Dongnae

Wasn’t sure what to expect at this Korean restaurant but found it an amazing experience because the food and service are exceptional. Such unusual flavours and cooking methods. You can’t go back to eating chicken wings anywhere else. The Wagu beef is melt in the mouth and the bbq pork belly is served on hot coals. I had Matcha Terrine with Mescal Cream for a desert for another mesmerising flavour shout. Then the Negroni cocktails which were so carefully mixed and served made the whole experience even better. Service reflected staff of a high calibre who knew how to put you at ease and help you to make choices to suit your tastes without being too pushy. Go to Dongae if you want to try new tastes, flavours and relaxed atmosphere.

Prices are high for generally smaller portions but for a special occasion, the food is here is exciting, tasty and high carefully considered. I highly recommend the pork belly and the chicken wings as they particularly impressive but nothing disappointed me apart from the seafood bipimbap which we found to lack a bit of flavour. Portions can be small so be prepared to order multiple plates.

Very nice place! Would definitely recommend. Went with my wife and parents none of us experts of Korean cuisine but we all loved it. Good and attentive, friendly service. Really helpful with explaining menu. Nice lunch menu. We took couple of starters plus each one of us took lunch menu. Good sized portions. Wings were lovely, spicy but not too spicy. And mackerel and pork collar was top quality and really strong barbecue flavor. Cucumber soup was really fresh and delicious. The biggest surprise was mezcal and matcha dessert! Top quality. Design is nice but really simple but I guess that’s what they want.

The menu really sets itself apart from the average Korean restaurant menus in the UK, where it's usually some Korean classics with other generic Asian food thrown in the mix. Dongnae is bold in being inventive of Korean classics while also introducing exotic ingredients to the British palate. For starters - the lamb fat and octopus skewer was flavourful, and the banchan were refreshing veg side dishes that we nibbled throughout our meal. Mains - the squid in the bibimbap tasted fresh, the squid ink rice didn't add much flavour other than the crispy rice layer at the bottom of the stone pot. Maybe would have benefited from some seaweed/veg as there's usually a medley of veg in a classic bibimbap? The pine nut kongguksu noodles had the perfect chewy texture, the cold but creamy broth had a mild nutty flavour that is perfect for summer. I'm not sure about the fish roe though, I suppose they added saltiness and texture. I felt the whole thing was quite "busy" with many ingredients but didn't blow me away in flavour. Dessert - the matcha terrine was silky smooth and packs a punch in flavour. The mezcal cream didn't do much to enhance the matcha but I thought it would go really well with like a choc brownie or something? Overall for the price point I expected more value in amount and flavour, but with the other interesting items on the menu I will definitely be back (maybe for the lunch set menu)

I would give 5/5 if the service is better. Came for just a casual lunch. Good bits- Food is really good. Asian tastebuds would give it 9/10. We ordered 2x lunch sets one with grilled pork and one with soya milk noodle. Grill pork is just as I expected, nicely grilled, tender inside. Soy milk noodle is just right for a summer day so refreshing but the flavour is also rich. Banchan is 10/10 I got no complaints (btw kimchi is goooood) the soup of the day is a spicy shrimp soup quite a surprise choice using seafood but really really rich i like it. The restaurant sits in a quiet street atmosphere is airy✨ Not so good bits- Service was disappointing We booked a table in advance and when we arrived it is 2 minutes before the booking time. I first open the door and wait inside the restaurant. However there is no one greeting us or simply just acknowledge our existence. I am pretty sure some staff must have noticed me but kitchen staff just continue their cooking, waitress placing order from one table to another table and walking back and forth but no one even have any eye contact with us. I mean, just to let me know - should I wait inside or what? A few customers noticed us (but not even one staff) and then after at least 3 minutes I decided to step out of the restaurant. I thought- may be I should have waited outside. Then I waited another at least 5 minutes outside, watching one staff laying menus on bar tables and onto the tables right in front of the windows where we stood, and also watching another staff near the bar keep peeking at us like we were strange people but still no one bothered to ask us to come in. I mean if someone waiting just outside the door for a long while keeps looking, I suppose at least some people should come out and ask ‘ is there anything to help?’ But obviously no. After a long while maybe another 5 minutes I finally got noticed after needing to wave my hands to one of the staff and she asked us in, saying ‘sorry I didn’t know you are waiting you should have came in!’ Excuse me, did I not? What a good start. And when we finish our drink one staff came to take away the empty cans. I thought they would just remove it hut instead they put it on another table lol empty tables no one clean up the tables until like half an hour after customers left🙂‍↔️ And after all these moments I was charged 12.5% service charge which is absurd, considering the service is below average. But still, no complaints on food. Food is great.

I think if you’ve never had Korean food and don’t mind spending a lot of money to tell your friends you went for an “adventurous” meal, this might be for you. For anyone else, this is probably the most disappointing “Korean” food I’ve had in the UK given the price. I think someone else summed it up perfectly on here “modern mediocrity”. While the food bar the jjigae was enjoyable, even tasty, the portion size really stretched the term small plates. More like snack sizes for main meal prices and even with the cost for hospitality going up, this place offers incredibly poor value for money. We also got unlucky with the wait staff who was awkwardly rude and told us to order more. When we said we’d wait and see they simply said “it might take a while for additional dishes to come out and we need the table back by x time”. Sure, this might all be something they had to think about operationally but not the best start to our dinner and there are better, maybe warmer ways to phrase it. We felt like we were a burden rather than guests. Left broke, hungry and disappointed. Don’t do it folks, there are plenty of far better Korean places in Bristol which also offers a better dining experience (crammed and drafty doesn’t make for a great setting especially when spending this much money).

I brought my partner here for her birthday, and the entire experience was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Every dish was beautifully presented and full of flavor, the service was attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere struck the perfect balance between cozy and elegant. A lovely touch was when they brought out dessert with a candle for my partner to make a wish — it really made the evening feel extra special. Couldn’t have asked for a better celebration. Highly recommended!

Had a fantastic meal at Dongnae! The food was absolutely incredible! Full of rich, varied flavours that really stood out. I loved that the dishes were satisfying without leaving me feeling overly full, which often happens at other places. You can really tell everything is made with care and quality ingredients. The only downside was the seating – we were given stalls without backrests, and after a couple of hours, my back did start to ache a bit. That said, it wouldn’t stop me from coming back. Highly recommend for anyone after flavour-packed Korean food in Bristol