5 Star Korean BBQ&Fried Chicken

The food here is SO GOOD. Oh my gosh, this was delicious. I will absolutely be back. And this is easy access from downtown! We had the kimchi joun, sweet onion chicken tenders, and green chili tenders (spicy with a flavor that makes it so worth it!!). The service was pretty good, very kind and understandably busy with the handful of tables and just one server. Atmosphere is nothing fancy but feels really authentic and matches the authenticity of the food, which was honestly really fun. My friend and I had a great time eating here! Truly, come for the food and stay for the food. I want to try everything on the menu!!

We had a great meal here at 5 star Korean BBQ. We ordered chicken bulgogi, chicken teriyaki, dulsot bibimbap, and the spicy garlic fried chicken. The dishes were served with 4 banchans. Everything was delicious, the service was excellent. Our baby loved 2 of the banchans and they brought her extra because she liked them, so we definitely appreciated that. The fried chicken was sooooo good. Delightfully crispy and spicy sweet garlicky sauce. Nothing beats Korean fried chicken.

Extremely disappointing experience. It feels like the owner has completely lost interest in running this restaurant. The food was terrible and overpriced, with shockingly small portions. The kimchi pork belly barely had any pork in it, and the fried chicken was made from scraps — mostly tiny wing tips trying to pass as real pieces. The $18 soup was terrible and came in a portion no bigger than the free miso soup you get at other places. Overall, it feels like the owner has given up on this place entirely. A restaurant that leaves you feeling uncomfortable and regretful after the meal.

I absolutely loved this place! We ordered the Korean fried chicken and pork bulgogi (hope I spelled that right!), and both dishes were amazing. The flavors were rich, and the spice level was just perfect, especially for my Nepali taste buds. It really hit the spot! The service was equally impressive. Our server was super friendly and attentive, which made the whole experience even better. This place has definitely become one of my favorite Korean spots, and I 100% recommend it. Can’t wait to go back! ❤️

It is all in the name, "5 Star Korean BBQ", definitely worth the visit! Everything about this establishment is a 5 star. The owner/server, excellent! Food, amazing! I travel a lot and am always looking for my favorite Korean restaurants. This one, by far, makes the best beef bulgogi. I can't wait to visit again when I am back in Madison, WI.

The food here is always very delicious. We got the steamed kimchi buns, the beef soon dubu jigae, and dolsot bibimbap. Perfect for a frigid Madison winter day. The jigae game with rice on the side. The service is always kind and the food is hot and fresh. Small parking lot makes it a little easier added for those who don’t live downtown. Absolutely recommend giving 5 Star a try!

Great food and incredibly family friendly. We arrived 50 minutes before closing and they were kind and welcoming. The staff had great recommendations and described them to help us make choices. They were happy to bring extra plates so we could eat family style and all the dishes were well-made, presented, and tasty.

Certainly a Madison MUST try spot! We got the Bul Go Ki Beef (Marinated in soybean savory sauce and grilled) along with their Korean fried chicken wings - crispy fried/wet! Yummers! Both dishes were amazing and we cannot wait to come back to try a lot more! I loved their service style as well. Service sits you down and takes your order and when you’re ready to pay you just go up to the counter. We’ll be back for more!

No frills fun and authentic. Best Korean food we've found in the area. Friendly staff. Good portions. Lots of options.

Bibimbap was decent, but the service was quite poor. The most funny moment was when the waitress slammed the pen on the receipt as if she were smashing a stone, making us feel like we were being commanded to sign it.

Definitely five stars. We just moved but came here all the time when we lived in madison. Staff is so friendly and the food is spectacular. If you're looking for good, authentic Korean food, this is the place to go!!!!

Great place, great food! Definitely satisfied my Korean bbq cravings! I went with my whole family and received great service from the employees. Also loved how they played kpop in the restaurant. I already want to go back again

