Best Restaurants for Groups in Pasadena

From my Beli review Netflix Culinary Class Wars finalist/iron chef Edward Lee latest restaurant "Shia" As soon as you walk in, they seat you at the bar with your 1st course. When they're ready they walk you into the dining hall to chef's counter with your 2nd course and talk little bit about lee initiative. Shortly after you are seated to your table. Unfortunately Chef Edward Lee was not here today. Pumpkin Mandu - dumpling skin was fresh and was good, however chestnut sauce with pickled ginseng was ok. I honestly had doubts about Shia after this bite. Scallop and fried oyster ssam - best dish of the night. It was absolutely 🔥 the hot/cold worked in sync, the crunch/smokiness made it a memorable bite. Pine nut soondubu apple juk - broth itself was very bland, once you mix tangerine vinegar it was ok. Crab didn't have much flavor, the bite with mandu was decent. Each bite varied too much. Tuna bibimbap - the dish that everyone wants to try. The plate choice here does not make any sense to me, it should be swapped out with the dish they used for dessert. It was pretty good, nurungji plus the tuna worked well together. I rather have a caviar shot with the amount that was served. It was good but not memorable. Doenjang pork belly - again the plate choice here is questionable. Serving soup on a flat plate.. Kimchi was not sliced, and you can't cut it with your fork. Eating with pork belly was too salty and eating with clams was too bland. Poorly executed dish. VA rib eye - kalbi butter was 🔥 it slapped hard. Rib eye wasn't as tender as I expected it to be. The kimchi it was served with as banchan was wayyyyyy too sour. I was dumbfoundead that this passed as ok to be served.. Boricha ice cream - this was very good Service was top tier, clean table after every course. I'm not sure if it was due to Edward Lee not being here today, but it was very underwhelming experience.

Absolutely a fantastic meal! All four of us were extremely pleased with our meals, one of which was not on the menu and was still rated "the best I have ever had". Wonderful breads started the dinner. Salads and appetizers were great. Everything prepared superbly! Then came the cannoli..... Service was top notch. Excellent restaurant for a special night out!

Delicious as always for a neighborhood go to spot.

The sushi presentation and taste (according to my boyfriend) was excellent. My entree, however, took a lot longer than the sushi. As someone who doesn’t eat seafood, this was the only issue I had with the place. The service for everything else was great, and we’ll definitely visit again!