Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Illysook]

I went to On The Border Friday night and they turned us away because they were "closing in half an hour." It was my friends birthday weekend, so we went back on Saturday. There were 10 of us. It would be a 2 hour wait, so we said that they could break us into 2 groups. Shortly after that, some of us were seated. The table next to us then became available...so did they seat our friends there? No way!

I got the impression that the hostess was on a power trip. Ummmm...you work at a TexMex chain restaurant, NOT The Four Season's, get over yourself!!!

I ordered chees and onion enchiladas, thinking that they would not have meat, but the enchilada sauce had a lot of really bad hamburger in it.

Then, the service was just awful. All but one of us had nearly finished our food before our drinks arrived and the one person's entire order had been forgotten.

It really sucked when I considered the price. For that much, I want cloth napkins and a water glass as soon as I sit down. They claimed to be out of water glasses!

Maybe the service is better at COEX.

[moosehead]

yeah the one in Sinchon has gone downhill the last few months - maybe all the good staff went over to the coex locale ?

I haven't been to that one but heard it's good

[moosehead]

[Alexander]

[rumdiary]

[Ya-ta Boy]

I went to On the Border at Coex last night. We ordered chicken empanads (sort of a deep fried mandoo) with a good spicy cheese sauce to share. Without the sauce, they were bland, but OK. My main dish was a beef burrito. The flour tortilla was very thick and chewy (kind of odd that way) stuffed with lots of ground beef and some Mexican rice. The sauce was not spicy, so I dumped some salsa on it. It came with a big serving of more rice and some decent refried beans. The beans had a great flavor, but were a tad bit soupy. My margarita was just the regular house one, but Jose Cuervo was available. My friends ordered combo plates. We all felt like we got value for our money.

The service was excellent. Friendly, fast and efficient.

The only thing I missed was serapes on the wall. The place down in Bundang has serapes on the wall. I want to steal one.

[greedy_bones]

I went there a few months ago, and I must say I wasn't too impressed. I guess I was expecting something close to authentic mexican food since it cost around 30,000 or more per plate. A lot of deep fried stuff, and no mole.
On the plus side, the drinks were decent.

[Straphanger]

[Bibbitybop]

Illysook, you should contact the OTB headquarters in the USA. I talked with the opening manager/trainer from the USA about OTB in Korea becoming "Koreanized," and having situations just like you explained. They said they would be doing quality control checks over time, not just showing them how to run it and letting it go to crap (like starting to put kimchi as a side dish with the chips).

You may even get a free meal as corporate restaurants tend to give deep discounts for complaints.



OP, if you want to be cheaper, make sure you split a meal with at least 1 person and load up on free chips and salsa.

[AgDragon01]

I think some people have stated this, but I just want to reiterate - On The Border is TEX-MEX, not Mexican. It's its own thing. So quit bitchin' about not having moles, and authenticity. It's authentic Tex-Mex.

I've lived in Texas most of my life, and they have On The Border in several cities, and I've eaten there dozens of times. What impressed me was that everything in both of the Korean OTB's tasted exactly the same, and had the same portions as the ones I've been to in Texas. And that is really damn impressive.

In fact, the only thing that was different was the margaritas - didn't quite taste the same (I think it had to do with them serving it up with lemons instead of limes), but it was no big deal. But the premium margarita was pretty strong, and good in my book.

[Rumple]

[Captain Muffy]

I love On The Border. I'm newly into Mexican food... but that place rules.

I've only been to the one in Sinchon. The service has been fine, and the unlimited chips in salsa is nice. Salsa seems pretty good, too.

I always get their tacos... either buffalo chicken or carne asada... I was told to get them and was expecting two weak little hard shell tacos, but they are actually these enormous soft shell tacos with delicious fried onions, lettuce and tomatoes and this amazing sauce (jalapeno for buffalo chicken and bbq for carne asada, which I think is steak). The beans and rice are good too... but the tacos... WOW.

I guess it's a little pricey, but you get a hell of a lot more of a better meal than, say, TGI Fridays for around the same price.

Now I'm hungry.

[Ruthdes]

Ok, so let me start with a disclaimer. I'm Australian, so I didn't grow up with Tex-Mex restaurants on every corner. Infact, the only Mexican restaurants I've been to there are real mex, not tex-mex (but I do love tex-mex).

About OTB. I've been to the Coex one. The food is nice, but expensive. The magaritas are lovely, but I'm not an expert on a good margarita. I found that the service at the Coex OTB was fine, despite the staff having pretty rudimentry English. The first time I went there it had only just opened, and the US training staff were still there trying to train up the Korean staff...funny stuff. Having said that, I think they do a passable job and produce edible and tasty, if pricey, fare.

I can't believe no one's mentioned Dos Tacos! Again, I'm very sorry if I offend any real Mexican food afficiandos, but I LOVE Dos Tacos. Gangnam is my haunt and I LOVE their burritos...especially beef and avocado..yum! I know there's another in Hongdae which is also great. It's also much cheaper than OTB. More of a fast food place.

I live in Daechi-dong and also frequent Taco Chilli Chilli,behind Lotte Department Store. There is another of these in Haebongcheon. Their fare isn't quite as good as Dos Tacos, but it's cheaper and still good. I think their buritto has more rice as filler (brings down the price presumably), but it's still very yummy.

[Forward Observer]

Tomatillo's at Jongak station exit 6 is waaaaaaaay better imo.

[Alexander]