Korean Grill Restaurant Review

Recently, in the last three years, a China Town has emerged in Austin. My thoughts? It took them long enough! Before Austin had a China Town my parents would make monthly trips to Houston to stock up on Asian products. Sure there are supermarkets in town that sold some Asian products but the selection was minimal and the prices were clearly marked up.

Austin's China Town by no means is on the same scale as Houston's, mostly because Houston has a much bigger Asian community. Having a China Town in Austin is great for those that want authentic Asian products but what I missed about Houston's China Town was all the eateries, everything from Japanese, to Thai, to authentic Chinese and Korean. There are quite a few Chinese restaurants in Austin some authentic, but many Westernize. What I really cared about was finding good sushi for reasonable prices, as well as a good Korean restaurant. Sushi is easy to find enough, even if I had to pay more, but Korean food is hard to come by in Austin. So when I came across Korean Grill in China Town I was ecstatic, I was skeptical but I was very willing to give it a try.

Upon first impression it didn't look like much, the name and overall look of the restaurant pretty much blended in with the rest of the area. Nothing about it made the place stand out and demanded notice. When I went in it was a fairly small place, very low key and humble looking, definitely not a place for a fancy date. I did find the waitresses and hostess to be very friendly and attentive though. I was greeted with a smile the moment I walked through the door. I liked that the place was quiet enough that I could hear myself think and have a conversation without screaming every word. The food was definitely authentic and delicious. I loved that they gave free refills not just on rice but with the side dishes as well, I've been to a many places that didn't do that. I was with my boyfriend and we ordered what we normally ordered, he got the Korea ribs and I got seafood tofu stew, and both dishes came out bubbling and sizzling hot like it should. As I mentioned earlier the food was very tasty, just what I had hoped for.

The place could use some work though. The floor is concrete and lacked décor. The bathroom was very homey. The overall restaurant had more of a family owned and run kind of a feel to it, which is sometimes good, but it was a tad too homey. The Korean ribs were a bit on the chewy side, it didn't come off the bone as easily as it should've. I remember fighting with a piece trying to pry the meat off the bone. It all could've ended up really messy had my boyfriend not stepped in. Although I enjoyed my seafood tofu stew and the spice was definitely up to my level I thought it was more tofu than seafood. I've eaten at many Korean restaurants and this one skimped on the shrimps and clam. The rice bowl was also smaller than what I was use to but I made it work.

All in all I thought Korean Grill was a good find. I would stop in again and I would recommend it to anyone in the area and craving Korean cuisine. It's not the best that I've had but it's good food. The prices seemed a bit high for the quality of restaurant but then again they offer free refills on side dishes and rice so I guess it's worth it. I would give this place a 3.8 out of 5. Not bad but it could use some improvements.