B Won
2006 S Neil St, Champaign, IL, 61820
B Won Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Champaign for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Champaign for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Champaign for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
2006 S Neil St
Champaign, IL, 61820 - Phone (217) 352-2966
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Opening Hours
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Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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J K.
Best Korean restaurant near campus! clean, delicious, kind close to real Korean traditional food
(5)Kali M.
Great food. Everything was very tasty and well-prepared, especially my bulgogi... mmmm.... Our server was awesome, gave us recommendations and kept close watch on our side dish levels, offering refills whenever we got low. The manager happily offered us a whole bowl of candies when my dad asked for a second. Very nice, clean, spartan (in a good way) atmosphere. Overall a winner!
(5)Weiyi S.
I went to this place because my best friend( who is native Korean) told me the dishes here were alike ones in Korea. Since then, I become a regular guest. The food are tasty and the owner is very friendly. I would recommend order something from "drinker's choices".
(4)Patrick M.
B-Won is a magical place in C-U. Its a special, one of a kind, restaurant that is run locally and I hope never goes away. It means to me what the Ribeye must mean to generations past. Anyway, the Menu can be hard to get into, but the staff is over the top friendly they will help you with anything you want to know. I have seen a lot of reviews saying the service was terrible, but in my multiple times have no experienced it. The owned is usually there and they are very welcoming to kids, which is sometimes tough to find. The Bi-Um-Bop is by far my recommendation. It comes in a hot pot with an egg on top, and has great veggies in it. The Rice cooks to the bottom of the pot making this fantastic, crunchy texture to the meal. The sauce they provide is amazing, but spicy so add at your own level of tolerance. Other great dishes include: Spicy Octopus, Bulgogi, Chop Cha.
(5)Samuel L.
It's a nice place to have dinner with group of friends because it's very spacious. The owner is very generous. There are two choices of rice - white or bean. Also there are two types of water they serve - cold water or hot tea. I would recommend the hot tea! In addition, they serve side dishes and they are pretty good. If you ask for more, they will serve you more! The food is pretty good and enough to fill you up.
(4)Erin Y.
The service was a bit slow in the beginning, but once we ordered, it was better. We ordered a seafood pancake for the table, and for entrees we had bi bim bap, spicy cod stew, and chap chae. The pancake was okay- it tasted fine, but the seafood was bland and the pancake itself was mushy rather than crispy. The chap chae was also okay. The noodles were good, but it was very sweet and needed more vegetables. The bi bim bap is really good, and doesn't skimp on ingredients. I didn't try the stew, but it was well-received. Overall, I think it's good Korean food, but nothing spectacular.
(3)Jj W.
like this place a lot. Good food and good service, and food is usually slow when they are busy, I tend to go at off peak hours and the food never let me down. Decent amount of side dishes, huge serving size.
(5)David W.
If you are looking for a ton of opening small dishes, this is the place to go. The service and the rest of the food is mediocre and I would definitely recommend other Korean joints in town for specific things. I'm not Korean but from my korean friends this place is a more Authentic Korean place, but beats me, I thought the food here wasn't as good as say, Woorijib, Aririang, or Star Karaoke. This place definitely had the best side dishes though, they give like 6-8 of em and they will refill all of them for no charge
(3)Kathleen M.
Champaign is lucky to have multiple Korean restaurants but this one has the best food, ambiance and the only bathroom I would use! We had my daughter's birthday dinner two years in a row at this restaurant and they could not have been more gracious and accommodating. The steamed and fried dumplings were delicious and the bulgogi is my hands down favorite. I recommend the multi grain rice, it has more flavor. I am by no means an expert in Korean food but I sure know friendly and polite employees who work in a clean restaurant that serves tasty, fresh food. Give it a try!
(4)Yandy L.
We went there for my friend's birthday tonight. It's my first time giving a reataurant a 1star. The food was over salty, however, that was not the worst part. The service is the worst in my life. The waitress kept giving us nasty looks and horrible attitudes, she yelled at at one of us for forgetting to sign the receipt. The waiter,waitress or even the boss were talking about us in korean. Maybe they thought we cannot see them pointing and laughing at us. At last, the waitress dropped the bill in front of us when we ate for only 15minutes. That was the worst experience in my life and i will never go there again. NOT Recommended!
(1)Pi B.
Great food! Best Korean in town. Service can be slow but as expected. Owner is super friendly and personable.
(5)L L.
Unlimited side dishes... that is all jk, but I haven't found that anywhere else on campus so it's a huge plus. The BBQ is not that good (got the bulgogi and it was horrible) but their regular dishes are good, (squid or octopus), pancakes, soon dobu, etc. I really like the staff, they're all super friendly and accommodating (once we came 30 mins before they were suppose to open but they just let us in anyways)
(4)Robin L.
