James L.
Yelp
I'm reticent to let business and people I'm dining with, know that I write reviews for Yelp. If businesses ask why I'm taking photos, I usually reply it's for another social media platform, since I want my experience to be representative of what a "normal" customer would receive. And it's odd, but the last few times I've been out with people and they know I'm a Yelper, one of their immediate responses has been, "oh, so do you like feeling 'powerful' in being able to trash a business?"
As the child of immigrant parents who ran several small businesses, the answer is "no," I do not relish leaving a bad review, since I know all to well the impact that negative word of mouth can have on a place. I try and be fair and give lots of praise when warranted...and equally point out my perceived deficiencies.
Which brings me to my recent experience at Seoul Prime.
I dined here with seven other folks and I was given quizzical stares when I started snapping pics of the decor and food. As other reviewers have noted, Seoul Prime is definitely aiming for a modern vibe. Located in the up and coming Founder's Row section of Falls Church, the color palette is subdued with an emphasis on darkly themed furniture and dim lighting. Interesting design choice to have shelves of books and artwork on the upper seating level, with wine bottles separating the lower level. There is also a sizable bar when you first walk down the ramp to the hostess stand.
So for me, Korean BBQ is not so much a sophisticated urbane dining event, but rather a communal and dare I say, "fun" spectacle? I expect my clothes to be infused with the smoke from meats cooked at the table and to immediately launder my clothes from the inevitable grease splatters. That is not the experience at Seoul Prime.
We all decided on the $47/person Seoul Prime tour (www.seoulprime.com/dinner) which includes four "premium" cuts of meat accompanied by banchan. The banchan was served in a progressive fashion, with the usual kimchi, scallion salad, pickled veggies, and other cold small plates first. Of these, the scallion salad was superior! It was fresh, crispy, and the soy based dressing muted some of the pungent onion flavor. It was quite good.
The impressive display of meats arrived a short time later on a butcher block, with our server providing background on the all of the cuts. Of the four, the dry aged ribeye and the marinated galbi were the best. These two cuts were nicely marbled and needed just a bit of salt to really highlight the meat's tenderness and quality. Our server cooked all of the meat for the table, and if I had one criticism, it's that the meat was cooked on the "over" side. The flat iron cut was past medium, which made it trend dangerously towards a "chewy" texture. All of the meats, could've done with about 30 seconds less on the grill...but that's my taste.
Other banchan dishes arrived with the soybean soup and egg custard being additional standouts. I would've liked for the egg custard serving to be larger, but the flavor was good. Be sure to ask for rice, since it's not automatically served with your meal.
Service was fine. It was "team" style with several servers bringing and removing dishes, and ensuring the water bottles were always full.
The management was nice enough to split the bill separately, and my portion came out to $67 with tax and tip (with just water for drink). So...here's the thing. Seoul Prime is not trying to be an AYCE KBBQ place like Kogiya (my favorite) or a la carte joints like Meokja Meokja or Gogiville (another favorite). It seems to me, Seoul Prime is trying to create a persona of the "elevated Korean BBQ" experience. Which is fine, if the food and experience matched the "elevated" prices...which to me, it did not.
While I didn't leave hungry, the portion sizes are smaller since the menu clearly says it's a "tour," which translates into 3-4 pieces of each cut of meat. For some in my dining party who also got appetizers and drinks their bill was north of $100...which is on the high side for what you're getting.
Not only is the the Korean BBQ scene in the DMV super competitive at many different price points, but also quickly reaching saturation point. Just my opinion, that in this environment, I think Seoul Prime might want to revisit their menu and pricing strategy, lest they find the niche they're attempting to carve out...challenging.