KPOT KBBQ

Reviews

• ★★★★½ Angus Steak Beef Bulgogi Galbi Coconut Tapioca Soup (Sago) Garlic Pork Belly Visited Jun 29, 2024

  The Flavor Of The Meats Varies, Decent Sauces, Sides Could Be Better

  I'd been wanting to try this place since it opened, and overall, the experience was pretty good, though a bit on the pricey side. Compared with all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurants I've visited in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Las Vegas, this one falls somewhere in the middle. There's plenty of food to choose from, but the restaurant has room for improvement in several areas.
  
  Dinner starts at $32 per person for either Korean BBQ or hot pot, with an additional $5 charge if you want both. Everyone at the table must choose the same dining option.
  
  I arrived around 5 p.m., just as things were getting busy and a waiting list was forming, but we were seated in less than three minutes. There's a two-hour time limit, so we placed our first meat orders right away.
  
  The sauce bar offers a variety of sauces, vegetables, and side dishes, including pickled cucumber, daikon radish, kimchi, popcorn chicken, and spring rolls. Unfortunately, there was almost always a line, and each trip to get a different sauce or refill the sides could take a couple of minutes. Combined with the narrow aisles and employees maneuvering large carts through the dining area, getting around felt cramped.
  
  We ordered beef bulgogi, garlic pork belly, sliced brisket, Angus steak, and two orders of Korean short ribs (galbi). By about the hour-and-a-half mark, we'd eaten about as much as we could manage. The meat portions brought to the table were reasonable, making it easier to order a variety without overdoing it.
  
  The meat quality was hit or miss. The beef bulgogi was quite good and flavorful enough that it didn't need additional sauce or seasoning. The sliced brisket, on the other hand, was bland and had very little flavor. Because it was sliced so thinly, it cooked incredibly quickly; the instructions recommended about 30 seconds per side.
  
  The garlic pork belly had a nice garlic flavor, but there was an odd smoky taste that reminded me of artificial smoke or pork sausage cooked in a barbecue pit. It was decent, but far from my favorite pork belly. The Angus steak was a good cut of meat with minimal seasoning. It needed dipping sauce, as cooking it on the unseasoned metal grill didn't add any noticeable flavor.
  
  The side dishes were a mixed bag. The pickled daikon was decent, the seaweed salad was good, and the kimchi was acceptable. There were plenty of other options on the menu that we didn't get around to trying, even without considering the separate hot pot selection.
  
  Table service was inconsistent. Our drinks weren't refilled very often at the beginning, and we weren't checked on regularly. The grill was replaced reasonably often, but the staff member responsible for bringing out our meat orders didn't come by as frequently as we'd have liked. Toward the end of the meal, our waitress became much more attentive, stopping by several times to remind us that we had 30 minutes remaining, offer a final opportunity to order meat, refill our drinks, and bring the check.
  
  Dessert was included, although the selection was basic, consisting of Jell-O, coconut tapioca soup, and small squares of cake.
  
  There's a lot to choose from, and if you're especially hungry, you can certainly get your money's worth. I'd consider returning to try the hot pot, perhaps during the winter. However, compared with other Korean BBQ restaurants I've visited around the country, this one didn't particularly excel in any one area. Between the inconsistent service, crowded layout, slow trips to the sauce bar, and mixed results with the meats, there's definitely room for improvement.

  — Paul