Road to Seoul Korean Barbecue, Los Angeles

Four coworkers and I went to try a new Korean Barbecue in Koreatown called Road to Seoul. Korean Barbecue in this part of town is extremely competitive and options abound. Offering both all you can eat and a la carte, we opted to do the AYCE for $16.99, typical of prices around town. The meats we chose were black pork belly, beef sirloin, bulgogi, and boneless kalbi as well as the baby octopus. Other meats on the AYCE menu that we didn’t try were the pork neck meat, bbq chicken, and beef tongue.

So did Road to Seoul impress?

• Quality of the meats, is probably the most important factor in judging Korean BBQ and Road to Seoul’s quality was very good. The variety of the AYCE menu is good to satisfy most tastes. Bulgogi was sweet and well marinated. Kalbi and sirloin were well marbled and tender. My favorite was the thick slices of unadulterated black pork belly–pure and simple, my friend acclaimed it “pork candy.”
• Banchan was plentiful and quick to refill. Notables included are a large bowl of salad, and steamed egg soufle. The kimchijeon (kimchi pancake) was skimpy but hey, can’t complain since it’s included.
• Service was great. A service button is by every table and someone comes by within seconds when rung. They allowed us to grill our own meats and changed the charcoal grill when it got too smoky.
• Decor was modern and very clean. It was spacious and ventilation was good, but not great. However, I don’t think you can ever come out of Korean BBQ without smelling like you washed your cloths in meat and dried it over a bonfire.
• Parking was plentiful on a Wednesday night. They have valet option but a free lot is in the back as well as street options. Weekends may be busy.

Bottom line: Excellent AYCE Korean BBQ with high quality meats and great service. Dinner for 5 with two large bottles of Korean OB beer and tax came to just over $100, or about 24/person with tax and tip. I have a feeling we’ll be traveling down the Road to Seoul frequently.

 

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