First kim chi I ever fell in love with. Too bad it was a late night and they weren't into letting us grill or shabu shabu, then had us wait as long for the food we were warned it would take to grill or shabu. Definately going back, just not when the server wants to leave. PS to all joints, don't bother having hours if you don't want to be there. Close a half hour earlier rather than turn people off by rushing them out the door.

I went to this place once and I liked it a lot. It was the first time i ate Korean cuisine. I thought the do-it-yourself aspect was fun. They gave me a Stella Artois glass for my white wine, which was annoying, but not the worst thing that has ever happened to me. The ambiance was cool. Waited about 45 minutes for a table even though we had reservations. That's pretty much it.

The food is authentic Korean. I took my family there today and we were all impressed. We have eaten in most of the KTown restaurants, several in NJ and in Flushing. The quality of the food is excellent. There weren't many side dishes but they were all well seasoned. We asked for more and the waitress happily brought us more. My wife was impressed with the Sundoboo chigae. I agree with Russ that the size of the bowl is small but my wife never finishes the "larger" portions at the other restaurants. Why do we need to talk about portion sizes when it comes to Korean food. We never complain about the size of a piece of sushi or sashimi, as long as it tastes great. The serving size may not be as large as in other Korean restaurants but everyone left satiated and happy for the experience.

My niece who just arrived from Korea to go to summer school here enjoyed the Kalbi Tang. My daughter had the dukmandoo gook (rice cake and dumpling soup), which she orders at every Korean restaurant and loved it. M younger daughter had the tempura shrimp udon and finished it! She is a picky 7 year old. I had the kimchee fried rice - yummy. The japchae was on the salty side.

The tables are large (no need to try to squeeze all the food onto a small table - like on 32nd St) and the staff was attentive. Our glasses of water were filled every couple of minutes, without having to ask. You need a lot of water when eating Korean food! It got 5 thumbs up from my family of 5.

i kinda can't believe the range and volume of the reviews. I'm kinda happy a neighborhood korean joint can generate such online action. I've been in over a dozen times since i learned dokebi opened. The food is consistently good (Mmmm... yummy kind of good) music awesome, layout & design flawless. Oh and the bathrooms are uncommonly clean. Split a bottle of soju and some bbq or kimchi stew. I've never left without being uncomfortably full- like t.day everytime i eat there. I don't know what the deal is with the portion sizes. are they expecting applebees or some crap? Or does purple rice conflict with their low carb diets? the food rocks, the people rock. go at lunch time. i got all my bancha, salads and drinks in order. how much service do you need when effing around with your own food? plus the drinks are cheap. perhaps all the evil reviewers should have had a few more.

It's amazing how many postings there are here. And they oscillate wildly from horrible to great. Well, I can't help but wonder whether many of these reviews are phony. Well, anyway, whatever is going on, I'm not a part of it.

This resturant is okay. It's not great. I'd go again but not because of the food or service, which were both okay. I'd go again because its convenient and clean. I also like the interior design of the place. I had the Bi Bim Bap, a Korean dishes I rather like, and it was okay. It was not great but I'd eat it there again. The dish would be better in my opinion if there was a little bit less rice and a little bit more of everything else. Or maybe, even better, just a little bit more of everything except rice. The proportion of rice to everything else made the dish a bit bland. Otherwise our meal was fine. The service was not bad just a little odd at moments. So, in conclusion, I'm glad there's a Korean restaurant in Williamsburg. It would be nice if it were a great Korean restaurant but I'll take a decent one. And that is what this is.

i've been twice and had good experiences both times (bbq) but never had the shabu.

our servers were good on both occasions. plus, our second trip was with my parents, and i am beginning to judge williamsburg restaurants by how gracious they are to older dorky types (sorry, mom and dad...). they were super nice, which scores big points with me.

You can't be 30100 serious?!?

I've been here twice and each time it gets better. The food is yummy, the drinks are copious, and the atmosphere is laid back and fun. The owner is also very nice and chill; he came out and cleared our table because his waitstaff was busy. It was a nice personal touch.