The food was delicious! I had this dish that was stir fried baby octopus beef and some thin rice noodles. It was so good! And they give you so many side dishes! I'm not a fan of yellow pickled radishes, but even those were edible here!! They also have 2 options for rice - white rice, or mixed rice which is rice and various grains and some beans mixed together!
(5)J. K.
Generally dishes are very classic and not pricey. Might be a good place to go casually.
(4)Mingshan L.
Food is pretty good, but major problem with service. When we dined there, it was severely understaffed; only 4 workers were working the floor, covering all the tables. Some dishes needed to be cooked at the tables so that further limited the service. We had to wait 20+ minutes after sitting down before ordering. Serving sizes were generous but they were very stingy on the rice. When we asked for more, the waiter let out a large exasperated sigh before complying. Quite unprofessional. When we asked for more water, again with the exasperated sigh. So sorry for inconveniencing you! We ordered our dishes with white rice, but when our food was brought out, we got red rice instead. We told them we ordered white, but they said that they were out and red was all they had and left it at that. You have the option of having meat grilled at your table on a portable stove, which is nice, but after they brought the stove out and lit the fire and poured oil in the pan, they left for around 15 minutes. In addition to the increasingly hot oil that was sitting right in front of us, the pan was leaking oil over the open fire and the table. When this was brought up, they brushed it off saying it was okay. They never cleaned up the oil on our table. After we finished our meal, we waited quite a while for our check. Eventually, we were fed up with waiting and we got up to go get someone to bring us the check. When the check arrived, we quickly threw in our credit cards and set it to the side of the table (cards sticking out, easily visible) and proceeded to wait another 15 minutes before they came back to pick up the check. After that it was a good 20 minutes before we got our cards back. TL;DR Food is good, but service is atrocious.
(2)Hye Soo N.
I'm from Korea and I've heard fellow Koreans say that B-won has the best Korean food in CU. Well I went yesterday and they were right! The pork belly & squid dish, along with the mackerel meal, was delicious. My friends from China were impressed as well. And I'd have to say, some Korean restaurants offer very sloppily cooked food by Korean standards (won't mention which ones), yet so many non-korean people think those places are "authentic." Well they should try B-won because it's as close to Korea as you can get in CU.
(5)Jonathan K.
I come from Dallas so this might seem unfair because of some the great Korean Restaurants in the metroplex, but this Restaurant just serves over the top salty food. I got the boodae jiggae and my friends got the dukk guk and the yook geh jang and ever bowl was just too salty along with the side dishes. This would be a good place if you're just desperate to satisfy a Korean craving, but nothing more. Won't be back here again.
(2)Rainie Z.
Worst experience, went there with friends to celebrate her birthday, got yell by the waitress, will never go there again regards the quality of the food.
(2)Jane X.
This is a good place to go. Food is really good (I like their soups and bibimbap). Service is really good.
(4)Joseph P.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had a surge of emergence of Asian restaurants in the last year. However, even among the pile Asian restaurants, the name B Won weighs a ton. B Won is a Korean restaurant that is ran by Korean owners and chefs. Needless to say, their authenticity is not to be questioned. And I mean it. I ordered D2, otherwise known as "bos-som". It is a dish that is meant for two or three people to share. But since I am a "phat" butt, I had it all for myself. On it, comes with seasoned/cooked pork belly along with radish, and raw garlic/jalepeno and lettuce. In case you haven't figure out yet, you are suppose to wrap each of those aforementioned ingredients in the lettuce leaf and eat it whole. The dish, though may seem like a very simple dish to prepare, emphasizes knife work above all else. All the pieces were cut to the same size so perfectly that you would think a machine did it. Some ingredients taste may actually vary depends on the way a chef cut into the ingredients. Upon ordering, you are given a bowl of rice and numerous side dishes, as per Korean culture. Those are free refill. So do dig away. Though be careful, some of those small side dishes may not be for the faint-hearted that are not familiar with authentic Asian cuisine. The restaurant itself is very spacious. The lighting is sufficient, but not too bright to take away the mood. The staff are very nice and attentive (and they have to, with the free to refill side dishes policies). Though high traffic, both the common area and the restrooms are clean beyond my wildest imagination. If you are looking for the best Korean restaurant in town, stop looking and just go.
(4)Sophie E.
I keep getting the tofu stew with seafood (p13 b) and my fiance gets the spicy squid (s5). I am sure the other food is good because it smells and looks fabulous, but we cannot stop ordering these two amazing dishes over and over. Great korean side dishes, good service, great prices, Wonderful place. I'll take a star off because they don't send out the tables entrees together at all. Everything just comes out whenever.
(4)Lillian T.
