Hwatu - Carlton

The servers were too busy to seat me right away, so I waited for about 10 minutes. When I was finally seated, it was at an outer table even though I had booked online and requested to sit inside due to potential rain that night. The server mentioned that everyone books online. We waited about 15 minutes before anyone came to take our order. Unfortunately, two of the items we wanted from the menu were not available. The food itself was enjoyable and reasonably priced, but the service was lacking. We felt ignored and not acknowledged throughout our meal.

This restaurant offers authentic Korean cuisine at a fair price with excellent service. It is an ideal spot for dining with a group.

We had a confirmed booking, but upon arrival, we were told that the restaurant was only offering takeaway service that evening. We understand the challenges of Covid, but we would have appreciated being informed of any changes that would prevent us from dining in. It was difficult to find another good restaurant on Lygon street during peak hours, and we had to wait for 2 hours to dine elsewhere. We also expressed our disappointment to the staff about updating OpenTable to prevent others from experiencing the same issue, yet they are still listed as available for dine-in.

Nice food and atmosphere. Authentic Korean food. Great menu with a variety of choices. Good night out with friends.

First time trying Korean and we can see this is not great for vegetarians as it must be all about the BBQ meat. We did not enjoy our meals and left most of it but could see others enjoying the BBQ. So if a Vegie maybe give it a miss.