Love this kbbq place! Got seated right away and staff is very friendly. Meat quality is great for the price, and side dishes are also super tasty. Staff always checks in on us, and customer service is great. Highly recommend coming if you're in the area! read more

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

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

After having a little bit of shopping, my girl friends and I came to Buga for lunch. I love Korean BBQ and have only really been to a couple spots so trying a new place equal parts exciting and nerve wrecking. Let me just say my experience with BUGA was so positive. First off, the parking lot is so big, there are ample spaces so that gets a plus automatically! Then you get in are greeted with AC and three options for AYCE menu but they also have a menu for al a carte dining. We chose option B which has the basic options and a couple options from the premium menu. Can I just say this restaurant is so clean and organized, I feel like I've been missing out because it was just so nice. Loved all the little appetizers, especially the steamed egg, it is hot so be careful but oh my god was it so good. I loved eating it with my rice! For our meats, the food came out so quickly and our server was so nice. The meats tasted so good and whenever we would run low we would just press a button and our server was there to order more. We even ordered soju which was so cold and tasty, definitely a fun lunch. I would definitely recommend coming here for AYCE! read more

Last night, GinaBee abs I ate at Buga for the first time. The wait was too long and unorganized. Food was okay.service was good. read more

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Great Korean bbq spot! Amazing meats and sides, my personal favorites are the tofu stew, beef bulgogi, cheese corn, beef short ribs and everything else! We went with option B because we feel like it's the most bang your your buck. Everyone who works here is so nice and quick! Love this place! read more

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Good food, good service. Great quality meat and very flavorful. We had a good time. We will be back. read more

The hubby took me to this kbbq spot after my massage treat. Conveniently located west of the 805 fwy on Claremont Mesa blvd. They open at 11am which was really nice. I was pleasantly impressed w their banchan bc not all kbbq's have japchae and they had it. We went w menu "C" which was $28.99. Ordered the chadol (brisket), bulgogi (marinated thin beef slices) and yang nyum nukgansal (finger rib meat). All 3 were delicious!!! Bulgogi was marinated just right, not too sweet. Finger meat was deeeeeeelicious!!!! Yum, yum, and yum!!! It was nicely cut w a good amount of marbling, and very tender (this part is usually very tough) and so juicy!!! The soontofu was delightful w that perfect amount of heat in the broth. They put a lot of tofu in it which was nice!!! I always order the soup when i'm done w my meats. I also ordered a Brick macaron ice cream, and that is always good!!! The service was good. The ladies were always attentive and kept coming back to ensure that we were being taken care of. I highly recommend this spot if you're looking for good kbbq that opens early (most of these kbbq's open later now for some reason). I am definitely coming back here again!!! Give them a try!!! read more

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Food was delicious and fun for family. We loved the quality of meats and excellent service. We would certainly come back . Ambiance was appropriate for barbecue.Tofu Stew was a delicious side. read more

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

Food is on par if not better than other AYCE KBBQ spots in San Diego. Service is great and the atmosphere is really good for friends/parties. read more

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

I was pleasantly surprised by the Steam Egg at first sight I was double guessing my decision but when I tried it my tummy was happy, it's cooked with broth so it's gives it a miso taste. I'm really picky with dumplings but it's was really good it didn't have the pork after taste I hate. read more

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

It's been ages since I ate here last time, but this is one of the best Korean restaurants in San Diego. I love how workers here are so friendly and nice. Food is always great, and I love the variety of their menu. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Bulgogi and cold noodle set - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

The Beef Brisket Bean Soup tasted very good, especially mixed with vegetables and kimchi. Thumbs up. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Beef Brisket Bean Soup - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

