Very average Korean bbq. Acceptable but not wow. The japchae was actually quite good surprisingly. The pickled radish is my favorite. The biggest issue with this place is that the meat is lacking in quality. The beef bulgogi we got was like 50% fat and 50% meat which was disappointing. No one wants to eat a bowl of chewy fat. The pork was slightly better in this regard and the chicken was definitely better but the overall quality of the meat was poor. You order whatever you want on your phone through a QR code and the staff bring it to your table very quickly. Service was great, very attentive and friendly staff. Although there aren't a bunch of Korean bbq options in Madison, I still wouldn't return here. read more

Apex Grill - Outside - Asian Fusion Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

For being a KBBQ restaurant in Madison, it was pretty good! Apex Grill is an all you can eat self-grill KBBQ spot located on State Street. For the price of $34 pp, the variety and quality of food you get is decent. The QR ordering system is easy to use and there is quite a variety of food to choose from. I would say the staff is not overly friendly but not rude either, which was the only slightly odd thing that I found. Other than that, it's a nice place to get KBBQ with friends if you are craving it and in the area! I would come back (: read more

Apex Grill - AYCE KBBQ - Asian Fusion Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

When a friend of mine told me that she went on a date to a Korean BBQ restaurant where the grill was at there table..... I HAD to try it! I have longed for a Korean Barbecue restaurant where you could grill at your table. I have previously driven to Chicago to be able to have there. But now, we have here in Madison! The beef bulgolgi was super tasty! They have a cold bar where you can add vegetable additions to your meal. The pickled radish is a must! The servers are very helpful to make sure your food isn't raw, if you need it. Our server George was friendly and attentive. The meat is very filling. They do have rice if you want to add to the meal. We opted against it so that we could have room for all of our choices. There is lots of room, perfect for groups, families, and date nights. I look forward to coming back soon! read more

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Service: 5 stars -- I made a reservation for a birthday and they went above and beyond! Aside from the celebration, our group (ages toddler-SR) also had a food allergy to consider. They called me back the day of to confirm our plans. Since time is limited, waiters checked in often and cleared our table, ensuring we got our orders. We did have a slight hiccup with the QR ordering but I think it was on our end (me, forgetting to confirm order after selecting items). They were so kind to take those verbally to the kitchen. As we were finishing, they brought out a delicious Japanese cheesecake (with candle and all) and sung HBD! The cheesecake was from Le C's (they're affiliated with them! :D ) and served ~8 ppl at no extra cost. Ambience: 4 stars -- Exposed brick, high ceilings with mixed metals and woods decorated the space. This is the first time I've seen and used a retractable bbq hood! Even with all the grills going, the space felt light and airy. The gold dishware and chandeliers added elegance and luxury, and K-pop music kept everyone upbeat. The only downside is they have two floors, but no elevator. We got the only table with double grills (on 2nd floor) and the rest have a single grill. Food: 3 stars (for Madison) -- My favorite menu items were the fried chicken (perfect crunch, tasty & tender), pork belly, beef bulgogi, galbi, and kimchi soup! I would not recommend the lemon pepper shrimp (tiny & over-seasoned) and a bit sad I failed to try any other seafood items. Japchae was a bit off - not very flavorful and the noodles used were clear/glass but wide and gummy). Meat options were plenty, branchan/side items (self-service) were limited and mediocre, along with a basic sauce station. Kiddos loved the KFC, dumplings, and udon! They also got ice cream for dessert -- Sysco cups FTW (kiddos love em, me not so much lol). Beverage ops were plenty -- several alcoholic and NA at an extra cost. Overall, this is a great choice for KBBQ newbs. The space is trendy, with excellent staff, but flavors are mild with avg meat quality and basic sides. Would I return tho, YES (unless I've got time to hit up Chicago or S Korea!!! ;P ) read more

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There's not a lot of Korean BBQ in Madison, so I was really excited to see this spot open on State Street. Each plate was about 35 per person, with access to a wide selection of pork, seafood, or chicken. There was a counter with a smaller selection of vegetables (including chili cucumbers, mushrooms, lettuce, fruit, seaweed, kimchi and sauces). You can order rice, potstickers, and other sides in addition to the barbecue. We really like the beef Bulgogi the best. The chicken and shrimp were good too. The meats all seemed very fresh. In terms of the space, it was cool to be in a lofted area above State Street. I like that everything was super clean, including the tables, the grill, the vegetable station, and the bathrooms. Staff came and changed out our grill a few times which was helpful. The grill itself was easy to use and worked well. Service was the only thing that we thought was a little odd. I think the staff may be checked on us too much. Also they suggested that we order different types of meat instead of the same one we kept ordering (beef bulgogi), I'm not sure if they were running out or what, but I thought that was a little odd. There is a 20% food waste charge service fee is automatically added on depending on the number of people at a table. Overall, good experience, really clean, food was great, but service was a little odd read more

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Good BBQ, decent side dish options for Madison. One of the best in Madison but if you have had Chinese/korean BBQ before, this place is just decent. Service is alright and ambience is pretty good. read more

The place is decent, but the overall vibe was just okay. The staff wasn't rude, but they weren't exactly warm or welcoming either. Most of the portions were fair, except for the chicken -- it sounded great on the menu, but when it arrived, we honestly didn't even want it anymore. On the upside, the kimchi was amazing, especially the cucumber one. A downside was the grills: they weren't very clean on the sides, and the food kept sticking to them. We ended up having to switch them out multiple times, which got a little annoying. read more

I'm just glad that Madison finally has a korean bbq place and not pricy. Good food. The 1hr30 time limit is a bit annoying though. I think they should increase that to 2 hrs . read more

A good spot to grab a quick bite. Service was satisfactory and food was good. I would return again.

