Doesn't Recommend

loveisblind1

Joined 5 years ago

I'm Korean and this food is very average.. I'm Korean and I have been to many Korean restaurants obviously. On the spectrum of Korean restaurants, this restaurant was average to me and below average of the spectrum of actually good homemade Korean food.

The restaurant offers a large variety of sushi including Kimbap (a common Korean roll with rice, spinach, yellow radish, bulgogi (soy braised beef), egg). Its appealing to those who are suprised that Korean food offers FREE sidedishes (and complimentary refills). sidedishes are usually a variety of vegetarian tastes. From sesame oil cooked soybean sprouts, kimchi, korean veggie pancake, fresh Korean green beens, and more. However, comparing to other restaurants I've been to, they really lacked a variety of sidedishes. I'd usually get more at other Korean restaurants and the sidedishes they offer are average tasting. The kimchi is good though.

As for the real food: I went there at least 4 times to try new dishes they had to offer. I had what should have been Korean beef stew but was actually a semi-tasty beef soup. It is a bit much to offer since korean beef stew takes hours to cook. I guess i was just excited a place finally offers one =P

They do offer a LOT of Kimbap compared to the other rolls although its a bit more expensive. The other sushi selections were okay or above average. I had the kalbi there (soy marinated short ribs) which I was pretty unpleased with. The shrimp bbq they offer is good though. It doesn't give out a whole lot of shrimp but its usually meant to be ordered with another bbq offer such as a beef dish. The sauce they give to dip in the shrimp is good! The samgyupsal (pork back) is good. Korean restaurants typically offer a table with a bbq grill in the center for guests to cook their own meats however they like it. I think this place might also offer already cooked meats.

The service is okay and the place is usually pretty busy. Its in a pretty plaza though. The appetizers are below average and the food is okay

Doesn't Recommend

murderbyjill

Joined 5 years ago

Not so good.. I moved to Austin in Sept 07 and a couple of my friends have been taking me to different restaurants. Korea House is by far the worst. They've made me go here twice already and I didn't like it either time. The staff is actually really nice, but I notice that they put the americans on one side of the restaurant and the koreans on another...anyway they have a nice garden outside as well. Cute little bridge and a pond. The sushi though...not so good. It's decent but they put that rooster sauce on EVERYTHING. The best thing I've had there was the Austin roll. It was actually really good, but 3 out of 4 sushi rolls had rooster sauce on them even the white tuna the chef gave us had that sauce. The place is over priced and the sushi is old and boring. I don't know what all these other reviewers are raving about.

Recommends

pitcdbf10

Joined 8 years ago

good korean, cheap - great lunch. I have only had lunch here, and usually stick to the lunch specials. The spicy pork and bulgogi are good. The sides are all good. The fried dumplings are also good. The korean bbq looks great but i have never had it. I cant speak to the sushi, so cant recommened or otherwise on that. They are busy at lunch which is good - b/c that means they will continue to be around and I dont have to eat damn mexican food as much. Generally they seem to know what they are doing. its a korean restaurant - so your service will be typical of that.

Recommends

blueakuma

Joined 6 years ago

GREAT KOREAN BBQ. Ordering the Korean BBQ and sitting a table with grill for you to cook your own food was an awesome experience, although very much on the spicy side, its all edible and good. Sushi is very good as well, somewhat pricy, but worth it, try the spider roll. Very fresh material. Service is great, the male waiters are specially customer oriented...

Doesn't Recommend

rhkwon

Joined 6 years ago

Very average food, definitely overpriced, and I ain't ever going back!. We went here for lunch on Sunday as it was the closest thing available. We ordered the sashimi at 11.95 and the Lunchbox B for $12.95, thinking that 2 orders would be enough for me, the wife and our 8 year old daughter. Almost always, whenever we eat out, 2 entres are enough for us. Boy was I wrong. The sashimi was like 11 pieces but the salmon looked old and had a light brown/gray color to it meaning it was definitely not fresh. Piled high on a 3 inch bed of ice, my wife was disappointed that there was'nt any rice. Yeah, I know, it's not chirashi but then damn, don't charge 11.95 for this junk The Lunchbox B was supposed to come with bulgogi and spice pork bulgogi but the portions were so small that they were easily eaten in 1 bite each. And to top it off, the waiter just dumps a small mound of rice onto a serving place as if to say go for it instead of placing it in a rice bowl. And no banchan! Yeah I know since we ordered a lunchbox, but come on, at least bring out some frickin' kimchee. We're Korean after all, not some Caucasians that don't know anything about Korean food.

The bill comes out to over $30 bucks but I'm still hungry! Good thing because if we had ordered another entre, I'm sure the bill would have come to well over $50 and we'd all still be hungry! So an hour later, we head on over to a Korean/Chinese place on the drag and fill up for $10 frickin bucks!

