1 star for the banchan. Ordered altang, it was watery, and the roe was overcooked, too grainy. The broth was so little. Banchan was good

The atmosphere was really nice and chic. We were seated right away and without a wait, but to the food! It was very fresh and of good quality. The flavors were bold, sweet, and savory. There was a sampling of greens, condiments, and meats to choose from. My friend ordered, so I'm not sure the name of the entree we had, but it had Korean short ribs, chicken, and beef. The price wasn't bad either for the fact it was split between 4 people. In addition, the food seemed really light and healthy. It wasn't heavy at all. Lastly, my friends and I spent almost 3 hours there, and none of the waiters seemed in a rush to kick us out, and kept the water refills coming. Overall, great experience and would definitely recommend! read more

Plz stay away. I'll give zero star if I have to. Terrible service mediocre foods but very pricey. We were told to wait outside on a raining day. We were told "you guys can't wait here. You guys are blocking the entrance. I know it's raining outside but you guys have umbrella. You NEED to wait outside." Well we have one umbrella for five of us. Servers came to help with grilling but they dump whole plate of meat on our grill like garbage while the grill is not even hot so that they could take empty plates away. With bad service like this we plan to tip less but 18% tip was automatically added to our bill. By reading reviews now I learned they tend to add mandatory tips like this to customers who "don't tip well" - but this is our first visit. They prob have a stereotype that Chinese customers don't tip well. I feel unwelcomed, rushed. And I had diarrhea a few hours later. What a waste of money :) read more

Nothing special here, we've been twice and it's not bad if you are looking for Korean and don't have other options. Just don't get the pork shoulder for barbecue it's too plain. The bulgogi was good. It's pretty crowded and parking is awful so that factors in as well. If this restaurant were in Needham or Wellesley I'd give it 4 stars, but dealing with getting into Cambridge and parking in Cambridge 4 stars in Cambridge is the max. read more

Worst service I've ever encountered. It's raining outside and the server told us to wait outside. Do not come to this restaurant. The food is also just below average. read more

Terrible quality, mediocre atmosphere, and shameful pricing for what they have - or do not have - to offer. Service varies from staff to staff, but is generally bad with exceptions. read more

This place would of gotten a higher score but the nang myun was not up to traditional korean style!!! If I had the BBQ I think I would of scored better in stars! It's a great place, friendly staff but when I go to dine at a Korean restaurant, I expect the best (since Korean is in my blood)... The seafood pancakes were very very delicious, If you like Korean BBQ style then this place definitely is a place to go. read more

Koreana - Seafood pancakes. Delicious - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Another fantastic gem in Central Square... eight blocks down Prospect Street. I've been going there since 1998. = ). Very, very good traditional Korean food. You'll find nothing closer or more genuine. They've remodeled it years ago too... it's quite upscale and posh... back in the day it was more utilitarian. Always filled with Asian folk... Friday nights karyoke. Must tries: Scallion pancake Miso soup Bi Bim Bop - hot or cold you cannot go wrong! Well worth the trek! Five sold stars. read more

Great food, strange service. The workers were a little passive, maybe because it was busy and a Friday night. The prices were affordable and the food was yummy for the most part. I don't recommend the chicken because I wasn't convinced it was cooked even though the waitress insisted it was. The bulgogi was delicious though. read more

we gave the waitress 15% tips and she rolled up her eyes and pointed at us with another waitress. I came to ask her what's wrong with 15% tips. she rolled up her eyes again and said 'whatever' to me and left. Don't come to this place if you want to be treated as shit. If you accidentally came to this place and please avoid the waitress with blonde hair. read more

I've been to this place in 2017 when traveling for biz with my boss. Back then things were okay. The food was good and I remember the service was good too. After years I came back here only to find out that their service turned terrible and the food was meh. We had to call our server three times to finally order our food. The first who caught us said that it's not her table so won't take the order. The next one seemed to be the manager and without even saying a word she just did the hand gesture basically telling us to wait. Finally our server showed up and took our order. We did the BBQ and we were so disappointed to find out that their beef seemed to be not fresh. Closer to defrosted low-quality meat. When we asked our server (now this time it was a different person) to change the grilling plate, she refused to do so saying that it's okay to use just one grill for different meat. Our grilling plate was pretty burnt and it's pretty common to change the plate when doing the Korean BBQ. Our server never came back to check on our table until later. Very disappointed and probably will never go back. read more

