Corea Kalbi Korean BBQ

Exceptional service and the food is great

So sad this is closed — I first went 10 years ago at a business lunch and then started bringing my family here every 4 – 6 weeks. Last week we showed up and there was a sign up saying they lost their lease. This was a great family establishment at reasonable prices, so am very upset with the landlord (and if it is Irvine Company it is par for the course to run off mid-​range family establishments so they can put in high-​end puff places for the Newport Beach Beautiful People).
My family is now going to try to find a similar AYCA Korean BBQ place, heard there is one on University. I also hope the family that ran CK can find another location and re-​open, I would be happy to follow them to another location.

***They’re no longer in business***
This was one of my go to kbbq however on my arrival today (nov 4^th) they had closed down due to their lease end. I’m assuming they aren’t renewing it or some other reason unbeknownst to me.
This place was a pretty decent Korean BBQ place that also had other Korean dishes that were equally as decent. The service had gotten slightly better the last couple times I had gone with family and friends.
Their all you can eat included really nice and tender steak pieces along with the basic kbbq ayce meats. I’ll miss that for sure. They had yummy calamari as well. I’m kind of sad to see this place go since there aren’t too many near where I live. Looks like I gotta scout out a new place to go to.

I tried this place twice but decided it’s not worth coming back. They are very pricey and they need to update the interior.
I don’t know how they are still in business because both times I went there, there are only few customers. The food isn’t good and pricey and the guy in front doesn’t look that friendly. The only thing I liked was the server lady who was nice but overall, the service wasn’t prompt. I won’t recommend this place to anyone.

Will never visit again.
1. Most AYCE Places charge $ 2.95 for soda from fountain drink and is refillable, this place charge whopping $ 4 for a canned soda !? It does not even cost that much for a whole carton of 12 !
2. The waitress has problem understand customers’ order. We began our order by «give us everything on the menu except a few of them». And it was stopped after serving about 5 or 6 kinds. We had to pick another waitress and order again.
3. The waitress has problem knowing the meat they serve. Putting it simple — we were told three different names on a plate of beef that we like.
4. The owner, he should change grill whenever the customers ask to do so. We requested grill change before we put on the beef stripe and the owner «educated» us that the plate is designed to not stick the chars to food, and refused to change it. We had no choice but to put the stripes on, of course the whole plate came not all black and not edible.

I hate to say following, but I feel obligated for others.
As you walk into this place, you smell pee…(Disgusting…)
the side dishes are not fresh, they looks they are on the table for a long time.
ants are on the grill.

Corea Kalbi Korean BBQ is pretty much your only Korean Barbecue spot in Newport Beach that boasts great quality and usually commendable service.
I love Kbeebz. It is slowly becoming my favorite food. The bold flavors of red meat charred and dunked into Sesame Oil. The Banchan. Cooking my steak to temperature. The Hite beer. The Soju. Seriously, there is nothing to not like! So when I heard Newport Beach (by zip code only, the rest of us would call it the JWA area in Irvine) had a real KBBQ joint I jumped all over it.
The restaurant is clean and adequate ventilation prevents the dreaded «Calbi fist» from occurring. The staff is genuinely seeming to try an ensure you have a good time. In fact, I had several suggestions as to what to order from the Korean American waiter and every suggestion was TRUTH. There isn’t the pressure on the restaurant you see at say Shik Do Rak or Gen, so you are seated quickly. This is a huge advantage for Corea Kalbi.
The only caveat is the owner or manager that mans the host station. He is abrupt, if not standoffish at times and may be well advised to let his subordinates handle the masses as they do a fine job of it.
The all you can eat starts at $ 20 and is all I ever need. Between the banchan and meat, I always leaving feeling like Adam Richman in middle America with a camera crew in tow. The waitstaff will help you cut your meat but with the supplied scissors I have ZERO issue adminstering bovine damage on a wartime level. I am a Bulgogi man myself, but the thin sliced Ribeye and Pork Belly are also no joke. If you get the Ribeye steaks in your combination, you are in for a major league treat.
Other pluses include a massive parking area and one mile access to the 405. There is no reason to not try Corea Kalbi.

