Great food, great experience
Written: Jan 29 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good food, great variety, grill-in-table is fun
Cons: No "ambiance" to speak of, loud
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| calvarez's Full Review: Brother's Restaurant |
Whether you're a devotee of Korean food or you can't tell kimchee from a chopstick, you'll enjoy your evening at Brothers Restaurant. This modest-looking Korean barbeque restaurant is popular enough to warrant a Brothers #2 just a block down. Both restaurants are usually full to capacity, but this dinner will be worth your wait.
Brothers does "cook it at your table" barbeque -- the tables have little sunken grills built into them, and as soon as you've ordered and gotten your tea, someone will come around with tongs and place the hot coals in your grill to begin warming. This is a style of dining that may be familiar to San Francisco locals, but out-of-towners and kids will find it a unique treat.
Unless you have a craving for a specific food, skip most of the menu and order the Brothers Dinner for 4, 6, or 8. These dinners include everything you want, plus some things you may not recognize if you're not Korean. They come with a lot of food, so a 5 person party will have plenty with the dinner for 4!
You'll start off with rice and tea, and about a dozen small bowls with kimchee (spicy pickled cabbage), fish, cabbage, sprouts, seaweed, and other pickled vegetables. These small dishes are perfect for letting people at the table try small amounts of new foods. Be ready to scoot those bowls over to make more room for the plates of vegetable and shrimp tempura, clear noodles and beef, and the marinated beef and pork. About halfway through your meal, the grill will be hot enough to start cooking the meat, and it will be the highlight of the dinner. The beef is spicy and tender, and the pork is sweet barbeque. These flavors will appeal to even the pickiest eater.
I'm a longtime fan of various Asian cuisines, but Brothers also earned raves from visiting relatives who had never had Korean food before, including young children. There's so much food, in so much variety, that there will be something for everyone. My relatives may have decided that kimchee "must be an acquired taste", but they were surprised to find that they loved the tempura and pickled vegetables.
Korean food fans: I've had better tempura, and the noodles and beef are good but not exceptional. The meat is excellent, and the sheer spread of food more than compensates for the few lackings.
The decor in the Brothers Restaurants isn't going to impress any restaurant critics; it's strictly utilitarian, with diner-style tables and chairs. The restaurant itself is loud and constantly bustling, good for large groups, and kid-friendly. The Brothers dinners run about $20 per person ($80 for the 4-person, etc.), and all but the biggest appetites will have leftovers to bring home.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
calvarez
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Member: Cindy Alvarez
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 39 members
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