Young’s Barbecue

I love Korean food, and the Mission definitely lacks it. This, however, is not the answer to your cravings. This is a mom-​and-​pop restaurant and the owners are very cute, but your food will leave you wishing you just got a burrito instead.
The inside isn’t impressive. The drink selection is very limited. There is no sparkling water or unsweetened tea. They don’t serve tofu soup (my favorite Korean food). There is no bon chon (little appetizers that every Korean restaurant has). My bibimbap was not in a stone bowl, did not have the right sauce and typical ingredients, and had all these items that weren’t supposed to be in it (i.e. bok choy). My friend’s BBQ chicken wasn’t very impressive either.
The food isn’t terrible. But it’s not worth it, and it’s not what you would expect. We did notice they stayed open way after their closing hours though, which was nice.

I ordered over the phone from Young’s because it is nearby and i wanted some Korean BBQ. When I walked into the space I was surprised – i agree w/​other Unilocalers. Its a divey-​resto and there weren’t any other diners there. The food is average, but tasted like it has been sitting out for a while rather than being freshly made. The owner was very nice, but I probably will not return again.

I really wanted to rate this place higher but I cannot do so in all honesty.
The place is definitely a hole in the wall and if I had known how much so, I might not have taken us here right after the highs of the NFC championship game. The lady and the man (her husband) were very attentive to us, though our group might have been the only people in there.
The food was ok for Korean food, I’ve had a lot better in Seattle and Korea. I think what I really appreciated was that I think they were Seahawks fans and someone came walking by and bought us all a round of beers. The kimchi was pretty good though, they apparently won an award for it a few years back.
Overall though, a pretty average experience, the place itself was run down and I was expecting a lot more out of the food.

Order with the lady behind the counter directly. Side place, hole in the wall. Some food looked great, but my steak dish seemed old and overcooked.

I really love this place. It’s one of my favorite hole in the walls in the city.
The food is really good. I’m not really an expert on Korean BBQ, but every time I get food from there I enjoy it so much!
The atmosphere is what I love the most. The place feels so homey and cozy. It’s a wonderful little escape from the craziness of the mission.
Go check it out, you won’t regret it!

THIS… IS… NOT… KOREAN… FOOD!!!
Food came out on a plate with side of rice and a salad… NO BANCHAN! A sickly sweet teriyaki sauce was drizzled all over the dried meat.
— greasy, chewy Mandu (pork dumplings)
— Bulgogi (beef BBQ) was as dry and tough as beef jerky
— Kalbi (short ribs) dried out like the Bulgogi
— beer that came out of a refrigerator was warm!
— Kimchee was basically raw cabbage with Gochujang
At first I thought the people working there didn’t like me or something due to the quality of the food but they ended up being really friendly and talking to me and my boyfriend.
It was my boyfriend’s first Korean food experience and I kept apologizing over and over, telling him that what we were eating is not a representation of actual Korean food. I have no clue how this restaurant is still around.

Has been a good place to eat. Have gone here for years. She treats everyone like family… We are all «Honey» to her. I tried almost all the dishes and have never been disappointed.

People were not kidding when they said that the woman here finishes all of her sentences by calling you Honey.
And don’t expect to get a very authentic meal here.
This place is a hole in the wall just off Mission. I came here because I was in the area and craved Korean food but there wasn’t any other place around and I didn’t feel like driving all the way to the Avenues. I ordered beef short ribs and took a seat. I expected at least a few appetizers you normally get at Korean restaurants but I guess this is one of the places that doesn’t do banchan. The food came out a few minutes later and I was surprised that it wasn’t cooked anything like kalbi at other Korean restaurants. The meat was a lot thinner, more well-​done, and covered with teriyaki sauce. It was served with a side salad and a small serving of rice. It felt more like a Japanese dish than a Korean one. The food itself wasn’t bad though, it just wasn’t what I expected.
The restaurant itself looks kinda dingy, and there were some really old flyers posted up on the wall. It didn’t have the same feel as other Korean restaurants I’ve been to. But I guess that’s what you can expect from a tiny place in the middle of the Mission.
Aside from the woman constantly calling everybody Honey, which can get kinda annoying after a while, this place does provide decent service. I came back once several months later when I was randomly craving teriyaki, and she still recognized me and remembered exactly what I ordered the previous time. She’s also pretty attentive despite being the only person cooking and really friendly to everyone who comes in. Just don’t come in expecting to get the same experience you’ll have at another Korean place.

Sweet, if familial-​like service. But the food takes a while to get made, and it (Bibimbap) just wasn’t worth that wait.
You order and wait and pay later. The décor is like a lived-​in kitchen, with random bulk stuff and flyers all over. You can see lady in the kitchen cooking, a single order at a time, and a tiny tv, tuned into sports.
Sadly, the salad seem store bought, and the ribs, a decent number, wasn’t as filling or tasty as all the waiting let your imagine hope it would be.

