Ong Gie

So authentic, lovely taste with a variation of typologies! Generally saying I would defo go back again!

Been here a few times and never been disappointed. Bibimbap is a must try! best bibimbap ever! Been to Korea 2 occasions and their foods are even better than those in Korea, especially Bulgigi and other stews are stunning!
Other dishes were all great too, really authentic! Staffs are all friendly and attentive. What more amazes me is the cleanest toilet! My recommendation is «go this place and you won’t be disappointed!»

Bad! Fake Korean food. The taste looks like Chinese food. The waitress all are Chinese.

Had a great time here yesterday evening with a large group of friends. The vegetarian options were excellent, and the service was excellent.

Best Korean food I’ve had in years!
As a U.S. Marine, I spent a LOT of time in Korea. I have enjoyed Korean cuisine in Chicago, San Francisco and the Washington D.C. area, but this knocked my socks off.
We had Kun Mando to start, the assorted Banchan (3x Kimchee side dishes) & Spinach, then a Spicy Tofu soup and Pork with Kimchee as Mains. Also, a pot of barley tea and a bottle of Soju to drink. 52£.
Left like a happy, stuffed sausage!

I am not sure what to make of this restaurant… It is definitely very clean, has nice service, and the food is well seasoned. However, this is the first Korean restaurant I have ever been to where you have to order all separate side dishes (panchan) and the rice is even separate… We barely had enough to eat. This is also my first experience with a Korean restaurant in the UK, so maybe things are done differently — who knows… I recommend it for the flavors.

I very much enjoyed our visit to Ong Gie.
As a (sort of) new comer to Korean food I didn’t know what to expect but figured we should go for gold with Korean spiced chicken, kimchi pork and sides of kimchi, bean sprouts and rice. We left the barbecue for another visit.
The food was lovely. The veg was all fresh and the meat wasn’t the best cuts but was soft and tender. We ordered tea to go with our main meal and despite being busy the staff remembered to pop by with a refill of hot water about half way through. For desert I had the Ong Gie Mama which was delicious! Three different deserts on one plate, all lovely.
The layout is a wee bit cramped, but not crazily so. We fit in but we could have been more comfortable. I can see why there is so many tables as the place was packed and more people kept arriving as we ate. The staff here are absolute gems, they’re really careful to make sure you’re being looked after.
I would say book ahead, we didn’t but neither did many people who came in and though the staff did their best some people had to return later.
I’ll be back soon!

I’ve been trying to get in here for ages, usually last minute when they’ve had no space, so I was delighted to squeeze in early one night this week. We were shocked and sad to find Shilla closed a couple of weeks ago and hoped to replace it with another good Korean restaurant…
The service was gruff — not welcoming and warm but not rude, just mechanical. We later realised this was a result of the team (of 4 or 5 including chefs) awaiting a large tour group and then focussing all their attention on it. Must have been important people as we had to endure the waiter pacing up and down for 45 mins before they got there, never once asking if we were ok, and then were ignored on the group’s arrival until we got the bill.
The starters were ok but nothing special; crab stick pancake & deep fried chicken. The chicken had 2 chillies beside it on the menu and was not at all spicy. We were under-​impressed from the start. More than half of mains were something with kimchi, so if you don’t like fermented cabbage you’re in trouble!
We had a pork and kimchi with rice and a beef bibimbap, with a side of kimchi. The pork was ok but may not have actually been belly. Not much meat either… My bibimbap stone bowl was so hot that over 20 minutes after it was put in front of me it was CONSTANTLY still cooking everythin in the bowl. Consequently the rice at the bottom was stuck to the bottom an inch thru and essentially all burned. It was 3 chilli spicy, apparently, but not AT ALL SPICY. I mixed the tiny amount of veg and egg yolk with the rice an ended upwith a stodgy, burned, tasteless, mess of a dish. I craved a pot of broth to add or something…4 shreds of beef and adding some of the kimchi side improved it marginally but i left almost alll of it as it was inedible and completely unappetising.
No one asked if our meal was ok. It was still mostly on the table as we paid, without query, and, if I’m honest, I was depressed all night long after it. What a let down and waste of time.

