09 Nov Upscale Korean BBQ Comes to Culver City at Hanjip

Korean BBQ has come to the westside! Located in Culver City, on Main Street next to The Wallace, Hanjip Korean BBQ is the result of partners Stephane Bombet (Terrine, Viviane) and Francois Renaud (Terrine) and Chef Chris Oh (Seoul Sausage).

Inside, the decor is modern and eye catching. The walls, as well as the ventilation systems above each table, are covered with black and white geometric lines.

Korean BBQ is meant to be shared with friends. While you can sit at a table for two or four people, the booths and round tables in the center are better for parties of six. With the amount of food you will probably eat, the bigger the group, the better!

As soon as we sat, we were served an array of banchan. Fish cakes, kim chi, potato salad, spicy cucumber and bean sprouts are some of the banchan. The standout was the crispy octopus banchan.

The menu offers a selection of prime beef (marinated and plain boneless short rib, ribeye, skirt steak and sliced brisket) as well as pork (marinated and plain pork belly, marinated pork shoulder and pork neck/jowl). The beef and pork options range between $23-$39 each but in both categories, it is possible to order a beef or pork combo which might be the best option as you get three or four different styles for a good price [$57 (regular) / $89 (large) for beef and $47 (regular) and $76 (large) for pork].

Beyond the beef and pork, there is a section entitled Chef’s Cuts which include beef tongue, spiced lamb, intestines, hamachi collar, baby octopus and carabineros prawns. The octopus is spicy and sweet and the prawns come from Spain and are the largest you have ever seen. They are delicious but pricey at $88 for 3.

The big showstopper is the dry-aged tomahawk steak with foie gras butter.

When the meat comes to the table, the server does all of the cooking. And, when you pick the bite size pieces off the grill, you can dip them in the truffle salt and sesame oil that each person has next to them.