I visited this restaurant during Villanova University’s Family Weekend with my son. Since my son was born here but is Korean, we wanted to enjoy some authentic Korean food. This place offered Korean barbecue where you could grill galbi (LA GALBI)Normally, at Korean BBQ restaurants, the staff grill and cut the meat for you, but here I had to do everything myself grill, cut, and serve. Maybe that’s just their system, but to me, it was terrible service. The staff didn’t help at all, which made the experience worse. The side dishes were decent, but the meat quality, seasoning, and especially the lack of service made this visit extremely disappointing. I wanted to treat my son to good Korean food, but unfortunately, this place ended up being the worst experience. On top of that, the staff looked like they just wanted to go home early. I visited around 8 p.m., ordered three portions of marinated short ribs and a doenjang jjigae, and spent nearly $150 in just about an hour. There were even non-Korean customers who came in later than us, yet the service was still terrible. Overall, it was the worst experience, especially when I wanted to treat my son to a good Korean meal during Family Weekend.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Tori Bauver
Love this place!! Food is amazing for the price, staff is friendly, soju flavors are delicious. We can’t wait to go back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hillary Guzik-Jung
Great vibes inside. Some food was banger and other was like why am I paying so much for instant ramen . They had table tops to cook meat, we didn't do that..it was no smokey in there, which was great. Meals did not all come out at once, which was odd. Staff Nice. Liked the Mando.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
edoaller
This place is super cool with great food. Not sure what more you need
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nikki G
Our family has loved this restaurant for years! They are consistently delicious! The staff is always so kind and accommodating. The bulgogi, galbi, and crispy wings are some of our all-time favorites. Their bon chon is always fresh and delicious. The kimchi is made in-house and is by far our favorite. If you’re a lover of Korean cuisine, I can’t recommend a better place than Songsan.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Doonan
Service is astoundingly quick. Authentic feel, and delicious food. They help to teach you to cook the BBQ meals as well if you go the table route. Which helps the second time around. Worth a stop if you’re on the mainline.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Samgyupsal
Judy K
I confidently chose to order bulgogi (Korean marinated beef) and japchae (glass noodles with vegetables, eggs, and beef) for our parties for the second time, and once again, they were a hit! Everyone absolutely loved them. I highly recommend this restaurant without hesitation!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Jeongol
Henry Kim
I first came when the first opened and have been returning. This place is just wow. I do not think I can find many flaws in this place with a great atmosphere, food, and service. Very good Korean food in the area must try. I would definitely recommend the bulgogi rice balls which are just amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
ZOOl GHIEST
The wait staff was pleasant and well meaning but if i am honest the food was maybe average and the spice level was levels below authentic. My Tteokbokki was hella types of waaaay 2 mild, I can make it much better myself at home. I been eating KBBQ since i was a kid ( its my favorite meal) in Philly, S.F., L.A. K-town and in Seoul. I gotta say this wasn't even close to it. To top it off my rice wasn't fully cooked (that is amateur hour buisiness) AND even worse they did not have Hite or O.B. beer, said where "out of" Kirin, Asahi, essentially they did not have even one asian beer stocked let alone a Korean beer. All they had bizarrely was this overly wide selection of gross expensive over hopped or fruity tooty American craft beers. Not even a Modelo or Tecate or a Yeungling for crying out loud!...I can't/wont get down like that. Don't you do me like that! I do not recommend if u like it legit. Bcz This? well this ain't it.
Alexis
Food was okay and nothing special. What baffles me is that the owner has a really nasty attitude not only towards customers but even to his own employees. Saw it with my own eye, I feel bad for the servers and people working here.
It's very tasty authentic Korean food. The restaurant is super clean and the waitress and owner is super nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sangh Wood
I'm so sad to write this, because I want restaurants in our area to succeed. I especially love having a variety of good Asian options nearby. However, I had an awful experience at Songsan Korean in Ardmore that I think deserves attention here. I've eaten at this place several times before, and was a fan before now.
