Sagan

Here we go again– guess whose doors are locked and business is now closed
Isn’t it funny that both businesses I reviewed on terrible customer service have now closed?
Maybe there is something to this GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE thing?
Sagan tried ½ of the Disney formula– charge high prices but keep the customer happy!
They thought they could charge their $ 40 for Korean beef and give you the snotty treatment at the same time–
Disney at least cleans out your wallet but you leave with a smile on your face—

There was a temp closed banner on Unilocal and now it’s not there so one would assume they are open again. Called and number said it was disconnected. Bad job communicating with your customers Sagan.

The competition for KBBQ in Buena Park is getting so fierce, places like Sagan and Surawon are changing their menu options to AYCE. You guys know how I feel about that. I’m not a fan of the «Eat Till You Pop» school of thought, often reminding myself that Gluttony is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Finally, met my buddy Richard L. for lunch and since he’s been meat deprived for a few weeks, we decided to check out the lunch menu at Sagan. For $ 16.99, we went thru several plates. They have a Lunch Box special (excluding weekends and holidays), which gives you a single choice of BBQ and sushi for $ 9.99. Both lunch and dinner AYCE BBQ comes with an option to add endless sushi and rolls.
As for the venue, it’s prime real estate, located along that strip of Beach Blvd, close to Knott’s Berry Farm. Inside, there are private rooms that you can reserve. It’s spacious, with the main dining room tables having plenty of room. There’s enough capacity to sit comfortably without hassle. As you enter, there’s also a sushi bar to your right. The grills used are the same ones that suck the smoke and smell underneath the table and out of harm’s way.
Moving onto the service, it seems like the waiters got younger, but with that comes the sudden lapse of judgment, such as forgetting to re-​fill waters or not remembering to bring something we asked for 5 minutes ago. I had to constantly flag someone down and there seems to be a lack of teamwork, making the service sloppy and disorganized. There’s a single sheet to mark what you want to order, with 3 rounds per paper. I assume it works, since it prevents customers from asking for everything at will.
The ban chan (side dishes) were alright, just typical. Liked the unlimited Jap Chae, Lean Beef, and the Bean Paste Soup. I thoroughly enjoyed the Marinated Chicken, Bulgogi, and Spicy Squid. We put down at least 4 plates of Beef Brisket. I couldn’t find any Kalbi on the menu, which was sorely missed. I’m curious about their Korean entrees and will probably be tempted to come back to try that. Overall, the food is good, but I have this gut feeling that the business can run more efficiently, making my experience more complete.

Let’s start with the obvious. Prices
Just Korean BBQ
16.99
Just Sushi
19.99 a person
Lunch korean BBQ and Sushi 23.99
Dinner Korean BBQ and Sushi 27.99
Difference between Lunch and Dinner — BBQ Meat of Short Ribs and Beef Tongue, Personally im disappointed that the 16.99 and the 23.99 option does not have beef tongue
Fish to rice Ratio — Pretty damn good
Stand Outs, you have the option of using a checkered grill, ask for it because it gives a char to the meat, YUMMY
Quality pretty good. What brings it down from a 5 star, the price and options for them
4 stars is pretty damn good
Service is not bad.

The food was great, the service was ok. They were busy and forgot a few things here and there no problem. But the cashier was a rude unhappy person. She was ringing me up and I showed her my coupon and she was like, «ugh, why didn’t you show me that earlier. I just ignored it. But in my mind I was like sorry I didn’t want to interupt you. And then she was like where is your card … Assuming I’m gonna pay with card like I don’t have enough cash to accommodate the bill … And I told her I’m paying with cash is that ok with you??? She’s like yeah yeah and was just rude… Not sure what her problem is… But it was an unpleasant way to end the night. We ate here on July 25^th 2014 at 8:30pm