WOW. WOW. What a fantastic experience at this restaurant. When my girlfriend and I arrived there were no tables available so we ended up waiting at the bar. The bartenders (esp. Todd) were phenomenal and even comped me a beer and two shots of a great vodka. Afterwards when we got a table we started with a seafood pancake and it was delicious. We then had BBQ. I ordered the ribeye and my girlfriend ordered chicken. Both were more than adequate portion wise and the waitresses were very nice in explaining how to do everything. I can't imagine anyone leaving this place less than full. We then even got free ice cream to make up for the wait (even though it wasn't that long). The ginger was very different and tasty! Finally we returned to the bar to thank the bartenders for a great experience and were spoiled with two more free shots on the house! I have never been treated better in a restaurant and can't say enough for the food either. Everything tasted incredible and very fresh. IMHO this restaurant is a must in williamsburg or NYC for that matter.

the food was great the service was great and the time was amazing.

it is so funny...
I can see very easily that
All the comments talking about bad svc & bad quality of food are written by real people and all the admiral things are from the house owner or his fellows.

it is so funny...
I can see very easily that
All the comments talking about bad svc & bad quality of food are written by real people and all the admiral things are from the house owner or his fellows.

THE BACK BAR IS FUN ON THE WEEKENDS. GOOD BEER SELECTION. CRAZY VIBE. FUN & DECADENCE IS IN THE AIR.
ONLY IF THE BARTENDER WOULD LET SONGS PLAY IN THEIR ENTIRETY THIS PLACE WOULD BE EPIC.

the following are unbiased editorial reviews from publications who have sent out professional reviewers to review "Dokebi".
it's so that you don't get taken in by the obviously concerted efforts to anonymously do harm to dokebi business.
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Citysearch Editorial Profile -- By Karen Hudes

Korean barbecue and shabu-shabu make for a hot Williamsburg restaurant.

Editorial Rating: Recommended

The Scene
Long red tables with built-in, smokeless grills run along the perimeter of this airy, spot, perfect for a group party. Weekends find the wooden banquettes filled with a rocking neighborhood crowd, as well as guests waiting in the rear barroom, downing beer, sake and crisp scallion pancakes.

The Food
Superior ingredients reward the work and play of Korean table grilling. Chopstick-flipped, tender Angus short ribs and lean pork in a spicy marinade sizzle to a caramelized peak and are wrapped in a lettuce leaf for rich, fresh eating. Diners cooking shabu shabu dip ruby-red, slightly marbled slices of rib-eye Angus, along with veggies, noodles and exotic mushrooms, into boiling water for a succulent result. The restaurant serves a full menu, including a bi bim bahp with chopped rib eye steak that's tasty but sparse, seafood and beef stews, stir-fry, tempura and udon noodle soup, and there's 14 flavors of ice cream for dessert.

Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
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Smoke-free BBQ: At Dokebi restaurant, diners can grill their thinly sliced Angus ribeye at their own table. .

The Brooklyn Papers / Greg Mango

By Tina Barry
for The Brooklyn Papers

Williamsburg's Dokebi is not your typical 32nd Street Korean restaurant. There are no tables of men, with their ties thrown to the side, gobbling up hundreds of little dishes. The service is attentive without being fawning, and no cloud of barbecue smoke lingers in the air.

This is a new kind of Korean restaurant, according to owner Chul Kim.

"I'm serving authentic food of that country presented differently," he says. By "differently" he means that instead of the $10 serving of low-quality food accompanied by a profusion of "ban chan" (side dishes) - a typical dinner at any midtown Manhattan Korean restaurant - there are three to six small dishes that arrive with the house special barbecue. His entree servings are large; and with quality ingredients, like thin slices of Angus beef and beautiful, meaty mushrooms, lots of little add-ons aren't necessary.

And "differently" also means not just Korean. Another Dokebi specialty is "shabu-shabu," a Japanese dish of raw meat and vegetables simmered in a large pot of boiling water that is seasoned with pieces of dried kelp, called "kombu."

Both dishes are cooked at the table. The first on a specially designed, smokeless grill built into the center of the tables that ring the large room; the soup cooks in a large pot set into the same base. That smokeless grill (manufactured and installed at great expense by Kim) means you'll leave smelling no different than you did entering the restaurant.

Chul, a former investment banker who opened Dokebi (which means "devil" in Korean) in November, recruited a few friends who helped him gut the former social club. The crew spent 14 months ripping down five dropped-ceilings ("it was like being entombed" he said of the pre-existing dimensions) to expose 12-foot ceilings and brick walls. Chul designed and built the handsome, deep red tables and wooden benches and installed simple, industrial lighting. The result - a big dining room with an entrance on Grand Street and a bar and lounge that is separated by a small hallway with an entry onto North First Street - is more moody urban cafe than the close, smoky, Oriental dens of midtown.