Best Korean in town. Food is great (prawns in chef’s special sauce being my fav) and the owner is very nice.

Yum yum! Came here with my daughter for lunch one Friday, as with partner away on holiday we had a craving for some Asian cuisine and especially a bit of Kimichi (read: my daughter had been through my limited selection of home cooking expertise twice and had tears in her eyes when I mentioned frozen pizza… again!)
Having spotted the restaurant being fitted out one day previously when walking back from the meadows, it struck me as a great solution to our problem and desire for some good food.
Started off with some dumplings and Korean pancakes which were the tastiest starters I can remember having for a long time. Waitress was also very good with my 6yo daughter who ate the most I can ever remember her eating at a restaurant (other than McDonalds).
Only downer was I felt a lack of variety in the menu; which could have done with a few more offerings, especially some vegetable sides. Just meant that although I love Korean food, a combination of fried food, rice and noodles left me all carbed out and wishing there had been something lighter on offer too.
The best thing though was that after it was all over I got a huge pot of Kimichi to take away at the end (the real reason I went in the first place) which was A-​mazing :D

Went here with a Unilocal dinner group recently and I wasn’t a fan. The service was good in that the ladies serving were extremely friendly and lovely but the pace at which the food came out was slow. Yet another restaurant that can’t cater for large groups.
The food wasn’t really my bag. I didn’t want the cook it yourself option (not a fan of handling raw meat at my dinner table) so I opted for a ready made beef soy sauce curry and fried rice. The rice came 10 mins before the main event unfortunately which I nibbled on to stave off my hunger, and once the beef arrived I found it bland and tasteless. Watery, lots of veg but hardly any beef. The pork dumplings I shared with Tanja were nice and flavoursome though. Probably the only thing I liked.
The atmosphere was lacking a bit in my opinion, too bright and not somewhere I’ll choose to go back to. It might be that Korean food just isn’t for me but I’d hoped to try and love a new cuisine. All in all, not a fan and won’t be back :(

I recently went there with my fellow Unilocaler family for dinner. The place came highly recommended.
You can even bring your own bottle of alcohol or non alcohol. Still, you are able to order drinks the old fashioned way, using a menu.
The place is big enough to cater for larger groups. Not many so. Try to avoid a table near the toilet. It would disturb you when people pass by, constantly.
The tables we got had their own grills incorporated into the tables. A few of us chose to grill their meat and vegetables. Personally I prefer to get my food served straight away and not desperately waiting for a grill to finish. But I could see my mates were happy with their option. Think the prices offered were from £12 upwards for a grill set.
I ordered pork dumplings as a starter and a beef dish as a main. I can remember only the number 41 as reference to the main. Sadly I was not able to spell its name. I also learned that the name Ong Gie is referring to some sort of pottery.
My dishes were well prepared and held plenty of taste. Needless to say. I ate it all. The vegetables that came with the mains were fresh and crispy.
Even the service was a bit slow, or maybe it only appeared like it due to me starving, the people were all really polite. Their english might be a bit rusty, but the waitresses are adorable.
Korean might not be my kind of food, but I can definitely recommend this place to any lover of Korean food.

We went to a big Unilocaly dinner at Ong Gie, and it was quite enjoyable. As a (mostly) vegetarian, I expect my options at any Korean restaurant to be limited, but here I was surprised to find veggies well catered-​for. My vegetarian bibimbap was tasty and well done. The various side dishes I tasted were also nice.
Note: as of late October 2013, Ong Gie had no liquor license, so you have to bring your own. Which is fine if you know in advance, but a bit of a nuisance if you have to run out before dinner to grab some wine.

Marvellous!!! The food here is superb. I’ve been twice. June and July 2013. Can’t wait to go again.
I especially love the noodle dishes. Seafood dishes come with great fresh variety. Love wine on offer too.
Service lovely and quiet. Attentive. My friend has a wee 2yr old. Both times we went they were ok with her running around. They have tiny chop sticks for tots!
I would highly highly recommend. Different from Thai and Malaysian. Very special. Might cost a bit more but worth it.

