Hwasot Firepot BBQ

Came here on a Sunday night and to my surprise it was pretty empty. Nobody was at the door to greet our party so we had to stand around awkwardly for a few minutes until finally a waitress sat us at one of many open tables. We ordered the seafood soup and spicy porkbelly dish which was just okay and not worth the price we paid. Not to mention the tiny portions… After we got our food, our waitress was never to be seen again. Seems like the owners put a lot of thought into the décor of the place, but didn’t execute on the most important part — the food.
Experience — 1 star
Food — 2.5 stars

Went here with a buddy of mines for dinner. At first we were going to go to another place down the street, but it was too packed so we came here. Good thing we came here instead. No wait and the food was great. I’ve been here before so I kind of knew what to expect already. I like the customer service that’s for sure. Our waiter was very nice and very attentive to our needs.
We ordered Pork belly & marinated beef both of them taste great. The waiter came right on time so the meat was cooked right and wasn’t burnt. Overall everything was great from the service to the food. For sure I will be back soon

This place is very modern looking and facing El Camino Real (It took over the Vessuvios (sp?) pizza/​Italian place) From the glass double doors to the round marble tables with circular grill imbedded in the table, the round cushioned stools that doubles as a storage unit for your belongings, the place felt modern and new. The strong ceiling grilling fans (not sure what they are called) were effective as the smell of «grilling meats» didn’t follow us home.
This was our groups first time at this restaurant so we were looking forward to it. Came in midweek around 6pm. Place maybe had 3 tables filled with guests. We entered the establishment and watched the staff go back and fourth helping the quarter filled restaurant. We stood in lobby waiting, waiting and waiting… It literally took 8 minute before we were acknowledge. TV/​music was loud so I guess they couldn’t hear us. But we were the only ones standing in lobby/​reception host area. Finally we were seated, handed the menu and waitress walked away. I think another person came by and dropped of Korean style hot tea (barley/​corn tea), which was perfect as it was cold outside. As we are used to ordering alacarte at Korean restaurants, we had to flag down a (fast walking) staff member to ask how to order. With a bit of «Brocken English» explanation, we were on our way to moving forward. The menu itself was colorful but dinners were all/​most in combo options. So read offerings very carefully. (Later on, a waitress said we could order from lunch menu section, if we wanted to) But we ordered the $ 59 combo, (but combos can go up to over $ 129+). Our $ 59 combo came with a silver round tray of pork belly, another pork meat (jowl?) peices of calamari/​squid, beef peices and onions. With 4 side dishes of (refillable) :
— japchae/​chapchae (noodles) (smile and just ok)
— kimchi (crunchy and flavored well)
— fish cakes (my favorite, simple but yummy)
— seaweed (good tasting)
Small hot clay pot of soybean/​tofu (soon Dubu) soup, steamed eggs, soybean paste, honey mustard sauce, garlic-​soy sauce, large bowl of mixed green salad with an Asian style vinagarette dressing. Not sure if it came with rice, but we had to ask for it.
When green salad, soybean soup and sides came, we eagerly attacked the foods (we were hungry ;) then the fan was turned on, waitress set up grill, turned it on then came back after a few minutes and placed white onions and calamari on hot grill, then the pork, beef etc. They were precut but some meats needed scissors to cut. Grilled meats are cooked very fast, but love how hot they are when eating. I felt like a kid as the staff would put the cooked meats on our silver plate as she was taking them off the round grill :):). The amount of food was very plentiful.
Overall, it was a tummy filling evening. So minus the fact we felt invisible while waiting in the lobby (only negative), our dinner experience was very filling and satisfying. We all were very pleased.

Came with a few friends, place is big and clean, lots of seats and is not filled with smoke.
We ordered the smoked duck, short rib and pork belly. Everything was really good and fresh.
The server will grill the meat for you at your table which is nice so you don’t have to worry about over cooking the meat.
I sure hope they will offer AYCE one day but as of now is a la carte only.

I found this place by the advertisement on Facebook and have been desperately wanting to come. The first time I came here was about a month ago. I was by myself and ordered the squid bibimbap on the lunch menu. The food was delicious and all the panchan that they give to you.
Yesterday my friend took me here for my birthday along with 4 kids. We sat at the round table. I’ve been telling my friend how great this place was. The six of us sat at the round table– even though I had asked the woman if we could sit at a larger table. When our food came, the table was so crowded and was hard for us to share the panchan, etc. There wasn’t any room for all the food that they brought to us. The experience was disappointing and we couldn’t enjoy the food. If you’re going to go with more than 4 people… Sit at the bigger table, especially if you’re going to bbq.

