Bak Kung Korean BBQ

food was average and service was terrible. The lady that served us was probably pissed off because she was working on valentine’s day and not getting some good ol’ d***.
She placed raw pork on top of cooked brisket, she wouldn’t bring any of the condiments we asked for (we had to ask 3 or 4 times for some jalapenos and kimchi), she dropped raw beef onto our table and rather than discarding it she put it on our grill, and the list goes on.
I think what really pushed me to write this review was the fact that when we asked for kimchi and jalapenos, because she didn’t bring it the 1^st 2^nd or 3^rd time, she tossed the tongs onto our table and walked away with a sour attitude.
Overall, this lady completely ruined our experience and we will not be returning. For those wanting to possibly avoid this lady, we went there on a Sunday at around 1:00pm.

Non-​Asians not welcomed. Tried to make a reservation for five. Was told over the phone that they didn’t take reservations, first come, first served. Arrived at 6:30 on a satuday, with plenty of empty tables. Told there would be a wait, and given a slip of paper with a 1 on it. Waited. Several small parties of Asians arrived, and promptly seated (at large tables). Then a party of six Koreans arrived (without a reservation) and promptly seated — the explanation was that they were a larger party, and the table was for six (though it was set for five). I asked about the other empty tables. They were apparently reserved for parties of 8 or more (though again, they were set for 5). Was told that the wait for us would be an hour (in a half-​empty restaurant). Gave up, had a fine meal down the street.
Listen, I have no problem how you run your business. If you prefer to strictly cater to Asians that’s fine. Just let us know.

Good cuts of meat and variety. Open late, 12a and the service is pretty good. I liked the rib fingers, brisket and kalbi the best. The kalbi comes bone in so you get that nice flavor from the bone and gristle around the bone.
Pay cash and there is a small break in the bill!

First off amazing service nicest and friendliest people I’ve ever had serve me! The egg was delicious! My boyfriend and I ordered the brisket, garlic chicken, and raw pork belly each were amazing, the brisket with the sauce they have out on the table is the perfect combination that was by far my favorite of the 3 although it was a close call they were each great. My boyfriend said his favorite was the raw pork belly with the sauce but the chicken was just as good. I would recommend this place to anybody they helped us out so much since it was our first time there they checked on us and made sure we were always cooking the meat right and weren’t struggling too much. Overall great service and food. This will probabaly be my new Korean BBQ spot since it was so delicious and filling. And it’s all you can eat, honestly where can you go wrong with that. And it’s a good dinner and lunch price!

I had originally anticipated going to Bak Kung 2, but I forgot the 2 and accidentally wound up at the «original» location. No worries, I’m just ready to stuff my face with KBBQ!
My friend and I arrived at about 12:45 for lunch, and we were literally the only ones in there besides the employees. It was a little awkward at first, but then it felt like a private event for which we rented out the entire restaurant. Living large in LA!
Their cheapest lunch AYCE option is $ 15, and we started with bulgogi and pork belly. We also ended with the same bulgogi and pork belly because the amount of meat you get per order is staggering — we probably could have ordered one more round of meat, but we were surprisingly good and stopped at a comfortable point rather than at a gut-​busting one.
The bulgogi was quite tasty (I wish it were a *tad* bit saltier), but the star was definitely the pork belly. You get 2 slabs of belly, and they cook up quite well despite it being such a big piece of meat.
The banchan were fine, too — my favorites were the steamed egg and kimchi pancake. Almost always I have to order those a la carte at non-​AYCE places, so it’s nice to get them included in your meal! You do have to ask for rice, but you won’t be charged separately for it.
So remember how we were the only ones there for lunch? The employee working our table literally cooked everything for us. In fact, he continually checked up on the meat to ensure it wasn’t cooking for too long — not sure if this is typical service here, but I felt like a deity from how well I was being catered to.
In Texas, Dallas is where the great KBBQ is, but Bak Kung showed me that LA EASILY eclipses Dallas for KBBQ, especially AYCE. Super pleased with my experience here!

