Insa

Insa (인사) means to say hello or to greet in Korean. But I do think they are playing with the homophone of Inssa (인싸) which is a short version of "insider", essentially a slang used for "you are in the know" or "you're part of the inner circle". Insa is not your traditional Korean bbq, not because of the food, but because choose to be vibrant, more casual, and filled with young energy. Fabulous time is guaranteed, especially with a large group of friends. Heck, they even have karaoke machines in the back! Insa would be categorized as progressive or "fusion" Korean bbq. They have been optimized for large groups of people coming together for grilling meat and enjoying drinks (like soju). In these typical Korean outings (whether with friends or colleagues after work), it always tends to be a large group and you want to maxmize the happiness of everyone, sitting close together, sharing the grill in the middle, and also being a bit noisy and rowdy. This Korean eat-out and drink culture is well represented in the layout of the dining room - communal grills done in a classy way. Yes there are booths for smaller groups but you clearly can see what they are going for. Insa also has a separate bar where you can't grill but they will bring out food for you. This area took me as a surprise making me even think whether it was part of the same joint. It is a proper bar, almost Thai feeling, but super functional and provides a different type of drinking experience. Now in any Korean bbq, you must nail the meat. And Insa absolutely hits it out of the park. Their galbi was soft and tender, not too sweet nor salty. This shows that they were confident with their quality of meat. And literally it melts in your mouth. The pork belly too was quite well balanced - both in thickness and the amount of fat. Insa really pays a lot of attention to the quality of meat. But then, you start bringing out the side dishes and my god, this is where Insa starts to be opinionated and shows off. The mandu - fried dumplings - is done in a very homely way. Almost street food style and they are great. The pajeon pancake too was another departure from the tradition - crunchy and filling. Everything was declicious. And of course, you must bring in the drinks. We had everything from cocktails to flavored soju - my god they go down fast - and beer. Our group had a fabulous time, being gregarious, enjoying the meat and food, while shouting gunbae! Insa hits it out of the part in so many ways, especially when you look at it from the overall experience. They are the modern manifestation of Korean bbq combined with drinking culture. Koreans love groups. And Insa is THE place for group fun. If it is your night of get-together with those you haven't met in a while, and when the mode is "the more the merrier", head over to Insa Brooklyn. And you shall become a inssa 인싸. As a Korean descendent, I personally want to thank the founder of Insa for his/her creation. Will return time after time.

The food was okay. The skirt steak and pork belly was fair. The side dishes are ok. The candied anchovies were good. The rice comes mixed with white and brown rice which was ok but I prefer white rice only especially in Korean bbq. The bean paste was good. Service was good and attentive. They do all the cooking for you. Seating is fair. There is karaoke looks like fun.

The restaurant is pretty big with mostly large shared tables with built-in grills. The service was attentive. The food was good but nothing memorable. The chicken wings were perfectly crispy and juicy but slightly undercooked. The cuttlefish jerky was interesting but I thought the sauce was a bit too sweet. The fish corn dog did not resemble a corn dog but was enjoyable. The bibimbap was surprisingly bland but had nice crispy rice bits and very vegetable forward which I enjoyed.

This is my second visit for take away, first time was for jajangmyeon for $19, which came in a tiny appetizer box, felt hungry after eating it. This time I went for the dolsat bibimbap for $22 and asked first about the portion and was informed it’s a large portion. I got home, open the medium-sized box to find 70% white rice and 30% ingredients… The food doesn’t taste authentic and quite bland. The atmosphere looks cool for bar and karaoke but can’t say the same about the food. Both times left me hangry after eating!! I’m done with this place.

Watch out if you decide to do takeout. The Bulgogi had so much liquid, and inexplicably the restaurant decided to put it in a paper box. By the time we got home, it had leaked into all the other food boxes underneath and soaked the entire paper bag, leaving a trail of meat juice all over our floor before we realized what had happened.