I like OP’s list. the throne for best KBBQ is very much up for grabs…
Park’s is still pretty damn good, but it ain’t what it used to be… those banchans are not the same and things have gotten a little out of hand (haven’t seen their proper aged kimchi in at least two years, saw a weird corn salad thing one time I went and it was awful, eundaegu jorim ain’t all that anymore. the tangs and soups are still pretty good. naengmyeon not all that either). on the other hand, if you guys see me on the evening news murdered in cold blood it was Jenee Kim and she read this.
big groups, genwa is always the play. though I called recently and they require a $200 fee just to book the table (it’s not an order minimum… i was kind of shocked. smart business model, but also… damnit).
these days I find myself craving soot bull jeep for more of a rustic feel. the marinated meats are obviously not on par with park’s short rib or gwang yang’s bulgogi (then again, no one really is). the charcoal though… there’s no feeling quite like it
I also went to daedo in K-Town and though the interior is just drop-dead gorgeous, the meat is not as high quality as one might expect from a buildout/marketing of that magnitude. it’s CAB which is good enough, but just feels like a missed opportunity especially considering that they use cast iron and it would be really great for a fattier cut like wagyu (not to mention their portion sizes would leave a chihuahua hungry). also they trim the fat, which is a Korean preference kind of thing… though the preference of no Korean I hold dear. if you’re forced to go, DON’T SKIP THE COLD NOODLES. incredibly refreshing and great bounce on the noodles. (the original daedo in Korea uses korean domestic beef, with marbling akin to australian wagyu).
with a gun to my head, I still say park’s is the best… but now places like soowon galbi, chosun galbi, morangak and others are now in play…