Don’t know why there’s so many bad reviews about the service. When we went there last night it was spot on. It was a Friday night and it was only mildly busy. I put in reservations for 2 just in case. When I got there they said they don’t take reservations that small, only 6+. They seated us anyways with hesitation.
We sat in a huge booth for 8 people and it was just my wife and I. It was so spacious and comfortable. We ordered the sushi+kbbq ayce for $ 28. Our waitress, Christina, was waiting for many tables and always asked if we needed anything. She forgot a few items but always remembered and apologized then brought the items out. The grill is small. Perfect for 2 people but I can see why it would suck for larger parties. It seemed to grill our brisket just right, we like it a little dark brown and crispy. The sushi wasn’t bad either. The nigiri was small but that wasn’t a bad thing. The fish to rice ratio was good about ⁷⁰⁄₃₀. Wife loved the yellowtail and I liked the albacore and salmon. The variations of kbbq meat wasn’t great but the items were the ones we usually ordered, brisket, beef tongue, and pork belly.
This place was surprisingly good for only having 3 stars in reviews. I would tell everyone to give this a try. I bet all the one stars reviewers were prissy princesses that wanted 5 diamond services.

My friends and I came across Sagan while driving down Beach Blvd. We immediately researched the restaurant on Unilocal and the reviews were mixed. Nonetheless, we still wanted to try it. I mean, AYCE Sushi and KBBQ all in one meal, how can they go wrong.
ATMOSPHERE
Nice, modern, and very welcoming. Perfect place for a nice dinner or date.
PRE-​DINNER
We walked in and was immediately greeted by a very pleasant hostess, Michelle. She sat us down immediately and asked if it was our first time coming and showed us the options available for dining. Sushi, Korean BBQ or Sushi and Korean BBQ.
ORDERING
Our waiter Chris came over immediately and took our drink order and presented the Sushi and Korean BBQ menu to us. The menu was endless. Sushi menu had a lot of rolls and nigiri options. The Korean BBQ menu had various types of beef, pork and chicken.
FOOD
Sides = Normally you get more sides if you go to other Korean BBQ places, but with the sushi we were ordering, the sides presented seemed to be just right.
Sushi = rolls were perfectly rolled. Sushi was fresh and the nigiri was amazing, barely any rice and plenty of fresh fish. I like how they didn’t’ get cheap and try to force white rice on our plates to fill us up.
Korean BBQ = Brisket delicious and barely any fat. Pork Belly, nicely cut think pieces so we were able to get the char on the outside and the juicy on the inside. Just exactly how it should be. The Bulgogi Beef was nicely marinated. But the rockstar was the spicy pork, flavorful with just the right kick.
Drinks = Wine selection, small but their house red was nice. Beer $ 4/​bottle? Can’t beat that.
SERVICE
Our grill needed cleaning and some random server walked by, glanced at our table and said, «I’ll be right back to replace that for you».
Waiter was always available and did not forget anything.
We are definitely coming back.

Went on Sunday for dinner with the entire family. We arrived at around 6 for dinner. After waiting for an hour and a half for a table to grill the meats, we decided just to sit in the sushi side and have the BBQ meats cooked for us.
So we eventually sat down at 7:30.
Did our server come right away? No. That took another 10 minutes. She took our order and we order from both the BBQ menu and sushi menu.
Did our food come out right away? No. That took another 15 minutes or so for the first dish to arrive. However, I think lucked into that dish because it was not something we ordered and they might have given us someone ‘s else’s food.
Our luck, unfortunately, did not continue. Although the first dish came out, we did not have any plates, utensils, appetizers, napkins, rice… you know, all the things you would expect getting at a restaurant. We did not even get our drinks.
We were at the table for an hour and a half and only go five dishes. That represented only half of what we ordered from the BBQ menu. WE NEVER EVEN GOT OUR SUSHI ORDER. Being that it was already 9 pm and we had no idea when our food would arrive, we cancelled the rest of our order and asked for the bill. The bill was for $ 120.00. That was simply robbery for the little food and terrible service we received. I spoke to the manager and told her of our night and she agreed to cut our bill in half. She asked that we come back another day when it is less busy and she promised to provide better service. The manager was nice but unfortunately, with all the restaurants out there, there is no reason for me to come back.

