Try grilling your own Korean barbecue at this new Lakewood Ranch restaurant
A new Korean barbecue restaurant puts friends and family front and center at the table to grill their own beef, pork, seafood or chicken.
Korê Steakhouse has opened in Lakewood Ranch’s newest shopping and entertainment destination, Waterside Place.
Daniel Dokko, founder of Jpan Sushi & Grill, first announced plan in 2019 for the new restaurant at 1561 Lakefront Drive, Suite 11.
“Korê will deliver the palate-pleasing flavors that Jpan Sushi & Grill customers have come to love, and also offer unique dishes that diners would likely find in larger metropolitan cities like New York and San Francisco,” Dokko said at the time.
Partners in the venture include Andre Putranto and chef Clark Park. Marcellin Carolina serves as manager.
“It’s nothing like American barbecue,” Park said.
Indeed, diners can choose from a variety of meat, seafood or vegetables to grill, and complete the experience with sauces and side dishes such as fermented spicy Napa cabbage, fermented spicy radish and Korean egg salad.
Sharing is the way to go at Korê.
The menu leads off with “sharing items,” including bulogi mandoo (beef barbecue) with steamed dumplings, vegetables and glass noodles for $12. Other offerings include spicy kimchi soup with pork for $16, stir-fry sweet potato noodles with vegetables and beef for $15, Korean fried chicken for $10.
Vegan options are available.
A long list of “for grilling” selections include beef, pork, seafood, chicken and vegetables.
At the top of the list is beef bulgogi (thin slices of rib eye marinated in a Korean sweet sauce for $15. Among the other beef selections are filet mignon, beef tongue, dry-aged New York strip and wagyu.
The back side of the menu includes combinations: Chef’s Choice at $75 for two people, Butcher’s Pride at $95 for two people, and the Korê Experience, the most popular selection at $165 for four people.
The Korê Experience includes green onion salad, cheese corn, bulogi mandoo, beef navel, pork collar, filet mignon, New York strip, ribeye, galbi (ribs), pork belly, marinated galbi, bulgogi and s’mores.
“We show our guests our culture and our food. Come and enjoy the food, the music and our service. Our guests are cooking for themselves and it is fun,” Park said.
Korê is a “tipless” restaurant. The menu says “we politely decline tips.”
Korê has seating for about 70 and an upscale cocktail lounge with a selection of Japanese whiskeys.
If you go
The restaurant is open 11:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and 5 to 9:15 p.m. weekdays, and noon to 9:45 p.m. weekends.
Korê offers dine-in only, but hopes to offer takeout at its walk-up streetside window in several weeks, Carolina said.
Waterside Place features Ranch Night Wednesdays when food trucks line the street. The Korê walk-up window is open 6-9 p.m. for Ranch Night.
Dokko’s other restaurants, JPan Sushi & Grill, are in University Town Center, 229 N. Cattlemen Road, and the Shops at Siesta Row, 3800 S. Tamiami Trail No. 3, Sarasota
For more information, visit https://koresteakhouse.com/ or call 941-928-5673.
