So being from the Duluth area, there's always easy access to good Asian food everywhere. Whether you're in the mood for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, or other Asian cuisines, the Gwinnett area has ample choices for you to choose from. The hardest part is really choosing what is good and what isn't so good. Well, that brings me to today's review~
Don Quixote is a family-owned Korean restaurant that has been around for as long as I can remember. I'd have to say that the last time I ate here was probably in 2006, and their business was completely flourishing-always busy! Since then, I haven't been back/haven't paid attention because for the longest time, I thought they had closed down, possibly due to the intense competition amongst other restaurants in that area. Well, I was very very wrong because in fact, they're still open and in the exact same location as they were in six years ago! I'm disappointed in myself-I drive by this restaurant on Satellite Blvd. at least 2-3 times a week but have never really paid attention. It wasn't until this past weekend, my sister, who just moved back from California, said that she had been craving DQ's food for the longest time. She said she would meet my there, and to my surprise, they were open! Wow-I think I was in shock for the longest time, I really couldn't believe it. The inside and everything looked the exact same as it did all those years ago. Now that I know, all I can say is "Long live Don Quixote!!"
Here's what we ordered:
★Don Quixote's exterior
★DQ menu
★Ban Chan (Korean side dishes)-usually come out before every meal. The one ban chan I've never seen before are the hot dogs mixed with gochujang (Korean pepper paste) on the bottom left. Everything else is pretty standard.
★Omurice+Tonkatsu Combo-$7.95
★Spicy Rice Cake with Noodles-$7.50
★Su Jae/Chae Bi-$6.95
★Spicy Squid with Mixed Vegetables-$10.95
★FOOD (4.5/5): Just like I remembered it, everything here was pretty great! For $7.95, the tonkatsu and omurice combo was quite the steal. The crispy fried pork cutlets were incredibly moist and tender, and that tonkatsu sauce on top was tangy and perfect. The omurice was good too-omurice is basically an egg omelette filled with rice and vegetables on the inside, cooked with ketchup. While the eggs was cooked perfectly and thin like it's supposed to be, the rice on the inside was a bit disappointing. It was a little mushy and only peas and some other veggies were on the inside (cooked with ketchup). I usually like my omurice to have some sustenance with meats or at least a good handful of vegetables. Nonetheless, it filled up the person who ordered it and they enjoyed it as well. The spicy rice cake with noodles and the spicy squid dishes were mine. When I used to come here all the time with my family, those two things would be the only things I would order. So, of course, I had to order them again to see if they tasted the same. To my surprise, they were RIGHT on point with how I remembered them. The spicy rice cakes dish had ddukbokki (tubular rice cakes) pieces, in addition to fish cake slices, cabbage, and ramen-like noodles all mixed together in that delicious and thick broth. It reminds me of Korean night market food, yum! The spicy squid dish was amazing as well. The abundance of freshly cooked vegetable with tender squid, it brings back great memories of meals I've had at this establishment. One thing though-I wish there were more squid pieces, because for the price alone, a dozen other restaurants give you equal amounts of vegetable and squid in your dish. And lastly, my sister ordered the su chae bi, which is a Korean soup made using flat noodles and an egg-y broth, filled with seaweed, lots of vegetables and chunks of potato. She swears by Don Quixote's dish on this-it's her favorite and she has yet to go anywhere else for it. Also, now that she knows that they're open and that we don't live too far away from here, I know she'll be back A LOT more! Minus some nit-picky things here and there, the food was pretty delicious and just as I remember it.
★SERVICE (2/5): The service here was quite a let down, I'm not going to lie. The night we came and dined here, there was only a young male employee pretty much running the entire show by himself. While I understand that there were only three other tables of customers here, he was on his phone a good bit of the time, rather than attending to us. As soon as we entered, one table of customers had left, making us the only ones there. We then put in our orders. Shortly after, two more tables came in, one table came in about ten minutes after us, the other about twenty minutes after us. While we were waiting for our foods, we noticed that the table that came in ten minutes after us had been getting their food first. They also ordered the tonkatu+omurice combo, and some soup dish, that also happened to look like ours, but we couldn't be sure. Regardless, they had gotten their banchans first, and their entrees WAY before we did, which made no sense. So when we confronted our waiter about it, he said that banchans come only right before a meal. *WRONG* No Korean restaurant will give you banchans right before they bring out your meal, they bring it out to you as soon as your order is put in because you eat them while you're waiting for your food. In addition, our dishes were brought out SLOWLY, one after the other. In addition, we ordered the same combo, but yet they received it before we did...ummm okay?! I'm only going to hope it's this one occasion that service was not so great, but I hope in the future, it changes. The server himself was pleasant and nice, but I think that the kitchen staff needs to prepare the food of those who order first.
★DECOR (5/5): I don't really remember too much of the decor even though I dined here not too long ago, but I liked that there were sections designated to groups of people. Also, instead of all the tacky Korean decorations, the inside of the restaurant is a light green color with paintings hanging on the wall, in addition to little knick-knacks here and there. Also, there's a HUGE tv so that no matter where you sit in the restaurant, you can always watch the Korean tv shows that are playing.
Overall, the food here alone is definitely worth the visit. Sure you can find other Korean restaurants that offer the same type of foods, but I've grown to love Don Quixote's traditional dishes and they'll always be a part of my memories growing up. I'd definitely give them a shot, they also have over 20+ different soups, all homemade and using handmade noodles too.
Here's the physical address: 3751 Satellite Blvd.
Duluth, GA 30096
Have a great day,
-Sandy
FTC: I was not paid or compensated for this review, all reviews and opinions expressed are my own.
If you'd like to invite Bella Vivere to cover & share your restaurant's media events, tastings or parties, feel free to shoot me an email at bellavivere@gmail.com-Thanks!
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