Sura Korean Restaurant
• 2320 4 St NW | Calgary, AB
Average User Rating:
6.75/10
6.75/10
Recommended by:
50%
50%
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"Terrible service, super slow, rude staff"
Mary
February 2012 — "We celebrated a friends birthday at Sura. What we planned to be an awesome meal with great service turned into a below average meal with horrible service.
We brought into the restaurant a home-made cake within its own container. We asked whether we could use their fridge for the time-being and they smiled placed it in the fridge for us. We told them we were going to eat the cake at the restaurant after our meal.
We ordered 2 appetizers, few entrees and a large bbq trio to share in the party of 7. There was unlimited side dishes so we didn't worry too much about being full. In the end, we were all stuffed but the food was not great at all. the Jap chae was so chewy and disgusting. I did not like the texture Sura had. I have been to many other Korean restaurants in Calgary and this is the worst. The stone bi bim bab was average. The rice was too mushy and so there was not much burnt rice that we all anticipate when we order the stone rice meal. We asked them to cook our meat in the kitchen and that saved us a lot of time and hassle. However, the servers never bothered to clean our tables of the dirty plates and finished plates. Our table kept piling with unused plates and bowls. We waited 45 minutes for a server to come to our table and clean up.
After that 45 minutes of wait, I walked up to the front desk and asked for service and for our cake. They did not send a girl, instead, they wanted us to pay them 3 dollars for each clean plate that we would use with the cake. At this point, I was very upset. I expressed my concern in calm words, I explained how we waited 45 minutes for your service and our table is full of dirty dishes. I explained that there was no forewarning of this event (surcharge for using their dishes). I also explained that if they still feel it is necessary to charge us for using their plates before they clean up our table, then we will simply minus the surcharge from their tips. The lady I spoke to yelled FINE and pushed the clean plates into our hands. We had to get our own cake from their dirty fridge.
I went back to our table full of dirty dishes and waited for another five minutes. I reminded them to clean our table and they finally came.
At the end of the meal, we were presented with a bill which included handwritten notation "Including Tip $ xxx.xx". There was only 7 of us and I understand there was no sign that said gratuity mandatory for parties of 7 or more. Usually gratuity is mandatory for parties of 8 or more, not 7.
I am not going back to this restaurant ever again. I recommend all korean food lovers to stay away from this restaurant if you want some real down-to-earth service. The servers here were rude and ever so slow. "
User Rating
3/10
3/10
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"Wonderful Establishment"
Karl
December 2011 — "It was my dad's birthday and my siblings and I decided to take him for a special lunch. Wanting to try something completely different, I had heard from a collegue that a restaurant called Sura had excellent Korean Food. I don't typically go to Korean restaurants, so I am definitely not a critique when it comes to this type of food. But I do know when I like the taste of something, despite what a true food critique may state. We did not make any reservations for our large party of approx. 10 individuals. However, we were seated promptly and without any issue. We arrived at around 1:15pm, so perhaps the lunch rush had finished. I left the ordering of dishes up to my sister as she is more culturally knowledgable on this type of food. We had a wide assortment of foods, noodles and seafoods. The foods were all very tasty and came out piping hot. As I understand, it is a family who runs this restaurant. It was clear from the service that they treated it as their own. Very friendly and ensured that we were happy. I was very happy with this choice. It was somewhat out of the norm of the typical types of food we eat, but definitely well worth it. Highly recommended place!"
User Rating
8.40/10
8.40/10
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"Hidden Korean restaurant "Dolly
August 2011 — "We had dinner here on a weekday and were fairly surprised by how busy it was. As well, the crowd was fairly diverse and overall, the restaurant was very welcoming. It was a bit loud with yelling but I think that adds to the Korean charm of the restaurant and photos of each picture with its name (which is helpful for those not familiar with Korean dishes) were on the wall which I have noticed in almost all Korean restaurants I have been to. The dishes were fairly expensive compared to other cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, with each dish around $12 or more. Our service was okay, certain servers were good but there may be lack of communication and coordination as we would be quickly seated and given drinks, but when we ordered, usually the Korean side dishes arrive, but they didn't arrive til we had already two main dishes. As well, we ordered bibimbap which did not come with hot sauce, we didn't bother to ask which I'm sure they would quickly correct as our food was quite spicy. However, the bibimbap on its own was quite delicious except that the portion was very small! Barely half the stone pot was filled with rice or toppings of the bibimbap. The reason why we didn't bother to ask for the hot sauce was that the chicken bulgogi was extremely extremely spicy! It was not spicy in a good way just made my mouth numb to other flavours. It was strange as the pork bulgogi was delicious and tasted like barbeque, and since both were bulgogi, we assumed that they would be similar in taste. That was not the case. A few of us were new the restaurant, but some were old patrons. The kimchi beef tofu stew was spicy which was good, but came with few pieces of beef and tofu. I found that the stew was a bit more watery than usual and didn't taste as brothy or warming as other Korean restaurants. We also ordered the Jap Chae which is glass noodles with beef, carrots and green pepper slices. It was very delicious! A bit greasy but the non-spiciness was refreshing and the coldness of the glass noodles was good. Overall, I have mixed reviews of this restaurant but I have not tried other restaurants in Calgary for Korean cuisine. Some dishes were a hit or a miss. "
User Rating
6.60/10
6.60/10
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"Korean Bang For Your Buck"
August 2011 — "This quaint little Korean restaurant is not that busy during the lunch hour which is shocking considering the portion, quality, and price of their lunch specials. You can choose the bbq chicken, beef, or pork special and it comes with rice, and four more sides (kimchi, glass noodles with sesame oil and onions, pickled turnip slivers, and mini fried potato cakes). I tried the chicken and it was bbq grilled to perfection and had a really spicy sauce. It's so spicy it will clear out your sinuses so have some kleenex nearby. My favorite side were the glass noodles. They had tonnes of flavour from the oil and a hint of sauteed onion.
