Dishonest and arrogant.... Never again!
Been to Shikgoo once but did not like it at all simply because it is overpriced for (a) Wedding and (b) the quality of food they're serving. Frankly, we have had far better Korean style home-cooking in Seoul and in Koreatowns in the States etc.
This isn't a review about our experience.
I had an urge to write a review on this place after hearing about what our friends had to put up with the other night -- the owner was being utterly dishonest AFTER having received a hefty tip!
Our friends are frequent and loyal patrons. They are a well-travelled couple from overseas and are familiar with various kinds of authentic Korean cuisines. Their visitor from Japan felt like Korean so our friend decided to treat her at Shikgoo (since the better choice in the Wedding, Koreahaus will not be re-opened until 1 Oct.), Ordered three main courses: two Soondubu Jjigae ().one spicy squid (it came without rice on a large plate which was rather odd -- the chef, the owner and the waiter, all three of them did not notice this mistake!)
The German menu lacks description of each dish. When my friends and their visitor made the order with the Austrian owner, they clarified with him that they specifically want Soondubu jjigae and just some "Tofu Suppe" (which was a very vague translation from the Korean on its menu). The owner assured them that they will get Soondubu. However, when the inexperienced waiter came back with two Kimchi-guk (a salty broth with very salty Kimchi and with only two slices of medium-hard sofa in a regular bowl instead of a hot stone large bowl with bubbling Sundubu jjigae) instead of two Soondubu jjigae, the waiter said:"Kimchi Suppe"! Clearly they were very mediocre-looking Kimchi Soup and NOT Soondubu jjigae at all! The dishonest owner standing behind the waiter immediately corrected him:"Nein, Soondubu jjigae!" Our friends (2 of them were Asians) were stunned but did not react since being Asians, they knew it was impolite to challenge the "chef's style of home cooking" as it would be like pointing out to the 'chef' that "you should not be opening a restaurant charging this amount of money if you are serving 'amateur' quality food". Besides, it was not even decent looking Kimchi-guk . They were too salty and the Kimchi was too old hence very sour.
When the owner came to clear the table, he tried to crack a joke on why didn't the two Asian guests did NOT finish the soup. They were polite and did not point out his/the chef's mistake.
The worst part was -- after our friends paid a hefty tip, the owner arrogantly "tested" the two Asian patrons,"did you notice anything wrong about the soup you just had?" Our friends and their guest remained silent as they know what was wrong but they wanted to remain courteous. The owner continued playfully and apologised in a phony manner:"Sorry, they were not Soondubu jjigae. They were, in fact, Kimchi-guk but you could not tell the difference."
Our friends were stunned and appalled but did not show their irritation and left with a smile.
If the owner knew how to do business ethically/smartly AND if he were honest, he should have apologized when the waiter served the two wrong main courses and immediately replace them. Not only did he NOT do that, he even dishonestly corrected his waiter on the name of the dish, trying to mislead his loyal patrons!
This is utterly unacceptable and ridiculous.
After our friends told us (group of colleagues/friends) about their terrible experience, I decided to write this review since this type of unfair treatment and dishonest behaviour should not be encouraged.
I do hope there will be more Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai restaurants open in Wedding so that this type of dishonest business will not become the only choice for this up-and-coming neighbourhood. read more