Downing a shot or two of "soju," a liquor made from rice that tastes like vodka without the harsh burn, is the best way to warm up for a meal at Dokebi. There's a full bar, so sake, Asian beer and any cocktail is available, too. Among the appetizers, the "pajun," or scallion pancake, is delectable. The chefs, Mrs. Lee and Mr. Park (formerly of Don's Bogam in Manhattan), fry it up thin, light and crisp-edged, then stud it with tender pieces of squid, shrimp and scallops.

Crescent-shaped dumplings, "gyoza," were fried golden, but the pork filling was on the bland side.

If you want to experience a decent salad in an Asian restaurant - not the ubiquitous wilted iceberg with one-note ginger dressing - order it here. In a small bowl is a handful of watercress and a bit of romaine lettuce topped with a few thin slices of radish. It's nothing fancy, but the peppery bite of the watercress is enhanced with a perfectly balanced, lemony carrot dressing brightened with ginger.

Don't linger over the appetizers, though. The waitstaff tends to bring the main dishes while you're still nibbling on the starters.

We ordered a few different meat entrees to fry on the grill. Each large serving arrived glistening in their marinades, ready for the searing heat. The meat is accompanied by another big platter topped with red leaf lettuce, watercress and a splurge of fresh mushrooms, each fungus lusciously rich after a short sit over the heat.

The soft spoken waitress showed us how to place the meat on the grill; to put the delicate mushrooms on the edges where they'd cook with less intensity; and finally, to wrap the quickly cooked morsels in a lettuce leaf, top them with one of the sauces and a bit of rice, and to eat it as we would a burrito.

My least favorite of the three barbecue dishes that we tried was the Angus ribeye. It's a great cut of meat for this kind of cooking, thanks to its high fat content, but, oddly, not terribly flavorful. It's served with a soybean paste sauce that has some heat - and that helped.

Like the steak, the "kalbi" is made with Angus short ribs, another fatty cut. It was rich and somewhat spicy thanks to its chile-enhanced marinade. Most of the grill dishes can be ordered regular, spicy, or hot. The regular is on the subtle side, so if you want some heat, order it. The slices of pork shoulder grilled up tender with just a touch of sweetness.

As we savored our messy, spicy and chewy little rolls, we nibbled on the side dishes. I've had "kimchee," the pickled cabbage stewed with garlic and chiles, and it nearly blew my head off. The version here is milder by far. I'm not sure "kimchee" purists will approve, but I preferred the tamer heat. Good, too, are the garlic stems (the shoots that protrude from the tops of the bulbs) in sesame seed oil.

"Shabu-shabu" means "swish-swish" in Japanese, and that's what you do - first dropping the mushrooms, tofu and watercress into the pot of bubbling water to flavor the soup's broth, then swish-swishing thin slices of beef with your chopsticks for a few seconds in the liquid until they're rare. After that, you can dip the meat into a soybean sauce with a peanut flavor, and then again into a mild "ponzu" soy sauce (consisting of "mirin" rice wine, citrus juice and bonito flakes). Wonderfully chewy noodles simmer for a minute or two in the now-seasoned stock, and when they're ready, the noodles and soup are ladled into bowls. It's an interactive experience that's great for group dining.

The homemade ice cream Chul purchases from New York Gelato and Sorbet, a vendor in Williamsburg, is not to be missed. I tried three of the 12 flavors and they were light and silky with the taste of the ingredient shining through. The ginger featured chunky pieces of the crystallized root and left a warm taste in my mouth; seeds and pieces of jammy fruit made the fig a sensory pleasure; and green tea had a subtle, nut-like quality that I loved.

Dokebi is a modernist's interpretation of the Americanized Korean restaurant. Chul's stripped the experience of the honky-tonk associated with garment industry places, leaving just the best: great ingredients, fresh sauces and sides that don't slam your palate with heat, and a casual room in which to enjoy it.

Dokebi (199 Grand St. between Bedford and Driggs avenues in Williamsburg) accepts American Express, MasterCard and Visa. Entrees: $9-$20. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily. For reservations for six or more diners, call (718) 782-1424.