I took my mom here for her birthday. It's been a few years since we were in Korea and we've both been missing bibimbap since we landed. This obviously isn't quite the same as the stuff back in Seoul but it's pretty close! I did not at all expect to find this little gem in the middle of a cornfield! Serving sizes are good, spice is good, and the man who took care of us was great. I'm hoping to find another excuse to drop by some time soon. There's a pretty big menu and I wouldn't mind eating my way through it.
(5)Chuma N.
My first shot at a restaurant while visiting Illinois and They basically told me that I could not eat there; not sure if that was a racist move but it definitely felt like it.
(1)Suhyun K.
They have good food, but some of the foods can be questionable. Some of the foods don't look fresh, and sometimes, the ingredients look like they are overdue. The food is still one of the best korean foods i've tried in champaign. I just wish the owner of the store wouldn't yell at their employees at our table. It seems very unprofessional
(3)Bryanna M.
I'm really disappointed in this place and will never be returning. I ordered the same dish every time I came for a few months - vegetarian bean curd bi bim bop. I always requested no egg, no meat, just vegetables. I also always place my order with the same man - who appears to be the owner or manager. The last time I went, I decided to dine in with a friend and ordered bean curd bi bim bop. He asked me something after I said bean curd bi bim bop that I didn't quite understand. So I repeated to him, please just the bean curd, nothing else. I also pointed at the bean curd bi bim bop listing on the menu. When the food came out, I checked the dish and it had a pile of gray meat on top. I called the man over and politely said that I had ordered just bean curd. He became angry and almost shouted that I had ordered beef. I told him that I was sorry for the misunderstanding but I always order vegetarian - no meat - just bean curd. He snatched the dish away and went to the counter where he began banging things around angrily. A minute later (obviously not enough time to re-fire a dish) a different server placed a bowl in front of me. I searched through the food before eating and found more strips of gray meat throughout. Apparently, they had just scooped out the top of the same dish and served it to me again. I was incredibly embarrassed and disappointed. Based on the reaction I received from the manager/owner I did not expect that any further questions or complaints would be met in a productive way. We ended up paying our entire ticket (including the inedible bi bim bop) and promptly leaving to go get food somewhere else. Mistakes happen all the time, but the reaction I received at politely asking for the correct dish was abhorrent and not any way to run a restaurant. If you would like an enjoyable, pleasant meal without an irate and unreasonable staff, I would suggest going elsewhere.
(1)Liren C.
Went to B Won for dinner for the first time last night and spent the entire day today going to the bathroom and feeling sick. I have an iron stomach and can't remember when was the last time I got sick from eating out (knock on wood). While I don't think I had serious food poisoning I do feel that the ingredients are not the freshest, the cooking oil is suspicious and the food is loaded with sodium (even more so than typical Korean food). The seafood pancake was a huge letdown. I couldn't find anything other than gigantic scallions in the thin and greasy pancakes. Last time I checked scallions were not considered to be seafood! Last time I had seafood pancake in New York, it was thick with crispy outer layer and FULLY loaded with identifiable seafood from shrimp to crab meat. What they serve here is a travesty. For entree, I had stir fry with baby squid and marinated steak. There were lesser tiny pieces of squid in the whole dish than all the tentacles on a baby squid. It was also the chewiest and most rubber like squid I have ever had in my life. Lucky, it was easy to pick them out since there were so few pieces. The beef was chewy as well. Like I had mentioned before, the dish was salty enough to require a side of blood pressure medication. All I can say about the service is that it was quick. A bit too quick for my liking. My bill came with my entree! Hello, at least let me pick out the squid first. I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately I will not be back.
(2)Eric K.
This easily-overlooked Korean restaurant off-campus is unobtrusive, clean, and spacious. It's located on a nondescript strip mall on Neil, and unfortunately hard to get to without a car. (Disclaimer: Not Korean) I have been here once, a long time ago, and twice in more recent memory. Both of these times, I have ordered the fried rice with tender beef, because it is honestly one of the best dishes of fried rice I have ever tasted. Whatever, I don't care that it probably isn't that authentic of a dish; I wish I could cook a batch of fried rice that good. There are many types of veggies cooked in with the dish, but they're mainly there for texture and flavor. It all ends up creating this fairly homogenous taste, but it doesn't matter, it's homogenous like a tub of butter pecan ice cream is homogenous; sure, there's no variation, but in the end, it still tastes really good and you're happy to eat more. The rest of the menu is vast, containing foods that I don't know how to pronounce nor consume. Also, don't forget that they bring out six dishes of banchan, small accompaniments that go with your meal. All of this makes for a (seemingly) authentic experience that's pretty good for central Illinois. The owner is a pretty animated guy, always staying busy at the counter, and keeping this place immaculately clean. He's a bit aloof, probably because his English isn't so good, but I'm sure he's a lot more chatty and helpful in Korean, and the same goes for another waitress.
(5)Nanxi L.
