If you can get past the less than appealing decor and the generally tired appearance, you'll find yourself with some really good tasty food. Even the banchan demonstrated attention to detail, each side dish presented itself with unique flavors. The kimchi served here isn't the typical blazingly spicy hot version served in most Korean-American restaurants, but rather it was a careful balance of that funky fermented taste, sourness, and spiciness. I ordered the chajiangmyun. The dark sauce wasn't at all overly salty, but had layers of umami from the fermented bean paste, a hint of sweetness, and the acidity of dark Asian vinegar, all mixed with diced pork and cooked potatoes to present a well balanced combination of flavors and textures. The noodle had a bounce to it, not just al dente, but a chew that started somewhat elastic, followed by an al dente resistance. It is so very Korean. My wife ordered the dolsot bibimbap, rice in a hot stoneware bowl topped with vegetable and meat. Gochujang sauce served on the side. Unlike most Korean restaurants where a scoop of rice is simply dropped into the heated bowl, here at Arirang the rice is spread out evenly to maximize direct contact with the blisteringly hot bowl forming a plentiful layer of tasty browning and crackling. It is the very reason why one would order the dolsot bibimbap over the regular meat and veggies on a bowl of rice. Payment in cash only. In spite of the somewhat unappealing decor, the proprietors do practice good sanitary procedures. Water is served in disposable cups, chopsticks are sealed and paper towel plentiful. We'll definitely stop by Arirang Korean Restaurant again.
The sit down space isn’t a five star restaurant but the food definitely was. Small quant place with complex bold flavors. Good pricing and friendly staff.
Poor customer service. We ordered chicken fried rice and half hour later we were told they don’t have it. We asked for something else to replace it and we’re not ready with the replacement order when the owner of the restaurant started grunting and rolling eyes in disgust! Not going back. Food was good.
Nice little restaurant to enjoy good korean dishes. Their kimbap and japchae was delicious! Also ordered a curry dish which was bomb!
Cash or Venmo only. Best Korean food in MN IMO. Everything is flavorful. You can park in the beauty supply parking lot or find a spot on the street.
3 stars for taste of food and location since there is no other korean restaurant on the Eastside. After this last trip to Arirang, I'll happily make that drive to any other korean restaurant in the twin cities. They now only accept cash or venmo, but it was like pulling teeth to even get their venmo info to pay. The older korean guy didn't understand much English but was nice although easily distracted in the middle of taking orders. The Mexican guy made me lose my appetite. He was rude and condescending. He had a heavy accent and when I asked him how much my total was, he raised his voice to tell me the total. Then when our food came, he chased the older korean guy who brought my friends food to her because he wanted to make sure my friend paid. She paid in cash to the old korean guy before I even ordered. We were the only ones there but it was so difficult to get them to just take our order, give our total and get bags to go. By the way, both our totals were over by $10. I get taxes, but my $44 order for three dishes totaled $54 & some change. We weren't given a receipt so had to look over the counter where they held the recieptd to see that they charged gratuity as well. Would've been nice to know that ahead of time or given an itemized receipt instead of having to go figure it out ourselves. We dine often so it's not that we didn't want to tip but when your bill is more than expected, you'll have questions. Sadly, I won't be returning and will make the drive where the restaurant actually want me there and treat me like a human.
I came here with my son and husband on a Thursday at 6:30 PM to eat in. It was really small and there were a lot of people standing around.ORDERING PROCESS:I was confused as to what the process for ordering and eating in was as the workers said nothing. I asked one of the customers what the process was and they informed me that, first, you place your order at the register. Second, once your order is placed, you will get a receipt with a number. Third, find a place to sit (if you're eating in) and wait for your number to be called.RESTAURANT DESIGN AND OPERATIONS:Parking was pretty bad. With all the snow, street parking was inconvenient and limited. We had to park in a neighborhood further away. The restaurant was small and all the tables were occupied. It is an open-kitchen concept, so you can see the workers cooking your food right there. The trash, dirty plates, silverware, trays, and extra stash of drinks to be sold are all within reach of the customers. There were piles of dirty dishes and trays laying in the open. It was very messy-looking and didn't feel sanitary. They also don't recycle and throw every plastic water bottle and pop can into the trash. Because it is an open-kitchen concept, the smell of the food encompasses the whole space. For this reason, they open the back door and sometimes the front door, so cold air sweeps through the restaurant. My toes were frozen by the time I left. When I left the restaurant, all my clothes smelled like fried food. The smell sticks on, too, as it is now one day after and my jacket still smells.We stood around and waited with the others who were getting their food to go as there were no chairs. We waited for about 10 minutes for a table to open up, but it took 45 minutes for our food to be ready. It was busy, but that’s just too long to wait - especially for a deli-type eatery. The restaurant needs to prep vegetables and meat in advance, and they need more workers with a bigger kitchen. Forty-five minutes is unbearable - especially for people who are getting food to go, because there is no where to sit and parking is limited.CUSTOMER SERVICE:I don't think the workers really focus on giving their customers a spectacular experience, which is fine with me. No one greets you or thanks you. You just pay for your food and then go up to grab it. They're kind enough to do what you ask, but won’t go out of their way to appease you. The service is mediocre.FOOD:We ordered the spicy chicken breast with vegetables, beef bulgogi, mackerel, and hot seafood with rice bowl. I think the chicken dish was the best out of all the dishes we had. The sauce was yummy and the spice level was perfect - the meat was tender, too. I also really liked the sauce. The mackerel was rubbery; the beef bulgogi and seafood rice bowl were mediocre. The chicken dish was huge. It is enough to feed two people! Each dish is quite sizable - good value! With each dish, you get a bowl of rice and two small bowls of sides. One bowl has potato with bean sprouts, while the other bowl has kimchi. I really wish there were more sides.I was excited to see them offer Korean drinks. Though pricey (half a can is $2), I bought all the three flavors they had that day, which was peach, rice punch, and Asian pear. All the drinks were yummy, but if I could only pick one, I would do the rice punch.SHOULD YOU GO?If you don't mind the messiness, lack of space, uncleanliness, and mediocre service, the food does taste homey and warm. My husband and son loved it, so I think we will be coming here again in the future.
Food was great and portions were incredibly sizable for the price. Customer service was meh and didn't take out drink orders though. In all it was good and make sure to specify drinks.
Tried calling them to place an order over the phone, got hung up while asking a question. Second called, went to straight voice mail. Third attempt, the owner finally answered the call and I asked him what happened? He ignored me, and said if you want to eat, then order or I hang up because I am busy. And so I said okay, this is what I want, and continue my order on the phone call. 5 minutes later, he hung up again. You can hear the sound clink when someone hangs up the phone and put it down. The call went beeeeep. Ended again. Worst experience. So rude. Not recommend.
DELICIOUS food! I had never had Korean cuisine before, so I wasn't sure what to get. The menu was incredibly easy to understand, it was easy to understand if a dish was spicy or not, plus it was described what the main ingredients in the dish were. The food was amazing and portion sizes were HUGE, service was so fast and the employees were so kind.