Top Korean Restaurant in Garden Grove
Kaju Soft Tofu Restaurant -
8895 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
As an individual who takes pride on being Korean, Kaju Tofu was an extremely frustrating experience.I’ll start with what I came for: the food. I ordered their famous Tofu Soup. The consistency, flavor, and texture of the tofu was exactly what every hungry Korean would look for in a traditional dish. I found the menu to have a variety of dishes including the tofu this restaurant prides itself on. I would order takeout from this place as the food was solid when that’s the only factor. The men I saw working hard in the kitchen were phenomenal and prepared each dish with true precision and skill. Everything that came out of that kitchen made me feel like I was right in the heart of Seoul, ordering a warm, hearty soup on a cool summer night. Even the water was exactly what I look for in a glass of water. The clarity of the water was perfect and complimented each of the dishes my party ordered.Let me get to the part that was the elephant in the room. From the moment I walked into this establishment, the customer service felt off. As I entered, I noticed a line of customers waiting. However, there was no one to take my name for the waitlist that was supposedly going. After waiting for about 8 minutes, a waitress by the name of Kay stormed over to the front and told my party to enter our information on the iPad at the door. There wasn’t an employee designated to greeting us or even explaining how Kaju’s check-in process worked. The iPad wasn’t working and it took us about 3 tries to get the attention of the waitress for her to even walk over and try to help us fix the problem being the iPad. Eventually, she sat us down at our table and seemed extremely irritated when taking our order. None of the front of house employees seemed to have any interest in providing a quality customer experience. There were about 3 women working as waitresses and the restaurant even had a robot that served us. Yes. A moving robot that brought the food to us. See, the problem here is that the restaurant prioritized the efficiency of the business over the care the customers deserved. I honestly believe that the robot was the friendliest worker I encountered during my time at Kaju. Whenever I asked for extra water or napkins, the waitresses would disregard my request after acknowledging the fact that they heard me. The staff provided absolutely no attention to my party or the other customers which was extremely disappointing. I wouldn’t come back solely based on the customer service experience even though the food was perfect. Saying the service was minimal is an overstatement. Every employee seemed annoyed at the customers. I think the waitresses (Kay included) could use some TLC and/or vacation time. When hiring future employees, please be more careful about the attitudes of the staff. Quality over quantity. The training and goals of the establishment need to be improved. If I wasn’t Korean, I would think that all Korean restaurants have dreadful service such as this one. In addition to harming this restaurant’s reputation, I fear that Kaju will ruin the perception of all Korean businesses to non-Korean folk. This is a global crisis that Kaju has the power to save.
Shik Do Rak Restaurant
9691 W Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
This is one of the very best Korean BBQ restaurant in Garden Grove, CA. Fresh Brisket, marinated and very fresh non-marinated Cal-bi ( Korean name for short ribs) and many other choices from the menu for only 19.95. The brisket and cal-bi of this place is daily fresh because there are many frequent returning customers like us and our friends. Usually it is crowded on Friday, Saturday and on long weekends. Cant miss this !
Red Castle Korean BBQ
8303 W Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
* ORIGINALLY FLOWER PIG RESTAURANT; NOW UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT **I was referred to Flower Pig by my roommate who was born and raised in Garden Grove. I figured since I was on a budget but had a very strong craving for Korean BBQ, I could pass on paying the $20+ prices for premium kbbq restaurants.I originally checked on Yelp for the restaurant but was saddened to see that Flower Pig was closed. After all, hearing about a $10 AYCE kbbq restaurant seemed like SUCH a good deal for the average broke college kid. I decided to give the business a phone call since I wouldnt take no for an answer and was more than surprised to hear someone pick up the phone only to say that YES, THEY WERE INDEED OPEN!I asked her how long the average wait would be for 2 people on a Friday afternoon ~4:30pm and she said --- NO WAIT.I KID YOU NOT. THE LADY ON THE PHONE SAID THERE WAS NO WAIT.I hopped into my car with my boyfriend SO quickly it wasnt even funny.But of course we hit some traffic on the road...And somehow, on what was originally a 20 minute ride ended up buying one hour.Id be lying if I said I didnt think our chances were bleak and that we would have to kiss our AYCE for $10 dreams goodbye...So a mile before driving into the plaza I gave the lady a phone call and asked how long the current wait was, and she said, ... NO. WAIT!!!!!Now Im sitting here thinking this is way too damn good to be true. You honestly cannot tell me that on a Friday at 5:30pm there is absolutely NO wait for $10 AYCE KBBQ.And yet lo and behold, when my boyfriend finally pulled into the plaza, we found a few parties in line.No wait, my a**!! BUT, dont let this little white lie fool you.I actually only ended up waiting about 10 minutes in order to be seated, maybe even less!Check-in is done by simply walking inside the restaurant and writing your name and party size on a clipboard. There really isnt a lobby for you to go to so all of the parties loiter outside the restaurant and into the parking lot. One of the employees then calls out your name whenever there is space.I have to say, the turnover here is really high... and I like that a lot! My boyfriend and I were seated in less than 10 minutes and since we didnt want to waste any time we immediately ordered our three cuts of meat and our side dishes!Because it is one of the cheaper AYCE places, you can expect the side dishes to be a lot fewer and obviously a lot less comparable to better or premium locations. I personally dont like side dishes like kimchi and vegetables so I just told my waiter I didnt want any.There are 3 menus to choose from, $10.99, $12.99, and $16.99... (I could be a bit off on the pricing but I think you get the point-- its cheap!!) Based on the menu you choose from, you will get a selection of quality meats to order. I opted for the $13 menu since my boyfriend and I wanted to order some steaks and order steamed egg, yum!The service was great! There was always an employee walking by asking if you wanted to order more meat or to take your dishes away and clear some space. I can honestly and wholeheartedly say that for such a low price you can still get a great meal.I would highly recommend visiting this place if you are trying to enjoy AYCE kbbq on a budget! My only wish is that they served complimentary ice cream at the end. Personally, I prefer to go to Star BBQ next door because of their self-serve ice cream machine, but I think I can easily settle for paying a much cheaper price in order to get some good korean bbq.