Nice environment, but the flavor of the food is not what I expected. I've had a lot of Korean before and I wouldnt really consider it close to authentic. read more

Koreana was delicious. We shared the galbi and another cut of beef between five people along side the side and unlimited starter veggies banchan. The marinade they use at Koreana is one of the best and I found that meat surprisingly did not feel too greasy. Do not be able to ask for more Banchan - my favorites were the kimchi, fish cakes and lettuce wraps. Korean barbecue is always going to be Pricey it was $100 for a group of five and we only ordered two meats but it was enough (I could have eaten more though). My favorite Korean barbecue in Boston read more

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Food is okay. But servers really have an attitude issue. They are very unfriendly, rude on the phone and ruse when serving.

I am no Korean barbecue expert but this was fun! Quick seating and the tofu stew was flavorful and pipping hot (just as it should be). Chicken quality was fair at best-- but the freshness of the bonchon made up for it. Overall--a fun place to go and warm up in the snowy weather. read more

This my favorite Korean BBQ in this side of town. (It's hard to find a good Korean BBQ place in this city!) For starters, I love their scallion pancakes with sweet and savory sauce. For BBQ, you can use the grill with a minimum order of 2 servings - it comes with a number of nice side dishes, my favorite ones are kimchi and sweet potatoes. I have tried different meat cuts and I think everything is pretty decent. For dessert, they serve cold cinnamon tea. For everything else - location is convenient, staff is nice and the toilets are clean. If you're in Boston and you want a decent Korean BBQ place, this is the place to be. read more

Koreana - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Rush us to order.. quickly piled our food on the grill and it burned. Will not return. Sad because excepted better

Had seafood pancake as an appetizer - this is as good as they come. Plenty of seafood (shrimp and octopus) and scallions cooked to perfection - not undercooked and doughy or over cooked and dry. The dipping sauce was awesome too! For entrees had beef kalbi and spicy squid with pickle vegetable sides. These were pretty good but can't say it's the best we've had as we've had just as good if not better in New York's K Town (around the base of the Empire State Building). The price was reasonable being in Cambridge. We highly recommend - especially the seafood pancake appetizer. read more

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they now charge 20% automatic gratuity, i'm annoyed, but their soondubu is good, meat is good. i just pissed about the 20% tip. maybe my hate should go to jpow and the federal reserve - we all just trying to survive. read more

This place has excellent service. Previously, I had no experience cooking the galbi/bulgogi. One of the workers noticed I was struggling and took the time to teach me how to cook the meat effectively. I really appreciate it. Not only was the food delicious, I also received a free cooking lesson. read more

I know this looks really good right? I was very excited too, that's why I took the pic. However, once you tried it you will be very disappointed. The kimchi Hotpot soup is blah, not authentic at all, the beef and intestines "dirty taste" with things not cleaned at all inside. As I am Asian myself and trust me I've had enough real Korean Intestines Pot before, this is so gross. Have some fat or seasoning inside is normal, but not that stinky scent!! Ugh... Can't describe how disappointed I am. The good ones are not supposed to be like that! DO NOT COME HERE for real Korean food! I should have known better when I walk in And saw mainly non-Asians in there. The food here is not even as close as good as you can make at home or some of the places in Allston. Don't even try to compare with NYC or NJ standard of Korean food. Super disappointed! read more

Koreana - I know this looks really good right? I was very excited too, that's why I took the pic. But it's shitty - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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As much as I want to give Koreana at least 2 stars for solid service, the food just fell so terribly, terribly short of expectations. The Beef Soondubu was far and away the worst I've ever tasted - dry beef cubes, nearly tasteless broth without a hint of spice and no piping hot steam upon arrival...or raw egg for that matter. My Bibim Naeng Myun had some base that completely watered down the chili paste, making it bland and not even worth finishing. The BBQ and Haemul Pajeon were mediocre and at least passable. I wish the grills had much more heat b/c the meat marinade was indeed there, it just lacked the nice charring that's achieved with proper preparation. The seafood pancake was overly chewy, but still took top spot amongst the other items simply b/c the rest was that much worse. Bear in mind, this is with the perspective of a native Californian who's had good (though not the best yet) Korean fare in the Bay Area. I suppose Korean cuisine just isn't one of Boston's strong points. read more

