The westside of Los Angeles boasts a well-known Korean BBQ restaurant that left a pretty good impression on me. It’s called Wharo, and according to various sources ‘wharo’ refers to the Korean charcoal pot that serves as a symbolic centerpiece where friends and family eat and spend time together. Today, the wharo must refer to the grill pit in the middle of each table where you can literally cook as you eat. Maybe you’re thinking that you can grill at home anyday, BUT can you do it without leaving your company at the table? Probably not. Check out the rest of this experience after the jump…

Tucked away into a mini strip on the corner of Washington and Lincoln in Marina del Rey, it may be hard to find unless you spot the sandwich board just before the entrance. Wharo definitely starts out with several cute points once you walk inside. On a scale of 1 to 10, the casual chic yet modern decor puts it around a 7 or 8. There aren’t many tables, but luckily, for my party of four, we went for an early dinner, so there were only two other people eating at the time. We were waited on promptly—drinks served and menus provided in minutes. Then it was just a matter of choosing something that was different, but not too foreign considering my lack of experience with Korean food.

Wharo is definitely a good place to try Korean for the first time. First of all, the service was great, which is always a plus. Our waitress was very nice, and she easily answered my questions regarding what was in what and what meant what. Second, the fact that it’s BBQ means there is something for everyone–from fish to beef.

The appetizers list is rather long, featuring several traditional foods such as pajyun and chapchae. We began the meal with tofu kimchi and beef and vegetable gyoza. The servings were sizeable, and I found myself quite full after eating most of the steamed tofu and spicy kimchi. Not to mention the fact that we were also given a big salad to split at the table.

If BBQ is on your mind, the restaurant requires each table to order a certain amount of (either two half orders or one full order). Most half orders will run anywhere from $10-13, whereas a full order can go anywhere from $23-40. If you’re interested in trying several things, it makes sense to go with a couple of half orders, which is what a few people ordered—prime out-skirt beef and shrimp. I decided to try something very traditional—bibimbap. Instead of the meat variety, I went for the vegetable version minus the cracked egg yolk on top. Our waitress brought out the sides (called panchan) as we waited for the full course—pickled radish, bean sprouts and spicy kimchi, along with ponzu and red chili sauces.

Finally the main courses arrived. The waitress wiped the grill with a slice of lemon and onion before laying a few pieces of marinated beef and shrimp on the grill. As those cooked, she went to the kitchen and returned once again with my meal, the veggie bibimbap. I will admit the food made me a bit nervous because my meal was literally sizzling. She stirred the brown rice, bean sprouts, cucumber, carrots, spinach and various other things in front of me. The final ingredient was a chili paste that is added in varying amounts depending on your tolerance for heat. Mine was only moderately spicy, but the food itself was so hot that the metal spoon singed my tongue! Luckily, that was the only unfortunate part of the meal.

Everything we had that night was very good. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to give it a try, although a cheaper and perhaps more authentic meal could be found in the middle of Koreatown. For someone like me who doesn’t want to end up eating something named with a word that she doesn’t understand, Wharo was a great experience. But if anyone out there wants to treat me to the super real thing, take me to Koreatown!