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Dokebi
(718) 782-1424
199 Grand Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11211 SELECT: DIFFERENT KOREAN Bonjoo Do Hwa Dok Suni's Dokebi Kori Mill Korean Rest Woo Lae Oak


Editorial Review User Reviews Directions What's Nearby?


EDITORIAL REVIEW

By Jove, it’s not Thai or Japanese!
Grand Street has undergone a Renaissance over the last few years, its dimly lit and dilapidated store fronts replaced by innovative eateries, galleries and stores. The requisite Williamsburg sushi spot, pizzeria and trattoria dot the street, along with a few bars that cater to newly arrived. But what makes Grand Street really interesting is the addition of Dokebi Bar and Grill, combining the local Willy B vibe with the tasty offerings of Korea Town.

Welcome to Chul’s Place
The interior is playfully controlled, from the muted geometry of the floor tiles to the deep red of the grill tables and banquettes. Large, street-facing windows open up the room; a raw brick wall faces it lime green alter ego. Warm light cascades onto table tops. Several people crowd happily around a grill. Owner Chul and Parson’s students Tan and Axelson-Chidsey have created a space with room to breath, and room to share a meal.

Chefs Kim and Bahk
The traditional menu features standard appetizers such gyoza (dumplings), pajeon (scallion pancake), japchae (cellophane noodles) and edamame (steamed soy beans). A real treat is the steamed squid, served in a bamboo steamer with a side of tangy chili sauce. Bibimbap (meat and rice), bokumbap (stir fry) and tempura are options, but for something special try one of Chef Bahk’s stews, such as the kalbi tang (short rib stew). The real attraction here is the table grill, especially the steaming shabu shabu, an assortment of vegetables (including three kinds of mushrooms!) and thinly slice beef steamed in a water bath rather than grilled - perfect for a wintry day. A nice of array of Chef Kim’s side dishes and sauces appear with each entrée, including the famous kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage).

Suggestions
Order the kalbi grill first, then follow up with the shabu shabu. Don’t be afraid to ask the friendly staff for assistance. First time grillers may need a little coaching. The sauces are fun to explore – ask about them.

Saki, the New White Wine
Dokebi has a notable saki and soju list. Ask about pairing a selection with your meal. Like wine, saki has a variety of qualities that can greatly enhance a meal. Afficionados will be happy here.

The Bar
Down the hall and past the kitchen is a full service bar, decorated with totemic art and a fair amount of laid-back pulchritude. Great place to wait for a grill table if the dining room is full. A separate entrance on North 1st Street allows the bar to stay open later than the dining room.
******************************************************** The "L" magazine

Dokebi
By Jeff Harris

199 Grand St, Williamsburg, 718-782-1424
Price Range: $15-$25 Rating:3L's

My L train ends at First Avenue, and not just because of service interruptions. Luckily, on the night I ventured to that hip western tip of Long Island called Williamsburg, the trains were running. Walking down Grand Street, I was struck by its incongruous name. Low buildings, dim and quiet on a brisk Wednesday night, were littered with the usual suspects: sushi, pizza, hipster lounges. The lights of Manhattan twinkled in the distance…

But I had work to do, damn it, and no borough was going to get in my way. A block later, large windows lit the street in neon beer-sign-glow. This was the place. Stringent geometry, high ceilings, globe lights, and expansive Japanese wooden benches rimming futuristic tabletop grills. It was new, but familiar, like a high school cafeteria from a forgotten anime dream.
Seated at one of the tabletop grills, we ordered a round of Rogue Dead Guy Ale ($6). Spicy panchan of bean sprout, radish, and kimchi came next. As we devoured them, Fried Pork Gyoza ($4), and a Seafood Pancake arrived ($6). The portions weren’t huge, but the golden, glistening morsels were enough to sate us.

Our entrees were brought next by our vivacious, if not terribly fluent, server. She took pains to carefully explain how to eat the Bulgohki Shabu-Shabu ($17), shoving a scalding sliver of meat into my mouth. The dish is lot of fun to eat, but shouldn’t be ordered by an individual. The components were plentiful: greens, rice noodles, udon noodles, brown mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and, of course, paper-thin strips of prime beef (to be dunked into the boiling stock and then the dipping sauces: traditional ponzu and fusion peanut). Yet, there wasn’t enough meat to create the rich broth drunk at the end. With five or six people around the table, this would be amazing.

