Marcus Chen
January 28, 2026
Modern Korean Done Right
Seoul Brother walks the tightrope between innovation and tradition, and mostly nails it. The Korean fried chicken uses a double-fry technique that creates an impossibly thin, shatteringly crisp coating. Available in gochujang glaze or soy-garlic, both are excellent.
The kimchi jjigae is deeply flavored from well-fermented kimchi — none of that week-old stuff. The army stew (budae jjigae) is a guilty pleasure done with premium ingredients, which sounds contradictory but works beautifully.
My only knock: the banchan selection could be more generous. Three sides feels stingy when the standard in Korea is six or more. But the quality of what they do serve is high, and the soju cocktail menu is genuinely creative.
The kimchi jjigae is deeply flavored from well-fermented kimchi — none of that week-old stuff. The army stew (budae jjigae) is a guilty pleasure done with premium ingredients, which sounds contradictory but works beautifully.
My only knock: the banchan selection could be more generous. Three sides feels stingy when the standard in Korea is six or more. But the quality of what they do serve is high, and the soju cocktail menu is genuinely creative.