jong Kak - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

We were looking for a quick bite before a movie at the Charles Theater and came across Jong Kak. Man o man, I'm glad we did. This Korean barbecue spot is a gem! The barbecue bulgogi was perfect, just the right amount sweet to make you keep going back to it. I knew I needed the bibimbap when I saw it was in a hot stone pot. You could hear the rice crisping up on the bottom of the stone when they brought it out. That's how you know it's good! Super friendly and fast service too! read more

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My co-workers and I wanted to grab some Korean BBQ for lunch, so we went to check this place out. We decided to order cute combo #1! It was delicious!!! Bulgogi And the spicy chicken and spicy pork were amazing! I didn't know this, but if you run out of any of the Aidee you can order more. I also recommend ordering a side of rice. Overall such a great experience with delicious food! The only thing is that once we were done with our food, it took a while to get our check. read more

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Amaaaaazin kbbq. Good service. Nice restaurant. Fr amazing meat. Came with some friends and got seated right away! There's a little lot for parking. Restaurant was pretty nice and was giving good vibes. Food is AMAZING!!! Really good meat and kbbq. -- Jong Kak Combo 2: there were 4 of us and we got the full portion. It ended up being enough food and because we ordered two other entrees we were stuffed. Quality is wow. Def not like your all you can eat kbbq meats!! -- Stir fry octopus: Amazing!! Def recommend if you like octopus. -- Chilled buckwheat noodle soup: We decided to try this after seeing it so much on other Korean restaurant menus and on shows haha. It wasn't bad. Interesting because I've never tried anything like it before, including the taste and also chilled noodles in general. Also it's cold and has ice or frozen broth! HUGE portion!! Def would be refreshing in the hot summer. A fun try! Overall great experience! They have a good selection of soju there as well. Would def come back in the future. read more

Jong Kak - J11. Stir Fried Octopus - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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We hadn't had Korean food in a long time and heard that Jong Kak was the best in Baltimore. Common consensus is that you can get much better Korean food in Ellicott City but we wanted delivery and no one is delivery from Ellicott City to Baltimore City. So we ordered Jong Kak delivery via Doordash. First, the good. The Beef Bulgagi was delicious. I understand that in the restaurant this would cook in front of you on a tabletop grill but it was well cooked and delicious as takeout too. Unfortunately it is quite expensive, $26 for a normal but not overly large portion. The seafood pancake was very good and a hit with the kids as well, and at $9 it was reasonably priced. It's not spicy and not too greasy. Unfortunately, the meal came with at least 6 or 7 sauces and it was impossible to know which sauce went with which item. I would highly suggest the restaurant label this with a guide as to what goes with what. In fact, this was a problem throughout. It wasn't until after finishing that we realized what looked like a noodle dish was actually the buckwheat noodles, meat and veggies that were supposed to go in the chilled buckwheat soup broth and the more udon-like noodles were meant for the Jjamp Pong. If you look in the attached pictures you'll see that we put the wrong noodles in the wrong broth. Of course this is as much a commentary on our lack of knowledge of Korean food as anything, but it would be nice if the restaurant could label what goes where. The shumai were good, though quite tiny, maybe half the size of most shumai. The fried were better than the boiled, but both were good. The Jap Chae noodles were quite good, like a glass noodle dish in a sweet soy. The fried chicken was good, but VERY bony. Why not make these boneless? The Jjam Pong was okay, but lacked flavor and even lacked much in the way of spice which is strange for something labeled "spicy soup". The shrimp fried rice was good, but the shrimp were so tiny as to be almost invisible. At $15 it wasn't all that expensive, but come on, if you're going to advertise something as having shrimp in it those shrimp should be visible without a microscope. The chilled buckwheat soup had a nice flavor, and if we had known what went inside it it probably would have been a bigger hit. The noodles that went in the soups were basically welded into a brick mass and impossible to separate, even once in the soup. In the end it was fun to try some new food but on the whole a somewhat disappointing experience. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that takeout is probably not the best way to do this type of food. I'm sure in the restaurant the noodles would have been in the soup and not welded together, and we could have asked what went with what in terms of sauces. I wouldn't order takeout again but I might try going and eating inside one day. read more

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They stay open late on the weekends and have good food. I haven't been here in over 2 years. But I did frequent it and it's always good ressonbly priced late night food. The soups are always spot on. read more

Food was delicious (highly recommend bbq combo 1) would definitely come back again! Very friendly staff with great customer service!

