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Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
"Banchan is tastiest I've had in a while, better than places near N 5th in Philly. Service is very good. The tofu with spicy pork is at…" read more »
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So far this place has met my expectations in Korean restaurants. Hmart foodcourt and other Korean restaurants have not been able to satisfy my craving for the "right" korean food, but this place did.
I had Beef SoonDooBoo on my first visit and it tasted just right. I wished there were a little more vegetable in there. It was during lunch and the price was pretty decent - $11.
Went for the 2nd time - had BoSsam and Dolsot Bibimbop. The place was crowded and it took awhile to order our food..I recall that there were only about 3 servers for about 15-18 tables..they were very busy.
Banchan was great! I was very surprised to see "Jang Jo Rim" - beef brisket in soysauce- since you don't see them often. Impressive.
Bibimbop's sauce - chili paste- was somewhat too sweet for my taste. It was probably made to fit non-Korean's taste.. eh. It had good amount of vegetable and rice,though. It's a healthy tasty meal.
Bossam was great! It's steamed pork with cabbage, seasoned raddish and OYSTERS. I strongly recommend this dish.
[[Technique to eat this entree: wrap the piece of meat, raddish OR kimchi and oysters to eat it. Dip the meat in salted (small) shrimp sauce (saewoojut) before you wrap it.]]
I'm excited to try the BBQ. If BBQ's good, this place will probably become #1 Korean restaurant for me in Philly.
My Korean friends in the area vow that the best Korean restaurants are found north of the city, however, Miga is certainly a welcomed addition to the offerings.
I went here one hot afternoon late summer and was craving bibim-nengmyung. (Think neng-myung, only served cold in a metal bowl with a red pepper paste.) Delicious. It satisfied my craving.
I was most impressed with the amount of small bowls that are offered as part of the panchan. Usually, a Korean restaurant will offer about three small bowls per person, but here, I was offered six!
If you cant make it up to the northern reaches of the city, then this place in the heart of the city is a good bet.
Definitely the best Korean restaurant in Center City. And prices were suprisingly decent. :) I came here for lunch and got the seafood soondubu ($11) and it was just the cure for this chilly day. It came out piping hot and loads of tofu. Of the Korean restaurants in the city, Miga seems the most authentic. Their soup was very flavorful. I had a decent amount of seafood in it as well, though all of it seemed very miniature. The roommate got the beef soondubu ($11) but said they were seriously lacking meat. They also gave us a bunch of sides before we received our food and they all tasted pretty good as well.
The decor for this place is really cute. I love the metal chopsticks and the bar looks stacked. I'll definitely return to try some other dishes as well as their happy hour (5-7pm). Glad to finally have a go-to place for tofu soup! It's hard to give a better detailed review since I didn't get to try the BBQ or any other dishes so an update is needed upon return :)
Miga has been open for a few months now, but I'm actually surprised to find 33 reviews, it never looks very busy. I live on 15th Street, so I walk by twice a day. Finally, on a chilly night when we didn't feel like going out of our way for food, my fiancée and I stopped in on our way home from work.
We would have grabbed a table but the place was empty, so we decided to sit at the bar and take advantage of the happy hour specials. On one side of the bar was a middle-aged woman doing some paper work, she must have been a part owner. The funny thing was she had her papers completely covering one side of the bar. Next to her was a young man folding napkins. There was another man eating at the bar. Between three people, we couldn't get a seat together until the hostess told the two employees to make some room for customers, funny concept, huh?
Then we sat for a good ten minutes while multiple young women walked behind the bar then back into the dining area. Coming and going, never asking if we wanted a drink. Finally a young man appears who is the bartender. He grabs me my beer, and mixes up my lady's cosmo. Let me point out, the barkeep was willing to use her choice of vodka in the drink while keeping the $5 price tag for happy hour cocktails, not too shabby. Let me also say that before this guy showed up we were about to bolt for friendlier confines.
Anyway, the Kimchi Spicy Pork was delicious. Being a big fan of kimchi this was a flavor I had been missing for a while. Galbi for the lady, which she also enjoyed very much. The wide array of side dishes was a nice touch too. Before our main plates, we had some sushi and sashimi which was part of the happy hour, along with a green dragon roll, to be honest the sushi was very good too. We were in the mood for sushi before deciding to try Miga, so this worked out very well for us, albeit a very unconventional meal.
