KalBQ

What did I expect when I came here? Authentic Korean food? My friend was egging me on about how we should visit a Korean Mexican fusion store. Something like a Korean taco. I think he was just craving something with kimchi in it! He has a weird obsession with tex mex. And he wanted to try something new.
When we walked in, we noticed it was also shared with atomic wings??? Well. Ok. Anyways, my friend ordered a tofu burrito. I ordered a veggie kimchi taco and small waffle fries. The waffle fries were crispy as heck but oily! I don’t really enjoy greasy food as much anymore so I made my friend finish the rest of it. As a Korean person, this kimchi is a joke. It wasn’t HORRIBLE, the flavor was bland. And you couldn’t even taste it in the taco that I had or in my friend’s burrito. The food was mediocre. It wasn’t horrible but I wouldn’t really come back!
I see the reviews for the rice bowls which may be a bit unfair for me to say that the food isn’t very good but. It was very bland. The taco wasn’t really good at all, the veggies were sort of drenched in chipotle sauce I think? And I felt like things were garnished on it as a filler…

edith is the best
here its all about the rice bowlss
bulgogi and spicy pork
waaaaa!!!

Convenient Korean takeout food place is desperately in need in Flatiron area.
How authentic they are is secondary issue.
They hit the spot of demand!
Food portion is huge and they are tasty!

My delivery came fairly quickly. I answered the door and the delivery man said «Atomic Wings for Brian?» and I furrowed my brow in confusion and told him I didn’t order Atomic Wings. He insisted so I looked at the receipt on the bag and lo and behold it was my bulgogi platter from ATOMIC WINGS. It didn’t even say KalBQ on the bag!
Needless to say, it was not authentic and everything was covered in oil. About halfway through, the intense sheen of the copious amounts of oil on the black container made me sick and I threw the rest away.
Don’t get duped.

Attitude from the person at the counter. Always a good start.
However the Kimchi quesadilla was a good surprise.

-(minus) Gave me white rice when I ordered the brown
-(minus) Ran out of the spicy chipotle sauce
+(plus) I like their bibim rice bowls (only if they could get the rice right!). Give bigger portions than other places I’ve ordered it (k-​town) including the meat!

On my Korean taco kick I found this place and thought I would decide to check it out despite it being rated pretty low. It’s cobranded with Atomic Wings, a chain that’s just ‘eh’ according to my girlfriend. KalBQ is also similarly just ‘eh.’ The place is small, with just 4 really small tables and hardly any space to move. I ordered four tacos a beef taco for the lady friend and a beef, pork and chicken one for myself.
The GF was unimpressed with her beef taco and I agreed. There really wasn’t much flavor with the beef, was it bulgogi? kalbi? I really don’t know, it was just eh. The chicken was also similarly flavorless. The fillings are pretty much an afterthought and the garnish was the star. The pork taco was the only one that was good, but literally it was so greasy that it just spilled out while I bit into it and it continually just kept leaking oil out while I finished. I went out of my way to try it, but I saved you the trouble of doing that. You’re welcome.

I got the Bulgogi Platter to go. According to the menu — «Bulgogi Platter: thinly sliced beef rib eye marinated and grilled with onions in korean barbecue sauce. Served with fresh seasonal veggies and your choice of rice.»
I’m not quite sure what all of the ingredients in the platter were, but they were pretty good. It was a mix of veggies on one side, and the BBQ beef over rice on the other side. Tasty sauces.
However, for the price ($ 10) I expected a bit more food.