You know that feeling when you miss the familiar tastes of home? Food here definitely hits the spot...although a bit expensive. What we ordered: Scallion seafood pancake- 5/5- This was surprisingly really good!?! It's not your typical corn flour hard as rock and gets cold easily pancake. It has a soft texture somewhere in between regular dough and mochi. Anyhow it was fantastic and had a good ratio of scallions and seafood. Beef Dolsot Bibimbap- 4/5- Your typical sizzling hot bibimbap feat beef. Can't go wrong with this. Bulgogi- 4/5- Too salty! On the bright side, their banchan is fantastic. A good variety and gives you a lot. I was half full on the sides dishes itself. At the end though...why rush to clean the dishes? Before I knew it the ginger tea the served as "dessert" was cleaned off the table during the few seconds I looked away to pay. read more

Koreana - The reason it's missing two slices it's because the server for some reason had to cut it for us and serve it... - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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I don't fully understand what happened, but I went to Koreana, parked at the Broadway gas (this is a nice service, but getting out of my space was a little hairy), and ordered some tasty food. Drinks on offer were standard Asian beers, Soju cocktails, and sake. I grabbed a Sapporo and we mulled over sushi rolls and BBQ options. Our group of three shared 2 sushi rolls, which were delightful. We opted to get three meat-based BBQ dishes and share them. The process was somewhat confusing, since we weren't clear if we were supposed to cook our own meat. Our chicken got a little over done, but the waitstaff promptly changed our burner. We got something like 9 sides with the meat and experimented with how and what to eat. All in all, it was really yummy and a great atmosphere. I can't believe I've driven by Koreana for 5 years and never stopped in before. read more

I honestly really wanted to like this place because this restaurant has been around for over a decade as one of very few "decent" Korean restaurants in Boston. I haven't been back since last summer and got so disappointed this evening with everything I ordered. The kimchi pancake barely had any kimchi, uguji galbitang (which was always my fav) was so watered down with just flavors of msg and fatty/boney beef, and joomuluk that was drenched in some store-bought, extra sweet teriyaki sauce (if you're a restaurant that serves BOTH kalbi and joomuluk, you obviously should know the big difference between the two). I am Korean myself and am very upset at the quality of the food they serve their customers. It's really not an accurate representation of Korean cuisine in any way and I felt bad for so many non-Korean patrons who were excited to try Korean food tonight. If you want some decent Korean food, this place definitely isn't it. read more

My boyfriend and I love this place! All of the meat we've tried is delicious, but we especially love the bulgogi and galbi. It's super fun to cook the food right in front of you on the table and all the sides it comes with are great too. read more

Koreana - Galbi - beef short rib - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

I was surprised that Koreana would be open due to the pandemic and sharing style of dishes but they did a really good job at making sure guests felt safe and ensured optimal cleanliness. The food was out of this world, it tasted high quality and I especially appreciated them explaining different items to my table. We ended up getting beef brisket, vegetables, shrimp shumai and a kimchi pancake which was beyond delicious. read more

Walked in without a reservation on Sunday with no wait. We ordered the pork belly and beef bugolgi, which was perfect for 2 people. The service was really great and the servers helped us cook the meats. Only downside is that it was on the pricier side. read more

Had the bibimbap in the clay pot as well as not in the clay pot. Aside from that we ordered some gyozas or potstickers. The food was good with the beef in the bibimbap being really well marinated and flavorful. The side dishes were also pretty good. My biggest complaint here is the service. The waitress and hostess were kind to us and the other customers. However, when one of the people in charge of cleaning and setting up tables was trying to help us get a seat / tell us to wait for a second, the hostess came up to him and was extremely rude. She basically scolded him and told him to go back to busing tables. I found this really unnecessary and extremely rude, she could have just asked instead of scold and reprimand him when he was clearly trying to help us. This left a really bad taste in my mouth and in hindsight I should have advocated for my group to leave. It was rush lunch rush during the weekday so this may be the reason for the behavior but it doesn't justify it. Skeptical on coming back. read more