Another entrée, seafood BiBimBahp in a hot stone pot ($10), glistened red under a glaze of red chili paste, but was unimpressive. Tiny bits of shellfish, few veggies, and no raw egg could be forgiven, but the pot didn’t sizzle. Thus, the best part of the dish, the crunchy golden crust of rice at the bottom, just wasn’t there. Unforgivable.

After a quick bite of terrific homemade Fig and Chocolate Ice Creams ($2.50), we bid the adorable staff adieu, hopped on the L train, and I wondered… Maybe there’s something to this Brooklyn thing after all.
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A SAPPY STORY
In W’burg, a hidden Korean bar reveals unlikely beer.

"NY PRESS"
By Joshua M. Bernstein

This week’s column marks an anniversary, though it’s also a miracle and, on those pained-brain mornings, a curse: ’Tis this column’s second birthday, a date that’s equally dubious and delightful. After all, how does one celebrate 104 weeks of drinking on the job? Rehab? A master-cleanse fast? Besting Dylan Thomas’ deadly whiskey record? An all-expense paid trip to the Betty Ford Clinic?

It’s a work-related Catch-22 I once experienced as a pornographer: After writing penetration scenes all day, flirting and fondling took a back seat to…boozing. So perhaps I should observe this anniversary with a blowjob, the yin to my employment yang. Or not. After all, sex is well covered in the Press. Instead let’s venture to uncharted alcohol territory.

These past couple years, I’ve sipped mai tais in Staten Island tiki bars, chugged Pabst on an ersatz Queens beach and slammed Jäger in a phone booth. I’ve bent elbows in Greenpoint dives, acted prim in cocktail emporiums and downed Bud pitchers in a deli, where I watched a man shove steam-table spare ribs into his pocket. But this town’s rollicking drink roller coaster always offers novel twists to quash sobriety. Like drinking out-of-context Japanese beer.

To accomplish this feat, please visit a Williamsburg anomaly. Though Thai and Japanese restaurants are chockablock in the ’Burg, Korean eateries are sparse, save for the latest addition to Grand Street’s increasingly polyglot scene: Dokebi. This Seoul-food eatery is a departure from its Little Korea brethren: chaotic, messy rooms with noise levels approaching a Korn concert. Dokebi’s dining room is a clean, serene escape. For one, the cook-it-yourself barbeque grills are equipped with ventilation fans, preventing clothes from smelling like sizzling pork. This is swell, but let’s skip the sustenance and head to a hidden surprise.

After entering Dokebi, ignore the hostess and stride through the dining room and down a narrow hallway, where you’ll pop out into a separate lounge. (There’s also a bar entrance on barren North 1st, signified by a glowing, gas-station-like sign.) The room is a small square of mismatched style. Brick walls and street-facing windows are complemented by wooden benches, naked light bulbs, dorm-quality red lounge chairs and—get this—totem poles. Have you ever seen a Korean totem pole? Methinks Dokebi’s owners proposed 23 decorating schemes and said, “Screw it, baby, let’s make it all magical.”

This culture-mashing schizophrenia also extends to the crowd and drink selection. By day, freelancers hit Dokebi to cadge WiFi and sip cappuccino. During weekends, locals infuse the bar with a low-key, illegal speakeasy vibe (in ways only you can discover). In the intermediary, caffeine relents to a fine happy-hour special: Until 7:30 p.m., Yuengling mugs are merely $2.50 and pitchers cost just $10.

During several visits, I watch curious bargoers consider ordering sake ($8 a glass), vodka-like soju ($10 for a buzz-worthy carafe) and, oddly, Colt 45 40-ouncers ($6). It’s an impressive, yet overwhelming menu that makes you yearn for McSorley’s simplicity: two beers, dark or light. Luckily, there’s another delicious happy-hour offer. “You can also,” the bartender will say, gesturing to the taps filled with five-dollar pints of Blue Point Lager, Stella and Kirin, “order a pitcher of Sapporo for $10.”

It’s rare to find Sapporo on tap, even rarer for such a palatable price tag. Hence, his words light up customers’ eyes like pinball machines.