So, all in all, it was a good experience. One of their servers was telling us they have had a ton of turnover since they opened. They are on their fifth sushi chef or something like that. All I know is the one they have now is a winner. I hope Miga does well, it brings some variety to 15th Street and to the city in general. The food was very good, but the service and atmosphere were a bit behind, hopefully they can work to improve those aspects moving forward. I'm sure we'll be back at some point.
So maybe I shouldn't go to Korean restaurants unless I'm accompanied by other Koreans. When I looked at the menu, I felt like I was learning to read for the first time. Perhaps it's my lack of Korean food knowledge. After talking to the waiter multiple times to understand the meals, we agreed to the bulgogi, galbi and Korean pizza. Galbi was amazing and we should have stopped there. There was no need for the pizza but we are fat and had to try it. Loved the banchan (especially the tofu dish) and kimchee (wish there was more).
I love Korean food but this place didn't really do it for me.
They have the most bizarre combination of items I've ever seen in a Korean restaurant menu, but I guess you have to do what you gotta do.
The food itself was great, including the side dishes. The service was courteous, the ambiance definitely exceeded my expectations, the owner was extremely friendly and seemed to legitimately care that I had a pleasurable dining experience.
Minus one star for the price, which I thought was a little high given the portions. (But keep in mind that this restaurant is striving to be higher end.)
Same great service & rating, some minor updates. $26 dinner for 2(tip not included).
1. liquor license!! $5.50 for a full sake carafe with soju & aloe made for a happy walk home
2. served 6 banchan instead of 12
3. dukbokgi was vegetarian this time (same price)
I'll be back for the aloe soju alone. The drink menus haven't been printed yet but I'm hoping the price wasn't a mistake.
I had no trouble getting a table for two on Monday night. It was pretty empty but clean and newly… Read more »
In the past month or so, the 2 other times I've been here has been great. The best soft shell crab I have ever had (and I've tried a lot); it was a large whole piece of fresh hot crispy crab with the most delicious coconut sauce. The past Friday night, however, the crab was very disappointing, coming out in small cut up pieces at room temperature and a bit weird tasting. I also had the seafood soondubu, which was fine the last time, but this time lacked flavor and had no spice whatsoever. The bf had pork katsu, which I thought was fine and a nice large portion, but he thought it wasn't as good as others he's tried. The only good thing we had that night was the seafood pajun. It was packed full of calamari, clams, shrimp and scallion. Mmmmm, I would probably only go back for that.
At the end of dinner we mentioned to the waiter that the food seemed different and not as good as what we remembered. Apparently they changed their cook. That sucks, because were reallly liking it before.
Oh well, I'll probably go back again for seafood pajun!
I hate giving Korean restaurants over-ratings, but for the fact that it's in walking distance of my friend's apartment on Rittenhouse, it gains a star. So technically, it's a 3-star Korean Restaurant.
Although my preference is for real charcoal, dirty floors, and tin top tables with a bunch of ajumma's forcing food down your throat, for what it is, Miga is a good alternative to "authentic" Korean food.
Apparently open only for the past few months, it's BYOB until next week (according to our waiter). We ordered two orders of galbi at $22 bucks an order (horrifyingly close to NYC prices, but reasonable for the quantity provided), kimchi chigae (non-Korean dinner companion's request), and was provided a hae-mul (seafood) pajun (service! woot woot!). The galbi was cooked on an infrared electric stove top (with a charcoal log for flavor in the base - so we were told). To be fair, it was surprisingly effective in grilling the meat - as I feared it might boil/steam as tends to be the case on electric stove tops. A secondary plus with the electric grill was that it created far less smoke than a true charcoal or gas contraption. This is obviously necessary at Miga, as they do not have the individual table vents.
The kimchi chigae had no teeth, but flavor-wise was passable. It whiffed of that "we're serving non-Koreans who might die from the spice" flavor, but then again, it's kimchi chigae, hard to f*&^ that up.
The pajun was also passable - doesn't evoke thoughts of grandma's pancakes with a tin kettle of makoli, but then again, you're in the heart of Center City.
Banchan was intriguingly varied and plentiful; always a key component of a good authentic Korean joint. They even offered Ggae-jjang (spicy raw crab); but the offering was petite, to be kind.
As already indicated, it's a 3-Star Korean restaurant in Center City. The quality of meat and quantity (two orders + some stew = good enough for 3 people), plus location earns it (fairly or not) an extra star.
For a Korean restaurant, it'll do.