Every. Single. Time.
You tell yourself, «Oh, no. I will show restraint and only eat until I’m satisfied. And then! Then… I’m cutoff!»
But noooooo, you just HAVE TO HAVE one more order of bulgogi. And while you’re at it, how about some more shrimp? There’s only 8 pieces… «Could I have some more rice, please?»
Now you’re crying because it hurts to even look at your bowl of sikhye. You offer to pay for your friend’s fro-​yo if they drive home.
Nice try, bub. Maybe next time you’ll do better.

We decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve by indulging in lots of meat, and Bak Kung ended up being a great place do it! I called and tried to make a reservation but I was assured that a party of 4 would have no trouble getting seated around 7pm. On arrival, we got lucky and found a street parking spot and didn’t have to «splurge» on the $ 2 valet. As we entered the restaurant, we were seated immediately, and I was glad that the lady on the phone was correct about the lack of a wait. The restaurant did start to get full shortly after we arrived.
We opted for the C menu, which was $ 19.99pp. My absolute favorite, which made my eyes light up, was the shrimp — it was so well-​seasoned. Sadly it was an afterthought and it was the last thing we ordered; we were too full for more, but I wish we had gotten at least 2 orders of it :(
The beef bulgogi was pretty good. The texture was great, but the sauce was a touch on the sweet side. We really liked the spicy marinated chicken, which was flavorful and very moist/​tender (I believe it was thigh meat). The beef sirloin was decent as well.
Less awesome was the thick pork belly, which did look exactly as it was described… I found that it was just not tender enough. The beef tongue also was tough, but I am fairly certain that we overcooked it, so that may have contributed a lot. We found the beef rib finger (no sauce) to be tough as well; this was the worst of them all and I could barely eat it.
Aside from the meats, I was a fan of the steamed egg… though I pretty much like eggs in any shape or form :) There weren’t that many types of banchan; they were okay, nothing to write home about. The best one was mixed veggies with a bit of sesame oil.
I think overall the food was probably a 3.5, but I enjoyed my experience and definitely had a few yummy things. It was also a great deal and I appreciated not having to wait in a long line!

This is my husband and I’s new spot. We love Korean BBQ but we’ve found that delicious, quality Korean BBQ usually comes at a hefty price. Not so at this place! The food is excellent, they give you endless size and large portions of meat, and if you dine during lunch hours you get an even better deal than usual. The staff is attentive and polite. Will be eating here often! :)

$ 12 AYCE lunch special has a good variety of meats for the price. The pork belly and bulgogi were good. The brisket was not my favorite but overall everything was on par for the price. You can’t get refills on the steamed egg.
Accepts credit card. Parking was easy around lunch time. Overall a solid option if you are looking for cheap AYCE. I like them better than Castle.

I love Korean BBQ. I’ll admit I’m a novice but this place was pretty good.
I enjoyed the sides that came with the meat but the meat was the star of the show. I loved the beef the most. It was seasoned well and very tender. I have to try more places before I declare a favorite but this place is a contender.

A few of my buds brought me here for dinner tonight. They raved about the meat. First impression wasn’t impressive. It’s located on the outskirts of K-​town in a small strip mall. Outdoor impression was blah but don’t judge a book by it’s cover. However, the interior was decent. Not hip and upscale like Kang Ho Dong or GEN, but it was comfortable and not too cramped.
We got the premium combo which wasn’t cheap but came with some quality meat choices. The side dishes were okay, my favorite being the potato salad. Steamed egg was very good. They also served salad and marinated sliced green onion which paired very well with the meat.
We started with the prime boneless beef rib. The presentation was amazing. This was my favorite cut of meat tonight. It cooked up tender and juicy. We ended up re-​ordering this multiple times. The prime beef sirloin steak was alright. Dipping it in sesame oil helped soften the texture. The unmarinated prime angus beef rib was also tender and juicy. One of my buds ordered a small order of bulgogi but I didn’t touch it. He liked it but I stuck with the premium meats. We finished off our meal with their awesome icy cold neng myun, The texture of the noodles were great with a delicious broth.
Service was okay. Don’t expect them to cook your meat for you. They will cut it for you but you’re on your own after that. Overall, a surprisingly satisfying meal. In my humble opinion, this restaurant rivals Oo Kook in terms of great meat quality. I don’t know how the lower tier meats were but if I came back, I would stick with the premium option. Highly recommended!

