We visit Buga every time we come to San Diego. However, the Banchan (side dishes) quality has gone down really bad. Banchan was seasoned with too much salt or msg and there was a bean sprout dish that tasted and smelled sour (Slightly Gone). When we called the manager about it, they got us another banchan. However, the server said three other people tried it and concluded it was fine. That's it? I don't know if they put out the banchan ready to serve for convenience, or keep it refrigerated until it is served to the customers but the response to my complaint was VERY unprofessional. Not even a slightest apology! When I finally confronted the server, she gave my daughter an ice cream, saying it is the most "expensive" one from the fridge. Do I care if it is expensive or not? NO. Did I do it for an ice cream? NO. I didn't want to argue in front of my kid, so we left, but I was upset that they didn't apologize when they knew our side dish was gone bad (manager smelled it and nodded it was so). All I wanted was a sincere word of apology. That's it! I got a diarrhea the next day, so there is my answer! It was gone bad!!! The mackerel fish we got was half cooked also, so we had to tell the server to grill it more. I am not a huge complainer, but this incident was very unpleasant I HAD to leave a review. I am a Korean and I can tell just from looking at the side dishes whether the restaurant is a good one or not. I am so sad but I am crossing out this restaurant from my list. If you guys (restaurant ppl) ever come to Corona, go eat at JINHAN (NO relevance to me whatsoever) where every dish they serve (almost 8-10 side dishes) is made with care and excellent quality and taste!! That is where you should not save budget on. I hope my review helps you improve on service and food quality even though I am not planning on going back. read more

Good KBBQ good service and good price nice and clean inside and accommodates wheelchairs nice

We love Korean BBQ and this place was ok, 3.5 stars in my opinion. Service was good, place was fairly clean (there was food under the table when we were seated), and prices were ok. Prices were decent for some of the food but expensive for the AYCE. My favorite Korean BBQ place in Vegas has more options and better delivery for less than this. I am half Korean and we eat at Asian restaurants all over the country a lot so I'm not just saying this to be mean. A lot of times Asian servers seem rude because they are very direct and don't believe in "bothering" you too much during your meal. It's just the way some of them are just like if you were to go to another country or even a different region of the US, people have different habits and different attitudes. I only say this because I heard the table next to us complaining about the service to each other and the waitress didn't seem rude or absent at all. So on to the food. We opted for food that came out cooked as opposed to cooking our own. I prefer to do this because to me if I'm paying for food and tip I'd rather the food just show up ready to eat. :) The food came out in average time and it all tasted pretty good. We had spicy pork bulgogi which was a little chewier than I normally like but flavor was good. The spicy tofu soup was good. My son got some kind of ramen which tasted good but it wasn't a lot of food. My only complaint is that you cannot get some of the items without ordering them in a combo. If you want cooked bulgogi or galbi then you have to order it in a combo with some type of soup. It is a lot of food so if you're not sharing you might not be able to eat it all. This was only an issue me because we were just visiting some friends in the area and not taking home leftovers and I didn't need the soup to begin with. So overall this was a decent place to stop. One thing to note, it's kind of hidden, not so much hidden as kind of in an odd location. If you're headed South on 805 then as soon as you exit and turn right on CM you will almost immediately turn right into the parking lot. You'll turn at the Motel 6 sign (hard to make out the Buga one on that sign if you missed the name on the side of the building) as access to the parking lot is between Buga and Motel 6. Hope that helps, especially if you're driving at night! read more

Buga Korean BBQ - The only banchan or side dishes - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Service, food and parking were awesome. Parking was plentiful. The place was also super clean.

This place is great! We love coming here and it's always worth the wait. The quality of the meat is decent for the price point. The banchan is always great. read more

Great time, great service. Took family and visiting family. Food was great. Will definitely go back.

This is for the AYCE kbbq review. We went here on a weekend a little before dinner rush so there was no wait time for our party of 6. Parking was easy, they have their own lot so it wasn't difficult to find one. We got the cheapest option which is still pretty expensive from your usual kbbq places, it's $33 Side dishes are vast and majority of it were pretty good! The meat selection was very limited and they give you so little at a time. They know we have a party of 6 and they would only give us like 3 half sizes of pork belly (so basically 1.5 cut). And there's a limit of how many meats you can ask per order too. The service is pretty decent except for that one ahjumma that took our order in the beginning. She walked away when we weren't even done ordering, and like at one point when our (hot) side dishes were ready, like she's literally pushing the cart to us and was about to put it on our table, she made a u-turn because i guess our table "doesn't have space??" And when she did come back with the said side dishes, it wasn't even hot anymore. So after that we kinda stopped ordering from her. The younger ones are very nice and efficient tho! Overall would NOT go back again. The price wasn't worth the quality (food and service) of what you are getting. read more