Jumping to summary: would not go back.
I like the tables and metal barrel stools in this restaurant, just a different ambiance. They have really powerful fans to suck the cooking smoke. The service is pretty good. The dining and restroom is very tidy and clean.
Ordered the kimchi pancake and it was really good.
Ordered the prime rib without bone (don’t remember the exact name). It was $ 36 for the order, a bit pricey after I saw the cut of the meat. Pound for pound, it is more expensive than a prime rib at a steak house. Definitely not worth it.
Also ordered the marinated beef as well. Again, don’t remember the exact name but it was the only item that had the word marinated in the dinner bbq menu. All I can say is that it needed a lot more taste. I don’t think they marinated it long enough because the inside of the meat had no taste when biting into it.
As for drinks, I got the lemon soju. The taste was not bad but very light on soju. I turn red very easily when I drink. So even after finishing the entire drink by myself, I was barely red… oh well.

We came here for my mom and aunt’s joint birthday party and I was underwhelmed by the food… Let me just note that I had been dieting for 6 days prior to this meal and it was my FIRST meal back to normal food. I hadn’t eaten that day yet and was down to eat anything edible.
The side dishes were decent but the meat was chewy and just meh. Definitely not enough meat for $ 100! Maybe my expectations were too high, but I wasn’t too impressed overall with this restaurant. Service was good and my whole family was impressed by our attentive waiter.

This is a great place to bring your group of friends, we had the meat combo and side seafood.
Norb, our waiter was really attentive. He made us a mixed fruit soju that was absolutely amazing! Thanks for the wonderful service!
We will definitely be back!

The kimchee says heaps about a Korean restaurant. Variety was a few but the tastes were of quality. It is a Monday night and a Cyber Monday after all so the place was quieter and my food came piping hot and quick! Enjoy!

Came here for lunch today. They have weekday lunch specials at $ 8.99 plus tax, which is very worth the value. I had the bugolgi beef which comes with soup, rice and side dishes. The portion was just nice. The beef is not as tasty as I expected but still good enough for the price that I am paying.

I enjoyed my experience here.
The ambiance and setting is great (like the bbq places in Socal that have individual grilling stations and seats).
The customer service was excellent (friendly and professional)!
I got the squid&pork bibimbap (mixed vegetables and rice)-it was DELICIOUS! It came with complimentary soup as well that hit the spot! The prices are fair too (maybe not so much for the actual bbq-​but in norcal, Korean bbq tends to be more expensive).

I came here with my family and my boyfriend to celebrate. I’m not sure if it was because we came at an off time, but the place was not packed at all. The customer service was superb (possibly because they weren’t busy) and everyone explained, cooked, and helped us understand the food and the grilling throughout the time we were here. Customer service is key to me, and for my first time, they definitely nailed it.
We ordered A LOT for four people. We got their Combo C meat special combination and their seafood combination for two (like I said, we were celebrating). I do understand why people complain about the lack of food in these combinations (especially the seafood combo), but honestly I would’ve rather had that than a ton of unfresh seafood that was served. All the seafood was extremely fresh and very tasty. Each item had their own unique flavors in spices and sauces. You can tell how fresh the seafood was from prawns to clams, muscles, squid, and more. The meat combo C was really good as well and came with a variety of meat from pork to beef. Everything was SUPER fresh, and the food came with a variety of side dishes as well. Came with salad, cheese corn, fried eggs, strews, and many more! Save your belly for last because the seafood one comes with a seafood noodle soup, and they make kimchi fried rice with the leftovers you have with the meat combination.
Overall, food was delicious and excellent customer service. I will definitely be coming back for more!

Had a great family dinner here.
People mentioned about portions being small but we didn’t think it was a small portion. We ate until we were so full and had left over so brought it home for my lunch tomorrow. ^^
I would say the service wasn’t the best but quality and quantity of meat was great!
I would definitely come back here again when ever I’m in this area.
Oh! Lunch menu looked good with good price. I will have to try them too.

I’ve stepped into restaurants that have been around for a very long time and still will ask «Have you been here before?» Then will show you how their restaurant works or suggest things on the menu. Not at this place though.
Came here to have a birthday dinner for my dad and the host who sat as down was really kind. She smiled, said hello, sat us down, and got us our check when we were finished. (She has blonde hair, she was super nice)
The place was really confusing to us new comers. She asked us what we wanted to get and we told her the seafood hotpot, 5 minutes later the owner (?) asked us what we wanted to eat, we told him we placed our orders already but still repeated it. The same lady we told our order to the first time came up another 5 minutes later asking if we’re ready to order. LIKE WHAT? LOL
When she brought out the soup she pretty much just dropped it off and stirred it a little bit then walked away. I started putting the soup in my bowl then she came back saying it’s not ready. How was I suppose to know? She should have told me to wait another 5 minutes or so but nope.
She started cutting everything that was in the pot then told us it was ready. As we’re eating I was trying to crack the crab legs with my hands but it was super hot, she noticed and told me to use the scissors and tongs because it’d be easier. Wow no way… If you told me the tongs and scissors were for me to use I would have used them (they were on a separate tray stand behind us. My dad and I thought they were dirty utensils they forgot there or something)
The whole time I just felt like they were just watching me eat because I didn’t know how things works there, BBQ is different because it’s just slapping stuff on the grill.
Besides that, the food was whatever. Seafood tasting like seafood. Wasn’t worth $ 40 because there wasn’t even a lot in the pot just tons of broth and mushrooms.
I wouldn’t go back. The food is super pricy and I’ll never get over it’s awkwardness.
Plus why spend so much on BBQ when you can have all you can eat BBQ AT BQUE NEXT DOOR for $ 19.99!!!