The ban chan... just mediocre.
The Goon Mandu (Fried dumplings) were the standout dish--they were excellent. Crispy, with yummy filling.
The grilled meats... they sufficed. (We got the galbi and the chadolbaegi. And grilled meats are pretty hard to get wrong, especially in an audience of carnivores.)
Ggan poong gi... meh. Not spicy nor crispy, it was like eating chicken tenders dipped in sweet & sour sauce.
Mool Naeng Myun... bland.
All in all, it's the perfect place to take your American friend who has never tried Korean food before. The food isn't too spicy, and you won't leave smelling like you walked straight out of a grill. The service is fine and attentive. But is it the real deal? Not really.
p.s. $17 dollar bottles of soju? Seriously?
I was going to write a review of my experience at Miga last night but, evidently, Kate B. had the exact same experience. I went with my boyfriend, after a co-worker of his reccomended it, both of us Koren food virgins as well and our minds were sufficiently blown.
The only difference between my experience and Kate B.'s is that I'm giving it five stars because our great waitress looked exactly like one of my best friends.
The highlight of the meal was the soft shell crab tempura with that coconut sauce. Holy shit. We also had the seafood pancake (which I chose based on very accurate rave reviews by other Yelpers) and enjoyed the load of sidedishes and boiling hot soup that I couldn't resist and, consequently, sizzled my tongue. I ordered the veggie dolsot bibimbob and, even though I didn't use the spicy sauce, it was flavorful, delicious, and filling on it's own. My boyfriend ordered the beef brisket, which was cooked at our table and I'm sure tasted delicious.
The prices were extremely reasonable, the food was great, the service was good, the atmosphere was relaxing. All good things.
Also, I've been known to write some sickened, scathing reviews, so I can respect one-star reviews. But do yourself a favor - don't take Karen F.'s one-star review hold you back. I assure you, the restaurant doesn't smell like fecal matter. At all.
Hands down the best Korean restaurant in Philly. I'd even compare this restaurant to some of my favorites in LA. The kalbi was great -- perfectly marinated, tender, and juicy. The panchan was also excellent - kimchi, bean sprouts, tofu, etc.
They also use this neat type of infrared grill from Korea. I've always been partial to real charcoal, so I was naturally skeptical. But this grill not only gets very hot, but for whatever reason, the grill doesn't generate nearly as much smoke as a typical charcoal or gas grill. I have no idea how it works, but the smoke rarely rose above eye level and the restaurant doesn't have the smokey smell Korean restaurants typically have.
The service was also great. The waiters are actually trained to clean the grill after what seemed like every serving of BBQ so that the meat doesn't get that black crusty stuff.
We will definitely be back!
Holy delicious! This place is awesome. Stopped here last night with the bf for dinner and was blown away by the yummy dishes and enormous portions.
Matt and I are both Korean food virgins, and our waitress was super helpful in explaining what was up, and making suggestions. For an appetizer, we split the Kimchi pancake -- like a scallion pancake, but with a kick. It was giant (big enough for a meal) and came with a variety of accouterments like shitake mushrooms, anchovies, radishes, spinach, and more.
For the main meal, we split an order of Beef Bulgogi, and seafood dolsot bibimbab. The Bulgogi was super tender, and the waitress came over and showed us how to wrap the meat and rice in a piece of lettuce, like a burrito. Yum yum yum! The dolsot bibimbob came in an earthen stoneware bowl, which meant the rice was nice and crispy. The seafood portion was generous -- i found shrimp, calamari, and clams in this bad-boy.
Service was super-attentive -- almost too attentive at times! -- the busboy already had the bibimbob and pancake wrapped up and ready to go before Matt was even finished eating! But then they also gave us extra rice to take home, and packed all our leftovers in a brown paper bag for us. Did I mention the portions are huge? Matt and I both ate until we were stuffed, and easily have enough food for dinner tonight. Whoopee!
Miga's in the process of obtaining their liquor license, but for now they're a BYO. Keep an eye out on the sign outside -- the bar should be up and running any day now.
I came here for lunch with my mom a few weeks after it opened. The decor is nice, simple clean and light (...although can anyone explain the significance of the eagle statue that doesn't quite seem to fit on the ceiling?)
The lunch menu has a lot to chose from. The dumpling soup was incredibly flavourful, the dumplings tender and delicious. My mom got the bibimbob, and got a history lesson from the over-eager waiter on why and how to eat bibimbob. We left thoroughly amused and satiated. I've been back since, sadly with a different less interested waiter, but just as happy with the food.
