Buga Korean BBQ

We had a great Korean barbecue (sangyopsal). I lived 5 years in Korea and this was a great way to go back in time and remember my life in Asia.

My wife and I wanted to try a different place for dinner. We walked in behind another couple. They were seated right away, I feel I was being ignored because I’m non-​Asian. I always go to another BBQ which is on Convoy and I am never ignored. Plus the menu\pricing was really high and very little options. I will not be back

First time eating KBB, this place was awesome! The cuts of meet were amazing, my favorite was the pork belly. Our server was Paul, really nice guy and he taught us what to do. He even cooked the Rib Eye for us and insisted that he was the only one qualified for a stake of this quality, he NAILED it. Great atmosphere and really nice place to be. Definitely coming back.

Ask for Paul for the best Experience!

This is the best Koran food in San Diego. We have been here many times, like all food! Especially seafood pancake! Yummy

Food was overall good. Galbitang was excellent! Ordered galbi short ribs, bulgogi, yukgaejang, bibim and mulnengmyeon.
service wasn’t that good though; we had to ask 3 times for same order that didn’t come out (suyuk for the bibim nengmyeon).

There was a long line of people when I got here. However, my small party was seated within 3 minutes. The food was good. We got the B special for 3 people. It was plenty of food. I always enjoy the steamed egg dish. You get a choice of the steamed egg, jap chae, and a bean paste soup with you meat special. Service was very good at times and very slow at other times. If you write a review and show them they give you a free dessert. (It is one dessert only for the person who wrote the review)

Bulgogi is my favorite here! also try the steam egg… Very tasty :) my first time here and I am satisfied every time I come to SD I’ll make sure I come here ! I am a very picky eater I rather surprised how tasty it was.
Enjoy you’re meal :)

BBQ is good. Service is also good. Will come back again.

Wow, incredible.
I have been eating Korean BBQ my whole life, starting in the bay area, then Los Angeles, then San Diego.
There are a lot of pretty good KBBQ options in San Diego but let me tell you why you need to try Buga…
1) It is not on Convoy where you have to compete with other hundreds of Asians trying to dine in the same area. Parking is good here for the most part.
2) The galbi is the BEST I have ever had, hands-​down. Melt in your mouth texture and perfectly marinated to sweet, savory perfection. Lovely charred edges on tender, fresh, top shelf beef.
3) The bulgogi here is also amazing. I usually don’t like bulgogi because I find it soggy and way too salty most of the time. Here, after grilling, the bulgogi remains semi-​dry and savory without being too saturated with salty sweetness.
Also loved all the cold dishes in the beginning. You can tell when a KBBQ place is good when it is filled with all Koreans.
Little nit-​picky things:
— the kimchi here tastes canned, which is a little disappointing. But everything else is pretty good.
— the service is kind of terrible. We came in and wrote our name down and waited to be called. After about 10 minutes we went up to the list to check and saw that our name had been crossed out by the staff. When we asked about it, she seemed stressed and just asked, «how many? Ok just wait.» I don’t know if it’s like this all the time but it was very unorganized.

Excellent experience with yammy seafood hot pot!
Love it so much and have waitress cook for you!

Such good food! The bulgogi was outstanding! So tender and flavorful! It’s so fun getting all the sides too. The pancake was our favorite. The cold spiced drink at the end of the meal was a nice way to finish too. The staff was helpful and friendly too! Happy to help us cook our meat perfectly.
Will definitely come back!

This was the best KBBQ I’ve had in awhile!!!
the meat:
–a plate of rib eye, short ribs, pork belly, chicken, shrimp, pork belly and beef brisket
–each meat looked so healthy!!! Perfectly cut, did not seem previously frozen, and had a good color aka not sketchy/​scary to eat
–it tastes amazing!!! What more can I say
–good portions
–nice presentation
the extra stuff:
–healthy looking greens in the salad, good portion but we demolished it anyway
–banchan aka Korean side dishes
–choice of white or purple rice… always go with the purple
–cold cinnamon tea for dessert = so good and original, never had cinnamon tea before @ a KBBQ place
–HUGE plate of jabchae included. (noodles)
–use all dipping sauces please
the service:
–superb!!!
–she cooked everything and didn’t rush us at all
–answered all of my family’s questions about meats
–tended to the 6 of us easily
–very friendly
The location is a lil easy to miss, but please don’t, you have to try it.
Hands down one of the BEST KBBQ experience I’ve ever had.

