Mike K.
Yelp
Being a fan of Honey Pig in the ATL, I wanted to love this spot but missed the 5-star review. Overall, great location, and I can understand the draw for Austin, but my comparisons are the LA spots that I live next to, so the bar is relatively high for what I love. I'm going to try this spot again to see if it was the grand opening time frame, and I didn't try the pork belly dishes, so I can only speak on the food we did have.
Pros:
- Hooded vents
- The parking lot is abundant
- Large selection on the menu
- Ton of food when you order
- Offered BYOB ($10 corkage fee)
Side Notes:
- Working on beverage license
- $10 corkage fee for BYOB
- Convenient parking to H-Mart
- Being new, expect slower service
What We Ate + Drank:
- Beef Combo
- LA Beef Rib
- Bulgogi
- Ribeye Steak
- Boneless Rib
- Soybean Paste Stew
- Egg Soufflé
Summary
I took my mother there, and she's an old-school Korean that makes all her banchan from scratch, so this is a very biased review. From eating homemade food from my mom, LA-based KBBQ, to eating Korean dining from around the world, from NYC to South Korea.
Firstly, the banchan was bland to us, and it didn't have much flavor, and the bean sprouts, aka (Kongnamul Muchim), missed the mark. Not sure if the freshness of the bean sprouts were off, but I remember Honey Pig in ATL tasting very differently. Secondly, as mentioned, we didn't get the pork combo or octopus/squid, so we can't speak about it. It reminded us of all-you-can-eat places, where you know the taste will be slightly off, but you focus on the quantity.
The service was slow, given that it was about 60% capacity on a Wed early afternoon. Our soups came out late, so we didn't finish them, but after eating a bit of it, it was average complementary soups that accompanied the combo. They did their best, so I want to give them another shot after they work out their kinks.
For Austin, it's a needed addition to the KBBQ selection you can get around town. I will give it another chance in hopes the customer service, quality of food taste, and liquor/drink services are readily available. For those looking for a spot, you should check this place out, as we're not food critics. We'll update the review after we get a chance to try out the rest of the menu!