Actually a very decent Korean restaurant.
Interior decor reminded me more of a Spanish bent than Korean; the most Korean part of it was the cloth drapes up top, but the archways and lack of light wood in the restaurant made it feel much different than the places in K-town in NYC. You can be seated at a table with a BBQ pit or without, depending on what you expect to eat.
A good, attentive server, with good suggestions for food -- all the big, common dishes were mentioned, but when we asked what she ate, well, she said she ate stuff not on the menu. Hm. Not helpful in that regard.
As for the sides, we had a soy-potato, warm boiled soy lotus root, chilled watercress, new kimchee, regular kimchee, sweet yellow radish kimchee, vinegar-white kimchee, fishcake w/ peppers, and fried egg over cucumber and flattened meatballs. A good selection, tasty, and we asked for more and they gave it.
Appetizer of the seafood pajun. Tasty, thick slices and plenty of seafood inside. A good choice as an appetizer (apparently you can get it as a meal, too).
The dinner itself - chicken bulgogi for one, I had the dolsat bibimbop (good use of vegetables, egg, and hot sauce in a very hot stone bowl), and the cod fish casserole wasn't bad (although spicy).
Ask the waitstaff if you don't know much about the menu. They'll have answers for you.
They also serve sushi here, but didn't try that this time!
I wouldn't describe myself as being well-versed in Korean cuisine, but I am definitely a fan of Bibimbop. I came to Miga on a Friday night with 2 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon thinking I was going to eat with 2 friends, only to find that the reservation was for 10, much to my surprise.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
I was instantly greeted by a smiling hostess who invited me to wait for the rest of my party at the sushi bar. They do not (yet) have a bar, it's BYOB. Shortly after, the waiter who was to be serving us that night introduced himself to me, asked if I had any questions, what kinds of wine glasses we would like, and directed me to some entertainment while I waited-- a fishbowl on the sushi bar filled with male crabs fighting to the death (they had nothing better to do).
THE ATMOSPHERE:
Visually, it's pretty modest, but that's a good thing I suppose. Just the right balance to give it some personality, separating it from lower-end Asian reastaurants, but it doesn't try get too artsy or give off heavy vibes. The choice of music should be reconsidered, the trance and vocoder-heavy soundtrack comes off tacky and totally doesn't match the setting of the restaurant.
THE FOOD:
Using my experience with the delicious dish known as bibimbop, I felt that Miga's was delicious, definitely in my Top 3 spots for it in Philly. Served in a hot stone bowl, with a fried egg on a separate plate, the shredded beef was tasty, and I love it when the rice forms a sort of baked crust on the bowl. I think I would have enjoyed the meal a lot more had I gone with a less dry wine, but that's my own damn fault. It's also my own fault for drinking entirely too much of that wine. But I digress, I was admittedly unadventurous with the food, but I really enjoyed what I had.
THE SERVICE:
Delightful. I must be getting lucky with the service I've been receiving recently. Our waiter, I believe his name was Young, was very friendly, displayed a sense of humor, and was courteous, even stepping up to pay for one girl in our party's entree when it came out of the kitchen a bit late. The man who I assume was the owner or manager was also friendly, joking around with us as we were reading the menus.
THE PRICING:
Incredibly reasonable. I was surprised how much food I got (I couldn't finish my entrée), for so little money. It's really great to be able to go out and enjoy some international cuisine like this without breaking the bank.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
A great experience, good food, friendly service, I don't eat much Korean, but I would definitely go back to Miga, and I would definitely recommend it for people seeking tasty, reasonably-priced Korean food in a relaxed setting.
I came here with a friend on a Friday evening after work to see for ourselves what this new Korean restaurant was all about. Our immediate impression upon entering was that an extremely tall blonde woman was not who we'd expect to be greeting us at a Korean restaurant. Perhaps the equivalent cognitive dissonance would be walking into a Mexican restaurant and finding a Chinese midget as the greeter. Or stepping into a Chinese restaurant and finding E.T. (yes, the Extra Terrestrial) greeting you with a friendly "nee how."
After Sheryl Swoopes' white counterpart sat us, we were soon greeted by our server. An eager to please young woman, she had to break the unfortunate news to us that they still haven't received their liquor license ("any day now, though") nor did they have any barley tea. There is a bar area, but without the ability to serve alcohol, it's about as useful as a child's Playskool kitchen set. Seriously, a Korean restaurant without a liquor license is like Sizzler without cheese toast.
