KIMCHI WITH A SMILE. Diners have two options at Secret Garden: self-designed Mongolian grill creations or traditional Korean entrées. Above: co-owner Ryan Miescke.

The Secret Garden has a tree made of money. Friends and happy customers have scribbled messages of good fortune on greenbacks and attached them like leaves to one of the many stylishly bare trees in the hopes that more will come back to co-owners Ryan Miescke and Sunyo Kyunghee Verdon.

A lot of what Miescke enjoys about owning his new Korean restaurant is found on that tree: happy customers, loved ones, friends, and family. “I like having people come and visit me. It’s wonderful to have so many people who care about you stop by and give their support.”

Although the location of this Secret Garden in Eau Claire is new, the idea (and the Mongolian grill) came from the original Secret Garden in Altoona, which was opened in 1997 by Kim Reneau and closed a few years ago. Miescke worked there while he attended UWEC, before business ventures and adventures took him away from the restaurant business, including a five-year stint teaching ESL in Seoul.

“My time in Korea changed me. It made me a much warmer person. When you have 30 kindergarteners come up to you everyday and give you a hug and say ‘I love you,’ it gives you a different attitude on life. It made me value things a bit differently.”

When Miescke returned to the Chippewa Valley, he eventually found his way back to the restaurant business and the Secret Garden. With Reneau’s guidance and encouragement and the partnership of her friend Verdon, the Secret Garden re-grew in Eastridge Center.

In only four months, the space was transformed from multicolored tiles, dropped ceiling, and bad floors to a tranquil restaurant befitting its name. Stone pavers now cover the floor and wooden shingles line the walls to create a courtyard effect. Diners sipping wine under pergolas surrounded by lighted trees and soft Korean music can be excused if they forget they’re sitting feet away from Hastings Avenue.

    Diners have two options. They can go through the Mongolian grill, which allows them to choose their own vegetables, meat, and sauce. A chef stir fries their selections into a meal in minutes. A trip to the grill also comes with appetizers such as impossibly delicate man-doo, fried dumplings filled with meat or vegetables that taste like what every egg roll wants to be when it grows up.

Or guests can order traditional Korean entrées. The stars of this side of the menu are two forms of marinated and grilled beef: spare ribs (kal-bee) or thinly sliced beef (bul-go-gi) in a sweet and salty dipping sauce. The Korean entrées come with traditional vegetable side dishes. Of course these include the famous spicy pickled cabbage kimchi, which would be eaten with most meals in a Korean household, but they can also be sweet bean sprouts, sour sliced cucumber, savory cubed potatoes, or spicy zucchini.

Both the Korean entrées and the Mongolian grill selections come with the same water-based – not oil- or cream-based – sauces. The restaurant also relies solely on mono-saturated sesame oil for cooking. Despite all this healthiness and talk of vegetables, the food is mouth-watering. “If you like spicy, Korean food is very addictive,” Miescke insists. 

Miescke is proud of keeping their prices reasonable, and he says they draw a good crowd for their weekday lunch specials. “People are hungry, they have to eat. People eat all the time. We’ve always got customers.”

Secret Garden • 2161 Eastridge Center, Eau Claire • 836-7696 • beer and wine available • group seating • vegetarian friendly • average lunch $6, average dinner $9