Han Il Kwan

Other than for Korean BBQ or Korean fried chicken, I tend to stay away from Korean restaurants since I can go to my parents' house for traditional Korean food. While I haven't tried the Korean BBQ at Han Il Kwan (since my favorite KBBQ joints are in Duluth), I did have the opportunity to try a variety of their traditional Korean dishes when the hubs and I had our wedding rehearsal dinner there, and everything was delicious.

When the hubs and I are craving soondubu (Korean tofu soup), Han Il Kwan is our go-to spot! Honestly, I'm afraid to share this because they may decide to hike up the price of this dish (currently $9.99), but here I go...

| "Soon Du Bu Jjigae" |

Han Il Kwan serves five kinds of "spicy soft tofu soup" - seafood, mushroom, beef, vegetable, and kimchi. You choose your main protein or vegetable and the level of spiciness. I usually get "spicy," but "medium" is also spicy. I learned that they can make it completely non-spicy if you want as well, which is pretty neat if your stomach can't handle spicy food. Each order of soondubu comes with a bowl of white rice. (Tip: An egg is only provided upon request, so if you want to put an egg in your soup, be sure to ask for one when you place your order. If you forget to ask earlier, they can still bring it out to you after they serve the soup, but the soup won't be super hot and bubbling when you do.)

I always order the beef soondubu because they are generous with the amount of meat they put in it, and the beef is definitely of higher quality than the other popular tofu soup places I've been to on Buford Highway. The other ingredients, including (but not limited to) tofu, squash, and mushrooms, are fresh, plentiful, and tasty.

| Service |

The hubs and I have always had great service here. The servers keep your waters filled, and they also make sure to ask if you want any banchan (side dishes) refilled. I love their Korean potato salad, japchae (sweet potato noodles), and cucumber kimchi!

Overall, Han Il Kwan gets 4.5 stars - rounded up to 5 - for their delicious, authentic Korean food. Their soondubu gets 5 stars all on its own! The hubs and I will continue to frequent Han Il Kwan whenever we are craving spicy beef tofu soup.

Food is absolutely delicious. My party ordered the spicy seafood soup, black bean noodles, and LA galbi, and it seems you can't go wrong with most of the menu. Sides are straight FIRE--some of the best Korean side dishes I've had in Atlanta.

Unfortunately the service was incredibly slow when we went, which is apparently not typical according to my friend who is a frequent patron. The recent Michelin recommendation might have something to do with that though and this might be the new normal for Han Il Kwan.

Reasonable prices. Delicious food. Worse than normal service.

Traditional Korean restaurant vibe both outside of the building and the inside. Very delicious Korean food with great kimchi! We had gobchang jeungol (asked for a but mild) and it was very delicious!

Average KBBQ restaurant off of Buford Hwy in Doraville. We ordered the combo for two and it was at best okay, nothing special about it - too sweet, too chewy, and low quality.
The server did a decent job and was helpful, but was grilling the meat way too fast, so eventually I told him I'll grill the rest. The side dishes didn't look fresh, but the cucumber kimchi tasted the best and there was no need to ask for any refills at all even though we were hungry. When we left, a lot of meat we didn't grill and half the side dishes...

This is a restaurant that has been around for a very long time.... The quality has really decreased over the years as the price has gone up.

SERVICE: busy Sunday PM and only 6-7 waiters for the restaurant. Majority of people were at the bbq side and the regular side was neglected. We even joked that "even if left without paying that they would not notice." We did not have our water filled, we had to physically go up to the back to have banchan filled, no one came to drop off the check/we had to find our own Togo boxes. We then waited in line (behind people waiting to be seated) in order to pay our check -- another 15 minutes.

Also I understand why they don't care about giving good service. #1: they are understaffed but #2: THEY AUTOMATICALLY GIVE THEMSELVES 20% for parties 5+. ( again, this whole experience felt very self serve).

FOOD: a couple years ago, my uncle found a cockroach in his soup so we were very hesitant about the food. It was not bad ... the GalbiTang was decent (warning: the spicy is SPICY). The JJampong: is very large for one person. The Squid Hotplate was good but not $22 good.