Opted for the AYCE kbbq #C for $29.99. Food was delicious. Service was attentive and quick as orders came out fast. You are able to order 3 meats at a time. They had rice paper and daikon which are necessary when I eat kbbq. Overall, no complaints and I wish I had the ability to eat more because it was so good. read more

My niece and her hubby invited all of our family to a celebratory dinner Saturday evening to surprise my father with a belated birthday cake and to wish my first cousin Happy Birthday, who was visiting from Florida and is my niece's mother. This was our first time visiting Buga Korean BBQ, but I'm on the fence on whether we'll visit again because there were some positives and there were some negatives. Thankfully the negatives did not detract from my father and first cousin enjoying their celebration. Buga is located on the western end of Clairemont Mesa Blvd. This stand alone All-U-Can-Eat (AYCE) Korean BBQ restaurant is next to a Motel 6 and across the street from a strip mall that contain Ma's Place and Sipz. As you enter Buga, you immediately notice large array of tables that have individual BBQs at each table. The decor is modern with table and booth seating, but I didn't notice any art work or art pieces that gives off the vibe that you're dining in a Korean restaurant. I thought all of our servers provided us with quality and responsive customer service. Not sure if this is a reflection of management, but my niece didn't have the best experience with the reservation staff. Approximately 1 1/2 hours before our reservation time of 6pm, our reservation was almost cancelled because according to the staff member we exceeded their private room capacity of 10 people. My niece had made the reservation earlier in the week with 11 people initially and no one said anything then. The other negative was that we were asked to leave the area we were eating at before our 2 hour time limit. This probably occurred because my first cousin's hubby didn't give a good tip based on the treatment of his daughter, my niece. I've visited multiple Korean BBQ restaurants in San Diego, but I believe Buga's AYCE was the most expensive out of the other restaurants. It was an eye opening $40 per person. I had tell multiple people from my family that they needed to eat more because they had to get their $40 worth. Quite frankly, paying $40 at Buga didn't get us better food than the other Korean BBQ places. I honestly thought most of the food tasted the same as the other KBBQ restaurants I've eaten at. Big ups to my nephew for cooking all of our meat choices and proving that you are a BBQ savant. The following are the meat choices that I recommend: #1, #2, #4, #8, and #11. For sides, make sure to order rice, fried dumpling, and corn cheese. Their serving size for rice is tiny, so order plenty. Out of the sides, the star was the corn cheese. For $40, there should be more banchan than the three they give you to snack on. It truly was a blessing to celebrate my father and my first cousin's birthdays. If it wasn't for some negatives we experienced at Buga Korean BBQ, the evening would have been a wonderful one. read more

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Service bell was broken, so service was a bit slow. Food was yummy & well flavored, would definitely return. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

The place was too loud for my liking, but if y'all are young & boisterous then this is the place for you!!! Staff was friendly & courteous. Waiting time about 20+ min on a Saturday eve--not too bad w/o reservation. Food was delicious yum read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Remnants of pork belly & beef something or the other. We also had tasty 10-piece dumplings and noodles Jap Chae ()! - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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AYCE KBBQ is one of the genres of food where service is crucial for a good experience. From the timing of meat orders to the side dish refills to the grill changes, it takes a choreographed dance on both the diners' and server's parts to facilitate a smooth dining experience. Buga does a pretty great job at this, albeit at a slightly higher price point than my beloved Meatlove. Their menu items are also more limited, especially the sides (and one crucial side in particular; read on to find out which it is!). I came with a very large party but we were able to smoothly make a reservation beforehand. There are three AYCE menus with different prices, with A being the most expensive and C being the cheapest. There is a two hour time limit and a 3 meat at a time limit. My table was determined to eat our money's worth, and immediately started ordering. Service was, for the most part, accurate and quick. KBBQ for me isn't just about meat, but rather about wrapping meat and pickles to create that perfect bite. My major pet peeve is when it takes too long to bring or refill rice paper, pickled radish, etc. Here, we almost never had that issue. We ordered five or six rounds of meat, which sounds impressive until you realize that Buga's plates are tiny. Honestly this wasn't a drawback for me, because we got to sample more of the menu and not feel stuffed eating just one item. The beef brisket and rib finger were staples on our table, and their intestine was surprisingly good for AYCE intestine, chewy and not too funky. Some of their pork belly cuts had way too much fat and some were quite lean. All of their marinades were really tasty and not too sweet. I certainly don't hold AYCE up to the same standards as A La carte kbbq, but all the meat we ordered here was pretty decent! The side dishes were pretty good, with one glaring exception. NO CORN CHEESE INCLUDED IN THE C SET??! I was actually distraught when I realized, as corn cheese and pork and pickles is heaven in a mouthful. Only the pricier sets, I believe, include it. Thankfully I still had rice paper and pickles, both of which flowed abundantly. Their kimchi was pretty good as well! Not too sour, though a bit heavy on the fish sauce. It was great with pork belly. Their stir fried fish cakes and japchae were tasty. When we asked for a japchae refill they brought out a larger plate so that was pretty cool. We also got the steamed egg and tofu soup from the c set menu. Both are typically served in small stone pots, but these came in little metal bowls the size of a large teacup which was perhaps the only example of Buga taking small portions a bit too far. Regardless, both were tastier than I expected off a AYCE KBBQ menu. The egg was silky and tasted like it was steamed with cream or broth, super flavorful! The tofu soup actually tasted like tofu soup and not like ramyeon powder, which is what I commonly see at kbbq. It was decently spicy too! Buga offers fried rice and white rice as sides, which is cool. Their dipping sauce wasn't as tasty as other places I've tried, where it comes with pickled onions and jalapeños, but it was still ok. Overall, my group had a great time and left stuffed and smelling like grilled meat, the hallmark of AYCE KBBQ done right. I was between 3 and 4 stars for of the food but for the service and vibes, an extra star :) read more

