DenDen is delicious. Also Bap Sang in North Kingstown

Sura

I don't get the DenDen hype and I can think of a bunch of reasons it would suck for a celebration. The food is just ok but it's small portions for the pricing, the server doesn't place orders for the customer, you'll stand in the line to order AFTER waiting for your table, the tables are close together, they have punishment seating designed to get you to leave ASAP, and the employees look like their manager must poke and prod them with hot irons in the back because it feels miserable. It's probably better suited for a casual lunch than a longer dinner.

But most importantly, it ain't a BBQ joint with the grill on the table and you'll waste too much money on drinks! A total must for a birthday!

Edit: I'm not trying to take away anything fun. Folks love this place, but I threw in my two cents and I'm sorry for being so harsh. Definitely everyone should try it at least once, but I might not pick a celebration for my first time 🙂

Lekker BBQ on Atwells. Miles better than Sura in Johnston.

they have tons of different Soju to try!

Isn’t it closed already?

ah you're right, I had no idea they were relocating.

Why is there no Korean BBQ places near westerly area? dosoriak (spelling?) recently opened and it’s pretty good but oh my god, don’t eat inside there.

I’m so jealous of my friends options in California

Agree that the atmosphere is odd and the staff doesn’t seem that great, but the food is top notch.

Smaller towns that are overwhelmingly white are probably not the best place for ethnic food places

In theory, it’d be a wide open market but, in practice, anything more out of the box than your garden variety Americanized Chinese food place is going to struggle, even if they’re really good.

Agreed and understand that but even Providence doesn’t have a “real” Korean bbq.

As a Korean-American living in RI since the mid-90’s I can confidently say any Korean bbq place in Boston will be infinitely better than any place in RI. Sorry.

Someone needs to find out the deets and tell us where and when

Sura but I don’t like the new grill they switched to a few years back.

Lekker was OK, service was really slow the last time I went. I think they’re closed now. I don’t know if they’re relocating or just permanently closed.

They’re the only place does BBQ per se. Other Korean cuisine restaurants I like are Soban/BBQ.chicken, Sura (separate place, same name, across from Mukbang), Mukbang (across from Sura, but not the other Sura), and Den Den Asiana/Bistro.

Den Den Chicken has been a hit or miss, so I can’t say I recommend them 100%.

I had two meh experiences but I know so many people that LOVE it. I don't mean to yuk your yum 😃

Sure but OP wants to know about Providence and not Boston

Any one you’d recommend in Boston?

I can't offer a suggestion for Korean BBQ. For Korean food in general as others have mentioned Den Den has good food but the atmosphere is a bit of fast service restaurant and the chairs are a bit uncomfortable plus it is always packed.

Instead I would suggest Wok and Pot donwcity. It has good food, soju and other drinks and overall more food options. No BBQ Cooking at the tables but if you get the budae pot I think they do bring a little burner to the table and that is a great dish to share.

I've never sat in DenDen but I've taken out several times, having primarily the fried chicken and I've always been very happy with it. Family members have other things and also seem pretty pleased.

For what it's worth, before RI I lived in NYC for a decade so my food bar is fairly high. It's not as good as my favorite spots in NYC were, but it's good enough to fill the void.

Question. Have you had Korean BBQ elsewhere before? The point here is this. The locally available places are perfectly fine. But if you’ve had Korean bbq in Los Angeles for example? Yeah it’s not even remotely comparable.

So if you have a baselines of really top end k-bbq prepare to be disappointed. Sura is the one I’ve gone to a few times and I think it’s perfectly respectable locally.

You’d be better off heading up to Boston tbh.

I think the fried chicken is where it's at. They definitely have that part down. Isn't their second location ONLY the fried chicken?

Sura in Johnston.

Fair enough! Any recommendations for spots in Boston in case they're up for a quick trip?

Right now, sure. There's been a few that have come and gone. Mama Kims had a good run as a food truck and then tried a storefront and it failed. Lekker was around. Already that's 2 places in the last 5ish years than a town like Westerly has had in the last 200 years.

It's also still a weird time for restaurants anyway. COVID took out so many of them. Others are still reeling from it. I bet it's probably slowed/stalled a lot of potential new places.

I visited with some friends when i came back to RI for a few days and expressed wanting some KBBQ. DenDen is not that good. Food is decent but service is shitty for the price and it's definitely not KBBQ.

Mokban on Westminster was pretty good when I went over the summer. Planning to go back soon. Lots of vegetarian and gluten free options as well as meat. Not sure how it compares to the other places folks have recommended.

Sura is very pojangmacha-y, so if that’s the vibe you want then yeah, that’s the place you wanna go. No frills, kind of a hole in the wall, lotsa soju available etc etc

Might be spelling it wrong but all’s I know is den den makes a fucking good chicken wing in prov

Seconding Mokban on Westminster. Nice atmosphere too.

DenDen is great for takeout. The in-dining experience is lacking for sure.

Den Den on Benefit St is excellent

Lekker is moving, not sure where though

Are they in moving limbo? Because I heard that a while back but there was no announced new location and I would think you’d lock that down before moving. Especially as a business.

Just googled them and I can’t find any info about their new location. Their old location has been closed for months so who knows if they’ll ever reopen

That’s what I fear. My first and only experience was mediocre, only offset with a free bottle of booze from my birthday. My friend said to try them again but I guess I can’t for now.

Miss them so much! They’ve been “relocating” since May, so I hope all is well with them. They were 10/10 just always a little short staffed sadly

Solid points and yea it ain't real Korean BBQ w/o your own grill. I still love Denden tho

Tbh I only had it once recently. Got 3 different things and they were all excellent. The wings really were the best breaded bone-in I’ve ever had. Kimchi pancakes and slaw were bangin’

Service is terrible in DenDen. It's staffed by a bunch of nervous kids. Honestly, I avoid Thayer street. Over rated, over crowded, and no place to park.

People don't seem to realize that Korean BBQ involves cooking AT THE TABLE. DenDen is not Korean BBQ because they don't cook at the table, Sura in Johnson is.

Food is good but I completely agree with every criticism

I second this, Sura Johnston probably your best bet.

Not the same per se and since we don’t have many true options - I’d recommend y Shabu shabu hot pot instead

Mokban

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The one in Medford is the same as in Johnston, so just go to Johnston.

I always said if I somehow fall into a very very large sum of money, I’m buying out some properties near Thayer and knocking them down and putting up a parking garage.

I only go when Brown/RISD are out of session.

Sura Johnston RI best K bbq buffet idk about lq though I recommend going when the weather is cold that way the bbq grill can warm you up w some great eats!!!

Not always there are some spots that they don’t always cook at the table like Sura on the east side for instance

Great, thanks.

Kbbq here is meh at best. Lot more unique places in NYC/DC for east coast. Hyun in NYC is great if you're on a wagyu kick, not exactly kbbq but it's AYCE wagyu and other meats cooked in from of you. Pricey but depends on how much wagyu you can stomach..the experience is top notch though

Your question should be more, why isnt there much good food near westerly. But in all honesty, it's too seasonal of a town to maintain a high number of good restaurants. Winters are rough there for a lot of restaurants

Fine. But no one is going to travel 3.5 hours to NYC or further just for kbbq. Boston has some better spots than RI and it’s easy enough to get there. Not really hard to understand there.

Hanju Kitchen (inside The Royal Bobcat) on Atwells Ave is a Korean Cajun fusion restaurant and occasionally will have BBQ. But the menu is amazing to check out regardless!