I don't think this tiny kbbq gets enough credit. I've read plenty of bad reviews about the food and service. However, I disagree. Yes there seems to only be two workers. One cook and one server. But they are trying their best to make their customers happy. Although I read and took the bad reviews into consideration, I asked the husband to take me on a good venture to try it out ourselves. During our visit, it wasn't that busy dining in. There were at least 2-3 tables ahead of us. We did notice that take out our delivery was quite busy though. We wanted to try their kbbq grill menu. And to be honest, it appears they downsized their menu to only having two meat options on their kbbq menu. Everything else was cook to order. Which is understandable since there is only two workers. We order both pork belly and the beef brisket with the kimchi dumpling & fried seaweed rolls. With the grill menu, we got four sides (kimchi, picked bean sprouts, kimchi cucumber and spicy fish cake). It is less than what you're normally served at any other kbbq places. But then again, it was prefect for just the two of us. The portion for the price was however a lot more than what we would typically receive at other places. Overall, 5 star korean bbq was great. The server was very tentative and made sure we were ok throughout our visit. During these hard times, some places are struggling to make ends meet and are trying their best. This would be one of those trying places. If you're not open minded and patient, I would suggest you not to go their because you'll probably just give them a terrible review. Note: yes there aren't any ventilation so you will end up walking out smelling delicious. Due to the small size of the restaurant, they do use tin foil to cover the grill which you will cook on. You won't get that nice char on your meat but it is still edible!

5 star food if you're ready to wait a bit. We went to 5Star Korean BBQ on one of their busiest days and they only had one server. But it was totally WORTH THE WAIT! We got the the beef bulgoki, crunchy seaweed appetizers and soju. Very good quality food, the flavors are authentic and the ambience very cozy and warm.

Mildly underwhelming Korean BBQ joint. They have weird vibes, highish prices (not awful for Korean BBQ - Soju was $13 tho), goodish food and tables with the built in electric grills that kind of work? Except they don't get that hot and are stuffed with tinfoil - so if it isn't perfectly flat the meat (two options) will stay flabby and raww. I walked in and told them we would be six people. They pointed to a table, then to a set of others which supposedly had reservations, looked confused, had me sit down, then moved me to another table and tried to push the two tables together before telling me the grill in one of them doesn't work and to enjoy. When others arrived they reconfigured the tables again. The grill that did "work" did not do so well so they decided to plug in the other, "not working" grill, and suddenly it sprang to life - who knew grills don't run purely on hunger. Anyway, I would go again in the distant future. In fact, if you want proper Korean BBQ in Madison you don't really have any other choice. Other places offer better food but you will not get the experience of the meat sizzling right in front of you. Probably the flavor of a non-electric grill (gas or charcoal) would have been better, but the meat and condiments are relatively tasty (if insufficiently charred). The appetizers - Dukboki and Kimchi Dumpling - were good so maybe order more of those. Oh and they should probably refill the water more, was a good twenty minutes after we asked.

Great prices for k bbq. Pretty good banchan - especially the tofu skins. Excited to go back!

This was one of the place I always drove by but never gotten food from, which was a mistake by me. The restaurant is very casual with an open kitchen so you can smell the food being made. There are also BBQ tables where you can make your own BBQ. That being said the number of those tables are limited and if you want Korean BBQ at a regular table then the items will be done in the kitchen. The food itself is very good. Everything were flavored authentically and the side dishes were exactly what you would expect at a restaurant in Korea. Serving size is also huge so you will be full by the time you leave. The only reasons I couldn't give this 5 stars is because of the service and how old everything feel inside the store. There was only one waitress/host so you have to wait a bit to get your order. But because the kitchen also does takeout with limited staff meant that even when you get the food it'll take awhile, which is fine because the food is hot when delivered. The menu could be updated because some of the pages are torn or faded and the furniture and building is obviously old. Great place to get Korean food. It's just a shame that the store need to be updated.

I think the flavors are pretty authentic which is the most important thing. I am a crazy Dukboki fan and always order it at a Korean restaurant. Here at Five Star they make it very spicy (Korean-style sweet & spicy) , although the dish is still yummy. Hubby said his pork belly & kimchi stir fry is great to eat with rice. He wish the dish could be drier with just kimchi & pork belly though. The side dishes are okay - nothing really special. And they are not free to refill. The pleasant surprise is the appetizer deep fried sea weed. So crispy and yummy - we just could not stop eating one after one!

My friend and I went before and it's was good. This time it feels like we paid 80.00 and hardly got anything. The woman employee didn't care about us at the table. They also didn't have the food we wanted. I drove pretty far for the black bean noodles and she said sorry not today.

Food was fine. We ordered barbecue and choose to cooked in kitchen. But at checkout found we were charged an extra two dollars for that, which is not on the menu or informed when we ordered. We asked for it but the cashier gave us an attitude, like we are the unreasonable ones. Will never come again, and PLEASE PUT THAT CHA RGE ON THE MENU!!!

Service was great! Waiters so friendly and nice. Place was pretty clean and was playing K-pop music. Food was okay. Beef bibimbop was pretty good. Kimchi pancake was really interesting and good - although it was burnt black on the bottom :(. Wasn't a fan of the fried kimchi dumplings - (I have a feeling they would've been better steamed).

