Prince Hof – Hwang Tae Ja

I went here because the ambiance seemed nice. I grew up all over southern california where every block is a korean bar or restaurant so this was definitely missed. But this was sad. What they were serving was laughable for an area with tons of korean/​asian markets. I’m writing this at 1:30 AM because argh.
Spicy Soup + Ramen: $ 18
Contained: ½ sliced sausage, ½ sliced hot dog, 4 tiny slivers of spam (¼ can), kimchi, INSTANT noodles, instax ramen mix /​gochujjang?
$ 18?
Chicken Wings:
12 total, soy glaze or spicy. Only thing semi-​worth the hefty price since it came with a side salad and pickled radishes. (Bön Chon chicken in Manhattan and Fort Lee are 10x better priced).
Cosmopolitan (Martini) $ 11
Grenadine and Vodka. barf. I know grenadine since I yaked from drinking that nasty shit when I was like, 16, thinking it was a fancy mixer (lol)
White Russian: meh $ 8
Our total bill came out to ~ $ 59.
We gave a 10% tip. Service was meh, Food was UGH… SAD.
THIS SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH.
ESPECIALLY FOR ELMHURST.
Nope, waitress literally stopped us while getting our coats on. She even reached over my boyfriend (who was crouching under the table trying to grab a dropped card) to snatch the signed bill at the far end of the table. My guess was to stop low tipping customers. She chastised us about how in NYC it is a MANDATORY LAW to tip between 15 — 20%. I get it for gratuity for large parties. But I will NOT tip at a restaurant serving POOR QUALITY, OVERPRICED food. Our total bill with tip was $ 66 and if we see a higher amount posted onto the bank card, we will dispute charges to have it REMOVED. FYI, your restaurant is in elmhurst. This is not K-​town, manhattan.

Pros: Food — one of best korean food in the town.
Cons: a waitress with rude attitude. She told us a tip was not enough and asking an extra tip on «ToGo» item. Moveover, she was telling us that 15−20% tip was required by New York City law. When did NYC make this tip law?
Check it in
or
, if you can find any law that states 15−20% tip is required by law.
If a manager of Prince Hof see this msg, tell your waitress to study a law before using nonsense law comment.

A mandatory experience for chicken wing lovers.
Long before KFC (Korean fried chicken) existed, there was Prince Hof. Locals who grew up here say this place was the hot crazy spot, bumping with people thirsty for Korean drinks and hungry for Korean pub food, with of course, the major attraction being the fried chicken.
All this talk made me curious so I stopped by here with these locals who happen to be my friends and well, I must say that I’m a convert. My photo doesn’t do any justice but traditional KFC in Korea is served with the refreshing white radish kimchi, ‘mool kimchi’ and a bed of semi-​greens (coleslaw or romaine lettuce) topped with ‘thousand island dressing’. Pair the chicken with beer and yogurt soju and you’re in for a nice meal without at all breaking the bank. Watch some Korean videos while you’re at it. Maybe you’ll see other videos of the you tube mega star, Psy while you’re there.
Only reason why I don’t give it a five is because I was disappointed with their Korean rice beer (mak-​gul-​li). I plan to come back here again when Korean comfort food calls out to me.

I would say the fried chicken is the best thing on the menu, but I haven’t ordered anything else… That said, Colonel Sanders eat your heart out. Also a pint of beer is $ 4.

The chicken wings… Oh, how I adore the chicken wings.
But I don’t even come here for the food. I come here for the… Korean infomercials playing beside our booth. the fun bell I get to ring when I need my waitress… the oh, so very endless amounts of popcorn… and the beer. What a uniquely fun Korean pub to spend the rest of my night in.
This might help you understand:

