Spring Korean Barbecue
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
187 reviews
Santa Clara, CA
"Hands down the best Korean food in the Bay Area. Yes, I'm including Brothers and Brothers 2.0. The kalbi is far superior to any other…" read more »
59 Reviews for Spring Korean Barbecue
I love their short ribs! It's yummy-also they give you a good variety of the small kimchi plates. I like cooking it in front of myself because i can control how burnt or cooked I want it. Their food has not disappointed me at all. I have been coming here since 1999. I would say 3.5 stars because of slow service. If it wasn't for the slow service, they would get at least 4.5.
Spent 80 bucks for ala carte orders of bulgogi, spicy pork, and kal bi.
Ordered two beers that came way too late. My iced tea and 3 orders of hot tea was also slow - showed up near the end of the meal. My mouth needed to be quenched from all that salt in the sesame oil/salt/pepper sauce.
The quality of the meat here is good and what makes this place special
is the wooden charcoal grill. It's better to come in clothing you don't mind smelling like BBQ afterward. The beef and pork came out to perfection on the even temp. charcoal and melted in my mouth. The best way to eat the meat is to rip a handsize slice of lettuce, place grilled meat into preferred dipping sauce(sesame s+p for me!) wrap and munch!!!
Left happy and stuffed as the place wasn't too crowded. But I wondered about uncle as he took our drink orders but stared back starry-eyed and spaced out. Had to remind uncle again later on in the evening to bring our drinks out.
A bit on the expensive side for just 3 orders of beef, a round of beer, and iced tea. I've had much better experience and cheaper quality eats at places in Hawaii (Millions- off Sheridan St. - where Sam Choy hangs out!)
Try this place ONCE for the wooden charcoal experience and delicious cuts of meat.
Spring Korean BBQ is considered by many of my friends to be the premier Korean BBQ destination. The place is hidden in a strip mall, and cramped with big (albeit nice traditional solid wood looking) tables in a small place. Seats maybe 35 people or so.
Unlike Palace BBQ, it's not all you can eat, and there isn't as much variety, but what this place lacks in variety, it more than makes up for in quality of meat and the charcoal grill. And that charcoal grill is something special. the smoky flavoring is unique to charcoal, and no gass grill can ever come close.
It does have one other problem, though. It's rather pricey. So go here when you want a higher end BBQ experience with a more authentic flavor.
Given a choice between Palace and Spring, I'd choose Spring if I had the money, and Palace when I'm just hungry (^-^)
Went to Spring BBQ for lunch again today for my Korean fix in Santa Clara. Okay so it's a little pricey, the service isn't great and the food isn't fantastic but it is there when I want it and I have never been disappointed. The place looks moderately clean and they have BBQ tables if you want to cook your own. Bul go gi, chapchae, pa jun, kim chee and other side dishes like the mysterious white jello thing with soy/sesame sauce, all good and makes me feel warm and happy for hours. Works for me.
The Korean bbq here is very good, the service is not so much. I believe Irene S had to ring the service bell about 5 times, that's how inattentive they were. If anyone needed something, she would press that sucker without any hesitation. Thank goodness we had her seated next to it. However, I think she purposely asked them not to come over just so she could press the button.
The stand out dishes were the kal bi yukejang (red hot soup with kal bi and cellophane noodles), kimchi jigae, and fried mackerel. The selection of banchan was good, although there was no free chap jae (a la carte it was a steep $10!).
Our table of 6 ordered just the right amount of food, and the bill came out to $18/person. I didn't over do it because I knew we'd be having Korean pan cakes and fro-gurt at Trendy Bean next door after dinner. The nice touch was the cold sweet rice digestive at the end of the meal. So refreshing!
People thought this was:
Useful (10)
Funny (4)
Cool (10)
Went here to grub with a homegirl once. I think this place is a little overpriced, but that's not that uncommon for Korean BBQ joints in the Santa Clara area around Stevens Creek and El Camino.
I liked how they had the grill right on your table and used wood coals to cook the meat instead of charcoal, but they have you pretty much cooking your own food at least give us more meat or charge a little less for the portions you're giving us. The meat was pretty good and juicy after we cooked it, but they could have given us a bit more for $20-$22 a person.
