Seoul Ddukbaegi

I am not surprised the only other English review of this restaurant gave it a mid-level score. If you are Korean, Korean-American, or very familiar with Korea and its cuisine, you will have a high regard for this establishment. Otherwise, it may be a struggle to appreciate the food and service here.

The restaurant specializes in soups and stews, including Korean versions of shabu-shabu, i.e., bubbling hot soup at the table into which the guest places the raw ingredients, including meats and vegetables.

Koreans love soup, especially in the frigid winters. It is not uncommon to have a toasted rice gruel (nooruhm pahp) at breakfast, a brisket and intestine soup (ghomtahng) at lunch and an oxtail soup (kori ghomtahng) at dinner.

The owner of this restaurant worked in Seoul for 15 years at a restaurant specializing in soups and stews.

There are many Korean restaurants in Aurora, offering variations of Korean Barbecue. You can have BBQ here too, but it is not the star of the show.

Our family has been eating almost exclusively at this restaurant for about 18 months, whenever we want to have a Korean meal. Two nights ago, I had a soft tofu stew with beef, my daughter had a Korean miso soup, my wife (who was born and raised in Illinois) had a beef short-rib soup and our guest had an ox-bone and brisket soup. We shared a seafood pancake as an appetizer, and had a plate of grilled Korean beef ribs with our soup entrees.

Service is very good. There are a range of soju and beers available. We tend to overeat when we visit, we enjoy the food and service that much.

I think we're heading back tonight. :-)

This is authentic Korean restaurant catering mostly to Koreans.
Friendly wait staff, reasonably priced menu.