Keo Ku Restaurant
“Best bet for Korean, unless you're willing to go to Palisades Park or Fort Lee.”
“The Hite beer was cold and refreshing with my bi bim bap in stone pot.”
“If Palisades Park is too far from you, try Keo Ku Restaurant.”
Keo Ku Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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My folks live in Morris County so we meet here if they don't want to go all the way to PalPark or Ft Lee. The food is here is good and will do in a pinch. The banchan is plentiful and the stews were good. I thought the kalbi was a little tougher than I would like and the jajangmeyon was a little different from what I am used to (udon noodles instead of the flat traditional noodles and sweeter sauce than I like). I think if you go later at night, the food is a little 'older' and not as fresh. Service is cordial.
Came here with some of my relatives so I was able to try a lot of things. I've always passed by this restaurant for years since I live around the area but I just never had the desire to try it out because I would always go to Hwang Bu Ja on New Road.
I've had a lot of Korean food before and this place is just not good. Their banchans (side dishes) are bland. The only one I really liked was the mashed potatoes. The kimchi, beansprout and cucumber side dish is way better at Hwang Bu Ja.
We ordered:
27. Chadol Baigi Gui – Not marinated enough.. Not enough meat either. It looks like a decent amount when you first get it but it shrinks like crazy because the slices are so thin.
45. Pajun (Seafood pancake) – This was decent, but it's better at Hwang Bu Ja.
60. Hae Mool Jun Gol – They say on the menu that this hot pot is for 2 people, but I think it can feed a lot more than 2, possibly 4 people. Pretty decent but not amazing.
63. Gopdol Bi Bim Bab – Probably the worst Bi Bim Bap I've ever had in my entire life.
65. Jae Yook GopBol Bi Bim Bab – Most flavorful dish out of everything we ordered. Highly recommend this if you don't know what to order.
70. Bi Bim Bab – To be honest, I didn't even try this one because the hot Bi Bim Bab (#63) was not that good so I can't say anything about this dish.
76. Ugeoji Galbi Tang – Not enough flavor! Ugh
78. Sulrong Tang – Bland and barely any meat!
There isn't really anywhere to go in the area if you want amazing Korean food. I usually have to go to Bergen or NYC but after eating at Keo Ku.. I will definitely always get my quick fix for Korean food at Hwang Bu Ja. I don't think I will be coming back to Keo Ku. Yes, their menu selection is definitely WAY more compared to Hwang Bu Ja but it's not even good. Hwang Bu Ja's menu is small but at least they can make a decent meal. I seriously think I can make better Korean food than the dishes I ate at Keo Ku and I'm not even Korean! Lol. Also, the prices are pretty expensive for bland food.
The service was subpar. The staff got really confused at remembering who ordered what and it's kind of hard for us to figure it out especially when some of the dishes are the same color lol. Just do yourself a favor and go down to New Road for better and cheaper Korean food.
Supreme customer service and excellent food, as expected. Driving to find this location is absolutely frustrating, however well worth it once you have some of the food. Started off with the standard ban chan (various fermented appetizers) and seafood pancake. I went on to enjoy soon du bu (seafood tofu soup). Food was excellent! We ended our meal over a cinnamon desert drink. I will definitely come back!
Expensive and average food for what it is, friendly staff, interior decoration very plain. If you can afford to drive to Fort lee or better to Korea town in Manhattan, on 32 & 33 st bet. 5 and 6th avenue, do it, you'll get the real deal.
I would give this place 2.5 stars, but obviously I can't.
The restaurant is large with a lot of tables for BBQ'ing. The menu has a lot of items from apps, noodles, tofu soups, bim bim baps, bbq meats to sushi, sashimi, and teriyaki. They even have Korean beer and soju. But, I think it's a bit too much considering I haven't seen this place ever full. And because they don't specialize in anything, none of it is that great.
I have only come here a few times with friends on the weekends for lunch. I usually get the bim bim bap but it's subpar to what you can get from Fort Lee. They have soon tofu soup, but does not compare to Hwang Bu Ja just across New Rd. Their food is either bland or overly salty. I came here on a Friday night and there were only 8 tables, and only one table was eating bbq. They have probably triple the amount of tables. They have a sushi bar, but it's way over in the corner and no one eats there. The sushi chef probably gets lonely.