“Wow, I’ll take that as a challenge,” a guy says, as he and his girlfriend sit at the bar. The challenge is formidable: These pitchers are not mini-carafes unable to intoxicate a 13-year-old girl. Dokebi’s glass pitchers are large and man-killing. They’re filled with enough suds to make you forget to ask why a Korean bar sells Japanese beer. The more I ponder this enigma, the more I’m puzzled: Why offer malt liquor but neglect South Korean Hite lager? Is Williamsburg’s ironic force field that powerful?

Eh, such contradictions are par for Dokebi. The restaurant is such a model of urban cool, while the bar is a slipper-wearing Bellevue escapee who can name-check members of the Postal Service. Some may see a failure of mission; I find it endearing. I see grandiose plans, each separately splendid, that equal zero sense. Why, for instance, is the concrete floor covered with spray-painted leaves? It’s yet another conundrum to mull while drinking cool, cheap Sapporo—poured by a non-Korean bartender, naturally.

Dokebi Bar and Grill

199 Grand St. (betw. Bedford & Driggs Aves.)

W’burg, Brooklyn 718-782-1424.

just wanted to say that i go there fairly regularly and have had relatively good experiences. i'm glad they are here so that i can have something other than thai food. overall the food we've have had has all been good and the portions have been pretty good (how much food do you need to consume before you call it refined?). i think as korean americans, we should be encouraging places like dokebi to venture into new areas so that we can enjoy our cuisine outside of the k-town ghettos, rather than ripping into them for every little thing they do differently from what you are used to. it's like some of you have this really angry hatred of anyone trying to do their thing if it deviates from what you expected. you anonymously come here and trash the place and discribe it as if the place is aweful. the reality is that the place is pretty good and many would consider it better than most restaurants on 32nd street. the owner works very hard and struggles everyday to make the place better.
i guess some of you would like to see the place go out of business so that you wouldn't have dokebi as an option in the neighborhood.???
PS. the place does very well for a new restaurant and judging by the clientele, lots of people like the place as much as we do...

TAKE NOTE!!!
they serve ample human portions and you will walk out more than satisfied if you order an appetizer and entree. the food is excellent and you will see everyone enjoying themselves there...

honestly, it's disturbing to me to see some of these korean americans trying to trash a perfectly good restaurant. why they would expend so much energy trying to bad mouth a korean guy giving it a go and working so hard to bring our cuisine to a broader audience. all of my friends who live in the area love this place as well, which is probably why the place has such a great reputation in the neighborhood!

"i'm a korean american working as a su chef in nyc.

I am a korean american whose folks just moved to korea. Just came back. I read the review from someone who said that korean cuisine in korea was much more elegant and refined. Wow. Part of what makes korean food so great is the abundance of dished, flavors, etc., and what makes Seoul so cool are the holes in teh walls and the foodcarts. That said, I think this is a really basic korean place. The banchan (the small dishes) are sparse and too few. Part of the reason that you go out to eat (if you're korean) is to get away from your mom's same old 3-4 banchan. (as one reader said was "normal") My halmuni (grandma) made at least 6-8! Dont you go out so that you dont have to eat like you would at home? The portions here are ridiculously small. For those of you who arent native koreans, take note! These portions are SMALL and yet the same price as 32nd street!! It will do for now but hopefully the service and portions will become more refined as time goes on. For the best Korean Food in americam Los Angeles wins hands down.

Oh, we loved this place! The waitstaff couldn't do enough for us, the food was amazing ,and the side dishes kept coming. We found the food to be very generous and satisfying, and the ice cream especially luscious. Aewsome new place!

My mom, a 60 yr old 105lbs Korean woman who can cook for Satan himself, came in here and just destroyed a single serving (a healthy single serving) of bulgoki. 'Nuff said.

I went last night and everything was perfect, including the service. Cheap pitchers of beer & great food and their was a guy there walking around teaching people how to use the bbq. After reading the reviews about service, it sounds like things have changed for the better.
PS. whats the deal with the hockey post above me?