Mo Ran Gak Restaurant
9651 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
Koreans dont live in Garden Grove like they did in the 90s, but some of the restaurants remain.If theres a reason for Koreans to go back to Garden Grove, its Mo Ran Gak.They have the best cold noodles outside of Korea period and Ive tried cold noodles in Korea.Make sure to get both the spicy and non spicy versions and get an extra smaller portion of the same noodles, which is complimentary, so you can share with your party.Beware, theres always a line. Expect a long wait during the prime hours.
Cham Soot Gol
9252 Garden Grove Blvd ste 10, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
Wasnt sure what to expect, as a friend suggested it.I was specifically looking for a Korean restaurant that served Kim Chee ... it doesnt show on their menu, but theyll bring it out as a side dish for the All-You-Can-Eat meal. BUT you have to ask for it as a side dish ... otherwise you might be told they dont have Kim Chee - like they did us.For the most part, the service was great. And the cleanliness of the restaurant was very clean. Seems to be a lot of locals and regulars.We both ordered the All-You-Can-Eat meal, which seemed to be the best selection. Overall, the meat was great - some of the beef was super fatty, like other reviews said. It was super tasty, lots of different: meats, sauces, sides and not to mention they have ice-cream as part of All-You-Can-Eat!The best time to go - as we noticed - is before 5pm. It starts to get crowded any later than that.IF YOU HAVENT BEEN HERE BEFORE, TELL THE SERVER AND ASK HIM/HER TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING! (i.e. we didnt realize there was a button you needed to push if we needed anything)
Grams BBQ-Tabletop Grill
8902 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
They wont seat you like 1 hours before they close, they should just change their hours to reflect the time they stop seating. They wont serve you if you are by yourself. You have to download Yelp and create an account to get on the waiting list. If you can actually get served the food is ok, theres better Korean restaurants in the area.
Bullgogi KOREN BBQ Restaurant (All-You-Can-Eat)
12118 Brookhurst St, Garden Grove, CA 92840, United States
After eating at all the new places like GEN and other BBQ places, you come back to this restaurant and see how behind and aged this place has been. The cost is actually higher than Korean BBQ places, the quality is still the same as it has been. I grew up liking this place, because it had a variety of food, now its just a older place with the same type of food.I guess my taste in restaurants and food has changed as I have gotten older.
Hangari Kalgooksu
9916 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
Korean restaurant located in Garden Groves, California, USA. Good to go when you miss Korean food. Its delicious and plentiful. Before the kalguksu is served, barley rice is served, and the barley rice is delicious when eaten with young radish kimchi and red pepper paste sesame oil as bibimbap.
Gamjatang house (garden grove)
9567 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92841, United States
Ordered Gamjatang and BulgolgiThe Gamjatang (think BCD Tofu Soup and replace it with Pork Neck Bones) was pretty tasty and lots of meat, however, as expected, pork neck bones has a lot of bones as well. I was actually surprise because when I buy pork neck bones from the grocery market, its just all bones and used to make a broth. +1The Gamjatang was around 9.95. Ordering two entrees will make two people full.Restaurant is also really small like a mom and pop restaurant +1Parking here sucks donkey balls. Its one of those lots where you park diagonally and to get out to reverse because theres only one lane... so its a little annoying for bigger cars.The bulgolgi was korean restaurant standard quality.
Jang Mo Gip Restaurant
9816 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
You know this is a legit Korean restaurant when all you see are Koreans dining. I was pretty blown away by their dishes especially the octopus rice. I will definitely come back if I am craving a certain Korean dish.