Korean food in Culver City? Of course, because of its location in the newly upcoming downtown district, it’s going to be upscale - with a nice industrial decor, excellent service, high prices, and beautiful people.

Giving a cursory glance over the menu, it is filled with “traditional” Korean dishes along with the meats for BBQ. All foods are explained in detail so those new to this style of dining will be satisfied. Along those same lines, the service was extremely attentive, with the waiter giving recommendations as well as explaining everything in case the patron doesn’t know how to order. It is a far cry from the all-you-can-eat joints in K-town in almost all aspects.

We ordered the side of pan-fried, shrimp dumplings, and the G1, one of the 4 combination’s of meats available on the menu. It consisted of marinated bulgogi, galbi, chicken, and pork belly, and was recommended for 2 people. Like all Korean places we were served salad and sides as accompaniment. When it was all set and done, the food was more than enough for two, and probably good for three people. The combo also included a large plate of japchae (noodles).

Overall the food was very good, but short of spectacular. Having chicken was odd since we never traditionally order chicken at these BBQ places, but it was good (in that BBQ chicken way). The rest of the meats were extremely well marinated, and the galbi was exceptional. The meats were marbled well, and the quality really showed. They were tender, and almost melted in your mouth. I was disappointed that the sides weren’t really marinated well enough, so the cucumbers had no flavor. But what really stood out here was the service.

From the start, the waiter was extremely helpful and attentive, to the borderline, in an almost-creepy fashion. When the meats came he offered to layout the first batch of meat for us, and subsequently after our grill change, offered to “perform the show again”. He refilled our waters as soon as we reached the quarter-left point, and made sure we were OK on regular, but not interrupting, intervals. In short, he made the experience that much better, and made up for any shortcomings we found with the food.

In the end, Gyenari offers a good experience. It is pricey, but closer to home to those on the westside of Los Angeles, and they have a cool looking bar. It’s nice to see Culver City changing. If i want Korean food I’ll probably go to K-town. But if I want a nice dining experience, in a cool, hip, environment - I’ll come here. If you’re a business person, this is the Korean dining experience you would take clients to - you won’t be disappointed.

Gyenari
9540 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-3131
http://www.gyenari.com