Cho Sun Ok Restaurant

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

OK, so Im Korean, so maybe Im biased. And maybe its really true that you get a different level of service if youre not Korean, but I tend to think its not really true. To the restaurants defense, these Korean servers do not speak English well, and on top of that, when Koreans try to speak broken English, it comes off a bit cruder and ruder than what is actually meant. And the "rude" behavior... they probably dont realize how rude they appear... thats just how the Korean servers move and act. Speed is of the essence when it comes to Korean diners, so no time for friendly conversation. If you observe carefully, they probably dont act so friendly to the Korean customers either. ;-) Plus, the side dishes... Koreans eat REALLY spicy, and MOST non-Koreans cannot handle the really spicy side dishes. So if you were the restaurant owner, would you put out the same spicy side dishes and always have most of them untouched and leftover, or would you try to give the less spicy ones that most non-Koreans find "eater friendlly"? Even as Koreans, its not entirely uncommon for one table to get one of two different side dishes than the next Korean table. So if you like spicy, then just ask for them. Say that you love spicy side dishes, so bring us all the same ones as the Koreans would get. (They may not completely understand you though...) So finally getting to the food: Get the Chadol Gui. Its their specialty. Youre supposed to dip it in the sesame oil + salt that they give you. Its even better if you throw some shredded green onion and garlic with the spicy miso paste on the meat and eat together. Oh, and the garlic is better if you throw them on the grill to cook them first. The best part about this place is that they make you Korean style "fried rice" at the end of your meal. Not all restaurants do that for you, and this is a total bonus. It tastes yummy and fills you up. The truely good Korean restaurants do not have great service, so just suck it up and try this place. The ones with great service are the ones that target non-Korean customers, so you can be sure their food is sub-par and their sidedishes are bland vegetarian ones. LOL

DA

Dave Della Terza

I really like Korean BBQ, but after coming to Cho Sun Ok, I feel like this is the first time Ive truly had fantastic Korean BBQ. My husband and I came here with a friend of his and his girlfriend. We were thinking about hitting up a place in the suburbs but they didnt do the BBQ at the table that day. So we made our trek into the city on a Monday evening. First note is that this place is very small and there was a line out the door to wait for a table. So this isnt going to be a quick in and out dinner. After about 30 minutes or so, we got a table. I felt like our experience was probably better because a member of our party was Korean and could speak to the waitress efficiently and ask questions. She ordered all of the food for us and I trusted wed be getting good stuff. First up was all of the different kimchi, and they were really good. I think my favorite was a potato dish. Then came the seafood pancake. I should note, Im not much of a seafood person. I was also especially hesitant when I heard there was octopus in the pancake. But hey, Ill try anything once. If I hated it, I could coat my mouth with more delicious kimchi. But surprisingly, I loved the pancake. Whatever theyre doing is really great and I could eat the whole gigantic thing myself. Next up were the meats. We got the unseasoned beef and the bulgogi. Two options for the meats were to either add green onions and a spicy concoction, or you could dip them in this sesame oil that had salt and pepper in it. I prefered the sesame oil. The meat was lightly seasoned and the sesame oil made it taste crazy delicious. I definitely need to try this new technique at home. Then, when we were all about to burst from being too full, the waitress came by and put all of the leftover kimchi and other items into the BBQ and added rice to make a kimchi fried rice. It was amazing. I especially loved the burnt parts on the edges. I even had some fried rice to take home with me. All in all, the food was over the top fantastic. We will definitely be back at some point when we know we arent in any hurry and Ill probably end up ordering the same exact thing we got last time because it was so good.

WE

Wesley Kim

I am still currently seeking the bastion of Korean food in Chicago. From many of my acquaintances, I have been told that this is the place in Chicago for Korean food, and sadly, I felt my experience was very underwhelming. Overall, this place is a small, very cramped, smoke filled Korean establishment and initially has the impression of being a great place. I would like to rate 2.5 but that will never happen. I went here with a few people and we ordered Mandoogook (dumpling soup), Pork Saam (marinated pork), bulgogi, and brisket. Do yourself a favor, go to your nearest Korean market and just buy the meat there, grill it at home, and have some soju with friends. The place is a BYOB with no corkage fee and I must say, that is a smart move for a bbq joint. The mandoogook wasnt too bad, it had a robust beef taste in the soup, the dumplings had a distinct pork/tofu taste, and the rice cakes were cooked thoroughly but it still tastes like cafeteria food in LA for double the price. To be clear, LA Korean cafeteria food is generally pretty good to me. For those of you wondering why there are about 10 little plates of food around you, those are side dishes (baanchan). Its about contrasting flavors, refreshing the taste buds, and diversity. The phrase "diversity is the spice of life" can be taken literally here. Would I recommend coming here? That depends. The lines are long, the crowd is boisterous and inebriated, and the place is a bit pricey. If you dont have access to Korean ingredients in your home or choose not to, I suppose you have no choice. If you know how to cook Korean food at home, stick to that. Its a fraction of the cost. Overall, its better than other places I have had in Chicago but that really doesnt mean a whole lot. Korean food isnt a strong moving force here unless you count terribly made "kimchi" that has has bean sprouts in it. The good: decent mandoogook and byob is always fun The not so good: pricey somewhat mediocre meat, long lines, food reminds me of cafeteria food but more expensive.

BO

Bobby Choi

Cho Sun Ok gave me the great memory that why I need to visit Chicago as often as possible. It is rare that one restaurant could give me that kind of memory. Cho Sun Ok’s meats particularly “차돌백이” is highly recommended. Among all the Korean Restaurants who offers Korean BBQ style cooking I have been, Cho Sun Ok gives me the taste which I call it as Korean Style soul food or/and comfort food. Although, Chosun Ok often has long line of waiting list during dinner time and limited parking lot, it is worthwhile to visit at least once while you are in Chicago or a near area. A few areas that I would like to see Cho Sun Ok to improve are their service, restaurant cleanness, and their restroom. When Cho Sun Ok has a full of customers and very busy, most customers might be happy to wait patiently until they get their seat: however, sometimes, their patience runs out unexpectedly when Cho Sun Ok hostesses express their frustration to customers. Particularly when none-Korean or Korean customers visit Cho Sun Ok for the first time and need some explanations (menu) from hostesses during busy time, it is very hard to get the desirable answers. • Service: Poor • Price: Average (reasonable) • Atmosphere: Below average (Crowded and a bit noisy when the restaurant has a full of customers, Cleanness of restroom) • Food Quality: Taste is above average and quality is not known yet. • Parking: Limited due to too many customers but there are many available spots on the street • Avoid factor: Dinner time during winter – Due to Chicago’s harsh winter and possible long line of dinner customers, you may end up waiting outside of the restaurant. If you are new to Cho Sun Ok, you may want to avoid busy dinner hours. Do not order too many foods since most of Korean BBQs, you can ask for stir-fry rice after BBQ (awesome flavor!). • Recommendation: One hour dinner plan with your friends may not be enough during busy dinner time, be prepare to have a long hour dinner, Try “차돌백이”