My friend got the bi-bim-naengmyun and I got the regular naengmyun. Both were tasty and priced fairly, but the noodles were just a tad bit too chewy.
Nice decor, convenient location, hit-or-miss service.
Previous to Miga opening, the only good Korean BBQ restaurants in the city were on 5th Street/North Philly. Not much right in Center City besides Giwa (which is a more casual, quick eats spot). Miga is now my top pick to satisfy that Korean craving in no time. The service was excellent, great options in BBQ meats (kalbi, bulgogi, etc), a variety of ban-chan (little appetizers that comes with all orders), and great appetizers. AND, they have dukboki! A Korean spicy rice cake dish which is hard to come by at most restaurants. The decor is much nicer than most Korean restaurants too making it great for groups or special occasions.
Final thoughts...
They're still in their first month of service so some kinks are being worked out (liquor license to come), but Miga will definitely become the go-to for Center City Korean in no time flat.
I love this place. You can't get better Korean BBQ in the city. I think they are still pretty new, so some kinks with the service are still being worked out. Our service was good though.
Things to get:
1. Galbi. Ask to cook it tableside and it will be at its best. The meat is sweet and garlicky perfection and is better than I've ever had on the East Coast, save NYC.
2. Kimchi spicy pork (with or without tofu). If you like spicy foods, this one is for you. Wonderful textures and layers of flavor served piping hot from the kitchen.
3. Seafood pancake (hae mul pa jun). Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. If you've had the scallion pancake at Dim Sum Garden, these are a step up.
The sushi was very good, but definitely the star of the show were the BBQ dishes.
Haven't had lunch there but it seems to be a steal--$11 for a bento box that will fill you up with multiple different tastes. Can't wait to go again!
Had dinner here recently. Ordered the Galbi to bbq at the table - simply delicious. Though a tad more expensive than other Korean restaurants in Philly, the quality of the meat is so worth it.
Service was excellent - attentive and nice fellows!
Miga is a new korean restaurant that just opened on 15th street near walnut along with Max Brenner the chocolate place. As a local resident, I had been eying this place for a while and wanted to see how it measured up to the myriad of local korean places near my home in Queens NYC. I was pleasantly surprised by the attention we got (could be because we went on the second day of opening and they wanted to treat us nicely). The food prices are VERY reasonable, and I was surprised that they were not more expensive, given the decor and presentation of the restaurant.
For people not aware of korean cuisine, the main course sounds very simple on paper, but what you are actually getting is sampler dishes of 8-9 korean appetizers which are included in the purchase. I forgot about this and ordered and appetizer to go with the Beef Bugolgi, which were both delicious. My girlfriend got the bibimbop which was quite nice as well. I would strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a nice korean place you can go with your friends or ur significant other to. (just a friendly reminder, the garlic doesn't do wonders to ur breath lol, but the cinnamon tea that they served for free as a dessert helped counteract some of that). Great job with the opening!
Miga looks to be very promising. I stopped in today for lunch and the combination of the food, price and attentive service is quite good. With the $11 galbi lunch box I received a nice introduction in Korean barbecue.
First I brought a serviceable miso soup. This was followed by three side dishes, one of which I can confidently identify as kimchi, another slightly more hesitantly as namul and a third which was cold potatoes in a sweet curry-based sauce, maybe? Aside from getting kimchi stains on my new shirt, I have no complaints about these.
The galbi, marinated short rib, was very tender and slightly sweet with lots of umami, an overall pleasant flavor. This was accompanied by a salad with ginger-miso dressing, four or five pieces of sushi (California and futomaki roll) , buckwheat noodles in something very similar to spicy peanut sauce (though much lighter) and fried rice. All of these were good but didn't match the flavor of the galbi.
My meal finished with some kind of ginger and cinnamon iced desert tea. When I tasted the tea by itself I thought it was nice enough. But when I tasted the tea while chewing one of the pine nuts floating on the top, something magical happened. I thought they were just a presentation thing but it did wonders for the flavor of the drink.
Right now Miga is a solid 3.5 but I could easily see this place improving on the already strong first impression it has made upon me.