To the most recent review below:
Most people will think because i havent written many reviews that this is a fake account or my perception of what actually happened that day is invalid, but this is definitely different. I gain nothing but to tell the absolute truth about the impact your dad and his friends made on my first experience at sagan.
In this particular case, when the customer that writes the review isnt even physically present at the time of the «incident», the validation of this review goes to crap, bc as a customer who was actually there and had to sit through an hour of screaming, cursing, and belligerence by your supposedly «victimized» dad and his friends i feel no other need but to express how horrifying it was to be a customer sitting 5 feet away from your party.
However, being one of the ten customers that left with indigestion that night and insisted on Taking our food to go, not because of the quality of service or taste of the food, but simply because your dad and his friends could not manage to control their alcohol and acted like indecent immature individuals at a place of business, in a public place. Not to mention there were children around with their families.
From what i recall, the manager insisted on an invoice to fix your dad’s «800 dollar pants» even when your dad’s friend was cursing and screaming loud enough for every customer in the restaurant and possibly even the starbucks next door to hear. These 800 dollar pants were ripped not from the glass door, but because this glass door had a stopper that got caught onto the folded bottom of these 800 dollar pants. Every door has a stopper, the fact that it got caught onto your dad’s 800 dollar pants as he was swinging it open full force is not the liability of the restaurant or its staff members.
In all honesty, i was in relief the cops were called because not only did i have to sit through my dinner listening to your dad or his friends cussing, screaming, and using derogatory language throughout the night but i also heard your dad and his friends calling one of the servers a «ggumdeng». That is a racist term someone would use against an African American in the korean language. No matter how bad the service is, racist language is unnecessary and goes to show how ignorant your dad and his friends were for thinking it was okay. This is the first time the customers and not the restaurant actually made my dinner and unpleasant experience.
Instead of writing baloney reviews on the management and sagan’s staff members on how badly they were treated or how the situation was handled, please take into consideration that the story of 9 belligerent drunk men isnt always accurate as it seems to be.
Other than that, the fish is excellent quality especially for the price. The option of ordering both bbq and sushi is great! I personally love variety. Service is exceptional, the servers are very attentive and make you feel very welcome.

This restaurant uses MSG for EVERYTHING, I believe. After I ate at this place with my family, my family drank at least 4 cups of water per person. Service was okay. The girl at the front desk was terrible in Korean (ummm. I thought this was a Korean restaurant) and her voice was too soft to hear over the noise in the restaurant. Some servers were trying to be funny, but were very offensive at times.
My dad came here a week or two ago with his friends after our visit here and the service was terrible. Server Erica was great, but the manager Karen lied about her name (she said her name is Susan, wth) and was hiding in the back when my dad’s friend’s $ 800 pants were ripped from the restaurant’s glass door. Then, the manager called the cops on them because she somehow imagined that the party will not pay for their food and then called a towing car to tow my dad’s friends cars (still have no idea why). After his terrible service here, my family and friends will no longer come here even if the manager gets fired.
Hi owner, if you are reading this, you should change your manager and staff member before thinking about advertising your place!

Wed date night 5÷21÷14 around 730pm. Excellent service and delicious food. I ordered brisket & pork belly sagan over star bbq! Hands down.
Hats off to our waiter Steve who was personable and funny. Food was delivered quickly. Very nice décor.
Sushi was great we ordered: baked scallop and baby lobster, tuna, albacore, salmon, kbbq, OYSTERS, fried clam, shrimp, calamari (whatever), etc.
All you can eat mix and match kbbq and sushi $ 25 a person!
In addition I forgot my wallet but it was immediately returned to me b4 leaving by tall worker who was on point refilling our drinks that night :)
Yes I’m coming back.

