Charim St. Matthews Opened

My family had a meal at Charim. The the parking lot was packed, the restaurant itself had very few customers. We were the only non-Koreans there at the time.

It's typical Korean fare, well prepared. We were given a small but well made selection of banchan, including two kinds of kimchi and a sweet soybean dish my kids loved. The Mandu were clearly fresh and house-made; next time we'll get two orders so the adults get more than a taste. I wish the bibimbap had a raw egg rather than the strips of cooked egg it came with, but the sweet hot sauce it came with made up for that - I used a lot of it. The lack of raw egg was my only real problem with any of our food, and I know that's a matter of personal preference.

I'm not going to compare it to the best Korean I've had in other cities, but it was very good, a great deal better than the other places that have come and died in this space.

By the way, the kid's bulgogi was a steal. For $5, the portion of meat was a lot more than my kids could handle.

The staff was extremely welcoming and friendly. I hope they do well.

Where in St. Matthews?

[Robin Garr]

Where in St. Matthews?

Next door to Havana Rumba, down from Del Frisco's. Cursed location, but I too hope this one sticks.

We;ll have to try it!

Did eat at the new competition, Soora, in the hidden location off Goose Creek and Westport on Friday. As has been mentioned, HUGE amount of food, nice kim chee, good cooking. Got there areound 5:45, early, but at that stage they still were forecasting terrible driving. There was one family there, and place was empty. We were concerned for them, but by the time we left there were no empty tables, with a mix of maybe 33% Korean/67% not. I do have high hopes for this, as there is a heavy concentration of Asians living in that general area.

It's nice to have a choice in Korean places in the East End.

Where in St. Matthews?

Next door to Havana Rumba, down from Del Frisco's. Cursed location, but I too hope this one sticks.

I never understood the "cursed location" claim. I'm not one to bash restaurants on this site, but quite frankly, none of these restaurants that existed in that location were very good. When we moved to the neighborhood, it was an Indian place, and we eagerly tried each new location and were never impressed.

This isn't to say that the food was terrible at Catalana/India Palace/Dejlah, but it was never memorable, at least i my opinion. I was never disgusted by any of the meals at these places, but I never felt the need to go back, despite being so close to my home.



More on topic, we grabbed a few dishes for carry out from Charim, and I was very pleased. While I have dined frequently on various Asian cuisines, this was my first Korean food experience, so I have no frame of reference, and I imagine that it is a little more difficult to judge the food based on carry out.

That said, I enjoyed everything I tried, particularly a sliced pork dish with mushrooms and green onions. We also enjoyed a mackarel dish. I had never eaten mackerel before, and was very pleased. When she handed me the bag, the first thing I noticed was the scent of said mackerel. Certainly a very strong-smelling dish, but the flavor of the fish itself was great. The taste reminded me of Hamachi Kama. The sauces on both dishes were great.

My girlfriend was actually reluctant to try it based on the smell, but when finally convinced, admitted it was awesome.

So for the first time for a restaurant in that location, I am excited to go back to Charim and try more from the menu.

I look forward to trying Charim. It's just a few blocks away. One question: Is serving raw egg not risky, and even if not (local, safe eggs)... are people still going to be reluctant to ask for it if that taint of fear is there?

Ken, bibimbap is served in a super hot stone bowl. They break the egg over the top, and you stir it into the rice and other ingredients. The rice gets crusty from the hot bowl. The egg cooks from the heat of the bowl.

At Charim, they serve it in the hot bowl (which is $2 extra), but the egg is strips of already cooked egg. It's not as fun that way. And doesn't make for as good a dish, I think.

Where in St. Matthews?

Next door to Havana Rumba, down from Del Frisco's. Cursed location, but I too hope this one sticks.

To the north (or behind) the old Sear's building?

The lack of raw egg was my only real problem with any of our food, and I know that's a matter of personal preference.

Almost a deal breaker for me. I'll try it once.

Ken, bibimbap is served in a super hot stone bowl. They break the egg over the top, and you stir it into the rice and other ingredients. The rice gets crusty from the hot bowl. The egg cooks from the heat of the bowl.

At Charim, they serve it in the hot bowl (which is $2 extra), but the egg is strips of already cooked egg. It's not as fun that way. And doesn't make for as good a dish, I think.

Soora uses the hot bowl for no upcharge, but some bibimbap has the egg and some doesn't (seafood doesn't have it, for example).

I've always thought that a huge part of the "curse" of that location is parking. Havana Rumba is very popular and you have all that traffic taking all the available spaces at the most popular dining times. That leaves you the choice of parking in the old Sears lot and crossing a busy street or parking on the verge/grassy area in front of the complex. Poor choices all. I know the subject has come up when discussing Bardstown Rd parking and people say "Park a block down and walk ya lazy sod". While I don't mind doing that I can assure you that alot of people take a pass if they can't park close by. "Oh, it's full we will never get a table." 100 people at Havana Rumba, 2 people at Charim. It doesn't take long for that "curse" to put you down.