The night was terrible and rainy. You could barely see anything, but our trusty map-app guided us to this place. The place was empty and we were a little worried. A lot of times I judge the quality of the food based on how busy the place is... It wasn't busy. We were greeted by one of funniest and sassiest waitresses I have ever met. She was awesome. We were talking to her about what we wanted and she got us to a grill and we got started with some beef bulgogi it was pretty darn good. She shoved us out of the way a few times to show us the right way to do things, which was even more hilarious. She took such good care of us and she was just as good as dishing out the comebacks as we were at harassing her. It was an enjoyable dinner. I thought the price was reasonable and the whole experience just a nice end to a miserable rainy night. The food was great, the service was great, and the interaction great. I would go here often if I lived closer.

Not a good service, asking extra small sides with charged. The food is expensive but it is okay to eat. I won't come back.

We had a reservation for a big group and mind you we were the only party here. And yet somehow the waiter still screwed up the orders. Two of our guest still haven't received their meals! On top of all this, the waiter argued with me and said I took someone else's food. How's that possible when my bi bim bap is the bulgogi "steak" and we had two of those orders. Waiter apologize for having one chef. Why not just correct the service.. and make it right by checking up on the table to make sure our water is topped off, or brining more small plates. Instead it's constant apologizing. My bibimbap was great but over all I might not recommend for large parties. I'm docking this 2 stars for the overall experience and constantly ignoring our table. 15 minutes passed and still no small plates and missing two meals, we've been here for an hour now. Low on water.

This is the only Korean BBQ place with a grill I can kind in the area, so I decided to give it a shot. We came around 7 pm on a Saturday, and it was not busy at all. We got seated at a grill immediately. However, there were only 2 grill options (pork belly and brisket), and all marinated dishes were prepared in the kitchen. We decided to switch to the a regular table since all that interests us were the marinated dishes. That being said, we ordered kimchi dumplings, bulgogi, galbi, and sam gyup sal kim chi. I was not disappointed. The kimchi dumplings were good, but not amazing. They were extremely crispy, but the filling was very mediocre, nothing special. I probably would not order again. The bulgogi and galbi was delicious. They were both sweet, but not too sweet, and savory. Lastly, we got the Sam Gyup Sal Kim Chi Bokeum. This was also very tasty. It had the perfect amount of spice and the sauce was excellent. The portion sizes were also perfect for two people. We ended up taking half of each dish home since we ordered 3 entrees. Overall, I would rate this experience 4 stars. There were only two servers, and it was difficult to get their attention when needed. Although, the service was still relatively fast. I love having a grill experience with Korean BBQ so that was disappointing for me. It would also be nice if it was AYCE. The prices were a tad bit overpriced, but you cannot find much food like this around here so I am willing to pay. I would definitely come again in the future.

Drove to Madison for a concert at the Sylvee, this restaurant was a very short walk from parking and show. Food was fast, it was hot and crazy delicious. Had a beer ate a full plate and was ready to rock. I almost waited 1/2 hour to sit at a beer bar restaurant to get the same thing you find everywhere, glad I had the time for a short walk and packed a taste for Korean BBQ, Very reasonable pricing, made a perfect night. If you read this, go there.

very yummy! staff was friendly and service was quick, ordered a variety of food and it was all amazing! very nice ambiance and excellent food

I had lunch here and it was very good! Service was great, and servers were nice. Food was hot and flavorful. It was one of the best things I've eaten!

This restaurant is on the corner but is hard to get to with recent construction! Don't let that deter you. The Korean food is authentic and delicious! I would recommend getting the kimchi dumplings steamed instead of fried! Also love the sun dried beef! If you've never had Korean BBQ it's a must! The staff is great!

N-1. Jop Chae$15.99 Clear Thin Sweet Potato Noodle Stir-Fried withVegetables and Shredded Beef. The same price via door dash as the store. They have a touch of sweet. I added onions. The kimchi dumplings have a kick. But of spice which should be expected from the Kim chi. The take home sides are (1) potato, (2) Kim chi, (3) something starchy with sauce, (4) soy sauce and I liked Kim chi and something starchy in sauce. Id like to try the $9.99 lunch offering. Right now I'm puzzled as to why I was given white rice and what goes with it. It's not like they gave a bunch of meat. All in all, I'd recommend but warn they are not generous with the protein.