Seriously, I think all these bad reviews have to do with one thing--service. The service is soooo bad. There is no other way of saying it. I mean 90% of the people in Williamsburg don't know what good Korean food tastes like, so if the waitstaff could just get their head out of their asses this place may have a fighting chance. McDonald's has better service. Am I suppose to eat soup and rice with my fingers? Do they not believe in water even when we ask for a glass? If there are 3 of us and we order a "double" of kalbi would it kill you to give us three bowls of rice instead of two? Would it kill you to come over and ask if we need more beer instead of waving you over even though the place is empty? It's not like they even talk amongst themselves. They just stand there and look dumber than spit on shit. They serve raw meat right? Meaning we cook it right? Why does it take so long for raw meat to land on your table? I thought they were killing the cow in the back, it took so long. The place wasn't even busy or late and the only thing the waitress was quick with was the check. I guess she didn't want us to spend anymore money or add on to the tip. You would think it's the language barrier, but they seem to speak English fairly well. So I don't know what they are doing. I'm not much of complainer, especially about service, but damn! The worst service I ever had anywhere in recent memory.

so alot of you are comfortable with eating food that you made yourself? why not stay at home and cook? for a shabu shabu place with reviews that are worth an overly gracious paragraph, i would expect to see better quality raw meat than the "selection" i was offered. of course, the price is to blame, theres always ways around that, and please, sauces, cant they be better? i know ive had better.

the place was average at best. me and my friends who went there, had a terrible experience. the food was not authentic and the service was not the type of attentive service you get on 32 nd street. the atmospere, banchan, music, and the atmosphere is better on 32nd street. and if you must stay in williamsburg, planet thailand, sea, and snacky's are much better places to dine.

me and my friends went there and the service was not good. the food tasted like water and the waiters didn't want to help us. i've tried korean food before and this is not a good restaurant. you should go to M shanghai or snacky's which is just a few doors away. the only good thing there is the beer. the food decore and service is terrible. me and my friends will never go back!

i am korean american and this place is the worst restaurant i went to in my whole life. the food was terrible and the place is really ugly and the food was not right wasting either. don't waste your money. go to any other restaurant in the neighborhood for good food.

Me and my friends went twice to Dokebi, our conclusion on the food was mediocre at best, after our second trip here we all talk about how much it reminded us of all the Japanese sushi restaurants in manhatten being run by the Chinese and pretending to serve poor Japanese dishes...hmmm we all wonder if Dokebi is also run by Chinese serving Korean/Japanese food, me and my friends are not asians but we have gone to numberous different Korean & Japanese restaurants to know the taste and this is not one of them...service is below average, but they do have some unique beer selection if you are into beers, we will mostly likely not go back the third time.

As a young Korean-American living in Brookyln I too had similar experiences.......I took several of my friends from college who were in town.....I was so embarrassed that I took them here....First the service...or the lack of it....Second the Food...not only is the portions small, it has no flavor, we ordered the Shabu, the portion was so small that I had to ask the waitress twice if it was the correct portion, some of my friends flew in from Calif., and they could not believe how a korean restaurant could mess up on the Korean Staple of Kimchi, the only posititve if you could call it is the Beer selection, I think the manager should conentrate more about the quality & quantity of the food instead on their Beer selection,

The food reminded me of the Korean Hospital food I had when I was in Korea, if you want good Beer selection try it, but I would not waste my money on the food or the service. very disappointed

dear "therapist"

what I find funny is that you don't address the issues that I had with the restaurant.

I certainly don't expect "3 star service" as you say. What I do expect is if the waitress takes my order for a salad that was advertised as free with lunch, that I actually get the salad. And if for some reason there is a problem with serving a salad, tell me upfront instead of just not serving it at all because they are "chopping the lettuce" for an hour. That is what I call basic service and dokebi lacked "basic service" NOT 3 star service.

And you keep saying that I want some large meal. I want a REGULAR sized meal. not an appetizer sized meal as an entree. There are two standard sized bowls that every Korean restaurant uses for its soups, a larger one used for entrees and a smaller one used mostly as a free service. I was served my entree in an appetizer sized dish.

I don't expect to fill a BMW with 5 bucks at a gas station, that analogy is absurd. I expect to pay what they advertise. If they say that 87 is 3 bucks a gallon, I expect exactly that, nothing less and nothing more.

And at restaurants, I expect to be served what I order and I expect entrees to not be the size of an appetizer.

And I'm not some competitor, I'm a regular guy who's lived in the northside for the past 3 years.

I'll be the first to admit that my experience might not be reflective of the standard level of service there. But my experience was indeed horrible, I'm not being dramatic, and any rational diner would agree with me had they been in my shoes. Obviously, the "regulars" that you mention have had a different experience. I wish I had that experience when I went there. Unfortunately, I did not. I can honestly say that it was the worst dining experience I've had in recent memory.

