Nisha Rasool

10/10 recommend this place for delicious food and amazing service! This restaurant has a cozy atmosphere and the food hits the spot!! We tried the fried eel, Dolsot Al-bap and seafood soup and it felt like THE PERFECT comfort meal for this winter night!

Alex Stecyk

This meal was absolutely delicious!!! I was here a couple of weeks ago and have thought about it every single day since. I got the Scallop DIY Gimbap. The apple kimchi and chungyang mayo that came with it were two of the tastiest condiments I've ever had. I also got the Yook-Hwe which is beef tartare and baby octopus. They were also kind enough to give me a compliment salad of cabbage with what I believe was a kimchi dressing. I will be coming back to this spot every single time I visit New York, without fail.

Kwan Sohn

This was the best meal I've had since moving to NYC. The menu at first glance looks pretty simple and honestly not that impressive.. but we ordered the crab bibim-myeon, fried shrimp, spicy fish stew, and the bing soo for desert and all 4 dishes were absolute bangers. Seriously. It was on some Culinary Class Wars type vibe. The servers there are all super friendly and attentive as well.

Kim Hall

The customer service here was A1. The servers were all well mannered, calm, polite, and attentive! The atmosphere of this small restaurant is such a “VIBE”✨A very cozy and warm, unique place to be in. Lastly the FOOD was sooooo delicious and tasty😋 I’d absolutely come here again💯

Brittany Cronin

Love this place! Went on Valentines Day and again this November. The restaurant is so cute and the servers are really kind and seem happy to be there. Their kimchi that comes with the table is SO GOOD. Honestly I would come here just for that. But the dishes definitely don't disappoint. It's such a fun menu, you can't go wrong. Definitely order the bibimbap with sea urchin foam!

Toffy Young

I have a reservation at 6pm. When I arrived, it was a bit busy, but all the staff were so friendly, especially Nampu. I came with my boyfriend and wanted to try everything on the menu, but since it's just the two of us, we'll definitely come back to try more! PS. I absolutely love the Kimchi here, and the Dolsot AI-BAP is the best dish. Must order!

+7

USUN

I visited Ariari because I wanted to introduce it to friends visiting from the Bay Area. Every time I come here, I’m blown away by the quality of the food, the staff’s service, and the cozy atmosphere of the restaurant — it’s a solid 10000/10 every time. With the chilly weather, I was craving DAESUN soju and seafood like in Busan, and this place turned out to be the perfect choice. We had assorted Mak-hwe, mackerel, and scallop gimbap topped with uni and sweet shrimp. The rice is the most important part of Gimbap — and theirs is unbelievably good! The accompanying ssamjang and mayo sauces were just fantastic. At one point, my friend accidentally dropped a spoon, and the staff immediately replaced it with a new one — even bringing over a Tide stain remover stick just in case it got on her clothes. Their attentiveness and kindness were truly impressive...🥹 We ended the meal with Dolsot Al-Bap and Hap-Cheon Pork Soup the perfect pairing with soju that just went down so smoothly. My friends who were visiting said they were so touched by the taste and service that they almost cried. Ariari is one of those rare spots in New York that never fails to make me happy. The food is amazing, complemented by the warm hospitality that’s rare to find in New York!!!!!!❤️❤️❤️ Writing this review is making me crave it again — I think I’ll go back this week. Now that it’s getting cold, it’s the perfect time to visit Ariari. Highly, highly recommend!

+6

Jacky Zhang

Dolsot is a must try. Seafood butter gui was notably fresh, forming a fond at the bottom that was great with the pita. Complimentary kimchi was addicting. Great service.

Aliya Tang

What an amazing restaurant! The staff was great and the meal was even better. Scallop diy gimbap is a must get alongside the Dolsot bap. Both were delicious beyond words!! The Maesil Highball is really good, tastes just like Choya Plum Wine (but better)!

Nico

OMG this was the best Korean place I’ve ever been: the fried chicken was so tender, juicy and tasty. Loved the fact the staff kept on refilling our complimentary kimchi. The duck and the domburi were to die for. Incredibly lovely stuff — by far one of the best places I dined at in NYC.