After scouting the entire area for a perfect spot for dinner, we decided to try SAGAN. wasn’t our first choice but boy I’m glad we did!
The waiting time was crazy but I can understand considering it’s Mother’s Day. There were 3 families ahead of us, not bad — but it took them almost and hour to get us seated. My husband was almost ready to leave but I told him to just wait (hoping the food was well worth it! LOL)
Finally! Our turn! We were seated in a private room for 4. And I was amazed we were catered to within 2mins of having sat down. The server explained how the ordering goes and recommended a few must tries for us. Mind you, we got kids (ages 3 & 7) in tow, so we were picky on what to order which will suit their taste buds.
The orders started rolling in and it was great. We tried to let the kids taste everything so they can decide which they preferred — it turned out they liked the kkbq! Happy mom! At least I didn’t have to battle with them throughout the entire meal! — I’ll take that anytime!
The sushi rolls were great, fresh and delicately made — appealing & appetizing to the eyes.
Overall, being from vegas where most nice Korean places are overrated and way overpriced for the quality of food they serve — SAGAN IS AMAZING. surprisingly amazing considering it’s an all you can eat. The entire order we had (with the quality meat they served) would easily be $$$$ in vegas. Having to spend a fraction of the cost here is a huge treat.
Will definitely recommend to everyone!

If you have ever said, «To sushi or kbbq, that is the question…» You don’t ever have to have that dilemma anymore!
Sagan was never one of my favorite places, but it has made it to the top of my list. It is now an all-​you-​can-​eat sushi AND Korean BBQ restaurant.
You can choose to sit in the grilling area, where you would be cooking your own meat… And still order sushi. Or you can sit in the regular sushi bar/​dining area, but still order meat (someone else cooks it… To perfection!).
I consider myself a sushi and kbbq connoisseur, and this place has exceeded my expectations. Fresh sushi… The ratio? Little rice, big piece of fish, just how I like my sushi. Great quality meats. Currently at $ 24.99, it can’t get any better. How is it ONLY $ 24.99? I mean, all-​you-​can-​eat KBBQ-​only places cost that much or more!
My advice: if you want more sushi than meat, sit in the regular area. If this is the case, you’ll also like the fact that you don’t stink like kbbq smoke after your meal. If you want more meat than sushi, get a table in the grilling area. :)
I just hope that they don’t let us down by changing the quality of the food and/​or start charging more for less choices. One criticism would be that the bulgogi is a little too sweet. Either way, you have won me over, Sagan!

I really wish I could give this place a big, fat ZERO. WORST EXPERIENCE IN CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT EVER.
Today is Mother’s Day, so understandably, all restaurants in this area are busy. However, I have never seen such a despicable practice by a business in HIDING A RESERVATION LIST. The business was a new owner (revamped from the old Sagan), which is great. However, he kept telling people that it was a thirty minute wait without telling them there was a SEPARATE LIST FOR RESERVATIONS. My family waited for over an hour when we were told it would be less than thirty minutes. Then we realized that all these people who came after us were getting seated — and my sister realized there was a SEPARATE LIST KEPT HIDDEN FROM THE REGULAR WAITING LIST. So many people walked in, wrote their names down because they were told it’s first come, first serve, and WAITED. AND WAITED. AND WAITED.
Complete lack of business acumen and common sense. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WILL NEVER BE RETURNING HERE. SMH, SAGAN, SMH. What kind of business lies to their customers?! ON MOTHER’S DAY, NO LESS?
If I may humbly respond to my own question… a greedy one.
Never again.

This place is really the best of both worlds! All you can eat sushi and kbbq?! No problem! Despite the bad reviews on this place, we decided to try it anyways. I came here yesterday for dinner with my boyfriend and two friends. We were seated right away. The venue of this restaurant is so clean and classy I felt a bit underdressed (just coming from the gym).
The tables were really huge and it’s so convenient. The way to order was a bit confusing since it was our first time there. I wished they would promptly show us on how to order correctly instead of me asking a bunch of questions. You basically have three rounds to order food. Don’t feel rushed because their menu has lots of food to choose from. Everything from the peach tea to qualities of sushi and kbbq meat it was worth for the price.
Even though service was excellent, I didn’t give a 5 stars because I felt we ordered way too much food without knowing the serving size per sushi roll order (4 philly rolls = 32 pieces of sushi. 8 pieces of sushi per roll and we didn’t know that!). I felt like we were forced to finish instead to enjoy the meal because left overs get charged 10 on top of the bill. But overall I would come back to this place!

