New Wonjo Restaurant

The hostess crammed us 3 girls into a 2 person table, and while we fit, it would’ve been nice to have more room. However, they were busy and we were hungry so we dealt with it.
We wanted the haemul pajeon as an appetizer and the waitress suggested we order the small size. Good thing we listened to her cause it sucked. There was barely any seafood and the pancake itself was thick. Pajeon is supposed to be crispy but the oiliness of the pancake made it a sad, soggy mess.
The ban chan, kimchi jjigae, and yukgaejang were also mediocre. My friends and I thought the stews were super salty and that we’ve made better versions of the dishes. And to conclude our meal, they gave us a cinnamon drink but it was so sugary that the consistency was basically syrup.
Overall, I can’t recommend this place when other restaurants do it better. Next time I want stew, I’ll go across the street to Kunjip.

Whenever my friends and I want Korean BBQ, this is the place we go. It’s the only place where they do the charcoal (?) BBQ instead of an electric grill and it makes a difference. Their non BBQ dishes are also pretty good and doesn’t taste too laced with MSG.

The food is phenomenal, I’ll give them that. Service is so-​so. However, my girlfriend and I had a rather traumatizing experience last night.
As we received our bill, my friend wrote what she thought was 20% (we had a few cocktails) and signed away. My friend got up to use the facilities, and that’s when the waitress (middle aged Korean woman working on the first floor) brought back the signed copy and informed me she did not tip 20%, and demanded more tip. I looked it over and, okay, she was literally $ 3 short. When my friend returned she was shocked and embarrassed that this woman had no shame to beg for a tip in such a tacky fashion.
Offended, angry, and embarrassed, my friend and I left the receipt as it was and proceeded to make our way out. This woman literally CHASED us outside and yelled until we got two blocks away, hollering «EXCUSE ME!!» «HELLO!!!» For $ 3.
Unprofessional, no shame, uncivilized, and embarrassing for this restaurant.

The selection of food here is great. Jut almost anything you can think of for a korean restaurant
Pros:
Good selection
Good banchan (complimentary refills of course)
Good service
There can be a wait but I’ve never had anything ridiculous for a walk in
I would say the taste is pretty authentic
Cons:
Some of the food can be bland so I would ask the waiter/​waitress of how the food is prepared (salty, mild, spicy, etc.)
Note: They recently enforced a 20 $ min for credit cards. Not something that they used before but it’s a good note to keep in mind for your next trip.

My friends and I had no choice but to come here on a Friday night. Everywhere was super packed and this was the only restaurant with a short wait time.
Starting off, the Host was extremely rude and pushy. He told us to stand on the side which had no room and the door was constantly swinging open. We asked for the wait time and he ignored the question and kept telling us to move over to where the door is. We were unable to stand there so we stayed at the staircase and somehow, he ended up backing up into me, stepping onto my left foot and leaving it there until I picked up my foot with his foot on mine and said ouch! He continued to pretend that he didn’t know he stepped on me, even when I said something about it. Terrible person!
So the two stars goes to the food and the waitress except my budae jiggae wasn’t that good. My friend’s cold noodles tasted like feet according to her. The bachan (side dishes) were pretty good and seafood pancake was good. Don’t get the soondubu, cold noodles and budae jiggae.

Great place. Amazing food. Open all day and all night. Cant go wrong. Good fast eficient service.

I moved to Manhattan from Orlando and my first experience in K-​town soon made it a favorite destination of mine. Once I discovered bibimbap, I was a regular. A delicious mix of rice, vegetables, egg and beef (my protein selection) it is true Korean comfort food.
The best addition to the meal are the tiny dish starters– kimchi, fish, various vegetables to chose from… It’s a true dining experience!

Came here late on a Saturday night for my Korean fix. I ordered the Jap-​chae with beef and loved every bite! I would recommend getting the spicy version to add another layer of yumminess!
We also got a bottle of SoJu — it must have been good, because I got sort of drunk and we finished it by the end of dinner.
My only complaint would be that the «large» portion was somewhat small.

Double date night! Stopped here with my girlfriend and another couple to try out some korean bbq! The line was long and took about 40 minutes before we sat down.
There was also an episode of bizarre foods with Andrew Zimmern that took place here. There was nothing bizarre about the food but it was definitely delicious.
Service was pretty fast here. All the meat tasted good and looked fresh. Everything was delicious.
We were supplied with a bag for our coats so it doesn’t smell like the delicious bbq and incase the greasy doesn’t splatter on it.
There’s upstairs and downstairs for dining and the restroom is located downstairs.