Today, my sister and I went and ordered Kalbi, which is a bone-in marinated short rib. You must order two cuts of meat for the cook at your table option. We were happy to do so, but the only meat option I like is the Kalbi (I've tried the others), so I got a double order. My sister and I began eating and noticed that we were getting splinters of bone in every bite! We tried to ignore it at first, but it became ridiculous. We had to spit out splinters of bone into our napkin with each bite.
I told a waitress, who told us Kalbi has bones and walked away. We told another waiter, who listened and also walked away. Neither of them apologized. There were enough splinters of hard bone that I went to the staff with a piece of meat and asked the waiter to *feel* a couple of the pieces. He felt how hard they were and saw several pieces on the meat I showed him. A cook who was standing nearby started saying defensively, "this is normal."
No, this is NOT normal. They eventually took the rest of our meat back (we had grilled and eaten a couple of large pieces, but way more than half was left). They asked if we wanted to order something else. I said no, I preferred to end my meal. They brought me my check, which still had an order of Kalbi. At least they didn't try to charge me for the double order after taking it back, but they didn't take the bone-splintered entree off the bill.
The worst part: the owner came out and actually tried to *argue* that it is totally normal to have splintered pieces of bone in your bites of meat. Friends, this is NOT normal. I've had Kalbi in Korea, in LA, and in NYC. I understand that there are large bones in the cut of meat. Splinters should not be present throughout. It is so unpleasant to go out for a meal and 1) chomp down on something hard and unexpected in your tender piece of meat with almost every bite and 2) to have the experience of the owner FAULTING you for pointing it. He actually said, "What do you want me to do about it?” When I didn’t back down, and said I would share my experience, he threw up his hands and angrily said, "fine, I'll take it off" and re-ran my credit card.
I replied, "That's appropriate." That's what he should have done from the beginning, but with an apology.
Mistakes are understandable, even acceptable to a certain extent. But attitude and lack of accountability in customer service makes it worse. Here are pictures of the kind of pieces of bone we found in every piece of meat we cut up and cooked at the table.
Chloe Krow (Krow)
I've been here a few times and always love it! I love the BBQ and have also gotten the hotpot. Everything is so delicious and the service is great. I really appreciate that the servers will help you out if you're new and don't know how to do the BBQ properly. Definitely will be back!
I visited this restaurant during Villanova University’s Family Weekend with my son. Since my son was born here but is Korean, we wanted to enjoy some authentic Korean food. This place offered Korean barbecue where you could grill galbi (LA GALBI)Normally, at Korean BBQ restaurants, the staff grill and cut the meat for you, but here I had to do everything myself grill, cut, and serve. Maybe that’s just their system, but to me, it was terrible service. The staff didn’t help at all, which made the experience worse. The side dishes were decent, but the meat quality, seasoning, and especially the lack of service made this visit extremely disappointing. I wanted to treat my son to good Korean food, but unfortunately, this place ended up being the worst experience. On top of that, the staff looked like they just wanted to go home early. I visited around 8 p.m., ordered three portions of marinated short ribs and a doenjang jjigae, and spent nearly $150 in just about an hour. There were even non-Korean customers who came in later than us, yet the service was still terrible. Overall, it was the worst experience, especially when I wanted to treat my son to a good Korean meal during Family Weekend.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Love this place!! Food is amazing for the price, staff is friendly, soju flavors are delicious. We can’t wait to go back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great vibes inside. Some food was banger and other was like why am I paying so much for instant ramen . They had table tops to cook meat, we didn't do that..it was no smokey in there, which was great. Meals did not all come out at once, which was odd. Staff Nice. Liked the Mando.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
This place is super cool with great food. Not sure what more you need
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our family has loved this restaurant for years! They are consistently delicious! The staff is always so kind and accommodating. The bulgogi, galbi, and crispy wings are some of our all-time favorites. Their bon chon is always fresh and delicious. The kimchi is made in-house and is by far our favorite. If you’re a lover of Korean cuisine, I can’t recommend a better place than Songsan.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Service is astoundingly quick. Authentic feel, and delicious food. They help to teach you to cook the BBQ meals as well if you go the table route. Which helps the second time around. Worth a stop if you’re on the mainline.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Samgyupsal