According to Yelp, this place serves Korean and Japanese cuisine, which isn't inaccurate. It's just obvious that the core of this place is Korean and they decided to sell sushi as well. This place is about a 5 minute walk from the T-station, so I wouldn't drive here if I had the choice. I mean, I absolutely hate the T, but finding parking around Cambridge isn't exactly easy either. The ambiance is not bad -- just like any typical restaurant. It's definitely spacious and a great place to eat at. I would say this place is pretty clean too. The only little thing I didn't particularly like is the waiting area. It's pretty small, so if it ever gets busy, expect to wait outside. I haven't gone to many Korean places with a BBQ grill before...or any at all! We really wanted to make use of the grill, but ultimately decided to order our own entree instead: some kind of udon (wasn't my order so I didn't really pay attention), galbi tang (I think! My interpretation of it was Korean styled beef pho), japchae, and bulgogi. For appetizers, we ordered dukbokki and vegetable tempura. The food was great! I didn't try the udon and Korean pho, but everything else I got to taste was delicious! They all had just the right amount of flavor, and nothing we ordered were particularly oily or anything. Good food! I will not hold this against Koreana, because I do believe that these tiny mistakes are common everywhere and says nothing about the restaurant, but one of the spoons we had was obviously not cleaned thoroughly -- there was a bit of onion stuck on it. We informed the waitress who kindly swapped it for us, though it did take a while. I did find that the service was not up to par. Another waitress who served us seemed to be really upset. She literally had a resting b*tch face the whole time we were there. When we asked for her to help us take a group photo, she seemed a little annoyed and just really quickly took the picture. We also had trouble getting our check. No one looked at our direction. I enjoyed this place overall! I would definitely come back to make use of the BBQ grill! read more

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They lie! They close at 10pm and not midnight! Never coming back!!! Ok I lie...I'm gonna come back. My boyfriend and I have been here once or twice and I've been meaning to provide a review. What I absolutely adored about this place is one thing... I didn't feel "unsafe!" In other words, each station/table did not have a gas line or pipe line running crazy at your feet and it din't have those propane gases. It adhere to the FDA guidelines !!! I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! So why wouldn't I give this a 5-star, you ask? Mainly b/c i was disappointed to find out that it closed at 10PM on Friday night versus 12AM as mentioned on their website & Yelp. Other tips: What other reasons do I like this place: IT'S CLEAN & it reminds me of what a Korean BBQ should be!!! For those who don't watch KimChi Chronicles...you should do so. After watching a few episodes on Hulu, I yelped Korean BBQ and came across this place. I was not disappointed. I've tried other Korean BBQ around Boston and I will make take the extra 15 min T/Car Ride to get here!! OVERALL HIGHLIGHTS: -- The atmosphere was clean! -- You didn't stink like the food when you left the place! -- Condiments / side dishes were bountiful (i.e. kimchi, rice, chuka salad, etc). -- Service was good: our server was attentive. Note: personally when i go for Korean BBQ i like to cook my own meat. At this restaurant, they came over right away and was very attentive and would flip the meat for you. I just wanted to play with my food, you know... -- Order the Korean Wine/Rice Wine (So-Ju or So-Jo). They say that is is unlucky to pour your own drink. So ladies/gentleman, make sure you pour your drinking partner a drink and vice versa! -- Order beef tongue...it was DELICIOUS!!! They must have frozen the tongue & use a mandolin to slice it as it was soooo thin & juicy! AGAIN, I would have given this a 5-star, however, their hours was wrong on Yelp. We drove for over an hour in traffic to arrive shortly after 10PM on a Friday night. When we got there, the place has CLOSED, when the hours clearly specified a closing time at midnight.... Regardless, I am still a fan and will continue to come back (preferably before they close). IF there is a better Korean BBQ than Koreana, let me know. I like to think this is the best in the state! Phantom Gourmet should really expand its palate & make an appearance!!! Final tips: call ahead prior to close to ensure they are still open. They are busy on weekends and the bar is small. Our longest wait time was an hour! (Enough time for So-Ju)!! Happy Eats!!! read more

Koreana - Beef tongue!! - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

The waitress we had tonight was a great listener. She listened to my friend's relationship problem like Dr. Melfi listening to Tony Soprano while she cooked food for us. read more

Probably one of my favorite Korean bbq places in Massachusetts. The side dishes are tasty and countless. You will not get charged for more side dishes which is a plus for me. I am big on korean side dishes. The portions are huge and you will be full. I came with a party of 5 and we had on one side of the table the bbq, and the other side was the hot pot dumpling. The seafood pancakes are out of this world. Fancy décor and amazing service. They are fully staffed, friendly, and ready to tend to our hungry selves. The only downfall I have is that they do not have a parking lot so you will have to scour for one. Cambridge is a very hard place to find parking. You just have to get lucky! read more