Wow! Just wow! This place is fantastic. Best Korean I have had in New York City hands down.
We were seating promptly. We sat downstairs as we opted not to do the barbecue. The amount and quality of the Banchan (Small Appetizer Dishes) was outstanding: top notch Kimchi, radishes, potato salad, a whole baby shrimp that I could not get enough of, spinach. And they were constantly refilled with no request. Water glasses were always kept full which was a good thing as I ordered a Kimchi based dish.
First up were delicious fried dumplings. Delicately fried, light and crispy. I could have eaten more than 4 but self control got the best of me. We both opted for the Bibimbap. Both were excellent. The portion was absolutely huge. My wife had the bulgogi, it was excellent, the meat was spot on and the dish was very well seasoned. I had the Kimchi. I love Kimchi but, to me at least, when it is cooked it is twice as hot. Hence I have sworn off Kimchi Jigae and decided to switch to Kimchi Bibimbop. Outstanding, really, I am not fluent in Korean cuisine but this was an excellent dish.
The free dessert/​apéritif is a cold cinnamon/​ginger tea. It was so good my wife and I tried to replicate it when we got home. Successful for the most part, needs more cinnamon.
Highly recommend and for the price you cannot go around. 2 Bibimbap and the dumplings. 42 $ We did not drink, that is the one and only downside. The prices on alcohol are very high. 6.95 for a bottle of Korean Beer (Hite). That is just too much.

Love this Korean restaurant. This place is great for Korean BBQ. I came here before they renovated 10 years ago. Always packed and long lines. First floor is for people who don’t want Korean BBQ and the second floor is for Korean BBQ. I decided I wanted Bulgogi instead of Korean BBQ. The staff works fast pace and can get customers seated fast. Waitress and waiters are nice. The only thing bad about this place is they give you the check early. Felt rushed when I was finishing my meal. The food here is delicious. I will come back when it’s less packed.

$ 20 credit card minimum.
There are some breakfast specials for $ 8 from 6−11am if you’re an early bird. I wish they had options like bimbimbap or bulgogi but alas, it was merely tofu soup and noodles /​dumpling type.
I got the tofu soup with beef (no spicy) and it was average. The beef threw me off — I kept having to spit out the fat part and it was on every piece?
But I took my leftovers home and boy was I grateful I did because tofu soup is delicious remicrowaved!

Once I was on Über, a passenger recommend this place for late night craving. I came, and how can I miss this place for so long. I know I have passed this place so many times, but I just never pay attention to this place. I have missed out so much!
Food here is very delicious. The ox bone soup is a must. Especially in recent weather, I just keep thinking of the soup.

Yush, I am a fan! I might betray food gallery for this place. Came in around 2pm for lunch, we were seated right away. We ordered from the lunch special menu, the Ox Bone Soup with Sliced Beef (Sul Lung Tang $ 8.95) and Broiled Half Mackerel and bean paste (Godunguh Gul & Sundubu $ 12.95), rice and side dish came with the meal. The Ox bone soup came out bland, you need to put in your own salt and pepper. Not complaining, the salt and pepper brought out the flavor. Wish there was more beef and noodle though. Broiled Half Mackerel was delicious, cooked beautifully and fresh (just look at the picture!). At the end of the meal a cinnamon ginger drink is served.
Food was great, and the service was splendid. The side dishes were continuously being refilled without needing to be asked. :D
Minimum credit card charge — $ 20
All dishes are served with rice except appetizer, dumpling and noodle.
Lunch Special is from Mon– Fri 11am-​3pm.
PS. The bathroom needs to be cleaned and the toilet paper dispenser needs to be refilled. The women’s bathroom is really small with only two stalls, barely any room to move. Ladies, please pee in the hole and not on the seats. Stop hoovering. Thank you.
–update– May 5, 2016
DO NOT order the Pork belly Bossam, you have been warned. Please refer to the pics for more details. The end.

Roaming around K Town on a Saturday morning and we stepped into this place on a whim. Inside it’s kind of dingy and it smelled like cigs.
Disappointed to see that there was a rather limited menu with just a handful of soups and stews. But, all the soups and stews were priced at $ 7.95.
I had Yukgaejang which is a spicy soup made of shredded beef and assorted veggies. An array of side dishes were served alongside a bowl of steamed egg. Righteous!
I am giving four stars based purely on value. My wife and I ate heartily for barely $ 20.

Food: B
In general, the food was good. I got the beef soondubu tofu soup, which I enjoyed, and my friend got the tofu bibimbap. We also got the vegetable japchae appetizer which was reallyyy good. The texture of the noodles was soft and chewy, just like I like it. The only part of the meal that I thought was somewhat mediocre was the traditional Korean side dishes — nothing special.
Service: C–
The moment we sat down, the waitress came and literally hovered over us when we hadn’t even had our menus open for 30 seconds. We said we needed a few minutes, and so she left, but it was so ridiculous that we laughed about it. She came back soon after. We hadn’t had the time to decide yet, so we asked again for a minute. She stood a few feet behind us hovering as we looked at the menu and made us feel extremely pressured. Also, the moment we finished eating, they put the check down, pressuring us to leave. I understand that they may have people waiting for a table or something, and I’m generally not one to dawdle at a restaurant for too long when it’s busy, but it was a very uncomfortable experience.
Ambiance: B–
The place was busy for a weeknight — as is any other place in NY. It was a little cramped, I had little space to put my jacket and bag on the bench that I was sitting against the wall because the other tables to either side were really close. It was a little uncomfortable.