This place just keeps calling me back! I have been here a few times and it just never lets me down. As long as you look past coming out smelling like smoke you will really enjoy this place.
The establishment is very visible from the main street (Olympic), as you arrive you will see their valet parking which is very cheap. There is also plenty of street and neighborhood parking if you don’t mind walking.
Inside there are many many tables ready for all the clients coming in. I would recommend getting here fairly early for dinner. You can also make reservations for large parties I believe. If not, they will hand you a number and the wait is normally about 20 minutes or so.
The food here is great! Normally get Combo A or B. They also have a selection to choose if you wish not to do an all you can eat option. All the sides they give you are fresh and you can keep on ordering them if you wish. Again, the grills do give off some smoke but not a lot so it wont be in your face but you will come out smelling like smoke.
The staff here is very friendly, looks like sometimes they could use one or two more waiters though. Either way I really enjoy this place and will keep coming back.

I have to say that this place definitely deserves four stars, and who cares if I come out stinking like smoke but it’s all worth it!!!
We have normally gotten the AYCE but we never have second rounds so we got Combo A for $ 42.99 for 2 ppl which comes with 5 different meats and also steamed egg, and mung-​bean pancake. The meats are so good and they give you a lot. We didn’t even finish all the food. They also give you a couple of Banchan dishes and when you want more you press the bell on your table and easily ask for whatever it is you want.
Try to make reservations ahead of time because it can get a bit busy. We didn’t make reservations this time so we waited like 20 minutes which is still not too bad but I was hungry! Great KBBQ place!

I hail from Houston, and after visiting here, I mourn the dearth of great korean in Houston.
All the barbecue here was excellent — we ordered 8 or 9 plates of meat for 4 of us, and not a single dish disappointed. Their house specials are really delicious, as well as your more standard fare like galbi and spicy pork belly.
The best part of it though? Okay, well the best part, but something seriously amazing? $ 18 all you can eat. That’s half of what I’d pay in Houston.
I love you, Bak Kung, But I hate you for ruining Korean BBQ for me elsewhere.

Bek = white Kung = palace which is a pretty fancy name for this Korean BBQ restaurant which is not anywhere near the style of architecture of Bulguksa, one of the oldest extant Korean Buddhist temples dating back to the 8^th century. This style is elegant, refined, with elaborate wood & tile work on the eaves of the roof, clean rectilinear lines forming windows & decorative motifs with the illusion of having a stone platform at the bottom of the building.
Nope, Bak Kung is a downhome BBQ joint with our two friendly, fast acting waiters who kept courteously asking if we needed more items when our dishes were became emptied and kept changing our grills if they got too caked & dirty. Technically Bak Kung does not use real charcoal, but uses charcoal elements that mimic the hot glowing ashes. So there will be no wood smoke flavor although there will be meat juices that come back as smoke unlike Soot Bul Jip of old when they really used true wood charcoal that added a wonderful woodsy scent to the meat.
There are two AYCE for $ 19.99 and $ 28.99. The difference being that there are about 5 prime beef cuts that are not included in the $ 19.99 ayce. The marinated meats tended to be fairly moist & tender, but the non marinated or lightly marinated meats, especially the beef, were prone to be dry, flavourless, chewiness. Beef Sirloin looked impressive… a huge, thick slab of beef, but it lacked in flavor as well as being dry & chewy in texture. Beef tongue looked great when raw, but when cooked it became tough, stringy, bland. Of course we tried to doctor them up by dipping in the various sauces but to no avail.
I was mostly attracted to:
1) The thick pork belly that was rose colored meat veined with white lines of fat. It had scored marks as though it went through a mechanical tenderizer. Non-​marinated, use the various sauces and/​or salt.
2) Bul Gogi is thin sliced beef marinated in a soy sauce, lightly garlicky, sweet. Texture is slightly mushy, but the flavor is good.
3) Bul Kalbi is beef ribs cross cut in a ¼″ thick slice. It is marinated in the same sauce as the Bul Gogi, but the meat texture had a better chew.
4) Baby Octopus in a red chile Kochujang-​like thick sauce was mildly piquant, sweet, punctuated by acidity. The tender, soft babies are served whole with head & tentacles still attached.
5) Spicy Marinated Chicken is breast meat and seems marinated in the same fiery red chile sauce as the baby octopus. The chicken meat retained its dense moistness & the red chile marinade perked up the usually bland breast meat.
6) Shrimp was lightly marinated in mild soy sauce. We made sure we didn’t over cook them. Moist, with a bit of ocean minerality.
1−6a) I ordered a Korean beer that I had never had called Cass which was fairly close in taste to Hite or OB. They all have a very light bodied faint golden colored lager with light hops for a faint bitterness to cleanse the palate in order to attack more of the BBQ.
Panchan is credible and the excellent sizzling steamed egg soup in a cast iron bowl was comforting in a different variation to the slightly denser Japanese style Chawan Mushi egg custard soup for those more familiar with Japanese Sushi restaurants. The Kimchi pancake didn’t thrill me being dense, heavy, cold. Perhaps if it were right out of the frying pan, it would release more aromatics that would make it more appealing. The end of the meal was punctuated by a very thin, warm sweet rice gruel that ended the meal on a simple sweet note.
For $ 19.99 for AYCE, I don’t expect the most premium of meats and the best prepping techniques & marinades so the Korean BBQ at Bak Kung is good bang for the bucks. However, I have been spoiled in going to KalbeeQ in of all places, Simi Valley, which for the same $ 19.99 gives better bang for the bucks in terms of the quality & flavor of the meat as well as superior tasting marinades & marinating technique for which I gave 4 stars. So by using that standard, it appears that Bak Kung is closer to a 3+ Unilocal stars which is still commendable.