I would have given this place a zero star if I could due to its sanitary condition.
A big a$$ cockroach crawled right past me when I was grilling my food. When I told the waiter about it I couldn’t believe he was too afraid to kill it. Turned out that he told the manager/​boss about it and he came to take care of it. While we questioned where the cockroach came from, he insisted that it was «just a bug» from the trees outside and no apology was given.
Ten minutes after we calmed ourselves down another cockroach showed up at another table where two ladies were sitting. They screamed and ran out of the restaurant and so we walked out too. It was disgusting just to think of how many more cockroaches are out there looking for our food.

The food here is 3 stars. I’ve had their spicy pork lunch plate and the bibimbap
The service here is 1 stars though, thus the 2 star rating. A few coworkers and I walked here for lunch. The restaurant didn’t seem that busy, but it took over 2 hours for us to get our food. They didn’t even offer to take anything off the bill or free dessert for making us wait so long. They hardly even offered us any explanation or apologized. I had to miss a meeting and get it rescheduled due to this. Once we finally got our food, we were all so starving that we scarfed our food down without a word to each other. Then we had to run back to the office. What a waste of time.

a hidden gem tucked inside of newport beach/​irvine. came here frequently with my coworkers for company lunch/​dinner. we came with about 10 – 20, so the restaurant accommodated us with the bigger room at the back of the restaurant. the whole room was for us. it was pretty cool, but i mean the company spent big bucks there so im sure they accommodated to that lol. regular sitting area is nice too. spacious booths that can fit 6 people, it may seem empty for 2 people. all the workers are really friendly and will make sure you are having a pleasant meal. it may be a little hard to find because it’s behind a plaza, but just follow your gps! youre going the right way! parking is sufficient, but the restaurant does not get that crowded, so parking wouldnt be a problem.
do not get their soup/​one dish entrée, i recommend only getting their KBBQ. their quality is beyond amazing, right amount of fat in that marbling red meat. and its big thick pieces too (refer to my pictures!) their soups can be on/​off, not very consistent. also, try not to get AYCE cus the quality will be lower. get their rib eye and kobe beef, wow. deliciousness! i also recommend getting their lettuce wraps (lunch special). comes with rice, soup, meat of your choice, and a plate of vegetables you can wrap all your food in! very generous serving.
one bad thing about this place is that they dont have brown rice. i think every restaurant should have/​invest in brown rice since everyones moving towards being healthy. they do have jak go bap (white rice with various beans), but its still not as healthy as brown rice.

I used to come here all the time about a year ago until the service and the quality went bad. I told myself id never go back again, and if it hadn’t been for the persistent egging of my friend, I probably wouldn’t have for the rest of my life.
This visit changed everything. The service, quality of the meat, even the general cleanliness of the restaurant as a whole went up a couple notches. Looks like corea’s new staff and complete overhaul brought back one of its regulars.

On short notice we did our 4^th visit to Corea Kalbi for a special occasion.
Usually I have more time to plan a special occasion with my wife, perhaps to Cabo, renting a boat that’s probably owned by that Russian guy with the miniature giraffes.
So we went local and have some minor quibbles at this AYCAB (all you can accidentally burn) restaurant :
–Even though we were seated promptly, there was a long wait (20 minutes) from getting the menus to receiving the first Hite, even though the restaurant was half full.
–Sirloin was tough.
–They forgot our soup at the end of the meal.
–Waitress forgot about the second round order.
–Restaurant was sticky and needed a good cleaning. (Brothers in Lakewood was cleaner and the meat was of better quality.)
–Cheesy and loud AOR-​style pop music does not create a gastronomic atmosphere.
The good news is we were able to take the kids instead of dropping them off in San Jose del C at the matador-​apprentice boot camp on the way to Cabo.

no wait. clean. quick to-​go order. friendly staff (chatted with the manager while I waited, very sweet and good recommendations)
bibimbap– fresh veggies, bulgogi, great spicy sauce, rice, and a perfectly fried egg? the business.
tons of veggies. ordered extra meat. and a 2^nd bibimbap– plenty for 4 to share.
need to come back for the real grilling experience, but glad i found this place for a great take-​out night with the fan bam.