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Attended a rave in SD (OMFG NYE 2021) and wanted to eat at an AYCE KBBQ spot so we landed here... (see pics on my ig @kobelube) Ran by cute Korean mothers, meat cut neatly, steamed egg was uber soft, presentation was excellent. Our party got the cheapest menu option (C). Since i dont have much expectations for meat, I cannot say much about the quality (it was yummy) so ill speak about the other food offered. You have got to get the steamed egg here. It was the best I have ever tasted (not an exaggeration): it did not taste or smell like tap water and was very fluffy (literally tofu) and rich. My friend really loved the samjjang (soy bean paste) and the intestines they had. She also agreed with me on the steamed eggs tasting like soufflé. The soontofu (tofu stew) was not as spicy and really good as well. I normally avoid spicy food because i get acne, but I almost finished it because the spice was not as obvious. read more

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The meats were okay. Had better ones at other kbbq ayce. Restaurant seems fine and clean. Our waiter was not very friendly and didn't seem to care about us much. read more

Great amazing lovely food. Gear amazing lovely service. Great amazing lovely ambiance. read more

Buga has been on my list of restaurants in San Diego to try for a long time and I finally got the chance to drop by with a friend a couple months ago. Buga offers AYCE BBQ, but since we weren't that hungry, we opted for some a la carte dishes instead. Overall, the food was pretty good. All the portion sizes are quite large, but it also reflects accordingly in the price. My favorite dish was the Nakji Dolsot Bibimbap. I've never tried an octopus Bibimbap before and it was quite delicious. Would definitely get this again. We also ordered the Kimchi pancake which had a lot of different veggies inside as well and the Japchae which was just okay in my opinion. I'd definitely like to come again to try out their AYCE BBQ next time, but not a bad first experience! read more

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Food was delicious, the staff is amazing and kind, great first time experience:). Great location as well read more

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

The meats here is really good. We opted for All you can eat option B. We wanted to have beef short ribs. The boneless short ribs was the best, don't have to deal with the bones! Parking is plenty don't have to worry finding parking. read more

Definitely a great spot if you're looking for some good KBBQ. We ordered all different types of beef/pork, but their finger dish is what really stood out to me. That tenderness/taste is what really made my night. They also had a nice and fast customer service that always asked if you wanted more rather than avoiding your table. Overall a delicious place to try if you want to try a new spot read more

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WOW!!! Me and my friends decided to try a new Korean BBQ place we usually always go to the same places. Then we found Buga & we are so glad we did. Their service was great! And the food was amazing! Almost tried the whole menu every meat we had was so good. Lots of flavor! Also I loved the cheese corn and steamed egg!! And the butter & sauce that goes with the meat tops it off. Highly recommend!!! read more

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My newest favorite Korean bbq! All their meat are fresh and good. Foods are delicious. Clean and good location. I loved it that every table has privacy from other diners. It's a booth and it's like your in your own cubicle. The servers are also skilled and giving you tips how to cook your meat properly and what goes first. A lot of side dishes. We've been going here ever since. read more

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

If you are not Korean, don't bother to come here, because you won't get any service. Restaurant is spacious and clean. Lunch menu choices are decent. Made reservation the day before; however we showed up, no reservation recorded. Maybe because we didn't make the reservation in Korean. Food - mediocre compared to other smaller establishments. Service - almost none! Waitress didn't come in to ask for drink order even when we pushed the call button. When the waitresses finally came, they (we saw 2 the entire meal time) kept speaking Korean to us! So annoying because 70% in the party don't speak Korean!!! No idea what they asked and said! Really they expected our Korean colleagues to translate the entire time. I don't consider that service! Won't bother come back! read more

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

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Very yummy food! I like their portion is small. I and my son got to try a lot of different food! read more

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NOT really a great place for AYCE Kbbq. It may be better with regular menu rather than AYCE. There are very limited options compared to other Kbbq places as I have tried almost all Kbbq in San Diego. We did an A menu which is the most expensive one (~$40) but there are just around 4-5 regular beef choices. The options of side dishes are less than the other places as well. There are only 4. But when I looked over the other tables, who did regular menu, they had 7-8 types of side dishes. Also, couple of the beef options you can just order 1 per table, which is NOT specified on the menu. One of the thing I didn't like is that when you order the same item around 3 times, you will get them fewer. For example, the 1st time we ordered short ribs, we got around 6 pieces, but the third times it only came with 4 small pieces. Since there are not many options, we had to order some items repeatedly, but we got less and less each time. This is NOT really a nice practice when you're offering AYCE. So funny when the 3rd times we asked for extra sliced radishes, we got 2 pieces . May revisit for regular menu, but won't be my choice for AYCE Kbbq read more