Great lunch specials! Went here with a friend, and we both enjoyed our meals. Portions are generous. My friend said his kalbi beef was delicious and tender. My stone pot bimbimbap was also pretty good.
The meal started out with 8 side dishes that were decent. They’re happy to refill your favorite appetizers. The service was super fast and friendly. About 3 – 4 people passed by to make sure our order was taken!
They also have a dedicated parking lot for customers. Restaurant itself is a decent size. It’s nice inside with window views of serene landscapes. Jazz plays in speakers overhead. It’s a nice, casual ambience here. There’s plenty of other good korean restaurants to hit up, but this is a great place for the Clairemont area with a lunch special that’s hard to beat. Lots of Korean people = good sign.
I’ll definitely be back for lunch!

Came here for lunch. They have a good amount of options for lunch special: got the kimchi soup and bulgogi combo for $ 13.99. Food came out pretty fast but the service could have been better cause there’s like 3 servers working the whole restaurant. We had three different servers help us cause our initial server was too busy.
Definitely one of the better Korean restaurants in San Diego. How can I tell? Their banchan (aka. Side dishes).

The service is terrible. The lady told us since it is our first time visit so that a free ice cream will give to us as a welcome gift. We were happy to accept it. However, when we start eating them, she came again and keep forcing us to give them a 5 STARS REVIEW WITH A NICE PHOTO. We feel really uncomfortable, surprising, and not being respected.
Overall, the food in the restaurant is just okay. A bit pricy given by the quality of the food. I still chose to give a 1 star for this restaurant due to the unpleasant experience we had.

We came here for the 1^st time and it did not disappoint. It was just a party of 2 so we ordered combo A3. It came with pork, beef, chicken, shrimp and all the sides. Our waitress was very courteous and the extra plus was they cook your food for you the entire time. That’s an extra star for customer service.
I would come here again!

This place is pretty pricey but they used quality ingredients. We ordered seafood pancake ($ 17), Galbi ($ 32) lobster hot pot ($ 60), kids chicken box ($ 10). I was craving for Korean BBQ so I gave this place a try. The Galbi was delicious. It was perfectly marinated and the meat was premium grade. I needed at least 2 more orders to satisfy my cravings but for $ 30/​order, I decided to pass and wait another day to do an «all you can eat BBQ place.»
I don’t eat seafood but my sister says the hot pot was good. It wasn’t lobster season so in lieu of the lobsters, they gave us 5 prawns. The hot pot consists of prawns, abalone, squid, fish, fish eggs, fish intestines, shrimp and udon noodles. The seafood was very fresh… the abalone was still moving when they brought it out. According to my sister, The seafood pancake was good but they can go lighter on the onions.
I’ll definitely come back only to try something else on the menu.

Came here for a late lunch. It’s pretty pricy but food was delicious. One of the waitresses offered to help us cook our meat but the was practically at our table the whole time. It was my fault for not speaking up and letting her know that we’re capable of cooking our own meat.
I found a hair strand in one of meats that was still on the dish. I kindly asked our waitress to get us a new one. I probably wouldn’t come back here for their Korean bbq since it isn’t AYCE (all you can eat).
However, they do have hot pots. It’s a very pricy place but I would suggest just eating here once in a while. If you have a craving for AYCE bbq, go elsewhere.
The restaurant is very clean and we went around 3pm. The restaurant was practically empty. I figure everyone just comes out at night.

Got the recommendation from a coworker, and I wasn’t disappointed. I ordered the Kalbi Tang, as I always do at Korean places. and this is ranked top-​3 of all the places in San Diego so far.
The soup was nicely flavored, with a slice of raddish — my favorite. The rice cakes are a good touch. Unfortunately, they used a rib cut that I don’t really like. (not sure what it’s called, but it’s a long bone). They were super greasy… I wish they used the regular LA kalbi bone. Oh, and where is my date?
All in all, pretty tasty (sans the lump of fat on the bone), the meat can be a bit better cooked. The banchans were good, I think the best quality out of all the places I have gone so far.
Parking was super easy, so that’s a huge plus for places in Clairemont/​Convoy area.

I’ve driven by this restaurant multiple times and wondered if it was good. I thought it was surprisingly decent for sd.
Pros: a lot of parking. A lot of seating. Booths can probably hold 6 people. There is also a party room you can probably reserve. Decent banchan side dishes.
Ordered the special which was hot pot bulgolgi. This had a mild broth, but still very flavorful. I liked the clear glass noodles and the bulgolgi also had a good flavor. There are a lot of onions and vegetables in this dish. It comes out sizzling hot. I would order this again.
Marinated galbi: pretty thick chunks of marinated meat.
You get complimentary tea at the beginning and end. The tea at the end is super sweet with a cinnamon taste.