WABAR
“- Friendly staff that recognize you, and hook you up if you become a regular
The DJ is hit or miss depending on the guy.”
“Overall, if I'm trying to watch a game in Ktown in the future, this is where I want to be.”
“Both were really great, but the soy garlic was definitely my favorite of the two!”
WABAR
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
We stumbled upon this place while wandering through Koreatown. I saw it up on the 2nd floor of one of the buildings and really wanted to check it out. The elevator up wasn't working, so we had to take the old beat up stairs in the back and were guided along the way by a small sign pointing to a windowless door. I loved it.
The place itself was pretty empty on a Sunday night, but the guys working were super friendly, and there's a few TVs to catch the football games and a surprising amount of space. The drinks are pretty cheap too, so it's easy to knock back quite a few here. There's a couple of dart boards as well that a few people were enjoying.
I'm a big fan of fried chicken (who isn't?), so I had to get some wings, and I think they had a $.50 wing night going, so we split 20 of the Korean Spicy and Soy Garlic. In all honesty, I loved the flavor and crunch of the wings, but I hated the chicken. I had a hard time finishing the food, because the chicken inside was just so dried out. I'm not sure how the chicken quality was, because they were too overcooked. Funny thing is, my girlfriend still really enjoyed them. Maybe I'm crazy then, but I do eat a lot of wings, and these just weren't juicy inside at all.
It could have been a bad night for food, since they were pretty dead, but that was still a bit disappointing. However, I loved the look, feel, and environment of the bar so much that I'd stop back in the next time I'm in NYC.
Really cool & trendy bar in the heart of K-town. It's upstairs on the floor & they usually offer amazing deals on chicken, shots, & beer. I typically come here once every 2-3 weeks and the service is amazing. Food is always hot, served quick, & staff is very friendly.
The music & ambiance is also really nice for those looking for something different in the area. I've told all my friends and co-workers about this place and they were never disappointed.
Hyung Jin (the manager of Wa Bar) & a previous worker, Eun Bee both have been superb.
Thanks guys, will be back soon!
Yogurt soju shots are great here. It's really a great place to get drinks and talk with friends. However, the music gets really loud sometimes on the weekends when they have a dj here. Haven't tried the chicken wings yet but I look forward to trying them. Also had a flight of mini cocktails here with a friend once and it was alright. Prices are pretty low for Ktown.
Great soju, wings, and vibe. They have mango, peach, passion fruit, and grapefruit soju in addition to the typical yogurt and lychee, so you can mix things up a bit. I ended up getting an Asian pear martini though just because, which did not disappoint, and split wings with a friend. Giant TVs and taller bar stools at the tables. Beautiful decor, fast service with staff who are okay with those who do not speak Korean!
After a long day of work, I came by this establishment with about 9 friends; one of which was the one who chose this place because (according to him) they served was really delicious kimchi fried rice! I quickly Yelped it to check out the menu and found out that there was also a Thursday special for $1 oysters! I'M THERE!!!
My group ordered a bunch of dishes to share: kimchi fried rice, ddukbokki, raw oysters, korean fried chicken, and the calamari. We came in around 7:05 and the food didn't come out till 8 something! The raw oysters was the biggest mistake!! It was lukewarm, but served on a platter of ice. Some of the oysters (we ordered two dozen) weren't even on the shell; as in there was just a shell laying there. I don't know if it was because we ordered so many that they thought they could hide a few empty oysters behind full ones, but it was NOT a slick move. My friends could not finish this dish as it was neither fresh nor a complete order. We also thought it would come out first, but it actually came out last! If one were to stuff their face with full on greasy food, the last thing anyone wants to eat are raw oysters at the end of a meal. The kimchi fried rice and ddukbokki were both average and def tasted better with cheese. The korean fried chicken was a story of its own. My group originally wanted to order a large order of 20 pieces for $30 to share and get it half soy garlic and half spicy. The waitress said it wasn't possible and that we would HAVE to order TWO mediums instead (medium = 10 pieces each, $16). THIS MADE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. It was an extra $2 to order TWO mediums so we didn't care too much, but the principle of it just irked me. This actually made me not want to come back to this establishment. That and the fact that the service was SOOOO SLOW. Not only were my food dishes slow to come out, but it was hard to flag down someone to take drink orders and give us water.
After dinner, the group was just ready to leave this place, but it also took forever and a day to get our check. I think it's a bad sign if your friends are trying to blame someone that picked the spot. Would I ever come back here? PROBABLY NOT. And if you plan to, make sure you don't come in a large group and expect to stay a lot longer than anticipated.
Pretty relaxed cozy setting. Quiet for weekend evening. The party did arrive past midnight. It was near empty. Came out for a birthday event. I don't know whether I was drunk enough or my vision is just plain bad, Sitting at the bar drinking and chatting up with some mutual friends with the background music playing and two front tv's on top of the bar. It was quite amusing that they had on the Spanish Channel in Korea Town. It looked like they were playing an episode of Telemundo. Was kind of distracting but anyway..
Overall experience was just pleasant. Ended up sharing a restroom w/ a girlfriend but little did we realize we were in the men's bathroom. God no wonder why it was small and gross. Didn't realize until we came out and one of the guys we were with pointed out that the women's restroom was this way. Whoops.
Their glazed spicy chicken wings. Holy sh*t they were messy but good!
Note: Take the cramped claustrophobic shoe box elevator at your own risk.
Another crappy NBA Finals game, but another fun time out thanks to WABAR. My friends managed to go early and grab a table in the back area to the right of the entrance and relatively close to the restrooms, so by the time I arrived there were plates of wings and pitchers of beer waiting for me. With a dedicated television and glass partitions separating us from adjacent tables, I really liked the vibe here. Like, leave us alone to yell obscenities at Lebron, kthx.
Service really took my wishes to heart, but it might have gone a little too far. Our waitress was most MIA throughout the night, which was annoying at times when we wanted to order additional items and when we tried to get the check. It was pretty packed earlier, so I understand that, but by the end of the night there's no real reason why it would be this difficult to track her down.
Anyway, the food was pretty decent. Spicy wings were actually a little spicy, and the soy garlic ones were definitely garlicky. Not all of the wings were consistent in temperature, though. We also got the spicy kimchi pork tofu, which was really solid – pork was tender and they didn't hold back on the spice level.
Overall, if I'm trying to watch a game in Ktown in the future, this is where I want to be. WABAR allows you to have a mini-private viewing experience but it still has the background energy you want from a bar. What more can you want besides Cleveland staying ringless?
WABar is a second-floor bar in Korea Town.
We came here for post-dinner drinks on a weeknight. We were the only customers there for about an hour and a half. We ordered the makgeolli (rice liquor) that was $22. This is expensive, since a bottle in Korea goes for three dollars. The server left us alone for the time we were there, and I got his attention for the check at the end.
The walls are black and the music is loud, so the vibe was more suited for a weekend night of drinking than a weeknight drink. The drink menu includes Korean beer, liquor and cocktails including soju and flavored soju. I did not eat anything here, but their food menu is similar to a typical Korean bar.
There are plenty of bars in the area that are packed, so depending on your mood and your preference for loud/quiet places, this might be a spot to check out. If you're in K town for only a short trip, I'd recommend browsing more bars in the area.