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The food is very good. The service is fantastic. We had a great lunch here today. By the way, the price is reasonable. read more

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Came on a Sunday evening, waited about 20 minutes for a table for 2. Two of us shared the Budae Jeongol (Small) and it was definitely enough! Super generous with the sausage and vegetables. Love how the tofu soaks up the yummy spicy sour soup! Wish they would give more spam though. Service was really good even though they were so busy we still felt well taken care of & had everything we needed! :) The bbq smells so good, reliable Korean place! read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Budae jeongol - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Perfect place for the family. This place is more of the old school feel of Korean BBQ where the Koreans go to. The meat quality is better than most **** places like Manna. I like the way they portion out the meat to a little at a time so you can sample other meats. My spot when I visit SD. read more

We came in around 11 for a Saturday lunch and got a table immediately. The interior of the restaurant is kind of old-school but there seemed to be plenty of tables. Service during our meal was superb, meats were seasoned well, and everything came out quickly. We ended up choosing menu C which had plenty of meat options except for galbi. My favorite meat was #5 (rib finger meat) along with the garlic pork belly. My main complaint with this place was that the banchan and sides were just OK. Overall, decent meal and I'd recommend checking this place out at least once due to the surprisingly solid service, tasty meats, and reasonable prices. read more

Never ate at this place before it was a sushi overall it was good but I heard a dead menu was way different when they first opened overall, I really like the squid and the pork steak and the cheesy corn and the mushrooms and the pork belly and the spicy pork Bulgogi and beef is good on there I bought the 2999 deal and rib fingers read more

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Decided to have a spontaneous dinner with friends and had so much meat!! We ordered combo E, which came with beef brisket, prime rib-eye, prime boneless rib meat, fresh short ribs, marinated short ribs, marinated boneless ribs, and shrimp! Before all the meats came out, our server brought out salad, egg souffle soup, ban chan, and spicy kimchi soup. Everything was great and I loved the presentation of the last course- the meats and shrimp were plated nicely. The quality of the meats and service were both excellent! We even got complimentary mochi ice cream, but it seemed old, so no one enjoyed it LOL. I say, stick to the BBQ meats and you won't be disappointed. read more

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The food quality was amazing! Staff attentive! Grills were great quality too! I will for sure come back.

rating: 3.5 stars parking: free and easy. the entrance can be confusing. make sure to enter through the Motel 6 sign area. price: ~ $30/person service: everyone was nice and they replaced our grills without asking wait: 0 mins on a Sunday afternoon main takeaway: pretty decent KBBQ spot. the meat isn't the highest quality and there aren't as many choices as other KBBQ spots, but if you're craving KBBQ and you don't want to wait, Buga is a good candidate. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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Everything was fantastic except the pork steak. Love the sides. Average sauces. Good price for the food.

Wait forever for the food. When they brought it out, it was the wrong orders. Worst customer service!