Been wanting to try this place out for a late munch before studying at Baruch library.
Hrm…Well, like most Manhattan places, gotta have at least 5 dollars in pocket, with plans to spend around $ 10.00 for a decent lunch. Most of the items were priced around 7 – 9 dollars, but meh. Whatever – at least it’s a restaurant where I can sit in to eat.
Ordered the KalBQ platter with their «mojo» sauce, for the reasoning that the house specialty should dictate what kind of joint their running. I found it MEH, but good portion for the money. Meat was tender & flavorful. I had the white rice to go along with it, which tasted better than the one I have at home (I wonder what brand they use.). The veggies that accompanied the dish though, was not on spot at all – very dry, lots of lettuce, maybe 2 cherry tomatoes, semi-​cooked broccoli, and 2 pieces of pickled carrots. All for $ 11.00. Good utensils though.
Wishing I had saved money and hit a Subways, I move on with my life.
MINUS TWO STARS:
–Small restaurant. Worse when students come rushing in, both high school & college students alike.
–Service was meh. Feels slightly friendlier than a fast food joint though. I found it funny when they were bringing my food though. The guy looked awkward walking out calling my order number in front of people.
–Food is A-​OK

KalBQ got the chance to serve it’s purpose in my bookmarks… to provide me with some delicious drunk food for the bus ride home after a night out in the city. And boy did they come through.
Got the spicy pork KalBQ sliders… awesome. Great flavor, just a little messy and a good amount of kick to them. Exactly what my stomach full of booze wanted.
Keep it up KalBQ… I’ll be back.

Just came here today for the 2^nd time after a visit to my chiropractor around the corner.
First time I got the bibimbap bowl with everything in it, and it was okay, although I would have preferred a hot stone bowl. I never seem to be able to find one of those. Pretty good although kinda steep for a fast casual meal for lunch– $~12 bucks after tax.
Today I had the kim chi wrap with beef. It’s pretty massive and the size of a chipotle burrito. The price is right ~7 the price is right, although the meat quality didn’t seem all that great. I’ve had better «korean/​mex» burritos from Korilla where they used a better quality meat. Here they used ground beef.
I wish I had known the beef was taco bell style ground beef and not the typical real sliced meats from korean bbq.
The crazy hot sauce was pretty good, and actually had a very good kick to it.

Met my friend Jodi here for lunch on a Tuesday to catch up and have a mini gab sesh (that’s «session» for you gentlemen). She ordered three chicken Kimchi tacos and I ordered the same plus a Ssam beef taco (served with lettuce wrap instead of tortilla).
The Ssam beef taco was pretty pricy — close to $ 4, while the chicken tacos were $ 2.25. My lunch total was $ 10.50, which is a little pricy for three tacos (in my opinion). They were tasty, but I found the tacos super watery (I had to «drain» my tacos before picking them up or else they’d drip over everything), probably due to the meat. The spicy mayo type sauce they put on top is pretty good but even when I just asked for a little bit, they seemed to forget and put on just as much as my friend’s order (grr!).
I’d give it another try just to see how the Rice Bowl is or the Bibimbap, but they definitely need to work on a few things.

Questionable, low flavor LA kalbi. The bulgogi platter was much better in flavour, amount and taste. Portions are rather small for the prices that they charge when you can easily go to Ktown on 32^nd street for their lunch specials and get better quality and more food.
If you are in a hurry its a place that delivers exceptionally fast but otherwise I think ill stick to the more familiar places I know for the meals I trust will taste good and be a good bang for my buck.
Btw. kimchi tacos were quite sub-​par… But maybe I just dont believe in this fustion food craze.

PROS:
— Kimchi Wrap (Spicy Pork, spicy chipotle sauce, cheese, and of course kimchi) Taste was pretty good. it was a little soggy and falling apart which made it hard to eat. [6.99+ tax = 7.61] CHIPOTLE SAUCE IS da BOMB.
— accomodating (they splitted the wrap as i requested since I decided to share with a friend).
— there’s seating.
CONS:
— mediocre food — nothing special
— their bibimbap cannot be compared to that of k-​town.
— food is not worth price.

Was thinking a 3.5, but the service was friendly so round up instead of down.
I have tried a multitude of different things from this wings and Korean fusion place. I sampled the mild wings and they were good, seeing as there isn’t a tremendous amount of competition for a strictly wings place in the neighborhood it gets the job done. The sweet potato fries were tasty, crispy and hot but could use a little salt or sweet sauce of some type. My favorite thing that I’ve gotten from KalBQ thus far is the classic bibim rice bowl. It comes with beef, fried egg, veggies and rice with side sauces. It was light but flavorful and there was a decent portion of the cost. I wasn’t a fan of the regular kimchi taco (but I don’t frequently eat kimchi), I did like the ssam steak taco though, the meat was of a good quality.
Overall, cute place and a nice addition to that strip of takeout restaurants. I’ll be returning I’m sure!

