The vibe of The Korean Cowgirl isn’t one you’d expect in a retail park in Ashford, Kent. It’s a place filled with intriguing combinations, from the decor right through to the food.
On the one hand, it’s a place that was, on a Saturday night, full of families enjoying the “kids eat free” offer in the summer holidays. On the other, the dessert menu is titled “happy endings”, and when the bill came at the end of the meal, it featured the phrase, “if the service was sh*t, don’t leave a tip”.
There are chainmail-like figures and a motorbike adorning the place as soon as you walk in. There’s an open-plan kitchen, and multiple screens high on the walls, showing everything from anime to Red Bull soapbox races to high-stakes poker tournaments. There are neon signs all over the place, with slogans like “Eat like you MEAN it”, “Bad decisions make good stories”, and “It’s not gonna lick itself”.
In some ways, The Korean Cowgirl gives strip club vibes with its dark interior, leather seating, low lighting and neon signage. It’s an odd choice for a barbecue restaurant that promises “a unique blend of subtly-spiced Oriental cuisine and the big, brash smoked BBQs of the Texas Panhandle”.
The menu is fairly pricey in parts, but the quality certainly shines through. £10 for an Oreo milkshake? It’s steep, but when that milkshake is about 20cm high, served in a frozen metal cup, super thick and packed full of cream, Oreo chunks and salted caramel sauce, it’s like an extra course of its own.
There are two core elements to the food menu: the grilled meats, and the ramen. While I love a big bowl of noodle soup, we were there for the meat. We figured the best way to get a good feel for the menu was to order one of their Smokehouse BBQ Boards and a couple of sides to share.
These boards come in three sizes, and after consulting our server (Elliott, who was absolutely fantastic throughout our meal) about portion sizes, we went for the Mini (£35, designed to serve one), plus a portion of fries (£5) and a mac and cheese (£8).
The BBQ Boards feature six different meats: brisket burnt ends, cherry baby back ribs, chicken wings (bone-in or boneless, with a choice of sauces), Texas-style smoked turkey and Korean BBQ sausage.
With the sides, the Mini board was just about the right amount of food. Our favourite part? The boneless chicken wings, smothered in buffalo sauce and drizzled in creamy blue cheese dressing: both the texture and flavour were insane.
The pulled pork was probably the least exciting part of the board. Don’t get me wrong, it was perfectly juicy and tender. We just felt it could have done with a little more seasoning. Those brisket burnt ends, conversely, were lovely and saucy, melt-in-the-mouth tender and sprinkled with crispy onions for added texture.
We loved the smokiness of the Korean BBQ sausage – and of the turkey, too: it was a world away from the dry, tasteless stuff served up for many Christmas dinners.
I was excited to try the award-winning cherry baby back ribs and they lived up to the hype. That smoked meat pulled easily from the bone and came drenched in a sweet and sticky cherry BBQ sauce – I definitely recommend ordering these if you visit.
The fries? Nicely seasoned and deliciously crispy. The mac and cheese? Another must-order. So many places have all the flavour concentrated in the melted cheese on top, but at The Korean Cowgirl, the sauce is insanely rich and cheesy too.
We declined the offer of dessert, partly because £10 for a bao doughnut seemed a little pricey, partly because that enormous milkshake had already satisfied the sugar cravings. We’d definitely head back, though – I’m keen to try their ramen offering, and I think a whole portion of those boneless buffalo wings is needed next time…