The Korean BBQ sides like Kim Chi, lettuce, salted sardines, etc. were average at best and tasted only mildly fresh.
This is the type of place where I'd only come there once to try it and never come back again.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
My roomies and I made the trip over after reading up on all the Yelp reviews. We came fairly late on a weeknight, and it wasn't super crowded or anything. We got the kalbi and spicy pork - both were really good. The fact that it was grilled over charcoal (not gas) made a big difference too. Everything was tender and well-marinated. The panchan was plentiful, but nothing special. One star off for being a little on the pricey side, but the food was really tasty!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
I keep on coming here with my bf or with family and always leave disappointed. Service is slow, rude (they've asked us to move to another table numerous times) and you always have to wait forever to get a check. They are also overpriced, hence no wait even on weekends. It's just about $20 per person and at this rate you should just go to Palace. Side dishes are plenty yet none of them are good.
Oh and they also try to rush you. We were grilling our meat at our own pace and the waiter who ignored us til then comes and starts to pile on meat at our grill! My bf (who is not Korean) is pretty mad and annoyed and says "Um, CAN YOU NOT?" I fought away my laughter and told him that we don't want to cook our meat all at once. Then he goes off and says how we should cook our meat fast b/c the fire will go off soon. We did not take his advice and our meat cooked just fine. In fact, in the beginning the meat came out burnt so its better to wait it out.
Lunch specials- their duck-bock-gee is nasty and so are their kimchee noodles
I agree with some of the other reviewers that the food is pricey but that isn't stopping me from giving Spring Korean Barbeque a 5-star rating. Here's why:
1) yes, the kal bi was $20 per person - which seems high, however...
2) a number of authentic Korean side dishes (including some really good kim chee) were provided
3) the kal bi was wonderful
4) the service was quite friendly
5) there was literally a button at our table, and when we pushed it, they came running to help us quickly
Parking was a bit tight in the lot (building placement issue). The restaurant was ~50% full, and we were greeted by two different people when we arrived and thanked by three different people when leaving. I have never had such an experience at another Korean restaurant, so this was a pleasant surprise. I'm glad my wife and I have found a good place for kal bi in the bay!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
You don't go here because you want a friendly smiling face to coddle you. You go for the food. And man is it good.
I love the fact that if you decide to cook your own, they have someone bring out charcoal. Not flick a switch for some gas flame, I mean, a container of flaming charcoal (not Kingsford my friends, wood) to cook your meat over. The waitresses will help out with the cooking if they have to but expect to cook your own meat, round eye.
My family and I have patronized Spring for quite awhile. It's a bit of a slog all the way from the Peninsula but it's what we like to bring our friends to when they are ready to for the next level in Korean dining.
The basics are good: meats are tasty, tender and well marinaded, kimchi amuse bouches all are good (though I'm not a huge fan of excessively gingery kimchi or fishy seasoning in my kimchi), pajun is nicely crispy and the japchae is quite nice.
Mega portions - enough to bring home for the next day's meal. Or two.
The place is usually filled with Korean people so you know it's gotta be authentic.
Years ago, a friend of mine who ran a Korean BBQ place in Japan took me here. Since then, I repeatedly went back for both BBQ and non-BBQ meals. We would've continued to frequent this place, had it not been for our relocation to Midwest. Two years later, we excitedly went back. We didn't do the BBQ this time, but the food was still satisfying.
FOOD:
* First off, I like the banchans here. Though not unique in any way, they taste decent. Our two entrees - the soontofu and the beef yukkejan - did not disappoint either.
* Based on what I remember from two years ago, their BBQ is great. You'll get high quality meat and seafood, fresh veggies and tasty sauces and pastes.
* Their tea = hot water. Soooo diluted.
* However, as markedly criticized in other reviews, we later felt the painful effect of a major MSG overload. We kept drinking water for a few hours...
SERVICE: The service is good, and you should be able to instantly grab their attention by ringing the bell on your table. (A system that's somewhat annoying, in my opinion.)
