A small, yet so nice Korean restaurant located in the last place I would’ve looked for one. Kim Chee is located in a quiet part of Brooklyn. It’s a vastly different environment compared to K-town. Things like streets flooded with people, an immediate access to the subway and the many competing Korean restaurants on the same block won’t be found in this neighborhood. What you do find is a small and homey like restaurant. It gives you the feeling of a family owned little shop that you’d be proud to eat in. So I came here with my family, a moderately big group of 10. They were able to seat us easily for a weekend lunch. They have a variety of dishes ranging from soft tofu casseroles to cold noodles(seasonal for the summer). The food itself is authentic and tastes good. I enjoyed my meal, but some members of my family said other places were better in certain dishes. One dish was the soft tofu soup, which was said to be more flavorful in other places like BCD Tofu House; but how can you fairly compare a family run restaurant to a large chain? It would be nice to have an option to have no spicy soup in the soft tofu, for those who can’t handle even a little bit of spice. The staff was friendly and very nice. If I find myself in the mood for Korean food and don’t want to go into the city, I’d certainly come back to Kim Chee. Though, be warned there’s only one bathroom. Ratings: Food(out of 2 stars) — 1.5 — I liked the food very much. It really does feel like food you could get from a friend’s home. Décor(out of 1 star) — 0.5 — Space is limited but it’s still big enough for large groups if needed, but the one bathroom doesn’t make things easy. Service(out of 1 star) — 1 — Friendly service and very pleasant. Price(out of 1 star) — 1 — The price was worth it for feeding so many people.
Sanni S.
Place rating: 2 Brooklyn, NY
Have to downgrade the rating. Service sucked big time. We had to cook our own BBQ and the lady had the audacity to say we didn’t leave enough tip. Technically, tip is based on pre-tax amount, not post-tax but obviously she had no clue. In any case, she was lucky she even got a tip! Will not come back and now have to venture out to Flushing or Manhattan.
Karolina A.
Place rating: 3 Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY
Food is really just«O.K.». It would be helpful if the menus explained the dishes in more detail, as the staff working there is not too helpful at explaining the differences between various dishes. I ended up ordering a dish that I actually tried to avoid — which was a soup, or at least that’s what it looked like. It was unseasoned and very plain… I only went there to try Korean Food but after visiting other Korean restaurants, I will definitely not come back to this one ever again.
Matt C.
Place rating: 4 Brooklyn, NY
Family run restaurant, I’m loving the Bibimbap, the pitcher of ice water. The servers are super polite and helpful. I almost want to say that compared to K-Town BBQ, I’m really happy that this is close enough to home that I can get a hot stone pot Bibimbap and a Kimchi pancake with some Soju in a relaxed restaurant on a Sunday afternoon. I’m coming back for the chilled noodle soup in the summer, and more hot stone bowls, stoned…
Yves L.
Place rating: 3 Brooklyn, NY
We ordered the Bibimbap, Chicken Fried Rice, Garlic Wings and Jap Chae with Beef… Everything was delicious except for the Bibimbap which was tasteless. Service was slow but friendly. We weren’t really in a hurry so we didn’t mind them taking their time. Food is pretty decent if you don’t want to travel into Manhattan and eat in K-Town. Will probably be coming back to try their BBQ.
Vivian L.
Place rating: 1 Brooklyn, NY
The foods r just okay if u’ve ever tried the other Korean restaurants in midtown and queens northern Blvd. kinda pricey, not worthy to try.
Linh L.
Place rating: 3 Brooklyn, NY
Came here on a Monday night for my friend’s birthday. I was pretty excited to try this place since there is like no other korean restaurant in Brooklyn! The restaurant has confusing glass windows that looks like the entrance but the only correct one is the front to the right with all the credit card logo stickers on it! The restaurant is pretty small, about 10 – 12 tables. Looks clean. We ordered items to share, bbq meats, «jap chae» glass noodle(my fav!), tofu casserole, scallion pancakes, spicy rice cake. All tasted pretty good. The workers cooked for us at our table. This was nice cos we didnt hafto get down and dirty!(Jus stay away when they bring the water cos it spilled on my sleeve alil). Service was good, they were attentive and even helped us cut the cake in the end. Overall, not a bad place for a korean restaurant. Probably will come back to try more items!
Sab Y.
Place rating: 4 Staten Island, NY
This place makes great korean food. Must try the kalbitang, which is the clear beef soup. It’s one of my favorites; I’ve had it many times and it’s still great!
Gloria C.