Food was good & the staff was super attentive and kept checking up on us. Not from the area but whenever I'm around I'll definitely be back for KBBQ. read more

We did the A level AYCE for a friend's birthday last week. The meat quality was good. They only let you order 4 types of meat at a time and the first 3 items on that menu they limit the amount of times you can order. Minus a star because there wasn't great variety of side dishes and service was just okay (we had to ask 3x for salad). The ventilation was good, I didn't feel like I was in a cloud of smoke or felt like I smelled too much of KBBQ when I left. You don't have to do AYCE though. They have BBQ meat combos and a good variety of Korean dishes I'd love to try next time. Parking was plentiful. It's right next to a Motel 6 but Google maps might take you a roundabout way to get there since the 805 south freeway exit is right next to it. read more

What a time to be alive! So much food for a pretty good price. I highly recommend the beef bulgogi! Def will be back! read more

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

I went here last weekend with a group of 6 friends. We were seated at 8pm, restaurant closes at 10pm, there's a 2 hour time limit. Perfect. The food itself was solid. I'd put it pretty much on par with Manna BBQ and other nearby KBBQ joints. The issue was the service. They were consistently slow to take our order and slow to bring food out. We had to wait a solid 15 minutes to order another round at one point, which meant we were sitting in front of a smoking grill, which was unpleasant. At one point we asked for more sides of fried rice and they informed us they were out. How the hell do you run out of fried rice? Did the chef up and quit? Did they run out of rice? Did they simply not want to bother to make more? Finally, they come to our table with the check. We explain that we actually weren't done. They explained the last call WAS at 9:30. We told them A) it was 9:28, so there was no reason we couldn't at least put one last order in, and B) a last call is when you tell us you will stop serving food, which they never at any point did. They were kind enough to explain that gratuity was already included since we were a party of six, and continued to serve the other tables around us for another 15 minutes. In other words, they stop serving us early and willingly provided crap service because they knew they were getting their tip anyways. Still hungry, we walked down the street to the nearest Mc. Donalds. If I spend money for an AYCE and have to go to a Mcy D's because I'm still hungry, that's an automatic one-star review. I legitimately feel scammed. read more

One of the nest Kbbq spot in Clairemont Mesa Been here many time and will visit again. Quick and friendly service. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Best kbbq in clairemont - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

The foods taste great and I like this place, but I am not so certain about the cleanliness of the restaurant. A while ago when I ate here, I found a piece of Korean chili pepper powder inside my rice (it was right there when I opened the lid). It made me wonder if they really scooped the fresh rice from the rice cooker. I didnt want to make a big deal out of it or write a bad review so I just didnt say anything. However, it happened again today. I ordered kimchi soup and found a bug inside the soup...after I almost finished eating. It made me grossed out. read more

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

Checked out the lunch special for AYCE KBBQ with my husband. This place is now our #2 KBBQ. I like that it is open earlier for lunch, and no bar so it's not noisy. We chose menu C. It had a lot of our favorite meats on it, although not as many sides or bon chon as other KBBQ restaurants. Our favorite meats here were #5, 10, 11, and 14. We may try menu A or B next time to try some other meat selections. All of the sides are made to order, no mass cooking. In fact, the servers assume you are ordering more because you have finished your first order. Japchae was very good, not at all chewy. Dumplings are pan-fried, not deep fried. I was surprised that the steamed egg was a smaller portion and had butter in it. I usually like to have the blander steamed egg to pair with salty meats, but this was a new flavor combo of a rich, salty butter and meat. The staff is very nice. Not too much chit-chat, efficient ladies. The restaurant interior is not crowded. Rest room is large and spacious, although the lighting when you first enter is dim. Only one light by the door and sink, but brighter lighting over the stalls. Stalls are pretty room, just 2. Ladies, if you have to bring young kids, there's room for them to wait in the regular stall with you. Did not check out the handicapped stall for a changing station. Careful with the counter. It tends to accumulate water so your shirt might get wet. Again, the dim lighting makes it hard to see if there is water on the floor. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - First time here! - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

