Lava Korean BBQ, hot pot restaurant to open in Myrtle Beach

Lava, a Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurant, will soon open in the Briarcliffe Acres area of Myrtle Beach.

Lava, a Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurant, will soon open in the Briarcliffe Acres area of Myrtle Beach.

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A restaurant concept that is popular in larger cities is being introduced to the Myrtle Beach area.

Heri Heryadi, a partner in established Grand Strand bar/restaurants The Grumpy Monk and The Sneaky Beagle, and his wife, Chen Liu, will be opening the first Korean barbecue and hot pot restaurant in the area.

Diners will cook their own ordered food at the restaurant called Lava.

A grill or pot installed in the middle of the dining table will allow them to either grill meats, seafoods and vegetables, or boil their food in a flavored broth.

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Chen Liu (left) and husband Suzan ‘Heri’ Heryadi will soon open Lava, a Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurant, in the Briarcliffe Acres area of Myrtle Beach. Alan Blondin [email protected]

Heryadi and Liu hope to open in March following the renovation of a former First Palmetto Savings Bank on U.S. 17 in the Briarcliffe Acres area.

A few cities in the Carolinas have Korean BBQ restaurants, including Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte and Raleigh.

“We love Korean BBQ but we don’t have it here in Myrtle Beach,” Liu said. “If people want to eat Korean BBQ they have to drive to like Charlotte, Raleigh or Charleston. So we thought about it and we saw this building and it was perfect for Korean BBQ.”

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Lava, a Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurant, will soon open in the Briarcliffe Acres area of Myrtle Beach. Alan Blondin [email protected]

What’s on the menu?

Multiple meats that are expected to be available for cooking include Bulgogi beef, Bulgogi chicken, pork, short ribs and more exotic foods including tripe (stomach), tongue and liver. Seafoods will include crab, shrimp, scallops and calamari, and a multitude of vegetables will be available including greens, asparagus and several kinds of mushrooms.

While some Korean BBQ restaurants are all-you-can-eat, Lava will likely open with a la carte ordering.

An additional Asian-themed menu will be available for diners who want their food prepared by a chef. It will include Korean corn cheese and sushi, which Heryadi offers at his other restaurants and several other Strand eateries through business agreements with their owners.

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Lava, a Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurant, will soon open in the Briarcliffe Acres area of Myrtle Beach. It will have covered outdoor seating. Alan Blondin [email protected]

The restaurant will have indoor and outdoor seating for approximately 150 patrons, including a covered outdoor area with a fireplace.

Liu and Heryadi believe they’ve found a successful location near the Myrtle Beach Mall, Tanger Outlets and Barefoot Landing. “It’s near the beach and near the shopping center, and a bunch of people live around here,” Liu said.

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Lava, a Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurant, will soon open in the Briarcliffe Acres area of Myrtle Beach. Alan Blondin [email protected]

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Alan Blondin covers golf, Coastal Carolina university and athletics, and numerous other sports-related topics that warrant coverage. Well-versed in all things Myrtle Beach, Horry County and the Grand Strand, the 1992 Northeastern University journalism school valedictorian has been a reporter at The Sun News since 1993 after working at papers in Texas and Massachusetts. He has earned eight top-10 Associated Press Sports Editors national writing awards and 20 top-three S.C. Press Association writing awards since 2007.