Puzukan Tan Korean Grill

Superb meat quality and taste. And our waiter grilled them so well. Ban Chan could have been better. The japchae had no taste and the cucumber was mediocre. I love how they sell half portions of meat at a lower price so if you love meat, you can def go on an adventure.

Not hard to find authentic Korean BBQ in Northern Virginia. The food is tasty, the service differentiates with its caring and attentive engagement. The KimChi could be better and the pork belly could look less like bacon...but the beer is cold and the soju always tasty.

TLDR: Some of the best KBBQ in NOVA. The hybrid charcoal/gas table grills make the difference in taste. Come for the Chadol brisket, jjampong and pork jowl.

Vibe: 5/5. The inside of the restaurant is very well thought out, with around a dozen KBBQ tables that are perfectly placed in order to accommodate groups both small and large. We must take a moment to appreciate these awesome grills that Puzukan Tan utilizes, as it really elevates the dining experience. They are using charcoal/gas hybrid tabletop grills which have slow burning charcoal in the center, and a high heat gas ring burner surrounding the briquettes. This allows the grills to infuse meats with the wonderful smokiness of charcoal as well as hitting it with high heat for quicker cooking and perfect searing.

Service: 5/5. The staff at Puzukan Tan was excellent from start to finish. We called a few days in advance to make a reservation for our table of 4 for a Friday night around 8pm and had no problems doing so. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was crowded, but not not enough to make walk-in dining impossible (a 20-30 minute wait). Servers are both fluent in English and Korean, so ordering with our Korean/English speaking table was a breeze. Once our orders were in, meat and drinks started hitting the table almost immediately. Puzukan Tan is full service KBBQ, so the staff will tend to and grill the meats at your table on your behalf. This is definitely a must, as the hybrid grills cook the meats differently compared to your standard gas KBBQ burners.

Food: 5/5. The menu at Puzukan is simple but well thought out. It consists of beef and pork cuts a la carte, from the kitchen dishes, and several prix fixe BBQ packages and their omakase experience. From their beef selections, we ordered the Chadol (brisket), giant rib kalbi, jumolok (marinated rib meat) and waygu flap meat. Some of the beef offered is dry aged on site which can be seen by the large red illuminated dry age coolers in the back of the restaurant. The thinner cuts such as Chadol are freshly sliced to order and never frozen which makes a world of difference in the texture. From the pork section, we ordered the smoked thick cut pork belly as well as the pork jowl. In addition to the barrage of meats, we ordered from the kitchen the bulgogi sushi, jjampong Chadol, corn cheese and the steamed egg. Overall fan favorites of the dinner were the Chadol, giant rib kalbi and the pork jowl. The Chadol was cut perfectly paper thin with lots of marbling that melted in you mouth on first bite. The pork jowl surprised the table with its savory porky flavor and crispy texture that somehow managed to outshine the smoked pork belly. The giant rib kalbi was one of the most expensive cuts on the menu, but well worth the splurge with its perfectly marinated flavors and oh so tender consistency. On the non grilled meats front, the bulgogi sushi was tasty take on boxed sushi with a fun presentation. The Chadol jjampong also impressed our table with its perfectly seasoned broth that paired well with the chewy ramen noodles, brisket meat and kimchi. The only thing we felt that could be improved is the banchan selection. Puzukan Tan offers a banchan consisting of japchae, shredded radish kimchi, soy pickled radish and cucumber kimchi. During dinner, we asked if they had any regular cabbage kimchi for the table and surprisingly they did not. The cucumber and radish kimchi were both tasty in their own regards, but the taste of traditional cabbage kimchi just hits different with KBBQ. We also were left yearning for other popular banchan staples such as the thin sliced circular pickled pink radish, stir fried fish cake as well as lettuce for ssam (lettuce wrapped meat). These are small nit picks in the overall grand scheme of things, as everyone at our table thoroughly enjoyed their dining experience at Puzukan Tan!

We ordered TAN "REFRESH" regular which is good for 2-3 person and is only $55! The combo comes with side dishes such as steamed egg, soup and corn cheese (love the corn cheese) and the meats include brisket, kalbi, pork belly, and pork jowl . Both pork were superb, very tender. And I don't know if it's because the restaurant chooses to use charcoal to grill meat, the meat taste better. The also have dry-aged rib-eye, we have way to much food already but we are 100& returning to try the dry-aged next time. Also they have bingsoo dessert, red bean and cereal flakes topped with vanilla ice cream, sooo good and awesome way to complete dinner. To top it off, super friendly staff and excellent services. The servers grill the meat for us and cut into small pieces. I think because they use actual fat to greasy the grill, the grill didn't burn unlike other Korean BBQ restaurants we've been to.

Went for their soft opening and it was a truly a great experience. We ordered the Tan A set and the meat quality was just phenomenal. Unlike some of the Korean bbq around here, the vent system worked and helped really pull the smoke away from the table. Just that alone deserves a 5 star review 😆😆. Come for the meat!