I've always thought that a huge part of the "curse" of that location is parking. Havana Rumba is very popular and you have all that traffic taking all the available spaces at the most popular dining times. That leaves you the choice of parking in the old Sears lot and crossing a busy street or parking on the verge/grassy area in front of the complex. Poor choices all. I know the subject has come up when discussing Bardstown Rd parking and people say "Park a block down and walk ya lazy sod". While I don't mind doing that I can assure you that alot of people take a pass if they can't park close by. "Oh, it's full we will never get a table." 100 people at Havana Rumba, 2 people at Charim. It doesn't take long for that "curse" to put you down.

This. Parking in that area is atrocious. Also, parking a block away and walking with a heavy toddler is not really a viable option.

I've always thought that a huge part of the "curse" of that location is parking. ...

This. Parking in that area is atrocious. Also, parking a block away and walking with a heavy toddler is not really a viable option.

I've seen this issue spill across the street at Jack's - not enough parking.

This evening I took my Valentine to dinner at Charim Korean Restaurant. My choice was prompted in part by the posts in this forum and thread. Not many customers like when others were there. When we walked in there were four tables with customers, all of which were Koreans. The vast majority of them turned and looked at us when we walked in. Think of that scene in Animal House where they walk into the 'club' and the music stops and everyone looks around. It turns out there was an anglo family of five in the back room of the restaurant eating too and whilst we were there three other tables filled with more anglos.

In a word: Excellent.

We shared two appetizers between three of us. First was Asparagus & Cheese: Fried fresh asparagus with mozzarella cheese.($6) Won't share next time. This was really good. We also shared a Charim Ddeokbokki which is Beef, Vegetables and Rice Cake with special sauce. ($8) I would order this and another big appetizer for my meal it was so big and delicious.

Suzib got Hot Stone Bibim Bab. ($13) Rice with assorted vegetable toppings with spicy sauce. They brought a bottle spicy sauce for it. There was cut up egg in it. The owner told us next time if we wanted they would bring out a raw egg and break it over the dish so Suzi could stir it up and cook the egg in the hot pot. Even after finishing the whole bowl of the dish the table under the pot was still very warm. This is a vegetarian dish, no meat.

Fast Eddydd got the Grilled Bulgoi. ($15) Sliced marinated beef grilled served with assorted vegetables. I had no idea you could get sparks from non-metalic chopsticks, but he did. I got a small bit bite at the very end. There was some really nice tender meat and vegetables in a great sauce. It is on my list for another visit Both Eddy and Suzi got brown rice with their entrees.

I had Godeung-uh Jorim: ($15) Braised Mackerel with radish boiled in special sauce. This was not listed as HOT but it certainly was not mild either. It was ok and I could eat it without taking a drink after each bite. The mackerel was so tasty. It is a strong fish and if you don't like 'fishy' fish then you might not like it. There are bones/spine in it you have to remove and watch for. It was just fantastic. I like mackerel and the way this was cook it just melted in your mouth.

There were 7 different condiment bowls put on the table. Of course Kimchi and others like fish cake strips and surprisingly cooked peanuts in a sauce. Totally brand new to us. The requisite cucumbers and a dish of 3 whole peppers that just looked way to hot to even try.

One of my favorite Korean dishes is Kal Bi, Grilled marinated beef short ribs. I told the owner that my next trip in I would have to try them. Shortly after retreating to the kitchen she came back with 3 pieces in a small dish. OMG. Yeah that is my next order up. The other item they have is Gamjatang: Pork back bone soup with potato, onion and spicy sauce. There was a Korean family having it across from us and it look spectacular. I just could not figure out a way to slide my chair over to get some. Have to do that with someone who likes pork. Not Suzi's favorite meat. They have seven Entree Soups, including Agujjim: Angler fish with bean sprouts, scallions and spicy sauce.

Suzi and I did the hot tea and it was wonderful

They have FREE WiFi without password. That alone moves them near the top of our list of places even if they had served average dishes. What they served were some of the best Korean I have had.

Recommend this to the LHB crowd. They do lunch as well with 12 dishes from $8 to $12.

Three of us were full and spiced up when we left with a total tab of $60.42 and with a $12.58 tip <20.82%> a total cost of $73.00. I have spent a lot more on Valentines Day dinner for my SSU and it was not as good many times.

Richard & by extension Suzib and Eddydd

excellent review on the last post. Susi and I have been twice and enjoyed it all. Very fresh ingredients, some imported directly from Korea. They mastered the vegetarian angle during the war, when very little meat was available. Little salt and of course no MSG. They are friendly and accommodating and if they can handle the parking problem, I think they have a winner. They make all the kim in house and really seem to care about quality. Cheers. Bill