I confidently chose to order bulgogi (Korean marinated beef) and japchae (glass noodles with vegetables, eggs, and beef) for our parties for the second time, and once again, they were a hit! Everyone absolutely loved them. I highly recommend this restaurant without hesitation!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Jeongol
I first came when the first opened and have been returning. This place is just wow. I do not think I can find many flaws in this place with a great atmosphere, food, and service. Very good Korean food in the area must try. I would definitely recommend the bulgogi rice balls which are just amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The wait staff was pleasant and well meaning but if i am honest the food was maybe average and the spice level was levels below authentic. My Tteokbokki was hella types of waaaay 2 mild, I can make it much better myself at home. I been eating KBBQ since i was a kid ( its my favorite meal) in Philly, S.F., L.A. K-town and in Seoul. I gotta say this wasn't even close to it. To top it off my rice wasn't fully cooked (that is amateur hour buisiness) AND even worse they did not have Hite or O.B. beer, said where "out of" Kirin, Asahi, essentially they did not have even one asian beer stocked let alone a Korean beer. All they had bizarrely was this overly wide selection of gross expensive over hopped or fruity tooty American craft beers. Not even a Modelo or Tecate or a Yeungling for crying out loud!...I can't/wont get down like that. Don't you do me like that! I do not recommend if u like it legit. Bcz This? well this ain't it.
Food was okay and nothing special. What baffles me is that the owner has a really nasty attitude not only towards customers but even to his own employees. Saw it with my own eye, I feel bad for the servers and people working here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
It's very tasty authentic Korean food. The restaurant is super clean and the waitress and owner is super nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I'm so sad to write this, because I want restaurants in our area to succeed. I especially love having a variety of good Asian options nearby. However, I had an awful experience at Songsan Korean in Ardmore that I think deserves attention here. I've eaten at this place several times before, and was a fan before now.
Today, my sister and I went and ordered Kalbi, which is a bone-in marinated short rib. You must order two cuts of meat for the cook at your table option. We were happy to do so, but the only meat option I like is the Kalbi (I've tried the others), so I got a double order. My sister and I began eating and noticed that we were getting splinters of bone in every bite! We tried to ignore it at first, but it became ridiculous. We had to spit out splinters of bone into our napkin with each bite.
I told a waitress, who told us Kalbi has bones and walked away. We told another waiter, who listened and also walked away. Neither of them apologized. There were enough splinters of hard bone that I went to the staff with a piece of meat and asked the waiter to *feel* a couple of the pieces. He felt how hard they were and saw several pieces on the meat I showed him. A cook who was standing nearby started saying defensively, "this is normal."
No, this is NOT normal. They eventually took the rest of our meat back (we had grilled and eaten a couple of large pieces, but way more than half was left). They asked if we wanted to order something else. I said no, I preferred to end my meal. They brought me my check, which still had an order of Kalbi. At least they didn't try to charge me for the double order after taking it back, but they didn't take the bone-splintered entree off the bill.
The worst part: the owner came out and actually tried to *argue* that it is totally normal to have splintered pieces of bone in your bites of meat. Friends, this is NOT normal. I've had Kalbi in Korea, in LA, and in NYC. I understand that there are large bones in the cut of meat. Splinters should not be present throughout. It is so unpleasant to go out for a meal and 1) chomp down on something hard and unexpected in your tender piece of meat with almost every bite and 2) to have the experience of the owner FAULTING you for pointing it. He actually said, "What do you want me to do about it?” When I didn’t back down, and said I would share my experience, he threw up his hands and angrily said, "fine, I'll take it off" and re-ran my credit card.
I replied, "That's appropriate." That's what he should have done from the beginning, but with an apology.
Mistakes are understandable, even acceptable to a certain extent. But attitude and lack of accountability in customer service makes it worse. Here are pictures of the kind of pieces of bone we found in every piece of meat we cut up and cooked at the table.
I've been here a few times and always love it! I love the BBQ and have also gotten the hotpot. Everything is so delicious and the service is great. I really appreciate that the servers will help you out if you're new and don't know how to do the BBQ properly. Definitely will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bones in the food? Wow gross
Food: 1
The service was great and food was delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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