I am officially becoming a fan today. Before today, I usually have some soup dishes with chunks of meat and rice cake or noodles in it. Those are not my faves. But today, I had the sauteed sweet potato noodles with veggies and slices of beef, N1 in the menu. Thin round noodles (thicker than angel hair and clear) were sauteed and stirred fried very graciously with the slightly sweet and salty and greasy sauce. Beef slices bound into chunks but absorbed the sauce well. The Veggies were too thin-cut and too little. An improvement space there. Overall, 3.5 stars for the above and 5 stars for the seafood pancake (tons of green onions, if you can get pass with that).
(4)Kam Yan C.
The food were pretty good, but the service was toooooooo slow. It was lunch hour and only 2 people were working. The side dishes were too salty.
(3)Ye L.
The food is a little bit expensive for students. The service is tooooo slow. Overall the food is okay.
(3)Sherry Y.
Is the food good? Yes. Is the service? Fast for large groups but these people are RUDE. I've heard of them making fun of fat people. They also cracked jokes about my friend and I when we were there. When I was outside parking my bike, the owner GLARED at me while I locked it. Unprofessional and crude service here. I can take my service elsewhere, thank you.
(3)Jacky L.
Never come on Friday night. There is an hour wait for food. And they won't tell you you may have to wait before you place your order.
(1)Rish A.
Food was authentic and incredibly yummy. Lived in Seoul for two years. I've been back in the States for almost a year and had yet to try a Korean restaurant in the States. This place hit the spot. We ordered the hae-mul pajeon (half order) and two orders of the galbi. The half order of pajeon was huge! So much food! It was heartbreaking to not be able to finish it. I drove an hour and some change just to eat at this place and was not disappointed. I can't wait to go back to try the seollangtang. The kimchi was also quite delish. Five yummy stars!
(5)Xiaomei L.
The food is fine, but the service sucks. We came for a late lunch, and there were only two tables including us. The guy (I believed it's the owner) came to our table several times just standing and staring at us while we are still looking at the menu, which was so creepy. I told him we needed more time to decide but it looked like he didn't understand me and came by again before we were ready to order. I felt like being rushed to order. Then the food came, and they were fine. But the bill came when we were in half eating, and the guy just dropped the bill on our table saying nothing. That was sooooooo RUDE.
(2)Amy Y.
Food is okay but oversalted, service lacks everything but admonitions. Usually bossiness in local restaurants is fine with me. It's part of the experience. But now they're lax, too. It's 90+ degrees outside, and our water glasses were empty for quite a while. The owner walked backed and forth, clearing other tables, bringing other food, talking through the kitchen window to the staff, vegging out, but never checked on us. Finally I helped myself to more water from the serving station. My mackerel was terribly salty, and my friend's stir-fry was gritty with seasoning. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be, but I found it only so-so. Soups were tepid -- either hot or cold-noodles, please. And only 6 side dishes, never refilled or offered to refill. Several months ago, I asked for a printed menu to take with me, so I could order something from home. He told me to take pictures of their menu with my cell phone. Yes, that's service. I can print my own menus, and refill my own water -- for my $11 lunch entree. I liked this restaurant much more in earlier years. I see why it's less and less popular. The interior was/is much cleaner than other local ethnic places, but it's starting to be less pleasant inside. The fans are full blast and make a strobe effect with the lighting.
(2)Rui C.
The food is very good. The price is right. The wait is dreadful. Seriously, 1 hour for the first entrée?!? Really? 3 minutes for next entrée, then 20 minutes more for the third and fourth entrees for our group of four. Unbelievable. One of our party knew folks working there, or we would have left. Just too slow. Oh, and they ran out of the dumpling appetizers. And we found that out 40 minutes into our wait.
(2)Pete B.
3.5 stars B-Won seems to be my go-to Korean place now, but II don't think it's because of their food. I'm not a Korean food connoisseur. Apart from Bulgogi, I really don't know what to get. It seems like I just randomly get anything that's on a hot-plate at Korean restaurants. I've had an AMAZING Korean meal before and since then I've been trying to replicate that experience. No success though. So why B-Won over the 3 other Korean places on campus (4 if you count Spoon house)? Maybe it's simply because of the ambient. Even though the waiter spoke little English and wasn't able to offer any helpful recommendation, the overall ambient was much less chaotic than other Korean restaurants. The restaurant wasn't too loud to talk or too smoky too breathe. I don't know if the food is any better because I never seem to get the same dishes to compare, but the experience was more enjoyable.
(4)Greg S.
Best Korean food in cu. period. never had a problem with service. It's a family restaurant, don't expect service like that at a frickin tgi-Fridays!!!!
(5)Rachel V.
