stone bowl korean restaurant

just north of average. the atmosphere of the restaurant is calming, modern asian and welcoming. the friendly staff provides solid service. the food is good, not the best, closer to average. we've eaten there several times and it just floors me that that they don't bring out kimchi right away. both times the we didnt finish the banchans; we didn't care for the selections, like potato salad (i'm 100% korean and pretty much eat everything). we had the bibimbap in the stone bowl - ehhh, it was ok. spicy pork was good and also had the kimchi stew which was tasty but to a korean it's nothing great. the seafood pancake on the other hand is very tasty - highly recommend it! overall, we thought our meals were ok to good; i'd go back again to try the other dishes but our party of 6 decided that so far the other korean place is better.

food was very good, our waitress was not.... as first time diners at this restaurant , it took a little time to decide on our meals. our waitress did not come back after our drinks were delivered to our table, until the bill was paid . she had a friend that came in and she turned her back to us (and several other of her tables), and talked to her for at least 30 minutes. after 10-15 minutes another wonderful waitress came over, explained the specials, took our orders, checked to see if we needed anything. when we received the bill , we paid, and i assumed the dark haired waitress who tended to us would receive the tip, but- whoosh- here came the girl we were originally with and grabbed the check. what could have been a delightful evening with great food, became very annoying. where is the manager... why do they let the other girl shirk her tables, and make customers wait. i wish i had made sure that the dark haired waitress had gotten the tip. at that point i was too mad.... the restaurant could be run so much better!

great food and service.. this is one of my fav. restaurants in milwuakee. the staff is always friendly and the food is great.

we've been here twice, and have left as happy customers both times. we were hesitant to try this restaurant due to the bad reviews of service, but i'm glad we decided to give it a try. the bulgogi stonebowl is our must have item. service both times has been good. we'll keep coming back for the stonebowls.

service ruins all. i can forgive that the food was....a bit off. but, when the service is as bad as it was when i visited i don't see any reason to ever come back when asheville is filled with better options for food and service.

what no kimchi. second time at the restaurant. tried some new dishes but was surprised that a korean restaurant did not serve a side dish of kimchi. kimchi is a staple food in korea. first ever restaurant to do so. just amazing that they would charge extra for something that basic. seems like a lot of extra charges for many things. hope they survive???

valentine day dinner. we arrived early (5:30) but without a reservation. our waitress found us a table immediately (the hostess was busy) and welcomed us without doing that obnoxious, "hi, my name is _______ and i'll be..."

the menu was very clear and concise which was appreciated as we were unfamiliar with korean fare. we were soon brought two small servings of a seaweed soup and our order taken. then three small sides were brought while we waited for our bibimbap--a veggie and a beef.

our bibimbap was served in a wonderfully hot, stone bowl which sizzled the rice and warmed the rest of the dish. it was fine.

our waitress made the meal. she was pleasant and patient even though the restaurant was quickly filling up.

we will return.

excellent food, really nice staff. go get yourself some korean food!

delicious! food comes hot and quickly! we enjoyed our bibimbap and spicy pork soup! i love korean food and finally i don't have to drive all the way to hmart/assi if i have a craving. :) the staff was welcoming and attentive. banchan and soup also refilled! i loved the kpop music too! i'll be there again soon and and with more friends!

hot box. while i have had korean food before i had never had a bibimbap in a stone bowl. i ordered the sliced beef version. when the server brought it out he explained what everything was, how to mix it, etc. i got to work. there was very little beef which, considering i paid $15 for this dish, was somewhat disappointing. one of the main problems i had was that the food, due to the heat of the stone bowl, continued to get hotter and hotter. at one point the food had become so hot that i couldnt eat it. i picked at it sparingly for about 10 minutes until it was cooled down enough to enjoy. even though i stirred things around quite a bit, much of my rice ended up getting burnt, not sure if thats part of the scheme or not. in the end the whole experience just kind of fell flat. i definitely feel your paying a few bucks extra for the novelty of the bowl and that was kind of irritating. the wife had the chicken bento box and pretty much felt the same way. it wasnt bad, i was just kind of whatever. for $30 (before tip) i was expecting something a little more memorable. just not our cup of tea i guess.

