Delicious!! And you can’t beat the price of only $32 for AYCE dinner. The service was quick and our server was very helpful since it was our first time. The bulgogi, both regular and Hawaiian, were the best meats we tried! We also had the spicy pork steak, pork belly, soy marinated steak, shrimp, and spicy chicken. The pork belly we overcooked a bit so maybe helpful if we could have received time suggestions. The sides were yummy too, especially the spicy rice cakes!
Love my first visit so I came back again. On the website the restaurant hours say it closes at midnight, so we walked 35 mins to get there by 8:40 just to be informed that the kitchen closes at 10pm, and with the wait being 15-20 mins, we wouldn’t be able to order more than 1 round of food. We asked if we could order everything we want to eat so they can close the kitchen on time, and the hostess (and presumably one of the managers there - since she spoke with authority) refused to accommodate our request. It is an AYCE restaurant, and if your cut off new guests at 9, says so. Why put closing time at midnight and then refused to serve when it’s more than an hour from the kitchen closing time? At no where it says the restaurant/ kitchen closes at 10pm, and had we known we wouldn’t have made a long trip to the restaurant.
The worst part of it all is the fact that we’re so understanding to their kitchen closing time, requesting to order food in advance and was still denied. They also have food waste policy like… if we’re not finishing then we would pay extra for that anyway, so I don’t understand what’s the issue here. Mind you we got here almost 1.5 hours prior to kitchen closing (which was not disclosed anywhere), 3.5 hours prior to the restaurant closing time. Not to mention the attitude the reception gave us just made me feel like we’re not welcomed to dine since we got there past 8:30pm. 🙄
I went there straight after work on Thursday 30th on july. It was about 9:53. It was a female with a long hair person at the front desk. I thought i walked in the wrong place. She told me they are not taking anyone. The kitchen is closed is what she said. I said the website said it's open until 12:00 am. She then said the restaurant is open until 12:00 am, but the kitchen closes at 10:00. She said she stop taking customers at 10:00. I look at my phone and I said its 9:55 as I show her the time. She said the kitchen is closed. Then she said you can go across the street. There is another korean resturant. I didnt believe her. I tried calling at 9:13. No answer. Iron age korean steakhouse on Milwaukee St.
It was our first time there and we was trying to the enjoy the all you can eat spot for team bonding as we came for a big conference. We didn’t get the experience that we expected. The cooking plate grill is really small so it’s tough to cook for a big group. Would rather them suggested two tables and put them together so we could have two cooking grills instead of one. So it cook forever to cook food for a table of 8 people.
My first time ever in Chicago and first thing I ate there. Left a sour taste in my mouth. The host/ waiter didn’t help. Made the service the worst by being condescending to my team when it came to cooking the food. The scissors are weak and brittle so it was real tough to cut and cook the meats took forever. Learned the hard way about the chicken couldn’t even enjoy that too.
Extremely disappointing experience for our team’s first time at Iron Age.
We were in Chicago for a major conference and chose Iron Age Korean Steakhouse for a team bonding dinner. Unfortunately, it ended up being the worst dining experience of our trip — and for many of us, our first impression of Chicago food.
We had a group of 8 people, and instead of accommodating us properly, the staff seated us at a single table with only one small cooking grill. For an all-you-can-eat KBBQ spot, this made no sense. It took forever to cook enough food for everyone, and no one even suggested the obvious solution of using two connected tables to provide an extra grill.
On top of that, the host and waiter were condescending and unhelpful throughout the night. Instead of guiding us through the experience (which was new to some of us), they made it uncomfortable and frustrating. The scissors were weak and barely worked, making it incredibly difficult to cut the meats properly. Cooking the chicken especially was a struggle — and we learned the hard way that it’s not an easy or enjoyable process here.
All in all, the service was poor, the tools were inadequate, and the overall vibe left a sour taste in our mouths — literally and figuratively. Would not recommend for large groups or first-timers. Definitely expected better from a place with this much hype.
My goal was to showcase as one of the go to spots for a tourist to come visit this location. I would suggest that u stay away from this location.
Overall the place was a good experience and the food was delicious. I would go back but there were a few things that would cause me to potentially want to try somewhere else to test out the competition. Firstly, refilling drinks should not be the thing that the table longs for. Secondly, the gratuity/service fee for a larger party lacked transparency. The wording makes it seem as if it is not the gratuity charge when in fact it is. When asked, even an employee could not answer to what the "service fee" was, when in fact it was the gratuity. If this is your way of milking more tips out of customers then I'd say it is a little unethical in the way it is displayed/communicated.
