I'm not impressed.
Because I got hustled out of the restaurant before closing time and while I was still eating! And I don't mean that the waitress just brought my check quickly, although she did do that, too.
She actually asked me to leave, "So I can go home." It was still 35 minutes before closing time when I got back into my car after packing up most of my food. (8:25 pm. They close at 9.)
Which packing I did by myself. She didn't help.
She hovered there at my table while I worked, immediately grabbing every dish as I emptied it.
It made me so nervous that I accidentally knocked the filled to-go-box off the table while reaching for another plate of food. The box fell upside-down, spilling the still very hot food all over my lap and the floor. So I lost half of my food. And got my blouse, pants, and jacket dirty.
And the wasted food was somewhat expensive for a simple Mom-and-Pop kind of place. $20 for one item plus extra for the can of Coke. I do get that all those different vegetables prepared in different ways are a lot of work. I wouldn't have minded the price if the service had been decent and if I actually got to eat all of the food.
I'm sure she wouldn't have done that to a couple or a group. Probably not to a solo male diner either. And maybe not to an Asian-looking solo diner (I'm Caucasian.)
And I gave her a good tip, too. Before she asked me to leave, obviously. I shouldn't have signed the check before I was finished eating. Lesson learned.
I was the only customer, on a Saturday night, and the only car in the customer parking lot. That was a little alarming, even more so on a dark night in a rundown part of town. Besides feeling a little unsafe, I questioned why the place was apparently so unpopular.
They had no non-alcoholic drinks on the menu except for 4 or 5 basic brands and flavors of canned soda. Served right in the can with only a straw. No glass or ice. No ice in my water glass either. No tea of any kind, not even canned or bottled. She did offer coffee (which I don't like) after asking me to leave. I guess I was supposed to gulp down boiling hot coffee while I packed up my food.
No desserts on the menu, either, nor was I offered any.
When I later ate the food from the to-go box, there wasn't a single piece of meat in it. There wasn't much to begin with, and it all must have gone onto the floor. Good thing I don't love meat.
I'm glad I made a big mess all over the floor under the table. (But I swear I didn't do it on purpose. She certainly deserved that, but I wanted that food!)
The food (I had Bibimbap) was very good. I loved all the different kinds and preparations of vegetables, and the crispy rice crust at the bottom of the stone pot. It was bland though, and no salt or soy sauce was on the table. Maybe on request. I didn't ask, because the server didn't seem to speak English very well.
The restaurant does have quite a few interesting kinds of soup and fried rice, as well as bulgogi, that I'd also like to try. If I come again, I'd request tea and soy sauce, and bring my own salt packets just in case. And I'd go very early in the evening. And long before dark.
But I'll try K-Kitchen (another Korean restaurant nearby) first.
I've never written a restaurant review before. But I joined Yelp to post this one. People considering this restaurant need to hear this story. So should the owners and managers of the place. Although I wonder if my waitress might have been the owner. Because what employee would do that? They'd lose their job!
I live in a very small town in a very remote area. Going T o an interesting restaurant like this one is a rare and very special treat for me.
And my money is as good, and as hard-earned, as anyone else's.
I deserved better. read more