Cho Sun Ok Fortaleza

Among top Korean restaurants in Chicago, and probably the best KBBQ experience I 've ever had I 'll definitely be back! We came early at 5pm on Sunday and there wasn 't much of a wait, but by the time we got out 6:30pm there was a long line forming outside (so come early! The inside is small, cramped, and quite hot from all the tabletop grilling. But the slight physical discomfort is 1000% worth it the meat is fantastic quality and their large spread of side dishes are unique, delicious, and pair nicely with the meat. Our group of 5 ordered 3 'tabletop cooking ' meat platters, which ended up being a lot of food but we still demolished it all. For a group of 5, I would order between 2 3 depending how hungry everyone is. We got the Chadol Gui and Bulgogi, which are definitely two must try platters. Both are thinly sliced, intensely flavorful and aromatic cuts of beef, but the Chadol Gui is beef brisket that 's unmarinated since it 's marbled and thus naturally fattier juicier than bulgogi. We also got the Pork Belly which I was less a fan of it was too thick which made it harder to cook without getting too tough and chewy. Nonetheless, the flavors were still robust and delicious. Make sure to also save some room for the kimchi fried rice, which the servers make for you as the final course. I loved the sourness of the kimchi paired with the savoriness of the fried rice, though overall I felt it was a bit lacking in flavor (but maybe only compared to the rich flavors of the meat . The service is attentive, fast paced, and efficient, which I personally appreciated, but if you 're someone who prioritizes a chill, slow dining experience with over the top friendly service, you won 't find that here. When first looking at the menu, the prices seemed pretty high, but for the sheer amount and quality of food we consumed, the value is excellent and it 's more than worth it. The total for us ended up being $33 pp. Price (relative to peers : 4.3 5 Food: 4.8 5 Ambience: 4 5 Service: 4.5 5 Overall Value: 4.5 5

Joints like Cho Sun Ok in Korea is a dime for dozen. Nothing special, but in the US especially in Chicago，this type of traditional Korean stove top cooking joint is a hard find. Your know you are in the right place when you first entered and the waiting staff are all season veterans with attitudes and you are required to wash yourself head to toe after the meal, ventilation is non-existent. Perfect comfort food, the speed of service was lightning fast, all of the food came out within 10 mins of order. The chap chae was one of the best that I have ever had, not too sticky. The pancake had the right amount of dough vs. food and fried to perfection. The Bulgogi was also seasoned perfectly, so whether you want the meat to be more tender or more crispy will be entirely up to you. Next time we will try the famous No. 1. Just remember, BYOB.

Best Korean food in the town. It’s a busy restaurant so you need to have patience, but the food is worth it. I love the 열무김치.

This place is AMAZING — the atmosphere transports you to Korea and is definitely bustling, the food is delicious you can’t go wrong with anything, and the staff took such good care of us. The stoneware for cooking was a nice touch for the Bibimbap, which got the perfect level of crispy rice on the bottom. The Bulgogi was so well seasoned and the Chadol-gui was great for a plainer focus on good cuts of meat. All the food came immediately! We were tentative with the grilling so it was very helpful when they came by to put all the meat in at once and stir a couple of times. When the first round was ready, they came and helped place it on our plates with the right method of dipping and pairing with some side dishes to show us the ropes. Any reviews speaking poorly of the staff are just silly; they probably expected American service and misinterpreted anything different as rude. Don’t pay that any mind and please tip everyone well! You’ve got to move quickly there for grilling; the staff are attentive and move at a fast clip so no one overcooks their food and to keep things moving as it is a cramped space. Also, plan to get there early. There was a line out the door by the time we left!

This place gets two thumbs up from my entire family. The side dishes, there are usually 6 to 8 of them served, are each distinctively tasteful. (In some Korean restaurants they all taste the same, that is definitely not the case here. Every side dish has its own unique flavor profile. The ability to cook at your table is wonderful, but if you don’t want to walk out smelling of barbecue, let the skilled staff take care of it in the kitchen and the ribs come out delicious. We always get the rich but clean tasting (not greasy) bone broth: sullung tang. It gets milky rich with nutrients from being boiled for hours (nothing like milk is added contrary to what some people think) and they serve with the tenderest slices of meat, clear vermicelli noodles, and freshly chopped green onions (you add the salt to taste). Then there’s the amazing cold noodle soup — which, in the middle of this summer heat, is heaven — the broth is amazingly full, and I have the traditional boiled egg half, and a slice of apple — you had a couple of splashes of the vinegar and the yellow mustard and the broth flavor comes alive… it is irresistible and very common to see if you will just pick up the whole bowl and start slurping. Everyone at my table did. It’s not the fanciest environment, and you can miss the restaurant from the outside, but if you take Korean food seriously, do you want to try this place. And then you’ll keep coming back. Just go. You won’t regret it.