Good Eats: Restaurant Review - Old Village

Ventilation hood for table grills. Photo by Sean Wheatley.

by Sean Wheatley

Shoreline has an abundance of Korean BBQs and restaurants. One of the most popular is in the Safeway Parkwood Shopping Center. Featuring real charcoal grills on each table (albeit with a gas range for fuel), 

Old Village also has an automatic exhaust system that comes down much like the cone of silence from the classic Get Smart TV show.

When a dear Korean friend came to visit from her new home back east (where there's not much as far as Korean fare), we knew exactly where to go. Jeong Min was thrilled to have some beef BBQ'd on the grill, and we were happy to oblige. 

Photo by Sean Wheatley

The one knock on this place is that it feels understaffed and it seems like certain tables get less attention despite the ringer at each booth.

Not this time, the waitress even helped us cook some of the beef and was quick to bring more kim chi and comped us a spicy miso soup that was hearty enough to be a meal onto itself. The pa-jun (seafood pancake) was ordered without hot peppers so my son Dylan could munch down what he coined the "Korean Pizza" without a spicy surprise every few bites. Nevertheless it was nice and crispy, with plenty of tasty squid cooked within. The beef was fantastic, especially when dipped into the impossibly salty dipping sauce. 

Photo by Sean Wheatley

All the sides (banchan) that usually come with a Korean meal were great and provided a variety from spicy (and just a little sour) kim chi to a macaroni salad, picked veggies and fish cake pieces in spicy sauces. All in all, one of the better Korean places in Shoreline, but there are many more to review.

Old Village   15200 Aurora Ave N.   Korean

Sean Wheatley's entertainment services business Seattle Parties keeps him busy in the evenings. He and his wife Leslie and son Dylan eat out so much that he started writing restaurant reviews, which he now shares with us.