The food that we have ordered here has been very reasonable in price and generous servings with a huge number of tasty sides. The staff has always been super nice and the owner or manager always comes to ask us how our meal is. The first time I got the hot stone bowl the waiter explained how to mix everything up. YUM! The limited English can be a little bit of a problem if you need to clarify if something is vegetarian but the atmosphere, food and staff are all excellent.
(4)Joanna P.
If only Yelp do half a star...this would be a 3.5 star for me. Ok, the first time I went to this place with my sister, we tried the beef bulgogi which was cooked in this big pot right in front of you. That was a thumbs up. Along with the beef bulgogi we got soon dubu jjigae (spicy soup that has tofu in it), a salad, and 7...not 1 or 2... but 7 side dishes. That's pretty impressive. The side dishes were delicious. The beef was perfectly cooked at that time. I love how marinated sauce thickens by the time the meat was completely cooked, it has so much flavor to it and there's that hint of sweetness to it. Ok second time we visited, me and my sister ordered the same food cuz, well, we freakin love the first one that much. To my surprised, it was more of let-down. The beef was harder to chew, the sauce that comes with the beef was rather runny or liquidy compared to the thick yummilicious one, and the soup wasn't as warm as before and got cold pretty quick. At both times someone was cooking the bulgogi for us (We just don't know how to do it.. or I guess we're just spoiled lol) and by the same person. The people were really nice though, very nice. I just didn't like the food the second time around. Am I going to this place again? Why not. I've only tasted one dish and I want to try others. This would've been easily a 4 if the food was prepared the same way as before. Consistency is important.
(3)Houzi B.
In a nutshell: Good food, but RUDE. The food is delicious....if they give you time to eat it. B. Won has a fundamental service problem. I arrived at 8:45 on a Saturday and unsure how late it was open, checked the sign on the door, which stated they're open until 10:30 every night (except Monday, when the restaurant is closed). These hours are repeated on the front of their menu as well. On entering, the genial host welcomed us effusively. We sat down, ordered, and in five minutes, long before any food, the check arrived, our waiter saying, "We close at 9:30. Please pay now." When I pointed out that the sign on the door said the place closes at 10:30, the waiter responded, "Actually, we close at 9:00." The food arrived, and was delicious (though the speed with which the BBQ was ladled on my plate made it clear that they hoped we'd eat quickly and get out. I was harassed twice while eating to pay the bill -- clearly their need to cash out taking precedence over my comfort or dining experience. What was especially galling was that while we were eating, the restaurant staff were setting a table for their own meal. It was apparent that no one was really going anywhere, and they could easily have let us dine in peace. It's a shame really, that a place with such decent food lacks a basic standard of cordiality.
(2)Helen P.
Yum! This was my first adventure with Korean food, and I was delighted. The soup arrived still boiling - which I far prefer to tepid. The meal was delicious, and the service friendly.
(4)Matthew L.
I totally agree with helen H, I had the same dish and it was amazing. This is definitely my Korean restaurant of choice in C-U... clean, modern, incredibly and fast friendly service. The only downside is the menu being slightly confusing for someone who doesn't understand Korean, but I respect they don't 'dumb it down' too much! Prices are slightly higher than Campustown, but totally worth the $2 more.
(4)Kris H.
The people there have mental problems! Seriously, I have never had more bizarre treatment by people in a restaurant. I ordered a dish that happened to have the rice separately; it was meant to be mixed with the other sauces and veggies and such. I have a rice allergy, so I was pleased as punch that it came separately so I could just avoid it. I'm used to doing that. The waitress saw me doing that -- not mixing everything with my rice -- and had a cow. She looked like she had just laid an egg and came clucking over to me and explaining that they had to be mixed, etc. I told her about my allergy and that I wasn't going to eat the rice. Her jaw literally dropped, and she ran away -- get this -- to bring the manager over so he could talk to me. I spent almost 10 entire minutes, completely embarrassed while my date sat across from me and tried to keep from laughing, listening to the manager and this waitress crowd around me and insist that it wouldn't taste right without the rice, I HAD to mix the rice, please mix the rice...oh. my. GOD. It's an allergy, people! When they finally went away, they sat a few tables away and literally just watched me eat the rest of the time until I left. What creepy people! No other Korean restaurant I've ever been has had such total weirdos; this place is just "special"!
(2)Anne W.
I think this is the best place for Korean in town. It is more expensive than campus.. but I think the food is a lot better and you get a lot more for the price. Plus, free parking! If you have never eaten Korean though, I would go with somebody so you're not totally overwhelmed by all the dish names. I like the seafood pancake (go for the half portion.. it's almost as large as the full), dolsot bimbimbop, and seafood jigae (a spicy soup). The service is a hit or miss. One time I had to get my own water, utensils, and bill. Other times.. the service is just fine.
(4)Jinho P.
