New Seoul Restaurant
| Address: | 721 N High Point Rd, Madison, WI 53717, USA |
| Phone: | +1 608-829-3331 |
| Site: | newseoulmadison.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–2:15PM 11AM–2:15PM 11AM–2:15PM 11AM–2:15PM 11AM–2:15PM 11AM–2:15PM Closed |
Location
Photos 99
Reviews 5
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Matt Wahoske
Could this Madison foodie find culinary love in a non-descript West side strip mall? Surprisingly, the answer is a resounding yes, as I found my Korean comfort food soulmate at New Seoul Restaurant. It wasnt love at first sight as things got off to a tentative start. Unclear if the restaurant provided table service, I ordered at the counter, paid for my meal and then colonized a table in the completely empty dining area. The cashier indicated my food would be ready in ten minutes, but I barely had time to remove my coat and get settled in when he arrived with a brown paper bag bulging with the contents of my lunch order. Sheepishly, I mentioned I wanted to dine, and without hesitation, the host immediately brought out a plate, glass of water and silverware (he must have sensed my trepidation of exposing my utter ineptitude using chopsticks). For the rest of the meal, the impeccably polite gentleman who fulfilled all of the front of house duties made sure my first experience at New Seoul was fantastic. As the dining room started to fill with lunch patrons, he continually scanned the dining room, checking for completion of a course, empty dishes to whisk away and beverage glasses in need of refill. With its bright yellow walls adorned with Asian artwork, the restaurant provides a cheerful venue to consume a meal. The interior is tidy and well maintained, with uniform dark brown tables and chairs. The restaurant gets a fair amount natural light from windows on two of the four walls in the dining area. Because of the confusion over my order type, I did not receive the complimentary banchan appetizer plate that was supplied to the other patrons who elected to dine at the restaurant. I did receive a lavish portion of the delightfully crisp, homemade kimchi that provided plenty of comforting warmth to accompany its bright clean flavors. Speaking of warmth, my entrée, the spicy pork bokum, which consisted of marinated pork, sautéed onions and green onion, created a mini heat wave during my late January visit. The dish was the perfect marriage of robust pork flavor and soulful Asian seasoning. While this dish is not for the timid, I enjoyed the heat this dish generated by the Gochujang after the first couple of bites. (Side note: Props to the host for delivering an extra napkin to dab off the beads of sweat forming on my forehead.) Though the dish was a touch greasy, the meat was well-trimmed and expertly prepared, featuring well-developed flavors. For a mere $7.99, the dish was a tremendous value, considering the generous portion size. While there are a number of intriguing options on the lunch menu, I sense that allure of the comforting pork bokum too hard to overcome. During my visit, the dining room never exceed 30% capacity, which is a shame, given the quality and value of the food. During my stay, I did notice that New Seoul enjoys a brisk carryout trade over the lunch hour. Im still mourning the 2014 closure of American Latina Mexican Restaurant located in the same strip mall - Id hate to see New Seoul suffer the same fate.
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Alina Zhang
This restaurant has one of the most horrible customer service ever! Me and a bunch of my friends went to eat there on Friday night at like 6 ish and when we got there we had to wait 10 min before we could order food because the owner lady was too busy having a conversation with a customer who she clearly knew and came after us. I have to constantly try to get her attention by raising my hand to signal that I was ready to order. After we got our food, my tofu soup was extremely watered down and flavorless. One of my friends tried to get a water refill but again, she failed to notice us because she was having a conversation with another lady. When we left, I told the man that I didnt need the change back so it could be used for other customers who had forgotten to bring spare change and he slams the register and said "I dont need a 2 cent tip" and he continued by saying in the most condescending voice "you know about the tip right?". Never in my life have I had a owner of the restaurant ask me if I know about tipping. We did not receive the proper service for me to give a good tip nor was it just for him to request a tip. My friend ended up leaving a $10 tip on the table because that was all we had. I will never come back to this place ever again. To anyone looking for friendly customer service and good Korean food go to Sols on the square, they have one of the most authentic Korean food in Madison.
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A Private User
I grew up with a mom and three aunts who are fantastic Korean cooks. Needless to say, this restaurant is a terrible disappointment. They need to have higher standards for their banchan (the small dishes that come with every meal); on at least 4 occasions one of the banchans had turned. Isnt anyone TASTING these before they are served up? They should be made fresh daily, not every 3-5 days. Several of the entrees were far too sweetened to resemble anything approaching authentic Korean cuisine. Go lighter on the corn syrup and sugar, please! I only stop here for take-out on a few dishes they seem to make ok: bibimbap, grilled meat, and jampong (seafood noodle soup). I would NEVER take guests here and I go out of my way to discourage anyone curious about Korean cuisine to eat here. Not only is most of the food mediocre to downright inedible, the dining area needs better ventilation, a good scrub down, and someone to straighten out all the crooked decor. All those crooked pictures and knick-knacks make me wonder what kind of attention to detail there can possibly be behind the kitchen door...
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Diane Kong
Usually love this place except for today. Keep in mind I usually tip 15% always and 20% for good service. Service is usually good but today it wasnt. First time the guy with v glasses was ever my server. We waited quite a while for our server to ask us for our order. We then waited a long time for our food. My boyfriend didnt get his food when we got ours, he had to wait another 10 minutes. I didnt feel like the server was earning of a tip. When we paid for our bill he through a huge fit and asked why we didnt tip. I explained to him that its because we didnt get good service and this server seriously got mad and even slapped the table. Ridiculous!!! He shouldve apologized to me for bad service. Who the hell asks their customer for a tip? Terrible customer service tonight! Never coming here again.
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A Private User
Ok, so Ive been here off and on for the last 3 years and its just ok.... I mean there are only 2 korean restaurants around Madison but the one in Middleton is what I would recommend, especially if you are taking anyone out because this restaurant is VERY casual and the location isnt that nice. Their prices are ok, not as high as the other place in Middleton however if you are doing something special like a date just go to the other place and STOP BEING CHEAP, I would only stop by here if I was craving Korean food and closer to this place and was just going to have something small like kimbop for lunch. So overall if you are close by and craving korean its fine, just dont start disliking Korean food if you try this place and dont agree with the flavors as being 100% authentic...
