PanSteak 2046

     PanSteak 2046 started in Seoul, where it quickly became known for its quality steak at low prices, and now Daegu has its own location right on the bar street, downtown.
(한국어 버전)

     I grabbed this menu shot from the board in front of the restaurant, the menu that they give you inside has a full range of drinks including beer and wine. Looking at the food though, you'll notice that the price range is between 9,500 and 19,900 won for everything on the menu, including their signature steak at just 14,000. We ordered the cheapest steak (2046 Pan Steak) and the most expensive steak (Pan Rib Eye Steak) on the menu and put them head to head.

     Wow, if you thought that they would ask you how you like your steak done, you were wrong. The process here is that they have a large number of cast iron skillets in an oven ready to go and extremely hot. Once you order the chef just puts the food on the pan and it comes out to the table. The waiter will make sure to flip your steak and that's it. The steak will cook to perfection just using the residual heat from the pan. This means that you get a perfect steak every time, and it gets served to you extremely quickly. Very nice.

     This is the signature 2046 pan steak. I thought that it was a little odd that the steak was already cut up in the pan, but I guess that this is how they ensure each piece gets evenly cooked. All of the steaks are served with "French style garnish" which is actually some spinach and some mushrooms with nuts. All of which were very good though, so no complaints. The steak was tender and very delicious. They provide two dipping sauces for the steak, one spicy, the other a little sweet, but honestly you don't need them. The steak is good just by itself.

     The pan rib eye steak arrived uncut, perhaps to better show off the meat? It was nice to cut into it and then set the red inside down on the pan for a second and brown it before popping it into my mouth. The steak was very good, but honestly I feel that the original 2046 pan steak is just as good and 5,000 won less. I enjoyed this steak a lot but I'll just stick with the original next time.

     They also provide a small side of rice with the steak, as it's not a meal in Korea without rice. I found that cutting up a small piece of the steak as well as a few of the veggies and mixing it together with the rice in the pan was quite delicious. Kind of a do-it-yourself fried rice almost. They also give a small brownie for each person for after the meal. Usually I don't like brownies in Korea as they tend to be... not good, but this brownie was excellent. A nice end to a great meal.

     I can definitely say that I'll be back here again. However I must point out that the largest group they seem to be able to seat would be 4-6. They might be able to push some tables together to accommodate a larger group but even then, you'd have to wait for that many more tables to be free before they seat you. The place also operates at a very high speed, you'll probably have your food and be finished with it within 30 minutes of being seated. Mind you that we never felt rushed, it's just that service is that fast. Next time we plan to order a salad first to share before getting our steaks, so that we can linger a little bit and enjoy a few more beers, maybe even staying for 45 minutes!

Final Review: 4/5  The food is great and service is fast. Too fast?

Location: PanSteak 2046 is located directly across from Thursday Party 1, on the bar street downtown. Here's a map.


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