Arirang Korean BBQ and Pho

Jay El

a month ago

★★★★★

Good spot. I'll have to come try again. I stopped in for Pho, not expecting "Korean Pho." It was good, but it wasn't pho.. lol. The calamari was perfect!! And the service was incredible. I was a little worried when I saw only one server in a busy room, but she was quick, attentive, friendly, and had a positive and beautiful glow about her, that seemed like she truly enjoyed her job. I will be back with my family now that I know what to expect.

Kenji Tanaka

a month ago

★★★★★

"Quite possibly one of the most mis-managed and low food quality KBBQ places in the Pacific Northwest." To preface, I've been to a bunch of KBBQ places around the area and in Cali and Vegas. My main go-to is Baekjeong next to Alderwood Mall. Honestly, after eating at Arirang, I will never leave Baekjeong again. Pros: - Cheaper price for most fares. - Decent sized seating area. Cons: - Absolutely poor customer service. They are short-staffed and whoever owns the place does not care to staff appropriately. - Cleanliness not to standard. There were multiple human hairs in the bulgogi that came out from the kitchen. (Picture attached for reference.) - "New Smokeless KBBQ" is just a electric pan built into the table. - They do not change the hot plates at all. Prone to smoking due to the burning animal fats. - Poor cuts of meat. Meats are not sauteed or seasoned at all, like other KBBQ places. Their version of "spicy pork" is literally the "non-spicy pork" with hot sauce squeezed over the top. (Pic for reference.) Why not just marinate it like Baekjeong does? - A good portion of the electric plates for cooking in the entire restaurant are broken or in disrepair. - Facility is falling apart if you know what you're looking for. If you are a contractor/tradesman, you'll have a freakin' field day in this restaurant. Summary: Came here with my family, and honest the wait time to get in was horrible. We stood at the front desk for a good 15 minutes before anyone even noticed we were there. Maybe they did notice and just didn't have the capacity to take care of us. I only saw two waiters today, and honestly, for a weekend whoever owned the place should've planned accordingly for the weekend. After we got our table at the 20 minute mark, we got our drinks at the 30 minute mark. Did our orders for the K1 and the meat cuts came out rather quick. Not too shabby. However issues arose with the side dishes at the area was not kept clean and I found a couple bugs/flies in the side dish area. To be honest, it wasn't kept very clean. (Pictures attached.) What really got me was when my kid told me: "Daddy is this hair?" I took it and had a really good look at it. It definitely was hair. Human hair, and if you take a look in the background there was more hair *IN* the bulgogi. Pretty much everyone lost their appetite at this point and we just quit eating. The male waiter was nice enough to offer us a side of Galbi for the electric plate, but we declined. The electric plate was already charcoaled over and creating a lot of smoke, we lost our appetites and the cleanliness and food quality was not there. If anything like what happened to the other Arirang on Highway 99 in Lynnwood that closed shop, this one is going downhill too. I figured I would give them another shot, but it just seems like this owner just doesn't care. And quite honestly, I don't care for Arirang either. I'm going to Baekjeong at Alderwood Mall. I'm not even worried about the price tag at this point, I would rather pay an extra $20-$30 to make sure my food is clean and good to consume.

Dayna Sakanashi

2 months ago

★★★★★

We came for a holiday weekend lunch. The quality of the food (we had LA 갈비, 두부 김치, 계란찜, お弁当, & 냉면) price, and service is outstanding!! 반찬/side dishes were the best quality with large portions (nothing dry, all flavorful and not too salty) especially the kimchee was delicious. I'm so glad we live close by - 잘먹었습니다 😊