bornga

i never thought i’d give a 5 star to any korean bbq place but i have now. the quality and freshness of the meat is top here - it was so good i forgot to take a photo of of any food. the service was quick and efficient and the overall environment was very pleasant and spacious - normally you can smell kbbq stores a block away but you couldn’t really smell it at the store.

the big surprise was the price which was very reasonable for the amount of food and soju we ordered.

highly recommended!

have been going to bornga for a while. recognised a progressive decline in the quality of food. definitely understand considering how busy they are and how popular they are by non-korean customers. easy to take shortcuts. however today was a real disappointment. meat was very tough and our comments we thoroughly ignored. understand quality control of this franchise is difficult considering lack of overseas travel. disappointing.

자주 다니는 고깃집이지만 죄송하지만 다시 가기 힘든 집인 것 같아요. 한국음식이 너무나도 그리워서 갔지만 고기질이랑 매니저서비스가 너무 실망적이었어요. 추천 하는 한국식당이지만 다시 그렇게 하기엔 힘들 것 같습니다. 코로나 시대에 해외 여행이 불가능해서 quality control 힘든거 알지만 너무 심하게 떨어진거 같아요. 이렇게 하실거면 맛난 우삼겹만 파세요. 백종원 대표님 메뉴 정리 하시는게 맞는 것 같습니다.

all the meat was super premium cuts. officially my new favourite kbbq location. need to come back and pay attention to what i was eating but ordered a bit of everything and it was all super soft and delicious. the interior is super new and clean as well. try it before it becomes like every other kbbq joint.

love the vibe of the place. meat was of good quality and fresh and love that there are different kinds of salads you can wrap your meat in. also had the chance to try the seafood pancake

used to be the best korean restaurant in my mind before this horrible experience. the food taste way worse than how it used to be and the portion shrank badly which was understandable considering the current situation.
the staff tried so many ways to kick us out when we still had 40min to eat: cleaning the dishes that were packed with food; taking the plate and the charcoal away when there was still meat on top; putting the bill on the table when we still have 30min to order and eat...the attitude was rude and arrogant. they have chosen the worst way to remind the customers about the time limit which was extremely annoying. we tried to complain but obviously the manager didn’t care at all!
actually i have written a much longer comment but got deleted as i clicked a wrong button. i don’t want to waste my time on this disappointing experience anymore, but still want to get other customers to know the way you will be treated if you choose to go. worst experience ever for dining outside and will never come back again for sure. this is not the place you want to choose especially when you are treating your business partners or clients, you will be kicked it out half way.

very impressed with bornga as a high-quality korean bbq in sydney. i think it's beaten 678 as my new favourite. i've attempted to link my review from my blog - hopefully that works!

definitely would recommend the wagyu kkot sal and haemul pajeon (seafood pancake). what's more, everything is very well thought out, e.g different grills for beef and pork, as well as providing a piece of fat for the pork to oil up the grill to prevent sticking.

taste: 4.5/5
value: 4.5/5 - quite expensive but the attentive service makes up for it.

good food at a reasonable price with a clean setting and generally happy atmosphere. nice well lit dining area too

i’ve never left a bad review in my life but i had to share my latest experience here - i have been here multiple times pre-quarantine, and it was the place i recommended everyone. however, last night both the food and customer service was so atrocious i probably will never be back again. perhaps there has been a change in management and standards have dropped?

firstly the overall portion sizes of the food have decreased, but we tried to understand as it’s a hard time for businesses. however, as you can see in the photo, we paid $22 for a few slabs of complete fat that was riddled down to nothing once cooked. confused as to how they saw those “meat” slices as being acceptable to serve to customers?

half our order was missing and despite us asking multiple times about the status our dishes, they asked if we were done eating and wanted to clear the table instead?? they checked their mobile screens and could see we still had meat dishes to receive, but they wanted to remove our grill completely (the fire itself, not just the plating).

also very strangely, we ordered 4 bowls of rice and they gave us 8?? and when we let them know, they questioned us multiple times about our order before taking them away???

left with a very bad taste in our mouths especially after paying $150 for such a disappointing meal... also, it was not a lost-in-translation situation as i speak fluent korean lol

저번에 몇번 왔을때는 참 서비스도 좋고 음식 양도 좋았었는데... 이번엔 아주 실망이에요. 삼겹살은 전채가 지방이고 겨우 몇 조각만 나오고.. 주문한 음식 반은 매번 물어봐야지 나오네요. 참 실망이에요 주인이 바꼈나요?

higher than average korean bbq level.
the upstair space is quiet big.
also green onion impressed me, obsessed eating with meat together.

food was great but service was poor my girlfriend and i were sitting together and 15 minutes before leaving they tell us to sit opposite each other due to the covid-19 pandemic, while 2 other couples were sitting together but they continued to serve them and had not informed them to sit separately only because they were korean and spoke korean. we received poor service just because we weren’t korean which is why i believe they deserve 3 stars.

having loved bornga in melbourne, i just had to try it out in sydney to see if the quality and flavours were up to par... and god was it up to par.

ordering the recommended beef, pork belly and a side of kimchi soup, i was left full and very content. bornga has such a large range of complimentary side dishes, without compromising on the flavour and quality of the meats. the beef and pork belly wrapped in the lettuce was an exquisite and juicy taste whilst the soup warmed my soul and brought the food down well.

high quality food as always at bornga, with stunning korean bbq ambience. really enjoyable experience.

food: 4/5
service: 3.5/5
ambience: 5/5
value: 4/5

overall: 4/5

this is a really nice korean bbq restaurant. the signature dish is the beef loin which is really tender and delicious (just don’t over-grill it!). the soy bean paste stew and japchae were also really good and flavourful dishes. the seafood pancake was okay but a bit thick and not as crispy as i would have liked. overall, great meal and happy to go back!

we decided to give this place a go since reading a lot of positive reviews, especially around the best new eateries of 2019.

definitely go for the bbq meats, we had the wagyu beef and pork belly. both un-marinated, just bbq straight so that the natural flavour of the meat is all there to savour. 100% approve. the stir fry glass noodle is not bad either with just the right amount of sesame oil fragrance!

what we didn’t like was the seafood pancake which was rather more soft and gooey compared to others we have tried. personally we like them a little more crispy and dried up!

side dishes are fair in terms of quality and quantity.

definitely will be back but just would not order the seafood pancake. not sure but i could have sworn i saw the menu here had fried chicken and the chap che, potato noodle in dark sauces, but wasn’t on the menu when we were there last sat. anyway no harm done, we had set out hearts on bbq already by then.

one of best korean bbq restaurant in sydney. staff is so friendly. you should try if you like a korean bbq. highly recommended.