SETTING: The room is split into two spaces - the bigger one on the left is primarily for BBQ. If you're ordering cooked entrees, sit in the room to the right to minimize your exposure to smell and smoke.. (but do expect to bring your coat/jacket to dry cleaning if you bring one inside!)
SUM: The prices are higher than average, and given that there are SO MANY other Korean joints in the area (at least two others in the same complex?), we might not frequent this place so much anymore.
People thought this was:
Useful (6)
Funny (2)
Cool (4)
Spring Korean BBQ has all the elements of a decent Korean rib joint. Grill at your table goodness, real wood coals to add that smokey flavor, pretty good meats, Naeng Myung that's not half bad.
But with the good, comes the bad. While wood coals would be a plus in most situations, temperature control is difficult at best here. The galbi is cut thin, so watch out for burning. And the sam gyup sal.....OH THE HUMANITY! THE HAHRRAH....THE HAHRRAH! Beautiful slabs of pork fat goodness going up in charred flames. I was about to cry (or was that the grease flames lighting the room and searing my eyebrows). For sam gyup sal, a metal plate sometimes works better.
Oh, and I was looking forward to pushing the service bell button, but alas, my table had none. Damn.
As this was a family night out, I had to refrain from getting familiar with the soju selection (oh hell, I know what they are anyway). But soju always seems to bring on an extra star here and there. Too bad Spring...it's still Winter.
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Ugly, ugly food. This place is a cheater.
The pork was tough and overly marinated. They rely on the flavor to forgive their poorly stored meat. It tastes like they have vats of raw pork at room temperature ready to be dished out per order.
The yuk-eh-jang broth was pure MSG. I bet they don't even try to make beef broth for their soups. Of course it tasted good, but MSG is crack salt, lazy cook cheat sheets, piss Lydia off ingredient. Fuck.
The kimchee was overly fermented. That should've been in kimchee-jigae not served as a banchan. Moo gook was overly crack salted. Banchan was too crack salted.
It all tasted good b/c of the MSG but that's CHEATING.
People thought this was:
Useful (7)
Funny (6)
Cool (4)
I went here for my first yelpers gather and drink event... The food was really good... My white boy tastebuds were lit up like a pound of ganja at a reggae concert. Problem was, for 2 people it costs more then a pound of ganja at a reggae concert... Its cool to grill over charcoal, and I am gad I gave it a go, but there is just too much realy good Korean food in a 2 mile radius that costs a fraction of this place.
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
This place is very expensive. I understand that most Korean restaurants had to charge higher price because their all-you-can-eat side dishes add cost to the business. But I think $22 for a few strips of meat is pretty overpriced. In other Korean restaurants, they give you one set of side dishes for every 3 to 4 people. We had 8 people at the table, and we only get one set of side dishes. Though those dishes can be refilled on request, but most people didn't get to try everything because by the time the dishes wer passed around, they were empty already. Some didn't bother to order more because they didn't know if they would like it or not.
The food was pretty good. The beef was fresh and tender. The pork was pre-cooked in the kitchen before. It was the last dish arrived, the waitress just dumped the whole thing onto our fire. I would expect her to put the dish down and let us BBQ the pork at our leisure.
The bean paste (Miso type sauce, I don't know what it is called in Korean) is heavily loaded with MSG. My heart started pounding only a few minutes after I tasted it, so I knew what it was. I avoided the bean-paste sauce for the rest of the dinner and the marination of the meat was okay. The BBQ meats were not too loaded with MSG. I guess the paste was from canned product and they couldn't control the MSG contents.
We ordered the iced noodles after the BBQ. It was very interesting. This was the second time I had this kind of noodle. When I had this noodle in another restaurant last time. I found it weird tasting when I had it as a meal by itself. This time, I had it after the BBQ. The other restaurant served it as a refrigerated dish. This restaurant served the dish with shaved ice. The ice and the sour soup made it very refreshing, especially when eaten after the BBQ. I don't know if this is meant to be some kind of dessert, but I would not have known when to order it without the advice from our Korean friends.