Good bye Sagan and Hello Sagan?
Sagan has reopened with a new direction.
Gone are the:
Higher end menu items
Ala cart grilling
seasoned waiting staff
higher end Sushi /​Sashimi
pine charcoals
Higher end Korean Cuisine experience.
Here to stay:
All you can eat meat and sushi.
Pricing is set bit higher than others so expect better quality food. I went during lunch and it was fine.
Sushi quality is as good as it will get for all you can eat. But rolls are plenty and seemed very good.
Personally I want my old Sagan back.
Happy eating — R

This is great Korean and Japanese fare. It’s on the pricier side but the quality and quantity makes up for it. A meal set meant for two people can easily feed three or four people (something to note when dining in groups so you don’t overspend and have way too much food on your hands).
A very clean, calm modern interior with a wait staff that is very attentive. The clientele is largely Asian (immigrant Asian) so the wait staff isn’t as accustomed to speaking English (which I always found to be a plus as far as authenticity).
Asian food foodies would do well to dine here.
Note: One thing I love about Korean establishments is that they have a call button at the table to notify the waiter or waitress that you need something. Even if it’s a little tacky, it’s so convenient and I kind of wish every restaurant had this.

Modern interior with great food. I love the push button at each table to page the wait staff.
I really liked this place.
Its a little hard for me to review in detail since they brought out so many great side dishes that I could not identify, but I posted several pictures that help provide a perspective.

Sagan is the place that everything’s perfect except food.
That’s crucial for a restaurant, especially for a Korean one.
Sagan had big parking lot and stands by itself, not in a street mall or something.
When you walk in you feel like you are going into a upscale cool place.
I wouldn’t complain about the service like the other Unilocalers.
We were 17 of us, needed a huge room which we got.
When banchan came I was disappointed deeply.
In Korean restaurant, the level of banchan tells everything. It shows how good their food would be.
Banchan, side dishes you get in Korean restaurants consist marinated vegetables, which should prepared freshly daily, maybe some of first timers wouldn’t know the differences, but people who ate a few times Korean food, they know the differences.
Anyway about 6 banchans they brought were not good.
We had seafood pancake, kalbeejim, kinda beef stew and cod stew.
Cod was so sweet, can’t even taste the cod part, kalbee was a bit chewy.
Overall food was not even mediocre for the price.

4.5 stars round UP!
This is as good as it gets for Korean BBQ in my books (in the OC). Sagan isn’t cheap (that’s why minus the .5 stars) but the quality of the meats are top notch making up for the prices. Sagan is NOT an AYCE KBBQ place so you’re pretty much paying for each meat dish you order ($ 25-​$ 35 an order). Each order is big though and Sagan isn’t skimming on the quality. The galbi was delish and the bulgogi was lean and well marinated. They had good banchans (sides) and a big bowl of salad for you. Sagan has pretty much every Korean food item on their menu from bimbibap, Yok Hwe (raw beef), Chap Chae, cold noodles, warm buckwheat noodles, dumpling noodles to a sushi bar with lots of sushi items (rolls, sashimi, specialty rolls) for you to order.
The grills were good. They had the charcoal that gave your beef/​meat a smokey flavor. The grills also had the under-​grill smoke filters where all the smoke was sucked out immediately (you didn’t come out smelling too bad).
Service was good, the wait staff were patient and attentive (spoke English really well too). The parking was FREE and plentiful. No need to valet.
If you’re looking for an unlimited amount of beef, Sagan isn’t good for you (go to an AYCE KBBQ restaurant). Go to Sagan for high quality beef and fine KBBQ dining.
Sagan also takes reservations and has private rooms for meetings or private get-​togethers. GO FOR LUNCH if you’re looking for a more affordable menu.
BTW…for all the other reviews that had a problem with the slow service, if you don’t already know, most Korean restaurants have that little «call button». Press it and give it a shot, the waiter/​waitress will be table-​side in a couple of seconds.