My boyfriend and I came in for dinner on a Saturday night. I had always seen 5 Star in the area, but never had the opportunity to try it, until recently. My boyfriend and I ordered a mild beef soondubu jigae ($12) and the sam gyup sal kimchi bok eum ($18). Although the soondubu was ordered mild, the two of us thought it was more on the spicier side (even I thought it was quite spicy and I'm pretty good with spice!), so those who don't usually handle spice well, beware! The soup was a miss for us, as there was a lot of spice, but not much actual flavor. We thought of it more as "spicy water," as it was lacking in flavor. We also ordered the sam gyup sal based on recommendations from other Yelpers. We were not disappointed with this dish as the flavors were delicious with just the right amount of spice! Although we thoroughly enjoyed the dish, we felt like the portion size and the dish alone was hard to justify an $18 price tag. Service was average. Overall, 5 Star KBBQ is a "just okay" for me.

I know there is not much for Korean BBQ in the area, but this place extorts that. Overall the food was fresh, but not an authentic Korean BBQ experience. Also overpriced, but it is what it is. The biggest complaints were speed of service, no AYCE, and any of the marinated dishes are made in the kitchen and not on the BBQ. I would not repeat.

We were seated right away. Our server seemed like she was pissed. After finally figuring out the menu, another server helps us instead of her. We were moved to the grill area where we can do our own BBQ. We asked how much meat should we order for 5 and he suggested 4. Which end up being so much meat that only 2 order would have been more than enough. We ordered kimchi soup, Dukboki and kimchi dumplings for appetizers. Every thing arrived pretty randomly so nothing was appetizer. Food was amazing. Everything was very flavourful. But the service was very bad. Specially at the end we saw how they discriminated us and treated other table with so much better service.

Driving through Madison, Wisconsin on a road trip, we checked Yelp and decided to try this place. Doesn't look like much from the outside -- sits on a busy street corner with construction going on around it and only one table seated inside. Kind of funky and casual, but super great service and food! Ordered the bulgogi beef, chicken teriyaki, and jap chae. 10 previous reviews, we decided to skip the grill experience, and we absolutely did that the right way! Everything was delicious, a little bit sweet, not spicy. The best meal we've had this entire trip (from west coast)!

This place was good. It definitely isn't a 5 star... it is a3 star. It needs modernized and updated. Food was good though. 5 stars on flavor. 3 stars on overall.

Warning: THIS IS KOREAN FOOD, not American BBQ. I can't tell you how many times, while eating with friends, I've seen people come in thinking it's American BBQ because they see 5 Star BBQ. So if you're checking the out via Yelp first...good for you. Now you know. This place is honestly a great place when comparing it to other Korean options in Madison. There are practically only 2-3 other options that are 1) overpriced, 2) too "fusion"' for me, and 3) limited menus. Service This is something they will probably work on. It's honestly a family business where one sister is in the kitchen with a prep cook and the other sister is the server, hostess and all of the above. You have to be super patient and understanding considering their situation. I've thought about applying for a job there to help them out. Be kind y'all. Food If you like spicy, they can make it habanero spicy so be cautious. I recommend everything. Gamja Tang (pork bone potato soup) had a nice kick to it and the potatoes were huge! The Samgyupsal Kimchi Bokeum was good. I'd recommend you ordering it with the tofu for $2 extra. Friends have ordered the Al Tang (fish soup) and it's soooo good. You have to get the Seafood Pancake as the appetizer. This is probably the best Seafood Pancake I've had in the Midwest. It almost takes like my Grandma's! Location Pretty nice that they are located on the corner of Blair and East Wash. Lots of parking available. I'd recommend you carpool with friends if you can Justin case they get busy during the dinner time. It definitely got busy when I was there two different times with friends. Alcohol is available. Water is refilled often. Enjoy!

Unexpected stop for lunch. They have a lunch menu that is a cheaper version of the dinner one. The woman at the counter was extremely helpful at walking us through the menu and pointing out dishes that many people enjoy. I'm not normally a beef person, but the Bul go ki beef (L-1/G-1) was very flavorful. We also got chicken teriyaki. Neither had the sweet taste I was expecting from the description, but both were delicious. The chicken was more like a non-spicy blackened flavor. Rice was perfect. Even the lunch comes with "sides" that included two soft meat-filled dumplings, a small container of something pickled, something with chili paste that was too hot for me, and three cute little potato-things that were also yummy. I totally get why another reviewer said it was "home cooking." I'm not sure what happened to the other reviewers, but the service was awesome. After helping us order, we decided to wait in the car since we were getting it to go (pandemic and all) and the person said she'd bring the order out to us. Super-polite and friendly. I would note that the interior definitely could use sprucing up at some point, but, c'mon, pandemic.