Hmm… I thought this was just okay.
While I understand we were a large party of 14, I felt that the service was all over the place. They were there… only cause we were one of the only guests in the place at 5pm on a Saturday… but they were really clumsy: Spilling a bunch of the plate’s beef juice all over my feet while they were taking the empty plate away — I was sitting in the corner, spilling raw beef juice over the banchan dishes when they tried helping us by putting the meat on the grill, placing the full water pitcher on half of the stack of napkins he just brought over, causing it to tilt over and almost spill… Yeah, stuff like that needed to be ironed out a little bit. I mean… they were nice… but just clumsy.
The meat was decent. I didn’t care for the brisket at all… tons of fat all over the place, I spit most of it out. The bulgogi was delicious, however, and was the shining star. Nicely marinated. The sirloin steak was also good and tender. The marinated pork was okay too… with a little kick.
The banchan dishes were just okay too… I didn’t really pay much mind to much else other than the potato salad, the steamed egg, and the regular green salad — whose dressing was quite tasty. I took a bite of something I thought was a onion pancake… but it was so gummy that I had to spit it out… definitely not the same thing. Don’t be fooled.
We got here fairly early, so they weren’t charging for parking yet and the lot was open in the little strip mall.
For this price, I’d rather stick to Road to Seoul.
.

Bak Kung is located off Olympic boulevard in Los Angeles right next to an unassuming residential neighborhood. I wasn’t sure what the parking situation was. The lot looked blocked off, which I later discovered was simply an all valet parking lot. Instead of paying for valet, I had already parked on the street in the residential neighborhood, and walked over in literally less than 30 seconds. Hooray for free parking in LA!
The interior is decorated nicely, dare I say more so than at most non chain kbbqs. Just a few decorative lights here and there, nothing fancy.
The best item of the night was the bulgogi. It was sweet, juicy, and meaty. It really was fantastic. We all agreed on ordering a second round if we weren’t too stuffed at the end.
Gary suggested we order octopus. I was hesitant, because some places use cheap octopus. For some reason had it in my mind that it would be served as strips, like squid is sometimes served. I should’ve listened to Gary because the octopus was the real deal. It was hearty and crunchy. It wasn’t rubbery as I had feared. It was marinated nicely and had good, natural octopus flavor.
The service throughout the night was excellent. They changed our grill 6 or 7 times (I lost count). They were great about refilling our various banchan requests.
The steamed egg was one of the best I’ve ever had. It was soft, delicious eggy goodness that had an element of sweetness. The kimchi was okay. The fish cakes were good with a slight spicy kick to them. The potato salad was good; it was sweet. The bean sprouts were okay.
Some of the other meats were quite average, including top sirloin, chicken, and brisket. The top sirloin looked appealing; it was a huge steak! When I bit into it, there was a lack of flavor and it was tough to chew. The chicken and brisket were okay.
The Galbi was good. It wasn’t as sweet as I like, but it was still marinated well and was juicy.
One of the staff conversed with us for a while; he was very nice and genuinely engaged us in a Korean lesson.
It was my pleasure to once again dine with Isobel L and Gary I, in addition to meeting Leo.
Bak Kung had stellar service and some good meats and octopus. I rate it as a good kbbq. I’d come back when I’m in the area and craving a meat coma!

