Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on November 23, 2022.
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When it comes to eating Korean in Pittsburgh, we can't get enough and are always on the lookout for new restaurants to try.
So when we discovered Seoul Korean BBQ just off the main business district of Carnegie, we knew we had to get in right away to try their acclaimed bibimbap, beef bulgogi, and classic Korean appetizers.
Although the service was a bit slow, this popular restaurant delivered an incredibly flavorful meal we'd return again and again to enjoy.
Seoul Korean BBQ Offers a Feast in Carnegie
The menu at Seoul Korean BBQ is about as traditional Korean as you can get. Gems like bibimbap and beef bulgogi can be found alongside kimchi pancakes, mandu dumplings, galbi short ribs, kimchi-jjigae soup, and more- all classic Korean foods we enjoyed when visiting the country.
Naturally, we had to order our favorites.
To start our feast, we ordered a kimchi pancake and mandu dumplings for an appetizer spread. The kimchi pancake came out with a rather large portion and was loaded with large hunks of kimchi, but was not too densely packed to make the pancake terribly spicy (although dipping it in the supplied gochujang sauce helped kick that one up a fair bit!) and the mandu dumplings came four to an order which were perfectly fried with generous portions of our protein of choice.
The two together made for a great appetizer duo for the two of us, but the pancake was also of generous enough portion to give a decent sample to four if you wanted to make it stretch.
On the entree side, we went with bibimbap (said to be a crowd favorite) and an order of beef bulgogi.
The first thing you'll notice is that the portions are huge. So large, in fact, that despite stuffing ourselves silly, we had ample leftovers of both dishes.
The bibimbap was served in a hot stone bowl which helped crisp up the rice layer on the bottom and was fully loaded with perfectly seasoned vegetables and topped with generous portions of pork (our protein choice), a fried egg, and gochujang sauce to hit our selected heat level perfectly (4 of 10 brought a bit of heat, but not overpowering).
The bulgogi order was a monster amount of sweet and tangy beef served with large hunks of kimchi and roasted vegetables on a hot stone plate. Similar to the bibimbap, red chiles were added to increase the heat of this one, and a spice level 6 really packed a punch here. Flavorful meat, a nice balance of heat, and a good amount of vegetables thrown in? We're in love with this one and had to stop ourselves from overeating every last bite then and there- it is truly delicious.
The only downside we had from our experience was that service was exceptionally slow in this small restaurant, particularly a fairly long wait to place our order after being seated (after ordering, our food came out at a normal pace).
We can overlook this because the restaurant was at capacity and seemed short-staffed, but we would be remiss if we didn't mention that our entrees also didn't come out with the rice, banchan, or sauces as outlined on the menu. We were a bit sad about not getting to try the house banchan, which we only realized we missed after we left, but the portion sizes were so large that we really did not need any extra food either.
Apart from some slight service issues, we have to admit that Seoul Korean BBQ knocked the food out of the park here. If you are in the mood for a Korean feast in Carnegie, you'll do well to visit this one. Just don't be surprised it the small restaurant is packed when you go- word is getting out about this gem!
Seoul Korean BBQ is located at 525 W Main Street in Carnegie.
Tried this place last night and it was great. Beef bulgogi, beef bibimbop, and fried mandu were all delicious. And the service was not slow for us. Great recommendation!