Korean is a
star among Asian food. It got increasingly popular in recent years in Germany
too and Frankfurt has already its fair share of established Korean restaurants.
Hankook in Sachsenhausen-Süd is one of the most known places and it offers the
typical Korean menu – from Bibimbap to Korean Barbecue. Browsing through the
internet, I got the impression that Hankook is competing for the unofficial title
of best Korean restaurant in Frankfurt. I wanted to test the place myself as I
am bigger admirer of spicy Korean dishes and good Korean Barbecue.
We went to
Hankook, which is located a small uphill walk from Lokalbahnhof right next to
the new development around the former Henninger Turm. I reserved the place for
two and after arriving, we noticed that this is really necessary. The
restaurant is extremely busy, especially on a Friday night. The owners manage
this very well though. They seem to have quite a large crew of people working
there. We were greeted friendly and got a good table. It is definitely recommended
to call before since the place was absolutely packed. It speaks for the
restaurant that it is so popular and confirms my internet research.
The menu
offers basically the classical dishes that you expect to appear in a Korean restaurant
in Europe. A highlight of good Korean is the table barbecue. Hankook is
offering quite a variety of meats and so we went for it. We chose the menu
where our orders of Bulgogi (marinated beef) and Samgyeopsal (pork belly) came
with a wide range of small vegetable side dishes. The menu price was absolutely
fair especially considering the amount of food we got. The side dishes were
many and the meat was plenty. The menu card also explains that you can even
order more meat if necessary – of course no take-away of left overs and no
sharing with people who do not pay (the menu card explains in detail because
people probably abuse the system otherwise). Also, the more people you are the
more different kinds of meat you can order.
We were more
than happy with the amount of food, in fact I even ate too much. But it was
just so delicious. The meat was excellent and grilling on your own table adds a
bit of extra fun. The side dishes were pretty good as well. However, some of
them were a bit weak in taste and could have some more kick to it. When it
comes to winning the crown of best Korean restaurant, a close look to the
Kimchi served is in order. Kimchi - fermented vegetable, usually cabbage - is
the core of the Korean food universe. The spiciness of Kimchi of Hankook is unfortunately
toned down quite a bit and fermenting time was probably not too long. I guess
this is necessary to accommodate the German taste, which usually is not
compatible with too spicy food. Overall, I understand that most Asian places
have to do this – but really great would be if there was an option to choose
among the Korean and the German version of Kimchi.
Overall, I
can confirm that good stories I read about Hankook. Its popularity does have a
reason. The food is tasty and plentiful. The atmosphere was good. The prices
are fair. I will definitely want to visit again. However, if it wins the title
of best Korean restaurant in Frankfurt remains yet to be seen.
Style: Casual
eatery/Dinner
Cuisine: Korean/Asian
Location: Sachsenhausen
