Sik Gaek Chun Ha

I had way better experience the first two times I went, but I came here tonight and had one of the worst experience with the restaurant. I came with a party of 6, and we ordered a small seafood hotspot, a dozen Korean oysters, the steamed seafood pumpkin dish, seafood pancake, Korean gal bi, and lychee soju.
The Korean oysters were not fresh. I have eaten oysters all over New York, California, and this is the one that made me not want to eat oysters again. The oyster was a lot harder than others. and you can taste the fishy «unfreshness», if it’s even a word. We asked the waiter and he took the oysters away, but said its not un-​fresh, it’s because it’s from Korea. I don’t really understand what that means but is that what Korean oysters taste like?
After telling the waiter that, the service became very poor. I am pretty polite with waiters and everywhere I go if I enjoyed the meal and the service was good I give at least 18% tip. However I think I said more thank you to the waiters than the waiters did to customers, and my boyfriend probably served us more than the waiters. Nonetheless I still tipped 15%, because the dishes were alright.
By the way, the lychee soju tasted like there was 2% soju inside.

Came here multiple times for dinner and lunch.
The Good:
Dinner — Busy as hell, be prepared to wait 15−30mins. Large seafood pot is more then enough to feed 4 – 5 ppls. Make sure you ask them to make you fried rice with the left over seafood soup.
Decent seafood quality during dinner, gotten lobsters that actually has roe which is kinda rare.
Old school rap/​pop/​kpop really helps set the mood… for me at least.
The Bad:
Lunch — food sucks, not fresh, mostly dead seafood… nothing much to say aside from this. Definitely pass for lunch, much better options around the area for better prices.
Loud music can be fun, but gets rather annoying at times especially with all the god dam birthdays going on over and over. Make sure you are going here when you don’t have a hangover or headache!

Servers were prompt and helpful, but the food was not as amazing as I expected. Side dishes were absolutely great, especially I loved Kimchee there, which I thought they made it themselves. However, I couldn’t finish the entire soup because the taste was a little bit boring. Other than that, fried rice after the main entrée was delicious, and definitely you can take out the left over.

I love the pumpkin seafood and mozzarella cheese dish, so delicious. Watermelon soju is pretty great there, good service, and dimmed ambience.

We came for my boyfriend’s birthday with a group of 9. We made a reservation and even though only 3 of us arrived first, they still seated us. I love establishments who do that instead of those who insist that the whole party must be there to be seated.
We had to get the live octopus dish. It was my first time trying it and it was pretty good. A unique experience. I’ve had doubts about trying it, because it’s live (obviously) and people say that the suction gets stuck on your tongue. But in order to avoid that, you just have to chew really quickly. I enjoyed the sesame oil that accompanied it. Made it more bearable to eat.
Next, for the entrees, we got two assorted seafood hotpots because there was a large group of us. The price was expensive, but it was a decently sized portion. The soup was spicy and good. There was an assortment of seafood and udon noodles in the hotpot. At the end of everything, we got the fried rice for one of the pots and that fried rice was booomb. It was cheesy and delicious. Right when the fried rice was done, it was gone within 3 minutes, because everyone rushed to get some.
Overall, I would come back on a special occasion, because it was expensive. But it was delicious. We enjoyed our meal here.

So I came across this place while in Flushing and after consulting Unilocal.
Unfortunately, I was very disappointed to find out that this Korean «BBQ» was everything but that.
For starters, the only thing that they actually cooked in front of us was a f-​ing egg as a side dish. From that point on, there was no cooking and no BBQ at any point during our dinner here. Everything was brought out on small hot skillets and set down in front of us. The only thing that burner in the middle of our table did, besides cooking an egg, was keep our bulgogi and ribeye dishes warm.
Seriously, I’ve had KBBQ in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York City K-Town’s, and all of them allowed you to cook the food yourself and/​or had someone cook your food right in front of you. Honestly, it’s part of the experience and THE reason anyone goes to KBBQ. I don’t just want Korean food served to me. I know where to go for that already.
To make things worse, it wasn’t even good food. The bulgogi was bland and shredded to microscopic pieces, and was just a pain in the ass to eat with chopsticks. The ribeye was OK, seasoned, but nothing that left me saying «WOW». It was a bit over cooked I’d say. Maybe preheated again. Who the heck knows since they don’t do anything in front of you. Portions were small too, and the meat was deceivingly pilled on top of large mounds of noodles or salad.
The staff here barely speaks English… no joke, barely. Our waters didn’t come to us until we were paying the bill. A bill of $ 70 for two after ordering solely two dishes… overpriced much? The loud thumping mixtape of pop and rap music, coupled with an insanely annoying birthday song /​tradition was the cherry on top of it all (they have disco lights).
It’s pretty safe to say that I will not be returning to this place or recommending Unilocalers to go here. The large party of 8 next to us also agrees.