An anchor to Baltimore's "tiny Korea". Very real Korean choices and BBQ too. I love the stews, soups, noodles and bibimbap. Lots of sides, pancakes (try the seafood one) and Korean drinks. A fav is kimchi soups with meats or seafood, a warm spicy bowl on a cold day is wonderful. A lil on the divey feel to the place but that gives it character imo. read more

Food was amazing and staff was friendly. Authentic charcoal Korean bbq. I think they have karaoke too

Excellent visit to Jong Kak this past Saturday. The restaurant was fairly empty and we were seated quickly. We ordered a BBQ meal, big boy size, and it came with kalbi, spicy pork, spicy chicken, and bulgogi, I think. I also ordered a large sake. Before we knew it, the staff had set up a grill for us in the center of the table, and brought out all the sides and soups. Plus my sake, YUM! Shortly thereafter our waiter began piling meat on the grill, stopping by ever so often to flip the meat, and telling us when it was ready to consume. When there was no meat ready to eat, I was feasting on the sides and killing the soybean paste soup (so good)! I ate more than I should have, but the food was excellent per the norm, the sake too. Until I return, Jong Kak! read more

Jong Kak - BBQ meat - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Jong kak is the best Korean food in the Baltimore area, hands down. Everything that I've eaten here from BBQ, to bibimbop, to fried chicken has been delicious and the servers are super nice. Yeah, the outside might seem a little sketchy, and the inside is nothing special but you come here for the food and karaoke upstairs. Private rooms are $45-55 per hour but you get $20 if you eat there. Overall, a great night out! read more

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I've been here a few times now and always leave feeling happy and full :) I love how their bbq is a charcoal bbq, I think it really adds to the flavor of the meat, although just note that your clothes will smell of charcoal for a while after you leave. The servers cook the meat for you which I appreciate because I never know how long to cook the different meats for and they always do it to perfection. My go-to is the combo #2 with Kalbi, joomoolluk, bulgogi, and brisket. Besides the bbq, I've been very happy with the other dishes I've tried here. Most recently I tried the seafood pancake which was absolutely amazing! The cold noodles are also really good, and I've also enjoyed the seafood jjam pong (note: I love spicy food but beware if you are sensitive to spice because when they say something is spicy, it's pretty dang spicy). The only thing I didn't really like were their shu mai and other dumpling appetizers, I'll probably stick to dim sum when I want dumplings. And to finish they give you a Yakult with your check, and what better way to finish your meal? And finally, if you have some time before your table is ready, be sure to head upstairs for karaoke!! read more

Jong Kak - a variety of meats being cooked on a grill - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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I really wanted to like this place. Friends from Pa came down and were in Baltimore so we met them there. It has been decades since we have been at this restaurant. And it really has potential, just need some things to improve upon. The service was decent but they could have been a little bit more attentive in terms of water. This place is known for its wood fire brick grill at the table so this is a bit different than the usual gas grill tables. There are so many different Korean bbq's around and the meats are mostly similar. They don't marinate the meats too much, if at all. The flavor is added with the variety of sauces at the table. And this is where they need to up their game. The amount of sauces that came out were really small so need to keep asking. Also the banchan portions were quite small and somewhat bland. There were no seasoned thinly sliced scallions, not any sliced garlic and peppers. For 4 people, we received about 4 lettuce leaves so we had to keep asking for more. Indeed, it is these accoutrements that differentiate a good bbq from the others. I mean I can cook these at home much cheaper and have a lot more of what we enjoy. But once in awhile, it is the ambiance and camaraderie with friends over some soju that you want to enjoy without all the cooking and the cleaning. So I hope this reaches the owner and he/she takes it positively as a suggestion on improving what they have. read more