The food was so good! It was really fast service, and there is barely anybody in there

This was the best dinner I have had in so long! We went on a Sunday during dinner. Read other reviews here on Yelp but we wanted to try it out for the first time for ourselves. The workers were so nice and welcoming when we walked in. We were sat immediately and ordered shortly afterwards. We sat at a grill table and the food came out right away. There were others dining in spots all over the restaurant as well and their service also appeared to be as quick as ours. The food was fresh, the drinks we ordered were tasty and the server was great at her job and very polite. The food was amazing and was so much fun to cook and be creative to see what flavor combinations we could make from the meat and various side dishes. Everything was delicious and it was a great time. Just the right portion sizes for dinner. We were pleasantly satisfied and as we were leaving about two to three workers wished us a good night. On our way out I accidentally forgot my jacket on the back of the chair and our server quickly ran out and caught us almost immediately after we walked to our car to make sure we got it. We were really impressed at the thoughtful gesture and attentive staff and service. We will definitely be back!

3.5 stars. A solid place to go, especially with a big group. Unfortunately, there was no space for KBBQ when we got there so we sat at the regular dining area. We tried several different dishes (from all parts of the menu), including chap chae, seafood pancake, bulgolgi, some soups, some sizzling dishes, stir fried rice cake, etc. Everything came out quickly and was decently tasty. Portions were decently sized and we appreciated the little dishes that we had on the side. I wasn't a fan of the Myul Nang Mun cold soup (buckwheat noodles) but that's a personal preference. It's a little pricey, but I have to keep reminding myself this isn't California, where AYCE KBBQ exists. Overall, Madison has sparse pickings for Korean BBQ so I definitely wouldn't mind coming back.

Fun and unique experience. Kind wait staff. Would definitely return. Give them a try!

Our first experience to this intimate Korean restaurant was a hit! The warm hospitality was refreshing, and it was one of the best Korean food I have ever eaten! We ordered Bulgogi and Jajiang. It was delicious and cooked properly. The noodles were tight as they should- very authentic. The Bulgogi was marinated and cooked with no MSG and it was worth the price of $15.99. The banchun was also fresh, crunchy, and a great compliment to our meal. Yum! The service was amazing! Our waitress was friendly and took care of our craving for Kimchi. In speaking with her, we found out the Kimchi is made fresh everyday. We weren't surprised because it was crisp and tasty. We can't wait to try this wonderful Korean spot for lunch as we heard their lunch box is also good and starts at $9.99. You got to try this one of a kind Korean restaurant!

[Wrote on 7-13-2018] AVOID this place!!!! If you like Korean food, go to Sol's on the Square or New Soul. This 5 Start place is a tragedy. The service was, terrible. I have no other words to describe, to be honest. I've lived in Madison for more than 6 years- and this place is no doubt the worst or the second worst place to be. It really made me upset.. Please read following story of me and my friend. Me and my friend wanted to get some Korean food, so we went to the five start Korean BBQ. We ordered the food and the food was pretty quick, it tastes okay, so I have no problem with that. But within 10 minutes after the food was served, the female server (or the owner?) has brought the check to our table... I've worked in the dinning industry before- bringing a check to your table usually means the restaurant want you to pay and leave, either because they are closing soon or there are too many people waiting. And usually people don't put checks on the table until you finish your food. But at this place- they literally brought me the check 10 minutes after our food was delivered.. That was 7:50 pm at that time, it's no where near that it's closing, and only 30% of the tables were seated so it's not like there is a line waiting to be seated.. I could see no reason they wanted us to pay and leave ...and the lady didn't even explain anything- she just dropped the check and left, which is pretty rude to be honest... this is the first thing that's astonishing Second, throughout our dinner, the server didn't come even once to check and ask us if we need anything. She always goes to the table right next to us though, and chatting with korean customers in Korean. Okay, I know you are a korean restaurant and you like korean customers, but that doesn't mean you should ignore other customers who aren't Korean! Super awkward dinning experience. Almost feels like people sitting in our table are un-welcomed. I had to wave hands to them so they could see me to give me refill water or rice Thirdly, after we finished our food, the owner came and rushed us to write the tip...while standing right behind me.. Another waiter handed me my card, and as I was writing the tips, she would stand behind me and be waiting impatiently while I'm writing tips... Come on lady, just give me a break, I was deciding either give no tips or give a 99 cents tip, but she was standing right behind me when I was writing tips , so I got nervous and gave her 1 dollar tip.. (our food cost us 35 dollars and I usually tip 20% to any normal restaurants) But this time, I really don't want to give them any tips.. at all. but considering the food isn't bad, and considering she is standing write behind me as if she is watching me writing the tips on the receipt, I finally gave her a dollar for the "amazing" service :) But anyways , that was a super awkward experience that night, and me and my friends just laughed it away on our way back... but we all know that we will never go back to this 5 star BBQ place again.. like , never..