+2

Carly Luk

This place is 100% worth the hype. Definitely make a reservation, they are SUPER popular! We started with cocktails; I loved both the Daraji and Kket-nip, $16 each. They were both delicious and strong with the former being ginger forward and the latter tasting just like a juicy peach. As for food, the famous Dolsot al-bap ($19) is a MUST GET. The uni cream is heavenly and the rice gets so creamy, yet crispy from the hot stone. The fried soft shell crab ($21) was good, but not as mindblowing as the Dolsot al-bap. The beef su-yook ($34) was the perfect way to round out the meal, with super tender beef and a light, refreshing broth. Even the house kimchi was amazing! Service was attentive and patient and I would absolutely be back.

Charlotte Giang

One of the best Korean restaurants in Manhattan, hands down. We ordered pork shoulder & stomach soup, fried sea eels, and seafood pancake. The flavors blended so well together and felt so complete, and the texture was right on point. I was especially impressed with the fried sea eels, a perfect combination of crunchy and soft, sweet and salty. I hadn't seen this dish anywhere else so credits to the restaurant's creativity. Our waiter was very attentive, friendly and thoughtful. I brought a box coming in and he helped me put it away before dining. After we were done, he brought the box out along with a big paper bag (containing my leftover pancake) so that I could put my box in and carry it more easily. The lady who brought our receipt was very friendly as well. Overall, incredible food and service! I'd love to come back and try other dishes on their diverse menu.

Sophie Lee

A friend recommended this place; service was wonderful and food was just as great! They recommended 2-3 dishes per person but honestly, one each was good enough for us to share. The servers were knowledgeable of their dishes, attentive, and welcoming. Their menu is very different from typical Korean restaurants you would find in SoCal, so this was a nice change! I highly recommend the dolsot and scallop gimbap

+1

Alex Ho

My wife and I had had a great dinner at ARIARI. This was not our first time there but it’s pleasant to see that quality in food and service has not waned. Waitstaff were warm and welcoming, topping off the complimentary kimchi appetizer often and refilling our water. The food itself has always been very tasty and we were able to try a few new things on the menu this time. Usually the review is just about the food, but their service created an exceptional dining experience that I don’t feel too often these days when at other restaurants anywhere.

Dacil Chavez

Great experience dinning at this restaurant! I had it on my list since I visited NY in August, we finally got to eat here. Flavourful, warm and comfort Korean food with a delicate touch. Every dish was perfect and I can’t describe it with words! You got to eat there! Service was superb and the atmosphere of this vibrant place is amazing! I would recommend to make a reservation.

+1

Alison Pouw

fantastic korean in the city. affordable and great quality. drinks are very good too. we got the scallops and the butter seafood. phenomenal. scallops were so fresh and it was a super creative presentation. we got the first and second cocktails on the menu too - the pear (i think) is a classic martini with an appreciated twist. great service and food came so fast. would go back and maybe one of my top spots in the city now. felt very cozy and wholesome.

+2

It’s ironically called big bar even though spaces are very limited in here - it’s definitely a vibe though with its cash only and overall divey atmosphere. Lots of disclaimers all around but if you know what you want and can be expedient about it, you’ll be well served here.

Well... I don't know how I never came here before but what a vibe. Soaked in red light, cash only, a very chill, eclectic crew, all of that made it for me a perfect later night after dinner spot, even if the back bar is unsurprisingly thin and I low-key hate carrying cash on me these days unless I'm a regular somewhere. As an old head with a kid, I'm not sure when I'll be back but when the opportunity presents itself, I'm down.

Super cozy and cute. No wait despite NYE weekend but still busy/lively. Love the red lights. Bartender was alright / weird vibes. Maybe they were tired / had cruddy customers before me. Just had a glass of a house red

Glo Song

So glad my friend and I were lucky enough to get seated at this restaurant with no reservation. I wanted to order the Mak-Hwe, but the Seafood Butter Gui was much more tempting especially in terms of portion. The seafood melts in your mouth and the pita was nice and chewy w. a crisp. Be sure to order yourself the complimentary Seoul Night bottle they have on special when you download/pay through the Blackbird app. The service was on point and so was their dessert!