i tried this restaurant for lunch to day and for the most part the review is good. i was greated by a friendly waiter who took some time to make some suggestions. i went with the 9$ lunch box with a glazed salmon. the samon was cooked well and served at the right temp. the glaze was very nice and there was just enough of it. the lunch came with two little fried dumplings which also had a nice flavor. now the bad... the rice was hard and a little cold like it had been reheated from the night before the cucumber salad was also a left over because they had started to loose shape and where soggy and the small potatos they served were luke warm.... i liked the food but wouldn't make a special trip back

service was horrible. as i have come to really enjoy the food at stone bowl, the service has went to the dogs. we went for lunch and after waiting for at least 10 minutes for them to take our order, we waited another 45 minutes for the food to come out. we ordered our usuals, chicken stone bowl, kim chi chigae and a tofu stone bowl. the chicken stone bowl was delivered luke warm and nothing about it said "sizzling pot". when the waitress was finally snagged (because she never came back to check on us) we told her of the problem with the chicken stone bowl and all she said was "sorry". long story short, she could have handled that situation differently. the kin chi chigae was good as usual however, i will now think twice before going during lunch because the service and wait time for for delivery was totally unacceptable.


-----12 aug, 2013-----

next to great. being the korean food connoisseur that i am, i have to say that the dishes that i have had at stone bowl are near perfect. the kim chee chigae was flavorful and spicy and had both rice cakes and tofu! just like mom used to make. the stone bowls come out piping hot and full of the wonderful korean vegetable medley i would expect and fried egg on top. they offer a lunch portion as well as a dinner portion on the kin chee chigae which is nice. the only negative thing i would have to say is that the wait staff what somewhat aloof because i ordered to lunch portion of the kimchee chigae and was brought the dinner portion and when i questioned the bill, she snidely said, you didn't specify lunch, although i was there for lunch and everyone else i was with ordered the lunch specials. i could have done without that snide remark. anyway, the food was great.

i am a picky corean when it comes to choose a restaurant, and this place is where i can eat with some wows and ahs. very good. the only thing is that their rice is not sticky and tasteless. the brown rice is absolutely terrible. really hard and dry. they don't know how to cook brown rice. side dishes and main dishes are excellent.

i enjoyed lunch, not a raving fan. we've been meaning to try the stone bowl korean place for some time and finally got around to having lunch there today.

it was a pleasant meal, and i'd go back for dinner, though nothing we had really left me thinking, "i can't wait to go back tomorrow."

the best dish we had was the deep fried calamari ($6) -- basically a tempura-style appetizer. it was excellent. the two of us both had the lunch boxes ($9), a main dish with a couple of side dishes, kim chi, dumplings, white or brown rice and soup. i had the bul go gi, marinated sliced beef, and my spouse the deep fried shrimp.

both were okay, though the fried shrimp and vegetables were too heavily breaded, not like the tempura-style squid.

i take points off because the restaurant doesn't have any korean beer, just three japanese beers, a few local brews and some regular mass beers.

though the stone bowl is in a little strip center on hendersonville road, the atmosphere and decor were pleasant, low-key and tasteful. i'd say there were about a 14 or 15 people there for lunch, about one-third full.

our check came to about $30 before tip, with one appetizer, one beer and two lunch specials. dinner would probably run $60 or $70.

one of the co-owners is opening another korean restaurant in downtown asheville this summer. although i'm not raving about this spot, asheville needs all the asian restaurants it can get, so i'm going to do my little part to suport the stone bowl and its new sister place.

myself and two “never-beens” had dinner at stone bowl last week. in a small strip mall at 1987 hendersonville rd, (south) asheville, nc, it’s easy to miss. whatever you do, don’t miss it! korean cuisine is well-known by some, but is new to many in the carolinas. stone bowl staff are exceptionally friendly and more than willing to describe various dishes and explain how things work. you’ll know you’re eating korean when the  banchan (side dishes) arrive at your table. these can be few or many, and are meant to be shared throughout the meal. some restaurants will re-fill if needed. i didn’t think to ask our server if stone bowl does this. there are so many different kinds of banchan, restaurants change them out every now and then. we had: top left to right: : potatoes with sweet glaze, traditional kimchi (cabbage & radish), and pan-fried tofu bottom left to right : cucumber kimchi, bean sprouts, pickled radish (one of my faves), and seaweed salad. i love their various namesake dishes – s