Really good food, I just want to say that the tables are so small to fit a lot food and the chair are stools with no backs (so that’s uncomfortable). Also if you have a purse you cannot hang it anymore lol.
But our server was so nice and helped us arrange and serve our large dishes so that everyone at the table could eat.
Definitely coming back!

Just a few points:
1. This place is really expensive, even for kbbq. For two people we paid over $ 80 with cheap options.
2. The waitress comes to your table and stands over you the entire meal chaperoning your entire conversation. Maybe it’s not like this when it’s busy? When we were there at 8pm it was completely empty.
3. The place was really dirty. There was garbage, food, and even a few ants on the floor. If your restaurant is dirty — your food is likely dirty.
4. Three hours later I had atomic diarrhea.
I would not be surprised if this place goes out of business soon.

I think this place looks a lot more interesting for dinner. Lunch has a limited menu so we chose a seafood/​pork combo wrap and the rib eye lunch set. Spicy pork, pork, squid and loads of veggies for the wraps. The rib eye comes with a tofu soup and rice. A handful of pickled fermented items for panchan. Unfortunately the wrap proteins were lukewarm. The rib eye is cooked on the grill so it’s hot at least. Next time we’re going to load up on the grilled meats i stead. 3.5 stars

I wanted to come here for my birthday and my friends were so nice to oblige. We had a wonderful experience! We had a group of 15 people so we couldn’t fit on those round tables that attracted me originally but the put us in the private section and we had it all to ourselves.
We ordered 3 sets of the $ 99 sets, the sets say for 3 people but it was plenty of food for 15. The set comes with lots of ban chan, corn cheese and soup per set. There is also a greens salad that you can eat with the barbecue too. The server suggested we also grill the kimchi and bean sprouts, totally delish! It was a non stop eating fest from steak, to beef to pork chops and pork belly. All the meat was nice and fresh. At the end he also gave us a shave ice dessert that he said he made himself too, so sweet!
We had brought our own cake and he got us candles and knives etc. Really nice considering some places try to charge you for a plate fee. Our server was amazing, he constantly kept our banchan and waters refilled and checked on us periodically without being overbearing either.
I would like to come back again to try the round tables outside with a smaller group in the future too, it seems like so much fun. For a first time experience, I had an amazing time.

Finally, a Korean seafood bbq in the bay area! Came here with 3 (hungry) guys. We ordered seafood and samgyupsal 2 — portions each and a couple side dishes. The kimchi chigae was amazing! Also loved the kimchi fried rice. Not quite sure why there are other reviews complaining about how small the portions were.
Read some other comments and wonder if they’ve experience Korean restaurants before. i.e. That’s right, you can’t (and would never want to) cook pork and seafood at the same time. Did you see the two different grills they used for the meats? Let me know how it goes cooking a fatty meat like samgyupsal on top of a cooking surface with HUGE space open to the fire below. If you thought the meat was off, did you mention this to the staff? Did you give them the opportunity to correct your displeasure?
How can you go wrong with a restaurant that provides bibs for the adults — get ready to dig in! Also, love that the seats double as storage for a jacket or purse you don’t want to get smokey. Great service and friendly staff!

Heard about this brand new restaurant just opened and decided to check it out. Horrible! Portions are very small, prices are pretty expansive for what you get even for NorCal standards, and the food was bad. I do not know how they can survive, but if this is in LA, they cannot last a day.
Menu was short, basically three options: seafood meal, pork belly meal, and eel. For the pork belly you will get like 4 slices for almost $ 50, and they will finish you off with a ton of kimchi friend rice to make sure you don’t leave hungry, so NO Thank You! We ordered the seafood meal for 2 people instead for almost $ 80. We got about 12 pieces of very small claims, and 4 or 5 cherrystone claims. There is also squid, mussels, and shells as well. I am usually not a complainer on price as long as the quality of food is good. This place is absolutely horrible! And by the way, after you are done with all the little shell fish, they will bring a bad pot of soup filled with mediocre «knife-​cut» noodles to fill you up. Just to make sure you don’t leave empty-​stomached.
If you ever visited LA, or lived in LA before and thought that this place will satisfy your cravings like Jae Boo Do in East Hollywood, then you will find out the hard way like me and many of my friends did. Do yourself a big favor and just skip here completely. I do not support new restaurants with this bad quality and expect to rip off their customers at the same time. It is not ok. Will 100% not ever come back again and will not recommend this place to friends.