Korean sensation: K Style Kitchen a stellar addition to the West Side dining scene

With its mix of dried and fermented foods and spices, Korean cuisine is unlike any other. Meals in Korea are celebrations in which a dizzying array of side dishes called banchan are passed around while meats are grilled on tabletop barbecues. The spicy, smoky and sweet flavors of the food coupled with the interactive nature of the dining experience has proven popular in the United States, and Korean food is well-represented in every city of the United States.

Well, almost every city.

Albuquerque has long had a dearth of Korean restaurants, particularly on the West Side. Aside from the very brief appearance of the fried-chicken chain Bonchon in 2019, the West Side and Rio Rancho have largely been a desert for Korean food lovers.

Korean sensation: K Style Kitchen a stellar addition to the West Side dining scene

That’s why the arrival of K Style Kitchen in August 2022 was more than just another restaurant opening. It brought one of the world’s great cuisines within easy reach of the thousands of people living west of the river.

K Style is set in a strip mall on the northeast side of the Coors Boulevard-Montaño Road intersection, just a few doors down from M’tucci’s Italian. In fact, the spot it occupies was previously home to M’tucci’s Café and Market.

The small dining room holds a handful of two-top tables with metal chairs. At the back stands a counter and an active kitchen from which aromas of grilled beef and soy sauce emanate. There is table service and a bustling takeout scene, based on the number of orders my friend and I saw heading out the door as we dined.

The compact menu is centered on the staples of Korean cuisine like bibimbap, the noodle dish japchae and bulgogi. It’s refreshing to see this focus, as the menus of so many Korean places are cluttered with Thai, Chinese and Japanese dishes.

Kimchi is a sort of barometer for Korean restaurants, and K Style’s two versions — Cucumber ($4.50) and Napa Cabbage ($5.50) — suggested that we were in for a good meal. Both were piled in stainless steel bowls. The vegetables, slick with red chile paste, still had some texture to them and the heat from the chile, while not unbearable, delivered a lengthy afterburn. Along with these sides came complimentary samples of Radish Kimchi and Pickled Radish. Crunchy, watery and a little sweet, they provided some contrast to the other kimchis.

The K Style plates offer a selection of proteins served with rice and mixed vegetables. Protein options include three types of bulgogi — “fire meat” in Korean. In the Spicy Bulgogi Plate ($14.50), the beef was piled across a bed of rice in the middle of the plate. Bulgogi is commonly served in thin slices, but in K Style’s version the meat was chopped into smaller pieces that provided more surface area for the compellingly smoky and sweet barbecue sauce. Though softened from steaming, the accompanying carrots, broccoli and cabbage still had some backbone on them.

The Korean version of fried chicken, sometimes referred to as “candy chicken,” offers a stark contrast to the thickly-battered American version. At K Style, fried chicken is available either as boneless tenders or wings in different portion sizes. We had three of the boneless tenders ($10) served on a bed of lettuce and topped with sliced green onion and sesame seeds. Coating the chicken in a thin layer of starch and frying it twice left it with a thin, crisp outer layer and a juicy core. It maintained its crunch even under a coating of tangy bourbon barbecue sauce.

A highlight of the noodle dishes is Tteokbokki ($12), a popular street food in Korea consisting of rice cakes in a red spicy broth. K Style’s version was served in a wide, shallow bowl. In the red sauce, the cylindrical rice cakes bore a passing resemblance to baby carrots, but their texture was like al dente pasta. They soaked up the zingy red chile sauce while remaining firm and chewy. Despite the name, the fish cakes in the broth were thin, wispy triangles that added a touch of brine without tasting fishy. The portion was prodigious enough for three people. A sliced hard-boiled egg topped it off.

The rest of the menu is filled out with Fried Rice ($11 to $13), Sandwiches ($13-$14) and Bibimbap, rice bowls topped with choice of protein, for $9.50 to $14.50.

Beverage choices include flavored drinks ($5) like Mango and Strawberry Cream and Plum Tea ($3.50), a Korean favorite. The latter is made with green plums that have a strong sour and bitter flavor that my friend likened to cough syrup. I found that the flavor improved the longer it mingled with the ice.

Service was prompt and the food came out quickly in the order that it was ready. It was a challenge to find room for it all on the small table. The manager was a visible presence in the dining room and happy to answer any questions. There are many gluten-friendly items on the menu.

Look closely and you’ll find some worthy dining destinations hidden among Albuquerque’s innumerable strip malls. K Style Kitchen is one such place. Attentive service and a focused menu of well-executed dishes make it a stellar addition to the West Side dining scene.