Korean cuisine is something i’m not overly familiar with, so when Blythe R suggested a Unilocaly dinner at newly opened Ong Gie i was excited to go along! Edinburgh is fairly limited in choice for Korean food, so a new place that offered traditional dishes plus the option of Korean BBQ sounded like it would be a winner, but i sadly left with a bit of a was that all feeling instead.
the night started with me running late, which meant that the seat reserved for me was probably the most awkward to get into! our table was situation along the wall in a sort of back dining room area and my chair was smack dab in the middle so after a bit of climbing over chairs and people standing i was situated. so not overly ideal way to set up a big table as it meant those of us in the middle against the wall weren’t likely to get out until the meal was over! also, the wires for the in-​built BBQs were hanging at a rather dangerous level which had i not been paying i probably would have tripped over. i know it’s a bit lame, but health & safety is important! no slips and trips equals a happy restuarant and happy diners :)
after a quick look over the menu i decided on the fried dumplings followed by the fried king prawns in a chilli and soy sauce with boiled rice. apparently i was indulging my love of deep fried things that night! food started to appear fairly quickly after our orders were placed with my dumplings being the first appetizer out. however, while i sat with a place of delicious looking dumplings in front of me no one else seemed to be receiving any food for a fair few minutes… so being polite i waited for everyone else to receive their starters which probably amounted to about 15 minutes, not exactly ideal when you want to eat your food hot! however, when everyone finally had their food and i could start eating mine i was quite pleased with my dumplings. they were nice and crisp with a tasty pork filling and a soy based dipping sauce. i definitely enjoyed these quite a lot!
with starter dishes being cleared away, preparation for the mains began. the grills were turned on for those that were taking part in the cooking of their dinner which boiled rice appeared for all of us who had ordered it. the mains soon began appearing from the table and as i watched main dish after main dish being placed in front of happy diners i began getting that angsty where is my dish feeling. sadly, it actually appeared my dish had been forgotten as everyone had their food and people had started grilling their meat while i was left with another tenish minute wait before my main appeared! to be fair the waitress did apologise and later the chef came out to see how we enjoyed our dinner and apologised to me again.
my main dish was good, but not great after such a long wait. the prawns were massive and good quality but i think the amount of batter made them overly filling. i actually peeled some of the batter off the prawns to eat them separately. also there was a noticable lack of veggies with the dish which really componded my evening of fried foods. however it was tasty, i just wasn’t totally wowed.
overall this restaurant has a lot going for it, it’s the only place in edinburgh that i know of that does Korean BBQ. but i think it has a fairly small kitchen meaning that large parties receive their food in drips and drabs forcing people to wait to eat and food getting cold. it’s a bit pricey, but the quality of food is high so worth the money. the service is ok and they seem to be eager to please their customers. it’s worth a visit, but not sure it’s some place i’d return to often.

Unilocalers descended on Ong Gie feeling all ready and raring to have some barbecue fun. I, however, being of the school of thought that one goes out for dinner to AVOID cooking, opted not to join my tablemates in the barbecue line of things but instead went for the fried chicken in sweet chilli sauce, which had a really great Korean sounding name on the menu but which, in retrospect and when I write it out like that, sounds devastatingly plebeian.
As it happens, I think I might have made a mistake, since I’m told that the barbecue was really quite marvellous, and there were lots of colours involved, which is normally a good sign. My chicken tasted lovely but was rather tough going, with very chewy batter. If I hadn’t ordered a side of rice then it would have become monotonous very quickly as the vegetables’ flavours were drowned out by the sauce. Not that it wasn’t very tasty, but it was just all a bit heavy and glutenous.
I was a bit alarmed by the safety of the barbecue setup; I always laugh at signs that say «caution: hot» on obviously hot things, but the noticeable absence of warning on the open skillets set into the tables was surprising. In addition, the hotplate ran off mains power, which meant that the cable trailed under the table and swung perilously a few inches off the ground like a tripwire between the table and the wall-​socket, which the people sitting on the other side of the table had to be careful to notice and avoid when getting in and out.
Finally, when I buy a soft drink for a considerable mark-​up in a restaurant, it’s always easier to push the usual mark-​up out of my mind if it’s not served as I’d find it in were I to buy it from a shop. The plastic bottle sitting on the table didn’t seem to fit with the lovely restaurant vibe of the place.
That said, the staff were stellar; one very cheerful and helpful young woman came over to explain the barbecue process to my slightly mystified friends, and when one person’s main was forgotten, a senior member of staff came over in person to apologise. Oh, and also, the menus are trimmed with super shiny shiny golden cord which was delightfully distracting and I wanted to take one home with me.
So to sum up, Ong Gie has a lovely atmosphere and the evening as a whole was very enjoyable, and though I’m not sure I’d necessarily be in any undue hurry to return, I would certainly not object to the idea either.

