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Brother's Korean Restaurant (Korean cuisine)  $$

 8
JaT Rating

4128 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, 94118  (Directions)


415.387.7991


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Busy Korean BBQ restaurant on Geary in San Francisco


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 992
Reviewed: 7/2/2005
Rating: 8
My photo gallery 		My brother and uncle were in town for July 4th weekend and wanted to take them to Brother's Korean Restaurant for a little bbq. When I lived in San Francisco, my korean room mate told me that Brother's Korean Restaurant was the real deal and should try to visit them when they arent busy. Well, there's always a group of people outside waiting to get in this place during the dinner time. Could it be that good? They do have 2 restaurants a couple of blocks away from each other on the same street.

As you all know, parking is a pain in San Francisco but luckily Brother's Korean Restaurant is located in the Richmond district where parking isnt as bad as Mission or North Beach. I found parking around the corner and as soon as I got out of the car I could smell the barbeque. I feel sorry for the neighbors having to smell bbq throughout most of the day.

It must be a miracle, there was no line and we were able to score a table with your own grill. We ordered 2 orders of the Kal Bi (short ribs) and tempura shrimp. The waiters were nice and service was equally good. They immediately brought out tea and glasses of water. Then the avalanche of vegetable plates proceeded to follow. I wont even attempt to describe what the heck we were eating but 80% of the dishes are pickled. I consider myself adventurous with food but my brother and uncle will surpass my tasting habits. My uncle tricked my brother into eating this wicked shrimp paste thingy...my brother was like...what the hell is this? He's no stranger to shrimp paste, he enjoys putting bagong on many dishes. I simply passed on that. I did get to try every dish with the exception of the mysterious seafood paste. I'm not the biggest fan of the veggie dishes and normally stick to the sprouts and that odd white gell thing with green onions on top with soy sauce.

For the people who havent done the korean bbq at the table, its a fun experience but a lot of work. Brother's Korean has the charcoal method going. They put two SUPER HOT TRAYS of charcoal in the trays and place a steel grill (picture #7). Thats it...place the meat on the grill and start cooking (picture #9). Raw meat comes on a plate with scissors. The meat cooks fast so keep moving them off the grill cuz we had to do about 4 runs on the grill. The meat was tender and marinade is dammm good. Its hard to ruin the meat so dont worry about overcooking. The grill is literally a foot away so prepare to sweat a little. Once the meat is cook, start eating and mixing with the plentiful plates of vegeatables. Make your own lettuce wraps or sushi, do whatever you please, you're the cook.

The shrimp tempura arrived along with the tofu soup. Tempura was heavy on the batter and the vegetable pieces were far too big. Id recommend cutting them a tad smaller...LIKE IN HALF. If you have a big mouth, well...I guess its ok. I thought the Tofu Soup was bland, too much water and not enough spice. All the soups Ive had left my mouth lingering with heat and this one left me wondering what happened. The only cool thing was bubbling effect when brought out to the table.

There's good and bad news about bbq'ing. The good news is the cooking is fun and food taste pretty good, the bad news is you will smell like a bbq grill for the next day or two...and the worst part is the burps....pure death when blown in your face. If you're too lazy to cook your own food, the kitchen will prepare it for you but you'll still smell like bbq. Prices run about $15-20 a person and you'll get to use 30+ plates and wont have to wash them. I had fun at Brother's Korean Restaurant and food rates above average but the experience was good.
 
9
Agent Rating


Reviewer: Shannon
Total Reviews: 26
Reviewed: 6/29/2006
Rating: 9
My photo gallery		 I have to warn you ahead of time; this post might be completely biased. The first time I visited this Richmond District restaurant was with a friend who frequents the restaurant and actually knows the owners pretty well. This resulted in a lot of free food.

We went at around 6pm and luckily, a table for ten was already reserved for us. Only 20 minutes later, the placed was filled with waiting and hungry people eyeing our every move. We ordered two large plates of raw Galbi-gui (short ribs) for us to barbecue and about ten different sides (ex. spicy pickled cucumbers, kimchi, seasoned eggplant, bean sprouts, etc.). Complimentary food included: two bowls of Gimchiguk (kimchi soup), two plates of complimentary Bulgogi (barbecued beef) and two plates of Japchae (mixed vegetables with clear noodles) = approximately $60.

For some reason, free food always tastes better. But honestly, the food was very delicious and of great quality. The meat was well marinated (lots of flavor but not too salty) and portion side seemed small at first but once you start eating that and the sides, youll realize its enough. Normally when you get the Galbi-gui, you cut the meat off the bones to grill but you can also grill the bones afterward because theres a lot of flavor left on them. The meat comes with rice and a spicy soy paste that you can wrap in leaves of lettuce. Eating the meat with the lettuce gives each bite a cooling sensation. All the side dishes were well stocked.

After we finished the feast, they gave us Shik Hae (a sweet rice drink) but I was so stuffed, I couldnt even finish it and its one of my favorite desserts/drinks!

If theres miraculously still room in your stomach, you can go down the street on Geary and 7th (behind Smart n Final) and visit a Hong Kong dessert place called Kowloon Tong Dessert Cafe. Its open 3 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, until 2 a.m. Friday- Saturday and has a variety of foods from fruit with sago (mini tapioca balls), herb jelly, eggettes and other authentic Chinese delicacies you can normally only find abroad.
 
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