I spent the coldest winter in my life living in Seoul, where I came to appreciate good Korean food. Every so often, especially on cold days, I find myself craving the taste of kimchi and kochujang sauce. When I do, I head to Young’s, the only Korean restaurant in the Mission.
Don’t expect too much from Young’s. I mean, look at the interior and the prices. And don’t bother ordering any of the non-​Korean items on the menu. Get the Bibimbap and you’ll be happy. Oh, and the homemade kimchi is delicious.
Thanks, honey!

Definitely a whole in the wall, but don’t underestimate this place!
I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and even years later the sweet women who addresses everyone as «Honey» still remembers me.
Good food with pretty big portions. i’ve only had their chicken and it’s really good.
While your waiting they have a tv, where you can catch her husband hanging out and watching sports. He’s such a sweet man too if you actually get a chance to talk to him. One of the cutest couples I’ve ever seen!

Oh dear I REALLY wanted to like this place… had a yen for some barbeque short ribs, looked them up, went on in.
Such a sweet couple running the place– if only the food lived up to the friendly service! My ribs were fingernail-​thin, drenched in sweet sauce. Salad of lettuce and carrots was good, but again, drenched in a sweetish dressing.
I’ll keep lookin…

1) I love hole in the walls
2) The woman who runs this joint is such a mom figure. She will take care of you!
3) Love the thin-​sliced BBQ. Don’t feel bloated after eating it.
It’s probably nice for those who live in the Mission to not have Mexican food every day. Nice change of pace!

Following my volunteer session at Arriba Juntos I realized it was much too early for me to go into work, and I really didn’t feel like going home yet. I walked around the neighborhood looking for a place to eat since my breakfast had consisted only of a sausage McMuffin and two sips of low calorie root beer. In an area dotted throughout by various coffee spots and the much hyped Tartine Bakery there really aren’t too many restaurants which offer real food. Okay, there are quite a few Mexican restaurants in the area, but I really wasn’t in the burrito or taco mood either.
I found Young’s BBQ across the street from the Mission substation for SFPD. Without checking it out on Unilocal Mobile first I looked inside the window and found the menu taped onto another window. It’s a Korean barbecue place! Since I had not had Korean anything in over a year I decided to go in and give it a try.
You order and pay at the counter (
). I already decided while perusing the menu outside that I wanted the #3 combination of thin-​sliced beef described as «Bul-​ko-​ki». The combination comes with rice and a choice between salad or kimchee; I chose salad. While standing there waiting to put in my order I noticed potstickers on the menu also, so I ordered that too. I’m such a pig! There are lots of bottled and canned sodas, juices and teas and beer behind the counter.
The lady who runs the restaurant is adorable addressing all her customers as «honey» and «gentleman» in a heavy Korean accent. I decided to eat in. I chose a small table to the side and sat down. The dining area is kind of cluttered with food supplies and newspapers tossed about. I found a dead fly on my table top, but flinged it away onto another table with my finger. Eat at enough Asian restaurants and that kind of stuff just doesn’t bother you anymore.
Another lady came out from behind the food prep area, greeted me and brought me napkins and utensils. The potstickers (
) came out lightning fast with a bowl of soy sauce and vinegar. These reminded me very much of gyoza with its super thin skin. They were fried up crispy on all sides and the juicy pork and cabbage filling was very tasty. I sucked in all eight as if I were a vacuum cleaner. The Bul-​ko-​ki (
) arrived a short time later with a side salad drizzled in a sweet creamy dressing. The grilled beef slices were cut very thin, topped by a sweet teriyaki-​like sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
The salad was very fresh and crisp. I liked the thin beef slices because its edges were slightly burnt giving it a somewhat jerky-​like, crispy texture. The meat wasn’t hot (in temperature) though. It was served warm, and in fact so was the rice underneath it. I couldn’t understand why this was. Who serves warm rice with their food? I might have given this place a higher rating had the beef and the rice been served at a higher temperature because everything was indeed tasty.

What can I say? The food here is pretty atrocious. Like the few reviewers before me, I have to say that the meat is dry and that the BBQ tastes like it’s from a fast food bottle. The salad has that really, really gross mayonnaise based dressing that is basically mayonnaise with a hint of pink food coloring.
However, I couldn’t bring myself to give this place the one star its food deserved. The place is run by a really charming husband-​and-​wife team who obviously really care about their customers. The wife calls everybody ‘sweetie’ and ‘honey’ and is actually really sincere about doing so. The husband, although overshadowed by his more outgoing wife, is also incredibly friendly and will talk to you about his kimchee making process. It might not be the best kimchee, but he claims it came second in some sort of kimchee tasting competition. I couldn’t help but feel happy for him once I saw how proud he was as he modestly told us.
Aww man.
This had so much potential to be my next ‘barely-​discovered-​hole-​in-​the-​wall-​with-​EPIC-​food’. Sad story.