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I stopped by her for lunch with work friends. It's located in bit shady area of Baltimore but had decent reviews so decided to give it a try. When we walked in, the place looked like typical traditional Korean restaurant. Their menu is all in English so took me some time to locate the dish I wanted. The server came by and took our drink order and came by later again to take our food order. I ordered cold buckwheat noodles and my friends ordered tofu clay pot mixed rice and pork potato soup. Once we ordered, they brought out 8 side dishes. They were all decent. My noodles were ok too but wish the noodles were little chewier. My friend enjoyed her tofu clay pot mixed rice dish. My other friend said her pork soup was good but didn't taste the way it was supposed to. It tasted more like kimchi soup. It was missing the perilla leaves that most pork potato soup usually have in most Korean restaurants. I would still come here for Korean food if I'm in the area and try other dishes. read more

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One star is for the charcoal grill. The rest: four us did bbq and a dish. Egg that came with was undercooked and submerged in water. The dwenjang jiggae was just brown water with 1 piece of tiny tofu. No vegetables unless you asked, which were like 5 pieces of lettuce each time we got tired of asking for refills. Side dishes were all empty yet no refills. Transition time between different meats on the grill took a while. Quality of food was just average. Building very old and rusty and bathroom area is dirty. If you want an authentic, decent kbbq experience then please do yourself a favor and drive to Ellicott city. This place is more for young college students who have no expectations with a Korean restaurant. read more

The employees were very helpful and the Bandhan was delicious. We got a 2-person meal for the grill and one person ordered bulgogi bibimbap. The food was great. The marinated meats were super soft and the pork belly was really tasty! I would highly recommend trying this place out. Lots of locals eating there, which was encouraging. read more

Jong Kak - Dinner! - Korean Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

What a fun experience! Food is great and the staff is friendly and helpful. And who doesn't love karaoke read more

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An excellent Korean restaurant with atmosphere and ambiance of what one would find in Busan (as I did while in Korea on Navy deployment.) It has both regular seating and BBQ at your table seating. We sat in regular seating today for lunch, but just so you know, the exhaust system for each BBQ table seemed more than adequate and worked well for the one that was in use while we were here at Jong Kak. An extensive menu of traditional Korean dishes awaits the diner. We were able to select from dishes with beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and those that would be great for vegan and vegetarian diners as well. Our waiter was happy to answer questions about any of the particular items on the menu. Today, our party had three wonderful dishes (well, actually hot pots) of skillfully prepared Korean food. To begin the waiter brought a table full of small dishes containing an assortment of cold vegetables and egg in a variety of sauces to accompany just about anything on the menu. The Bulgogi (beef) Bim Bap comes in a blazing hot stone pot with rice topped with vegetables, beef bulgogi, a fried egg, and if you want, red pepper paste. The effect of the stone pot on the rice can't be matched at home! It becomes a crisp and crunchy accompaniment to the toppings with great flavor. The dish was perfectly seasoned and small bits of the cold dishes added nuances to every bite. The Kim Chi Jji Gar (Kim chi soup Kim-chee-gee-gay) was terrific! It contains thin sliced pork, tofu, and kimchi in a spicy soup. The spice lover amongst us really enjoyed this dish! And served in a hot pot it came to the table still bibbling around the edges. It had the real traditional red pepper paste, garlic, and cabbage combination that makes kimchi such a popular dish. The vegetarian Tofu Bi Bim Bap was also served in the hot stone pot and was a great lunch selection for the vegetarian in the group. It had the same wonderful crispness to the rice offered by the pot and the flavors were delectable. Our party of three dined for under $45. The restaurant was not too busy for dining in and had several to go orders ready for pickup at the front table. All restaurant staff wore facemasks and tables were cleaned and cleared after each party. Complimentary hand sanitizer was available at the cash register. When we were there, W 20th Street was closed in that block but parking was still available nearby. This restaurant is definitely worth seeking out if you are looking for great Korean food while in Baltimore. We would definitely return to enjoy this fine cuisine again. read more

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Got the combo 2. Meat and marinade was fantastic!! Service was quick and attentive. Highly highly recommend.