Guilty pleasures at this fusion + wings eatery @ the corner of 24^th st & Lexington Ave. Where else can u start with wings & waffle fries, and enjoy a tasty platter of kalbi healthy veggies & brown rice, kimchi tacos & Ssam Steak Tacos?
Hubby HEARTS the Chipotle Sauce– especially the kick & the Ssam Steak Tacos perfect Atkins Diet option. For me I also loved having the Chipotle sauce on my Kimchi Taco, as well as the hot wings and waffle fries! Nothing beats having Atomic Wings at the store! The fresh prepared waffle fries disappeared so fast!!! The Décor is clean, zen meets Danish lines.
Service is quick and friendly, sure to be a solid bet when you are in the area. As always, I’m a big fan of Atomic Wings, and now as this spot joins with KalBQ, it’s even a better option for those days I feel like having options!

Great service! Really friendly and extremely helpful. Pretty good prices. Everything was very fresh!
I got the chicken Bibim Rice Bowl and my wife and I split it. It was very delicious. My first time having Korean BBQ so I can’t compare it to anything else, but it was definitely a large bowl of great flavors. Also, the Hot Sauce is indeed very hot, but delicious.
One of my favorite things is that it’s a family owned business with the mom and dad preparing the food. Pretty awesome and authentic.
We will definitely be back and KalBQ will probably become a regular place we visit and bring/​suggest friends to.

I came here to grab lunch when I took a couple days off last week. Lunchtime was a little busier than I’ve seen it otherwise, but after coming in an ordering, I was able to slip out to Ralph’s and grab a scoop of ice cream while I waited. The people who work there seem nice enough, but it’s more of a takeout joint than it is a place to sit down.
As for the food… some of the choices are reasonably priced, and in hindsight I wish I had gotten something that was more reflective of the general quality. Instead, I opted for the bulgogi dish, which came with rice and seasonal vegetables. From my experience with Korean food previously, bulgogi is supposed to be marinated barbeque beef that tastes awesome. This… well, this was not barbequed, and it certainly wasn’t marinated in much, if anything, at all. The beef was about as plain as I’ve ever had, and no amount of miso vinaigrette (or whatever the side sauce was) livened up the lack of taste. The vegetables were unremarkable as well — they basically were sauteed with nothing else. If it cost me $ 5, I’d write it off and say oh well… the fact that it cost $ 10? Way too pricey for a mediocre dish.
It’s a good joint that I’m sure is reasonable for the college kids nearby, but I won’t be stopping back here again. Maybe if I need some wings (which this place shares the spot with)…but not for the Korean food. I’ll stick with heading to K-​Town, thank you very much.

When I first visited this place, I was a little skeptical of the Korean/​Mexican fusion idea. Thankfully I am an adventurous person! :)
They make these soft tacos filled with different types of korean BBQ meats and mexican condiments that to my surprise paired very nicely. My wife and I tried the spicy pork and kalbi (korean short rib) versions and they were very different and very tasty!
I like to compare restaurants by trying more standard dishes (e.g. I always get plain pizza to see what the essence is without the toppings masking flavors or lack thereof), so we also got a Classic bibim bowl (also recommended by another reviewer). It was filled with a variety of fresh ingredients that I would expect from a restaurant in K-​town. The spicy sauce really takes it to another level. Next time I will definitely try the make your own bowl.
I work nearby this place, and I love that I can just pop in and get a quick bite and satisfy my korean cravings without having to schlep over to the west side.

Service was a bit slow. I ordered to dine in and they placed it in a container.
Portion is tiny considering the price at $ 9.99
I’ll write a full length review later.