New Wonjo is definitely one of my less comfortable experiences eating in Ktown. I popped in Saturday at 6:30, and it was PACKED. The waiters do seem pretty experienced with dealing with crowds as they make you order while you’re in line so the food is ready as soon as you sit. Thus, we waited for a total of 15 minutes for a table of 3.
My friend and I had the «Michelin recommended» pork bone and potato soup, while our other friend had the beef bulgogi bibimbap. Everything from our side dishes to the soup were definitely very pretty comparable to other Korean restaurants in the area. I was disappointed that the huge chunks of pork bone meat wasn’t tender enough, so eating this was quite the struggle.
The table was small and uncomfortable, the room was loud, and the attitudes of the wait staff seemed generally more geared towards rushing people in and out than providing a comfortable dinner.

Definitely two stars. Out of the many places in Manhattan that offer K-​bbq this one is one of the worst. The food quality is decent and the prices are okay, but the service here is AWFUL. I mean, our server hardly came to our table, I had to go find someone to take our order after 15 minutes of waiting and we never got our waters refilled! We wanted to order more food, but because the service was just so bad my party (a total of only 3 people) and I decided to just call it a night. For similar food quality and price why not just go to Miss Korea (or any other Korean restaurant in the area) across the street?
Two stars.

I can’t pretend to be a K-​BBQ expert, having warmed my hands at the table-​center hearth but a few times, but I am willing to learn.
I dragged my little family to Wonjo on a chilly Saturday for lunch, and (spoiler alert) it was a big success. I know that K-​BBQ is much better appreciated late-​night after a few too many cocktails, but my 6 and 9 year olds go to bed too early for that. However, they do like a little beef, and a little theater, so I reckoned they’d dig the experience. There was a line up the stairs and the place was packed, but we were seated almost immediately, largely, I believe, because we wanted to do the BBQ.
I chose Wonjo because, deep in my reptilian brain, I remembered that it had some distinguishing feature. Once they brought over the white oak coals I remembered — it is the only BBQ in KTown that uses charcoal rather than gas. The cons are: the waitress cooks the meat, and I rather like the process of doing it myself; and there is a tense moment when the coals arrive, and another when they depart, dangling precariously from a set of tongs. The pro should be obvious: nothing tastes as good as charcoal. The pros take it.
My wife was unfamiliar with the ordering process, or the volume of food that appears, so we over-​ordered. We got the premium beef BBQ, which included Prime Short Rib, Marinated Boneless Short Rib, Marinated Ribeye, and Non-​marinated Prime ribeye, and ran $ 30 more than any other BBQ option at $ 109 for 2 – 3 ppl. It was excellent — the kids loved it. The combos come with Sundubu (seafood, it was excellent), that coddled egg pot that is a decadent treat, a table covering of bonchon, and sweet ginger tea for dessert. Because we are idiots, we also ordered the cold noodles, which were great, but way more than anyone could manage. I can’t call it a deal at $ 109, but we all left full and happy.
Service was excellent, and despite very busy servers, our meat never got overdone.
It seemed like most of the early afternoon crowd was opting for something besides BBQ — we saw several hot pots and some great looking roasted fish plates on the surrounding tables. I think you could do a lot worse in KTown than Wonjo.

Came here on the Jonas blizzard day (Yep, the love to food can make you crazy and reckless things). Most of the restaurants were closed. Luckily, New Wonjo was open, so we pushed ourselves inside to hide from the snowmagedon and stuff our bellies with good food.
Pretty decent Korean food. The upstairs sitting is cute and has a nice view. I am crazy about glass noodles and New Wonjo is not joking with their glass noodle portion and taste. I had seafood one and not going to lie, was PRETTY satisfied with the dish. My friend had beef spicy soup and she was happy with her order. The bowl was gigantic!
Definitely going back to New Wonjo.

quelle étonnante surprise que ce restaurant ! après avoir arpenté toutes les rues du quartier coréen, je me suis laissée tentée par ce «petit» restau, qui est sur 2 étages.
on a été placés au rdc, sur une table en bois. la déco intérieure n’a rien d’extraordinaire, c’est assez sobre et classique.
pour une première fois, je n’avais commandé qu’un plat pour voir à quoi ressemblait la cuisine coréenne (hé oui, courageuse mais pas téméraire). et voilà qu’on m’apporte 3 ramequins, suivis de 4 autres. j’explique au serveur que je n’avais commandé qu’un plat et il m’explique que c’est compris avec mon plat. résultat: j’ai pu tester plein de saveurs pour le moins atypiques grâce aux différents petits plats.
un conseil: né commandez qu’un plat pour commencer !
NB: n’hésitez pas à vous faire expliquer plusieurs fois les détails d’un plat par le serveur si vous né comprenez pas bien la carte. j’allais commander des pieds de cochons (birkkk) si le serveur né s’était pas assuré que j’avais bien compris ce que c’était. et avec son accent, c’était pas facile, il a fallu qu’il me montre son propre pied !

Vous commandez un plat… et vous vous retrouvez avec une douzaine de spécialités en plus: soupe, nouilles, petits poissons, legumes croquants, forts et doux, oeufs, …