The 2 waitresses that served us were Korean and were not pleasant. They don't even greet us with a smile when we sat down nor asked us if we had any questions about the menu. Even the old ladies at BCD Tofu House always had a smile and were very pleasant. The Banchan here were plenty (kimchi, pickled zucchini, fish cakes, cold mountain greens, bean sprouts, starch cakes, and a weird version of cole slaw) and we asked for more of the fish cake ones. After the first repeat we were given dirty looks from the waitress. I don't know what the etiquette of the banchan is, but if you're going to be sour about, at least educate me.
They had special combos and we got the Kalbi with bean paste soup. The Kalbi was pathetic! It was presented as pre-cut bone-in pieces on a large bed of sliced onions. The meat was over-cooked and tough and were small in number. The bean paste soup, their version of miso soup, was very salty and inedible. Altogether was overpriced ($15) and not worth it. I'd rather get a full plate of piping hot bbq short ribs for the same price and without the onions and at HBJ. Everything is overpriced. The seafood pancake, haemul pajeon, was listed in the apps section for $13.99, which is the same price as in the A La Carte section. Actually, most of the items in the apps section cost the same as the A La Carte sections.
They need to focus on something…like the BBQ and forget everything else. And do it very well and stop charging NYC prices. If they do that, I might consider coming back.
By the way, when I mentioned that I would have given a half star, it would be for Gorge. He busses the table and serves us water, but does it with a smile. I liked him. He was very happy to bring us seconds of banchan.
This is now my favorite local Korean Restaurant! I'm not sure why this restaurant has a mid rating cause it's clearly the better Koran restaurant in the area and here's why:
Private dining option
Full bar
Sushi
Tasty tasty Bi Bim Bap
First off the dining area is quite large plus, it has private seating for people who request it. Since larger groups tend to be a bit louder, the private rooms are perfect for this.
Plus, they got a full bar; no craft beer, but it's Korean so I'm pretty sure an IPA, Doppelbock, Tripel, etc, etc would not pair well with this type of cuisine anyway. Since it's Korean I go straight for the Soju. I personally like the Chum Churum; It's mellow and very tasty.
They also have sushi! I've had the sushi a couple times, but not as an entrée, just an appetizer. If I'm going for Korean, I'm getting Bi Bim Bap or Barbeque, which segways me to my next topic.
I hate to say that I've been there twice and haven't tried their Barbeque, but it's because I'm just a sucker for Bi Bim Bap. Their Short Rib Bi Bim Bap is the best I've had; like seriously! The suculant tate of the short ribs mixed with all the vegtables and that tasty sauce are like a slice of heaven… well more like a bowl of heaven.
This is my go to Korean place and if you go here, you'll see why!
Keo Ku is not one star worse than Hwang Bu Ja, which is a quarter mile away down the corner. I know that the yelp reviews make it seem that way.
Whenever I'm in K-Town in Manhattan I have very specific restaurants where I go for Stone Bowl rice, Grilled Autumn Knife Fish or Mackerel, Lunch Combos, Sul Leong Tang, etc…etc…
For the Parsippany central NJ area, you will not get better or worse Korean than this area without having to venture into NYC or Ft. Lee which are both an hour away.
Everything at Keo Ku is acceptable and they have the normal wide Korean restaurant menu whereas Hwang Bu focuses on chigae and soon du bu's (tofu soups) for the most part. Neither is incredibly outstanding but neither is bad either.
I happily go to either to get a Korean food fix whenever I don't feel like being in Manhattan which is often since I have to work there 5 days a week.
Don't hesitate to try Korean food and the little mom and pop shops do ok. Their kimchee is not the best that I've ever had and some of their food is a little underseasoned but it isn't anything that salt or a table condiment doesn't immediately rectify. If something is bland, ask for the sea salt, it livens everything up really well. In some cases like the sul leong tang its lack of salt is on purpose for example.
Good lunch. Quick service. Had the lunch combo with tofu and galbi. Side dishes are not as much as when you go to Palpark or Fort Lee, but it's a lot closer for korean food. Staff was very attentive and provided all the necessary refills.