We had grilled mackerel, beef shortribs in a pot of sauce and sweet potato noodles. I felt the mackerel was pretty well overcooked, and it came with an uninspiring sauce which was probably the moisture that had unfairly been extracted from the thing. The sweet potato noodles were in fact overly sweet, but the overall flavor was good. The beef in the broth was also fine once the edible parts were sorted out. Service was kindly and polite but very infrequent, harried and amateur. The atmosphere is, as with most nice-ish places in Philly, more pleasant than the food. I might come back if someone dragged me there.
I came here with friends for a weekend lunch-- excellent food and huge portions at extremely reasonable prices. Our waiter was more than friendly and informative on different dish options, and we ended up ordering dolsot bibimbop (veggie and beef). The lunch menus are well-portioned-- I'd definitely recommend coming. I've heard they also have sushi too, so maybe I'll try that next time, though I'm aware that it's billed as a Korean restaurant.
The dish I ordered was actually pretty good - the traditional, Duenjang Chigae and the ban chan (small plates) that came with it was fairly good (small protioned though). The reason why I give it a 3-star is because of the ambiance. I came in by myself and was asked to sit at the bar, which was fine and probably better than taking up a full table. But still felt like I was 1/2 of a customer. When I sat at the bar, I was surprised that the bartender couldn't understand the dish I was ordering - he didn't speak Korean, which is no problem, but just something I'm not used to at Korean restaurants. He was very nice so no problems there. The place was clearly busy (Saturday evening) and I just wanted to get some home cooked Korean food.
Stopped in for a late lunch on Sunday. I had the kimchi sundubu and friend had the dolsot bibimbop. They provided a nice selection of about 8 banchan. My sundubu was nice and spicy and of course boiling hot - my tongue is still blistered. My one complaint is they only had steamed white rice and I ususally ask for the brown rice (which is really purple and has beans in it - I never can remember the Korean name for this.)
It's great to have a Korean option in CC. I will be back to try the BBQ.
Ok I went back for lunch today, and I have to say, I was quite impressed. We got the seafood pancake appetizer, and I had the Galbi (short ribs), and for $11, you got a healthy does of short ribs served over peppers and onions, a 3 piece Cali roll, 2 piece Kimbob (Korean roll), piece of egg custard, chilled noodle salad, fried rice, and two dumplings plus miso and all of the usual side dishes. It was A TON of food. WOW. It was also tastier and the sidedishes were more pronounced then last time. It was basically the same price as Giwa, but much more authentic,and much more food. Yes you have to tip, but most do at Giwa anyway. I am a believer. I think it is now on par with Pastoral.
So I really wanted to get a sandwich, as it WAS a Saturday afternoon, but I had mentioned Korean to… Read more »
What a disaster!
My friend commented that Chef Ramsey would have a field day trying to fix this place.
We showed up on Friday at 7:15 pm. Seated promptly. Ordered relatively promptly- the server could not really answer our question of what meat was inside the dumplings- she said beef- they were pork.
Everyone was being served a house lemonade with alcohol gratis since they don't have a liquour license yet. Did we get any? Nope.
I think there was a soup people were getting, but we did not get any. I wonder if it was because we were not Korean? I think it was just disorganization.
My main dish (the wrong one) came out before our appetizer or the side dishes. I asked for our side dishes and if our appetizer was going to come out. My companion's meal was no where to be seen.
The couple next to us had all their food and they had been seated well after us.
I asked the server to describe the side dishes to my friend who had never eaten Korean before. She said she did not know what they were because they change every day. HUH??!?!
While all this was happening, a huge queue had formed. Tables were not being bussed- the manager was bussing the tables, but he was dealing with the disasters left and right (loud crashing noise at one point). So, no one else could get seated. The hostess looked frazzled and was running all over the place and not greeting at the front of house half the time. I saw the kitchen grandma bringing out dishes- that's how short staffed it was. Hire some bus boys!
People were queued up for the restrooms and looking desperate.
Korean food is spicy and my friend ran out of water. We had to grab someone so he could get a refill - took about 15 minutes.
Like the table next to us, it took forever to get our check and to get the tab closed on the credit card.
We saw a couple come in, get seated, and then leave because they got no service.
The food was okay. GIWA is still my go-to for Korean.
Cheap- $34 for two before tip.