I would expect the waiters to control the ventilation better. I could see the smoke from our grill got sucked into our chimney. But at the other corner of the restaurant, I saw smoke rising to the ceiling. Apparently, someone forgot to turn on one of the fans.
This is a Korean BBQ restaurant, don't wear your best clothes and dresses unless you want them to smell like BBQ afterwards. You need to plan for a shampoo after the dinner too.
I took off one star for not offering us more side dishes.
well i like to thank AJ for ordering too much food here and trying to fatten me up. Andl also big thanks to Christian for paying for lunch. grazi.
The waitress sounds pissed everytime aj tries to order something or get some water. shes always mean mugging aj when he asks for stuff. i duno why shes all mad at hime, if she dont wanna work there she shold just work somewhere else.
the small dishes were good, espically the lettuce kim che. the bean sprouts were also pretty good.
bbq porkayyyyy and the bbq beeefeyyyy mm mmm good, when i go out to eat i only eat meat because when i eat at home i eat vegie. you wont catch me eating vegie at any korean place, maybe xcept the tofu house.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (4)
Cool (3)
Pricey and the service is on and off (mostly off). But it's hard to find better kalbi with real charcoal on the Peninsula. Ask for the special sesame oil & salt sauce on the side.
Wow, it sure sounds like I got scewed here! We usually have to order three meat portions to feed two people...
Most disturbing is what happened last night. We ordered a Kalbi and a Bulkogi to grill at the table. The lady tried to put almost all of the Bulkogi order on the grill at once, so I suggested to her that we'd like to grill it ourselves. The lady sort of threw down the bulkogi, which was not very friendly, but what bothered me more was that the lady snipped the bones off of our kalbi order - with chunks of meat still left on them - and took them away, never to come back with them! In the past, they had brought it back grilled in the back, so I don't know what happened. Maybe I offended her by asking her if I could grill my own meat...
We used to come here frequently, but throughout this evening, the service was cold and unwelcoming last night. The charcoal died out before we were done with the meal and instead of bringing us more, they came and piled all the meat on grill. I guess they wanted to set the pace of grilling, since they knew our charcoal wasn't going to last long... The sad thing is that the meat is quite good and the charcoal (when lit) is really much better than gas...
We didn't ask for the bones, since by the end of the evening, after a number of service disses, we decided we were never coming back again.
Oh, how I miss Sam Won BBQ in Oakland! It's just too far of a drive now that I live in the South Bay...
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
I went here with Jon T. and another friend tonight. I am so so so so so so angry. READ MY STORY BEFORE YOU GO HERE, DAMNIT! :)
For one, they gave us water (not tea). Maybe I'm imagining this but I felt like they would have treated us better if we were Korean. We ordered the kalbi and the bulgogi. They bring out one plate of meat - we find it to be kind of a really small portion, but we finish it and think that's it. They take our charcoal and our grill away.
Then they bring out another plate of meat. I'm kind of confused because I had read on Yelp that the portions were small - and this would make them not so. (It's about the same amount on the plate as the first one was.) My friend notices the servers in the back talking and glancing over, so we're not sure if this plate is ours or not - maybe they just delivered it wrong? Then they bring out new coals and grill. We wait about 10 more minutes just in case, because we're still not 100% sure... but hey, no one says anything so we start cooking, assuming that this is all part of our order. The waiter says "the bones are in the back."
When we're about 75% done cooking, a lady comes out and starts yapping at us in Korean/incomprehensible English about how we ordered #1 and #6, but this plate was #5. She started accusing us of ordering #5. "Who order #5? Someone order #5 here." I seriously wasn't sure what she was saying, but I just really firmly and politely told her that we'd ordered #1 and #6 and nothing more. WHICH WE DID. And if they were so sure we'd ordered #5 then... whoever the hell took our order should come and confirm it!
Seriously, I'm pretty sure they just served it on accident and didn't want to take it back, so they just waited until we had cooked most of it to say anything. I seriously was so offended by the service. Not only did they do that, but then to make a scene and accuse us of ordering something we didn't?! It's not like they didn't bring out the meat, and THEN bring out the coals, and then bring out the grill. So obviously they were aware that they were serving it to us. And if we really had ordered it, then why would she have come and started interrogating us about it?
