Parlor Restaurant

05/20/05

Shouldn't be on list for "Best of"

by vajaranant at Citysearch

Good service and nice decor but the food was quite bad. Our rice was undercooked and the entrees were inconsistant and sometimes cold (when they should have been hot). If you want authentic and good Korean, go elsewhere. Unfortunately, this restaurant does not belong on the list of best Korean as the decor and service can't come close to making up for the awful food. We went twice to confirm our impressions and to make sure the chef was not just having a bad day! The place seems to be shuttered now...and that's a good thing as there are many other Korean restaurants that are a world apart. Shoju in fact, seems to inhabit its own universe of bad food.

• Pros: decor
• Cons: food

Get your Korean food fix at this stylish Bucktown spot.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
With red-stained wood floors, exposed brick, cobalt track lighting and cool Asian melamine dinnerware, this funky-chic Korean place is one stylish step up from neighborhood ethnic dining. Kimchi pancakes are a wonderful, spicy start; other favorites include tender, delicious kalbi and daiji-bulgogi (traditional Korean barbecues of beef ribs and pork) and classic bibimbap, the mix-it-yourself medley of rice and vegetables with beef, chicken or tofu capped with a fried egg.

• Pros: intriguing cuisine
• Cons: service can be shaky

09/04/04

Good food... slow service

by wrxelle at Citysearch

We dined @ SOJU with a big group. The ambience is awesome. Great for a date! There's indoor seating (for about 30 people). There's also a full bar with limited seating of about 8 highstools. And the outdoor seating consists of about 6 tables, 4 people /table. Outdoor seating is a little dim though. You'd have to dine by candlelight. We all enjoyed the food, really yummy! But the downside is that the wait is terribly long. There was only 1 cook!

... and the parking isn't as bad as it seems. We all found parking, NONE ILLEGAL!, within 2blocks of the restaurant (and there were 8 cars in our party!).

• Pros: atmosphere, food

06/30/03

Worst Korean

by changyol at Citysearch

This is the worst Korean food I ever had. The decor is nice and the wait staff speaks English, but the food is just plan lousy and expensive for Korean food. If you prefer an English speaking wait staff try Jin Ju. For the best Korean in Chicago, try Cho Sun Ok. It's a hole in the wall, but great food.

And yes I'm Korean.

• Pros: Decor
• Cons: Food, Price

05/31/03

Soju

by chungkoo60613 at Citysearch

We had a large group and we had a wonderful experience trying Korean food for the first time. Drinks were cheap and all the food really good . Seared tuna was heavenly! We will all come back again.

• Pros: Food is excellent, inexpensive, drinks
• Cons: slow service, understaffed