Chicago Kalbi Korean Restaurant

Quality cuts. Prompt service with attentive staff at hand. Prices reflect the premium meats. Desert selection was a delightful surprise. The entrance is graced with baseball memorabilia, which is a bit unique.

What a wonderful spot! Not only was the food fresh and delicious, but the place is full of baseball memorabilia, signed baseballs, and tons of photos of Asian baseball players past and present. I can’t wait to go back and grill my own meats again.

Amazing experience. Lovely Korean and Japanese food. Excellent service .

My wife and I got to Chicago Kalbi early on Friday, a few minutes after opening. I did not know you could make a reservation by phone, still, we got a seat shortly after arriving. The first thing I noticed was the countless pictures and autographed sports memorabilia proudly displayed throughout the restaurant. As a fan of the Bulls, it was captivating to see so much history and familiar names, such as Steve Kerr and Luc Longley. Cubs fans will appreciate it tenfold as there were even more Cubs players gracing their walls. I knew I was in for a treat. Our waitress, who I believe was also a co-owner, took our drink order first. I got a Japanese white peach cocktail and my wife ordered a sweet Japanese plum wine. The cocktail was refreshing and subtle, and the wine was sweet like candy but still tasted great. After the drinks, we ordered food and got the pajun as our appetizer (Korean seafood pancake). For our mains, we ordered the hone kalbi, bulkogi, and Japanese sausage. First was the pajun, a generous portion of food that could be shared among four people. It was light, fluffy, salty, and felt like it came straight off the heat with its freshness. On top of that, it had added texture from the squid, beef, and crunchy onions. The squid felt chewy, but everything else hit the mark. Once we finished the pajun, the staff prepared the grill at our table, and instead of a gas grill, we used a wood/charcoal grill to my delight! The banchan (Korean sides) shortly followed, and the meats. We were all set to start cooking and digging in! Both the hone kalbi and the bulkogi were unbelievably tender. The bulkogi dipped into the sauce provided for us was a perfect sweet and salty bite. Mixed into the side of rice only made each bite feel more heavenly! The hone kalbi tasted of high quality yet was chewier than the bulkogi. The flavor was as great as the bulkogi, but it did not have the melt-in-your-mouth characteristic of the bulkogi. For my money, I would have ordered another bulkogi rather than the hone kalbi. As for the Japanese sausage, they were basically cocktail wieners and tasted fine; nothing that blew our minds. Between bites of meat, I tried each side, and they were all delicious. My two favorites were the kimchi and potato salad, which tasted made-in-house. If we had enough room, we would have asked for the wagyu beef menu they have available, but we were close to exploding by the end to try their wagyu. We saved it for next time! Chicago Kalbi is a restaurant that's great and knows it. It does not need a flashy sign or marketing to flaunt itself and has trusted its food, service, and word-of-mouth to stay in business for decades. My wife and I were lucky enough to get a table at this packed hidden gem, and I join the fray of people that chant their greatness. This place is the real deal and offered us a delicious meal with friendly service.

Great place for Korean BBQ. The food is good but a bit on the expensive side. Like many Korean restaurants, side dishes comes with your meal. Friendly service. Alcohol is served here. One complaint is that ventilation system. The restaurant is often smoky due to the indoor grill. Walking out, my clothes smell of smoke.