A two-hour wait to eat at a Korean restaurant
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (52157)
Staten Island, New York
November 10, 2019 6:29pm CST
Yesterday hubby and I went to eat at a new restaurant close to our house. It was Korean BBQ / Hot Pot place. The place seems to be very popular. At least on Saturday evenings, though probably all the time.
When we got to the restaurant it was packed. There were a lot of people already waiting for a table. We put our name down on the wait list. We had to wait for almost two hours to get a table. I thought perhaps we should have made a reservation ahead of time but turns out you cannot make a reservation unless you have four or more people.
We were very hungry so I decided to wait for half and hour and then bounce if no table was available by then. Half hour later we were still waiting. Since we had never tried the hot pot before and really wanted to try it we decided to tough it out and wait for the table, even if it would take about two hours as we had been told. It was worth the wait. We had both Korean BBQ and the hot pot. It was a fun experience and everything we tried was delicious. I'd definitely go back there again.
10 people like this
11 responses
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
11 Nov 19
I always wanted to try Korean BBQ and a hot pot, hot pot sounds so fun to do.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
It is. One thing I found weird is that we were not told to drink the broth. And we were not given bowls and a ladle. I anticipated that after we cook the stuff in the broth that we would eat it with the broth in a bowl. And I don't think I saw others do that either.
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
13 Nov 19
@lovebuglena You are allowed to drink the broth, but it isn't recommended because I assume you had a server that filled up the pot at least once or twice? When they do that, some places will fill it with boiling water and the water evaporates while the flavors are still in the rest of the broth. I don't know, that is just what I learned from people's experiences with shabu shabu.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
13 Nov 19
@DesirousDreamer At one point someone came with a hot kettle and added water to the broth. What is shabu shabu?
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Nov 19
We have a really awesome Korean BBQ place here, but thankfully the wait is never long. The food is amazing, just like you said.
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Nov 19
@lovebuglena Oh wow, the only one? We better get some more Koreans to immigrate to Staten Island quickly! We need more restaurants!
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
@moffittjc There was a Korean restaurant but it closed down.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
That's good. This place is the only Korean BBQ / Hot Pot in Staten Island from what I know. Not surprising then that it has such a long wait.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
11 Nov 19
I admire your patience. I wouldn't waste that amount of time for that restaurant.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
The most we've ever waited to get a table at a restaurant is 45 minutes to an hour. This is a new record for us. 
Not doing that again unless we travel somewhere far to eat and it happens that we have to wait a long time to sit down and eat.
Not doing that again unless we travel somewhere far to eat and it happens that we have to wait a long time to sit down and eat.1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
11 Nov 19
@lovebuglena yesterday I wanted to buy egg tarts but the long line to the order table and cashier deadened my appetite.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
@Alexandoy I can imagine.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
The hot pot.., you select a broth and they bring you that in a pot, which they put on the stove. After it boils you add ingredients inside that you selected and you cook it in the broth and then eat it. IT cooks quick. You can dip the stuff in the sauces they have available, which you go get yourself, if you like.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
Korean BBQ... you select different meat, seafood, and veggies and they grill it for you. The grill is at your table as is the stove thing.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (127152)
• United States
11 Nov 19
@lovebuglena sounds like Japanese hibachi
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
11 Nov 19
Sounds like a really good place if they are that busy and people are willing to wait that long to get a table.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
There were some people that chose not to wait once they were told how long the wait would be but many chose to wait. I would definitely go back there but maybe on a weekday instead. Perhaps the wait is less then.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
@Happy2BeMe We came to the place around 8:30 I think. We sat down to eat around 10:30. By that time didn't seem like there was anyone waiting to sit down anymore. But place was still packed.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
11 Nov 19
@lovebuglena Yes it may be. More people go out and eat on the weekends it seems
1 person likes this
@porwest (112876)
• United States
13 Nov 19
I give you a lot of credit for waiting. I'd have been like, no way. BUT, that's just me. BUT, that being said, I am glad to hear that despite the long wait it all worked out. Sounds like it would probably have been good, but i still think I'd not be willing to wait so long just to try it. When I am hungry I am hungry and if you tell me I won't eat for two more hours later I might lose it.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
13 Nov 19
I originally gave us a half hour wait. Then said another half hour and then decided to just stick it out. And hubby was surprisingly okay with that.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Nov 19
@porwest I did not think he would want to wait that long, especially because he was very hungry.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112876)
• United States
15 Nov 19
@lovebuglena Yeah. I give him credit for being okay with that. I probably would have seen the line and never even went into the place to begin with.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
Yeah, they have a small waiting area for customers.
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
11 Nov 19
No way I could have waited 2 hours, did they give you free drinks for waiting?
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
Nope. They did offer a seafood pancake or something like that but we do not eat seafood so couldn't eat that.
@nela13 (59365)
• Portugal
14 Nov 19
2 hours?! that is too much, it is natural that you were hungry.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Nov 19
Yep. It is insane to wait that long. First time ever that we did this. Will probably never do that again.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222417)
• United States
11 Nov 19
Sounds dee-licious. I'm sorry you had to wait so long.
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
It was, though after a while I couldn't dip into the sauces anymore and was eating without sauce. Too much sauce is not good.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52157)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Nov 19
There are three different prices. One for just Korean BBQ, another for just Hot Pot, and another for Korean BBQ + Hot Pot. And it seems to be unlimited, meaning you can eat as much as you want. But if you take a lot of food and cannot finish a lot of it you may be charged for it. I don't remember the prices but I think the Korean BBQ + Hot Pot, which is what we had, was about $33/person. The dining limit there is two hours. At least that is what it said on the menu. The staff seems friendly.