I've been wanting to try 5 Star Korean BBQ for quite awhile. It's on a busy intersection we drive by all the time. Last Thursday night we finally stopped while walking back from Breese Stevens Field. It does have a little parking lot, but its location might make it a challenge to get in and out of by car. It was incredibly hot that day so I was looking forward to eating inside a cool air-conditioned restaurant. It wasn't that cool inside 5 Star. Our table was by the window and I was sweltering. When I went to use the restroom on the other side of the restaurant where the grill tables are, it was cool over there. They need to work on the circulation for these hot days. I was uncomfortable throughout the entire meal. The atmosphere is a little bit divey/dingy but everything seems clean. Our waitress brought us menus and a couple of small waters which I knew she'd need to refill many times. She was very friendly and made recommendations when asked. We ordered the Bul Go Ki Beef and the Oh Sam Bul Go Ki. We were served five sides for our banchan. Thin slices of marinated fish cake, seaweed salad, kimchi, steamed eggplant, and broccoli with some radish. My partner loved the eggplant. He also loved the beef and says this is his new favorite Korean restaurant and he can't wait to go back. Mine was the pork and squid in spicy sauce. The pork was delicious and juicy. The squid however was terribly overcooked. It was like trying to chew through rubber. The flavor of the sauce was great, but the texture of the squid was nearly inedible. Portion sizes were good and we took leftovers home. My partner loved it so I'm sure we will go back. I will not order the squid.

I read the reviews but the food looked good and we decided to try it. It was a Friday and they are open to 10. We got there by 8:30 so we figured we had plenty of time. Greeting was nice but took a while to take a drink order. We asked for the table barbecue but were told they were out of meat. Really? On a Friday night? And then they had meat if you got a dish made in the kitchen. In hindsight it seems like they thought we would take too long. So we were finishing our sake at 9:38 and watching a close curling match between Japan and Korea. Suddenly the waiter came over and told us and another table they were closing and we would have to leave. No warning. Just get out. Then they promptly turned off the TV, at the end of the overtime round, and started turning off the lights. If it were closer to 10 I could better understand. But two tables left and a close match on TV and no heads up they wanted to close early. Food was very good, as was the service, but the manners of the managers were awful.

The food here is phenomenal. I'd give this place a full five stars if the service was better. Have also found that there's more heat to the dishes if you order delivery, instead of going in for your meal. So, now I just tend to do that instead. My faves: G-4. Sam Gyup Sal Kim Chi Bokeum G-3. Bul Go Ki Pork G-1. Bul Go Ki Beef N-1. Jop Chae AND those Kim Chi Dumplings. *swooooon*

Great food and service. Nice variety of dishes and everything tasted amazing. Great location in the center of town

This place is fabulous; WAYYY gooder than Sol's on the Square. The dukbokgi was spot on, spicy and not too soupy. Loved the shredded cabbage and fish cakes, could've lived without the shredded carrots but I just pushed them aside. The Banchan (side dishes) were all light and tasty. The Kalbi was marinated with some type of fruit (the best kalbi's usually are) and I inquired. She said it's marinated in , , , and something else I forgot. Five fruits total and the meat was perfectly tenderized. I did miss the onions that Sol's had on the skillet but without was just fine. Kimchee jjigae (kimchee soup) was good. Not spicy enough and not enough flavor, but still good. My dining buddy is sick so I was focusing on soups but the duk guk came to the rescue. Duk guk (rice cakes in ovals, rather than the tubes like dukbokgi...otherwise same. It's just mashed rice) was SOLID! Best soup in a long time, beef broth was flavorful, rice cakes were cooked well, eggs were light and fluffy, and the seaweed garnish added a nice saltiness to the soup. Bibim naengmyeon (cold, spicy noodles) were ok. Served with a side of mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in a cold, sour soup? soup was a nice addition, as the noodles were too dry to eat without some soup in it. I added more gochujang but I always do. My dining buddy did NOT like the mul naengmyeon soup, and didn't care much for this dish overall. More for me! Actually ate here twice in one day; solid Korean choice! We'll be back next time we're in town for more Badger-mania!