Food was great, high quality meat and the best corn. Service was very attentive and everyone was very friendly. I'll be back for more Galbi and Cheese Corn! read more

4:00 on a Friday afternoon, not busy. Great food, great atmosphere, clean, and reasonably priced. Definitely will come back! read more

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This place has such a great costumer service, they take care of you even if there busy. The food was amazing! It's so well maintained and the steak is absolutely delicious. The place with everyone here is like a family coming together this atmosphere is amazing. I definitely.l recommend this place. Even if you're passing by. read more

This place is so good. I'm sooooo full. It's not an upbeat in your face, k-pop kind of spot but the food is the best I've had in San Diego area for the kbbq scene. I highly record commend it. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - We are full and I promise happy - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

This place is a joke. Went here to get lunch and they literally refused to serve my party solely because there wasn't enough people in my party. They told me to go somewhere else, you cant order here. What The Actual F? Nowhere on your website does it list you need to have xxx amount of people in your party or we'll refuse service at the door. Wasted an hour of my time. No other menu options, just straight up F*** OFF. read more

We had a large party room - if it's more than 7 they can offer you a private room upon arrival if they have the availability. Service will attentive and help whenever need and the food is amazing as always, everything delicious. One of my go to KBBQ spot read more

Service is always amazing! Servers are fast and attentive. The meat quality is consistently fantastic. The employees are also very kind and friendly. 10/10 come here again! read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Menu - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

There are 3 menu price. We picked menu B-$34.99/pp. ( menu A $39.99, menu C=$29.99) The best side order is corn cheese The customer service is great and friendly read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Menu B - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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Very fast paced BBQ place. Not too long of a wait but get there before peak business 7 pm. Wait staff is fast and attentive. I would recommend getting set A it's totally worth the premium choice to get more premium items. Recommend 1, 2, 3, 4. Food was endless and my favorite was 4 flank steak and 1 kalbi. read more

The meat here are good compared to other Korean bbq buffet. I don't get that smashing headache from the MSG afterward. I found out there's a new ownership who took over five days ago. Hence the very slow service! I do hope the new owners success. Any checking in and do your review you get a FREE mochi! read more

Not good service, I only see the server twice, I wanted to order more but the server is not around

Wanted to try this place out since I haven't been before. It's on Clairemont Mesa Blvd right off the 805 and was recently renamed. We came with a group of 8 and was told we had two tables for ourselves. However, we did want to move to a single table both out of preference for ourselves, but also convenience for the staff so they wouldn't have to clean two tables. We had menu C, which had a great variety of meat and side dishes. The meat quality I would say is above average, with the beef belly being some of the best I've had. However, the servings sizes were a little too small for our group size. Considering the fact that we did shift to one table, I don't think scaling up the quantity per plate would be an unreasonable adjustment. Since it was AYCE, I normally wouldn't have a problem with it, but do keep in mind that they're strict on the two-hour limit. I overall would say this was an okay experience. It wasn't that bad at all, but with the variety of KBBQ spots in the area, this wouldn't be that high on the list. read more

This used to be my family's go to place for higher price range BBQ dine-out, but since they changed to all you can eat few years ago, I guess the quality and customer service has gone down significantly. I personally did not do AYCE and tried premium individual BBQ for reminiscence, which was a terrible choice. The quality of beef has gone down significantly. Moreover, I had to press the bell about 8 times, 3 minutes apart each time before a server finally came to us. The only reason why I am giving 3 stars despite my very disappointing experience is because of my childhood memory, nothing else tbh. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! Just came back from this place. So disappointed. You might as well bbq in your backyard. Grease flying everywhere, server difficulty communicating. We couldn't take leftover food home but she charged me anyway for it. $140 I should've gone to Brazilian steakhouse. Classier and no grease mess. Such a goofy gimmick. Never understood the hype for this self fry your own joints. Never again. read more

Love this place! This is one of the few AYCE places I know where there are 3 different tiers of AYCE sets you can choose from. If you are feeling like a fat ass, for example, you choose 'A', which is the most expensive but has the greatest selection (I am usually fat ass level, but not the last time I came here). If, however, you want to just get your AYCE fix but also want to minimize spending, then choose 'C'. This is what I got, and despite it being the cheapest option, it still came with the banchan, steamed egg, and soondubu soup. Not only that, but the meat selection ain't bad! read more

I tried Buga Korean BBQ in January 2022. I was having some Korean food cravings and ended up here for pickup. They are located near Kearny Mesa, San Diego (but a little west of the I-805). I tried the following: - Fried Dumplings - Yook Gye Jang - Korean traditional spicy soup with beef & vegetable - Short Rib Soup - Short beef rib bone soup, onions, & daikon Food was yummy. I have to go back and try their BBQ at some point. ENJOY!! read more

As a Korean bbq connoisseur, by far the best. The service was great! They offered a lot of variety with not only meat selections but sides as well. The spicy pork bulgogi, beef short rib filet, black tiger shrimp, brisket, and beef bulgogi were the highlights. The pickled radish wraps were a pleasant surprise (we ordered 4 servings of these). Parking isn't the best situation, we went early (6pm on a Friday) with minimal issues, however people were circling like vultures when we left. We will be back! read more

A little on the pricier side but we togo their kalbi (the $50 something dollar one) and it is the best quality Kalbi in San Diego. It is thick and flavorful. You could tell it's excellent quality meat. Their seafood soups are excellent as well. read more