Chong Ro Restaurant

Found by accident. Delicious food friendly service.

Wanted to love this place and make it our «go to» sam gyup ssal spot since my first experience with CL. L was amazing, but it turned out to be REALLY REALLY bad.
I took my husband and sister a few nights ago and the two women who were working that night were too busy drinking soju and eating off customer’s tables to give us any service. I asked for a bowl of rice and it NEVER came! Why? The waitress was jumping from table to table taking SHOTS of alcohol and eating food with her hands. The two ladies tended to every table but ours. I’ve never seen such sleazy, slutty korean ahjumas.
The three of us were furious and when we asked for the bill 20 minutes later, one of the two waitresses told us not to go because she had rice for us. So we waited another 10 minutes. NOTHING. C’mon. Whoever owns this place really needs to watch their employees.
This is the first time I left zero tip at a restaurant.
Pissed off. Unhappy. WIll never go back.

If you’ve ever read any reviews on Unilocal about a smallish food joint or business you are bound to see the phrase «hole in the wall»…
Honestly I’ve seen it so many times a little piece of my Unilocal love dies a bit but anyways…
If I were to describe this place in my own words, I would call this place a CRACK IN THE WALL. An incredibly ghetto and ratchet crack might I add. The bathroom light was broken or out… iunno what was going on so we had to wash our hands and pee in the dark lol… and the whole ambiance of the restaurant? well there isn’t really one… but I guess this is very reminiscent of an old school korean bbq place in KOREA! With the soju posters and the ugly tables and chairs…
Why did you give this place 5 stars Julie? are you outta ya mind?
Well…to answer that question I must tell you about their pork belly and any kind of meat you order on the menu IS THE BEST. I am in love with the pork belly here though more than anything… I think I can eat 3 servings of it ALONE…
If you love or even remotely like kimchi and want to try some that tastes almost as good as kimchi from korea made by grandmothers who’ve been making kimchi for over 50 years. You’ve found your place.
The kimchi is immersed in a broth of meat on the rim of the meat grill thingy (you’ll understand it when you see it!) and when it boils up to a nice bubbling consistency that is when your kimchi is ready to jump into action!!! Eat it with the porkbelly!!!
and the price is fair too! You’re paying for good quality meat! None of that crappy all you eat kind of meats, but you will surely be full by the end of your meal. I know this place seems kind of dingy and almost scary for you clean freaks but try the food, it will turn you around and make you swoon~~

5 stars. Need I say more???
Love you Steve!!!

shhhhhhhhhh… be quiet. dont let out the best sam gae sal place in ktown.

best KOREAN BBQ in K-​TOWN. feel like u in KOREA.
pork belly are pretty great.

My favorite Korean restaurant that serves best pork bellies and Kimchi. Every time I go out and crave Korean food this place is the only spot I would go to. This hole in the wall place might scare you from the outside but it is by far the best Korean BBQ spot in Ktown. Owner is very friendly and my friends I leave this place always happy.

The restaurant is easy to miss in the midst of a slew of larger, more frequented establishments and it’s not going to win any beauty contests anytime soon, but Chong Ro stands out among all of the banal Korean restaurants in its immediate vicinity for its amazing pork belly meal and the accompanying price tag.
For fourteen bucks per serving you get a generous portion of thick (albeit frozen) pork belly– thin skin, no bones or cartilage– that you rest atop the domed grill yourself. In the crevices the owner dumps piles of kimchi and pours broth over it, so that the soup catches meat drippings from the top of the grill. Genius. The meat is juicy and it is probably some of the best soup– or kimchi chigae– you will have at a restaurant.
Service is typical of a Korean grill joint but is distinguished by its enthusiastic and down-​to-​earth owner, a chatty and friendly man who will coddle you as if you were his own, if you speak Korean. If you prefer spic-​and-​span over uniqueness and great flavor, go to the dozens of other neighboring establishments that might provide a cleaner and more formal service. I think I’ll stay at Chong Ro, truly a gem of a find.

a hole in the wall, no doubt. the food here is quite excellent. very near to chosun bbq, i would recommend going here instead.
go here for the chigae and get some pork to go along with it. the meat juices will drip off while cooking right into your soup, thus creating a taste sensation!
those worried about cleanliness and the like should probably stay away. my rating is purely for the kimchee chigae. i’d say this place is second best in that area.

Wow… wormhole into Korea. This has got to be the best «hole in the wall» Korean BBQ joint. It’s dingy and small but who cares, they have the best food ever.
I’m not a fan of Korean BBQ, so when I say it’s good, I mean it. The only thing worth ordering here is the pork. Unfortunately, the menu is in Korean only… exactly like Korea. Their kimchi is superb. It’s not over or under fermented, it’s just perfect.
Drum roll please… this place doesn’t leave you smelling like grease… it does but it’s not as bad as other places and it wears off.