Friday night reservations for 5 at 8pm please. This wasn’t necessary, there were only 3 other tables when we arrived.
This was my second time at a KBBQ spot and a first for most of the other guys with me. Not knowing exactly what to order, everyone ordered the all you can eat premium option for $ 28 (everyone at the table must order if you choose this option). This comes with some sides but you have to ask for others, it wasn’t even close to as many sides as we got at the last place I went. The sides that showed up without asking were a salad (really good), potato salad (not good), kim chee and spinach. After re-​reading the menu we asked for 1 rice soup to try, which I’m glad we did because no one at the table liked this.
The quality of the meat is excellent.
My top three favorites from Premium AYCE:
— Prime beef boneless short plate (the best, extremely thin and flavorful, we kept ordering more)
— Certified Angus Beef Brisket (2^nd best — again on the thin side)
— Beef Ribeye Steak (big piece of meat that they cut with scissors so you can share)
Least favorites
–Pork Belly (really thick and dry, I didn’t really eat too much of this)
–Beef Marrow Gut (we asked for a small portion so we could just try it — gross I spit it out)
Service: excellent. Our waitress had fun with us, answered tons of questions, and was patient explaining the menu. She didn’t rush us when we were the last table remaining and they were about to close either. Even when we ordered another round of the Boneless short plate! A+ for service. There are no bells on the table, but we didn’t need one.
Ambience: They have booths which are comfy, but I’m not a fan of the ambience — it reminds me of a diner with florescent lighting — not too cozy. Like other reviews say they close at 10pm, which is too early if you’re planning to make a night out of your KBBQ experience.
Happy Hour: Mon thru Wed — 4:30pm to 6:30pm. 30% off all bottled alcoholic beverages. I could never make it to happy hour these days/​times — bummer. Late night happy hour at the Hawaii KBBQ spot was fabulous.
Overall the meat was excellent and everyone was very happy with their meal, we left in a food coma. Thank you to Chris C for your KBBQ suggestions, I’ll be sure to check out the other spots soon!
I still love KBBQ!

A little pricey, but great food! I’ve been here multiple times and each time the food was consistent and service was great! :)

If you come with a
coupon like we did, make sure you know exactly what you can use it on before you order. It isn’t valid for AYCE just an FYI.
You can still order plenty of meat and get value out of your coupon though. They have combo platters that are good for X number of people. Depending on your party’s appetites you may want to order at least a little more, but don’t get ahead of yourself, remember you can always order more later.
Meat was decent, service was decent, prices definitely on the high side. Far too expensive for what we were getting in my opinion. I’m sure at least a little bit of that can be attributed to the area, but it’s hard to compete with all the other KBBQ places when your prices are so much higher, and quality is so much lower.
Overall, was okay, but this would never be my first, second, or third choice.

Ordered:
Soy Marinated Prime Short Rib and Prime Beef Tongue
Yes, it is quite pricey– but it is sooo worth it. The meat is super tender and flavorful.
Marinated Galbi: Pretty good sized portion, and it is marinated perfectly. Not too sweet nor salty like a lot of other places.
Prime Beef Tongue: Good thickness, just thick enough to give you that chewey tongue texture, and not too thick so it isn’t rubbery. Perfect with a bit of salt+sesame oil.
Banchan: Small selection, but everything was prepared well.
Rice: So good! Each rice grain is shiny (washed extremely well), and a nice texture– slightly chewey (a good thing). I hate soggy rice.
Service: The best service I’ve had at an asian restaurant. The waitresses speak really good english too so you won’t be having those communication problems if you don’t speak korean.
The only weird thing is when you walk in, chances are no one is there to seat you right away. We literally stood in the entrance for a good 3 minutes before anyone came and helped. Even more weird because they have so many servers.
1. They cook your meat for you and serves it to everyone at the table. In fact, as soon as they see you touching the meat they’ll come right over and take care of everything. I was especially impressed when our waitress cut the meat off the galbi bone for us.
2. Water is always filled.
3. This place is CLEAN. No dust, none of that yellowy greasy areas.
This place was really empty on a Saturday night, which was weird. Only 6 or so tables. I really hope business does pick up because I would really hate to see this place go.
I will definitely come back!