Well for the record, the other guy who cooked for us and the guy putting our coals on were cool. But this woman was seriously... oh em gee. I have never been treated so rudely at a restaurant. After a couple of minutes of trying to figure it out she kind of just gave up and walked away to the next table. Then we get the bill - which has an extra $22 charged to us. WOW. Honestly, even if she had just said it was a mistake or apologized for having to charge us for it, I would have gladly paid for it, but she never admitted to their being wrong or said sorry for anything. I glowered all the way out the door.
And I didn't even realize until I got home. Where were our goddamn bones? I like to cook them bones and chew off those pieces that are really fatty and chewy and bad for you!!! The guy had said they were in the back earlier but then never brought them out... UHH k thanks...
I will admit that the meat we had was good (side dishes were whateva, I have better at pretty much any tofu house). I don't know if we're supposed to get rice or not (most places I have gone to usually serve rice) but we didn't get any. Damn I got ripped off!!!!! I didn't even have cash to go eat dessert at Trendy Bean Cafe next door. Woe is me. I can't believe we drove half an hour for Korean BBQ and had a terrible experience.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. I really don't think I've ever given a 1-star but they were SO RUDE. And if you go here anyway and the same thing happens to you... I don't even know. Bitch the lady out please, because we didn't and I wish we had.
I'm so upset that the rating is still four star. It's making me want to sign up for another Yelp account to lower it some more. But I shall refrain.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
It's been a while since I ate Korean BBQ, so I had the chance to try another place today. This time i'd be eating with AJizzle, so i had to pick a spot that had decent reviews. As this place seemed pretty solid, we decided to meet here.
It's in a strip mall that you'd totally overlook had you not been headed specifically there.
Got here at 2:30pm Sunday and the place was pretty empty. As it seems all other Korean and Mongolian BBQ take a break between 2pm and 5pm, it would seem people don't know this place is still open during this time, or maybe people simply don't eat Korean food at this time :p
As a suprise, Jack W was there as well. Haven't seen these guys in a while so it was great to hang and shoot the shizz.
As expected, AJizzle headed up the course selection. It seems he is well versed with all foods so I completely trusted his selections. Only thing I contributed was an order of Soju.
It seemed there was only one waitress, and it looks like she may be the owner too...not sure. There were about two other tables of people and she was waiting on them too, so service was sorta slow at first. But not too bad as we were gabbing anyway.
First round of dishes were an assortment of kim chees, noodles, onion breads, jelly, sprouts, and what appeared to be tofu but was actually eggs. All were pretty spicy minus the eggs. All were very tasty.
Next up we had this beef soup which was pretty spicy but VERY good. I never had this kind of soup before so it was a pleasant first.
Then the meats came...BBQ beef andpork? Wasn't sure about the lighter meat...but they were both sweet and savory. This really hit the spot for me as I was fiending Mongolian BBQ, but what was really super good was the white fluffy rice that went along with it. It was exactly how I like it....steamy, moist, yet not mushy...a bit sticky and very fresh tasting. It's neutral yet starchy flavor complemented the well seasoned meats very well.
We also received what appeared to be asparagus omlettes. I really liked these too. Never had it and it looked so simple. Yet it's mellow flavors toned down the spicy kimchee and meats.
The ambiance was very pleasant. Where Su's Mongolian BBQ qould be perfectly fine for college students and those adventurous, Spring Korean BBQ would be perfectly acceptible for the family and to celebrate a nice promotion or some other special occasion.
The table we sat had the requisite BBQ grille, although we didn;t use it as the meat was already prepared.
Was a bit on the pricier side...but not too bad considering it was one of the nicer Korean BBQ places i've seen in the area. It was a very pleasant experience.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
The first challenge to eating here is finding the place. It's in a non-discript strip mall which does not face the street. Look carefully for the address sign. There are a number of Korean places in the strip mall. Keep looking until you find Spring.
I went here at part of a very large Yelp group. The group was great. The restaurant gets mixed reviews. As others have said, the main attraction is the coal-based cooking. We had quite a variety of dishes and all the BBQed ones tasted great.
The non-BBQed dishes were a mixed bag. We had a fish soup which was spicy and interesting with big pieces of shell fish in it. The seafood pancake was only fair. I've had this elsewhere and there wasn't as much flavor or seafood as I've had at other restaurants. The tofu soup was OK too. Again, not as flavorful or spicy as at many other Korean restaurants.
The side dishes were basically run-of-the mill. The kimchee was good. The rest was adequate. I really liked the soju. If you like sake, try it. We also had a sweet rice drink at the end of our meal which was quite lovely.
Atmosphere here is non-existent. Basic, clean tables. The standard vats of tea and water in the corner. It's probably not the best of place to come with a large crowd. There isn't room for large groups and with the BBQ you can't really move tablea around. OTOH, there was a very drunk businessman shouting at regular intervals so perhaps that annoyed our fellow dinners more.
For the BBQ I'd give this place 4 stars. Adding in the other food it goes down to 3. Come for the BBQ, go with the atmosphere, and enjoy.
This is THE choice for Korean BBQ in the South Bay. If I want authentic BBQ or want to take non-Korean friends to Korean BBQ, here's where I go, knowing it's real and delicious. The meat is great, and, as everyone has mentioned, they use real wood charcoal, not nasty gas. I think I had the bi bim bap eons ago when first introduced to the place, ironically, by Chinese friends, but I haven't had anything but kalbi since then. Ordering other dishes here is like going to In-N-Out and ordering chicken (not that they serve chicken).
The room fills with kalbi smoke every night, so you're going to come out pretty stinky. It's not as smokey as Brothers, in the City, however.
All the Korean beers and soju drinks are there, and I'm pretty sure they have baek seju, too.
Yummy. Check it out.
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Cool (2)
All the good reviews were right. This place was yum and there is nothing like coal cooked meat. And nothing like taking the lingering smell of coal cooked meat in your pores, out of the restaurant with you to have fond memories by.
I really loved was the chicken, the kalbi which I get at most places was good, but just not as flavorful as I'm used to. But what I really liked was they have the service bells a la LA Korean food and the people there treated us like we were family. They cut up our food, and threw it on the grill, flipping it occasionally and scoffed at us when we would let stuff get slightly burned. It's like eating with family.
And then they had the delicious cold sweet rice thing for dessert. All my favorite places have that. A good find from fellow yelpers. Thanks guys.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (2)
The charcoal grill makes such a huge difference. This is the best Korean bbq I've had in the South Bay so far (been here about two years). LA korean food is tough to beat, but for NorCal, this place is good. The meat quality is infinitely better than the tofu/korean bbq places I've tried in Sunnyvale/Santa Clara.
I had the thin wrapped kalbi and the bulgogi. Not too cheap here. It was about $50 (tax/tip included) just for those two entrees w/o drinks. I'd give a five star, but I felt like their portions were a bit on the small side, and I'm a small girl.
Service was okay, it would have probably been better if we didn't walk in 15minutes before closing! A couple stares from the workers who were eating their dinners for walking in late, but the food was worth it. Yum. I'm hungry.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
The best thing about this place is that they use hot charcoals to heat up the food, giving it a real down home smokey flavor and feeling. Most all other places use gas grills. Of course, don't go here if you are going to the Symphony later in your black and white! The food is good, but a little bit expensive than a lot of other places. (Pays for the charcoal?) Try the beef tongue, and a large OB. Oh, and bring your smoking friends, they can get a contact cigarette equivalent indoors eating here!
saah-mokin!
they got quite a variety of meats on the menu, the kalbi is always good, however instead of them cooking the bone, I'd wish they let me cook the bone. I love the kalbi bone. The ribeye was very nice, tender, and awwww yeaaaaaah. I could go on and talk about the other bbq items but that'd just make a drooling mess on my desk, so overall, get the bbq.
Now what else is good?
SEAFOOD BIBIMBOP!!!!!!!
oh hells yeah sucka! That shit was good, you gotta stir it up real nice with the egg so every bit of bibimbastic goodness parties it up real crazy in your mouth. Yeah, I had been jonesin for some korean food and this place satisfied it quite nicely.
what else?
the nice tofu soup and rice drink dessert. The soup was a nice finisher for the meal. Simple and delicious, as well as light and homey. That was a great finisher. Then that rice dessert drink, hells yeah, just the right amount of sweetness, with ice cubes so it's also refreshing. First time ever drinkin that nectar of the gods, and now I just want to retire and drink that on a porch listenin to rhcp.
damn, I'm hungry again
ps. minus star because it was on the pricey side, I know I know
Once again, based on fellow Yelpers, I came to Spring Korean BBQ with high hopes of satisfying my hankering for Korean food. Upon various recommendations, I tried the Kalbi Yukejang which was pretty good.
The BBQ was good. The bibimbap was a bit disappointing primarily because of the portion, which was rather pitiful compared to other Korean BBQ places. Overall, my friends and I all thought it was above average but not all that great. Anyways, I wouldn't go as far as saying calling this my go-to Korean BBQ place.
Updated on 2/20/2007: Went back for lunch and their weekday lunch special isn't too bad. Now, I have to add that it was kind of disappointing to see the server treat one of my non-Asian co-workers like some second class citizen -- water instead of tea, no menu, and *gasp* no chewing gum after the meal! I'm taking away one star for that unfair treatment.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
You'll never find me lit at Korean Spring BBQ because I have to be on my tip top, best behavior -- I cannot have dinner here without running into someone who knows someone who knows someone else who knows my folks, not to mention that this is the *other* unofficial ajushi meeting headquarters. What does this mean? It means that though each table has a SERVICE BEEEEEELL (how cute, instead of a single chime it plays a melody), I have to throw out both the obnoxious and menace-to-society cards so as to make a conscious effort in practicing restraint, only pushing the button when absolutely, positively, unequivocally necessary.
Kalbi Yukejang (Spicy kalbi soup with egg drop and clear noodles) is CODE RED, like cranial combustion, 9-1-1, page Paul Newman, there's an inferno up in here hot. But it's good.
The dol sot bibimbap comes out sizzling so beware of 3rd degree burns. Fire extinguisher not included.
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Funny (10)
Cool (7)
it's THE season you can find YeulMu (young radish kimchi) NangMyun (cold noodle) + Galbi set on lunch special menu!!
People thought this was:
Useful (9)
Funny (6)
Cool (12)
What in the heck are you guys talking about?
Most of you folks are in awe of the charcoal, hey i am too but that doesn't do me any good here.
There's one minor thing that prevents a 4 start rating, the amount of food. Really I am appalled that you guys would highly rank this, you guys must have not been to very good ones. I am indeed a charcoal fanatic, though there are tradeoffs as there would be in any circumstance. Two kal-bi orders looked like one, side dishes were never replenished and i even got up to get my water. And no, they weren't busy, just horrible.
As for the taste of the beef? It seemed like less than average quality beef, the marinade wasn't complete either. I wouldn't mind paying extra for more food but i am simply used to better restaurants.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
The food is decent, but pricier than other places. You can order an entre or bbq at your table. The Kalbi is good but pricey and you don't get very much. For Kalbi head to Palace BBQ. The sea bass (min uh jim) is good but the sea bass quantity is a bit lacking. This place has charcoal bbq but I'd still rather head to Palace BBQ for Kalbi meat for the price you pay here.