I was craving spicy tofu soup and my best friend wanted her bone broth soup. So, we decided to ha e dinner here this past weekend. Haven't been here for years and so glad we decided to give it another try. It was quite busy that night, but our servers were really nice and attentive as they can possibly be. The AYCE menu and options were good. Side dishes yummy. Price not so bad. We definitely got our money's worth. Meats were delicious, and the best spicy tofu soup EVER. Also, their bone broth soup is served in this big bowl. Such a massive bowl for 1 person to eat, nonetheless, my best friend enjoyed it all. 2 AYCE and 1 bone broth soup, dinner for 3 cost about $85. Not bad at all. Highly recommend this place! read more

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Went in with my family of 6 and got seated right away. We were also served our first round fairly quickly, which we were happy about. However, after the first round, our first server was nowhere to be found and did not come around to check in on us to ask for next round. We had about 2-3 different servers and barely ordered any meat. By this point, our grill was still on and overheated, which resulted in multiple grill changes. Ended up leaving after our two hours were up. Recommend going elsewhere with better service. read more

Good food, lovely ambience and wonderful service. The steak was yum yum! Kids loved Kimchi Fried Rice. We will definitely go back again!

Felt like trying out a new KBBQ place, and I'm glad I did! Good quality meat, excellent service from the staff, and great pricing. I'll be back, Buga! read more

DO NOT SPEND A DIME HERE ! Customer service is horrible & unwelcoming. I absolutely had to WALK OUT ! never again

I've been eyeing this place forever as people kept recommending this place, finally got the chance to try it! I'm really surprised by how easy it was to get a table on a friday night, its not super packed like other joints in convoy. We only waited a few minutes, the place was full but not too full. There's also a lot of korean people dining here! Seemed like some people were here on business too from korea so you know its legit! The meats are really good quality and slightly below average ayce price. So great value! Highly recommend: - Boneless short rib = so good! Its like eating high quality steak - Thinly sliced beef belly = much better than brisket and I normally think brisket is the best - Spicy pork bulgolgi - Brisket - Dumplings = I could come back just for the dumplings alone - Corn cheese = you can tell they use real corn instead of canned ones This is our new favorite kbbq place! read more

As a Korean I can say this place is as authentic as you can get in SD in terms of Korean food. I've tried other Korean places in SD before and they've all been disappointing. I have a love-hate relationship with this place because I love the food here but the service is just consistently terrible. Servers never check on you, doesn't refill your water unless you ask, forgets to bring out condiments half the time, never refills the side dishes and never brings the check until you wait 10-15 minutes for your check and have to physically go up to them because you get tired of waiting. It's happened both busy and non-busy hours so it's not even about a lack of servers or anything. I'd give 2/5 for service and always leave feeling unsatisfied with the service but I keep coming back because the food is still worth it. If you're prepared for the bad service and only care about the food, I'd recommend this place. read more

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There was a decent price increase I believe due to a shortage of some sort, so the cheapest menu is not $30. I was fine with this because I thought the service and options were great! Our favorites were the brisket, beef belly, and spicy pork belly. The bulgogi wasn't as good as other places in my opinion. The cheapest mention also comes with rice, steamed egg, tofu soup, dumplings, etc. the dumplings were ok. They came quick so we just munched on a couple while the meat came out and we were cooking it. The salad is in small portions so I recommend asking for a couple bowls at once if you're all big salad eaters! We also had to ask for the sesame oil for one of the dipping sauces. The sides were ok. The fish cake wasn't very good in my opinion! The steamed egg tasted a little smoky for some reason so it wasn't super enjoyable. The parking was fine!! Big lot read more

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

The food was really good, our sever Caleb was amazing! Would come back for sure and recommend to everyone!