There's a new menu with slightly different food items at Five Star Korean BBQ that lists the dishes in English with the Korean translation in parenthesis, so you know the place is pretty authentic. My boyfriend and I have been here multiple times for date nights and we've been here once with his siblings for Korean BBQ. Each time, we switch it up but most recently we've narrowed down to our favorite dishes. He prefers the mackerel and I order my seafood tofu soup without any green onions and if I remember to request for no white onions either. My favorite side dish is also the strips of fish cake and occasionally seaweed or kimchi. The dumplings are also fairly delicious. Keep in mind, the first two rounds of side dishes is free but if you request for a third one, then it's charged, and the same for an additional bowl of rice as well. Other than that, the wait time for food has gotten a lot better, it used to be hours before you'd be served food but if you go right after work, you'll be seated and served in no time!

OMG TERRIBLE SERVICE!!!!! DON'T GO HERE How can you guys operate the restaurant like this? 1. We came here at 12:45pm, and get our food at 1:40pm. WE WAITED AN HOUR JUST TO EAT. 2. There were 3 teams that came later than us, but they all got foods first. I understand you guys are busy. But you should KEEP THE ORDER. JEEZ! 3. There were 2 servers, and they are very UNKIND. 4. We waited our foods an hour and they forgot one menu and even started to cook it. SO LIDICULUS. 5. I asked to-go box, and they NEVER gave me. Eventually I had to go to the kitchen to get that. Come here if you want to waste your time and money.

Great authentic Korean! Service is superfantastic. Love the extra spicy cucumber kimchi.

Unfortunately my first review is bad review. First time I ordered Galbitang from 5 star Korean BBQ in Madison. It was my first experience Korean food in WI. But It was really disappointing! It was dlsgustting! One of short rib was spoiled, rotten. Even it is not short ri. I don't now what kind a bone is it! Tastes terrible. Never going there again. How do they even think it's okay to serve people food like that! The banchan was too small only 2 oz sauce container.

Hold on, I'm still noming on my delicious Dukbokki and kimchi pancake right now to type a full review but this is my second time here and everything I've gotten is oh so good and authentic. They do not skimp on the finely ground dried chili pepper here (gochugaru )! There are no pre portioned or premixed ingredients here, you can see the hardworking ajumma cooking your dish in their open kitchen right where you walk in. K brb

This place is the best Korean food in Madison! My friend and I had the following dishes: 1. A6. Hae Mul Pa Joun 2. G1. Bul Go Ki Beef 3. N1. Jop Chae Noodle All 3 were excellent, the Bul Go Ki especially. Highly recommended!

