Charcoal House BBQ - Runcorn

Having hung out a lot in the Warrigal Square and Runcorn Plaza area, I realised last week that I had almost gone to every store except for Charcoal House BBQ, being quite a long established store, I expect the food would be of quite a high standard. Having piqued my curiosity, I grabbed a friend and went off to try it for Saturday lunch.

Arriving at midday on a Saturday, it was relatively packed. Fortunately, the restaurant was massive, and we were still able to find a table. Like most Korean places, there was a buzzer to allow us to get the attention of staff as required, quite an efficient method which I do appreciate. Water was provided promptly as usual, and as per most Korean restaurants, cutlery was readily available on the table. Decor wise, I was quite surprised to see a similar white wall with drawn on murals like that which can be found at Madtongsan.

 

Menus were provided and although there were bbq options, we decided to settle on the standard set lunch varieties.

Sides were provided promptly after ordering, consisting of preserved onions, pasta salad and kimchi, I quite liked the creamy pasta which contrasted the sharp garlic-y and spicy kimchi.

My companion ordered a pork katsu set lunch. It came with both rice AND chips as well as a side of pickles and salad. I was quite pleased with the fact that the dish came with two reasonably sized pork chops, which was quite generous. The rice was a little small, but this was no doubt supplemented with the chips, which really weren't that hot or crispy. The salad was decent, freshly shredded cabbage topped with thousand island dressing. Pickles were fairly standard.

Wanting something to warm me up, I opted for the Korean Sausage Soup. Expecting something like a budae jjigae, I was surprised to be served with a peppery white soup, full of offals and intestine sausages, rather than the kimchi based red soup and pork sausages that I was hoping for. Regardless, the hot peppery concoction was more than enough to warm me up. I enjoyed the pork intestines, which had a tasty elastic chewy texture. Served with rice, this made for a very hearty and filling meal that kept me full right until dinner time.

To share, we also had a serve of kimchi pancake. To say I enjoyed this would be a massive understatement. The pancake was exceptionally crispy with an almost flake-y interior. The kimchi was well spread out across the pancake, making it delightfully flavoursome, and I savoured every single bite. I would go back to Charcoal House for the pancake alone without hesitation.

Price Range: $10 - $25pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10