You know the saying, “Good things come in small packages.” The same is true of the Korean BBQ Restaurant on Kauai Island. The restaurant is not large nor fancy, but the food is plentiful, delicious, and moderately priced. And when your restaurant gets stellar reviews from vacationing Korean Americans, you know you’re legit!
Located in the Kinipopo Shopping Village in Kapaa, Korean BBQ Restaurant offers dine-in and carry-out service. The decor is simple, and seating is limited, especially since this is a hot spot with locals.
Korean barbecue is very different from American barbecue. Instead of slow-cooking meat in a smoker like Americans do, Korean chefs cook beef and pork over an open flame. Pork or beef short ribs, known in Korean as galbi, are seasoned before being cooked. Bulgogi is another specialty that consists of thinly sliced sirloin, ribeye, or brisket marinated to give it a rich flavor. Typical ingredients of the marinade are sesame oil, Asian pear, brown sugar, mirin, and Korean soy sauce.
Another Korean delicacy is kimchi and is at the heart of Korean cooking. Kimchi consists of fermented cabbage with garlic, ginger, and Korean chilies. As you might expect, kimchi tastes sour, tangy, spicy, salty, and pungent. In Korean cooking, kimchi is a sauce served on various foods or can be a dip. Kimchi can boost the immune system and aid digestion with its living probiotics. It can also lower cholesterol and regulating blood sugar.
Korean BBQ Restaurant features a lunch and dinner menu with daily specials. All lunch and dinners come with three side dishes: potato-mac salad, vegetables, and rice. They also have three package deals for large groups of ten or more with pricing based upon how many people you have. The Family Special features sliced kalbi (another word for galbi), BBQ chicken, shrimp tempura, chicken katsu, meat jun, macaroni salad, vegetables, and rice. The menu has plenty of variety, so even if you’re not interested in trying Korean BBQ, sample one of their many chicken and seafood selections. They also serve various soups. Choices range from seaweed soup to others with somen noodles and assorted meats or tofu.
Customers who dined at Korean BBQ Restaurant raved about how delicious their food was, how generous the portions were, and how reasonable the prices were. They also commented on how friendly, kind, and polite the staff was.
Here are some standout menu items we think you should consider:
Beef Kalbi
The beef is sliced thin but retains its tenderness and juiciness. And customers all seem to agree that they would come back to savor this dish again.
Kimchi
Korean BBQ Restaurant makes their kimchi, so be sure to try some. If you fall in love with it, you will be relieved to know they sell it in bulk.
Meat Jun
Unique to the Hawaiian Islands is meat Jun. Many diners rank Korean BBQ Restaurant’s meat jun as some of the best they have eaten on the Hawaiian Islands. Meat jun is marinated ribeye that is then thinly sliced. Next, it is dipped into a rich egg batter and then fried to a golden color. Meat jun comes with potato-mac salad, vegetables, and rice.
While vacationing on Kauai, we highly recommend dining at the Korean BBQ Restaurant in the Kinipopo Shopping Village. You’ll love the vast selection of food, feel welcomed by the staff, and leave with a full belly.
Insider Tip:
Since Korean BBQ is popular with locals, seating may be limited.