Yay, BBQ! — There is a massive attraction between me and a opportunity to cook meat as a proper alpha male. The opportunity here is that I can do this sitting down.
We were a large group of Unilocalers (12) and and we had 2 BBQ tables between us, at both ends. The welcome is friendly and warm. Though I think they were a little intimidated by the size of our group.
We had to pop out to get some alcohol (beer, wine) as they do not (yet) have a license. There is no corkage fee.
Ordering was simple, well as simple as trying to avoid overloading yourself on the Kimchi. That stuff is in nearly every dish on offer. I like Kimchi and I know how this can be an acquired taste to some people. I’ll just call it what it actually is: spiced fermented vegetables. Yup. fermented.
Traditionally — Kimchi was often allowed to ferment underground in jars for months at a time. MONTHS!
This kimchi is such a national Korean condiment or dish that it can be compared to tomato ketchup for Americans or mayonnaise for the Dutch.
Thus here we have a menu that offers Kimchi in Pancakes, spring rolls, dim sum, rice, noodles, salads, meat and seafood dishes. (There was no kimchi flavoured ice cream on offer at their restaurant. but I am sure that will exist. (in fact I just Googled it and I am gobsmacked.)
Anita and I were so close to the BBQ that we we wondered where the H&S signs where — «Caution Hot Surface» or «Do Not Touch When red light is on» would be appropriate warnings for people with less common sense. I on the other hand could not stop playing with it. It simply showed some Korean characters lighting up in Blue, Red or Green when pressed (ooh shiny) — there also was a heat controller and a reassuring heat level indicator. — The low tech end of the plug was a little dangerously hoovering above the floor beside the table. Now THAT required a warning sign.
For starters we had Kimchi spring rolls, which were nice hot and crispy. With some mild sauces. — where is the heat man!
For mains we ordered BBQ Po Bulgogi (Beef Strips) £12 and a Bibimbap (£11)
as additions we got cabbage, salad leaves, mushrooms and some sauces.
There is no salt, pepper, soya, oil, chili etc. on the table, so if you wanted any you had to ask.
Personally I found the bulgogi a little under spiced and certainly not enough flavour on its own. Also a the amount supplied left a bit to be desired. You had to order rice with it and there wasn’t enough salad leaves to go round either. The bibimbap was tasty — crunchy and well spiced — the soup’s flavour did loose against the spiciness of the bibimbap.
It is a very much ‘hands on’ experience and you certainly will have involve most of the guests at your table to do the BBQ. It reminded me of a Chinese Hot Pot, or a raclette, but a bit drier and less ingredients (if you discount the kimchi.)
In all I was pleased to experience this meal and I now know for next time what to bring in drink and what to order. I agree with Blythe that you need a group of 4 or more to fully appreciate the variety on order. Much sharing and tasting of other plates and frying at the table like a boss!

Korean barbecue comes to Edinburgh!
This looks like a prime place for a little Unilocal outing, as the fun at Ong Gie is all about their barbecue tables.
I visited on my own, when in need of a quick feed, so tried their dumplings and bulgogi. Both were good, without setting pulses racing too fast. Prices struck me as a little high, but perhaps when dining in a large group that might even itself out, with sharing of dishes.
Overall, we said: «I suspect I missed out on the main fun of Ong Gie, but still enjoyed my visit. While my total bill was reasonable, there seemed an awful lot of dishes priced at £10 and above, which leads me to suspect that if you were to come here with a party of say 6, get a bit enthusiastic with the barbecue, and pile into some of the other dishes, you may end up running up a considerable tab. I’ll need to test this theory on another visit, at some point soon.»