Very hurried experience. Rapid fire what do we want, meat wise. Servers rushing around. Then when cooking, the grill started to smoke due to the bulgogi marinade. Attention ensued, it was best for everyone if we stopped the cooking and set it aside. New grate, spicy pork was better, less smoke but still get it done before they appear at the table with a concerned look. The air vent just couldn't keep up. Stressful to cook your own meal quickly to avoid discomfort of others. Yes the pork was good. The condiments were good. You need to ask for lettuce and rice. Otherwise the flavor was great, just too much stress to complete the cooking before the meat was nice and charred because you are smoking the place up. We didn't take a single picture because of the urgency. Avoid the combos, just select two of what you'd like to try a la carte. read more

Love the food. Chicken hot pot is amazing. Get the Bulgogi and not be disappointed

before i start my actual review... COME HERE! this is my ABSOLUTELY new favorite korean restaurant. i'm korean and i've grown up eating korean food since a baby, and let me tell u the food here is SOOO good. my family and i literally drive an hour away just to eat their jjam pong now it started w a random visit after getting vaccinated our family was looking for some korean food in baltimore and then i found this gem on yelp! initial thoughts- rlly great ambience and decor , loved the light kpop playing in the background the restaurant is opened for in-person!! the waitresses and hosts are so sweet and kind jjam pong 5/5 i will SWEAR by the jjam pong here it is literally so good. the serving size is HUGE. my dad and i shared one whole bowl and were so full after. the spicy seafood broth is so tasty and the veggies are cooked perfectly to eat. the seafood has the perfect portion and the noodles are the perfect size and texture it's just **chef's kiss** even going to korea for authentic jjam pong, hands down this is the BEST jjam pong i've ever eaten my entire life. my dad agrees (he's lived in korea for more than like 20 urs)!! pork tang soo yuk 4/5 wowowow super tasty and crispy and there was the option to pour the sweet and sour sauce separately so good! other korean restaurants tend to have their tang soo yuk turn soggy and not great to eat. but it stayed the same in my opinion and tasted great!! for those who never had, it's basically like breaded chicken or pork that usually has a sweet and tangy sauce poured on top! this is a recommendation for the owners, but one time the meat was over fried so then it turned crispy like the exterior and it just wasn't the very best, so just be careful!! i wld give it a 5/5 if it wasn't for that one time!!! pork fried rice 5/5 yumm it was so hot and warm. it was like a warm umami bowl of home and just everything good. just dancing in my mouth. couldnt finish all the food so enjoyed it home!! it stayed warm and tasty even hours later absolutely LOVE this place. it's a must. read more

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Portion sizes are good considering the prices. The bibimbap had the perfect rice crust at the bottom (if you know you know) and the kalbi tang is a must-try; the bone broth is SO savory and perfect for a chilly, rainy day. I wasn't a huge fan of the banchan here and they served less than usual (literally 3 leaves of kimchi). The makkeolli was sweet and refreshing and enough to share. read more

The meat marinades are always perfect, and the service is quick. For one or two people, it can be expensive, but if you go with a group and split the cost of the food, it's reasonable. The fact that the servers constantly check in to see how you're doing and to change the grill for you is another thing I like. They also generously refresh the side dishes, which is something that some other restaurants don't do. It features a cheerful, upbeat, and enjoyable vibe. When you arrive, the hosts instantly say hello. read more