If you decide to respond, quit your feeble attempts at comedy and address the issues that I mentioned.

this is getting really funny.

listen, i don't know the owner well enough to call him a friend and i certainly don't want to speak on his behalf. but please, the worst dining experience in your life??? it's you that has a warped sense of reality. so you spent 10 bucks in a place and didn't get the 3 star service you think you paid for and the huge amount of food you expected for free. i suppose if you went to a korean gas station you'd expect to get your BMW tank filled up for 5 bucks??? seriously, listen to yourself.

the place has great food and the place is packed with regulars every night. you think we go there regularly because we are all looking for the worst dining experience of our whole lives? listen if you have a bone to pick with him or something go talk to him, instead of trying to trash the guys place with dramatic exagerations of you bad experience there.

and if you want to get into conspiracy theories, maybe you are one of his competitors or a friend there of, and want to trash dokebi...

either way this is the end of our session, and if you want another session it'll cost you 10 bucks for 50 hours of therapy (korean of course).

Trust me, I'm not letting it consume me with anger. I'm just letting the williamsburg community know about my terrible dining experience there.

I paid money for a subpar meal that did not come close to making me full and where the waitress was rude and I was not served a salad which was ordered and was not offered a subsititute or even given an apology. I have the right to let my community know about it.

If you are indeed a friend of the owner, you should focus your efforts on informing him of the shortcomings of his establishment rather than trying to belittle and insult me on a forum.

I support Korean owned businesses and I want to see them succeed. But you have to earn it. My experience was truly so awful that I felt compelled to inform the community about it. Secondly, the owner should want to hear this kind of feedback so that he knows what to improve. I could have not posted, but I would have still told people in my immediate cirle about it. That's what people do after they go to a new restaurant, it's called word of mouth. And judging by the numerous other negative reviews a lot of other people have also had a bad experience dining there and I'm sure they told their friends and neighbors about it.

I don't know if you were instructed by the owner to respond like this, but the immaturity reflected in your posts destroys your credibility and makes it look like Dokebi is trying to silence and discredit someone who is giving their account of their experience at your restaurant.

hahaha !!!
you really should go see a shrink...

so, what i usually do when i hate a place as much as you do, i simply don't go there anymore. i don't proceed to go on a tirade about it and let it consume me with anger...

dude! take a valium and go down some large amount of soon dubu (on 32nd street).

hahaha!!!

It's not that I find 32nd St. more fun. It is not about the vibe. I'll tell you what it is about:

The portions were ridiculously small, the food was horrible and the service was atrocious.

Who serves soontubu entree in that mini appetizer bowl? That is ridiculous and something I have never seen in my life.

And the waitress tells me that the salad is going to be delayed because they are "chopping the lettuce" and 30 minutes later, after I finished the meal and ask about the salad, she tells me that they are still chopping? That is inexcusable.

I personally don't care much about the vibe. I care about quality of food, portion size and service. And this place was horrible on all 3 accounts.

that korean american got some anger issues. lol.

i'm also a korean american. i'm a regular at dokebi and love the place for what it is. it's a shabu-shabu and BBQ restaurant. they've got pretty decent stuff all around. but having gotten to know the owner, i know that they are not trying to be a k-town restaurant. they are just trying to do good honest food using the grills and the best ingredients possible ( they don't drown the food in MSG like all the other korean restaurants). they also don't want the dining experience to be all about the free pickles. the owner has told me that one of the few complaints people have is that they are not doing exactly what the koreatown restaurants are doing... i for one am glad to be eating and drinking there on a weekly basis... i for one, don't really feel like hanging out at those korean restaurants very often.
and what i do know is that there are tons of regulars, korean and non koreans, who love this place. dokebi has become one of the staples of the neighborhood and we thank them for opening here.
for those of you who prefer to go to 32nd street, please go there... if you find it more fun than dokebi, you're probably better suited for hanging out in k-town.

Usually, when craving bbq this is my first place to go when I dont want to go into the city. When they first opened and it was all korean staff service was excellent and as expected. But, since the hire of non korean waitresses the food service is way out of wack. Um nice to have my beef ready to cook without getting the sides or rice first and wheres that salad at. I didnt even bother asking for it.
So i do the walk by and make sure whos waitressing. Otherwise i save my cash for Snacky or M shangai.