I'm Korean and have visited hundreds of Korean restaurants all over the US. The food at this place is very mediocre and if they were in LA or Atlanta, this place would go out of business in a month. The other reviewers who have raved about this place are kidding themselves. Why can't we have any decent Korean restaurants in Austin? :(

Recommends

itriedit

Joined 6 years ago

I love this place!. We take anybody and everybody who visits us to this restaurant and they always want to go back! We go for the superb bul go gi (beef or pork) with all the nutritious and adventurous sides, and the chop chae which is "can't stop eating this" good! We like grilling the bul go gi ourselves, hanging out with a couple of OB's or Kirin's, & enjoying the company! We moved away for six years and since returned, having found the owner to be just as friendly and gracious as he ever was, huge smile whenever we walk in! All of their rolls are magnanimus...be careful of over ordering, the Mexican O*g*sm is luscious!

It's not necessarily romantic, but if you sit at the small sushi bar with a zexy date I'm sure it could be!

Recommends

loatzuthedragon

Joined 6 years ago

To all detractors. I have been eating at the Korea House for three decades. It is still the best Korean food in town. If you want American style service with your meal go to F?ing Apple B?s you miserable P.O.S.! I am so tried of people who have no culture other then idiot. Go vote for W. again o? you already did that. Let me make it clear if you want the best deal on the freshest sushi in town with bigger cuts this is the place. Straight up good old Korean style service not American. They do not have chicken fried steak either. Louis is my name and good food is my game.

Doesn't Recommend

austinfoodie101

Joined 6 years ago

Cranky AND Still Hungry. I've been going to Korea House on and off for years, but TODAY WAS MY LAST VISIT. The Korean food is delicious (although I'd skip the mediocre sushi, since much better can be found in town), and the price is moderate. But the service!! Terrible is not sufficient to describe?

Over the past two years, the service has steadily declined, as has my patience with the RUDE WAIT STAFF. Be prepared for harassment every 30 seconds until you place your order (I?ve been regularly asked if I know what I want to eat AS I?M SITTING DOWN). The waiters rotate this task, so even after you?ve placed your order, other waiters will still come by to ask if you?ve ordered a few more times. You?ll also need to repeatedly ask where your food is after you?ve placed your order, as other diners around you that CAME IN AFTER YOU are being served quickly?even when they order the same type of food as you. Be prepared to hunt down the waiter if you need something after your food is served. The hunt for ?which waiter has my check? is obnoxious, unless they?re busy, in which case they hover around your table until you leave.

Today my party?s order was taken but never given to the kitchen. We sat at the most visible table for 40 minutes without our food being served. Only when we got up to leave did waiters come to us to ask if we were ready to pay. PAY?!? I did pay for the one scrawny appetizer that did somehow end up on our table minutes before we left (although how I?m not sure, since our order never went to the kitchen). At the register we had to ASK THEM REMOVE EACH UNSERVED ITEM FROM OUR BILL. There were a couple of insincere apologies for the mix up, but then ATTITUDE when I declined to leave a tip. I won?t be back, so I guess I?ll have to get my Korean food fix while visiting other cities?Korea House Austin needs to grow up a little bit, and learn how to act like a real business.

Doesn't Recommend

organic007

Joined 6 years ago

Terrible banchan, and service is crappy. I'm surprised that all my friends think of "Korea House" when they want to eat Korean. I'm native korean, and they are not, so maybe I have different standards.

I've been here about 3 different times, and each time, the banchan (side dishes like kimchee, namul, spinach, etc) were not satisfactory at all. I thought their kimchee in particular was TERRIBLE. Also, it bothered me that there were sooo many flies flying around. That's not cool, especially when I know most Korean restaurants are not the cleanest in town, and I try not to think about that when I go out to eat. But having like 10 flies in the back part of the seating, flying around, just isn't cool.

The service is never that great, but once we got a bad waiter, who just didn't want to give great service. We saw him when we ordered, and when he came out to deliver the dishes.

I'm surprised this place is always packed. I think Korea Garden is a much better korean restaurant, with better food. Also, Ichiban is better too. Korea House is not on my favorites list, and I would only go there, if my friends chose it unanimously again.

Recommends

fashionbigot

Joined 6 years ago

The sushi was fresh and the service was great. i don't know if they changed up the waitstaff from the time some of these people did reviews, but the service was very friendly. They did forget my Miso soup, but all i had to do was ask, and i got it promptly. As for the sushi, it was very tasty, fresh and the rolls were terriffic. (We had the diana I and the 90210 roll) Personally, i *like* the ambience there, the best sushi places I've found have the worst look to them, mostly because they are concentrating on the food, not the "specialness" of the resturant. If you want a romantic setting, i suggest Mikado or Uchi, but be prepared to pay out the nose for your romantic night. Korea House will most likely become my new place to get regular sushi, as well as the fact that the Korean dishes come highly recommended by some foodie friends of mine. This place is a great standard to the Austin sushi scene.