Friend had a Living Social deal and it was the last day to use it so we ended up here.
We came around 3pm on a Sunday and there wasn’t any sign of life in the place. There was the sound of some TVs, but the sound of sizzling meat or loud ventilation fans were missing. Shortly upon entering, we were greeted by our server who spoke to us in Korean – found that a little strange but luckily, one of us was Korean.
There are three ranges of all you can eat BBQ. We opted for the middle range choice which had way more meat than the lowest level, but wasn’t carrying quite the heavy price tag of the first.
Meats that we tried (only one round of each)
— brisket
— pork belly
— galbi
— marinated beef (not sure what it’s called, but it’s not bulgogi… more steak like pieces
— rib eye steak
You can only order 3 meats at a time. The quality of the meat here was surprisingly good. When I saw rib eye steak, I didn’t expect a whole rib eye steak to be put on our grill which would normally run upwards to $ 30 at a restaurant anyways. Everything was pretty tasty! The salt/​sesame oil dip had a weird after taste. There wasn’t radish or rice paper (didn’t ask, nor was any brought out initially) so I ended up eating rice with the food. Great salad, decent side dishes.
All in all, what I have mentioned so far has made it worthy of another visit. I like that it has Gen quality meat without the obnoxiously long wait! It’s pretty nice in terms of décor inside.
Cons:
— there was a point when a party of 4 walked into the building and no employee was seen for a good 5 – 8 minutes. They ended up walking out without the restaurant ever realizing they lost potential customers.
— gratuity was automatically tacked on to our meal, for a party of 2. I don’t recall reading that in the LS deal but I thought that was strange… we would have paid for the gratuity anyhow.

Being a KBBQ junkie, I know the difference between good kbbq and Fantastic bbq. That’s right. Fantastic with a capital F.
Certified. Angus. Beef. Good stuff. Boyfriend and I opted for the «Premium AYCE Bbq» which came with an assortment of all sorts of delicious meat. They are certainly not skimpy with their meats. Very THICK slabs of tender meat.
Here’s the downside — The side dishes weren’t all that great. Actually, I sampled each one (4) and none of them were all that good. 5 stars, because the meat was amazing. AMAZING!
Service was great. I’m not sure if it as because I had my phone out reading the Unilocal reviews or the fact that the staff saw bf and I taking fancy pictures of their food. The waiter we had baby sat our meat. He cooked things carefully, but quickly and even trimmed the meat for us! He rarely left our table side and just kept cooking the stuff. He even gave us information about what we were eating. How helpful! Towards the end of our gluttonous adventure, he asked if we wanted dessert. Cham Soot Gol has AYCE ice cream… usually Green tea ice cream. I wanted my green tea with my meal! Our awesome waiter gave us a sample of the ice cream they had before we actually ordered. Dessert comes separate, you will have to pay for it!
Over all, I’d say this place is fantastic. Pricy, but fantastic. The bill for 2 people + drinks + ice cream + 18% tip came close to 80 dollars. This place is not for the cheap. You get what you pay for.
Corea, we’ll be back!!! After pay day.

Came here 4 a friend’s birthday. A party of 10.
We were seating in the back where the tables had dual grills.
The service was exceptional! Great staff!
We ordered the AYCE for $ 28.
The meats were very flavorful.
We also had a coupon from
!
We all had a blast!