This place has really decreased in quality over the years... from their food to their service. For paying $20+ for meals (not to include the forced tip payment system), it is just not a good place.

I've heard good things about this restaurant in the past, pre-Covid. So when I went this evening. anticipated a good meal. Judging from the number of Korean people eating there, perhaps we got Americanized food, but it was bland to the point of tasteless. The wine ordered was vinegarish. and the Banchan, which I usually enjoy was tasteless and virtually colorless, as well as skimpy.

And almost to add insult to injury, the waitress was so frenetic that it carried over to all of us that were eating. And I normally don't comment on wait staff.

The restaurant is separated in two sections, main dining and Korean bbq grills. The Korean bbq option my friends and I got was some of the best quality beef we've had in a while. The nice ladies who work there will also cook the food for you and make sure you are taken care of. This place also gets pretty busy so if you want to try this place out either come early or prepare to wait.

I was charged $22 including tax for a bi bim bap to-go. So that's $20 before anything. I checked later and it's $17.5 on the menu. That's dishonest. Plus it was missing the beef when it was advertised as having beef.

It could have been a miscommunication and they thought I ordered the mixed vegetable one but that's $11.5 on the menu. Even worse.

*Correction. There was beef but so little I didn't notice.

This was my first time visiting Buford Hwy, and my friend insisted we go to Han Il Kwan. Disclaimer: I know nothing about Korean food, so was pointed in the right direction by my friend on what to order and, once the food got there, how to eat it.

Discounting the cultural differences (which are sizable-- it's pretty authentic, after all), Han Il Kwan offered great food, good service, and a really pleasing interior! I got the bulgogi bibimbap and it was genuinely delicious. It was my first time trying authentic Korean food so I can't grade it on a comparative perspective, but wherever it ranks... it was scrumptious.

The serving style is a bit different than a traditional Western restaurant, but all in all our server was friendly and, discounting the very end, very prompt. They give a set of six smaller complimentary appetizers at the beginning (kimchi and the like) which were all delicious, and at the end offer complimentary cinnamon tea. Both were really sweet gestures in hospitality, and will keep me coming back!

Before there was pho , ramen there was Kimchi in my childhood growing up in Southern California and going out to eat to what is now called Koreatown in Los Angeles with my Mother. Kimchi was a bonding experience with my mom that to this day I am nostalgic off.

Now living in Atlanta I get to reminisce those old memories by finding good kimchi on Buford Hwy, to what is now the second largest Korean population compared to Los Angeles.

Today for lunch I ordered the kimchi, which comes in a stone bowl (dolsot) with all the little side dishes. The kimchi was made to perfection.

I have been meaning to write a review even though my experience was a couple months ago (though I have been coming here for ages since it is a very long-running restaurant).

I honestly don't understand why people rave about this place... maybe because they still use charcoal. Who cares. That doesn't make up for the lack of service.

I went there about an hour before closing. I am very aware of how it is frowned upon to go to a restaurant right before closing; however I thought an hour was decently acceptable. I also came with a large party, which I thought was a good thing.

Apparently the staff didn't think so. I am Korean myself and I know how Korean ajummas are; I understand their humor and how they act when they are displeased in general. Well this night, they were very rude and it was obvious they just wanted us to get out. They pressured us to order all the expensive stuff. Because I was with out of town guests, I obliged thinking "at least the food is good." It wasn't. The meat was undercooked and the workers didn't care. They didn't refill any of our waters or give us any service other than telling us without telling us to GTFO. Then it was about a million dollars for probably the worst service (again, I'm Korean and know that our idea of 'service' is different from American service) but even for Koreans, it was horrible. Because I was with guests, I didn't say anything for the sake of saving some drama.

Anyways, I never leave reviews but this really stuck out in my mind that I had to come back and say something. Just because a place is long-running and stays authentic doesn't mean it's okay to treat customers like that. If you're going to treat customers like you're still in Korea, then don't charge an arm and a leg.