I was a regular here during grad school. It was the closest thing to my mother's cooking back in Seattle. I just didn't have time to cook for myself during finals week so I hit this place every other day. I highly recommend their Jung-shik courses. It comes with rice, bean paste soup, side dishes, and fried mackerel fish. I found this to be the most well-balanced meal for those needing to meet the demands of school. I have heard about the customer service being a hit or miss and that's cause you don't speak Korean or you always expect amazing service without tipping well. My suggestion: tip well and they will remember you. Because I knew they were a primary supplier for my Korean fix, I wanted to show them I valued their business. It worked. They remembered what I ordered, I was always seated promptly during busy times, and the owners were never rude to me. I often came alone and they always still cared to ask how my food was-which was always great. I give them 4 stars out of 5 because they close on one of the weekdays, I forget which one. I even forgot when I lived there so I often drove out for no good reason. hah.
(4)Vina A.
some sizzling pork dish was soooooo goood! large portions. authentic. Slow on service since it's family run and short on hand (hire someone,) but very friendly and sweet. Totally hits the spot.
(4)Katherine C.
Given the size of Champaign-Urbana, I was quite surprised by the number of Korean restaurants in this town. I have had generally good experiences at each one, but B Won is by far my favorite, especially as it is the best option for more formal dinners. B Won radiates with casual elegance unlike the other Korean restaurants here, which feel more like sweaty lunch spots for strung-out college students. The real benefit of this building's high ceilings and good ventilation is that you don't feel like you're sitting in the characteristic smoke clouds found at most Korean restaurants (delicious, delicious barbecue smoke clouds--but, smoke clouds nonetheless). The sophistication of B Won is also reflected in a menu that is both diverse and interesting. They have all the standards, like bulgolgi, jiggae, and bibimbap, but they really separate themselves from other Korean places in the variety of noodles, soups, and casseroles they serve. Each item in the menu is given a description of the full complement of the dish's ingredients, which can be helpful for diners unfamiliar with Korean cuisine--and reading about ingredients like bellflower root and sweet potato noodles just makes you feel like you'll be enjoying an exotic meal. During the winter, I love to eat their soups made of beef bones, which are always filling and well-seasoned. I also have to pay compliments to the kimchi, which really stands out among the side dishes for me. I usually overlook the nappa kimchi in favor of other dishes that I prefer, but at B Won, the kimchi has what I would describe as a very distinctive, carbon-y (think soda fizz) sensation in the mouth. Lastly, I want to address comments from other reviewers about the behavior of the owner and wait staff. Although I'll admit that the waiters seem a bit socially inappropriate (by American standards), my own experiences give me the impression that their actions are mainly innocuous and can be attributed to cultural differences. My experiences aren't intended to dismiss the feelings of obvious discomfort felt by other patrons; I'm just merely trying to cast a more humorous, silly light on the situation. One time, I went with friends and we all ordered entrees. The waiter asked if we wanted white rice or mixed rice (a blend made of several types of rice, grains, and beans). My friend asked, "What's mixed rice?" We saw the waiter struggle for an English description: "It's, uh...well...it's...it's...it's good. Yeah, it's good." We had a laugh and just ordered the mixed rice, given his recommendation that it was good. Another time, we had just finished a meal and received our check, which comes with pieces of corn-flavored candy. My friends were weirded-out by the flavor and didn't eat their candy, much to the chagrin of the waiter when he returned to our table. He asked why they weren't eating it (rejection of food is considered pretty rude in Asian culture), but I quickly picked up the candy and said, "You don't want it? I'll eat it then." That seemed to resolve the whole situation, as the waiter hurried back with our change and more pieces of corn candy for me.
(5)lisa N.
When I have out of town guests from California or the East Coast, this is where we go. The portions are huge, I always have enough to take home. Their dishes are really well spiced, they have great side dishes including some interesting and unusual ones that aren't just kim chee, and the service is well meaning, though sometimes quite slow. some people have written that the servers seem to be in a hurry and rush you, which I have seen as well, but this is not unusual in a Korean restaurant. It suits me perfectly, since I know what I want there and want it quick, and I figure that they are just trying to help me reach that goal. This is also the only Korean restaurant in town that is relatively nicely decorated.
(4)David S.