I have to stop by here every time I come for work. Service is amazing and the pricing is perfect!

One of the best Korean BBQs we have ever been to, and seek them Out! Great service, all you can eat, great entrees, great add-ons PLEASE PLEASE. Frequent this place! read more

they finally opened up a kbbq spot in madison which is exciting! for $35 it's all you can eat a person but there is a 20% surcharge food waste. overall, limited meat options and smaller servings than we hoped so we had to continually order. the bulgogi was the best of what we had but i felt like the quality of the meat just isn't quite there. they didn't have rice paper sheets either! corn cheese was also just kinda mid. service could also be better, there were times that the staff was just standing there chatting when we needed to switch out our grill. but pretty spacious seating area on the second floor and there was no wait at all when our party of 5 came on a monday night read more

Great service & fresh quality! The menu and bun chun selections were amazing! The best part about the experience and meal is ALL YOU CAN EAT! read more

My husband and I tried Korean BBQ for the first time this past weekend. We saw the menu and thought it would be fun to try. We are always up for trying new things, but since we had not done this in the past, we asked the server to give us the full rundown. Jada was unbelievable! She not only made us feel welcomed, but she went above and beyond to explain the ins and outs of what is good, how long to cook each of the variety of meats and the traditional way to eat the dishes. We never would have known about some of the side dishes had she not recommended them. They were all delicious! It is fun to cook things right at your table and the variety of sauces they give you are such a great compliment to all of the meats. The menu is so easy to order from as you do it directly from your phone and they bring it to your table so fast, the only down time is when you're cooking your meat. Jada was even nice enough to help us cook the first round of Bulgogi and Chicken. She checked in regularly and they replaced the hot plate a couple times, so we always had a clean hot plate to cook on. We will definitely be back!! read more

Meh. I know Madison is desperate for a korean bbq place, but this place didn't cut it for me. The positive parts are, their tabletop "grills" actually gets hot enough to sear meats. The space is bright and each table comes with its own ventilation. The ordering is pretty easy with a QR code to scan at the table and staff is pretty quick to bring your items. The "meh" parts. So you can't actually view their bbq menu on their website, and the menu picture uploaded by the business on yelp has "galbi" listed as a meat option. That is a bloody lie! They do not! And honestly, what is the point of going out for kbbq if the place doesn't have galbi?!? Talk about a bait and switch! The meats they do have are very thin. Like all of the meats, not just the bulgogi which is supposed to be thin. Also, I'm very confused about their marinades, because everything tastes either plain, unseasoned/marinated or just bulgogi marinated. We ordered a variety of meats, and only got those two flavor profiles. The bonchon is self serve, and i liked that they give you nice crisp green lettuce, but the rest is so basic, it's barely even a bonchon spread. The kimchis are really basic, likely just bought in bulk. You can order appetizers that's included in the ayce menu. Btw, if you like steamed egg, they don't have that either, though it's also listed on the yelp menu pic. Their pancakes were decent. Very greasy, but not the worst. Very heavy on the white pepper. And lastly, they charge an automatic service charge, the lowest is 15% regardless of number of ppl, and if the party is over 5 people, it's even higher. I understand the service charges for larger groups, but not for small groups. And that is the straw that broke the camel's back for me on this place. So i'll prob not be back. I'd rather make a trip to Chicago for some real kbbq. read more

Coming in, the place was aesthetically pleasing. The servers were attentive and polite. This was our first time here and though this was not our first KBBQ, the workers explained how their resultant works. Scan QR code at the table and order. All you can eat. Sodas, beers, and spirits were extra. The side open bar was filled with kimchi, radish, soups and more. Overall, the food was great. Our favorites were the spicy Bulgogi, Hawaiian Bulgogi, and Cajun shrimp. Sadly I did not take pictures of the meat selections, but they were pretty good. Some of the steak choices came without any sauce, which was OK because there is sauce at the condiment bar. read more

Apex Grill - Side selection - Asian Fusion Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The portion was small but was good because it helps us try a lot of other meats. It is very variety because we get beef, seafood, pork ,and veggies. Appreciated the QR code to get us through easy ordering. Also great staff, some will help us cook or we can do it ourselves as well. read more

You had me at ALL YOU CAN EAT! Service was impeccable, very friendly and attentive. Madison needs more places like this (finally a Korean BBQ place!) An experience with an appetite. We will be going back. :) read more

Great service excellent food and a really cool atmosphere. They have a Hawaiian bulgogi that's amazing!!

I went to the soft opening and they didn't have everything but what they had was great! It is nice that Madison has a grill now and I don't have to travel outside of Madison when I'm craving. The food was good too, although it is the basics. Ordering was easy through a QR code or else they also asked too! Definitely recommend and they made sure to always ask if we were doing good. :) read more

Apex Grill - grill space - Asian Fusion Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Food was good but portions are small! Wait time was fast and hostess and server were all kind. Just a bit pricey, and, for a Korean barbecue spot, it didn't have a large selection (no mushrooms, cabbage, onions, or really any vegetable to order!). Meats were tasty. Not a bad place to go! read more