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After an Extended Closure, Dallas Korean Barbecue Icon Koryo Kalbi Is Making a Comeback

The restaurant quietly reopened its doors with new owners and the same beloved recipes

Pork belly, beef, and other meats on the grate of a Korean barbecue table grill. Banchan and other side dishes surround the grill.
The city’s finest charcoal-grilled meats are making a comeback
Thanin Viriyaki
Amy McCarthy is a staff writer at Eater.com, focusing on pop culture, policy and labor, and only the weirdest online trends.

Koryo Kalbi, the longtime Korean barbecue restaurant that closed its doors at some point during the pandemic, is making a comeback.

The restaurant quietly kicked open the doors at 2560 Royal Lane, Suite 105, last week. The restaurant had been closed since at least the summer of 2020. Now, though, the restaurant is operating under new ownership and bringing back the same menu of charcoal-grilled meats, soups, and other classic Korean dishes that made Koryo Kalbi a Koreatown institution.

“Our menu is pretty much the same as before, the same chefs and aunties making the same recipes,” Koryo’s new owners told an Eater reporter. “[We] renovated the interior and raised the bar on beef quality because we have access to our own warehouse that distributes meat.”

In addition to Korean barbecue favorites like kalbi, more exciting new eats are in the works. Diners will soon be able to feast on live eel grilled over charcoal, soy-marinated blue crabs (ganjang gejang) and Prime meats that will be dry-aged at the restaurant. Top-quality Japanese beef will also, eventually, be on the menu.

Two slabs of beef sitting side by side in a dry-ager
Prime beef in Koryo’s dry-ager
Thanin Viriyaki
A dining room with black tables that include inset Korean barbecue grills, wood chairs, and slate grey floors.
Koryo’s revamped interior
Thanin Viriyaki

Right now, Koryo Kalbi is in a “soft-opening” phase, and is currently offering limited seating. The restaurant is currently operating from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Thanin Viriyaki contributed reporting to this story.