11/05/09

cold food, weird smells....

by mmi79

I heard good things about this place before i went.....I love ethnic food, and have been to other korean restaurants before and really enjoyed it. My food came kind of cold and the portion was small.....For what it is it seems overpriced, i think they see themselves as a fancy restaurant and that's why they overcharge. It smelled funny in there too....Too bad. Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime.

07/28/09

Korean food for White People

by aleeka

First off, I'm white. Secondly, I LOVE ethnic food. PLEASE proprietors of ethnic food, don't dumb-down your cultural experience for white people. Give them a chance to rise up to meet your cuisine!

Secondly, the braised cod fish with radishes was one of the best I've ever tasted. Really it was delightful. Could have been a bit more spicy, but the overall freshness of the fish and flavor of the sauce were excellent. For the price, I expected enough servings for at least two AND a hearty banchan.

What was disappointing was there was a pathetic amount of banchan (all the little dishes of goodness!!) There wasn't enough variety, it was boring in flavor, and they CHARGE for them!! Banchan is usually included as part of the meal and is a huge part of a Korean dining experience! Charging for Banchan is like charging for ketchup or mustard!

I give you two stars because the braised cod was so good. But this diner will continue hiking it out to Beaverton where there's ample delicious Korean eateries who don't charge extra for banchan! So what if most the places don't have English speaking wait staff, it has just made me learn more Korean.

• Pros: the staff speak English so they can answer questions
• Cons: the food is for white people tastes, not traditional korean

05/11/09

Favorite

by brushfire0

I LOVE Bewons, It's widely known among my friends that if you want to cheer me up you take me there.

I eat there a lot. If the menu seems pricy you can get a better deal if you choose to go at lunch.

It's not extremely accurate Korean, I'm sure it's been Americanized for our palate. But it doesn't make it any less of a wonderful meal, and there are many flavors that Americans have never tried before.

I recommend the japchae and bulgogi for beginners. The meal comes with banchan which are like sides only there are a lot of them and they come served on little plates. Don't be afraid of the kimchi or the squid!

• Pros: Food, atmosphere, service
• Cons: Very small space

04/08/08

Fine Korean Cuisine

by pdxfoodie34

My husband and I consider ourselves to be quite the foodies. We eat out often and have even eaten at the best establishments throughout the world including Michelin rated restaurants in Paris, Rome, Beijing , Tokyo, New york, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Hong Kong to name a few. I am also a Korean- American myself and I consider a restaurant like Bewon to be a rare find for a Korean establishment outside of Korea. The service is impeccable. The atmosphere is classy, and the presentation of food is beautiful. For those wanting a typical, low grade, smelly, and rude customer service that is so prevalent among Korean restaurants here in the U.S., I would recommend those restaurants in Beaverton where quantity overrides quality. We were completely full after eating our 8 course meal which I highly recommend. Contrary to what is described below, price was very reasonable for what we ordered. My 8 course meal was $25 per person. My food at Best Teriyaki is $8. What do you think? Not bad at all.

• Pros: Atmosphere, Service, parking
• Cons: none

08/04/07

Overrated - overpriced

by tuzigoot

White table cloths and nice presentation don't really make up for good but overpriced food. Our 2 Korean guests said it was overrated and overpriced and offered to take us to a better mom and pop in Beaverton.

05/22/07

Trust Me I'm Korean

by kingdong2007

I'm Korean, lived in LA for past 10 years. I KNOW good Korean food. I understand if you are new to Korean cuisine that this may be a user friendly forray into what can be at times intimidating adventures into sometimes crazily pressured broken english speaking environs of a typical Korean restaurant. There are certain advantages to this restaurant: relatively proficient english, rather easily accessible, decor and atmosphere is not insulting, service is marginally acceptable. But that's where it ends. If you think this is fusion, you are just plain wrong. It is just a ruse, a disguise at sophistication by serving smaller (delicate? as some of you may prefer to say it) portions. I realize that their lease space may dictate slightly higher prices but 14 bucks for BiBimBap?! A little sprinkle of vegetables and bits of meat (arranged delicately) with a lump of fairly dry rice? (My wife literally had to cover her mouth as not to cause a scene, to stop her self from howling with laughter) By the way you could make that dish for about $1 and it probably would taste better. Daegoo Jorim typically tends to be pricey as a mountain of fresh fish (daegoo) assault your senses in a typically good Korean restaurant. But of course we were presented with a previously frozen rather bland small specimen easily forgotten. The rest of the two dishes were very forgettable (literally I've forgotten but I'm sure it was bulgoki or some meat dish and we usually get pa jun) and again pricey. Do they think this clever attempt to bolster the bottom line by disguising this mockery of korean food as a foo foo fancy cuisine will fool anyone? Maybe in Portland. Portlanders, fancy Korean is an oxymoron. There is only good value beltloosening Korean,whether you are in Seoul, LA, SF, NY. All the frilly stuff aside,for Korean food all that matters is how fresh the fish or meat, how good the seasoning, how good the BahnChahn (that's how you say it). In those categories BeWon is a poser.

• Pros: acceptable service, english speaking staff, easily accessible
• Cons: food

03/27/06

The BEST

by judostar

This is my favorite restaurant in Portland. The food is outstanding, so is the service. Whenever we have guests in town, we take them to Bewon-nobody's been disappointed. Try the price fix menu-it's fun & a good value!

• Pros: tasty, clean, good service
• Cons: none

02/19/06

Creative Korean

by thorn988

We went with the 8-course prix fixe meal with wine pairing. Each course got better and better. The wine pairings were always good - sometimes surprisingly so. We both agreed that the entree was the least impressive (bulgogi and dak galbi - spicy chicken), but the accompaniments were outstanding. One surprising inclusion was the non-spicy kimchee. I know it sounds wrong, but it was interesting. Watch out for the spicy calimary - it will ignite your taste buds! Our favorite part was the sweet potato glass noodles: a culinary delight that included mushrooms, spinach, and onions with the noodles. A must-taste experience while in the Portland area!

• Pros: unique, cozy, knowledgeable service
• Cons: difficult parking, entry let cold air in

12/19/05

A great dining experience

by twirlthefork

My husband and I dined at Bewon on a recent Saturday evening. The service was beyond excellent. The starters: sweet potato noodles and seafood pancake were so tasty. The seafood pancake, made with egg, had a light crispy crust and was really smooth and creamy on the inside. The seafood was a little overdone for my taste, but still tasted good. The Bibimbap and the short ribs were also right on the money. We will definitely be back!

• Pros: Service, Great Food, Cleanliness

08/01/05

Excellent Korean cuisine

by pingsin

We really enjoyed the eight-course dinner, although the portions were smallish. They seem to be authentic Korean cuisine, but since we are non-Korean, take this with a grain of salt.