O Bal Tan

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  5      Value  7     

BBQ is the key feature here especially with the real charcoal and grill -the smoke is sucked up by this interesting long contraption hanging down from the roof. The "TONG BEER" is one of a kind bong of draft beer served on the table. Service can be slow so need to repeatedly press the buzzer. Overall pretty decent korean restaurant and habee been there several times with work colleagues.

Nov 08, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  9     

I'm a vegan so a BBQ house was not a great choice of my friends but the staff seemed very accommodating telling me I could have any dish made vegetarian. They brought out many side dishes for everyone for free (standard apparently) and I had a vegetarian hot pot. It was absolutely divine until I notice tiny pieces of beef in the bottom. The manager came and was very apologetic and gave me my dish for free and offered to make me another one.

The food was very cheap and the service was fast because you press a buzzer and they come right to you. Even with the mishap I would definitely go back!

Aug 17, 2011 

10 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

I have eaten at most Korean BBQ places I thought, and found this cute little place and now easily my favourite. Best service I've had in any restaurant for a very long time, amazing food, sides were filled up whenever they became empty.

May 16, 2011 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  7     

This place is So hidden, its next to Sydney Madang and when you look into the alley way off Pitt Street, you can only see Sydney Madang, to the right of it is this place. It's really hidden, or maybe thats the way they like it.

Foodwise it was good korean bbq, but the vents which suck up the smell of cooking food wasn't there, the vents were on the roof! They bring out the food quickly and the table was too small to have everything there, so we had to place the meats on another 2 chairs instead of the table. Value wise its what you expect to pay in other korean places.

Aug 10, 2010 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

Came here recently for a birthday party, the service had its hits and misses. Putting our orders down proved to be difficult as they didn't speak English, food came out at an adequate time and they assisted us in cooking our food too, which was nice.

The food came out fresh and staff kept topping up our salads, the food, however, started tasting the same after a while which was a bit off-putting. When it came around to cutting the cake they provided us with cutlery and dishes to serve it up on (with now additional charges ie. cakeage).

Overall a good experience and unlike other Korean BBQ places you don't come home smelling like food which was a plus, service was nice and friendly and the place itself adds character to the whole evening. Would definitely come here again.

Apr 15, 2010 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  5      Value  7     

I always go there for my special occasion, and never disappointing. Marinated Rib is the best meat and try sweet potato salad. Meat for 1 person is around $15~$18. but it comes with 5-6 other side dishes.

Mar 19, 2010 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

It's 2010 and I have already been here like 6 times, I am a massive Korean food craver, this place is great as it is 3 levels with great ambience. I have been here for the BBQ and the non-BBQ, both is great. I love the hot pots too and my fav is ox tonge and beef skirts.

The staff is wonderful plus there is a bar so you can order a beer or soju if need be. This place has plenty of seating thus you never have to wait like Madang next store. This place has become one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney, being in this restaurant reminds me of being in Seoul. Also this place is great value for what you pay for. Would highly recommend to anyone.

Mar 10, 2010 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Charcoal BBQ meats is just delicious at Obaltan. Been coming here for the last year and the chilli pork belly, marinated beef ribs and prawns are my favorite. Try combination BBQ sets. Waiters are always nice and friendly. I have been to a couple other Korean BBQ restaurants in Lidcombe and Burwood and Obaltan is by far the best.

Jun 23, 2009 

4.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  2      Value  5     

We had a seafood pancake to start-was a little too uncooked and was not sure that the seafood inside was fresh. Nothing special, rather disappointing in terms of value for money ($12, just $1 cheaper than several main meals). Beef rips were okay, (again not impressive at all) but the portion size was a bit small ($18 for 1 and 2 for minimum order). Like the other person (below) said, the octopus and beef pot was pretty good. We all enjoyed that.

One very disappointing point was the service. 1 of the waitresses seemed to be new and not to know how to communicate and approach the customers. Also we were told to cook (bbq) our beef and king prawns together, though there was one person in our group who particularly disliked the meat. Other thing is that, the bbq rack was not changed at once even one time, (if anyone is familiar with the Korean bbq, you'll understand what it means here).

I used to love this place very much, food was nice and the service was friendly and very helpful. Well, it was, about 2 years ago. These days, it seems to have lost all those good factors even I don't see the consistency in foods. One day, the food was too spicy, and the other time it was rather too sweet. Now I know that I will never come back to this place, there are heaps of other Korean restaurants around.

Apr 23, 2009 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  9     

Went there with a friend on a Wednesday night for dinner. We had the seafood pancake and it was delicious! We also had a beef, octopus and tofu chilli hotpot. The hotpot came with rice, kimchi and several side dishes. The flavours were great and I would definitely recommend this place.

Apr 19, 2009