Emily Ho

3.5 Stars but closer to 4 since quality is there. Got to try this place with my friends this past week on a Wednesday night. We made reservations for 4 and were all pretty exited! The restaurant has cute cozy casual vibe, like you are ready to drink. The service was great. The server was personable and recommended we get 2 items per person to share since most of the items are on the smaller side. We ordered - DIY scallop Gimbap - Dolsot Bibimbap - Seafood pancake - Seafood japchae - Pork Shoulder Steak - Omijaa Bingsoo - Corn Crème brûlée - Red rice maekoli The food all looked good although I didn't take many pictures, but there is plenty online. Honestly I don't remember a lot about the food. It was good and tasty!To be fair, I was paying more attention to the friends I was meeting ( first time meeting them) than the food. With that said, the few things that did standout was their free kimchi and scallop gimbap. I also enjoyed the pork shoulder, seafood pancake, and little octopus inside the japchae. But flavor wise nothing to memorable except the kimchi. The deserts were underwhelming unfortunately, especially the bingsoo. The red rice maekoli was interesting however for 30 dollars we each got 4 small cups. It just didn't feel worth the experience. my friends didn't seem very satisfied with the food, it's likely their expectations of Korean food is very different than mine. However one thing I agree with is that the portions are very small and the price is could dollars too much. We did get free Korean coffee latte powder and scratch offs tho which was fun! Overall it delivers solid food and specialty seafood style Korean food from Busan. It's a good experience if you love seafood. Portions are like small tapas and drinks are pricy too. I think it's great prob if you like to try something new and seafood.

Carina Chen

I arrived at the restaurant early to wait for my friend. My friend was still stuck in traffic and hadn't arrived yet. Besides, our reservation was for 5:30 and there were plenty of empty seats around. During the waiting period, a waiter urged me to order quickly, which made me feel particularly bad about the service.

Looks like some bartenders take tips for granted, expecting tips while being so rude to customers with the excuse of “being busy”. Wow, what a good reason for being disrespectful of customers. Reminder of the principle of a tip (which unfortunately has been forgotten): tips are here to reward good services for bartenders who deserve them, they should not be taken for granted. So just one thing busy bartender: if you want some tips, just do your job properly by being just slightly nicer, and not just demand “give me tips “. For your pride at least!

Big Bar is hard to miss with its bright red interior lights shining onto the sidewalk, but when you walk inside you’ll have wished you did miss it. I recently had the displeasure of stopping by this ‘dive bar’ and it was an experience I won’t soon forget; unfortunately. This bar harbors a particularly rancid vibe. Everything from the bar tender’s hall monitor attitude, to the Gen X clientele sitting at the bar top, to the bald man in a bright blue sweater standing outside holding the door looking to start arguments. It all meshed into a miserable, spoilt, and rank experience. This self touted ‘dive bar’ is a total disaster from start to finish. The atmosphere is dreadful. The space is cramped and awkward. The decor is tacky and lacking grace. It is all too evident that they tried too hard to come off as this trendy, relaxed, dingy dive bar but you can feel how incredibly gauche and trite the ambience really is. The supposed "dive bar" charm was nowhere to be found. Instead, it felt more like a sterile and sanitized version, where an older crowd can live out their dreams cosplaying being a patron at a dive bar. Without actually having to step foot in one. The raw authenticity of a dive bar is nowhere to be found here. Instead what you will encounter is a travesty of such magnitude that it defies the very essence of what it seeks to embody. Stripped of any genuine character, it is a desolate void. Big Bar’s ambiance is a facade. A cheap costume masking a soul devoid of grit or character. Stepping inside, the sterility of the place struck me immediately. But it was the customer service that truly revealed the rot at the core. At the helm of this charade was a bartender whose demeanor is a chilling specter of authoritarianism. Her presence fills the room and adds to the festering of a putrid environment. We did not get her name, but she is a heavy set brunette woman with glasses and nose piercings. She made comments that were teetering on discriminatory and seemed to convey a covert racism. She was abrasive with a patron over a seemingly arbitrary qualm. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear other patrons share a similar experience. The libations, one might hope, would salvage some semblance of a good experience, but they were as soulless as the decor. The drinks are underwhelming and bereft of any skill or care in their making. They didn’t seem to have any thing of substance worth drinking. All the bartender had was well liquor and flat beer. And in a location filled with other options that have better drinks and a more refined atmosphere, we did not stay long. In sum, this Gen X haven is truly a pit of despair and disappointment. This establishment is a blight upon the landscape of nightlife. A soulless simulacrum devoid of the grit, grime, and charm that define a dive bar. It feels more of a sterile tomb and I would implore seekers of a genuine experience to look elsewhere.

