In April of this year, Kevin Koon and his family opened the second location of South Korean barbecue restaurant BORI at 501 Lovett. It’s tucked away near the old KPFT station and Alliance Française de Houston in the heart of Montrose. Houston Food Finder was recently invited for dinner, and we were curious as to whether the newer location offers as much charm and tasty cuisine as the original. 

The Spring Branch location provides a sumptuous feast for the eyes with its attached art gallery and outdoor “Peace Garden”, and the new location similarly delivers its own unique visual experience through impressive architecture and a cozy, intimate ambiance. This is largely thanks to its setting of a renovated property built in 1917 that was originally the home of Houston Mayor Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr. Later, the historic building was a charming bed and breakfast, then served as a 50-bed youth hostel. Sadly, our visit was marred by a thunderstorm that prevented my dining partner and I from fully taking in the 17,000-square-foot property. (I guess we’ll have to go back!)

Despite the storm, the restaurant was packed with large parties and families that were all smiles as they shared in the communal experience that is Korean barbecue. It’s an integral part of the East Asian nation’s dining culture, and Houston has been blessed with a number of these restaurants, known as gogi-jips, or “meat houses” in South Korea — many of which include “garden” in their name. This trend carried over to the United States when new barbecue restaurants aimed to capitalize on the success of the wildly popular Samwon Garden in Seoul in the late ’70s. 

While BORI may be more expensive than many of the “K-BBQ” spots in town, the price is justified by the ingredients, which includes A5 Japanese Wagyu, dry‐aged steaks, filet mignon, stone-grilled steaks and marinated boneless short rib, which has buttery-rich marbling that yields a melt-in-your-mouth richness and deep umami flavor.

Choosing your selection can be daunting due to the dizzying array of proteins, but the staff at BORI is eager to help. Beef is king, but pork options are available (and encouraged), including fatty pork jowl, pork belly and spicy pork shoulder. You can choose whatever meats you like à la carte, or go with one of the recommended combinations, which include selected cuts of beef or pork, a skillet of Korean corn cheese, an earthenware pot of fluffy, Korean-style steamed eggs (gyeran jim) and your choice of kimchi or soybean stew. 

The staff prepares the selected cuts and cooks them before your eyes over the smokeless charcoal table grill, and can even recommend the best dip pairings. Top-of-the-line adjustable hood vents further assist in making sure you don’t go home reeking to high heaven of grilled meats, despite how appealing that might sound.

Much of the barbecue, called gogi-gui in Korean, uses simple, flavorful marinades consisting of ingredients such as soy sauce, garlic, gochujang, toasted sesame oil, sugar and other seasonings, but for well-marbled cuts like ribeye, New York strip and short ribs, just a dab of sesame oil with finishing salt will do (for the first bite at least). The most popular way to enjoy the meat is in the form of “ssam”, Korean wraps made from lettuce, leafy greens, perilla leaf and/or ssam mu (pickled Korean radish), which you can then fill with rice, pickled garlic, punchy kimchi and whichever sides and sauces your heart desires before popping it into your mouth.

It’s all served with a flight of dipping sauces and classic side dishes, known as banchan, including kimchi, oi muchim (spicy cucumber salad), pickled onions (yangpa jangajji), fish cake strips (odeng) and Korean-style potato salad.

It’s also customary to finish (or compliment) your meal with some savory carbs or cold buckwheat noodles, and you can mix in any leftover meats to really put a bow on things. A personal must-have is the japchae — sautéed glass noodles with vegetables, mushrooms and flecks of beef.

Other favorites include kimchi pancakes, kimchi fried rice, fried pork dumplings and bulgogi tteokbokki — small, chewy cylindrical rice cakes cooked with sesame oil, soy sauce, aromatics and vegetables with tender slices of marinated ribeye. And with such a selection of high-quality beef, you’d be remiss not to order the BORI Beef Tartare, a Montrose exclusive, flavored with Asian pear, avocado, cucumber, snow cheese (Korean cheese-flavored seasoning powder) and caviar on a crispy rice paper chip. Part of the fun is seeing every square inch of table space filled with a smorgasbord of mouthwatering dishes.

The only missteps during our dining experience came with our cocktails, which were the first things we ordered yet arrived with the to-go boxes at the very end of the meal (and took a few reminders to receive) and included citrus fruit garnishes that still contained the seeds. I’d also welcome coasters or beverage napkins to avoid wet spots all over the table. But while cocktails are fun, no Korean barbecue is complete without soju and ice-cold beer, and BORI has a handsome selection.

Overall, we had an excellent experience that stands up to the original while delivering its own feel, and I consider it a boon for the neighborhood.

BORI – Montrose is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Complimentary (gratuity-only) valet is available.

Mario-Sebastian Berry

Mario-Sebastian Berry is a wine and spirits vendor who has been in the hospitality industry since 2002. Currently, he represents Blanco, Texas-based Andalusia Whiskey Co. He holds numerous wine, beer and spirits certifications including Certified Sommelier. Somehow, he also finds time to be Houston Food Finder’s associate editor and social media manager.