Unbelievable food ! Love this place. Your taste buds will thank you ! Every dish is a explosion of yummy goodness in your mouth

It was a long wait tonight, waiting time about 45 mins, but they provided free dumplings and cool beer to us, so we decided start drinking while we were waiting. such an experience that provided the free services to keep u on waiting, a plus on that. The seafood hot pot is recommended and as well as the seafood cheese pumpkin. However, just be careful when u use the restroom, the floor was wet and the napkins/​tissues/​toilet paper were every where… anyway, I think it requires some major improvement on it.

I want to rate this place a 3.5 but 4 will do just nicely. For cold winter chills, this place has a nice rambunctious vibe to just sit and enjoy large quantities of seafood with friends and family. This Korean restaurant I believe this is the original establishment, while the other one is in Woodside.
We ordered the seafood hot pot ($$$), where there was a variety of steam seafood being infused by boiling broth underneath the seafood. When I said variety, I mean the cast of the Little Mermaid from, «Under the Sea scene,» were taken from the ocean and they are now on the table. Oh what poor unfortunate souls. The seafood was overall average, there some seafood that were overcooked and become tasteless, while other part of the seafood galore was fantastic. It was like playing heads or tails with your taste buds. However, the broth was overall my favorite part of it. With the flavors of the sea being brewed it was a symphony of the sea with every spoonful. Beside the hot pot, we also order live cut up octopus, which was an interesting situation. If you do not like squishy texture or food that fights back… please don’t order it, it may not be worth the price or your mouth. As for the drinks the watermelon soju was very refreshing and made the meal very sweet. Overall, if you have a big group who are not afraid of seeing live seafood being cooked, please come and try this place out.

Came across this restaurant by accident. After walking around looking for a restaurant that makes bibambap. We settled for Korean BBQ and I’m already making plans on returning. One thing to know: when you get seated eggs will be made at your table as soon as you sit down. Just like other Korean spots you receive small dishes to share. The kimchi here was superb here.
Maybe because it was a really busy Saturday night we did not cook the meat ourselves. But that was ok for the group I was with because we were staving.
I was a bit shy but I should have asked for more.
I highly recommend the short ribs. We received a small cast iron skillets containing the short ribs and sautéed onions. Yum yum! Warning: if you order the spicy marinated pork prepare to cry. It was super spicy but seasoned so well I couldn’t stop eating it.
The décor is super punk rock with dollars on the wall.

YUMYUMM!!! Happy Birthday to ME!!!
Actually it’s more like 4 stars BUT because Im in a very good mood after my bday party there yesterday so I’ll give it 5!
I recommend you make a reservation especially if you’re coming on the weekend or with a large group. I made a reservation for 10 people the day before but still had to wait for 20 mins (minus point). Other than that, it’s all great!
We ordered a live octopus dish (I’ve always wanted to try it), a seafood steam pot, an assorted seafood grill, a Galbi (we ended up order two more so that’s actually 3), a kimchi fried rice and a soft tofu soup. Oh and watermelon soju of course. There were some side dishes given: egg omellete, tobokki, and steamed egg. Seafood is really fresh and clean. We had great fun trying to pick up those live octopus legs by chopstick. And Galbi is a must omg!!! Everytime they brought a new Galbi pot to the table we finished it in 2 minutes. Other dishes are pretty good too. Watermelon soju was refreshing and light. Overall we all love the food there.
The ambience is casual and fun, exactly what I was looking for to celebrate my Bday (we went to karaōke afterward). We ended up paying around $ 40 each but it was worth it. Im happy with that spending!

Stumbled in with friends since we had to wait for a spot at Flower nearby. This is a very dope but slightly pricy restaurant. The décor was the first thing I noticed, very funky with the newspaper articles lining the hall and the wooden tables were the food is prepared in front of you. Other thing was the mixture of trendy Koreans out on a Saturday night and friendly families enjoying themselves.
Now for the food, the live octopus was tasty even though I kept fumbling with the chopsticks trying to eat it. I’ll humbly take the L for that one lol. Eggs made two different ways, one like a omelet style and the other whipped with sesame oil, the whipped eggs were clutch along with the half shell oysters. The group I was with had a game going where every 5 minutes we had to do a shot of Soju. By the time we left I was stuffed and faded.
We had a incredible time, and I’m glad I got to visit my old hood again to try wonderful freshly prepared food.

I love this place. All you eat steamed eggs and rice cake! If you want to try something different and exotic, you should definitely try the live octopus. Their oysters are so big and fresh also! I also love their seafood pot. It’s good for a party of people and after you are nearly done, you can choose to add rice and mix it in. It’s so good! I have been here numerous times and it never disappoints. The staff is super friendly and will always come check on yiu. The atmosphere is very lively and almost always packed.