AWESOME!!!
What a deal. $ 19.99 AYCE KBBQ that totally rocks. Bak Kung cannot be beat at this price point.
Four of us last night tried approximately 10 different BBQ items. The best?
Marinated bulgogi
Shrimp
Octopus
And, for banchan, the usual suspects, all really delicious, plus a wonderful steamed egg and kimchi pancake.
Beer and soda served in chilled glasses which are replaced when you order a second.
Service? Outstanding! PJ et al, you guys totally rock. Very hard-​working and funny!
Parking was great on a Wednesday night (street it.)
I’ll be back!

Holy smokes! Literally! This place is soooo smokey. I had to switch seats in my own table to be able to escape the smoke just going straight at me. I did notice that they use charcoal on their grill so I am sure that adds on to the smoke in the place. Yea, I know any KBBQ place will be smokey but man, this place was a tad bit too much for me. The problem was solved easily after moving though and I was able to enjoy my dinner. Be ready to come out extra smelly.
The food is tasty and high quality. The orders are all decent size so you are able to easily eat it all and have no problem trying out others. The marinated beefs such as the kalbi and the bulgogi (both my favorite) were delicious. The brisket would come in my third favorite. None of the meats had too much fat or a weird after taste to them. The chili dipping sauce wasn’t spicy enough for me but it was good enough. The waiters were attentive and came around our table when they notice that our dishes were getting empty.
I love that at the end of the meal they give you that sweet refreshing rice like drink. SOoo good!

I was extremely delighted with my dining experience here. I found the food, service, and pricing to all be extremely favorable.
My friend and I stopped in for dinner, and opted for the «C menu». This provided us with a decent variety of AYCE meats, as well as the usual banchan (salad, jeon, kimchi, potato salad, rice paper, bean sprouts, etc.) — all for only $ 19.99/person.
(There is also a «D menu», which is slightly more expensive, but appears to offer access to additional meat options.)
We sampled a wide variety of meats, and I was quite pleased with most of them (particularly the bulgogi). I should note that the grills appear to be gas-​charcoal hybrids (see my review photos), and the charcoal element really does seem to enhance the flavor of the meat (versus a straight gas grill).
Bak Kung offers a wide variety of beverages, of which I selected what appeared to be Sikhye, a sweet rice drink. It was the first of its kind that I have ever sampled, and I was pleased by how refreshing it was, and how well it complemented the savory food. I will definitely order it again during my next visit here.
The level of service here is superb. The staff members were generally pleasant to deal with, and they were very expeditious and attentive about regularly changing our charred grills, as well as fetching us everything we asked for (water, meat, extra banchan, extra napkins, extra plates, etc.).
(Of particular interest is that the staff members here appear to not only speak English, but also Mandarin. For a second there, I could have sworn I was in Monterey Park and not K-​Town.)
The parking lot in front appears to be kind of small, and valet-​only. I was lucky enough to get a spot on the curb *right* in front of the restaurant. The restroom could be a little bit cleaner, but I’ve been in worse.
Overall, I’d say this currently ties with OO-​KOOK (of San Gabriel) as my favorite AYCE KBBQ joint. I’m rather hard pressed to say which one I like better.
Although Bak Kung has inferior parking and lacks OO-KOOK’s self-​serve buffet (which provides unlimited onions, garlic, japchae, etc.), it makes up for that with the charcoal grill element, as well as a lower-​pricing tier for patrons on the more financially-​distressed side.
I say give Bak Kung a try, and see for yourself what they have to offer your gullet. I think you won’t be disappointed.
P.S.
My compliments and gratitude for Gary I. for suggesting this marvelous eatery to me, it was a most splendid call on his part. :)