Bouncer dressed like where’s Waldo for Halloween tonight is a problem for a small business like this. I walked in with a few girls and he was hitting on the customers inside I did not see anyone in the front of the door so I walked inside. I thought he was just some big goofy Halloween dressed older over weight guy talking to younger girls. As I got though the door he started getting aggressive super weird because he’s a lot shorter than me and I’m not an aggressive person. He asked for ids I thought he was being funny but still reached in my back pocket to accommodate him. That’s when things got really weird he started acting aggressive so I turned around to leave because I don’t want to hurt this bully so I said I’m gonna just leave.. That’s when I asked the girls I was with to come he decided to follow me out screaming have a good day just so we are clear it’s night time! This place should really watch who they hire because clearly they don’t! You have been warned stay away from this place!

I really regret to change my review here. I really liked the place and used to go there. There is a specific bartender working there that is absolutely rude. She made a whole scene because some people tipped only $5 for 5 cans of beer. She was ringing some bells and her friends were shouting 'you should tip your bartender and blah blah..' and pointing to those people (that had actually tipped). Let alone that she earlier did lift me from my seat for her those friends of her to sit... When we told her that we understand that you are busy but this doesnt justify you being rude she took our drinks from us (had just bought them and i had personally tipped $3 for a jin) and asked us to leave the place. She just ruins that great bar and the nice vibe.

At the end of the day it's a bar.... The bartender and bouncer are the singular most offensive and pretensous people I have ever met in my life. Full of self importance and a vibe like they are keepers of all. They essence of the place has great bones and a good vibe overall... Just hope you catch the bartender on a night she isn't feeling like being rude and stuck up.Its far away from a premium bar and has an attitude problem equal to the snobbiest bars in all of Manhattan.... It's a hard Miss.

I stopped by Big Bar while visiting New York, and it was one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve ever had. The bartender was incredibly rude from the very beginning — no greeting, no smile, just an attitude like I was bothering her by even being there. She clearly had no idea what she was doing and couldn’t answer the simplest questions about the place. I didn’t even end up ordering a drink because the atmosphere was so unpleasant and unprofessional. I left after a few minutes, completely unimpressed. For a city like New York, where good service is everywhere, this was a huge letdown. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

I had a very disappointing experience at Bog Bar in New York. We asked about the recipe for a Whiskey Sour, and were told it’s just whiskey and lemon juice. When we mentioned that a classic Whiskey Sour usually includes egg white, the staff became rude, told us not to “teach the bartender how to do their job,” and we were basically kicked out shortly after. Instead of a friendly conversation or a simple explanation, we were met with disrespect and attitude. Customer service matters, and no one deserves to be treated like that. Would not recommend this place.

I would leave zero stars if I could— I work service too and never leave reviews, this case was extremely bad and deserves to be shared. Absolutely horrible experience with the femme presenting bartender on a pretty empty Saturday. Extremely rude, condescending, unbearable and had to leave pretty immediately, it was ageist and very unpleasant to be around. The two lonely men sitting there were also questionable and she seemed way kinder to them, than to us fellow non-men with a kind demeanor. Will not come back, thank you for making us feel horrible. Thank you!