We order almost the same items every time we come here. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing but it’s hard to let go of your old favorites! Sik Gaek is a very popular Korean seafood restaurant with loud Kpop playing in the background.
Their BBQ beef short ribs and thick (better than their thin) pork belly are very juicy and well-​marinated. Seafood pancake and their HOTPOT is also a must. I also like their watermelon soju because it’s weak in alcohol content (waste of money but gotta have that half watermelon to the table) and very tasty.
Great place for groups as long as you’re willing to wait! It starts to get packed after 6:30pm.

I came here on a Saturday night with 10 friends. You can imagine how hectic it would get but they did a really good job handling such a big party size. We ordered:
1 Seafood Pancake
1 Seafood dukkbokki with cheese
1 Empire seafood hot pot
1 seafood steam pot
1 Watermelon soju.
And at the end, we added udon to the hot pot, and used the broth for the empire seafood hotpot for fried rice (with roe and seaweed).
Everything was on point. No complaints at all! The staff even breaks all of the shells for you. EVERYTHINGGGG was sooo good! It was kind of funny because we were all asking where the rice cakes/​udon were. Everyone was looking for the cheaper stuff because there was so much seafood.
Total cost: $ 295. Well worth the cost! We were all full and jolly. :)

I am a fan of Sik Gaek Chun Ha. My cousin took me here while I was visiting NY.
We ordered the seafood hot pot for $ 99, some LIVE Squid and cheesy pumpkin. I can say everything tasted pretty good. The seafood hot pot was HUGE. IT will easily feed 5 – 6 people. The pumpkin dish was a bit too cheesy for my liking but it was still good.
The live squid is a different story. This place serves a dish that is chopped up raw squid but it is still turning and twisting on the dish. I caught it on video.
Overall: This place is a good option if you’ve never had it.

Located on a corner with Welcoming Décor Dim Lighting & Loud Music Blasting, My kind of spot! With a dope staff, why why the food had to be such a disappointment.
Watermelon Soju w/​Alcohol $ 29.00 GARBAGE, don’t bother I can drink ten of these & never get a BUZZ, the presentation was Fly served in a actual watermelon shell.
Ohhhhh Hell No the *Seafood Hot Pot* was soO bland Dammit tasteless. I used close to a small bowl, worth of dipping sauce. I enjoy Flavor, Spices & everything that taste good, is that toO much toO ask 4.
Even the damn complementary eggs were tasteless, the worst part is there was no Salt anywhere to be found!

This is a place I would come here with friends and chill during lunch. The service was pretty decent. It was an easy enter and seated place, it only took few minutes to get a refill on a water that was standing out visibly on the side of the table.
The food was pretty good. I wished they added more flavors to the soup because it was very plain to me.
After reading the reviews. I expected more noodles and less veggies. ⁴⁄₅ of our bowl was veggies and only a little part was noodle. Definitely not an even split between noodles and veggies for everyone if you bring multiple guests. But that’s fine.
Note if you need to use the bathroom. This is a not a place you should go. Its pretty thirty.
The tables a tad sticky when we sat. It feels like it was cleaned in a rush.
Overall.
The service was ⁹⁄₁₀.
The food was okay with a ⁶⁄₁₀.
The cleanliness of the place was ⁶⁄₁₀.

I didn’t know that Bada Story was just serving like only sushi and sashimi. I don’t like eating raw fish so we bounced out of Bada Story and into Sik Gaek which I have been DYING to try for years now. It was like a 15 – 20 mins wait and we were #36. Had a photo shoot by the wings and teddy bear while we waited for our table.
I absolutely love the music playing and all my favorites from Jay Park to Big Bang and some others that I don’t remember their names. Me and my girlfriends sat at our own corner booth and we all fit on that one bench so its easier to take selfies lol. Our server cracks 3 eggs into a pan and leaves it on the fire then comes over and do a little flip to ‘em eggs. Mmmm I love sunny sided up eggs.
Food: Japchae with Beef and a Seafood Pancake along with free sides of fried sunny side up eggs, spicy rice cakes with fish cakes, and steamed eggs with scallions
The portion size is big and enough for the 3 of us which we still end up leaving with a doggy bag. I am soooo happy that I crossed this spot off my bookmarks because I really enjoy the food and atmosphere.
Definitely an awesome place to chill with your friends + delicious food + awesome music!

Do you wanna try out the real live octopus that will bite your tongue gently? How about an empire size of seafood pot including crabs, lobster, mussels, clams and any other sea creatures boiled in spicy broth? Then you will have to check this place out.
Not as fancy as those high level Korean restaurants, Sik Gaek nevertheless tried to present the most authentic seafood in a customer-​friendly way. You will automatically find yourself being obsessed easily. With a small glass of watermelon soju accompanied by spicy rice cake to end the dinner, I cannot think of a better way to unwind a horribly busy week.
This place was too far for me to reach out on an ordinary basis, however this one time visit definitely left me enough good tastes to memorize. Well done!

