With Songsan, tabletop barbecue comes to Ardmore

Songsan, 66 Rittenhouse Place, Ardmore

Ardmore got itself a rock-solid Korean BYOB last year with the opening of Bam Bam Kitchen (31 E. Lancaster Ave.), a bright and buzzy spot known for its bibimbap, japchae, and Korean fried chicken. (By buzzy: How many other restaurants have actual buzzers on the tables to summon staff?)

Now, the Main Line Korean scene is really cooking with the recent opening of Songsan, a wood-clad charmer on Rittenhouse Place smack between Rittenhouse Deli and Ardmore BBQ. Songsan, an offshoot of a similarly named restaurant in Paris, offers barbecue grills on its 12 tables. Though the grills are electric (rather than charcoal- or gas-fired), the experience makes for good, tasty theater. Buy in for about $60 a couple, and the beef, chicken, and pork cuts and an assortment of side dishes (banchan) start coming. Your server, wielding tongs and scissors, handles the stirring and cutting of meat.

Those who skip the tabletop experience can order from a small menu of Korean staples, including decent Korean fried chicken (offered in only spicy and mild). In another surprise for a 48-seat restaurant in Lower Merion, there are bottles of soju and four beers on tap.

Hours: 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, noon-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday.