Interior of the Kangnam BBQ Sports Bar & Grill.
There’s a lot of leeway afforded to a restaurant during a soft opening, especially for something as logistically complicated as a 24/7 Korean barbecue joint. So, it’s possible to forgive Kangnam BBQ Sports Bar & Grill, which opened Oct. 6 on Route 1, for its jittery service and limited menu, and for not being open at all hours of the night yet.
On the other hand, it’s difficult to decide where exactly to draw the line. For instance, the sizes of the meat platters are far too small. The $50 combination platter of brisket, pork belly and bulgogi chicken amounted to an absolutely pathetic amount of meat.
The only banchan (small platters of traditional Korean side dishes) currently offered are a bit of kimchi and a bafflingly large plate of salad that wouldn’t be out of place in a bargain-basement sushi place.
Fortunately, most of the food offered is tasty. The seafood and scallion pancake has a nice balance of meat to batter and is cooked to crisp perfection. The quality of the meat is reasonably good — well-marbled and thinly sliced to allow for speedy cooking.
The dumplings are not as good; they might as well be called chive bukkake for the excessive amounts of garlicky chive present. Still, the food’s presentation is attractive enough. The plates are arranged simply, without much pretense or unnecessary flair, but still laid out cleanly and elegantly.
The same cannot be said for the restaurant decor. It lacks the unbridled and weirdly endearing Korean kitsch of its competitors in Annandale, Virginia, and Montgomery County, nor is it as coherently conceived and defined as other upscale establishments.
The result is a gauche collision of a cheesy future-chic sports bar and a trendy casual restaurant. It’s far from a deal-breaker, but it’s hardly the most welcoming setting.
Service also shows some rough edges. Kangnam’s waitstaff is a mix of Korean restaurant veterans and newcomers, so the first weeks are a trial-by-fire for a portion of the waiters. My server was courteous but handled cooking the meat (which is typically made at the table by a server) somewhat clumsily and inefficiently.
Credit to the management, however, for making much more of an effort to accommodate non-Korean speakers than many of the region’s Korean restaurants.
But all this is immaterial. What really matters is how good Kangnam is five months, 10 months and two years from now. Even if the meal I had at Kangnam had been revelatory, all would be for naught if, six months later, the restaurant lost its momentum.
Nothing I’ve had at the restaurant suggests anything about its future, either way. Whether or not Kangnam becomes a revered local establishment is anyone’s guess. Whether you should eat at Kangnam now depends on your patience with less-than-perfect service and a limited, overpriced menu.