Koreana has pretty good ambiance despite it being situated across the street from a gas station. It's a great place to meet up with friends and do some people watching. Service is quick and competent and they won't rush you. Your best bet for parking is not to drive. Your second best bet for parking is not to drive. Your third best bet is to troll around--or, pay the guys across the street at the gas station and they will let you park there. Kimchee jigae is served in a metal bowl suspended over a Sterno can. They light the can at the table. I usually extinguish it since I tend not to like to eat out of a boiling pot. It's some of the best kimchee jigae to be had. If you ask for it without meat they will oblige. They may point out that the broth is fish. The sushi here isn't half bad. In fact, it's pretty good (but not great). At the end of the meal they bring a bowl of tasty sweet cinnamon ginger soup with a pine nut floating in it. read more

Koreana - Hite! - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Initially we wanted to come here and have Korean BBQ but after looking at the prices, we didn't think it worthwhile. It's 20 odd bucks for a portion of meat. Too pricey especially comparing we can do BBQ all-you-can-eat buffets for that price at other places. The Yook Hwe Bibimbop (steak tartare and raw egg yolk) was tasty, as long as you're willing to try raw meat/egg combo. The Dolsot Bibimbop, pork selection, are my other friends go-to dish. read more

Koreana - Yook Hwe Bibimbop (steak tartare and raw egg yolk) - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

First time I have ever had a Korean pancake. They are delicious and I am now hooked. It was called the seafood pancake and at first when my friends were ordering I got nervous thinking of traditional home made pancakes and how I wouldn't like that. Little did I know it was going to be delicious! Yum yum yum I am now hooked! The kimchi was delicious too- before you run away, kimchi is not my favorite thing and so you know- you do not have to eat it. We had the beef bulgogi and the pork belly. Both are delicious. If I could survive off of the bulgogi I would. It was perfectly seasoned and cooked and if I could come back and eat it again I would! The sauce that came with it was a blended bean dip with jalapeños on the side. I love spicy and this was just an added touch of delicious to it. Though, the beef was seasoned so well I didn't even need any seasoning! Yum. Will go back. Can hardly wait! read more

Koreana - Yum - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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I love Korean food and I'm happy to say that I experienced my first Korean BBQ here at Korean. I live in Maine and we come to down to Boston quite often and decided to check this place out. Firstly, I noticed that the interior of the restaurant was super simple and super clean. My first impression was that it was very professional. Our waitress was super nice and checked in on us often to help us adjust the flame for our BBQ since we had no idea what we were doing. We ordered 3 different type of meats, some sushi rolls (spicy tuna, and spicy salmon), and we ordered deubboki (spicy rice cake).The staff comes out with loads of Korean side dishes and we were amazed at how many they were. There were kimchi, zucchinis, and some other dishes that I'm not too sure of but they were all great. We ate the spicy rice cake first and it was the best. I thought the spicy rice cake was really good compared to other ones I had at other restaurants. The sushi was alright not the best but it was still good. Lastly, the Korean BBQ itself, it was so good. The meat we ordered was so tender and it went well with the rice and all of the side dishes. This restaurant is great and the atmosphere, the vibe, and the staff were daebak! ;) (awesome). If you want an authentic Korean restaurant, check out Koreana. I plan on coming to Boston next weekend, and I will definitely come eat here. read more

Koreana - Spicy rice cake plate on the far left and loads of Korean side dishes for our BBQ. Couldn't fit it all in the picture! - Korean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

The service sucks. They are so rude. I ordered two appetizers and received no ban Chan. I had to beg for a sliver of kimchi and I'm Korean. read more

Compared to NYC or Korea, can't compare. But still pretty solid KBBQ. Good portions and tastes great. Soju cocktails are a must! Sad they don't give Dweng-jang jiggae or gyeranjjim as service tho. Slightly pricey but better than most other KBBQs in Boston read more

I've never been here for the dinner Korean barbecue full experience, but I was compelled to write a review because of how much I love their lunch specials! On weekdays 11:30-2:30, they have several offers, which all seem to be fantastic values. Most of the lunch specials come with miso soup, salad, and one or two other sides, and the "lunch boxes" also come with a gyoza, noodles, and some pieces of sushi. I ordered the lunch box B, which comes with 2 pieces of sushi, 3 California maki, rice, bulgogi, noodles, a gyoza, salad, and miso. And the best part is that it's $10! Such a steal for the quality, too! I came for a late lunch, arriving around 2pm, so the dining room was pretty empty. The waitstaff was super friendly and attentive, and the service was lightening speed. Overall, I was very satisfied with the experience and will definitely be back for more lunches and probably to try dinner as well! read more