This place is great. I really didn't expect too much when I decided to give it a try for dinner, first because I've had some disappointing experiences with Korean food in the past, and second because of its weird location outside of town and tucked between the train track and a GM dealership. I got there at around 9pm (which is late for getting dinner on a weekday in Champaign), and surprisingly enough the place was quite happening (it wasn't nearly full, there were a good dozen of people or so). The interior is a little bare, but it's clean, modern and well lit. The menu selection is extensive, and while I'm by no means a connoisseur of Korean food, they seemed to offer a lot of pretty typical dishes. I ordered the stir-fried squid in spicy sauce (see picture... I love squid and will order it whenever I can, which is surprising considering I wouldn't even consider eating it just a few years ago... but I digress), and it was pretty good. The squid was just a tiny little bit too tough, and this could have been expected considering the distance to the nearest ocean(!), but it was still very good. And not to forget: this little side dishes were plentiful and delicious (again see picture), and it also came with a bowl of rice and soup... I'm happy I didn't order any appetizer, which I was considering doing upon getting there, because that plenty of food already. All of that for a very reasonable price ($10.50). Sure, this may not be the best Korean food I've had, but it was still very good, filling and relatively cheap... how much more does one really need?... 4-1/2 stars.
(4)Barack O.
Decor and service are nice, but food tastes either bland (like the bibimbap) or awkward (like the fried rice), depending on what you order. Even though I've been dragged here many times, the menu is extremely extensive, so if you're into Korean cuisine this place might be worth a try. It's just that, if the flavor of B-Won food is an acquired taste, I never got it even after repeat visits.
(3)Allan C.
B Won is a pretty good Korean place that's a bit more accessible than the ones on campus town. (free parking!) The atmosphere's spacious and the service was pretty attentive. Overall this place was solid and is definitely a good choice if campus town is ridiculously crowded or if you're simply not in the mood to pay for parking. The bulgogi was above average, though it wasn't grilled. That was sad. However, it came with plenty of tasty sides and a bowl of miso soup. It also came with a salad with a kim chee-esque vinegrette. Sundobu jigae and Pa chun: Nothing particularily special, but quite tasty.
(4)Trent R.
I overall enjoy B Won. Whenever I go to a Korean restaurant I always get their Chap-Che and I was not disappointed. I am going to keep this review nice and short, compared to other reviews on this page. B Won is a good place in champaign to get some quality Korean food. The staff however may not be as friendly. Long story short, my mom is Korean and she hates this place because they were mean and horrible in service. I however had great service and they were super friendly. GO TO B WON AND TRY THEIR CHAP-CHE!!!! Oh and I love their side dishes w/ every meal.
(4)Liv H.
This korean restaurant looks a lot nicer than the ones on campus. But the amount of food they give you is definitely less for the price they charge, and it's not as tasty. I've only been here twice with big groups of 20+. The service isn't great for a big party, they have no idea what you ordered and bring the plate around to each person to ask who got it, interruping your conversation. The waiters were very nice, but the management was very mean to them. I prefer A Ri Rang on campus over this.
(2)Christian S.
As a non-Korean I'm sure I'm missing some nuances, but for me if I want upscale Korean this is the place to go in the area. The strengths: Try the S6 spicy chicken and cabbage. Or the seafood pancake. Of course the classics are good too -- Bulgogi, Bebimbap hot and cold. They also make a mean takeout box because they include a solid selection of banchan (the little appetizer dishes). I also like the mixed rice which I have not seen elsewhere in town. Service can be slow.
(4)Hannah M.
I had just moved here from California and our family loves Korean food so I was really excited when we found B Won. Yay!! Go B Won! It was pretty nice inside, a thousand times better than the cafeteria type looking Korean places in campus town. So far it's been the best Korean food I've had in Champaign. We ordered the spicy beef soup (yuk gae jang) and the spicy cold noodles (bi bim naeng myun) and it was very good. And it's not even that pricey. Around $10 per dish.. not even that much more at all than the restaurants in campus town. Whoever said it was way pricier must be trippin..
(4)Kwoky L.
Unlike other Korean restaurants in Chambana, B Won's interior looks more upscale and clean. Their prices are a little higher as well and they have the same menu for lunch or dinner. I tried their Dolsot Bi Bim Bap and it was very good but it was just a tad too pricey for students on a budget. I'd stick to the Korean restaurants in Campustown.
(3)Sam W.
Extremely disappointed. The food is worse than at Woori Jib (when cooked by the boss there, not by the Mexican "substitute-chef" who has no idea what he is doing) or at Good Fella, also on Neil, which is overall the best Korean restaurant in town. Both my and my friend's dishes were VERY salty and unhealthy, a ton of salt, MSG and excessive oil. Yes, we know that Korean food is not necessarily dietetic, but it CAN be extremely tasty and well-cooked without sending you to the hospital. It's hard to believe how people talk about how this would be "authentic" Korean food. Far from it, it is a bastardized, vulgar version of Korean recipes, with unhealthy, unbalanced spices piled up in order to shock the tastebuds of (sorry) undiscerning customers. Your tongue will be anesthetized, your stomach, liver and kidneys will NOT thank you. The atmosphere is awful. The owner and the waiters are rude, they give you the impression that they don't want you there, that you're intruding on them while they have better things to do. A guy basically ORDERED us to order RIGHT AWAY. We've received just a tad of tea in some odd glasses and FOR 40 MINUTES we never had a tea refill and no waiter ever asked us whether everything is OK, whether we need anything else etc. Given how salty the food was, we were really thirsty, not that they cared. We'll never go back. For those of you familiar with the British series Fawlty Towers, this is the closest experience to that one which we've ever had in Urbana-Champaign. The only place which serves food which is even worse is The Great impasta, but B-Won takes the trophy for the worst service in town. By comparison, Soup Nazi from Seinfeld was a gentleman.
