Daniel B.
Yelp
Cow Wow Korean BBQ is yet another outstanding Korean barbecue restaurant to open in Gwinnett County, in Suwanee. Simply put, it's worth the drive from many places in metro Atlanta. We came from Midtown which took just over 30 minutes in light traffic.
For a few folks I know, this is their new favorite Korean barbecue joint in metro Atlanta. I've heard from multiple people - some Korean/Korean-American - that think Cow Wow currently has some of the best, if not *the* best, meat quality in Georgia. I agree with them, but it's also hard for me to say definitively because I've had so much great Korean barbecue in metro Atlanta over the years and many of those experiences have been spread apart, timewise.
That said, the meat quality we experienced here was indeed superb and certainly among the best we've had in recent memory. In addition, service was incredible. It solidified the five-star rating for me. Like other Korean barbecue restaurants, the staff here took a tag-team approach to serving and cooking for us. They were friendly, super attentive, and had great attitudes. This crew appeared to genuinely enjoy working with one another which elevated the mood/environment.
The server who cooked for us the most was a young Korean lady named Stephanie. She was amazing. She stayed on top of everything. I regularly see servers bounce around different Korean barbecue restaurants in Gwinnett and asked her if she's worked anywhere else. She hasn't. She considered working at the older and more established 678 and 9292 restaurants in Duluth, but chose Cow Wow due to proximity. She went above and beyond and we made sure to take care of her and her team in return.
Stephanie's coworker/buddy, another young Korean lady, noticed my wife was wearing a white blouse. She brought my wife an apron to wear because she didn't want my wife's blouse to get dirty. In all my years of eating Korean barbecue, I've never seen that before. It was unexpected and really nice of that server to do. Finally, the other server who did a substantial amount of cooking for us was an older Chinese-Korean lady who spoke both Mandarin and Korean. She spoke Mandarin to my wife and our friend. She made sure to cook the meats at the right pace for me since I'm a slow eater. At some Korean barbecue restaurants, I've felt rushed. Not here and I appreciated that. Needless to say, service was A+.
Cow Wow opened in March 2023 in the same strip as All That Korean BBQ (next door, opened February 2019) and the Suwanee location of BBQ Chicken (two doors down). This space used to be a CVS Pharmacy. The main difference between Cow Wow and All That is quality. Cow Wow doesn't serve unlimited all-you-can-eat (AYCE) Korean barbecue, All That does. Cow Wow is more expensive, but the high-quality meat is worth it. And despite the set-menu, a-la-carte-nature of Cow Wow, the three of us ended up leaving absolutely stuffed with lots of leftovers to take home. Leftovers from a Korean barbecue restaurant are rare for me. That's how much food we got. Cow Wow serves generous portions.
During our visit, they offered five combos and 16 individual meat options. To give you an idea on pricing, a five-course combo for two cost $109.99 and a 10-course combo for six cost $299.99. Lunch specials, not necessarily Korean barbecue, are available Monday-Friday, 11:30am-2:30pm.
We got the combo for four ($199.99) which came with:
* Thinly Sliced Brisket
* Boneless Short Rib
* Fresh Short Rib
* Marinated Short Rib
* Rib Eye
* Pork Neck
* Marinated Rib Finger
Every meat course was phenomenal with just the right amounts of marbling, seasoning, and/or marinade. Terrific flavors and textures. In general, succulent, rich, and tender.
Banchan (side dishes) included salad, buchu kimchi (garlic chives kimchi), pickled radish and jalapeno, pink ssam mu slices (pickled daikon), fishcake, potato salad, fresh kimchi, and spicy pickled bean sprouts. Also included was egg cooked on the side of the grill (I love places that do this), corn cheese served sizzling on a skillet (bonus points for that), and steaming-hot doenjang-jjigae (fermented soybean paste stew, spicy). Condiments included sesame oil with salt and pepper and ssamjang (fermented soybean and red chili paste). We also got a bottle of Soon Hari Peach Soju ($14.99). While not bad, it tasted a bit mediciney.
The dining rooms are spacious and outfitted with charcoal grills with adjustable hoods. Many places, like Breakers in Duluth and Ari in Johns Creek, have downdraft vents. Those are good, but not perfect. I think these adjustable hoods are even better. They directly suck up smoke from the grills. Clean grills were used for each meat course and grill types differed depending on the meat (as it should be). I will say Cow Wow doesn't have the "nicest" ambiance among the stiff local competition, but it's still pretty solid and functional. They have a couple private rooms in the back. Parties of six or more can book via OpenTable.