Please read this review if you're vegetarian: Given all the five star reviews that this restaurant has received, my boyfriend and I showed up with high hopes. However, the experience that we had here was akin to going home for the holidays...but in all the worst ways. We arrived around 6:30 pm and were warmly greeted and seated. It seemed like they were understaffed for the day, so we didn't mind the service itself. The one waitress in the restaurant truly was doing the best that she could to manage 7 tables, which varied from pairs to groups of 5. Of all the tables there, only two had their food, so we knew we were in for a wait. About fifteen minutes in, our waitress was able to free herself to take our order and drop by with water. I ordered a vegetarian dolsot bibimbap, and my boyfriend ordered the kimchi pancake and seafood soondubu jjigae. Here's where it starts going downhill. Another 30 minutes passed by before our waitress came by with side dishes, at which point, we saw another table get up and leave because they had been waiting to place their order for some 15 minutes to no avail. Tensions were clearly rising in the kitchen, as we heard yelling between our waitress and one (of two) cooks. At one point, the cook walked out of the kitchen, angrily glared at the other patrons waiting anxiously for their food, and went back to yelling at our waitress. Believe me when I say it was like being back home all over again and witnessing a divorce in the making. Around 7:20, our waitress brought out my dish (the vegetarian one), and I noticed that it had beef in it. I told her about the mix up, she hurriedly took the dish back, and more yelling ensued in the kitchen... When she brought it back out, it was clear that she had just removed the meat and artfully replaced the old ingredients on top. When I moved the vegetables to the side, the rice was still brown from the meat sauce, and specks of beef were still present. I really didn't want to complain, but I'd gotten sick from eating beef before (after some 25 years of vegetarianism...), so my boyfriend approached her and asked if they could replace the dish with one that didn't have beef mixed in already. Cue more kitchen yelling. After about 5 minutes, the cook personally approached our table and told me, quite bluntly and very loudly, "Miss, I won't serve you. Everything that I cook has beef broth in it. You say you'll get sick, so, yeah, *I'm not going to serve you.*" She then turned and walked away while I sat gaping behind her. The thing is... I completely understand that they were backed up on orders and were rushed for time, but the tone of voice and body language that she used genuinely made me feel like I was being chastised for /being a paying customer/ at their restaurant. Despite the fact that the initial mix-up was on their end and not mine, there was no apology; and when it was pointed out that they had simply recycled the dish right back to me, she got angry with *me*. What. Both the cook and waitress stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, as I glanced back and forth between them and my boyfriend, wondering what weird world I had stepped into. First off, didn't the menu have vegetarian icons next to /several/ dishes? Second, how was a miscommunication between the waitress and the cook (i.e., the wrong order) suddenly the reason why I was being yelled at in front of an entire restaurant? Honestly, I was beyond mortified at that point, and now that I look back on it, I'm wondering why I wasn't, instead, indignant over the way she'd spoken to me! If I wanted to be talked to that way, I'd go home to eat! After a few more moments of awkward staring, the cook called out from the kitchen that, -maybe-, there were other dishes I could order. I'd mentioned that I was vegetarian, so she offered several seafood dishes... Given the potential language barrier, okay, sure, I guess I could understand how "vegetarian" might translate to "no land meat"... However, I'm not so sure if, when a dish is incorrectly made (and the difference takes it from being vegetarian to NOT-vegetarian), it's acceptable to simply remove the beef, mix up the veggies, and call it fixed... So she brought over the menu to me and then pointed to three dishes I could have as a vegetarian--all of which were seafood-based. At this point, I asked her why I couldn't have the dishes that had VEGETARIAN marked beside it (and believe me, there were PLENTY of those). Again, she said that she used beef broth to cook all the veggies. I'm just so flabbergasted by this. Why mark dishes as vegetarian if they're cooked with beef broth?! So... My boyfriend, being such a great sport, asked if they'd cooked his dishes yet. It was 7:45 at this point (an hour and 15 minutes since we stepped in). They hadn't. *We* apologized for wasting *their* time and left. Long story short: The menu says vegetarian. It's not vegetarian. Also, it's cheaper to get yelled at, at home.

This "5 star" restaurant is getting one star from me because when I went there we got forgotten about completely by the waiters like we had ordered our food and when they told us that one of the food items we ordered wasn't available so they gave us the menu to order something else they never came back and we waited for an hour till we had to get up aave talk to the waiters. They only get the one star because they had kpop playing and they have us free corn dogs.

I'm giving this place a 5 start rating because, I do believe it's as good as it gets for authentic Korean food in Madison. Having been to Korea several times to visit family I think I'm an ok judge in authenticity of flavor. The ambiance and decor of the place is okay. It used to be a BBQ place. Their menu has a lot of various korean BBQs. You don't get to cook them at tableside, that requires a more advanced setup and a better HVAC system. Another table ordered some and it did come out pretty quick and sizzling hot. They also have a variety of soups, lunch time specials, and appetizers. I ordered the Gam Ja Tang. Which is pork and potato soup and with various veggies. I enjoyed the flavor very much and it is a bit spicy but I like spicy. it was a massive bowl! We also got Dol sot bulgogi bi bim bap. I say if you're going to get bi bim bap its so worth it to pay a couple of dollars more to get it in the hot stone bowl. I love the way the heat crispens the rice at the bottom. We also got the seafood pancake which was tasty. Even really good as leftovers. The pancake is HUGE. At home we heated it up in a pan with some oil and it got it all nice and crispy on the outside again. The banchan here was good. The kimchi tasted almost perfect to me. Which is also why I choose to give this place a high rating. Good kimchi is a must for me since it is such a staple of Korean cuisine. The waitress stopped by to check us on periodically. Was attentive and really wanted feedback on what we thought of the food since they've been only open for 3 weeks. The cook came out and apologized for the appetizer (seafood pankcake) taking awhile since she had made one and didn't feel it was up to par so made a new one. I appreciate her honesty and commitment to delivering quality food. Most of the korean places around Madison are more fusion style and not authentic. There is one place on the west side that serves traditional Korean fare but I think the flavors at Five Star Korean BBQ are more on point.