I always loved Pasion back in the day. Sigh. What a beautiful space.
i'm korean. i went when this place opened, and it wasn't the best place i've been to. the waiter was korean, which is nice. i think most of the cooking staff is japanese. edit: i'm sorry, it has come to my attention that the chefs are koreans cooking some japanese food. whoever was cooking it, it was still just OKAY. :) ordered miso soup with bibimbap, it was okay - get it with the beef. the bf got the kalbi already cooked, and cooked well. best to cook it yourself though. portion was only big enough for one person.
Ate here on Sunday for a late dinner and was impressed with both the prices and the food. My stew was awesome at $11 and my friends Dolsot Bibimbob was tasty, as well. The sides were numerous and tasty and the complimentary egg dish was delicious (and I don't even like eggs). The staff was efficient and friendly. The check came to $28 for two main dishes, an edemame appetizer, and all the tasty sides. I'm exicted to come back for some good Korean food.
Miga is the front-runner for best Korean in Philadelphia proper. Went here the other night with my girlfriend and we had a great dinner. They haven't gotten their liquor license yet and we took advantage of their temporary BYOB status ($5 corking fee). They're experimenting with their cocktails and offered us two complimentary aloe-soju martinis which were great (aloe cut the acidity of the soju). Our meals were both stellar and the accompaniments were what really made it. Usually, there's one or two that are so-so, but not here. All were great. The price is also very reasonable for the quality and taking the location into account.
One drawback: the atmosphere is a little tacky. The music was strange (sexy-time slow jams) for the venue and the streetlights outside constantly rotate between off, dim and bright, changing the lighting in the restaurant. Not a romantic place, in my opinion.
Nice cute atmosphere. We're definitely going back. We had the dolsot bibimbop ($12: A-) and sundubu ($11: A-). Both were really tasty. The dofu had a delicious rich flavor. Lots of sides come with our dishes (one of my favorite parts of eating Korean). It was a little chaotic, perhaps because of the table of drunk people singing, but we were taken care off and it all just added to the fun..
Went for the 2nd time yesterday and it was better than the first visit during opening week, which wasn't bad to begin with. The beef stew is excellent! They provide a LOT of side dishes, which were all good. My wife enjoyed her dumpling soup again and had to take some home. The portions seem large, I wonder if it is because they just opened and are trying to gain favor. Service was nice and very attentive just like at first visit. The classical music playing over the sound system was an odd choice. Prices vary depending on the dish but the standard Korean dishes are very reasonable considering the setup of the place.
this is a great lunch/dinner/take out spot. The glass noodles with seafood were very well seasoned and delicious, with a generous portion. My friend's lunch box was huge and fairly cheap with a great sampling of goodies. the miso soup was alright, the kimchi fresh and much better than Giwa's, and the service was great and very attentive since they just opened. their lunch prices are incredibly reasonable and so are their dinner prices. My bibimbop was only serviceable, (vegetarian) and I didnt finish it because it was rather tasteless and boring, so I would probably order one with meat next time or stick to the yukaejang-and old favorite, delicious spicy hell broth of beef and noodles and egg drop. delicious.
$21.00 for pork Bulgogi- come on now- OVERPRICED. It was tasty but not that tasty. Sides are ok- nothing to write home about. In Hawaii you can get as good of korean for like 8 bucks at a fast food korean joint no less. They do use good rice though- and the quality of the pork was good- but I think 15 bucks would be more reasonable- especially for take out (which I did)
Miga was awesome. first of all, the atmosphere was more like a high-class korean restaurant with nice decorations, but the food was moderately priced. My bf and I ordered a japchae of appetizer size but it came in dinner size, with of course fantastic and authentic taste. We also ordered the kimchee pa-jon,which was crispy and not that spicy at all. For entree, we had the seafood soup in a big pot. It was awesome, filled with seafood and the broth was very good, altho we suspected a bit of MSG in there. Overall, the customer service was great, and the value is very high for the price of the food.
I'm giving 3 stars in a hopeful manner... The taste of the food is not bad at all, and the price point is fantastic. Here's why I may not go back a third time: THE SERVICE. They are so disorganized that no one knows what his or her actual responsibilities are to the customers. Like some other posters, we had to ASK for banchan (the small plates) after our main courses were served. We also had to flag people down for water. The table next to us were served THREE different times the wrong dishes. Our server put down the banchan and described one as "Korean jello"... REALLY?! They need to step up their training and hire more people, or this place will fail on poor service alone, which would be a pity considering they really are trying.
I'm Korean, I love spicy foods, porridge and other…
A girl can't live on pb&j alone... tho she can try…
