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I've been a fan of Woo Lae Oak for over 20 years. I discovered them when they first opened in midtown. The food was great then and it still is. Although, the prices did soar esp. after opening in Soho. That's expected-afterall it is Manhattan and in a very trendy part of town. I can honestly say I have never been dissappointed. I have always had great food and service. And the waiters are pretty hot, too, esp.in Soho. Like any popular restaurant try to avoid peak times and busy days and calm down. If U get a lousy waiter maybe U were a difficult customer.

This is the best Korean BBQ restaurant around. Great atmosphere & overall good time. The portions are very generous, the food is very fresh and prepared well, and the drinks are also awesome. I highly recommend this restaurant, great for all size groups.

A date took me here and i was so pleasantly surprised. Besides having to wait a half hour even though he made a reservation, the food was great, light, healthy, and just the right balance of adventurous and tasty. The service was very good... didn't take our plates away too quickly, let us talk and move as slow as we wanted. I will totally bring my girlfriends here on a girls night! I'm so happy to have found a new place!

Went here last night with a group of friends. The place looks nice and that's about the only positive attribute for this place. Upon learning the only beverage our table would be consuming would be H20, our smiling waiter became unhappy, aloof, and obnoxious. Considering this place spends thousands of dollars in bathroom fixtures, you would think they would have menus that are legible. Unfortunately, they are so old that the printed ink has been worn off. We ordered a variety of appetizers and entrees with a couple of us ordering Bi Bim Bop. Having a penchant for good cuisine, I tried a bite of everyone's meal and in my opinion the food was just ok. The scallion pancakes appeared to be house made (I believe a lot of restaurants import frozen pancakes from Asia) but it tasted more like an omelette than the typical scallion pancake. This restaurant is good if you care more about the ambiance and scene than the food. If you like throwing away money while seeing other wealthy individuals do the same, then this is a decent place to do some sake bombs to make the mediocre food taste better and calm your nerves to deal with the obnoxious waiters.

My husband and I went to dinner here a few weeks ago and had a great experience! The service was very good, atmosphere fun, and the Korean BBQ was awesome. Such a great place for large or small groups. Would highly recommend!

Very interesting fusion kinda menu, though not entirely Korean. I was most pleased and surprised in a good way by the appetizers: some combinations were very clever and good to the palate (scallops, shrimp and beef roll, eel). Excellent presentation of the appetizers. Some of the main dishes were equally wonderful (e.g., black cod and beef & pumpkin stew; the scallops less so). The BBQ (filet mignon and prime rib) was underwhelming, as was the rice and vegetables bowl we ordered. Most of the servers were ok, though one continued steering us toward the more expensive sake and white wine. Also, at some point when they brought out some kind of salad and small pickles, I asked what they go with -- are they to be had with the BBQ or later/before, almost a cultural question -- and the guy kept saying: "It's free, it's free!" Kinda out of line in a restaurant that sees itself as a chic location. My biggest grievance really was that when 5 out of 6 of our company had arrived, they still wouldn't let us sit at a table. Shockingly, the restaurant was not even full since our reservation was for 9.30pm. The bar is kind of in the foyer and not pleasant to sit at as you wait. I thought this was unnecessary. As I said, it's an interesting place, but I can't say it knocked my socks off. And yes, it is faily expensive.

Agree with everything already written. Food is pretty good, but the service ruins the experience. The waiter was completely short, and acted like he didn't have time to answer any of our questions. They served us the stuff that comes with the bbq before our app, and then got annoyed when we asked for new rice because it got cold by the time we were ready to eat it. Nobody took the time to recommend cook times for any of the food, and we felt rushed. I would not recommend this place to anyone.