This place is more of a 3.5 for me, but I would want to go back and try other stuff. I love the atmosphere, it really does have an underground, Korea feel to it and I love the old school Kpop. It’s a drinking place with food, the prices are kinda high but that’s what happens when you go to a popular place. In speaking of popular, Bourdain filmed a No Reservations episode here, the Flushing episode, with Chef David Chang. My table shared a yogurt soju which was OK, but super girlie. The over easy egg is good and made well but I was so confused why they served it. There was celery and cucumber with bean paste for banchan plus the over easy egg? That’s it? They also give steamed egg during the meal, I was surprised they didn’t give more banchan.
The food:
Fresh Octopus– The live octopus is kinda the big draw here. I saw Bourdain and David Chang eat it on an episode of No Reservations and I wanted to try it ever since. The idea seems rather fun, but the octopus itself, doesn’t have a lot of flavor, I do however prefer the salt oil condiment over the bean paste. Also, make sure you chew thoroughly and don’t be shocked when it sucks onto the inside of your cheek holding on for dear life. I thought the octopus was fun to try but it didn’t have a lot of flavor and for $ 25 bucks it is INSANELY pricey.
Spicy mixed Seafood Chul-​Pan. The pot has a nicely flavored broth that has a tiny spicy kick. The pot consists of mussels, clams, one crab, squid, rice cakes, shrimp, enoki and button mushrooms. I was pretty happy with everything. This is a large dish and is enough for four or more.

Fried Rice With Roe and cheese– At the end of the Chul Pan, you have the option to add a fried rice to the remaining broth left in the pot, my group also added cheese, as well. I thought the rice was a nice touch, the rice absorbed a lot of the seafood broth, but my only issue was some sand from the seafood was at the bottom of the pot therefore cooked in with the rice. Overall, a nice addition to the pot.
Seafood BBQ– Small grilled assorted shellfish. Clams, prawns, mussels, stuffed clams, and stuffed clams with cheese, there was also a spicy sauce that is heated in a baby cast iron skillet that goes well with the seafood. This dish had more noticeably fresher seafood than the Chul-​Pan, the prawns were my clear winner. The clams were so fresh and had a nice briny taste to them. The mussels were so fat and meaty, the mussels were excellent. The stuffed clams were kinda weird for me since it taste like chopped clam with salad dressing. The stuffed clam with cheese was a little better because the flavor of the cheese comes through with the clam meat but the green peppers completely overwhelmed this dish. This dish was ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ for me.

Sik Gaek and Bada Story are owned by the same people and share a wall. I’d like to describe it as a Korean styled izakaya spot — drinks and munchies. We used to have a Sik Gaek in my town in NJ (specifically, Fort Lee — but that’s now Bada Story). This one’s almost double the size of the one in Woodside but the food tastes the same.
I was so sure that it would be packed at 7pm on hump day– to my pleasant surprise, the place was only 10% filled. Noice.
If you want a good heart burn, make sure to order the ones that start out with the word «spicy.» I really didn’t eat much last night because I just am not the Sik Gaek type — if I want izakaya, I’m going all out Japanese tapas. It’s also worn down and in dire need of a facelift. I’ve been to this location many years ago before I was actively Unilocaling, and I have to say, I felt like it needed a facelift then too!
The most interesting thing about this spot? Love the cute wings and teddy bear walls on the outside. I didn’t get to take a picture last night because I looked like dirt, but there will be next time — I just won’t be eating there. I’ll probably go to Jurang across the street instead — their food is superior in my books.
I really go for the easygoing ambiance (super duper casual) and soju — LOTS OF SOJU. I’ve never left a Sik Gaek sober before and I don’t plan on breaking that routine.
The food was a bit too salty for my taste, as usual. I also just don’t trust the ingredients there. I don’t touch the complimentary fried eggs, spicy rice cakes or the raw veggies they give you to munch on while waiting for your dishes to arrive. From the run down look to the dusty walls with numerous photos that looked like it survived a war… meh. I’ve tried about 12 different dishes from the Sik Gaeks I’ve visited in total, and not one really stuck to me. The watermelon soju is a waste of money — the hell with that. Besides, how do I know they didn’t add sugar? If they did, I’d like to know.
The bathrooms are always disgusting at every Sik Gaek. Yuck. The toilet to your right when you walk into the women’s restroom actually COMES OFF THE FLOOR. No joke, it’ll bounce and smack you in the you know where. Yikes!
I like the young’n waitstaff — SO left his key on the table and we came back after 2 hours of karaōke and the guy instantly recognized me and told me he ran after us but we were long gone. Much appreciated!