Picnic Garden
14742 Northern Blvd
Flushing, NY 11354
http://www.yelp.com/biz/picnic-garden-flushing
I knew I married a winner when my husband told me:
“I’m taking you somewhere special today…Korean BBQ!”
The fact that he is so in tune with my love for food is really something special 🙂 Anywho, we played hookie from work together one beautiful Friday and headed over to Flushing in Queens for some all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. We heard from multiple friends that Picnic Garden was a perfect place for lots of food that won’t break your pockets. All-you-can-eat + Budget friendly seemed like a win to me!
Appearance/Decor: The interior is pretty large with wooden benches lining the walls and wooden tables with grills. It was pretty clear that they probably get extremely crowded in the evening but had plenty of room to accommodate. As we walked in it was kind of dark and had a funny smell, which I convinced myself to ignore. (The smell disappeared after I got use to it. Maybe all the raw meat?) Overall, it seemed a little old and maybe in need of an upgrade. You definitely aren’t coming here for the ambiance though.
Service: Our waiter that day was GREAT! Since it was our first time at Picnic Garden (and my first time overall having Korean BBQ), he took time to give us a mini “tour” and let us know what to expect from the experience. He offered his suggestions on what we should start with and made sure to remind us that we should “never mix the raw meats with cooked food.” I found it funny that he had to tell us that, like people really do that? Guess so! I was under the impression that we would have to cook our own meats on the grill in front of us, and apparently you usually do, but our waiter did pretty much all of the cooking for us. Turning over the meats, cutting them up so they would cook faster, etc. I’m guessing he was able to do this since it wasn’t crowded, but either way, his help was appreciated. Wish I got his name so that I could give him a shout out! He was the real MVP that day.
Food: Oh glorious food! If you like meat, if you like LOTS of meat and if you like all-you-can-eat meat, than you will probably enjoy Picnic Garden. Although I would probably guess its not the most high grade meat, it was still pretty tasty and the choices were abundant. Pork belly, steak, chicken, spicy chicken, liver, beef, spicy beef, etc. In addition they had a number of cooked foods such as California rolls, chicken wings, dumplings, rice, salads, and a few other items that I was too overwhelmed to remember. The meat was seasoned pretty well and good enough for me to definitely go back and get seconds, despite the dooming level of full I would feel after.
The Deal: Lunch Mon-Fri at Picnic Garden is $17.99 per person. For two people including tip it came to a little over $40 which is definitely a steal. For $40 we left feeling extra stuffed, happy and ready for a nap. Lunch on weekends and Dinner jumps up a bit to $23.99 pp and $33.99 pp respectively. Although they are a bit more expensive, for the amount of food you will have access to it’s not that bad. However, if you don’t want to be rushed out and have time during the week, I suggest you make it for lunch.
Overall Picnic Garden was pretty good for the price. Since it was my first all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ experience, I don’t have much to compare it to. I can say though that it didn’t leave enough of a lasting impression to make an effort to return again. However it definitely enticed me to make an effort to try other Korean BBQ restaurants, especially in Flushing.
Have you ever had Korean BBQ? Have you been to Picnic Garden? Let me know your thoughts below and definitely give me any suggestions as to where I should try it next time!