My lunch took about 10 minutes which seems long for being the only customer in the place however I arrived as soon as they opened up so maybe they were still prepping. The waitress was very kind and is from Korea. I could tell because when I went to pay, she presented the debit machine with two hands which is the norm in Korea.
I would definitely go back. Take a trip to Korea if you're brave enough."
User Rating
8.80/10
8.80/10
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"So-so restaurant"
Mary
August 2011 — "When going out for Korean food, you generally learn to expect certain things. Prior to the meal, you will have some small snack foods that open up your palate and for the majority of the dishes, you will be sure to have a bit of hot sauce that goes perfectly with rice or noodles. Sura Korean restaurant was enjoyable in some respects, but I felt like the timing for the food and the service was a bit off. Namely, the dishes, like the pickled dikon, kimchi, and the other few dishes came with the meal, which was fine, but not common. I like to have something to munch on while we wait for our mains. I ordered the bulgolgi, while my friend ordered the bibimbap. It lived up to my expectations, which weren't overly high by the way, but I don't think I would make the extra trip for a second round. I would have liked a little more service and some warmness in the restaurant. It's not a really fancy restaurant but it's one of a kind. "
User Rating
6.50/10
6.50/10
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"It was ok, but you'll be waiting awhile"
Eleanor
July 2011 — "We went to Sura for my uncle's birthday, and there were seven of us on a Sunday night. We were seated right away, and there were few people in the restaurant. We were asked for our order quite quickly, but once we'd decided, it seemed to take forever for the food to come. It took about an hour, and it all came at once. We sort of ran out of room on our table. The food was good, but not the best I've ever had. The service was pretty terrible, and they charged us extra for having more than six people at our table. There are many better Korean restaurants in Calgary. "
User Rating
4/10
4/10
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"Decent Korean Food and Service"
Susan
October 2009 — "I dropped by Sura on a Friday evening with a group of friends for the first time. We were seated almost immediately when we arrived. The restaurant was quite large with a casual atmosphere and average decor. We ordered a bunch of food to share, which included Jap Chae (clear glass noodles), bbq chicken and pork, and soon tofu (a spicy seafood tofu soup). All the dishes were quite tasty and enjoyable. And our server was very quick to get us anything we asked for. I thought the prices were relatively higher than most Korean restaurants but the portions were decent and did feed us all adequately. I wouldn't say this is the best Korean you can get in the city, but it was decent and the service was good. I would hesitate on coming back just because the prices were a bit higher than what I'm used to and the taste wasn't outstanding. However, this place is worth a visit."
User Rating
7.33/10
7.33/10
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"Excellent Glass Noodles"
Mary
October 2009 — "My friends and I decided to come here after not being able to decide what to eat and its relative convenience to where we were. It was nicely decorated inside and reminded me of the inside of someones tastefully renovated home. The selection is not as varied as other places but that is not necessarily a bad thing since it makes picking dishes to share easier. We ordered 5 dishes. Two meat dishes (chicken and pork) that were barbequed meats, a seafood egg omelet, a seafood spicy soup, and most memorable the glass noodles. I was afraid at first that we wouldn’t be full as I recall someone saying the dishes aren’t very large but everyone left quite satisfied. I was really happy with glass noodles as they were very tasty. Between the four of us, it came to approximately $80 so not too bad for a pretty decent meal. We will probably come here again. "
User Rating
8.33/10
8.33/10
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"My favorite Korean eatery in Calgary"annie
August 2009 — "I have been going to this place ever since it opened earlier this year(and all of my friends visited with me at least once), definitely my favorite Korean restaurant. Servers actually understand you in language other than Korean(English and some of them speak Cantonese) and they don't get ticked off or ignore you if you make a special request. food is always excellent and very authentic. No wonder why they are so busy all the time already. Everytime I go back I always see some familiar faces. If you go once(and like Korean food) you will become a regular. ridiculously well priced for quality and portion, too. Lunch special is the best bang for your buck compared to anywhere in the city. "
User Rating
10/10
10/10
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"Don't Come Here for Lunch..."Keith
July 2009 — "...unless you have 2 hours to spare. Literally.
Came to this new Korean restaurant on 4th Street NW, because I had heard they have a very decent lunch menu. For the record, the food was decent, the problem was it took over an HOUR to get it!
I went with my dad around noon. When we got there, there were only two or three tables seated. Based on the recommendation we had received we both ordered Sura's barbecued beef lunch special.
And then we waited. And as the waited turned from 15 minutes to 30, we started to get annoyed. Not because our meal was late, but because -as is so often the case- our server made no attempt at alleviating our annoyance. As the wait turned into 45 minutes, I urged my dad to leave, but he's way more polite than I am, so we waited some more.
Finally after waiting more than an hour we were served. Our disdain for the wait was palpable, but no apology was offered by the server.
For what it's worth the beef was of the same quality found at other restaurants, but may be slightly cheaper. If only they knew that most people coming for lunch are looking for a quick bite, not a long torturous waiting game."
User Rating
4.50/10
4.50/10
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DescriptionEnjoy classic Korean cuisine from Sura. Menu includes bulgogi (barbecue meats), hot pots, soups and a la carte items like green onion and seafood pancake and peppered chicken wings. There is a lunch special during weekdays.
Location Information2320 4 St NW
Calgary
AB