Place rating: 3 Bensonhurst, NY
Just about the only Korean restaurant in Brooklyn(that I know of!) We went here for my brother’s birthday celebration for a nice low key kind of dinner. It’s located in Bay Ridge, which could be iffy for parking but on a lucky night when the moon shines the right way, you can get a parking spot across the street and not the one that just opened up in front of the restaurant right after you parked. Nice big open restaurant space, big windows and enough seating for a relatively small kitchen. They have little exhaust fans to help suction away the smoke from korean bbq if you choose. Great service: the person taking our orders was very nice and sweet and overall I was really happy with the way they treated us. Now to the food: Banchan: What my parents called ’ freebie food.’ A little on the parse side, they give out a few dishes(not nearly as much as other Korean places would in the city or in flushing.) I wish their kimchee was better… The best banchan dish was the soybean sprouts. Korean Fried Chicken: Taped on the wall is their recommendation to try their chicken. Overall, it was ok — the chicken itself is delicious and cooked well with a nice light fried outer layer with moist chicken layer. The problem is that it is entirely too sweet with honey: if they went a little less heavy handed with the honey, this would have been a stellar dish. Still, I «forced» myself to eat two of these. Kalbi BBQ: For $ 28 dollars, I would think you would get a lot more meat. While the meat is flavored well and cooked in front of you(always a fun experience) there was just entirely too few pieces of meat for someone to feel really full. Not really worth the money. Bulgogi Bibimbap: I love this. My favorite at Korean restaurants is to get bulgogi bibimbap and overall I have to say they did a fantastic job. Kimchee fried rice: Tasty — a large helping of this dish so luckily it’ll keep you nice and full. Overall, a nice cute little restaurant if you are in the mood for Bibimbap, but hold off on the Korean BBQ here.
Elina K.
Place rating: 5 Brooklyn, NY
This place is crazy good! when you want to cheat on your diet, this is definitely the place for you!
Rowena Y.
Place rating: 4 Brooklyn, NY
The one and only Korean restaurant in the neighborhood. Thank goodness! There are not that many authentic Korean restaurants in BK in general so this is as good as you can get. Overall, it’s not a bad place. It serves its purpose of those who want something hearty especially during the cold and windy nights. I ordered the soondubu(beef soft tofu) which is my most favorite go-to Korean dish. It’s soupy and full of flavor. The only thing they do differently here is they crack an egg into the soup for you in advance, while at other restaurants, they usually leave it on the side. I usually don’t put egg in my soondubu so I was a little turned off by that. Also, they serve the mini appetizers after our main entrees were served, which was a bit out of order. Just keep in mind that this is a small mom and pop establishment. It has a somewhat homey feel to it, unlike the ones you will find at Koreatown.
Sisophia S.
Place rating: 5 Brooklyn, NY
The grill prices are just right(compared to Manhattan prices) and comes with a lot of side dishes. The food is just as good as Manhattan places. Our server, Sylvia, was lovely and sweet. She made it a pleasant experience for my partner, their first time having Korean food. This will be my new Korean spot!
Brownstone P.
Place rating: 4 Brooklyn, NY
Good to find Korean food nearby. Since there was no lunch special on the weekend, I ordered the more affordable Fried Rice with Chicken. It was tasty and the portion was large. Couldn’t finish it, partially due to the yummy complimentary appetizers. Was able to take my meal home with the unfinished appetizers. The décor was simple and airy. Service was excellent. Will be back another day.
Marz S.
Place rating: 5 Brooklyn, NY
Love this place! It’s so good to have an authentic Korean food in the neighborhood and I don’t have to drive out to flushing or Manhattan for it. I had kalbi dolsot(short rib rice hot pot) and it was fantastic! My hubby had the kalbi tang(short rib clear soup with clear noodles) and the taste was spot on! I definitely plan on returning to try their short rib BBQ cooked at the table.
Anne S.
