Koryokwan is a Korean restaurant that’s been around since the early 80s. They’re considered to be one of the best and even provide the catering for Korean embassy events which is how I found out about them. This past saturday when I passed by the Korean embassy for their lunar new year’s they had the catering from Koryokwan (The Korean embassy in Kuwait by the way has to be the most beautiful embassy I’ve ever been to anywhere). So anyway, I didn’t end up eating at the embassy that day but I did pass by Koryokwan a few days ago to try them out.
Koryokwan is located on the ground floor of the very old Carlton Hotel in Kuwait City. It’s a 3-star hotel that was refurbished awhile back but the building still looks really old from the outside. The interior of Koryokwan on the other hand is just beautiful, one of those places where once you enter you feel like you’re no longer in Kuwait. I actually had the same feeling when I first visited the now defunct Singarea Korean restaurant in Dajeej. I used to love that place and it’s why I ended up mostly being disappointed with Koryokwan. Lets begin with the interior of Koryokwan, even though it looked amazing they had regular English radio music playing and CNN on TV. If this was Singarea for example they would have had either Korean music playing or some strange Korean soap opera on TV. I also found the prices of the dishes expensive. The soups started at around KD4.5 and the main courses at around KD6 and up. That’s 5-star hotel prices which is expected when you’re at a 5-star hotel and getting 5-star service like at Peacock or a restaurant at the Sheraton but this wasn’t the case here. Service was similar to a casual dine in restaurant and it wasn’t that great. Our order for example arrived in this order: Main course followed by our rice 5 minutes later and then followed by our soup. I went there specifically for one dish, the fried chicken with chili sauce and I liked it but you can’t really judge the food on just one dish.
The place is definitely worth trying out but mostly for the experience of trying something new. If you’re interested in passing by they’re open from 10AM to 3PM and then again from 5PM to 10:30PM. They’re located in the Carlton Hotel [Map] and their phone number is 22452759 or 99608277.
17 replies on “Koryokwan Korean Restaurant”
RIP Singarea used to sneak out all the way to Dajeej when I had a slow day at work and look at korean dramas for 30 minutes and be totally confused
How would you compare this place to Arirang?
Haven’t tried it but my friend who was with me had and said it was better
‘it’ being?
Airirang is fusion food though the decor is nice.
While I have yet to try Korykwan, I did try Arirang. I know Korean Cuisine very well having been blessed with eating in Korean homes and restaurants most of my life. This is due to the fact that I grew up as an Army Brat and was also in the US Army. To me Arirang was a big letdown in all regards. The Bulgogi was ok though, I have to admit. I went with my at the time wife, her mom, and my mom. I was not expecting anything authentic since I did not see any Koreans ( I was actually hoping to brush up on my Korean). I tried not to set too far a bar for them as I figured that any Korean restaurant worth its weight is going to be patronized by Koreans. (The place was empty) What I am looking forward to maybe this Monday is giving Koryokwan a try.
Hey, let me know what you thought of it after you try it out.
Mark I go there once a week, there is an amazing pepper fish dish, very high quality dish, the spicy seafood soup is amazing., the bulgogi is pretty good, and they are really generous with the mezza always varrying complimentary appetizers.
The price your right seems expensive but if you look at it from a utilitarian angle its value for money, because most of the main dishes is for atleast 2 people. So a 6kd dish is worth 3 kd per person. Further though Korean restaurants tend to be in less attractive hotels, the price is set at a certain common level, similar to Japanese restaurants.
So please do give the place another chance. : )
Hey, well just to comment about the portion. Me and my friend each ordered a KD6 dish and we each finished it ourselves. I guess we could have just ordered one dish and split it in the same way a bigmac could be cut in half and be shared but in the end the portion would have been enough to fill us 🙂
mezza? i think you are confusing cuisines my friend.
Also this restaurant WAS cheaper a few years ago. but then again so was everything else!
I heard from someone that it is closed? Is it true? Any ans will be very helpful.
I was planning on going today with my friend for my birthday, is it really closed? I know about the new opening, but I don’t think they would close before reopening first. Anyways, I had take out last time, and the quality and preparation was just as good as dine-in!
I never said they closed.
I know you didn’t say they closed, but I read the comment above mine and was asking based on that.
The yook aye jang is really good for those that like a spicy soup.
I miss Singarea! All the other Korean restaurants here are expensive. I even tried Bon Chon and it’s supposed to be affordable food anywhere else in the world but here.
As Korean, to be honest, I was quite disappointed with Koryogwan in terms of price and food quality. I understand it is hard to find the appropriate ingredient for Korean dishes in other country so the price would be more expensive than in Korean. But..despite of that situation, Koryogwan is way too pricey. Also, the portion is not for two people to split. The worst part of the Koryogwan was Kimchi stew, called Kimchi Jjigae, which is very basic one of Korean dishes. Tasted sour and hard to describe it has authentic Kimchi.