If you visit sample sales frequently, there are 2 nearby the Nomad and Koreatown area. Because the sample sales close at 7 PM sharp, it compels you to look for food during core dinner hours. Fortunately if you go shop right after work and finish around 6 PM on weekdays, foot traffic to restaurants won’t be too bad. Olle is a Korean restaurant about a block away from the sample sale store on 5th Ave. We were able to walk in with no reservations at around 5:30 PM, which the restaurant started coincidentally getting busy around 6 PM.
From their website about what “Olle” is:
Derived from Jeju Island’s 올레길 (Ollé-Gil). Olle is an alley that connects houses from a boulevard. In most traditional houses on Jeju Island, one Olle is provided for each house.
Ambiance & Service
The ambiance is fairly bustling with the typical new age Asian restaurant feel to it. The service was extremely speedy for us since we were literally sitting where the wait staff and hosts stand.
Food
In lieu of water, they did give us some rice tea water which came slightly warm.
As an appetizer, the Bossam ($38.95) came with slow cooked pork belly served with thinly sliced raw garlic and assorted condiments. For the value, I thought this was a little expensive for what it was, but the pork belly was delicious. Do keep in mind though that the condiments have some raw octopus in it, so that may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The condiments were very similar to what you would get in standard Korean restaurants for this dish.
The banchan came with all sorts of the usual assortments including radish kimchi (with oyster), napa kimchi (with oyster), fish cakes, marinated sliced onions, boiled egg, onion pancake, and some sort of leafy green vegetable. I’m not a fan of the kimchi here considering I don’t like it when they put a lot of oyster in it.
The Shiregi Galbi ($22.95) came with soybean-paste and perilla seed stew with beef short ribs and dried radish leaves. It was served with purple rice. My partner enjoyed this somewhat, but I think they felt this was a little too rustic for them. The soup itself tasted exactly how it sounds. It’s just soybean paste with some vegetables in it.
The Galbi+Naengmyeon ($28.95) came with a mini galbi jjim with a mini mool naengmyeon. The mool naengmyeon was a cold handmade noodle soup in beef dongchimi broth with lightly pickled radish and cucumber, Korean pear, and boiled egg. The mini galbi jjim was braised beef short rib with jalapeño and jujube. The galbi jjim has a slight kick to it, and the sauce was pretty sweet. Complimenting that with the cold soup worked. The mool naengmyeon noodles had to be cut because they were a little difficult to chew. Nonetheless, the whole thing reminded me of when I was in South Korea eating this in a mall that specialized in this. The broth was quite flavorful, despite it being cold, and would be a delight to eat in the summer time.
Final Verdict
If you’re looking for a Korean restaurant to eat it, just know that Olle is probably a bit more rustic than your modern Korean fair that society is accustomed to today. It has some flavors here that won’t quite appease non-adventurous eaters. However if you’re used to these flavors, it will bring back some of that homely vibes from South Korea pretty quickly.
Yelp Jabs
Olle gives so many varieties of banchan–ones you’d never get at other establishments from pickled vegetables to savory pancakes. The banchan alone would’ve impressed me.
This might be true in New York City, but plenty of other Korean establishments (especially in other cities) give a nice assortment of banchan.
I’m the wrong person to appreciate olle. I don’t eat meat and their big thing is meaty stews and grilled meat.
The only reason this Elitist even gave a comment is to add 1 review for their Elitist badge.
I came across this restaurant in my search for a new go to Korean spot for my beloved Gamja Tang … Do you have seafood pancake? No. Do you have soon du bu? No.
This Yelper is complaining that their group was a bit surprised that this restaurant didn’t have certain Korean dishes that they were expecting. The reality though is the Yelper could’ve just mentioned to their group to check the menu online before coming here.
Revisions
- Dec 13, 2023 - Initial revision.