Place rating: 4 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY
I went on a Friday night where the it was starting to get busy. The waiter forgot to give us our menus and remembered when he was about to take our order. It was a bit chaotic in the restaurant because they had a party of 10 come in and there were families with kids under 5 everywhere. The waiter was very friendly and nice. I ordered the seafood pancake, soft tofu casserole and my boyfriend ordered the braised rib casserole. The side dishes and seafood pancake came within 10 minutes of ordering, but the room smelled so good from everybody else’s table. The appetizer and side dishes came. For a restaurant in Brooklyn, I didn’t expect a huge variety of side dishes. The side dishes were small and refreshing. The pancake was thick in the middle but otherwise good. My soft tofu casserole(mild-seafood) came and I had to ask for rice(I usually get it with rice and surprised when it didn’t automatically come with it).I waited for my bf dish(since I’m polite like that). After 10 min, the waited noticed I haven’t touched my food and I informed them that I’m just waiting for the other dish. Right away he checked for me and it came within 5 minutes. It was definitely worth the wait. The broth for the soft tofu casserole was light and full of flavor. It reminded me something I would eat at home. There were clams but everything else was like baby seafood. I really enjoyed it. The braised beef casserole was OMGAMAZING. The meat was tender and full of flavor, the soup was soo savory. They need to coordinate their waiters. sometimes it seems like chickens running around with their heads off. It would be really disappointing if the place goes down when the food is so good.
Sophia C.
Place rating: 4 Brooklyn, NY
Had lunch with my family here. Pricing is good and portions are good. I expected them to be cheap with the portion size or the meat but I was pleasantly surprised with what was given. I had the Hae Jang Gook. It was ok. I enjoyed it. Wasn’t the best one ever but it also might be because I though«beef casserole» was a dry dish not a soup. Still, very satisfying. Everyone else enjoyed their dishes. You can order different levels of spicyness if you are like me and can’t handle anything too spicy. Rice was especially chewy. Broth was good. Service wasn’t actually too bad. Just wished the small appetizer dishes came out earlier. Overall I like this place. It’s very homey. Waiter was very friendly. Food is pretty good. It’s like a mother making your food. Nothing too fancy. I definitely want to come back and try their other dishes and maybe have some KBBQ with soju.
Grace S.
Place rating: 3 Queens, NY
I was initially very excited to try out the only korean restaurant in the area, but I did not enjoy this place as much as I would have liked. We ordered a bibimbap and yookgaejang. The food took a while to come out, but we patiently waited and snacked on the banchan. There was a small amount of each side dish, and they didn’t have a problem refilling the empty dishes when we asked for more. The food came out and they tasted okay… but there was something about the flavor of the yookgaejang that was a little off? They season it differently than other korean restaurants. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good… it was just okay. Service was okay, but nothing to write home about. I have no desire to try the kbbq here, seeing as their other dishes were on the underwhelming side. Overall this place was just acceptable.
Jen L.
Place rating: 3 Bath Beach, Brooklyn, NY
Their food is good but it takes a while to come. Not a huge fan of some of their side dishes. The kalbi I had was amazing. Along with their crunchy fried rice dish. We also had some cold noodles. & I forgot the other one. It is a bit on the pricey side but I would def. come back for the kalbi. Didn’t really like their service.
Amy N.
Place rating: 3 Brooklyn, NY
I would say Korean cuisine is one of my top favorite, and Mexican, when it comes to food. Kim Chee is like the only place, in Brooklyn, that I know of serving authentic Korean food. Located on the busy streets of 3rd and 92nd in Bay Ridge, it’s really hard to find parking throughout the day, especially during dinner hours. But it is worth the extra time coming out here for a fix instead of traveling all the way to my favorite Korean joint, Kong Song Dong in Fort Lee. The meats for the BBQ are a bit pricey for the portions. Ask that the meats be cooked in the kitchen instead if you don not wish to start up the grill at the table, like me for instance, afraid of the kid’s touchy touchy fingers. The seafood pancake, soondubu, bulgolgi, and the squid bibimbap are a must have! Service isn’t all that great here. Don’t get me wrong, they are nice people but they aren’t too fluent in English and have trouble understanding, you’re better off pointing at the menu instead. Make sure you double check with the server with what you order, there were times where I asked for no spicy soondubu but got a spicy one, another time I ordered a mild garlic chicken wing and got a spicy one. Just have to be patient guys.
Kenny C.
Place rating: 3 Brooklyn, NY
Unilocal review #1,000!!! My folks took me here for my birthday this year(P.S. my birthday was wonderful this year, thanks for asking). They did a good job renovating the place, though there are still signs of the previous establishment. They have big windows that they’ll keep open if the weather’s nice. They also have overhead vents for people doing Korean BBQ. I had the dolkot bibambap, which contained big chunks of beef, but a little bland. Throwing more hot sauce into the bowl made it a lot better. For an appetizer we had the seafood pancake. It was basically tasteless. Wouldn’t recommend it. Of course, they give you kimchi. Portions are tiny, but you get free refills(their placemats cite environmental conservation as the reason). Anyway, service was good, and I’d definitely give them another shot.