This place has horrible service, I went with 2 friends to have dinner and we ordered 2 plates of meat, they gave us one plate and I guess they put the two types of meat side by side. We're not krn bbq pros so we just ate it, they took the empty plate away and took the fire away, and then brought another plate of meat, we thought oh maybe this was the 2nd plate of meet we ordered since we didn't know they combined the first plate, and they also brought us new fire to cook the meat. After we were done eating, one of the ladies comes over and asks us something about 2 plate meat. we couldn't really understand her so we just said yeah we ordered 2 plates, and she said "meat come you eat, take away , new plate again" and we're like yea.. you guys took a plate away and brought another plate of meat. She starts to yell at us LITERALLY about how YOU ORDER NUMBER 1 AND 6, THIS 2ND PLATE IS NUMBER 5!! and we're like whoa lady calm down, we don't know the difference. They all just look like raw meat to us. In the end she gave us dirty looks, yelled at us, and then slammed on an EXTRA 22 DOLLAR CHARGE for one more plate of meat. We did not order it and we did not ask for them to bring the 2nd fire to cook it. This lady is crazy and yells at her customers for something they didn't even do. She could have politely asked us if we could pay for it since we did eat it, or she could have yelled at us and taken it off the bill since it was their fault, but she yelled at us AND charged us 22 dollars I'M NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN, EVEN IF I HAVE TO STARVE TO DEATH
DON'T GO
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
One of the best places in the bay area to get Korean Barbeque (that I've been to). Unfortunately, San Francisco is lacking for places to go for really good Korean food. So if you're really craving it, you might consider driving on down to Santa Clara.
This place is nicer and pretty big in comparison to other more getto, hole-in-the-wall type Korean joints. All the barbeque-able meats here are very good but I'd recommend the long ribs (the thin cut beef that comes wrapped around the short rib bone). You won't regret it. I've never come here with someone who didn't like it. And the meat is thin so it cooks quickly and you can shovel it into your face faster. All the sides are decent and if you order a lot of meat, most likely they'll give you free soup or something.
They serve pretty good shik-hae here- that icy cold, sweet rice drink in a stainless steel cup that tastes so refreshing after your carnivorous meal. And they also have that melon gum here that they give out at korean restaurants. You know the kind that tastes really good for about 30 seconds. Don't be afraid to ask for it. I did, and they gave me a whole pack.
And, I don't know if it's superior ventilation hoods, or the kind of charcoal they're using, but for some reason you stink less when you come out of this restaurant as opposed to a lot of other korean place where you barbeque at the table. But if you're the designated barbeque-er for the table your hand will inevitably smell like charcoal grilled meat for the rest of the day. Mmm.
One of the best authentic Korean BBQ places in the south bay. Better then most Korean places in SF. They use real charcoal and it's very tasty.
You come out smelling like charcoal though ;) Mashesimnida!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (2)
Meat lover paradiso.
While other Korean BBQ places have succombed to the need for fast fire and serving the masses with gas grills. This is one of the few places left where they actually bring out real wood briquettes to your table for cooking the meat. I'll admit I have a gas grill in my backyard, and it does the trick - fast setup, no waiting, and easy to heat control. But when it comes to real flavor, there is no way to beat smokey briquettes.
The galbi here as a result of the real wood chips is TOP NOTCH.
You can also go for the Klabi Eukeh Jang that Irene mentions. Yeah it's hot, but I think it's actually more on the sweeter side. But then I like my food spicy, like my wife when I'm late coming home from work.... (did you read this!)
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
This is my favorite Korean Restaurant in the Bay Area. This place has odd character but I eat at a lot of dives so this place is comfortable to me. It's in a strip mall behind a 7-11 and is pretty non descript. Yes, the staff don't speak much english but pointing at things on the menu has gotten me pretty far. When I brought in a Korean co-worker he definitely got us hooked up. Ive leanerd that if you know what to ask for you can get hooked up equally well.
The main draw here is the BBQ. Fantastic. One of the few places where you get real charcoal cooking. The quality of the meat is definitely a cut above the rest. Kalbi is definitely a personal favorite but I also love the Jap Chae and seafood pancakes (I've had this a 100 times and I still don't remember the name). You could probably make a meal of all the side dishes but definitely save up for the BBQ.
Oh yeah can someone tell me what that weird Korean Melon flavored gum is that they give out after the meail? It's tasty but the flavor last likes 90 seconds and then goes completely bland.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (1)
Used to frequent this place for lunch. Their service is slow and not always friendly (at least if you don't speak korean), but the dol sot bi bim bop can't be beat. Mmmm, hot sizzlin pork n' veggies, love it. I never ate anything else here, but I can at least recommend that one dish, because it rocks socks, yo.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (2)