Gen Korean BBQ is an all you can eat banchan barbeque place and it’s definitely an enjoyable experience! The price per person averages to around $30 – $50 (including drinks). Alongside this, their menu (based on what time you visit) has so much available options! This review will only include the Lunch menu as that is the time that we visited!
The chain gives you a starter before you order of white rice and numerous types of kimchi. I would suggest not eating those as it is worth more of the money to eat as much of the menu items instead. Therefore, you can eat the starters at the end if you still have space for it.
The location of this franchise was 150 E 14th St, New York, NY 10003.
Beef Cuts in the Gen Korean BBQ
The honey soy beef belly rolls were delicious though the later cuts were quite tough. The first batch we ordered where really tender and broke apart in our mouth quite easily. While the second and third batch was tough and chewy. Unfortunately, this does slightly sour our view on the place as it wasn’t a nice experience. I suspect that they order in cheaper cuts of the meat to cut costs.
The steak that was served was also extremely tough despite us making sure it was medium rare. It was honestly really disappointing that these cuts of meat were just too chewy. I found that the steak was not seasoned much and it did not improve when dipped in the sauces.
The seasonings we were provided where mediocre; the salt-based seasoning was bad though. It was way too salty when I added a small amount to the steak and it tasted nasty.
Fish Katsu and Shrimp Review
The fish katsu was great along with the sauce that they had provided. Additionally, I found the sauce to be much better than the complementary sauces they give at the start. The fish broke off easily in the mouth and the crust was super crunchy. Thus, the two textures combined through contrast and produced an amazing mouthfeel. We ended up ordering two of these as they were absolutely delicious!
However, the shrimp was delicious but not recommendable due to the skins being left on. Consequentially due to the skin kept on the shrimps they are quite difficult to eat as you have to take them off first. Furthermore, it’s uncomfortable if there is some left on you’ll either have to chew through it or spit it out. It takes time to take the skins off when you could be eating something else.
Conclusion
Generally, the food was enjoyable despite how tough the meat was. The selection of items you could order was large (though it’s better at dinner!). The drinks may have been great but we wanted to save money so we only ordered the soda’s. If you can eat a lot of food- then it’s great value so make sure to visit it when you’re ravished!
Regrettably, the only other issue at the Gen Korean BBQ was that waiting time is long. The location seemingly was understaffed at the time and did not even have that many people being served as well. Alongside this, the servers only ask if we wanted something more only a few times despite it being quiet in the location.
Overall, it’s an experience that you shouldn’t miss- despite the downfalls. Its both affordable and offers a large amount of food that is delectable!