I can honestly say Prince is my watering hole because when I want a drink this is where I turn to. I’ve been coming to this establishment for well over 7 years now and have seen the waiters /​waitresses come and go and I must say they have VERY tasty food and a good selection of drinks.
However, as one reviewer mentioned, you’re not going to get the same taste from the drinks as not all of the waiters /​waitresses know what they are doing: P
However, alcohol is alcohol. Also, Prince is one of the few bars I’ve found in the area where you can order Bacardi 151.
Recommended dishes:
Jamppong Noo Rung Ji Tang
Cheese Bool Dak
Chicken Gizzard dish (veggie one)
Feeling Rich:
Jeepo (dried flat fish)
Assorted Fruit bowl
Recommended drinks:
Liquid Cocaine
Cookie Monster
Lemon Drop
You can also request a Jäger Bomb with a shot of 151!
CONS:
They become a bit cheap with tip, and if they see that its under 15% they’ll actually stop you at the door.
Service (e.g. — free food/​drinks) has been slowed down greatly due to management cracking down, and the staff try hard to be attentive but hey they’re young and working long hours.
Other than that, definitely one of my favorite bars to just chill out and have a good time. I can look past all of those issues and enjoy my little watering hole.

2days ago i went there. There was this waitress who served us. We had to ask for glass of water frequently & all she did was hand over us our bill. Haha funny thing was she demanded 10 $ tips minimum
Very poor customer service.

Not sure why it says no take out service when I’ve taken food home plenty of times from this restaurant. Also, not sure why it says not good for kids even though they have varieties of menu options great for kids. I guess because it’s known as a drinking anvironment. Food is awesome, great to share with a group of people and 15 $ pitchers are great as well. I wouldn’t recommend ordering drinks other than straight shots or beers because there is no liscensed bartender in this location. Any mixed drink’s taste will vary depending on the person who’s making it. Overall, pretty good place to go to to have a cheap night out with a group of friends.

We came here after the Taco Crawl to drink and just unwind.
This is a Korean restauarnt and too bad we had all stuffed ourselves, or else I would have ordered up some Korean food.
We meant business and we wanted to drink. They were able to accommodate our group of 12 and we sat down immediately and got to work on drinking soju.
We had a soju expert with us and ordered up a few carafes of soju and happily drank the night away. Soju is traditionally made from rice and has the taste of vodka. Nowadays, soju is made with barley, and other grains.
The staff were attentive and always refilling our table with popcorn to soak up the alcohol. My only gripe is that this place has only Budweiser on tap. WTF?
Oh, you can also catch up on your K pop here too. They had a few TV screens just blasting K pop. Man those dudes are trendy and wow tey can dance. They would put Usher to shame… just kidding.

This was my joint after a while. I lived nearby in Jackson Heights. And there aren’t very few good places to chill at night or on weekends other than hole in the wall bars or delis. I ended up going to Prince Hof nearly every other night to hang out with friends in the summer. It is very Korean with small tv screens playing K-​drama all around the walls. It’s a fairly small restaurant, very dimly lit, and filled with only booths by the walls and a few in the center of the room. There’s only 2 or 3 waiters staffed at one time. They’re all very attentive with great service. Food and drinks are all decently priced. Although the food comes in very big portions and they usually offer complimentary peanuts or small appetizers when you’re first seated. The music is not so loud that you can’t hear your company in the booths, and the temperature is always breezy and comfortable at all times of the year. The waiters are also always gracious enough to let you borrow a lighter for a smoke outside. I’ve been to most of the korean bars in K-​town in midtown and really none of them compares in service or price or seating.

a typical korean bar/​restaurant.
However its décor wasn’t too nice or chic for the young crowds.
And there was a small roach on the wall beside me. which the waiter nicely killed it for me. but idk
food here is fair. ppl really come here to get drunk though
pretty comfortable atmosphere. it’s okay to play some drinking games and get a bit loud here.

