San Soo Kab San

The food is great but the service was awful... I've been a few times and this last time was the worst. Our server, Young, was simply terrible. She was rude and quite curt. I hate feeling like we are an imposition when we walk into a restaurant. I'm glad they have the little call buttons on the table but I don't appreciate the huffy service that accompanies the call. This place could easily earn 4 or 5 stars when the service improves!!

Okay, so about a week ago: there I was, turning 40 and with a craving for Korean BBQ. (Can we say party?)  I invited a few friends and family to join me for some BBQ to celebrate.

Now, we'd all  been to the other location in Chicago, so we knew that the service might not be the best and planned to order everything up front, in case our waiter disappeared after the initial order. I had hopes from the other reviews here on Yelp that this new location might be a bit more friendly. Turns out they were right!

The new branch has MUCH nicer decor. It has a clean modern look. Black granite tables and white marble floors. Evidently the owners were aware of some of the challenges of the original location, as they'd installed buttons for summoning the wait staff at each table here.

Our server was helpful, and helped us pick out a good meal. She seemed okay with splitting the check three ways between 6 people too. There was a slight language challenge, but she went and got a menu so we could point to things and ask questions, when necessary. (BIG difference from the Chicago location!!)

The food was really good. I am a huge fan of their marinated spareribs, and those were great.,as were the numerous banchai . The sushi was good and the staff were good about making sure we had plenty of drinking water and drinks.  The waitress came and helped us grill the octopus without our asking. They were excellent about bringing us new grilling surfaces and tongs every so often as well.

We were expecting it,  but I was still a bit disappointed when the waitress tried to rush us out the door by pointedly turning off the ventilation hood and bringing us the check, instead of asking if there was anything else we wanted.  I could understand that behavior if the restaurant was full with a line out the door, but it was about half empty at 4 pm on a Sunday afternoon. So, they lose a star (and some potential revenue) for that, since we all actually did want some desert.

Also, my sister told me she'd asked them to bring us a cake or desert for my birthday and was flatly told "No, we don't do that."  

So, if you go for a birthday celebration, be sure to bring your own cake!

However, the food was excellent and we had a really good time. It's a completely unusual experience for first timers, which I highly recommend.

Good food and great service!  The kalbi was marinated well, and the hae mool pa jeon was delicious.  The bossam was a little salty but still good overall.  I'm pretty picky about my native Korean cuisine, but I would definitely recommend San Soo Gab San to someone looking for a good Korean BBQ experience in Chicago.