(1)Helen H.
I liked this place. They made my dolsot bi bim bap correctly. Unlike alot of places, they actually heat up the pot right. It's supposed to go up to a really high temperature so that the rice on the edges will become crispy and slightly burnt. This is the best part of bi bim bap... and they did it perfectly.
(4)Mariam N.
On campus, I go to Woori Jib for a quick bolgogi at the office. Otherwise, I go to B-Won. I'm not a student, so the slightly higher prices aren't a bother to me. The food is consistently great, and my friends and I haven't had any trouble with the wait staff (some of them are even regularly entertaining!). The manager/owner is also super indulgent of cute toddlers (my friends', not mine) and long-winded customers (we've often sat and chatted for hours and hours there).
(4)G L.
the amount of food and the quality is ok for the price. the interior is large, clean, and can accomodate large groups. BUT i was also there at 8:30 and was made to order before i even sat down. the waiter made me feel like if i didn't order right that second i wouldn't be able to eat at all. we were in a large group and gave them a lot of business, so i think they should have been a little more accommodating as far as giving us some time to think about what we wanted to eat. i was also told to order from the very limited menu b/c anything else would take too long to cook. then we saw everyone who ordered off the regular menu get their food waaaay before we did. we ordered 5 orders of the bul go gi and 1 order of the seafood bul go gi. they decided to lump in that 5th order of regular bul go gi in with the seafood one b/c they didn't feel like cooking that one separately. they didn't even ask us first if that was ok. just really careless service.
(1)L H.
My son-in-law is half Korean, so when he's craving some of his mom's best Korean dishes, B Won is where he loves to go. My daughter and I like it too. It's an elegant little restaurant with a very friendly and polite staff. They always greet us warmly and service is good. I have to say that the gold standard for me is a positively ambrosial 8-course Korean meal I had at a family restaurant in Honolulu back in the 80's. I've never had anything like it since then. I remember it being the heartiest of Asian cuisines, but very low-fat. B Won's food tends to be kind of oily. I usually get the mixed vegetable with sliced ribeye, and that's quite good. I'm also very fond of the squid pancake and all the luscious little dishes they serve to be shared communally as appetizers (pickled ginger, sprouts, turnips, and a half-dozen other things.) I could live without the barley tea or the rice candy, but B Won is usually filled with Korean people and I understand that these are items that they expect and enjoy. I like B Won and don't mind going there now and again.
(4)Paul N.
This was the place we took our parents to after our quickie courthouse wedding. Everyone seemed happy.
(5)Amy D.
I'm so annoyed. We got there at 8:30 and he rushed us to order. I didn't even get to see the menu. He only told us that the grilled food was available even though we saw other tables come in and got other foods. I mean, if you're going to open a business, just keep your restaurant open a little longer. Don't rush people to order, it's just poor customer service. And who freaking closes a kitchen at 8:30 for pete's sake. The prices are a rip-off especially since it's in a college town. They said they didn't have any more pan chan after we requested more. There's other Korean restaurants and closer to campus, I would totally skip this place!!
(1)Nick M.
B Won is nice, but definitely has room for improvement. The atmosphere was great, everything was very clean. The servers were friendly and the service was great until it got busy, and then it went seriously downhill. The corn tea served with the meal was excellent and a nice change to water. The food was so-so, nothing special. The side dishes were okay, but the servings were small and no one offered to refill them. The main dishes were bland at best (seafood dolsot bi bim bap and bean sprout stew with dried pollack and bean curd). The stew was spicy even though there was no spice indication in the menu (not necessarily bad, but not good when unexpected). The prices were a little high considering you can get the same portion size at other Korean restaurants for a couple bucks less. I would definitely go to Woori Jib before coming back to B Won.
(2)Tim M.
The best damn Korean food I've had in Champaign. I dont' know what people's problems are giving this place a bad review just based on price. Not every place in Champaign/urbana is supposed to be oriented towards poor-ass college kids. I'm sorry but I'm giving this 5 stars. Sometimes if you want quality food, you have to pay a little more, and I still felt like it wasn't expensive. I think I had tae jung Jigae with beef, and a beer for about $10. Honestly I think this place had better food then most of the places I've been in LA. Atmosphere was great, the host(who seemed to be the owner) was great, good beer, good food. I'm sold
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