This is a pretty typical Korean-​American bar, the menu is a mix of Korean standbys such as ddeokbokki and budaejjigae; and bar foods such as fried chicken and french fries.
They offer a perfunctory beer list and serve soju and other assorted Korean liquors.
It’s really on the edge of 3 stars for me; it’s kinda pricey for Jackson Heights and nothing about it stands out. On the other hand, there’s nothing really to complain about, really.
By the way, I’ve never seen anyone sitting at the bar in the 10+ times I’ve been there…

Food rating is 3.5 stars.
More detail here at a Chowhound thread:
My bf and I came here with 2 friends. We actually like coming here for a late night Korean snack.
This place is normally one of those places that Koreans go after a late night… but of course, because of the nerd that I am… I go for dinner!
Between the 4 of us, we ordered the following:
1) Ramen dish of some sort — the dish was spicy with seafood, which also tasted really good. (btw, it was on the right side of the menu… I forgot to get the dish name)
2) Om rice — «Omelet Rice» — good but wasn’t outstanding; it tasted as it should
3) Bulgogi over Rice — also good but wasn’t outstanding; it tasted as it should
4) Steak dish of some sort — the sauce was good but the meat was almost like a hamburger meat consistency
Of course, you can’t miss the soju! My favorite Korean drink mix is Soju & Bekseju. The 2 mixed together makes me a happy camper because the Bekseju never gives me a hangover the next day. Woot! I like the flavored soju but most korean places usually go cheap on the alcohol.
If you like the soju & bekseju enough, you can buy them at the liquor store a block away on Roosevelt/​Broadway for roughly $ 5 per bottle to drink at home (versus the $ 12 or $ 13 bucks at the restaurant).
I would definitely come back for a late night dinner/​snack… esp for the soju & bekseju as well as the bulgogi/​ramen.

«The Haughty Prince»
A Korean tale inspired by Oscar Wilde.
Once upon time, in the lands of York, her majesty the Queen decided to give the young Prince a castle to govern in the fief of Elmhurst; so that he could learn the reins of power amongst his most humble subjects, before being exposed to the pompousness and formalities of court life.
But the Prince, instead of being happy, was envious of his uncle, the great King Manhattan and his sons; most of which were part of the prestigious brotherhood of the 32.
The Prince looked at the environs of the Broadway, and sang his woes for what was to come: «Oh! My heart! I see around my fief, and find only what’s tacky and cheap; how I long to be on that brotherhood of 32 with my cousins, but instead I’m here, in this lackluster fief… No! I will prove to everyone that I can be as good as anyone, despite my dreaded spot and ugly corner, I will make my castle hof shine I promise thee…»
And thus, after much deliberation, the Prince finally had a plan. He decided not to post any signs or markings outside his castle; «I’ll make myself secret and expensive, and the mystery will entice exclusiveness…» The Prince then called for great designers of the kingdom, brought the best masons to install great technology; every table was given the luxury of their own silent buzzer, even when the small castle didn’t need to. The Prince decided for the lights to be dim lit, and for the windows to be smoked so that no one could see inside. Then he called the chefs. He ordered them to prepare the best Spicy Tuna Kimbab, Kimchi Kal Gook Soo (hand made noodles w/​kimchi in chicken soup), Kimchi Jigae, and spicy Chicken Gizzards. He even brought chefs from Japan to serve Ramen and Udon. He furbished his bar lavishly with Soju, Sake and many cosmos, and soon enough, a small clique of young Korean vassals started congregating in the nondescript castle.
From the outside, an old, ugly wooden wall and blacked out windows… inside, an elegant restaurant with a nice vibe. The Prince had succeeded.
But alas, in time he became unhappy. He saw that there was something more important than pretense, and that something was gold. He sent the scribes to make a huge, vulgar banner, with large pictures of the exquisite platters served inside, and ordered his pawns to hang it across the wooden wall for everyone to see. Soon enough, the Prince was making pots of gold, and he was happy.
The Queen then came, and told him his time had come to join the brotherhood of 32. But the Prince responded: «No mother, I rather stay in my fief, where my castle’s elegance is unique, and thus also my profits»
She smiled, and sent the royal messenger to Unilocal her son’s decision to all 5 corners of York. And everyone ate happily ever after.
The End